Chapter 68: Mysterious Power
'Ugh, fuck that hurt; been a while since I've been in this much pain.' Mused Diddy while embedded a few feet into the ground as he looked toward the night sky where he was previously fighting.
Grabbing the edges of the small hole my body made, I pulled myself out and brushed all the dirt off my fur before I looked back into the sky, spotting Mini heading right for me. Clutching Naga-sa, I leaped right into the air and headed directly for him with renewed vigor while curious about that ability he had used.
'That wasn't a devil fruit ability as he hasn't eaten one, so what else could it be?' Pondered Diddy as he wiped the blood leaking from his mouth and lunged toward Mini.
Seeing as vice-admirals, or at least Mini specifically, seemed to be much stronger than rear-admirals, I stopped holding back and began freely utilizing the 72-bian, which I've modified so I could use it with my bo staff, though I wouldn't say I've mastered it just yet.
Using my incredible flexibility and agility, I evaded Mini's fist that was close to hitting my head and counterattacked by kicking toward his head, which he blocked with his arm just in time, yet I merely brought my foot back an inch before attacking once more.
'72 Bian, variation 32: Modified One-Inch Punch.' Thought Diddy with a grin as he again kicked toward Mini, and despite the short distance, his leg carried even more power than the previous attack.
Flinging Mini a short distance away, I lunged right after him as I brought my bo-staff back before violently swinging down toward him; though with the use of his tekkai and coating his arms in that weird power, he put his arms overhead, blocking my attack. Though I wasn't finished, this was merely the start of a sequence of deadly attacks.
'72 Bian, variation 22: Wild Strikes.' Thought Diddy as he retracted his bo-staff and swiftly attacked again, forcing Mini to stay on the defensive.
I wildly swung my bo-staff at Mini, and even though he blocked every attack, with each unsuccessful attack, my next attack would be stronger, and it would continue to get stronger until I landed a solid hit or my body couldn't withstand the strain anymore; however, I didn't need to worry about the second option happening, after all these years of nonstop training, my body is capable of enduring a lot, not to mention it didn't seem like Mini could last any longer.
I retracted Naga-sa for the twentieth time while my right arm, which was holding the bo-staff, was roughly fifty percent larger than usual as the muscles lined my arm constantly twitched from the sheer amount of power stored inside them. Without giving any time for Mini to evade, I powerfully swung Naga-sa down right at him with speed and strength I usually can't achieve; the instant my staff hit his arms, I broke right through his defense and slammed my bo-staff onto his face, sending him crashing toward the ground below.
"Haha, come one, Mini; don't tell me this is all you've got; I'm just getting started!" Yelled Diddy eagerly with a feral grin as he clutched Naga-sa with his arm, which had returned to normal, while looking down towards Mini.
"Tch, you're a rather strong pirate, too strong for the South Blue; someone of your caliber should be sailing within Paradise." Said Mini as he speedily shot himself out of the forest and right toward Diddy, coating his arms in that mysterious power.
"Hehe, don't worry; after I have my fun in Centaurea, I'll leave and head straight for the Grandline. It's starting to get boring; after all, besides Freyja and Sebas, you're the only one I've met who can force me to get somewhat serious." Replied Diddy with a smirk while lunging toward the incoming Mini as he holstered Naga-sa to his back.
"Somewhat serious?" Muttered Mini with a frown as he and Diddy punched each other, Mini's fist overpowering his after a second of struggle.
"I hope you didn't think I was going all out; I still have a reservoir of abilities at my disposal." Remarked Diddy with a grin despite the pain as he pointed toward the night sky while electricity danced around his body.
"How could I forget? You're a Mink, after all." Commented Mini as he glanced at the moon, which, luckily for him, was only a half-moon.
Despite the intense pain, I continued trading blows with Mini as he continuously pushed me back, but that was fine by me; after all, I learned the best when cornered, though I wouldn't call this backed into a corner as I could easily get out of this. However, the main reason I was doing this was so I could better learn what that mysterious power was, since if it wasn't a devil fruit ability, it may be some special kind of martial art or something else, I don't know; all I knew was I wanted to have it, as it was rather powerful.
