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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 143: The Second Step of the Plan
"Did the Oni Spider encounter trouble?"
At Naval Headquarters, Akainu's expression darkened upon hearing this news.
"That's right. The Demon Spider Vice Admiral ran into a Sea King attack on his way. He sent his subordinate, Major General Komir, to Savinth Island to meet him, but he never arrived. Afterward, they went out to search and found a few survivors. According to their accounts, a Sea King attacked the battleship."
A Green-Haired Man dressed in Navy uniform stood there explaining.
Akainu furrowed his brows and asked, "One Sea King? Even the Sea Kings from the Doldrums shouldn't be able to harm the Oni Spider, right?"
The Green-Haired Man shook his head. "According to the Sea King that was struck multiple times by the Demon Spider Vice Admiral, its dorsal fin was severed, yet it still launched an attack. Moreover, it had tentacles. Based on their description, there is one creature that matches."
Akainu inquired, "What description?"
The Green-Haired Man replied, "A giant beast that appeared alongside Nico Robin, which was seen in Alabasta."
"Nico Robin? The Demon Child?"
Akainu snorted and asked, "Are you sure?"
"The massive first dorsal fin, the horns, and the tentacles—these features align closely."
The Green-Haired Man handed over a photograph. "Although there are few characteristics, aside from that giant beast, there are no other similar creatures, especially with those tentacles."
"Then investigate and rule out coincidence."
Akainu glanced at the photo and said, "Demon Spider Vice Admiral died during transport, considered a line-of-duty death. Make arrangements for his family and prepare for his funeral. I will attend."
"Understood."
The Green-Haired Man received the order and immediately left.
...
"Five hours, still no word? The Demon Spider Vice Admiral died that night."
On the deserted island, Bola hid in the trees, looking somewhat anxious.
R0 had been gone for five hours, yet there was still no sign of him.
Earlier, Bola had called Vivi and learned that the Demon Spider Vice Admiral had died three nights ago. The Navy had already issued an obituary, marking it as a line-of-duty death.
Why hadn't R0 returned yet?
If the Demon Spider Vice Admiral had not died, it would have been fine. But now that he was dead and R0 was still missing, it made Bola uneasy.
Could something have gone wrong?
Bola felt a sense of dread in his heart, hoping he would return safely. Their fates were intertwined; they either thrived together or suffered together.
"The fuel can only support one return trip. If they don't come back by tomorrow, we'll have to let the submarine head back to refuel," Bola thought helplessly.
Bola picked up the receiver, just about to dial a number.
Boom, boom.
At that moment, a loud noise came from the distance. She hurried outside and immediately saw a massive creature approaching nearby.
"R0."
Seeing the figure, Bola rushed forward, relieved to see that it was unharmed. "You’re back."
"Mm." Xiaqiu nodded calmly.
Bola curiously asked, "I noticed you didn't return yesterday. I called Vivi, and she said that Demon Spider Vice Admiral is dead. So what happened these past few days…"
Xiaqiu glanced at her and replied, "I went to another place to take care of some matters."
He had been gone for so long just to heal his injuries. He had broken two legs, suffered severe damage to his back, had his dorsal fin severed, and experienced muscle tears along with significant damage to his bone plates and scales.
Thus, he needed to consume Sea Beasts to recover.
The healing of his scales, muscles, and bone plates was quite rapid; the first had already healed.
However, the regeneration of his dorsal fin, tentacles, and legs was much slower. Eight of his tentacles were severed, leaving about a third remaining. Four-fifths of his dorsal fin was gone, and the two legs in the middle were severed at the knee and required extensive regeneration.
The regenerated limbs were actually a part of the enhanced body, requiring a significant amount of energy. Therefore, Xiaqiu spent four times the effort to return to his original state.
Bola looked at Xiaqiu and asked, "So when are we leaving?"
"Right now," Xiaqiu replied directly. His purpose had been fulfilled, and it was time to return; there were still many things to do.
"Alright."
Bola immediately had everyone return to the submarine. As the submarine descended, Xiaqiu left with them.
...
"Did you really kill a Vice Admiral?"
A few days later, on the deserted island, Vivi looked at Xiaqiu with a hint of surprise. "When I received the news, I was quite shocked. I didn't expect you to actually succeed."
"Were you not thinking I would win from the beginning?" Xiaqiu turned to Vivi.
"After all, it's a Vice Admiral," Vivi said. "The strongest force under an Admiral, and with a massive Battleship under their command. Although a Devil Fruit User becomes powerless after falling into the water, sinking a Battleship is already quite difficult in my opinion."
"You are not wrong."
Xiaqiu nodded, realizing that the process of attacking the Battleship was actually the most dangerous part.
