Innately Evil Hypnosis! / It Was This Chaotic World That Did You In

Bonney leaned against the wall in the shadows by the door, pouting unhappily. She really wanted to see Ruidio again, but she lacked the courage to ask when that would be. She was used to being a sick child, so she had never dared trouble other people.

He'll definitely come back! Bonney took a deep breath and continued wolfing down pizza.

Chapter 18: Innately Evil Hypnosis!

East Blue, the pink new ship, the helm room—

One moment it had been afternoon; the next, it was pitch-black night.

Nami gazed out at the dark sea, the cold, salty wind blowing against her. For a moment, she truly felt as though she had stepped into another world. She murmured to herself, "Everything just now was like a dream..."

Ruidio stretched and glanced at the system.

[Name: Ruidio]

[Overall strength: ★★]

[Mastered: Running (mastered), swimming (proficient), basic hand-to-hand combat (beginner), Shimotsuki Swordsmanship (initial glimpse), basic staff technique (initial glimpse)]

[Employed: Nami (approximately 29 days remaining)]

[Essence remaining: 1109]

[System inventory (3/3): Seastone x131000; weapons x2; Devil Fruit Encyclopedia x1]

The Heavenly Restriction item was still stored in that mission record. It was a devilish temptation, but he did not dare act rashly.

Ruidio took the copied Devil Fruit Encyclopedia out of the inventory and casually tossed it onto the table nearby. He was just about to find somewhere to rest when a piercing scream suddenly rang out beside him:

"My gold!!!"

Nami flung open the helm room window. Outside, figures moved about on the deck in the faint moonlight, and a bag carried by two of them reflected a golden gleam.

There were thieves!!!

Nami's eyes instantly turned red, but this time it was not from being moved. It was from sheer fury.

The figures brazenly carrying gold and treasure across the deck—stock inherited from Buggy's ship—looked up at the inhumanly miserable sound.

"My money!!!"

Nami screamed and started to climb straight out of the window, but Ruidio pulled her back from behind.

Whoosh!

Under the moonlight, Ruidio leaped out of the helm room, two weapons appearing in his hands out of thin air.

Thud.

Ruidio landed on the deck, tucked Malevolent Shrine into his waistband, and held Playful Cloud, the three-section staff forged from Seastone. He surveyed the pirates on the deck. There were about twenty of them.

He looked beyond the starboard rail and saw another large ship pressed right up against theirs. Moonlight illuminated the black pirate flag fluttering in the cold wind, bearing a skull with cat eyes.

Well, what a coincidence.

"Just in time for some practice." Ruidio smiled at the men from the Black Cat Pirates and swung one end of the three-section staff. "Where's your captain?"

"Looking for me?"

A voice came from behind the twenty lackey pirates carrying the loot. They moved aside, revealing a man dressed like Michael Jackson, wearing heart-shaped glasses and sitting on the bow with all the bearing of a master.

Who the fuck are you?

"I meant Kuro," Ruidio said.

"Idiot, Captain Kuro was executed by the Marines." "Our captain is Vice Captain Jango now." "You should call him Captain Jango." "He used to be vice captain!" "But he's captain now!" ...

The lackey pirates actually started arguing among themselves. Ruidio flung out his three-section staff, sweeping several of the noisy pirates away with a bang.

"You dare attack us?!"

The other pirates dropped their loot, drew their swords and other weapons, and rushed Ruidio together.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...

Although they were all third-rate lackeys, Ruidio took the opportunity to test the three-section staff technique he had just learned, dealing with pirates attacking from different directions.

Although he tried to control his strength, Playful Cloud was still too heavy. Before long, the pirates were sprawled all over the deck, every one of them bruised, battered, and bleeding from the head.

"..."

Jango watched from the bow in shock, snot hanging from his nose. Where did this guy come from? How was he so strong? I haven't even pulled out the weapon in my coat, and everyone's already been taken down?

Blood dripped from one end of the three-section staff. The person holding it looked over at Jango, and in the hazy moonlight, that gaze sent a chill down Jango's spine—

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!"

Jango pulled the weapon from inside his coat, a ring-shaped throwing blade that resembled a pocket watch. Fortunately, the man actually fell for his bluff and did not immediately swing the staff at him and crack his skull open. Overjoyed, Jango raised the ring blade and shouted:

"Everyone, look at me!"

As he shouted, he swung the ring blade in his hand. "When I finish saying 'one, two, Jango,' your wounds will heal completely, and your strength will increase, growing stronger and stronger! One, two, Jango!"

Ruidio did not look.

Although he really wanted to know whether he could truly unleash extraordinary strength after being hypnotized by this guy.

But Nami was still on the ship. It would be bad if he lost control, went berserk, and beat her to death...

As he thought this, the pirate lackeys who had been lying all around Ruidio rose one by one like reanimated zombies, their bodies twisting into strange shapes. All of them roared as though pumped full of stimulants:

"Whoaaaa!!!"

The muscles all over the lackeys' bodies visibly swelled several sizes. In a state of extreme excitement, they could leave a large crater in the deck with a single stomp and smash a crate to pieces with one punch.

Bang!

The Seastone Playful Cloud slammed down on the head of the first berserk pirate to charge him, smashing his skull. Ruidio kicked him, sending him crashing through the railing and flying into the sea like a cannonball.

"Aaaah!" The other pirates were fearless in the face of death now, their strength several times greater as they all charged at him. Ruidio no longer held back either. Every strike was merciless. One end of the three-section staff swung upward and crushed a pirate's throat, while the other end kicked up and smashed another pirate's breastbone...

