Second Step of the Plan

"Did Onigumo meet with disaster?"

At Marine Headquarters, Akainu's expression turned extremely grim upon hearing this information.

"That's right. Onigumo Vice Admiral encountered Sea King attack on the way and sent his subordinate, Rear Major General Komir, to Savens Island to meet him, but he didn't arrive. After searching, they found several survivors. According to their description, a Sea King attacked the warship."

A green-haired man in a navy uniform stood there and spoke.

Akainu frowned and asked, "A Sea King? Even Sea King from the Calm Belt couldn't hurt Onigumo, could it?"

The green-haired man shook his head and said, "It is said that the Sea King was slashed many times by Vice Admiral Onigumo, and its dorsal fin was even severed, but it still launched an attack, and it also has tentacles. According to their description, there is a description that matches the information."

Akainu asked, "What description?"

The green-haired man replied, "The Giant Beast that appeared with Nico Robin once appeared in Alabasta."

"Robin? That's the Devil Child?"

Akainu snorted and asked, "Are you sure?"

"The huge first dorsal fin, ram, and arms, and the crocodile mouth are quite consistent."

The green-haired man handed over a photograph and said, "Although there are few distinguishing features, there are no other similar creatures besides that Giant Beast, especially with tentacles."

"Then let's investigate and rule out coincidences."

Akainu glanced at the photo and then said, "Onigumo Vice Admiral died during transport. It can be considered a death in the line of duty. Make arrangements for his family and prepare his funeral properly. I will attend."

"Yes."

The green-haired man received the order and immediately withdrew.

"It's been five days, and they still haven't returned? Onigumo Vice Admiral that very night."

On the deserted island, Zala hid in the woods, looking somewhat anxious.

Mr0 has been gone for five days, but has not returned.

On the fourth day, Zala called Vivi and learned that Onigumo Vice Admiral died three nights earlier, and the Navy had issued an obituary, stating that he had died in the line of duty.

Why haven't they returned yet?

If Onigumo Vice Admiral hadn't died, things would have been fine, but since he died and Mr. 0 hadn't returned, it made Zala a little worried.

Could something have gone wrong?

Zala felt a little uneasy, hoping he could return safely. Now they were in a relationship where their fates were intertwined, whether they prospered or suffered.

"The fuel will only last for one day and for the return voyage. If it doesn't arrive by tomorrow, we'll have to send the submarine back to refuel," Zala thought helplessly.

Zala picked up the receiver, about to make a call.

Boom, boom.

Just then, a huge sound came from afar. She quickly ran out and immediately saw a colossal Giant Beast approaching.

"Mr0".

Upon seeing the other person, Zala immediately went to greet them. Seeing that the other person was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You're back."

"Mm." Xia Qiu nodded calmly.

Zala asked curiously, "Yesterday I noticed you hadn't returned, so I called Vivi to ask. She said Onigumo Vice Admiral was dead. So, what have you been doing these past few days...?"

Xia Qiu glanced at her and said, "I went to another place and did some things."

He took so long to come back just to repair his injuries. He had broken both legs, suffered severe back injuries, had his dorsal fin severed, his muscles torn, and his bone plates and scales badly damaged.

Therefore, he needs to eat sea creatures to heal his injuries.

The scales, muscles, and bone plates heal very quickly, and the wounds were already healed on the first day.

However, the regeneration of the dorsal fin, arms, and legs is very slow. Eight arms were broken, with about one-third remaining. Four-fifths of the dorsal fin was broken off, and the two legs in the middle were broken off at the knees, requiring a lot of regeneration.

The regenerated limbs are actually part of the strengthened body, requiring a great deal of energy. Therefore, it took Xia Qiu four whole days to fully recover.

Zala looked at Xia Qiu and asked, "When are we leaving?"

"Now."

Xia Qiu said directly that he had achieved his goal and it was time to go back, as there were still many things to do.

"Good."

Zala immediately sent people back to the submarine, which sank, and Xia Qiu left with them.

"You actually killed a Vice Admiral."

A few days later, on the deserted island, Vivi looked at Xia Qiu with a somewhat surprised expression, "When I received the message, I was very surprised. I didn't expect you to actually succeed."

"Didn't you expect me to win from the beginning?" Xia Qiu looked at Vivi.

"After all, he is Vice Admiral."

Vivi said, "They are the strongest force below the Marine Admiral, and their warships are enormous. Although Devil Fruit User become weak after falling into the water, sinking their warships would be extremely difficult in my opinion."

You're right.

