A few minutes later, in a desert outside Alabasta.
Kuro has slowly turned back into human form, with only a snow-white tail swaying restlessly behind him. The blade at the tip of the tail reflects the moonlight, making it look even more eerie.
Combined with Kuro's almost ferocious smile at the moment, it adds a sense of evil.
"Super fast speed, controlling the airflow within a few meters around me, and..."
He looked at Gawain in the distance and instantly transformed into beast form and charged towards Gawain!
Swoosh!
Guanze Masamune was unsheathed, and the sharp blade swept across Kuro's body, but there was no sense of hitting a solid object.
Gawain looked at Guanze Masamune, then turned to look at Kuro, who had stopped in the distance, and said in surprise: "Elementalization?"
"No!"
Kuro shook his head: "It's an elemental ability."
"When the Sickle Weasel moves at high speed, it will transform into an invisible whirlwind."
Behind Kuro, the snow-white tail fluttered lightly with the airflow surging around him.
The invisible wind pressure blew away the sand and dust around, and in just a few seconds, a cloud of dust was raised.
He raised his head to look at Gawain and once again showed the eager look he had shown before: "The Sickle Weasel Fruit is perfectly compatible with my fighting style, and my speed has been pushed to a level far beyond what it once was."
"I really want to try and see how big the gap is between you and me."
Between his words, Kuro couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick his lips.
He was the first cadre on the ship to follow Gawain, and he also witnessed Gawain's almost inhuman growth rate along the way.
Especially after witnessing Gawain learn the Pussyfoot Maneuver and Six Styles, Kuro became more convinced that the man standing in front of him at this moment had a talent beyond his imagination.
He knew better, at least in the East Blue, the gap between Gawain and him had not reached the point where it was now, with no end in sight.
It also could not give him the feeling he had now of being completely powerless to fight back.
Originally, Kuro had given up on catching up with Gawain, but the appearance of the Sickle Weasel Fruit brought him new hope.
The first time he saw the Sickle Weasel Fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, he was sure that this was the devil fruit that suited him best and was made for him.
Invisible, all-cutting whirlwind.
How similar was it to him launching the Pussyfoot Maneuver, attacking everything around him indiscriminately?
Although he was able to freely control the direction of the Pussyfoot Maneuver after awakening his Observation Haki, the oppressive feeling that once frightened people was gone.
Fortunately, with the Sickle Weasel Fruit in hand, everything will be solved.
When thinking of this, Kuro's fingers were shaking.
The tail behind him and the surging air currents around him all spoke of the fighting spirit rising in his heart that was almost impossible to conceal.
The distance between them finally began to narrow!
At this moment, Kuro was so sure of this that he couldn't help but start to fantasize in his heart. Would he really be able to surpass the man in front of him?
There will be a day like that, right?!
Definitely!
Swish!
Gawain swung his sword and shattered the wind blade that flew in front of him. Then he looked up at Kuro and smiled: "Let's make it clear first."
"The loser should not cry!"
"Stop joking!"
When Kuro's slightly helpless voice fell, he had already transformed into a beast form and attacked Gawain.
Ding!
Guanze Masamune and the blade on Sickle Weasel's arm collided in mid-air.
The dissipated force poured toward the ground so that the ground beneath the two men's feet collapsed by nearly one meter at this moment.
Dust was raised, obscuring the figures of the two men.
The next moment.
A pure white figure flew backward from the smoke and dust.
Swish!
Kuro dug his claws into the soil and slid for nearly a hundred meters before he managed to stabilize his body.
His arms couldn't help shaking from pain, but his eyes looked exceptionally bright under the moonlight: "What a powerful force!"
"But if it's just this level, it won't take long for me to catch up with you!"
"Powerful?"
Gawain slowly walked out of the smoke and looked at Kuro with his head tilted: "This level is far from being considered powerful, and it can't be compared with Golden Lion or Kizaru, those monsters that stand on their own."
"Whether you or I, there is still an indescribable distance between us and them."
"I..."
Gawain once again thought of his speculation about the red dragon fruit.
This feeling of not being in control of his own destiny and being led by someone or even some kind of will make him feel uncomfortable instinctively.
The only way to break all this is to make himself strong.
Strong enough to break free of all restraints and defeat all enemies. By then, all the plots and calculations would be nothing!
Gawain firmly believed in this, and he believed that he could do it.
"I'm still too weak."
"Weak?!"
The corner of Kuro's mouth twitched: "You really don't know how to be tactful when you speak."
Between his words, Kuro's body changed again.
The sharp blade on his back faded, while the blade on his arm became more slender. Invisible air currents surged on his feet, and his whole body became translucent.
The hair all over his body fluttered in the surging air flow, and combined with Kuro's slightly red eyes, he looked even more evil.
"Human-Beast Form?"
Gawain stood in the distance, quietly watching Kuro's changes.
The three most basic forms of Zoan-type users.
That is, the human form is mainly their real form, human, the beast form, which is mainly an entirely animal appearance, and the one that has the advantages of both forms, which is also the strongest, the human-best form.
In addition to this, there are also special forms developed by the users themselves, such as Gawain's Demon Form and Chopper's seven-stage transformation based on the Rumble Ball.
Thinking back to the increasing number of Zoan-type users in the team, Gawain couldn't help but start to wonder if the Demon Form had the potential to become popular.
Pity, this idea only appeared in his mind for a moment before he gave it up. It was not because Gawain was unwilling but because the conditions were too harsh.
In order to replicate the Demon Form, one needs to have 100% control over the body like him.
Even the Life Return, which claims to perfectly control every cell in the body, cannot do this.
But this also opened up new ideas for Gawain.
Kuro's fighting style is more dependent on speed. Suppose the Demon Form cannot be achieved. In that case, sacrificing part of the Human-Beast Form in exchange for something similar to the Life Return Paper Art Fighting Form to gain extraordinary speed is undoubtedly a more suitable fighting form for Kuro.
Even with the help of the Rumble Ball, it may be possible to achieve the same effect as the Demon Form!
Thinking of this, Gawain couldn't help but remind him: "You can try to learn all Six Styles and develop abilities similar to Lucci's Life Return Paper Art Fighting Form."
"That fits in perfectly with your fighting style."
"Life Return Paper Art Fighting Form?"
Kuro was stunned for a moment, secretly taking note of Gawain's words, and then focused his attention on the opponent in front of him: "I understand."
"But now, let me see how strong you are!"
"Gawain... Use all your strength!"
"Are you sure?!"
Gawain swung the long sword in his hand and looked at Kuro with a more serious look: "You might die."