The entire battlefield began to fall silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Chaton, Licky, and Marie, and a palpable tension filled the air.
The Straw Hat Crew was especially worried. They didn't fully understand why Carl had assigned Licky and Marie to confront a candidate Admiral and were concerned about Marie's safety. As for Licky, they weren't too worried since he had tough skin and thick flesh, giving him temporary immunity to death.
The Marines, however, were completely surprised by Marie. They couldn't believe such a little girl could remain so composed when facing a candidate Admiral. This made them even more fearful of the Straw Hats. If a little girl was that powerful, could the combined Marine and Army forces truly succeed in surrounding and defeating this pirate crew?
"Roar!" Licky suddenly roared in anger, and his body swelled up instantly. His red, swollen paws had already recovered, showcasing a frightening self-healing ability. Licky had also gained the ability to freely control his body size.
He thrust his enormous claw toward Chaton.
That's right—he threw it!
Chaton's expression changed immediately. Instead of directly enduring Licky's massive paw, he leaped up, landed on Licky's claw, and quickly rushed along the limb toward the Lion King's head.
At that very moment, Licky's claw smashed into the ground. Bang! A massive crater was punched into the earth by the huge paw. If that claw were to land on a human body, it would surely crush it to pieces.
"That lion has learned Finger Pistol (Shigan)?! Are you kidding me? That move is actually Finger Pistol?!" Many Marines present were terrified.
Now, everyone understood why Chaton had chosen to evade Licky's attack. If that huge paw was enhanced with Finger Pistol, the power would be utterly terrifying. Chaton was no fool; why would he attempt to foolishly catch it head-on? If he failed to hold it, wouldn't he be instantly destroyed?
"Licky the Lion King is indeed powerful, but you'd better be headed for Impel Down!" Chaton shouted.
Chaton had reached Licky's head and kicked the lion. However, Licky wasn't afraid at all; instead, he charged forward, slamming his large head into the kick.
Bang! Chaton's legs were stronger, and his kick knocked Licky's head sideways.
However, Chaton also bounced backward from the reaction force. He immediately felt pain in the bones of his foot. Clearly, Licky's head had a strong counter-shock force, almost too much for even Chaton to bear.
The users who have eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit are so ridiculously powerful and unpredictable, and even Chaton couldn't help but be frustrated.
At this moment, Marie suddenly poked her head out. She held a palette in her left hand and a paintbrush in her right. After dipping the brush in ink, she swiftly drew a pattern in the air.
Chaton was startled again and quickly used Moonwalk (Geppo) to dodge.
The pattern formed on the ground with a loud bang. It was a strange black design. According to intelligence data, this black pattern causes a psychological suggestion of rebellion in anyone who steps into the area, dangerously dividing the field. Vice Admiral Sentomaru had previously fallen for this trick and watched as the three girls of the Straw Hat Crew walked away. Furthermore, during the Summit War, Marianu the Psychological Painter had turned the battlefield upside down with her pigment-based superpower, inflicting damage comparable to that of Roronoa Zoro, Black Leg Sanji, and Trafalgar Law.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Marie continued to paint from a distance, launching continuous attacks.
Chaton could only move forward while constantly dodging. It was genuinely difficult to intercept Marie's attacks, and if he were to be hit by one of her primary techniques, it would be disastrous.
Bang! Chaton, too focused on dodging the paint, didn't pay attention and was swept away by Licky's claw, slamming hard into the ground and creating a large hole. But Chaton immediately crawled out of the crater and quickly rolled on the ground.
When he looked up again, there was a yellow pattern already drawn in the hole he had just made.
This fierce beast and this young girl are coordinating so closely!
"Vice Admiral Chaton was sent flying?!"
"How is that possible! Vice Admiral Chaton is a candidate Admiral; how could he be knocked back?!"
"The combination of the Lion King and the Psychological Painter is incredible. I'm starting to remember the fear we felt during the Summit War!"
Many people among the Marines and Army were pale, clearly terrified by the combined force of the beast and the girl. Many vividly recalled the scene of this duo sweeping the battlefield during the Summit War, and a large number of them still suffered from deep psychological trauma.
Chaton's face was extremely grim. He had only been careless, and he had been hit and sent flying once by the opponent. Yet, this single incident had already scared many of his Marines and soldiers. This made him look terrible.
"Oh? Well done, Marie and Licky!" Zoro, still panting, couldn't help but smile.
"The combination of Marie and Licky is scary even to us, which is why Carl put her in charge of this duo," Law noted. "While it might not be enough to defeat the opponent, it's certainly enough to buy us time!" Law's assessment was higher than Zoro's. Obviously, Law was very impressed by the power of this combination.
Seeing this, the rest of the Straw Hats were also relieved, knowing that Marie was safe.
But Momousagi shouted coldly: "Chaton, what are you doing! You're just dealing with a beast and a little girl, yet you were sent flying! That's an embarrassment to the Marines!"
"Hehe, Gion, don't worry. I was just playing around. Now, I have to be serious," Chaton immediately explained. Then, his expression became extremely focused.
Swish! Chaton's figure vanished.
In the next second, he reappeared in front of Marie and threw a punch straight at her face. He might put his hands in his pockets on a daily basis, but that was because he didn't attack easily; when he did, it would definitely be a strike of thunderous power.
However, Marie still didn't react much. She simply pulled out a Dial and pressed the switch. A large amount of swamp-like cloud suddenly spewed out from the Dial's mouth. By coincidence, Chaton's fist smashed into the swamp cloud.
"Huh? What is this?!" Chaton was stunned.
He felt like the swamp cloud was bottomless; the deeper his fist went, the deeper it sank. Not only would he fail to hit Marie, but he would also be swallowed by the swamp cloud.
While Chaton was momentarily frozen, a cloud of yellow paint rushed toward his face.
Crack! The paint landed successfully on his body.
Chaton was startled. He immediately calmed his mind, blocking all the psychological suggestions that would have forced him to burst into laughter. When he regained his senses, a small fist had connected with his nose.
"Hmph! You can't hurt me with those small arms and legs..." he scoffed.
Click! The only sound was the snapping of his nasal bridge.
Chaton flew out again, creating yet another hole in the ground. However, this crater was relatively shallow, showing that Marie's raw strength was significantly less than Licky's.
However, Chaton grabbed his nose and screamed.
"It hurts! It hurts! My nose is broken! Damn brat, I didn't expect you to have awakened both forms of Haki at such a young age! Not only did you see through my movements, but you even succeeded in wounding me! I'm furious! You're dead!"
In response to Chaton's angry outcry, Marie remained expressionless.
In reality, Marie silently sighed in relief. She lowered her head to look at her sweat-soaked inner garment, where a colorful pattern had been drawn.
This was her self-psychological suggestion!
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