https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-310-Healthy-Peace-s-Martial-Arts-Grand-Tournament/13536854/
Chapter 309
Chapter 309
Tui Town was the port city of Insect Country. While Insect Country’s narrow, elongated island made landing possible almost anywhere, only Tui Town had been properly developed into a proper port.
This was because the Luo Family had stationed itself here—eliminating any concerns about pirate raids.
At the dock, countless ships were now anchored. Merchant vessels, civilian boats, pirate ships… Kuro even spotted navy warships. The ships were packed tightly, stretching from the port all the way to the surrounding shores.
“So many ships?” Kuro muttered, standing on the deck and secretly marveling.
This Martial Arts Grand Tournament really was a spectacle.
“Damn, even warships? The navy’s actually joining in?” Kuro blinked in surprise.
“Wow, it looks really bustling! There must be tons of delicious food here,” Lida said, leaning against the iron railing of the ship and gazing at the clustered buildings of Tui Town. She could already hear the roaring crowds from afar.
“Eat, eat, eat! That’s all you ever think about! Use some common sense—do you even remember why I dragged my ass all the way here?” Kuro sighed in exasperation.
“Common sense? What common sense?” Lida perked up, turning her head with a puzzled frown.
Kuro groaned, pinching his forehead. “Just dock the ship already.”
The navy’s warships arrived at the port, but with no space left to anchor, they had to moor at nearby shores instead. After disembarking with most of the crew, Kuro led the group toward the town, leaving only the logistics team and a minimal guard behind.
Tui Town was already packed with people due to the Martial Arts Grand Tournament.
“Fresh Devil Fruits! Superior Devil Fruits specially harvested for the Martial Arts Grand Tournament! Eat one and you’ll definitely win the championship!”
“Steel Iron Fist Sets—50,000 Beri per set! The sole approved weapon for the Martial Arts Grand Tournament! Equip these and you’ll already be on the championship path!”
“Grilled meat! Meat to replenish physical strength!”
The streets were alive with vendors shouting their wares. Crowds gathered everywhere.
“So many people…” Lida murmured, surprised by the dense sea of bodies.
Even the hundreds of navy officers moving together seemed insignificant in this chaos, swallowed like raindrops in the ocean.
Kuro casually scanned the crowd and spotted several distinct groups.
The ones in black dress uniforms with stern expressions were the Black Hand Syndicate—West Blue’s signature mafia. Others wore flintlock pistols at their belts, their lavish clothing marking them as armed merchants. They walked with entourages, browsing the stalls.
Then there were the pirates—rugged auras, brutal faces, exuding the blood-soaked stench of the Grand Line.
The three groups kept strictly to themselves, forming clear, separate clusters in the bustling town.
But some others caught Kuro’s eye. These figures were all muscular, radiating overflowing vitality.
“Bastard, you bumped into me!”
A muscular man shoved past someone similar in size, then turned and shouted.
“What? You’re the one who hit me, bastard!”
The other man glared back, their eyes locked in mutual hostility.
“Unforgivable! You wanna fight?!”
The two groups faced off, tension rising. Yet the surrounding crowd barely reacted, some walking past as if nothing, others stopping to watch with interest.
“Huh,” Lida observed, “they’ve got some basic unarmed combat techniques.”
She could tell the onlookers were all trained in hand-to-hand combat—nothing spectacular, but more than enough to handle regular civilians.
Such people dominated the streets, likely specialists in unarmed martial arts due to the tournament’s focus.
After a tense exchange, the two men finally snorted and turned away, apparently respecting local rules against street brawls.
Kuro’s eyes flickered red as Observation Haki spread, then quickly retracted. He shook his head, stunned. “There are way too many people here.”
His Haki had swept the entire town, yet the sheer number of distinct auras was overwhelming—tens of thousands at least.
“These organizers sure know how to make money,” Kuro muttered, scanning the bustling streets.
With so many people eating, drinking, and living here temporarily, the economic boom for Insect Country must be staggering.
“Mr. Kuro,” Klah suddenly said.
Kuro turned to see a group of navy officers clashing with pirates at a nearby crossroads.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Commander Fili,” a pirate leader sneered. He wore a red headband, his dark skin and crooked smirk giving off a menacing vibe.
“Your body looks… mouth-watering,” he licked his lips.
“Save the trash talk,” Commander Fili snapped. His navy hat shadowed his thick, bearded jaw—Justice incarnate. Raising a fist wrapped in brass knuckles, he declared, “I might not catch you otherwise, but in this tournament, I’ll defeat and arrest every pirate here!”
“Heh, don’t kid yourself. You’re here for the bounty too, right?” The pirate named Lonus chuckled. “Just don’t get beaten to death by some random passerby. I’d hate to see that.”
“You—!” Fili’s face darkened.
“Klah?” Kuro asked.
“Yes,” Klah adjusted his glasses, eyeing Lonus with disdain. “That’s 【man-craver】Lonus, a West Blue pirate with a bounty of 480 million Beri. He’s infamous for his disgusting obsession with masculine men, though he’s not known for other severe crimes.”
As Kuro’s aide, Klah had meticulously studied West Blue’s pirates. While Lonus’s bounty was merely average here, his depravity made him unforgettable, especially to fellow men.
Kuro casually grabbed a passerby and asked, "Why aren’t they making a move? Weren’t there people fighting just now?"
"Huh?"
