Chapter 258: Hmm?
Chapter 258 Hmm?
"Swordsmanship will have to be practiced daily as usual. If I can reach Netero's level, that would work. But for now, I should focus on unarmed combat techniques and ability development. I need to cultivate Advanced Armament Haki from within my body as soon as possible. Only then will my safety be more secure."
Clutching his Fist, Kuro turned his head to face Lida and the others. "What do you want with me?"
Lida snapped back to reality, shouting, "Ah! Right! Kuro! Big trouble, Kuro! It's terrible, Kuro!"
"Wait, wait, wait."
Kuro dug his finger into his ear, speaking calmly, "What's so urgent? Even if the sky falls, the tall will bear it. What does it have to do with us? Speak slowly. No need to panic."
"Okay."
Lida paused, then pulled out a sugared hawthorn from her backpack, tore off the wrapping, took a bite herself, and offered one to Ao Er Jia.
"Ooh! Sugared Hawthorn!"
Ao Er Jia's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise as she happily bit into one, her cheeks puffing out with delight.
Kuro had shown Lida how to make these a few days ago when he was bored. She then found a chef who made them.
Chefs in this world were versatile masters of all culinary arts. They had to learn red and white kitchen work, pastries, and desserts—anything and everything. Otherwise, they couldn't be considered true chefs.
This sugared hawthorn had recently become a favorite of Lida and Ao Er Jia.
Lida chewed a few bites, her eyes curving into crescents from smiling so widely. The sweet-and-sour flavor made her feel like she'd discovered a new part of herself.
Swallowing, she said, "Kuro, that thing we talked about—"
Lida bit into another hawthorn before continuing, "You know, the sea. We saw—Ao Er Jia, want another?"
"Oh yes! For sure!" Ao Er Jia nodded enthusiastically.
After biting into another one, Lida continued, "Well, our scout ship reported—Mmm, delicious."
"Lida!"
A vein popped on Kuro's forehead as he gritted his teeth, "I told you to speak slowly, not to eat while talking! Also, eat or speak, don't keep switching halfway through sentences! It's annoying!"
"You told me not to rush."
Lida muttered, her speech speeding up, "It's about the sea. We discovered a pirate fleet!"
"???"
"!!!"
First, a question mark appeared over Kuro's head, then it straightened vertically.
"A fleet?!"
"Yes! A huge fleet! The scout ship reported at least twenty ships, some with multiple heavy cannons", Lida nodded.
Twenty ships?!
"Why didn't you say this immediately?" Kuro winced.
"You told me to take my time." Lida shrugged innocently.
"Fine. Which direction? I'll sink them for you."
When dealing with ships on the Grand Line, don't fear them. Wrap them in seawater and drag them to the ocean floor. The pirates aboard would be crying in terror.
...
On the Grand Line, twenty warships sailed abreast, emitting an overwhelming oppressive force.
The lead ship was colossal, its bow adorned with a sculpture of a weapon crossed with a bell. 'Frog Merchant' Elmos stood with arms folded, confidence radiating from his face, embodying vigor and ambition.
"Captain, we'll arrive at Moe Island soon!"
A man in a striped dress uniform approached excitedly.
"Call me Governor!"
Elmos didn't turn his head as he shouted arrogantly, "Now I'm the Governor of this grand fleet—even if temporarily, I'm still the Governor! Look at my crew!"
He gestured toward nearby ships, "These are famous figures!"
On a nearby ship with a medicine pill emblem at its bow, a pirate flag bore a pill design crossed with bones. On the deck sat a man wearing a pill-shaped hat, his face twisted in a cruel grin.
"'Painbringer' Aspirin, bounty 135 million. He just broke the 100 million mark this year. If he went to Shabondy, the Super Novas would have more than eleven members. I paid a fortune to bring him here."
"And this one!"
He waved his arm to the other side. That ship looked like a sideways clock, its pirate flag bore a clock with bones, and above it, a gruesome skull.
The man on this ship looked like a cylinder, his body surface covered in clocks. He had rabbit-like front teeth, appearing slightly comical, but those who knew him understood his true danger.
"'Clockman' Samuel, bounty 65 million. Though he hasn't crossed 100 million, don't underestimate him. He's extremely powerful."
Elmos chuckled, "His ability is key. He ate the 'Clock Clock Fruit' and gained time control. He can speed up or slow down time."
Half the fleet were Elmos's own ships, the rest hired pirates—all with bounties no less than 40 million, each a well-known pirate in the early stages of their career.
To ensure successful island capture, he'd invested his entire fortune.
After capturing Moe Island, these hired pirates would govern it, turning it into a pirate town. Elmos only needed the weapon trading rights along the island's navigational routes. Everything else was irrelevant.
Fortunately, he'd obtained an ace up his sleeve.
Looking at his fleet, Elmos frowned, "Where's Donald?"
"That officer said something about spearfishing and then jumped overboard", a subordinate reported.
"Tch! At this crucial moment, forget it. He's not a pirate anyway, just a helper I brought from the Flower Country as a precaution. With my massive fleet attacking, we're more than sufficient."
Shaking his head, Elmos looked toward the gradually visible outline of Moe Island, his face glowing with excitement.
"Hey, Samuel! Speed things up for fun! Let's reach Moe Island faster!"
"Hehehe! Gladly! I thought we were too slow. Let's move the clock forward ten minutes!" Samuel cackled weirdly, adjusting his chest clock's hands to ten minutes ahead.
His 'Clock Clock Fruit' ability accelerated time rapidly, almost skipping ahead. Though events would still unfold as they should, he couldn't control them—even he couldn't act during these skipped moments.
But for their current situation, ten minutes would bring them perfectly to Moe Island. With this firepower, capturing Moe Island—just a legendary island where the Navy established a Marine Base—would be child's play.
No one could stop them.
"Time, turn!"
As Samuel's voice rang out, their surroundings rapidly blurred into afterimages, accelerating under time's mighty force.
Elmos slowly closed his eyes, a cruel smile forming. He could already envision it: when he opened his eyes, he'd be at Moe Island's port. Then he'd use warship cannons and these powerful pirates to completely occupy the island!
Once Moe Island was controlled and the navigational route secured, selling weapons would elevate his status even further.
Then...
"Joker, then I won't just be a weapon supplier for you! You'll finally have to face me seriously!" Elmos's heart raced with excitement.
Now!
Gurgle-gurgle—
Moe Island didn't appear in his vision. When Elmos opened his eyes, all he saw were bubbles rising from his mouth. In front of him was the abyssal ocean floor.
"Ugh!"
He choked on seawater, feeling his lungs burn from lack of oxygen.
Struggling, he felt powerless. His body was too heavy—this indicated he'd been sinking for a long time.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the wreckage of ships everywhere. Pirates and subordinates floated lifelessly in the sea, long gone. The two powerful pirates he relied upon, 'Painbringer' and 'Clockman', had already become corpses sinking deeper into the ocean.
"What... happened?"
Kuro scratched his head in the sky above the Grand Line, looking at the ship wreckage floating on the surface and bodies rising from below, making a deeply perplexed sound.
"Hmm?"
(End of Chapter)
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