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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight: The Land Rover
"Run, get out of here first."
Marcel dashed through the alleyways, heading towards the port.
He was furious that Buggy had killed his crew members and wanted to avenge them, but he felt powerless.
A bounty of fifteen million was only five million less than Arlong's, making it difficult for him to handle.
It was important to remember that before setting sail, he had still held great respect for Arlong. Even when Nami set out to sea, his strength was already comparable to Arlong's.
But at that time, he could be suppressed by just two swords.
Thus, Marcel had always avoided fighting pirates with bounties exceeding ten million. The strongest pirate crew he had faced had a captain with a bounty of only eight hundred thousand.
Aside from that, he was alone; two fists were no match for four hands. In the past, he would have had crew members to assist him, but now he was on his own, making victory difficult.
If only he could return and gather more people, hiring strong fighters through the Shining Gold Consortium before finally seeking revenge.
Therefore, Marcel chose to flee.
He ran towards the distance, planning to look for a ship and see if there was any chance to leave this place.
He sprinted down the path quickly and soon entered a street.
Thud, thud.
At that moment, a voice suddenly echoed from above, and then Marcel was overshadowed by a figure.
Whoosh.
Marcel leaped forward, and in the next instant, with a loud bang, a figure landed where Marcel had just been.
It was a young man riding a unicycle, holding a knife in his right hand, his hair hanging down to cover half of his face.
This person seemed to be one of Buggy's two main subordinates, named Kabaji.
"You can't escape."
Kabaji sneered, pointing his long knife at Marcel. "I'm going to kill you now and take you back."
"Is that so?"
Marcel gripped his own knife tightly, staring intently at his opponent; he wasn't about to sit back and wait for his fate.
Buggy's subordinates were certainly not weak, but he wasn't without a chance either.
Whoosh.
Kabaji rode swiftly on his unicycle towards Marcel, but was quickly caught off guard as Marcel seized his form, gripping his sword and striking down at Kabaji.
The long blade transformed into a streak of cold light, slicing towards Kabaji's neck.
"That was fast."
Kabaji was somewhat surprised by the speed of Marcel's attack and hurriedly raised his long sword to block in front of him.
Clang.
A crisp sound echoed as Marcel's sword was deflected, but Kabaji's weapon also sank slightly under the force.
"He's quite strong."
Kabaji realized that his opponent possessed greater strength than he did. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly leaned forward and exhaled sharply.
Boom.
A burst of flames shot out, aimed directly at Marcel.
A circus act? Breathing fire.
What was this?
Flames surged toward him, reaching Marcel in an instant. He immediately leaped back, raising his left hand to shield himself.
It hurt.
Marcel's arm was scorched by the flames, sending a sharp pain coursing through him, but he remained vigilant, wary of Kabaji's potential ambush.
At that moment, a flurry of spinning tops suddenly shot out from behind the flames.
These tops whirled toward Marcel, launching an attack.
Kamikaze Beyblade Theater.
"So many."
Marcel couldn't afford to be careless. He raised the long blade in his hand and swung it down.
Bang.
The top collided with the blade, producing a sound like metal striking metal. The top was sent flying, but Marcel's sword was also knocked back.
"Storm Sword Technique."
Marcel's right-hand blade transformed into a whirlwind of sword energy, sweeping toward the spinning tops and knocking them down one by one.
But at that moment, Kabaji had already appeared above him.
First, he used the acrobatic move "Mountain Climbing" to scale the wall, then leaped into the air with the technique "Summer Fireworks."
Finally, it was the Wheel of Death.
Kabaji gripped his sword and stabbed downwards towards Marcel.
In front of Marcel, there were several spinning tops.
Boom.
Kabaji's wheel came crashing down, smashing into the ground, and the blade in his hand was stained with a splash of blood.
But in the next moment, a shard of blade pierced through his abdomen.
Thud.
