Thud! Thud!
Jean Bart and Crocus landed, flanking Ryuuto on his left and right. An immense pressure immediately bore down on Shura and his two companions.
At that moment, Ryuuto sensed a faint perceptive power wash over him... He glanced down at the little girl, Aisa.
BOOM!!
In an instant, a wave of immense intimidation surged forward, crackling with black and red lightning as it shot toward Wyper, Aisa, and Gan Fall.
"Ah!!"
The three of them felt as if they were being stared down by a prehistoric beast. An infinite terror bloomed in their hearts, and huge beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.
Fortunately, Ryuuto only intended to frighten Aisa. Just before the black and red lightning reached them, it collapsed and vanished into thin air.
"Hah... What was that just now? It was terrifying!" Wyper panted heavily, his eyes fixed on Ryuuto as he thought to himself.
Aisa didn't dare look at Ryuuto again.
Gan Fall, however, stared intently at Ryuuto. *That presence... it's just like the one from twenty years ago!* As the former God of Skypiea and an old friend of the Pirate King, Roger, Gan Fall was no stranger to Conqueror's Haki.
Meanwhile, Vivi slapped a gourd at her waist. The cork shot out, and a thick stream of sake erupted into the sky, hovering above her head like a coiled dragon as it fixed its gaze on Shura, Gedatsu, and Ohm.
"Take this!!"
"Whiskey Bind!!"
Vivi stomped forward, shouting excitedly at the three men. The white sake dragon above her coiled tightly before lunging at them.
"Watch out! It's a Devil Fruit power!" Shura and the others paled at the sight. The Jet Dials on their feet flared to life as they frantically tried to retreat.
But it was too late. The ferocious sake dragon closed the distance in an instant, engulfing them. They were completely bound, suspended in mid-air.
"Hahahahaha, face your judgment! Strangle!" Vivi declared, clenching her right fist. The sake dragon in the air tightened its grip, and an immense force crushed the three men, drawing agonized screams from them.
"Quick, let me go!!" Gedatsu and Ohm thrashed wildly, shouting in panic.
"Burn! Flame Lance!" Shura roared, gripping his lance. Flames erupted from the weapon and instantly spread across the entire sake dragon.
"Hot!! It's hot!!"
The sake ignited, and the terrifyingly high temperature engulfed the three priests.
"How annoying! Damn flames!"
"Explode!!"
Annoyed, Vivi willed the flaming sake dragon to compress before it detonated in a massive blast. A pillar of fire completely swallowed the three men.
"Aahhh!!"
A few pained cries echoed out. Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing no trace of Shura, Gedatsu, or Ohm.
"Iron Whip!!"
Suddenly, as Vivi scanned the area for them, a longsword made of white cloud changed direction and slashed toward her at incredible speed.
"Sake Shield!!"
Vivi's eyes narrowed. With a wave of her hands, the remaining sake coalesced in front of her chest, forming a liquid shield.
BOOM!!
The white longsword struck. It made a dull thud before becoming firmly stuck within the liquid shield.
"That's the viscosity of sake for you!" Vivi remarked with a smug grin.
The attacker was Ohm, now covered in blood. He had clearly been injured in the explosion.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Ohm tried to pull his sword back, only to find it hopelessly stuck in the white liquid shield.
"I'll deal with him first!" Shura, hiding behind a tree, glared at Ryuuto with a dark expression. Whether it was because Ryuuto claimed to have killed Enel or because he was their captain, Shura had every reason to eliminate him first.
"Die!!"
Seeing Ryuuto standing there as if in a daze, Shura stomped his foot and shot toward him. The lance in his right hand, wreathed in scorching flames, thrust forward with unstoppable momentum.
Ryuuto's consciousness was currently immersed in his own mind, but he wasn't completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Crackle~
Sensing Shura's attack, electricity surged across Ryuuto's body, quickly forming a complex pattern on his skin.
When the blood-soaked Shura lunged, he saw that Ryuuto hadn't moved to dodge and a look of triumph crossed his face. But just then, he noticed the mocking smiles on the faces of Crocus and Jean Bart.
A sense of panic suddenly seized him.
BOOM!!
The flame lance passed straight through Ryuuto. A dull roar followed, revealing that it had only been an afterimage.
"Impossible!! What was that?" Shura landed, panting, and turned to look back at Crocus and Jean Bart.
Ryuuto was no longer in his line of sight.
"Swamp Attack!!"
Over on the other side, Gedatsu saw Ohm's sword was trapped. He leaped into the air, creating a strangely colored cloud in his hand and hurling it at Vivi. It was his Swamp Cloud Dial attack.
"Oh no!!" Vivi had used up all her sake and had no way to defend. She was about to roll aside to dodge the attack.
CRASH!! CRASH!!
Just then, the sound of something shattering came from the Ark Maxim.
And then... Vivi sensed a massive amount of sake.
"Spirits Gun!!" Vivi roared. The vast quantity of sake above her instantly formed into countless arrows that shot toward the Swamp Cloud and Gedatsu behind it.
"How is that possible! Where did all this sake come from? No, if those hit me, I'm dead!" Gedatsu's heart tightened. He activated his Jet Dials, trying to escape into the sky.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
Hundreds of sake arrows tore through the Swamp Cloud, obliterating it in an instant before surging toward Gedatsu.
Gedatsu was a step too slow. The arrows overwhelmed him, and only his screams were left hanging in the air.
"Thank goodness for the Captain!" Vivi glanced up at Ryuuto, who was standing on the ship's railing. He was the one who had thrown down the extra sake.
Ryuuto stroked his chin as he watched, lost in thought. *Vivi's current strength is probably around the level of a Marine Captain. And this Sake-Sake Fruit has a major weakness—fire!*
*In that case...*
*Let's run an experiment on Vivi first!*
Ryuuto's consciousness returned to his mind as he looked at his three hundred thousand-plus reputation points...
Just as Vivi was about to cheer for having dealt with Ohm, a scorching flame suddenly shot toward her, a lance aimed straight for her chest.
BOOM!!
Vivi's eyes narrowed, and she leaped to the side to dodge.