Hiss!
The entity behind him was slashed open, and Gasparde immediately let out a muffled cry of pain.
Before he could fully register what had happened, Gasparde gritted his teeth and lunged forward a few steps.
Once at a relatively safe distance from Bai Yu, he spun around swiftly.
Using his Ame Ame no Mi (Candy-Candy Fruit) powers, he forcibly molded jelly candy to clog and seal the bleeding wound.
But when his eyes locked on Bai Yu again, the calmness in his expression had vanished.
"If I'm not mistaken… just now, you used Busoshoku Haki!"
"Haoshoku, and Busoshoku..."
"Who the hell are you?!"
Gasparde roared, his voice trembling.
Someone who could seamlessly wield both Armament and Conqueror's Haki couldn't possibly be some nameless rookie tagging along with a small-time pirate crew. That kind of power—elite, high-tier marine level power—would never remain obscure.
"Bai Yu," came the quiet reply.
"Bai Yu…?"
The name struck a faint chord in Gasparde's mind, yet he couldn't immediately place it.
Beep-beep-beep—!
Suddenly, the island's loudspeakers shrieked with piercing alarm.
Then came the panicked voice of the announcer, echoing throughout the venue.
> "Emergency notice!
A fleet of Marine warships has been spotted in the waters around Hannabal Island!"
"The tournament is hereby canceled! All pirates evacuate immediately!"
A massive naval blockade—exactly what the pirates feared most—was encircling the island.
BOOM! BOOM!
Almost simultaneously, a series of thunderous explosions shook the island. All major exits were sealed off by precision bombardments.
Panic gripped the lawless pirates. Chaos erupted everywhere.
Bai Yu smiled faintly.
The orchestrated explosions were the work of Koby and Helmeppo, following Bai Yu's covert instructions.
The goal: seal off Hannabal Island and trap the pirates, buying crucial time for the arriving Marine forces.
"You're not a pirate at all...!"
Gasparde's pupils shrank as realization dawned. Seeing Bai Yu's subtle smirk only confirmed his suspicions.
"That technique you used earlier—it was Soru from the Navy's Rokushiki...!"
"You're with the Navy!!"
He jabbed a trembling finger at Bai Yu, practically shouting.
Even Foxy, nearby, widened his eyes in disbelief. He wanted to believe Gasparde was wrong.
But deep down, he knew he wasn't.
As the tension rose, Bai Yu decided there was no longer any need to hide.
He nodded calmly.
"WHAT?!"
Foxy nearly dropped his jaw to the deck.
"Bai Yu..." Gasparde muttered, repeating the name again, deeper now, searching his memory.
Then, as if struck by lightning, his entire body shuddered.
"Bai Yu! You're the Marine prodigy who defeated Crocodile singlehandedly?!"
He exclaimed, eyes filled with dread.
The rumors—a lone Marine taking down a Warlord of the Sea—had been circulating in the darker corners of the underworld.
"I don't do impersonations," Bai Yu replied with a smile.
"So from the very beginning, you joined the competition... just to capture me," Gasparde murmured, his voice turning cold with fear. "And that first slash... I knew it! Someone like you wouldn't miss on purpose!"
"That was your signal to the Navy...!"
The entire scheme began falling into place for him.
"It's finally hitting you. Not bad," Bai Yu replied.
"Now there's only one step left..."
"To bring you all in."
He lifted his sword and pointed it directly at Gasparde.
The air instantly tensed like a bowstring.
"Don't think you can defeat me just because you've got a little Haki!"
SWOOSH!
Gasparde roared defiantly. He had no illusions anymore—he knew he'd never be allowed to leave alive.
Both of his arms surged with green, sticky goo.
The upper half of his body transformed into viscous jelly, writhing unnaturally under his control.
In seconds, the gelatin mass condensed into countless sharp, crystalline spikes.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The jelly rapidly solidified into hardened candy lances, gleaming like forged glass.
The powers of the Ame Ame no Mi weren't limited to soft, amorphous defense. They could weaponize too—solidifying into deadly forms with razor-sharp lethality.
"DIE!!!"
Gasparde howled.
With a flick of his wrists, he launched a barrage of candy spikes that shot toward Bai Yu like a storm of spears.
Their sheer velocity shredded the air with sonic cracks—any normal man would've been skewered instantly.
But Bai Yu didn't flinch.
He didn't even step back.
In fact, he walked forward.
Gasparde's face contorted in confusion and rage.
Kenbunshoku Haki.
Bai Yu's sharp gaze narrowed.
His Observation Haki unfurled like sonar. Every spike's trajectory—every micro-angle of attack—became crystal clear.
To Bai Yu, it was as if time slowed.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
One after another, the spikes zipped past him.
Bai Yu's body twisted, stepped, leaned—a fluid dance amidst certain death.
Two spikes grazed by his shoulders.
Another zipped past his cheek.
Not one struck.
It was like watching a ghost walk through a storm.
He advanced calmly, every step purposeful.
It was the perfect image of the phrase:
> "Dancing through a thousand blades—untouched by a single petal."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Behind him, every missed spike smashed into the ship's hull, blowing holes through the deck like cannonballs.
And yet—Bai Yu had already closed the distance.
He stood right in front of Gasparde.
"You're a disgrace to the Navy."
"You think you can walk away from this?"
His voice was ice-cold.
Hummm...
FWOOSH!
With a thought, the Azure Dragon Sword Intent ignited into a visible flame, enveloping his Ryūen Tachi.
Bai Yu raised the flaming blade over his shoulder and struck down diagonally.
A flaming arc aimed straight for Gasparde's shoulder.
"I WON'T LOSE!!"
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!"
Gasparde screamed in panic.
He clapped his hands, activating his fruit powers again.
A torrent of jelly poured from his body.
In his palm, the goo twisted into a large, spike-studded mace.
With a shimmer, the candy weapon solidified.
In a blur, he thrust it upward with all his might to intercept Bai Yu's burning blade.