The burly figure had been yanked abruptly and nearly flew into a rage before spotting Kuro’s Navy uniform and the line of sharply-posed Navy personnel behind him.
He gulped, forcing a grin. "Fresh off the boat to Tui Town, huh? Fighting’s strictly forbidden here. Except during the Martial Arts Grand Tournament, anyone who starts a brawl won’t be welcomed by Insect Country. Push too far, and the Luo Family’ll step in. This place is their territory."
"Got it. You can scram."
Kuro waved him off, then casually pulled out a cigar. As he clamped it between his teeth, Klah obediently flicked a lighter to life like a loyal hound.
Smoke curled from Kuro’s lips.
"Let’s start with the pirates. How dare pirates operate in a World Government-affiliated nation while Navy’s present? It’s a blatant challenge to our authority."
He declared solemnly, "Klah, take them out."
Klah sighed, nodding reluctantly. "Understood, Kuro-san."
...
"Don’t get too cocky, Lunus!"
Commander Phili gritted his teeth. "I’ll make sure to arrest you someday!"
"Ahaha! Fighting’s off-limits here, but…"
Lunus grinned wickedly, thrusting his hips suggestively toward Phili. "We can have other kinds of fun. Or maybe you’d like a duel? I’d be delighted."
"Chief, that guy’s not even as buff as me! Pathetic!"
"Haha! Here we go—Lunas’s teasing the Navy again!"
"Hehehe! Paradise, ain’t it? No fighting allowed, so we can do whatever we want!"
The pirates roared with laughter, leering openly at the Navy squad across from them.
Phili trembled with fury.
Of all pirates, this filthy bastard was the one he despised most!
But that damned ship of his was faster than lightning, and his strength wasn’t to be trifled with. If the Navy got captured, their fate would be…
"Still scared to move? Then I’ll come to you!"
Lunas stuck out his tongue, licking his lips obscenely as he stepped forward.
Phili instinctively stumbled backward.
The pirates’ mockery intensified, their eyes blazing with derision and lewdness. Phili’s restraint finally shattered.
"Even if Insect Country blacklists me—"
Shkkt!
Phili clenched his fist, surging forward—when suddenly, the pirate before him convulsed violently. Blood erupted from his back like a geyser, and he collapsed, eyes rolling back.
A figure knelt in front of him—a man in a black dress uniform with glasses, slicked-back hair, and a navy-hooded cloak billowing behind him.
The man stood, adjusting his glasses as he glanced back coldly. "Don’t pollute the streets with your filth, pirate."
"You—how dare—"
Phili stared, trembling finger pointed at Klah. "You idiot! You’re not allowed to fight here!"
The pirates’ collapse silenced the bustling street. The crowd froze, gaping in stunned silence.
"Run! They’ll arrest you!" Phili grabbed Klah’s arm, pulling him backward.
"Don’t let them escape!"
A gangster spat out his cigarette, drawing a pistol. "Catch them for a reward from the Luo Family!"
"Anyone can hunt down Destructionrules’ men—even Navy won’t protect them!"
The street erupted. Pirates, gangsters, martial artists with unarmed combat techniques, armed merchants, even street vendors—all drew weapons and charged wildly toward Klah.
"What’s going on?!"
Klah recoiled at the chaos.
"Violence’s forbidden here. Breaking that rule invites the Luo Family’s wrath, but anyone who captures rule-breakers gets a reward. That’s why no one dares fight in Tui Town anymore!" Phili tugged Klah frantically. "We need to go—Navy’s authority means nothing here. The Luo Family will kill us!"
In a nearby alley, a golden-haired man in a black coat, blue noble’s tailcoat, and a wind-goggled top hat leaned against the wall, watching with interest.
"Quite the frenzy. Those Navy men are in trouble… Should I intervene?"
He seemed to speak to himself—until a whisper, nearly inaudible, answered from behind him.
"Please reconsider."
A towering figure emerged from the shadows, clad in a black feathered coat that seemed to merge with darkness itself.
"Our mission isn’t to interfere. We mustn’t expose ourselves, Commander. Remember—Navy remains our enemy."
The blond man cast a final glance at Klah before turning into the alley.
Thud.
He collided with the shadow behind him.
"What’s wrong, Crow?"
He tilted his head toward the pale man in the feathered coat. Bald, with a bird-beaked face mask and bloodless skin, Crow’s forehead glistened with sweat.
As the blond’s thoughts flickered, his pupils contracted. He instinctively turned toward the street, cold sweat breaking out.
The charging crowd halted abruptly, swiveling toward a new arrival. The air thickened with dread.
A squadron of Navy had arrived.
The leader slowly unsheathed a Black Blade. As the weapon cleared its scabbard, a torrent of crimson-black Killing Intent erupted, sweeping the street like a blood-soaked tide.
Some collapsed instantly, their eyes rolling back. The survivors trembled, paralyzed with primal fear.
Kuro exhaled another plume of smoke, his voice cutting through the silence. "Stand still. I’m Navy—here to enforce order. You lot—line up! Guilty to the left, innocent to the right, pirates in the center."
"That man…"
Crow’s voice darkened.
"Why is he here?"
The blond’s jaw clenched, teeth grinding out the name like poison.
"Lucius Kro… The bastard who killed Ace!"
His body quivered—not with fear, but a violent, vengeful fury.
The man who indirectly murdered Ace… The man he’d dreamed of confronting… Stood before him at last.
(End of Chapter)
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