"Run, let's get out of here first."
Marcel ran through the alleyways, heading towards the port.
He was furious that Clown Buggy had killed his crewmates and wanted revenge, but he was powerless.
A bounty of 15 million, only 5 million less than Arlong, was a strength he couldn't easily handle.
After all, Hachi had still been in awe of Arlong before setting out to sea, even though Nami said his strength was already comparable to Arlong's when he first left.
But Hachi back then could suppress him with just two swords.
Therefore, Marcel had always avoided fighting pirates with bounties over 10 million. The strongest pirate crew he had faced had a captain with a bounty of only 8 million.
Besides, he was alone. Two fists are no match for four hands. He used to have crewmates to help, but now it was just him, and victory would be difficult.
If he could go back, he would gather more people, hire strong individuals through the Shining Gold Merchant Association, and then seek revenge.
So, Marcel chose to leave.
He ran towards the distance, planning to find a ship and see if there was a chance to leave this place.
He fled desperately, running very fast, and soon entered a street.
Clang, clang.
But at this moment, a sound suddenly came from above, and then Marcel was covered by a shadow.
Whoosh.
Marcel leaped forward, and the next moment, bang, a figure landed where Marcel had been.
It was a young man riding a unicycle, holding a sword in his right hand, with 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 said with a cold laugh, pointing his long sword at Marcel and saying, "I'll kill you now and take you back."
"Is that so?"
Marcel gripped his sword, staring intently at his opponent. He wouldn't just sit there and wait to die.
Buggy's subordinates were naturally not weak, but he wasn't without a chance of winning.
Whoosh.
Kabaji rode his unicycle closer to Marcel at extreme speed, but Marcel seized his momentum, gripped his sword, and slashed at Kabaji.
The long sword turned into a cold light, slashing towards Kabaji's neck.
"So fast."
Kabaji was somewhat surprised by the speed of Marcel's draw, and quickly raised his long sword to block in front of him.
Clang.
A crisp sound was heard. Marcel's sword was blocked, but the sword in Kabaji's hand also sank slightly.
"Such strength."
Kabaji realized that Marcel's strength was even greater than his own. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly spat forward.
Boom.
A stream of fire erupted, rushing towards Marcel.
Fire Breathing Trick.
"What is this?"
The flames rushed towards him, instantly reaching him. Marcel immediately retreated, raising his left hand to block in front of him.
Ouch.
Marcel's arm was touched by the flames, and he felt a sharp pain, but he remained vigilant, preventing Kabaji from launching a sneak attack.
But at this moment, several tops suddenly flew out from behind the flames.
These tops spun and flew towards Marcel, attacking him.
Kamaitachi Hundred Top Theater.
"So many."
Marcel didn't dare to delay. He raised his long sword and slashed at them.
Bang.
The tops were struck by the sword, making a clash of metal sound. The tops were flung away, but Marcel's sword was also repelled.
"Storm Swordplay."
Marcel's right hand, holding the long sword, turned into a gust of sword wind, attacking these tops and knocking them down one by one.
But at this moment, Kabaji had already appeared above him.
He first used the 'climbing' trick to scale the wall, then used the 'cool summer fireworks' trick to leap into the air.
Finally, there was the Wheel Finishing Move.
Kabaji gripped his sword and thrust downward at Marcel.
However, there were still several tops in front of Marcel.
Boom.
Kabaji's wheel strike landed squarely on the ground, and his sword was stained with a smear of blood.
But the next moment, his abdomen was pierced by a blade.
Thump.
Kabaji fell to the ground, looking at Marcel and asking in confusion, "Why?"
Why could he hurt him? Why could he counterattack? The tops were supposed to be restricting him, so he shouldn't have been able to deal with Marcel.
"Because you're too despicable, only using cheap tricks and not daring to fight for real," Marcel said, covered in wounds. He had several small cuts on his body, and his left arm bore a bloody gash.
These were the results of Marcel taking Kabaji's attacks head-on. He ignored the minor injuries, endured them, then turned to dodge and counterattack.
His attacks weren't as fast as Hachi's swordplay.
During this exchange, his left arm was cut, but he managed to pierce the opponent's abdomen.
Puff.
Marcel grabbed his sword and slashed at the opponent's neck, killing him.
Then, he turned to escape, continuing to run into the distance.
Roar.
But at this moment, a colossal creature came charging towards them. It was a giant lion, with a person riding on its back.
"Run!"
Marcel knew the lion wasn't ordinary. It was twice the size of other lions, capable of crushing bones in its mouth.
More importantly, he was injured, and his weapon wasn't his preferred dual blades, so he could only flee.
Marcel ran further and further away.
Just then, he suddenly saw a figure appear before him.
The figure wore a straw hat, a red vest, and half-length jeans, standing there with a somewhat bewildered expression.
"Run!"
Marcel shouted at the figure upon seeing them.
"Huh?"
