Chapter 28

Because the sea around Alabasta is weird, we cannot put an underwater bomb around it. The reason? It has some weird magnetic field that disturbs the bomb and will always make it fail to detonate.

I don't know how it works, but it was what the people here told me. There is a reason why there is no water defense against an invader in Alabasta. Instead, they focus all of their defense on the land. With the island being a giant trap, they have one of the best natural land defenses in the entire Grandline.

Sadly, this defense will not stop an ancient zoan. Dinosaurs will easily bulldoze all of it, especially if that person knows how to use Haki.

Speaking of haki, I need to ask them if they know about them.

"Pell, do you know how to use haki?"

"Haki?"

"I see. This will be hard."

I can see my crew and smoker nod their heads.

"Haki is a technique that is used to fight against a Devil Fruit user."

"There is such a technique?"

"Aye. You eat a devil fruit, correct?"

"Yes. I can turn into a falcon."

"Then turn into your half-human mode."

Pell nods his head and changes into his half-human form.

"In this form you will receive a boost in your physical strength and defense."

"Aye. That is correct. What do you want to do?"

"I will punch you with my normal punch and I will punch you with a punch coated with haki."

Pell nodded his head and braced himself for the incoming attack.

I move and punch his stomach. I can hear him grunting a little.

"How is it?"

"Not bad. I know you are holding back."

"Of course. I don't want to cripple you, no offense."

"Of course. I'm not offended."

I nod my head and say.

"Then I will punch you with this"

I coat my fist with haki and let it change color.

"This is haki. Not only can it hit the true body of any Devil Fruit user's body, but it also increases your physical power just like your transformation."

"I see."

"Now, I will punch you with this power but using the same force as before. Get ready."

"I'm ready."

I nod my head and punch his stomach with the same force as before. But, instead of grunting like before, I can see him wince and frown a little.

"Can you feel the difference?"

"Aye. It is like you are hitting me before I transform."

"That's right. That is the power of Haki. It can bypass the devil fruit supernatural defenses. However, there are a few exceptions. An ancient Zoan has armor in the form of a scale or armor-like skin that gives them a second layer of protection. Even with Haki, you need a lot of strength to damage them."

"So you are saying that I'm not strong enough to fight her."

When I see the scowl on his face, I know that I stepped on a landmine. A land mine called pride. I just step on his pride.

"Haaaaa… How about this? You and I will fight. One-on-one fight until the other gives up or becomes unconscious."

"Hmph. I hope you will not regret it."

Pell looks at his men and says.

"Prepare the Arena of Honor. The Commodore and I will have a duel."

"Yes, sir!"

After saying that, Pell and his men get out of the tent. I spread a little bit of my haki and see them walk away from our tent.

"They are gone."

"Tch. Prideful bastard. He did not know what kind of monster he would soon fight."

"I'm not a monster, a smoker."

"Ha! That is a nice one. You are the only one who can go toe-to-toe against Vice-Admiral Garp for two days straight without rest. If that is not a monster, I don't know what."

Ah, that day. Yeah, that is a dark day for me. When Vice-Admiral Garp notices that I can heal myself and regenerate energy from the passive ability of White Mage, he pushes me to the brink of absolute exhaustion.

That old bastard keeps punching and kicking me all day and night to see when I go down. I finally go down after my energy is depleted, keeping me alive from hunger and exhaustion. Then, I hear Vice-Admiral Garp get a very long lashing from Vice-Admiral Tsuyu.

I have already seen the recording of Vice-Admiral Tsuyu holding a whip and chasing after that old monkey. Seeing a small Vice-Admiral chasing after a behemoth of a man was a funny sight.

"Truly? Does Commodore Yuuji survive fighting against Vice-Admiral Garp for two days straight?"

"You can call me Yuuji, Hina. Smokers call me by my given name, and you can do the same. Also, yes. I somehow survived his so-called training.

Hina shakes her head quickly and says.

"Hina cannot do that, sir! Sir Yuuji is Hina's superior. Hina cannot call Sir Yuuji by his given name."

The way she speaks in the third person is cute, but her stern and rigid personality make it less cute.

"Haaaa… I hope that in the future they will call me by my given name, Hina."

I smiled at her and tried to say something, but before I could say it, one of Pell's men walked into the tent and said.

"Sir, the honor arena has finished. The Honorary Duel is ready to commence."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

|Gion - The Rabbit of Marine and Lieutenant of White Warrior's Marine Corp|

"Lieutenant Gion. Can Hina ask a question?"

"Hmmm? Of course. Ask away, captain Hina."

I look at Hina, and I must say I'm disappointed. If her personality is a little bit flexible, she can become a great captain and maybe vice-admiral. Well, I guess her personality matches the stern and bold personality of Captain Smoker.

They are matches made in heaven.

"Can Hina ask the reason why Commodore Yuuji asks Hina to call him by his given name?"

"Ah, that is an easy question. Because he wants you to get close to him."

"Huh?"

"He wants you to be his friend."

"M-Me? His friend?"

"Yes. That is just how he does things. He likes to gather more friends than enemies. He wants to get along with anyone he meets. However, don't let that make you think of him as a soft person. No. If he sees you as your enemy, he will become the Wrath of Gods that destroys anything on his path."

"Hina understands."

When we arrive in front of what looks like an arena made of planks and stone, I can see captain Yuuji rubbing Jeane's head before releasing her. I let the little birds land on my head and make a nest out of it.

I have gotten used to it.

I walk toward Captain Yuuji and see him taking off his coat.

"Gion, can you hold this for me?"

"Of course, Captain. Have a good fight, sir."

"Hahahaha! Thank you, Gion."

I blush when he gently smiles at me and pat my cheek. That is not fair. You can't just do this to me and not finish it, sir.

I slowly back away from the arena and see the referee walk to the middle of the arena.

"This is an honorary duel between Royal Guard Captain Pell the Falcon and Commodore Yuuji the White Warrior."

I can see that the fight did gather not only the soldiers but also the civilians that live near our tent. There are at least a hundred, maybe two hundred, spectators watching the fight. Even the children come and cheer for their Royal Guard captain.

I feel bad for them. I hope Captain Yuuji holds back a little and makes the fight a little bit longer.

"Both fighters are ready?!"

Captain Yuuji and Royal Guard Captain Pell nod their heads.

"Fight!"