"There's one more thing," Vivi said with a smile. She took a piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and placed it in front of Xiaqiu. "Your bounty has increased to ninety million. Nico Robin's bounty has risen to one hundred and forty million."
"I can’t believe they recognized me," Xiaqiu replied, somewhat surprised. Even if there were survivors, they could only have seen a part of his image, and it astonished him that they could identify him from that.
Moreover, it also meant that Nico Robin's bounty had increased by twenty million, but it likely sent her a signal.
"It seems you can't show your face easily in public anymore," Vivi shrugged.
Xiaqiu scoffed, "It's just a bounty."
"Well, since everything is fine now," Vivi stood up and said, "I'll take my leave."
"Wait a moment." Xiaqiu looked at Vivi and said softly, "I hope to fight you once."
"Fight?" Vivi looked at Xiaqiu in surprise.
"That's right, the battle will take place on this island," Xiaqiu said.
"But you can't hit me."
Vivi shook her head. "I am a Natural Element User; you won't be able to touch me."
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing this, one of Xiaqiu's Tentacles suddenly shot out toward Vivi.
"No water? Then you can't hit me."
Facing the Tentacle, Vivi noticed there was no water above it and felt relieved. She extended her right hand, transforming it into a sand blade, and slashed forward.
The sand blade struck the Tentacle, but it remained unharmed. Not only that, the sand blade reverted back to her arm and was flung aside, causing her intense pain.
The Tentacle continued its advance and collided with Vivi's abdomen.
"Thud."
Vivi attempted to transform into sand but felt no change. The impact to her abdomen sent her flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground. As she tried to push herself up, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
After reinforcing his Tentacles, Xiaqiu's strength was immense; he could shatter even a rock with ease.
With Armament Haki attached, Vivi couldn't turn into sand to evade the attack. Although her body was stronger than an average person's, it was only at the level of a Billionaire. Even if Xiaqiu didn't use his full strength, she still couldn't withstand the blow.
"How is that possible?"
Vivi looked at Xiaoqiu in disbelief, blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth.
Without water, how could he possibly hurt himself?
Xiaoqiu stepped in front of Vivi, looking down at her and said, "The Natural System is not omnipotent. As long as one masters a certain special power, they can touch the essence of the Natural System."
"This..."
Vivi squinted her eyes. She was afraid of water; once she encountered it, she couldn't become solid. However, aside from that, she had always believed she had no weaknesses. In Alabasta, she was nearly invincible.
But now, he could so easily touch her and injure her.
Without her Devil Fruit Ability, she was incredibly weak. Even the Intermediate Agents and Senior Agents of Baroque Works could likely kill her.
Especially since she had been so focused on developing her Devil Fruit Ability that she neglected to further enhance her physical skills.
The ineffectiveness of her Devil Fruit Ability meant that she couldn't restrain him.
In other words, all their cooperation had been fundamentally unequal from the start.
So why had he allowed her to take the initiative over the past year?
And now, what was he planning to do?
Xiaqiu looked at her and said, "Your strength is still too weak. If you want to assist me in completing that plan, you must improve yourself."
"What do you want me to do?"
Vivi narrowed her eyes at Xiaqiu.
Xiaqiu replied, "I will send Cecilia to replace Heckler at the casino. She will train you and help you enhance your abilities."
"Is that all?"
Vivi looked at Xiaqiu, somewhat surprised that he had not made any additional demands and was actually planning to help her grow stronger.
Xiaqiu countered, "Isn't that what our agreement entails?"
"You're right about that."
Vivi paused for a moment, recalling their agreement. She was to help him complete a plan, and since he wanted to assist her in strengthening herself due to her current weakness, there was no issue with that.
He hadn't overstepped any boundaries of their agreement.
Xiaqiu continued, "So, I need you to become stronger."
"I... I will do as you say," Vivi hesitated for a moment before responding earnestly.
This was a good opportunity for her, and she had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, she found herself in a position of complete disadvantage.
The ability she had always considered a bargaining chip held no power over him; if he wished, he could end her life at any moment.
Vivi felt a growing fear towards Xiaqiu in her heart, hesitant to defy his words.
"Then you may go," Xiaqiu said softly.
"Understood."
Vivi turned and walked towards the door, clutching her stomach, a trace of blood still lingering at the corner of her mouth. She reached the door, opened it, and stepped outside.
At that moment, Xiaqiu spoke again, "Remember our agreement. I have not broken it, and I hope you will not either."
"I understand."
Vivi nodded. His self-inflicted injury seemed to reveal a desire to demonstrate his strength.
Yet he had not violated any agreement; he did not seize this opportunity to take what he wanted.
His act of harming himself might have been a way to remind himself to honor their pact.