The figure tilted its head, looking at Marcel, but its gaze fell on the distance. It spotted the giant lion and its eyes widened. "So big."
"It's dangerous here, run!"
Marcel ran past the figure, shouting loudly, then leaped over them and continued running into the distance.
He expected the figure to follow him, but after a few steps, he realized the figure had stopped.
"What an idiot."
Marcel looked at the figure standing in the distance, feeling annoyed. The lion was already approaching, and staying there was extremely dangerous.
"Can't worry about him."
Marcel watched the lion rapidly closing in and intended to leave. But he gritted his teeth, turned back, grabbed the figure's hand, and said, "Run with me."
With that, Marcel pulled the figure's arm and ran into the distance.
But the next moment, he noticed something bizarre. The figure's arm kept stretching, longer and longer, extending seven or eight meters.
"What is this?"
Marcel stopped, staring at the figure blankly.
"It's just a lion, no need to run," the young man revealed a row of white teeth. But the lion was already upon him. The man on the lion saw Luffy standing there and not moving, and shouted, "Riki, kill him!"
The lion immediately raised its claw and swiped at the young man.
"Careful!"
Marcel shouted, but the young man remained unfazed.
The next moment, Marcel felt an increasing force in his hand. In an instant, he could no longer hold on.
Boom.
The arm detached and became a blur, snapping back to its original position before launching outward.
"Gomu Gomu Pistol!"
The lion's claw stopped just beside the straw-hatted youth's face, unable to advance another inch.
Boom.
The lion was hit by the Straw Hat boy's fist, sent flying backward, and smashed into the distance, falling unconscious.
"It's over."
The Straw Hat boy said with a smile, his white teeth reflecting brightly in the sunlight.
"You're a Devil Fruit user?" Marcel asked blankly.
In the East Blue, Devil Fruit users were very rare, and their recognition was the lowest in all four seas. Even in Loguetown, a necessary stop on the way to the Grand Line, many people treated Devil Fruit users as monsters.
But Marcel was different. He had traveled far and wide, been to countless places, and his knowledge was far superior.
Besides, Hachi had also told him many stories about the Grand Line.
"That's right, I'm a rubber man who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, my name is Luffy," the Straw Hat boy explained with a smile.
"So that's how it is."
Marcel let out a breath, then reacted, saying, "Let's hurry, Buggy is going to catch up with people."
The opponent was strong, but he couldn't fight right now, and it was uncertain if he could defeat Buggy. It was better to leave for now.
"Buggy Pirates?"
Luffy tilted his head, asking curiously.
"That's right."
Marcel said, "Captain Buggy is a pirate with a bounty of 15 million, and his strength is formidable. Moreover, he is ruthless and incredibly brutal. If he finds out you defeated their comrade, he will definitely not let you go."
"Really?"
Luffy looked at Marcel with some curiosity and asked, "What's your relationship with them?"
"They killed my crewmates and captured me, demanding ransom," Marcel said. "But I escaped."
Luffy asked curiously, "Are you a captain?"
"That's right," Marcel said, looking at him. "Now is not the time to talk about this, we must leave."
But as he spoke, Marcel grunted and suddenly clutched his stomach, slumping to the ground.
"Huh?"
Luffy was surprised and looked at Marcel's abdomen, where a hand was holding a knife, having stabbed Marcel.
"What is this?"
Luffy was confused and reached for the hand, but it flew back.
Clang.
The hand found its owner. In the distance, a blue-haired man in a cape stood with many people behind him. He grinned and said, "You can defeat my subordinate, you're quite good, but this is where it ends."
"He's Buggy."
Marcel gritted his teeth and said, "I can't escape anymore, but I advise you to leave quickly. I'll say I defeated them."
"He's Buggy?"
Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. "What a big red nose."
As soon as he said that, the air around them suddenly fell silent.
It's over.
Marcel covered his eyes. Buggy hated it the most when people mentioned his nose; he would become incredibly enraged.
Buggy would definitely not let Luffy go now.
"You're asking for death."
In response to Luffy's words, Buggy immediately launched an attack.
...
"Whoosh."
Cecilia's figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the distance.
"Is this Soru?"
Xia Qiu asked blankly upon seeing this.
"That's right."
Cecilia said, "But I can only do it in my half-beast form for now, and the speed increase is limited."
Cecilia had transformed into an Ostrich Human, with powerful ostrich legs. In this state, her speed was only slightly slower than Kalifa's Soru.
In this state, she could barely use Soru. The main issue was the inability to balance the frequency of her steps, leading to poor coordination between her legs and significant power loss, preventing her from accumulating it.
However, even in her half-beast form, there were drawbacks. But with her much greater strength, even with significant loss, she could still accumulate enough power.
Still, the speed increase was minimal, only about fifteen percent, not much faster than her running directly.
This was because of the large amount of power loss, relying solely on the remaining power to accumulate.
