The battle was intense and lasted only half an hour. Both Gasparde and Drake fought fiercely. Compared to two months ago, Gasparde had a better handle on his abilities, most notably having awakened Armament Haki.
However, Drake was no slouch either. As a user of an Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit, despite being younger than everyone else, his physical prowess surpassed them all. Their strengths and weaknesses were balanced out, resulting in a draw.
Bruised and battered, Gasparde and Drake sat cross-legged on the ground, exchanging glares through pained expressions.
“I was clearly going to win. Why is it a tie?” Drake grumbled, rubbing his face and glaring at Hina.
“Bah!” Gasparde didn’t bother with words, spitting on the ground and looking at Drake with contempt through his swollen eyes.
“What’s with that look, Gasparde?” Drake snapped, eyes burning with rage.
“Figure it out yourself,” Gasparde replied haughtily, crossing his arms and tilting his head arrogantly.
“Do you two have a problem with my judgment?” Hina puffed her cheeks, glaring with her big round eyes, clearly displeased.
“Tch!” Not wanting to argue with a girl, Drake scoffed while Gasparde turned his head away, pouting.
“Enough, it’s not a big deal,” Berry Good, Shueen, and Shuzo watched the drama unfold while Foxy sighed and intervened to change the topic. “We’ve all mastered Soru now. Have any of you thought about learning the other Rokushiki techniques?”
“But other techniques require military merits. We’re still cadets. Where would we get the merits?” Berry Good scratched his head.
“Well, it’s not exactly forbidden to learn them secretly, right?” Gasparde chimed in.
“Are you suggesting…?” Shueen’s face turned mischievous.
“Ahem… How about Moonwalk?” Shuzo suggested with a peculiar expression, looking at everyone.
“Wait! Did Vice Admiral Vettel teach you about the Moonwalk too?” Drake started to say, but Foxy shot a Slow Beam at him, cutting him off.
“Don’t say it out loud. Just know it in your heart,” Foxy warned. He remembered what Vice Admiral Vettel had told him while teaching him Moonwalk, likely not wanting the Navy to find out. But judging by Drake and the others, Vettel had shared the knowledge with all the surviving cadets, possibly under someone’s orders.
Realizing this, Foxy felt embarrassed for overreacting. “So, you all know?”
Berry Good was curious. The others nodded, confirming Foxy’s suspicion that all surviving cadets had been briefed on Moonwalk. Foxy had thought he was special, feeling a bit proud, but now he realized he was just like everyone else.
“Foxy, why did you shoot me?”
As the slow time wore off, Drake glared at Foxy. “My hand slipped,” Foxy laughed awkwardly. Out of embarrassment, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
“Foxy, do you think I’m blind?” Drake squinted, looking at Foxy as if he was an idiot.
“Don’t mind the details. Let’s discuss Moonwalk,” Foxy waved off the subject. “How about we give it a try?”
The topic shift worked, and everyone was excited about flying through the air with Moonwalk. “I’ll go first,” Shuzo volunteered.
He jumped into the air and started rhythmically, stepping on the air, but his descent was only slightly slowed, and he failed. “Shuzo, you jumped too low. You didn’t get a good feel for it,” Foxy critiqued.
“No problem.” Gasparde stepped beside Shuzo, ready to help. “Ready?”
“Throw me as high as you can,” Shuzo nodded. “Don’t worry, Foxy will catch me,” Shuzo said confidently.
Foxy rolled his eyes but stayed silent. “Whoosh!” Gasparde transformed his hands into syrup and swung Shuzo skyward with great force.
“Wow, he’s so high!” Hina exclaimed, shading her eyes to see the now tiny Shuzo.
Up in the sky, Shuzo recalled Vice Admiral Vettel’s instructions. As he began to fall, he rhythmically stepped into the air, attempting to harness the technique. Despite having a foundation in Soru, mastering Moonwalk was exceptionally challenging.
As he plummeted, Shuzo remained fearless, trusting Foxy below. “Whoosh!” A pink beam hit Shuzo, slowing him down before he landed safely.
“Next!” Shuzo stood up, frowning. The others didn’t disturb him.
“I’ll go!” Drake was eager but turned to Foxy, “You better catch me.”
“You’re a Zoan-type. You won’t die,” Foxy waved dismissively. Drake’s face turned green, and before he could protest, Gasparde launched him into the air.
“Can you create a large cushion of syrup for impact absorption? This one-by-one thing is too slow,” Foxy suggested, watching Drake soar.
“Sure,” Gasparde agreed.
“We’ll test it on Drake. He won’t die, just maybe end up paralyzed,” Foxy chuckled.
Shortly, Drake plummeted like a meteor. Gasparde transformed his foot into syrup, forming a thick pool-like cushion on the ground.
“Boom!” Drake landed with a soft thud, sinking into the syrup without injury.
“You okay?” The group peered at Drake, stuck in the syrup.
“Hey, Gasparde, your ability is versatile,” Drake noted as the syrup retracted, leaving him unharmed.
“Great, Gasparde’s syrup can act as a buffer. Now, everyone give it a go!” Foxy pointed to the sky.
“My turn,” Shueen eagerly stepped up.
Soon, everyone was being launched into the air. Gasparde and Foxy took turns practicing, while Berry Good found it most accessible since his ability allowed him to split into multiple spheres, cushioning his fall effortlessly.
The training continued, with each taking turns flung into the sky, pushing their limits, and honing their techniques.
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