The fact that he could kill her but chose instead to uphold their agreement only deepened Vivi's trust in his promise.
Thus, she too had to fulfill her part of the agreement and complete the pact between them.
"I'll take my leave now."
Vivi nodded and pushed the door open, stepping outside.
It was about time.
She had demonstrated her strength, making Vivi hesitant to resist her or do anything extra.
And she had also made it clear that she would continue according to their agreement.
The collaboration with the casino, the intelligence organization, and future plans would surely be managed better by her.
The casino was manageable; the profit-sharing was straightforward.
As for intelligence, she would likely not hesitate too much when it came to the information that she would need in the future.
Most importantly, that plan—if Vivi could become a bit stronger, she would become a tremendous asset.
Xiaqiu's goal was simply to complete the plan; she did not seek more than that.
Or perhaps, completing that plan would already make her strong enough.
As Xiaqiu pondered this, Bola pushed the door open and walked in, looking puzzled. "President, what happened to Vivi? Why is she injured? I asked her, but she didn't say much."
"I just gave her a lesson," Xiaqiu replied lightly.
"Did you hurt her?"
Bola was somewhat surprised. Vivi was a Natural Fruit; he could never overpower her. How did R0 manage to injure her?
"That's right," Xiaqiu nodded.
"This..." Bola couldn't understand how Xiaqiu had accomplished that.
"Don't worry about it," Xiaqiu said, looking at Bola with dissatisfaction. "Bola, your strength is a bit lacking."
"I'm sorry, President." Bola felt a bit anxious. R0 had killed quite a few people due to others' weaknesses; would he turn his attention to him?
Xiaqiu snorted and said, "But you've been with me for such a long time. You may not have made any contributions, but you've certainly put in the effort. After a while, I will help you improve your strength."
"Improve my strength?"
Upon hearing this, Bola felt relieved, replaced by inner joy. He then asked, "You will help me improve my strength?"
"Of course."
Xiaqiu replied, "However, it will require some preparation time, and you'll need to cooperate when the time comes."
"I will do my best," Bola said eagerly.
Xiaqiu nodded and walked away, heading into the ocean.
Mastering Haki was just the first step in my plan.
Next, I would move on to the second step: acquiring the Six Styles.
The Six Styles is a unique martial technique. Soru allows for acceleration, Moon Step enables walking on air, Iron Body increases defense, Finger Gun enhances attack power, Storm Leg can create Wave Slash, and Paper Drawing improves evasion.
My physical condition is already sufficient to learn the Six Styles. While I may not necessarily master it, if I do succeed, it will be incredibly useful.
Among these techniques, Iron Body is less relevant for me. With my Armament Haki, I don't need Iron Body, and the enemies I face are not ones that can be dealt with using Iron Body alone.
Paper Drawing isn't particularly useful either; my large size makes it difficult to evade attacks using that technique.
As for Finger Gun, it's a skill that concentrates power in the fingers. However, I don't have fingers. Yet in p9, Ominous demonstrated the ability to use Finger Gun with his fists.
Could I possibly achieve something similar using my head?
Then there's Storm Leg. With my six legs, if I could execute Storm Leg, its effectiveness would be significant.
Soru and Moon Step are even more self-explanatory in their benefits.
If I could master Soru, my movement speed would increase dramatically. Moon Step would allow me to walk through the air.
These two abilities are what Xiaqiu desires most; I just don't know if I can learn them.
But aside from the Six Styles, Xiaqiu also seeks another ability.
Life Restoration.
As long as one infuses their consciousness into their body, hair, and internal organs, they can control them freely.
For example, P9's Lion can effortlessly manipulate his own hair.
Similarly, the Oni Spider can use her hair to grip a longsword, even twisting it like an arm.
Xiaqiu's goal is to control her own Tentacles with ease.
Her Tentacles cannot perform overly delicate movements; they can only rely on muscle contractions for actions such as extending, striking, retracting, and writhing.
After launching an attack, she can at most contract her muscles to wrap her Tentacles around an enemy.
She cannot control her Tentacles for a second full-force attack or manipulate them at will.
As she strengthens herself, her Tentacles become tougher and more powerful.
However, the lack of sensitivity in control makes them a burden with no real utility.
Once she acquires Life Restoration, she will be able to control her Tentacles to perform extremely precise movements. Combined with Armament Haki, her combat power will be formidable.
With the addition of Moon Step and Shave, Xiaqiu's methods of attack will increase, enhancing her mobility and compensating for her weaknesses.
At that point, if her Haki is sufficient, she will be able to contend with a Vice Admiral on land.
Not only that, but the Six Styles can also arm their subordinates, helping them enhance their abilities.
Therefore, for the Six Styles, the Xiaqiu Chronicles is a must-have.
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