Raiden Ei thought,'Soru' is the explosive power generated by tens of steps on the ground in 0.36 seconds; then 'Geppo' must be a variation of'Soru,' so could she possibly fly by stepping on the air?
Bude would not continue to let Raiden Ei act unchecked. In his half-beast form, he immediately used a wide-area attack with 'Rankyaku,' sinking the ship that was already heavily damaged.
"Bang!" The dream ship sank completely into the sea. Raiden Ei frowned, but her movements were not slow. She stepped on the air, using the method she had observed, instantly making a series of high-speed steps on the air, creating momentary points of support beneath her feet.
Raiden Ei somewhat understood how to use 'Geppo': by creating momentary points of support through continuous stepping on the air, utilizing this instant of suspension, she could ascend as if walking up stairs, and presumably move up, down, left, and right as well.
She no longer hesitated, continuously stepping on the air, and her whole body moved toward the sky, though her speed was not particularly fast. As she kept creating points of suspension by stepping on the air and walking in the sky, she gained a deeper understanding of 'Geppo' and moved through the air more freely.
Raiden Ei looked down at the dream ship; it was completely swallowed by the sea. Bude and the other two were already flying in the sky using 'Geppo,' and the turbulent currents were sweeping away the remaining wooden planks as well.
Bude never expected Raiden Ei to learn 'Geppo' so quickly. She had only just managed to learn their'Soru' through imitation.
She learned the 'Geppo' she was currently using just by watching a few times? The possessor of Conqueror's Haki, appearing only once in millions of people, was truly enviable!
Then let him see just how much of the essence she has grasped! "Geppo combined with Soru!" He instantly traced a trajectory in the air and charged toward Raiden Ei, clenching his fists covered in Armament Haki, ready to strike and knock her into the sea at any moment. Kallen and Uesugi followed closely behind.
Raiden Ei felt that staying in the air was disadvantageous for her, so she kept moving toward the Celestial Dragons' three-masted ship. Seeing the three approaching her at extreme speed, she was not surprised and said calmly, "You've come."
Raiden Ei spun kusanagi in her hand, the blade cutting through the air. "Now's the time!" Her foot landed exactly on the air, creating a sound boom that echoed through the clouds. The powerful force generated a momentary suspension, and the kusanagi in her hand swept out in a massive slash toward the three.
Bude charged directly toward the slash, "Ahhh!" He thrust both fists forward, and with a "Bang," he directly knocked the slash aside. The surrounding airflow became chaotic. Kallen and Uesugi instantly closed the distance between themselves and Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei did not intend to engage them in the sky, but these two were too fast in the air, moving as if they were truly running in the heavens. She couldn't match them yet and could only react to their attacks.
Kallen appeared beside Raiden Ei, launching a dense barrage of vacuum slashes with "Rankyaku Ran" toward Raiden Ei's position. Uesugi appeared behind Raiden Ei, launching attacks aimed at her vital spots with his Armament Haki-covered fingers using "Finger Pistol Cannon."
Raiden Ei was quite passive at this moment, being slower than the two in the air and attacked from both front and back. To avoid being hit by their attacks, she dropped directly from the air toward the sea.
Using 'Geppo' to descend rapidly, when she was almost at the sea surface, she pulled out a raft she had prepared earlier from her backpack. "Bang!" The impact of the raft struck the sea surface again, kicking up spray.
Raiden Ei stood up on the raft. The surging waves made the raft sway precariously.
Bude deactivated his Devil Fruit ability. The three in the sky were furious when they saw this, but there was nothing they could do. They had been using 'Geppo' to walk in mid-air, and their stamina was being depleted too quickly. They were almost unable to hold on, and all three landed back on the three-masted ship.
"Is that all you've got?" Seeing the three land on the three-masted ship, Raiden Ei confirmed they were almost out of stamina. She swung her kusanagi, sending a slash toward the three-masted ship.
Raiden Ei used 'Geppo' to move toward the three-masted ship.
Bude perceived the approaching danger with Observation Haki. He stood at the bow, his eyes fixed on the incoming slash. "We cannot allow her to harm Saint Chesterton. Our duty is to protect the Celestial Dragons. Even if it means death, this principle must not be lost."
He transformed into his half-beast form again. A "Rankyaku" instantly appeared in front of him, a vacuum slash no smaller than the one Raiden Ei had unleashed. The other three also attacked together, shattering the slash capable of cutting the ship in half.
Shidoga, who had lost an arm, stepped forward to report that he had requested reinforcements from the Marines, and an Admiral would arrive to support them soon.
Bude exited his beast form and laughed, "Not bad, Shidoga, you did well this time. We just need to hold out until the Admiral arrives." The other three thought the same.
But Raiden Ei did not think so. She dropped directly from the sky onto the deck of the three-masted ship. Hearing the news they spoke of, she was slightly surprised. When was this? She needed to finish them off quickly.
Bude and the other three realized that the raft in the distance was empty only when Raiden Ei dropped directly from the sky. The four became even more wary of this woman.
The tip of Raiden Ei's kusanagi lightly touched the deck. She smiled and asked, "Who is this Admiral you speak of, and when will he arrive?"
Bude prepared to use his Devil Fruit ability at any moment. "Since you know an Admiral is about to arrive, why don't you surrender quickly? That way, we can plead your case before Saint Chesterton. The great Celestial Dragons won't concern themselves with such trivial matters."
Raiden Ei scoffed lightly. "Heh, so what if it's an Admiral? If I kill you now, will he come to stop me? Will your Celestial Dragon stand in front of you to protect you?"
Bude attacked directly, moving his feet instantly transforming into his beast-man form, his Armament Haki-covered fist smashing directly toward Raiden Ei. "The dignity of the Celestial Dragons must not be violated!"
Raiden Ei held kusanagi in her hand and slowly walked toward the group. "As expected! I might as well just kill you all."
Bude's scale-covered fist smashed directly toward Raiden Ei. "Hah, die!"
Armament Haki wrapped around kusanagi, and she instantly slashed toward Bude. "Bang!" The battle between the two erupted instantly. Bude was repelled by Raiden Ei's single strike with kusanagi. Before she could swing her blade again, several vacuum slashes instantly arrived in front of her.
"Hmph, petty tricks." Raiden Ei swung her kusanagi and cut through the vacuum slashes. Her steps moved directly toward Kallen, who had launched the attack. The short distance was covered instantly at her speed. kusanagi drew an arc in the air and slashed toward Kallen.
Kallen perceived this with Observation Haki, but it was too late to dodge directly. Aided by Observation Haki, he controlled his body using 'Kami-e' and narrowly avoided the slash.
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