He constantly shifted his grip on Playful Cloud with both hands, deftly handling attacks from every angle around him and growing ever more at ease with it.

[Mastered: Playful Cloud Staff Technique (beginner)]

Ruidio grew more and more comfortable as he fought, seemingly entering a state of flow. He could even swing the three-section staff with one hand now, wielding it like an extension of his arm and sending one pirate after another flying. But then Nami's terrified scream pierced his ears:

"Ruidio!!"

Over on the other side of the deck, Nami had fallen to the ground and was scrambling backward, trembling all over. In front of her stood the enormous lion, which had somehow also been accidentally hypnotized. Its eyes gleamed with ferocity and drool dripped from its gaping maw as it advanced step by step on Nami, whose legs had gone weak with terror.

Moonlight flashed across the gleaming blade as it flew...

Ruidio had thrown Malevolent Shrine. The Great Grade Sword's keen blade sliced into the berserk lion's neck and passed clean through without resistance, like a hot knife through butter. With a thud, it embedded itself in the wooden cabin wall behind it.

With a thump, the lion's great head slid off and crashed onto the deck.

With a gush, hot lion's blood spurted from the severed neck, drenching the terrified, bewildered Nami.

With a crack, Playful Cloud lashed out like lightning, knocking Jango down as he tried to climb onto the Black Cat pirate ship alongside them. Jango screamed and rolled around the deck, clutching the injured spot.

Ruidio nudged Jango with his toe, hauled him upright, then kicked the backs of his knees. With two thuds, Jango fell to his knees, his back to Ruidio.

Cold sweat covered Jango's forehead from the pain. Then he felt something heavy press down on his head, and a chill ran down his spine. It was the three-section staff that had beaten his men bloody!

The young man behind him said, "Use the same method you just used to hypnotize yourself. The suggestion is: 'When I finish saying one, two, Jango, I will become someone who can never lie again and always speaks the truth.' Get a single word wrong, and I'll smash your head open."

Chapter 19: It Was This Chaotic World That Did You In

[Name: Jango]

[Overall strength: ★★]

[Mastered: Hypnosis (proficient), basic hand-to-hand combat (beginner), swimming (beginner)]

To test whether Jango had really succeeded in hypnotizing himself, Ruidio simply asked, "Hey, is Kuro really dead?"

Jango jolted!

He did not want to tell the truth at all, but his mouth opened on its own. "He's not dead. A little while ago, he said he was sick of being chased by the Marines, so he used my Hypnosis to provide the Marines with a substitute to die in his place. He personally picked out a wealthy family and planned to seize their fortune, then live under an assumed name from then on."

I'm done for, I'm done for! Remembering Captain Kuro's past cruelty and ruthlessness, Jango realized he had spilled the whole plan... Cold sweat poured down his face in terror.

Nearby, Nami, drenched in the lion's blood, heard Kuro's name and came back to her senses. So Kuro really was still alive?

"Where's this wealthy family?"

"S-Syrup Village..." Jango tried desperately to cover his mouth, but the words came out anyway.

That really is where we're going now?

Nami was a little surprised, but she did not pay it much attention. She angrily kicked Jango in the face. "Talk! Why were you stealing my treasure, you bastard?!"

His face bruised and swollen, Jango answered honestly, "When we come across an empty ship, of course we take everything valuable without hesitation! We're pirates!"

Ruidio asked, "Have you killed anyone? How many people have you killed? How many ordinary civilians?"

Jango did not want to answer, but he said uncontrollably, "If you asked how much treasure I've stolen, I might remember, but how would I remember how many people I've killed? If you asked how many towns I've raided, I might have some idea!"

Fortunately, although the orange-haired girl covered in lion's blood looked furious after hearing his answer, the young man who had smashed all of them to a pulp with a three-section staff showed little reaction.

That's good, that's good... As long as the Nyaban Brothers guarding the ship notice something's wrong, there's still a chance to turn things around!

Ruidio pointed at the Black Cat pirate ship moored alongside them. "How many people are still on your ship?"

He's not asking about the captain anymore. Thank goodness! Relieved, Jango said, "Only the Nyaban Brothers are still there. They're very strong. If you go over there, they'll definitely ambush you." Why did I warn them about that?!

Nami looked at Ruidio.

Ruidio carried Malevolent Shrine over his shoulder and said to Nami, "Put your gold away safely. I'll be back soon." With that, he found a rope, tied Jango's hands, and led him like a dog. Then he leaped up and quietly jumped onto the neighboring enemy ship in the hazy moonlight.

Nami carefully put away her 1.5 billion in gold that the pirates had nearly stolen, then, unable to stand being covered in blood any longer, ran inside the ship to take a bath.

Thank goodness, the new ship Ruidio had made with his special ability came equipped with a bathroom, and even had soap.

When she returned to the deck feeling refreshed, Ruidio was already back. She saw no sign of the Nyaban Brothers, however, only the hypnotist, tied up to one side and trembling.

Ruidio squatted beside the corpse of the rat-catching lion, stroking its head, which had already grown dull and cold. He sighed repeatedly. "It wasn't me who did you in. It was this chaotic world."

Jango and Nami: "..."

[Mission in progress, client: Tony Tony Chopper]

[Daily settlement reward: 5 essence]

The next day—

Moonlight Archipelago, the northern shore of the westernmost island—

The pink new ship and the Black Cat pirate ship were anchored off the deserted shore. The lion was dead and there was no one to catch the rats, so the Black Cat pirate ship could not be used in the three-in-one. They could only sail both ships over together for now.

Bang!