115 Chapter 115: Old Gambling Habits
Adrian was on the verge of bursting into laughter at Issho's words.
"Do you believe I can blast your face with my Ghost Energy Cannon?"
Adrian had been itching to test the specific effects of Ghost Energy in combat. For days, sailing the open sea, he hadn't found a suitable target to experiment on.
"Hey, Rōnin Issho," Adrian's gaze turned icy, the sharp blade of Yubashiri pointing directly at Issho's chest. His posture suggested that he would strike if the truth wasn't forthcoming.
"You, an incorrigible gambler!" Adrian's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I dare to ask, do you truly have the audacity to answer?"
"Huh?" Issho scratched his head, looking genuinely innocent. "Well, um, personally, I enjoy playing dice…"
Adrian's frustration was palpable. "Are you mocking me?"
"Oh? Not a fan of dice? How about mahjong, then?"
"You're a gambling addict, consumed by nothing but the thoughts of games!"
Issho hesitated. "What about Russian roulette?"
{Where was Russia there?}
"Pfft! Russian roulette? You mean the kind where you load six bullets, spin the chamber, and then pull the trigger?"
Adrian had initially intended to shake off Issho's entanglement. However, judging from Issho's recent performance, it was evident that he had already consumed the Superhuman-type Gravity-Gravity Fruit. Although Issho's ability hadn't yet reached the terrifying level of accurately sensing meteorites from space (as he would twenty years later), the omnipresent gravity on both sea and land significantly boosted his Observation Haki's sensing range.
Having just left Nanohana Port and arrived at an uninhabited desert, Adrian found himself in a predicament. Ordinarily, the sensing range of standard Observation Haki wouldn't extend so far, yet Issho had effortlessly located him.
So now, the only way to completely get rid of this trouble was...
The only viable solution now was…
"With virtue, one can conquer others! 'Persuade with reason'!"
Adrian's eyes turned cold. Sheathing his sword, Snow, he clenched his right hand into a claw shape. A ball of energy with mysterious blue patterns surfaced in his palm—the [Ghost Energy] he had recently acquired.
"Mr. Issho," Adrian declared, "let's continue the fight we were interrupted from! Don't die on me!"
The kind smile on Mr. Issho's face gradually faded. He stared solemnly at the White Ghost standing across from him, fully aware that Adrian wasn't joking.
Bending his body slightly, Mr. Issho gripped his staff sword with both hands, positioning it in front of his forehead. With a light click, the wooden staff split open, revealing the concealed purple blade within.
"I had already made up my mind to 'Awaken' when I agreed to my friend's request!"
"That's good!"
Adrian let out a low shout and raised his right hand, firing without hesitation.
Boom!
The sound of the Ghost Energy cannon was rather dull.
The blue energy ball expanded rapidly in the air the moment it was fired, growing from the size of a tennis ball to half a person's height in an instant. It transformed into a hollow, blue energy shockwave that charged recklessly at Issho.
Facing such a powerful attack, Issho dared not be careless. He continuously activated the power of his Devil Fruit, infusing it into the blade of his staff sword. The jet-black Armament Haki also merged with the original deep purple gravity power, forming a strange fluid shape resembling purple-black lightning.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger!"
Issho swung his staff sword forward, simultaneously releasing a massive lateral gravity force along the trajectory of his swing.
The two colossal forces collided, and a flash of blinding light momentarily appeared.
BOOM!!
A deafening impact sound echoed.
Adrian squinted and looked again. At the point where the ghost energy and gravity collided, half of the sand around it turned into a high-pressure, high-temperature form of glass, while the other half dissipated into smoke and dust.
"Not bad power!"
The next moment, Adrian focused his thoughts, clasping his hands together and aiming directly at the distant Issho.
From thin air, a blue-colored light particle materialized in his palm, rapidly expanding until it burst into dazzling brilliance. A powerful blue light beam shot forth!
Issho inverted his staff-sword, creating a gravity-formed shockwave in front of him.
Boom!
The collision between the blue light beam and the shockwave reverberated loudly.
In that critical moment, Issho's heart raced with alarm, a sense of impending doom flashing through his mind. His pupils contracted, and he propelled himself backward using gravity, instantly retreating several hundred meters.
The blue light beam, undeterred, pierced through the gravity, formed shockwave and plunged into the ground.
The cliffs on the desert cracked and collapsed, forming deep, axe-like fissures. Within those fissures, a faint blue light flickered, and a column of blue energy shot skyward.
Booming...
The ground erupted, the column of ghost energy expanding several dozen times larger than before. It devoured nearby sand, leaving behind a circular crater with a diameter of several dozen meters.
Issho's forehead glistened with sweat, his tone now extremely solemn.
"What kind of ability is this?"
The marine intelligence had failed to mention that the White Ghost possessed such terrifying energy release abilities
"This is…"
Adrian's words were cut short as his figure abruptly turned hollow. His entire body seemed ghostly, trailing a luminous blue tail. He closed the distance to Issho in an instant.
The Yubashiri, enveloped in armament Haki, collided with Issho's staff sword, completing the second half of the sentence in a clash of formidable forces!
"The power of ghosts!"
Bang!
The two figures collided violently!
Unprepared, Issho took a devastating blow. His breath stagnated, and he hurtled through the air like a meteor.
Adrian seized the opportunity, refusing to relent. He halted abruptly, and a spectral sea materialized beside him. Ghosts surged forth, chasing after Issho.
Mini Ghost: Star Fire!
Boom, boom, boom—
The air ignited with endless fireworks. The flickering explosion light danced in Adrian's cold eyes.
In the sky, a deep purple flash marked Issho's escape from the mini ghost's assault. Covered in scars and disheveled, his once-purple kimono now resembled beggar's attire.
From Adrian's fingertips, a small blue ghost energy sphere reappeared—the bullet ready to be fired.
"Rōnin Issho, do you still intend to stop me?"
"No matter what, I will fulfill my duty!" Issho snapped his sword into place, then sat on the sand, posture forgotten.
Impatiently, Adrian raised a finger. "What are you doing now?"
"I can't defeat you, so I'm conceding." Issho's tone was nonchalant, akin to a seasoned gambler admitting defeat: "I'm broke, so I'm not gambling anymore."
