Chapter 301: What Sort of Freaks Does West Blue Produce?
Chapter 301: What Sort of Freaks Does West Blue Produce?
"Huh?"
Lida's transform left Kuro stunned. He stared at her, then shifted his gaze to the unconscious Luo Wei. The familiar aura radiating from Luo Wei finally clicked in his mind.
"Lida, you two look quite alike."
Their similarly wavy white hair and nearly identical facial features were unmistakable. Luo Wei's unarmed combat techniques weren't bad either - the residual energy from Six Styles techniques he'd used must have come from Klah. This guy probably possessed that innate talent allowing him to "steal" techniques just by watching.
Judging from his attire, he likely came from the Flower Country.
"What's this guy's name?" Kuro asked, pointing at Luo Wei.
No one answered. Klah and Kas were still unconscious.
"Get some men to take them for treatment. As for this one, bring iron chains - the thicker the better. Don't make them too thin."
Kuro directed the remaining Navy soldiers to carry away the fallen comrades while others went searching for chains.
These non-Devil Fruit users with powerful unarmed combat techniques were the toughest to handle. Even after defeating them, capturing them was no easy task. Ordinary chains wouldn't hold them. Though Seastone was hard enough, crafting solid Seastone chains was technically impossible. At best they could mix some Seastone fragments into regular chains, but even those wouldn't contain fighters of this caliber.
"Are you trying to bind a worm? This is way too thin! Bring something thicker!" Kuro frowned as he saw the thin thumb-sized chains the Navy brought.
"But Commander, this is the thickest chain we could find", one soldier protested.
"This is exactly why being a Navy officer requires more brains! This is no way to advance your career. If you can't find ready-made chains, use your imagination! Bring me the ship's anchor instead."
"Aye, sir!"
As the sailor saluted and turned to leave, Kuro added, "Wait, leave these chains here too."
The moment Kuro touched the chains, they came alive like snakes, slithering toward the unconscious Luo Wei and wrapping tightly around him.
Soon, several Navy men dragged over a massive anchor connected by thick chains. Kuro reached out again, and the anchor lifted into the air, chains dancing as they encased Luo Wei in another layer of restraint.
The chains were so thick that instead of appearing bound, Luo Wei looked completely swallowed by metal coils.
"Not enough yet."
Kuro studied his cocooned prisoner. With a wave of his hand, earth spiraled up from beneath Luo Wei, forming a spiral tower around him until only his head remained exposed.
"Still missing something."
Rubbing his chin, Kuro manipulated nearby boulders, embedding them into the earthen prison to pin Luo Wei's body more securely.
"And now... what else could possibly make this more secure?"
"Hey, Kuro!" Lida interjected with clear disgust. "Do you really need to go this far for one guy?"
"Absolutely necessary", Kuro replied without hesitation, adding another layer to the soil prison. The spiral tower now resembled a massive column standing proudly in place.
"What if he wakes up while I'm away? No one would be able to contain him! If he caused casualties in town, that would be a personal insult to me. Better safe than sorry."
Lida rubbed her forehead helplessly - Kuro's obsessive compulsiveness was acting up again.
"We're in West Blue."
"You know we're in West Blue too?" Kuro retorted, pointing at Luo Wei's exposed head. "Look at this guy - does this look like someone West Blue should produce? I expected West Blue to be strong, but there has to be limits! I had no mental preparation for this at all!"
"This 'guy' alone took down Klah and Kas, then challenged me to a fight. If I hadn't been just a little stronger, I'd have been finished! How dare someone who isn't even a pirate fight me as a Navy officer? Doesn't he fear committing crimes?"
"At the time, I could've ended it with two slashes from my blade. But I refrained from using Shinmeiryu Style - I wanted a clean, non-lethal victory. If he had just accepted his inferiority and surrendered after those two strikes, this wouldn't have happened. But no, he kept fighting. This man has no martial ethics."
"Such strength combined with no martial ethics? Better safe than sorry."
Lida: "..."
What weird nonsense are you spouting?
Who in West Blue could possibly match your strength?
"Come to think of it, Lida", Kuro turned to her, "doesn't this guy's face look familiar? Haven't you seen him somewhere before?"
Lida studied Luo Wei carefully, then shook her head. "No, no memory."
She admitted the resemblance was striking, but she still couldn't place him.
"No memory? He might be from that 'Luo' family. Maybe you're from that family too", Kuro suggested.
Lida tilted her head, tapping her temple with her finger as she scrunched her brows in thought. After a moment, her eyes opened wide. "Nope, no memory of this guy. When I was eight, my parents abandoned me on an island. My memories from then don't include black-haired parents either."
"Guess he has nothing to do with you then. We'll wait until he wakes up and ask why he came here."
Kuro shook his head and walked toward the base.
"Kuro, I'm hungry."
Lida followed behind him.
"Tell the kitchen to prepare something for you."
...
The next day, Klah and Kas regained consciousness after treatment.
"You say his name is Luo Wei?" Kuro asked in surprise.
Before him stood Klah, still massaging his stomach, and Kas, still bearing injuries.
"Yes, Commander. He claims to be the World's Greatest unarmed combat techniques genius, Luo Wei", Klah nodded.
"So he's really one of 'them' after all..."
Kuro muttered, turning to look out the window. From his vantage point, he could see the massive column outside town with a single head visible atop it.
Luo Wei had already awakened. Though too distant to read his expression, Kuro could feel the man's gaze fixed in this direction.
"Where's Lida?"
Looking around, he asked.
"I saw her in the dining hall when I came in. Probably having breakfast", Kas answered.
"Bring her along."
Kuro stood up, lighting a cigar. "Let's go ask this guy what's really going on."
Luo Wei had never felt so frustrated.
He woke up that morning with his entire body aching. Instinctively he tried to move but found himself completely immobilized. Though he couldn't see, he felt himself wrapped tightly in something that prevented any movement.
Looking down (as much as he could), he saw himself encased in a solid earthen pillar harder than iron. The situation felt extremely dire.
In his prime condition, breaking through this wouldn't be difficult.
But now, his injuries hadn't improved - if anything, they'd just stopped worsening. That single slash from the Navy swordsman had been devastating, and his sister's strange ability certainly didn't help either.
That was definitely a Devil Fruit ability. But why...
Luo Wei stared at the Navy headquarters tower in town, watching the second-floor window where the Navy officer had just exited.
Moments later, he saw the two most memorable Navy men from yesterday approaching, along with the swordsman and the young girl.
"Lida..."
Before they could speak, Luo Wei called out first. "If you're still alive, why haven't you returned to the family?"
(End of Chapter)
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