Kabaji fell to the ground, looking at Marcel with confusion as he asked, "Why?"
Why could he hurt himself? Why could he counterattack? Clearly, the spinning tops were restricting him; he should have been unable to care for himself.
"Because you are too despicable, only relying on tricks and not daring to engage in real combat."
Marcel was covered in wounds, with several thin cuts across his body and a streak of blood on his left arm.
These injuries were the result of Marcel enduring Kabaji's attacks. He paid no attention to the wounds, bracing himself against them before turning to evade and counterattack.
His strikes were nowhere near as swift as Eight's blade.
During this exchange, his left arm was grazed by a knife, but he managed to pierce his opponent's abdomen in return.
With a grunt, Marcel gripped his knife and struck, severing his opponent's neck and killing him instantly.
He then turned to flee, sprinting away into the distance.
Suddenly, a massive creature charged toward him—a gigantic lion with a rider atop its back.
"Run!"
Marcel knew that this lion was no ordinary beast; it was twice the size of a regular lion, capable of crushing bones with its jaws.
More importantly, he was injured and wielding a weapon that was not his preferred double-edged sword. He had no choice but to escape.
Marcel ran toward the distance, getting farther and farther away.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed a figure appearing in front of him.
The figure wore a straw hat and a red vest, with half-length denim shorts. They stood there, looking somewhat dazed.
"Run!"
Marcel shouted loudly upon seeing the person.
"Huh?"
The figure tilted their head, looking at Marcel, but their gaze quickly shifted to the distance where a massive lion was spotted. Their eyes widened in surprise. "So big."
"This place is dangerous, run!"
Marcel called out as he dashed past them, leaping ahead and continuing to run away.
He had expected the person to follow him, but after a few steps, he realized they were still standing there.
"What an idiot."
Marcel glanced back at the figure standing in the distance, feeling a bit anxious. The lion was already charging toward them, and it was extremely dangerous to remain there.
"I can't worry about him."
Marcel watched as the lion charged toward him, intending to flee. But after a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and turned back, grabbing the other person's hand. "Run with me."
Marcel held onto his companion's arm and began to sprint away.
But in the next moment, he noticed something strange: the other person's arm was stretching longer and longer, extending a full seven or eight meters.
"What is this?"
Marcel stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at the other person.
"It's just a lion; there's no need to run."
The boy flashed a bright smile, but the lion was already upon them. The man above the lion shouted loudly, "Riki, kill him."
The lion immediately raised its paw toward the boy.
"Heart!"
Marcel shouted, but the other remained unmoved.
In the next instant, Marcel felt the grip on his hand tightening more and more until it became impossible to hold on.
Boom.
The arm slipped away, transforming into a fleeting shadow before returning to its original form and then launching forward again.
"Rubber Pistol."
The lion's claw hovered beside the face of the Straw Hat Boy, but it was powerless to advance even an inch.
Boom.
The lion was struck by the Straw Hat Boy's fist and flew backward, crashing into the distance and falling unconscious.
"It’s over now," the Straw Hat Boy said with a smile, his white teeth reflecting bright light in the sunlight.
"Are you a Devil Fruit User?" Marcel asked, dazed.
In the East Blue, Devil Fruit Users are extremely rare, and their recognition is among the lowest in the Four Seas. Even in Loguetown, which is a necessary stop on the way to the Grand Line, many people regard Devil Fruit Users as monsters.
But Marcel was different; he had traveled far and wide, having been to countless places and seen things beyond imagination. Moreover, he had heard many stories about the Grand Line.
"That's right, I'm a Rubber Man with the power of the Rubber Fruit. My name is Luffy," the Straw Hat Boy explained with a smile.
"I see."
Marcel let out a breath, then realized, "We should hurry. Buggy is coming after us with his crew."
The opponent was strong, but he couldn't fight right now, and it was uncertain whether they could defeat Buggy. It was better to leave for the time being.