Of course, if Cecilia could achieve balance and reduce the power loss, her speed in her normal state would surpass her half-beast form.
And in her half-beast form, Soru could at least improve by sixty to eighty percent.
It's difficult to achieve a hundred percent improvement due to self-resistance and the technical characteristics of Six Powers. The frequency of stomping is limited, and so is the accumulation. Once the accumulated power is too strong, the recoil will suppress it, consuming one's own strength instead.
Therefore, one can reduce the frequency, but breaking through the limits feels like trying to reach for something beyond one's grasp.
However, this speed is already terrifying. At that point, even without transforming, there would be a chance to win against Kalifa.
"Even so, it's still impressive."
Xia Qiu sighed, "What you lack now is just adjustment and continued training. It will probably take less than half a month to master this technique."
She only took seven days to achieve this. Although it's a simplified version of Soru, her talent is undeniable. She'll likely master it completely within fifteen days at the latest.
She's naturally skilled with her legs and is a master of kicking techniques. Plus, she trains diligently every day, so it's not surprising she could achieve this.
But what about himself?
He can now barely perform it in 0.08 seconds. The difference from 0.036 seconds is still very significant.
He can still improve, but he's already nearing his limit.
The pressure to further reduce the time lies in strength and the robustness of his legs. His current resistance is largely due to his legs not being able to withstand enough force.
Xia Qiu can improve comprehensively through eating. At least a Vice Admiral's level.
"Any sign of the Blackbeard Pirates?"
Xia Qiu curiously looked at Vivi, who was beside Cecilia.
Cecilia hadn't set off yet. She had called Vivi today to have Cecilia leave with her.
"He hasn't bothered to hide his tracks. He appeared in Magellan Town not long ago and has been staying there. I don't know what he's up to," Vivi replied.
"What are his plans next?"
Xia Qiu was a bit uncertain about future developments. He likely has two main objectives.
The first objective is to obtain a second Devil Fruit ability. He should have already acquired the Dark-Dark Fruit, otherwise, he wouldn't have left. After all, in the original story, he had planned to give up on it, but then he discovered the Dark-Dark Fruit, which proves its importance.
His second Devil Fruit ability, if nothing unexpected happens, will be Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
But he won't pursue it now; at least, that won't be his primary goal.
The second objective is naturally to gain status. Given his methods, a position recognized by the Government would be his target. Both the Shichibukai and the Four Emperors would be his goals. The position of an Emperor and Whitebeard's fruit could be considered together.
However, the Shichibukai should be his immediate target.
But now there's a new Shichibukai. If there's no vacancy, how can he pursue it?
Unless he kills a Shichibukai. But the problem is, if he's the one who kills them, it will inevitably draw the Marines' pursuit.
The Shichibukai represent the correctness of a certain World Government policy. For example, after Luffy defeated Crocodile, Blackbeard initially intended to hand Luffy over to take his place.
Kuma also specifically went to Moria, clearly stating his fear of problems, so the Government wouldn't lose face again.
If the Blackbeard Pirates acted personally, they would instead be on the opposing side.
He can only resort to assassination.
At this stage, there aren't many Shichibukai Blackbeard could defeat.
Hawk Eyes and Doflamingo go without saying. He also can't defeat Kuma or the Empress.
Moria is in a special area of the Grand Line, constantly shrouded in clouds. If he doesn't leave that area, it's always night, and with so many shadows, his strength might not be too weak.
Even if he could win, he couldn't send people to Thriller Bark himself. This option must also be abandoned.
Jinbe could fight Ace to a draw. Blackbeard fought Ace and won slightly, but the problem is Blackbeard's ability counters Ace. Its effect on non-ability users is less than on ability users, so it's uncertain if he could defeat Jinbe.
Furthermore, Jinbe is the captain of the Sun Pirates, most of whom are Fish-Men, and they spend most of their time at sea and on Fish-Man Island.
No, there's an opportunity.
Xia Qiu thought of something and felt it was possible to achieve this goal, and it would be killing two birds with one stone.
Besides that, there's the new Shichibukai, whose strength is unknown, but likely not too formidable.
So Xia Qiu said, "Next, gather information on the Sun Pirates' whereabouts. Send people to infiltrate Fish-Man Island. No need to actively gather information; just keep an eye out for the arrival of the Blackbeard Pirates. Also, send people to investigate the new Shichibukai's strength and the Blackbeard Pirates' tracks. Oh, and also pay attention to their movements around the Sabaody Archipelago."
If they want to go to Fish-Man Island, they will inevitably have to go through Sabaody Archipelago for coating.
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements," Vivi agreed.
Regardless, Blackbeard is a fighter above Vice Admiral level.
With proper arrangements, they could potentially gain up to three Shichibukai-level powerhouses.
Although it's difficult and dangerous, it's achievable. If they succeed even once, they can completely transform.
It's just like the old saying:
Bet big, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle. Gamble, and a motorcycle becomes a Land Rover.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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