Twice a month on average, that was how often the Talma Mountain Range experience thunderstorms. However, only about two Doom Toads are obtained each month. For those two creatures, over fifty people would die each month.
Among those who died, most died at the hands of the Doom Toads themselves, and smaller number were killed by other people.
Half an hour had passed since the rain began. The Doom Toads' mating ritual lasted less than a minute, after which the female toads would retreat into the rocky cliffs, while the male toads would not stay for too long and would also return after collecting some Bliss Mushrooms.
In other words, if you hadn't caught a Doom Toad within the first thirty minutes, your chances were gone until the next thunderstorm.
However, unlucky people can directly plunder the results of lucky people.
In the eyes of most unlucky people here, Law is a super lucky person. Therefore, when they saw the Doom Toad in Law's hand, many people launched a sneak attack on Law, and then they all suffered the consequences.
The first thirty minutes were for hunting the Doom Toads. Half an hour later, it was the time for those who had found nothing to snatch prey from the others. Therefore, the rainy night began to be stained with blood.
Anyone who harbored murderous intent toward Law perished under his counterattacks. As for those who showed restraint, he merely knocked them unconscious. When they woke up later, they would inevitably be seriously ill after being exposed under the storm.
Leaving a trail of would-be thieves behind him, Law ascended to the mountain's peak. He vaguely remembered Gel's location, though he wasn't completely sure.
'It should be here.'
Law casually threw the priceless Doom Toad at his feet and immediately took a look at the surroundings. He saw that the only places where people could hide were the clusters of rocks scattered around.
'There are people here, but it's not her.'
He could feel eyes watching him, but these were amateurs, people who didn't know how to conceal themselves properly.
For ten minutes, Law stood there in the rain, unmoving. The ones hiding nearby were just as patient, waiting like seasoned hunters. They still made no move.
Law waited for a long time and felt that it was about time, so he expanded his Domain. A thin membrane of Aura spread outward in a perfect hemisphere, covering a 100-meter radius around him.
The raindrops that were unable to get close to Law's body before now fell on him one after another, soaking his clothes in an instant.
This was a fusion of En and his Domain. Any slight movement within the range was under Law's control, and even someone using Zetsu to erase their presence wouldn't be able to evade detection.
When Law used this detection field, Biscuit immediately retreated quietly. She knew that she couldn't hide from the En used by Law, which was equivalent to a radar with no blind spots.
The others lurking in the darkness weren't as wise. They remained frozen in place, unaware they had already been exposed, including Gel, who had just returned to the area.
'That's the guy who was sleeping at the valley bottom earlier. He seems to have some connection with Biscuit... but why is he here?' When Gel saw Law use En, she hid her presence and then observed Law carefully.
She hadn't found a Doom Toad. Nor had she encountered anyone who had. However, when she was wandering around, she accidentally saw a lot of people lying on the ground, so she judged that someone had obtained the Doom Toad, and thus a struggle had ensued.
So, she followed the fallen people and eventually returned to the top of the mountain where she was before. There, he saw Law standing with a dead Doom Toad at his feet.
It was very strange. Even though Law had caught the Doom Toad, he did not go down the mountain but climbed to the top instead. What was even more coincidental was that Law was standing exactly where she had been earlier.
On the other side, Biscuit remained hidden in the shadows, quietly observing the situation in the field. Except for Gel, the others are just small fries who couldn't even hide themselves properly.
'Things are going smoothly. Looks like I don't need to step in.'
Biscuit became the only spectator in the venue.
Her plan was to let Law fight with Gel. She had expected to put in some effort to set up the battle, but she didn't expect Law to be so lucky that he stumbled upon a Doom Toad immediately.
Only this key item, the Doom Toad, can give both sides a reason to fight.
Law knew exactly what Biscuit wanted him to do, which is why he had moved so openly, deliberately drawing attention to himself in order to flush Gel out.
If Law couldn't find Gel, Biscuit would still find a way to lead Gel to him. But now, things had fallen into place on their own.
With his Domain still active, Law walked forward, and the area covered by the Aura membrane moved as he walked.
'Seven people, not strong.'
As Law moved slowly, he pinpointed the exact locations of the seven people hiding around him within seconds. However, none of them seemed particularly strong.
He casually left the Doom Toad's corpse behind him and wandered aimlessly, or at least, that's what it looked like. In reality, he was searching for his real target.
'Found you…'
Law suddenly stopped in his tracks. A moment later, he retracted his Domain and turned back toward the toad's corpse.
Behind a rock, Gel's body stiffened slightly. Just now, when Law's En swept past her, she, who was very sensitive to touch, felt as if a pair of hands were quickly and gently caressing her body.
The touch was incredibly faint, as weak as a breeze too light to stir a single hair. If not for her heightened sensitivity, she might not have even noticed it.
'I was using Zetsu to erase my presence, and I had even slowed my breathing to its lowest frequency… But he still found me.' There was a gleam in Gel's eyes. She knew she had been discovered.
That certainty could be explained as intuition, or as experience. Whether or not there was solid proof, she instinctively reached a firm conclusion in that instant.
As Law returned to the toad's corpse, he suddenly paused. Then, he turned to the side and came to a boulder the size of a house.
He stretched out his hand, gathered his Aura into his fist, and when a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, he threw a punch at the rock.
Bang!
The massive boulder shattered into dozens of pieces, sending debris flying several meters away.
After breaking the boulder, Law returned to the toad's body.
After seeing the power of Law's punch, the seven ordinary people hiding in the dark were so scared that they immediately scattered in terror.
They were skilled hunters and very patient, but they are just ordinary people in the end. When faced with overwhelming power, they know how to make choices.
The punch that Law displayed told them everything they needed to know.
They had been discovered, and this punch was a warning from Law to them, so they retreated decisively.
Law had chosen brute force to clear out the unnecessary obstacles. While the loud impact would inevitably attract more people, that was a problem for later.
Seeing Law's actions, Biscuit shook her head slightly, 'His method of scaring away those troublesome people was a bit rough, but it was indeed very effective.'
Meanwhile, Gel frowned slightly. She felt that Law was acting more and more strangely. That punch wasn't just about scaring off the others, and it looks like a deliberate move to clear the field.
'Considering the location here and the fact that I was discovered, it seemed that... he was targeting me?'
'But I don't know him.'
Gel thought silently and felt that Law was coming for her.
"This toad… do you want it?"
Law suddenly looked towards where Gel was, and the voice passed through the sound of storm and entered Gel's ears.
After a moment, Gel walked out from behind the rock and looked at Law in the distance with an expressionless face.