"Buggy Pirates?"
Luffy tilted his head, asking with curiosity.
"That's correct."
Marcel replied, "Captain Buggy has a bounty of fifteen million. He's quite powerful. Moreover, he's ruthless and extremely vicious. If he finds out you took down one of his crew members, he definitely won't let you off easily."
"Is that so?"
Luffy looked at Marcel with curiosity and asked, "So what’s your connection to them?"
"They killed my crew and captured me for ransom," Marcel said. "But I managed to escape."
Luffy asked with interest, "Are you the captain?"
"That's right," Marcel said, looking at the other person. "This isn't the time for this; we have to leave now."
But as soon as he finished speaking, Marcel let out a groan, suddenly clutching his stomach and collapsing to the ground.
"Huh?"
Luffy was taken aback, glancing at Marcel's abdomen, where a hand was gripping a knife that had pierced him.
"What is this?"
Luffy was confused and reached for the hand, but it flew back.
Thud.
The hand found its owner, a blue-haired man in a cloak standing in the distance, flanked by many others. He grinned menacingly and said, "To defeat my subordinates, you must be quite impressive, but this is where it ends."
"That's Buggy."
Marcel gritted his teeth and said, "I can't escape now, but I advise you to leave quickly. I'll take care of them myself."
"Is that Buggy?"
Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. "What a big red nose!"
As his words fell, the surrounding air suddenly fell silent.
It was over.
Marcel covered his eyes; Buggy hated his nose the most. Whenever he thought about it, he would become incredibly angry.
Now Buggy definitely wouldn't let Luffy off the hook.
"You’re asking for death."
Facing Luffy's words, Buggy launched an immediate attack.
...
"Whoosh."
Cecilia's figure suddenly vanished, only to reappear in the distance.
"Is that Soru?"
Xiaqiu asked in a daze as he witnessed the scene.
"Exactly."
Cecilia said, "But for now, I can only achieve this in my Half-Orc state, and the speed increase is limited."
At that moment, Cecilia transformed into an Ostrichman, her legs becoming powerful ostrich legs. In this state, her speed was only slightly slower than Califa's shave.
In this form, she could barely execute the shave; the main issue was that she couldn't balance the frequency of her steps. The coordination between her feet was not very good, leading to a significant loss of power that couldn't be accumulated.
However, in her Half-Orc state, there were still drawbacks, but with her much greater strength, even with a substantial loss, she could still gather enough power.
Unfortunately, the speed increase was minimal—only about fifteen percent—so it wasn't much faster than running directly.
This was due to the significant loss of power, relying solely on the remaining strength for accumulation.
Of course, if Cecilia could achieve balance and reduce the power loss, then her speed in her normal state would surpass that of her Half-Orc state.
In the Half-Orc state, the shave could at least increase by sixty to eighty percent.
Achieving a hundred percent increase was difficult because of her own resistance and the characteristics of the Six Styles technique. The frequency of her steps was limited, which restricted accumulation. If the accumulated power became too strong, the reaction force would suppress it, causing her to expend more energy instead.
Thus, while she could reduce the frequency of her steps, breaking through that limit felt somewhat unattainable.
Nevertheless, this speed was already terrifying. At that point, when fighting Califa again, even without beast transformation, she would have a chance to win.
"Even so, that's quite impressive."
Xiaqiu sighed, "What you lack now is just adjustment and continued training. I estimate that in less than half a month, you'll be able to master this move."
She had only taken seven days to achieve this, and although it was a simplified version of the technique, it was undeniable that by the latest in fifteen days, she would likely have it fully mastered.
She was naturally skilled with her legs, a master of kicking techniques, and it was not surprising that she could accomplish this with her serious training.
But what about herself?
Currently, she had barely managed to time her execution at 0.08 seconds, which was still far from the target of 0.06 seconds; the difference was significant.
There was still room for improvement, but she was already nearing her limit.
