Dragon slowly raised his hand, and a miniature tornado formed in his palm, spinning violently. Opposite him, Aramaki sneered, and all ten of his fingers transformed into vine-like tendrils that writhed with restrained aggression.
Seeing this, the newer students on the training field instinctively moved closer to where Lloyd was standing. Only after approaching did they realize that several senior officers had already taken position there.
There was no helping it.
Just Lloyd, Kizaru, and Akainu standing together created an overwhelming sense of security. Their mere presence felt like an unshakable wall.
With figures like that overseeing the scene, the students finally relaxed and began to watch without fear. After all, battles between Logia users were rare, and every clash carried an awe-inspiring scale.
With the senior officers present, hushed discussions quickly spread among the crowd.
"Hey, is that Dragon? I have not seen him since training started."
"He was recovering from injuries, right? Did you forget how badly Senior Lloyd beat him that day?"
"It was his own fault for running his mouth. I heard on the day he enlisted, he acted like a rookie and started lecturing Senior Lloyd."
"Well, he is a Logia user, and Vice Admiral Garp's son. Of course he thinks he is special."
"Tch, what is so impressive about that? Senior Lloyd is also a Logia user. Defeating three Logia users at once, that is why he is my idol."
"Exactly. Look at Senior Lloyd, so calm and composed. I really admire him."
"Hey, wipe your drool. You are a guy, stop acting like a lovesick fool."
"..."
As the Wind-Wind Fruit user, Dragon's perception was incredibly sharp. The murmurs carried by the wind reached his ears one after another, and his expression darkened even further.
Aramaki, on the other hand, had been subtly observing Lloyd from the start. After confirming that Lloyd had no intention of stepping in, he casually picked his nose and flicked a small black booger toward Dragon.
The object passed straight through Dragon's body and landed near his feet. Even though it never touched him, Dragon's face twisted in visible disgust.
"You are truly revolting," Dragon said coldly.
Without hesitation, he hurled the tornado in his hand toward Aramaki. In response, Aramaki caused a dandelion-like plant to bloom from his back and let the wind carry him upward, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Dragon transformed into wind and pursued him, but suddenly the ground beneath cracked open. A massive man-eating flower burst from the earth, its enormous mouth opening wide to reveal rows of pitch-black teeth.
Dragon's expression changed instantly.
"What? The one from earlier?"
Poof!
The man-eating flower snapped shut, swallowing Dragon whole. Watching from above, Aramaki burst into laughter.
"Well? How does it feel to be trapped inside a booger's mouth?"
As a plant-based Logia user, even the booger he had flicked could serve as a seed. It was a seed reinforced with Armament Haki.
"You bastard!"
Dragon's furious roar erupted from inside the flower. In the next moment, the plant exploded violently. A hurricane surged skyward, releasing countless wind blades. Aramaki's body was instantly sliced into multiple pieces.
However, dense branches rapidly sprouted from each fragment. They reconnected in seconds, reforming Aramaki's body completely. He crossed his arms and sneered.
"That kind of attack is useless against me. Wind has no physical form, and with your level of Armament Haki, you cannot coat something that has no substance."
Dragon stared at him coldly.
"So what?"
"Heh. Then try this," Aramaki said with a grin. "Forbidden Grudge Forest Kill!"
He spread his arms, his body transforming into two massive tree trunks. From their tops, countless wooden thorns erupted, each tip gleaming with deep black Armament Haki.
The thorns grew wildly, surging toward Dragon from every direction. The sheer scale of the attack sealed off all possible escape routes.
Dragon narrowed his eyes as air currents condensed around him, forming a spherical shield of compressed wind.
"Wind Barrier!"
The incoming thorns shattered instantly upon contact, twisted into fragments by the violent airflow. However, there were simply too many. The barrier flickered violently before finally dispersing with a dull burst.
Fortunately, Aramaki's attack had reached its limit as well.
Dragon shouted and released a spiraling hurricane, shredding the remaining thorns before charging straight at Aramaki.
Aramaki raised his thick eyebrows and entered his tree-man form, colliding head-on with Dragon.
Having once served in CP0, Aramaki's close-combat skills were far from weak. Still, Dragon had received direct guidance from Garp himself. At first, the exchange was evenly matched, but as time passed, Aramaki began to show clear signs of strain.
In close combat, Dragon's martial arts strikes were coated in Haki and carried the cutting force of wind. Aramaki, however, struggled. Once the distance closed, his Devil Fruit abilities could only produce vines and wooden spikes, and without sufficient Haki reinforcement, they were easily shredded.
Aramaki's Armament Haki had not yet reached a level he could use freely. As he struggled to defend, Dragon seized an opening and struck with Dragon Claw, sending Aramaki crashing down from the air.
Bang!
Aramaki smashed into the ground, creating a massive crater. Dragon followed closely, raising his hands to condense a dense sphere of compressed wind before hurling it downward.
The wind mass detonated within the crater, unleashing a violent underground storm that pulverized everything beneath the surface.
A single seed drifted out of the pit. Upon touching the ground, it immediately sprouted. Vines rapidly intertwined, reconstructing Aramaki's body once more.
Aramaki looked unsteady now, lying on the ground and gasping for breath. From a distance, Aokiji shouted anxiously.
"Aramaki, stop fighting. If you keep going, you will seriously get hurt."
Aramaki instinctively turned, ready to snap back, but when he saw the worry on Aokiji's face, he froze. After a moment, he stood up and muttered,
"Tch. Like I need you, you blockhead, interfering."
He lifted his gaze toward Dragon, who was slowly descending from the air, and muttered under his breath,
"I will not let you look down on me. Forbidden Grudge Forest!"
Aramaki transformed directly into a colossal tree-man, advancing with a sea of towering trees behind him. Dragon answered by summoning a roaring hurricane, the two forces colliding violently.
In truth, the gap between their strengths was not overwhelming. On the ground, Aramaki's advantage became more apparent. Dragon found it far more difficult than when they fought in the air.
It was clear that Dragon could not defeat Aramaki quickly. During the prolonged clash, Aramaki continued to hurl verbal insults. Dragon remained silent, his confidence unshaken. He knew that the more Aramaki talked, the harder he would fall in the end.
Eventually, Aramaki could no longer sustain his form. The giant tree-man body collapsed inward.
Dragon, still in better condition, allowed himself a brief smile of victory. He activated his finishing move, Dragon Hook Claw, and lunged toward Aramaki.
At that moment, Aramaki had reached his absolute limit. Once this attack landed, the battle would be decided.
Just as Dragon was about to savor victory, a dark vortex suddenly appeared beside him.
Lloyd finally moved.
Snap.
Dragon's wrist was seized firmly. Sweat drenched his body as Lloyd's calm voice reached his ears.
"That is enough."
Poof!