The longer this battle dragged on, the more insights I'd gain into Mini's mysterious power, though it seemed like everything was about to get even more fun as I sensed another powerful presence heading right toward us.
"Hehe, is there another vice-admiral on this island I don't know about?" Asked Diddy while smiling as he blocked a few of Mini's punches, his arms nearly cracking under the powerful assault despite Mini's small stature.
"Why do you ask?" Replied Mini as he evaded a few of Diddy's punches before blocking one of his kicks with ease, thanks to the mysterious power coating his arms.
"Because I can sense someone very powerful heading right for us." Said Diddy as he and Mini punched each other in the face, though since Mini covered his face in that mysterious power at the last second, he received minimal damage while Diddy spat blood.
"Somone powerful? Dammit, it's Lindbergh." Muttered Mini with an ugly expression as he looked at Diddy, who connected his jaw back into the socket.
"Hmm, Lindbergh? I think I've heard that name from somewhere; didn't Freyja mention that name before?" Said Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he redirected Mini's flurry of punches while looking east, spotting someone flying toward them at impressive speeds.
'Am I seeing things correctly? Is that a jetpack?' Thought Diddy with a raised eyebrow while looking at the approaching man.
Seeing the man near the two of us, I pushed Mini off me by punching him in the stomach and eyed this Lindbergh fellow as I could tell; although he didn't look like me, he and I came from the same group of people.
'I think our species is called Minks; eh, much cooler than being called a human.' Mused Diddy as he and Lindbergh eyed each other while Mini stood at a distance, looking at the two warily.
"You must be Diddy D. Kong; quite a rare sight to spot a fellow mink outside of Zou." Said Lindbergh as he observed Diddy through his goggles, taking into account his monkey-like features.
"I suppose you should be Lindbergh; you look more like a cat than a monkey; it seems like Minks come in various variations. Aso, what's Zou?" Stated Diddy as he looked at Lindbergh's cat-like characteristics, specifically his whiskers, though Diddy's words did surprise him.
"You don't know about Zou? How can a Mink not know about Zou? That is our home, the island of Minks." Questioned Lindbergh as he stared at Diddy, curious to see if he was lying, though he spotted no falsehood in his expression.
"If I knew about Zou, I wouldn't be asking you that question, would I? Now hurry up with your questions; if you don't intend to join the fight, just leave. I was enjoying myself." Remarked Diddy dryly as he glanced at Mini, beginning to lose interest in Lindbergh's presence.
"Well, when I realized a fellow Mink was on Centaurea, which so happened to be you, I figured I should assist you in fighting against vice-admiral Mini since I knew he would hunt you down; after all, you've caused quite a stir by raiding Briss Kingdom. Though it seems like my presence isn't really needed, it seems like you've got everything under control." Stated Lindbergh as he watched Diddy lunge toward Mini and engage in another round of battle.
"Though, I suppose, helping won't hurt; vice-admirals are tough cookies to crack. Besides, I want to test out my new baby." Added Lindbergh as he grabbed a weird-looking gun attached to his jetpack with a hose from his back and pointed it at Mini.
As I fought Mini, I noticed he stayed primarily on the defense while occasionally looking at Lindbergh, which caused me to groan in annoyance as it wasn't fun fighting like this.
"Tch, what happened to you, Mini? Why are you acting so scared? Fight me!" Questioned Diddy as he grabbed Mini by the arms and headbutted him while using tekkai before kicking him in the chest, flinging him a good distance away.
However, just as I did that, a stream of pressurized water from my left shot directly toward Mini, though as he was rather vigilant, he didn't get caught off guard, but if anything, it greatly angered me. Snapping my head to my left, I spotted Lindbergh holding what I presumed was the weapon that fired the stream of water, and without giving him any warning, I launched toward him.
Nearing him, I brandished my nails and sliced down toward his weapon. However, he obviously spotted me, and just before my attack connected, I sensed his weapon get coated in that mysterious power, though, unlike Mini, his gun took on a black hue.
"Unless you're fighting me, don't interfere!" Yelled Diddy in anger as he eyed Lindbergh, who was giving him confused looks.