The pressure of shortening time stemmed from the strength and robustness of her legs. The resistance she faced now largely came from the fact that her legs did not possess enough power.
Xiaqiu could enhance her abilities through proper nutrition; at the very least, she needed to reach the level of a Vice Admiral.
"Have there been any sightings of Blackbeard's Pirate Crew?"
Xiaqiu curiously looked at Vivi, who was beside Cecilia.
Cecilia had not set off yet; today she had called Vivi over so that Cecilia could leave with her.
"He has not made any effort to conceal his whereabouts. He recently appeared in Wales Town, caused quite a commotion, and then headed southwest."
"What's his next move?" Vivi asked.
Xiaqiu felt uncertain about the future; he likely had two goals in mind.
The first goal was to acquire a dual Devil Fruit Ability. He must have obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit, or else he wouldn't have left. After all, in the original story, he had planned to give up, only to unexpectedly discover the Dark-Dark Fruit, which proved the fruit's significance.
His second Devil Fruit Ability, if nothing went awry, would probably be Whitebeard's Quake-Quake Fruit.
However, he wouldn't seek it out right now; at least, that wouldn't be his first objective.
The second goal was naturally to gain status. Given his way of doing things, a position recognized by the government was what he aimed for. The Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Four Emperors would both be targets for him. The position of the Four Emperors could be pursued alongside Whitebeard's fruit.
But with a new Seven Warlords of the Sea in place, how could he pursue that goal if there were no vacancies?
Unless he killed one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but then he would undoubtedly attract the Navy's pursuit.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea represented the validity of a certain policy by the World Government. For example, when Luffy defeated Crocodile, Blackbeard initially intended to use Luffy to secure that position.
Moreover, Bartholomew Kuma specifically sought out Moria, clearly fearing complications that could embarrass the government further.
If Blackbeard's Pirate Crew were to take action personally, they would find themselves in opposition.
Assassination would be the only option.
At this stage, there are not many of the Seven Warlords of the Sea that Blackbeard could kill.
Hawkeye and Doflamingo are out of the question, and he cannot defeat Kuma, the Empress.
Moria is in a special area of the Grand Line, perpetually shrouded in dark clouds. If he does not leave that region, it is night all the time, and with so many shadows around, his strength may not be too weak.
Even if he could defeat Moria, he cannot send anyone onto the Terror Three-Masted Ship; that option must be abandoned.
Jinbei can hold his own against Ace, while Blackbeard had a slight edge after battling Ace. However, the issue lies in Blackbeard's ability to counter Ace, and the effectiveness against non-Devil Fruit users is less than against those who have abilities. Therefore, whether he can defeat Jinbei remains uncertain.
At the same time, Jinbei is the captain of the Sun Pirates, most of whom are Fishmen, spending most of their time at sea and on Fishman Island.
No, there might be an opportunity.
Xiaqiu thought of something that could potentially achieve this goal and serve two purposes at once.
In addition to that, there are the New Warlords whose strength is unknown but may not be too strong.
Thus, Xiaqiu said, "Next, let's gather information on the whereabouts of the Sun Pirates. Send someone to infiltrate Fishman Island; there's no need to actively collect information—just keep an eye on Blackbeard's Pirate Crew's arrival. We should also send people regarding the New Warlords to investigate their strength and track Blackbeard's movements. Oh, and we must also monitor their activities in Sabaody Archipelago."
They needed to pass through the Sabaody Archipelago to reach Fishman Island.
"Alright, I'll make the arrangements," Vivi agreed.
No matter what, Blackbeard was a force stronger than a Vice Admiral.
As long as the setup was done properly, they could potentially have three of the Seven Warlords of the Sea on their side.
Although it was somewhat difficult and dangerous, it was achievable. If they could succeed just once, it would lead to a complete transformation.
It echoed the old saying:
Take a chance, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle; gamble a bit, and turn a motorcycle into a Land Rover.
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