One Piece: Marine's Justice

"Here we go again. Gasparde's picking on the newbies, as usual." "Cheh. He's just relying on his Devil Fruit powers." "Exactly! Gasparde mig

"Here we go again. Gasparde's picking on the newbies, as usual."

"Cheh. He's just relying on his Devil Fruit powers."

"Exactly! Gasparde might be a Paramecia-type user, but like Smoker, he shrugs off normal attacks. He's a real pain to deal with!"

"I've got a feeling Gasparde's finally going to bite off more than he can chew this time. Cross isn't just any recruit, he's a monster. If he uses Seastone weapons, he might actually beat Gasparde!"

"Don't be so sure! Gasparde's no fool. Didn't you hear him say he wanted to see Cross's Devil Fruit in action? If this turns into a battle of abilities, he might not lose at all."

The elite class was abuzz with whispers and speculation.

Some sided with Cross.

Others placed their bets on Gasparde.

The room had clearly split into two camps.

Gasparde's power was bizarre, he was a Paramecia-type user of the Candy-Candy Fruit, which allowed him to transform into green candy syrup and mold his body into any shape. Physical attacks passed right through him. His slipperiness rivaled that of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.

At that moment, a smile crept across Cross's face. "Alright, let's have a match. But my powers tend to cause collateral damage. I wonder if Zephyr-sensei will allow it?"

"No problem," Zephyr replied with a faint smile. "Just keep it inside the ring."

Truth be told, Zephyr was quite curious about Cross's powers himself. He'd once seen the Enlivened creatures stored in a large warehouse at Marine Headquarters, but he'd never witnessed Cross in actual combat. Naturally, he was eager to see them in action.

Besides, the arena was only about twenty centimeters off the ground, filled with packed earth and paved with stone slabs. Even if it got wrecked, it could be fixed easily.

"Since Zephyr-sensei has given the go-ahead, let's do this," Cross said with a nod.

He stepped into the ring barehanded and faced Gasparde.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you," Gasparde sneered, a cruel glint in his eye.

"No need," Cross said nonchalantly, waving his hand. "Come at me with everything you've got."

"Heh… then don't blame me for what happens next!"

With a wicked chuckle, Gasparde's right hand turned to a viscous green candy substance before rapidly hardening into a sharp spike.

A moment later, he lunged forward and thrust the green spike straight at Cross without hesitation.

"Tekkai!"

With a deep, grounded shout, Cross raised his right hand and blocked the candy spike with his bare palm.

Clang!

The clash rang out like metal striking metal, a burst of distorted air swirling from the impact.

"What?!"

Gasparde's face twisted in shock. He hadn't expected Cross to use Tekkai, one of the Six Powers, to block the strike with just his palm.

Zephyr, watching from below, couldn't help but nod in appreciation.

If Cross could block his opponent's attacks with Tekkai, he was already halfway to an invincible defense.

Cross deactivated Tekkai, then swiftly seized Gasparde's spiked hand and closed the distance, slamming a punch straight into his head.

Boom—!

Gasparde's head burst on contact, splattering into a glob of green gummy goop.

"A pseudo-elemental body… figures. Pretty annoying," Cross muttered, quickly pulling back to avoid being stuck in Gasparde's sticky form.

It had only been a test to gauge the nature of Gasparde's abilities.

And now he had his answer: slippery, troublesome, and frankly wasted on someone like Gasparde.

"Bastard!"

Gasparde's head reformed instantly. With a snarl, he charged at Cross again, slashing wildly with his gummy spike in a frenzy.

One exchange, and his head had been blown off, not that he was injured, but his pride had taken a hit.

"Kami-e!"

Cross let his entire body relax, letting his movements flow with the currents of air caused by Gasparde's attacks, dodging every strike by the narrowest of margins.

Dozens of frenzied attacks flew his way, but Gasparde couldn't even graze the hem of Cross's uniform. He roared in frustration: "Damn brat! Use your power already! Stop dodging and fight me head-on!"

"Tch. So impatient," Cross muttered, annoyed. "Since you're so eager to see it… I'll show you."

With that, he flipped backward, leaping clear of Gasparde's range. Landing in a crouch, he placed one hand against the ground.

Then he activated his Live-Live Fruit ability.

"Enliven: Inorganic Reincarnation!!"

RUMBLE—RUMBLE—!

The entire arena shook violently. The stone tiles and packed earth beneath Cross surged upward, manipulated by an unseen force.

Four massive tendrils of animated mud and stone rose with a roar and lashed out at Gasparde.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Gasparde stared in horror at the monstrous arms bearing down on him. He was too stunned to dodge and was immediately smashed by the onslaught.

The explosion of force rocked the entire training hall.

Fortunately, Gasparde's body, with its near-elemental consistency, rendered him immune to physical attacks. Though pounded into a puddle of green candy sludge, he remained completely unharmed.

He reconstituted himself and snarled, "Damn it! That won't work on me!"

"Oh, I know," Cross replied, frowning slightly. "Which is why… I'll just seal you up."

He immediately directed one of the mudstone tendrils to wrap around Gasparde's gooey form, while the other three followed, coiling tightly around him.

Realizing what Cross was trying to do, Gasparde panicked. He extended both arms, transforming them into long, hardened candy spikes that shot forward like spears.

Shwooo—!

A piercing shriek echoed as the green spike launched several meters ahead.

"Not this move again…"

Cross narrowed his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and let the spike sail past.

Then he resumed control of the tendrils, forcing them to wrap around Gasparde's form until they completely enclosed him in a massive mudstone sphere.

Gasparde was now sealed inside a five-meter-wide ball of stone and earth. The immense pressure left no room for him to reshape or solidify his form, he was utterly trapped.

"Sigh… relying too much on his Devil Fruit again," Zephyr said with a shake of his head.

If Gasparde had trained his physical strength properly, he might have been able to break free from within.

But because he had leaned too heavily on his Devil Fruit powers, his physique and martial skills were only barely passable.

There was no way he was escaping Cross's clutches now.

As it stood, Cross could very well bury Gasparde alive in that mudstone sphere.

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