Xia Qiu nodded, realizing that the process of attacking the warship was actually the most dangerous one.

"There is one more thing."

Vivi smiled, took out a piece of paper from her bosom, unfolded it and placed it in front of Xia Qiu, saying, "Your bounty has increased to 90 million, and Nico Robin's bounty has increased to 140 million."

"They actually recognized me."

Xia Qiu was somewhat surprised. Even if there were survivors, they would probably only be able to see a part of their own image and rely on that part to determine their identity, which surprised Xia Qiu.

It also increased Robin's bounty by 20 million, which probably sent a signal to Robin.

"Looks like you can't show your face in front of people so easily anymore," Vivi said with a shrug.

Xia Qiu snorted and said, "It's just that I'm wanted."

"Since everything is alright now."

Vivi stood up and said, "Then I'll be leaving."

"Wait a moment."

Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and said softly, "I want to fight you once."

"A battle?" Vivi looked at Xia Qiu with some surprise.

Xia Qiu said, "That's right, the battle will take place on this island."

"But you can't hit me."

Vivi shook her head and said, "I am Logia Fruit user; you cannot touch me."

"Yeah?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiu suddenly pulled out one of his arms from his abdomen and shot it toward Vivi.

"No water? Then you can't hit me."

Facing the tendrils, Vivi saw that there was no water on them, so she relaxed, stretched out her right hand, transformed it into a sand blade, and slashed forward.

The sand blade struck the wrist, but the latter was unharmed. Not only that, the sand blade reverted to an arm and bounced to the side, causing a sharp pain.

Meanwhile, the tendrils continued forward, colliding with Vivi's abdomen.

"Puff."

Vivi tried to turn into sand, but nothing happened. She was hit in the abdomen and her body flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground. When she tried to get up, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

After his arms and legs were strengthened again, he became extremely powerful, capable of crushing even a stone.

With Armament Haki attached, Vivi couldn't turn into sand to dodge at all. Although her body was stronger than an ordinary person, it was only at the level of Hundred Million Elder. Even if Xia Qiu didn't use his full strength, she couldn't withstand it.

"How could that be?"

Vivi stared at Xia Qiu in disbelief, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth.

Without water, how could he have hit himself?

Xia Qiu walked up to Vivi, looked down at her and said, "Logia is not omnipotent. As long as you master a special power, you can touch the physical form of Logia."

"This..."

Vivi narrowed her eyes. She was afraid of water and could not materialize once she came into contact with it. But apart from that, she always believed that she had no weaknesses and was almost invincible in Alabasta.

But now, he can touch me so easily and injure me.

Without Devil Fruit ability, I am extremely weak; even Intermediate Agent or Senior Agent from Baroque Works could probably kill me.

In particular, he was so focused on developing his Devil Fruit ability that he neglected to further improve his physical skills.

The Devil Fruit ability is ineffective means that I cannot restrain him.

In other words, all collaborations were based on an unequal power dynamic from the outset.

So why has he put himself in control over the past year?

So what is he going to do now?

Xia Qiu looked at her and said, "Your strength is still too weak. If you want to help me complete that plan, you must improve yourself."

What do you want me to do?

Vivi squinted at Xia Qiu.

Xia Qiu said, "I will send Cecilia to the casino in place of Heckle. I will have her train you and help you improve your skills."

Is that all?

Vivi looked at Xia Qiu, somewhat surprised that he hadn't made any additional requests and even planned to help her become stronger.

Xia Qiu countered, "Isn't this all we agreed on?"

You're right.

Vivi was slightly taken aback. Thinking of their agreement, she was going to help him complete a plan, and he was going to help her improve her strength because she was weak. That was fine.

He did not say or do anything that went against the agreement.

Xia Qiu said, "So, I need you to become stronger."

"I... I will do as you say," Vivi said earnestly after a moment's hesitation.

This is a good thing for her, and she has no reason to refuse.

Secondly, she herself was in a completely disadvantaged position.

The ability that he had always used as a bargaining chip had no deterrent effect on him at all; if he wanted to, he could kill him at any time.

Vivi felt a sense of fear towards Xia Qiu and dared not disobey his words.

"Then go ahead," Xia Qiu said softly.

"Yes."

Vivi turned and left, clutching her stomach as she walked towards the door, a trace of blood still lingering at the corner of her mouth. She reached the door, opened it, and stepped outside.

But at this moment, Xia Qiu spoke up, saying, "Remember our agreement. I haven't broken it, and I hope you won't either."

"I see."

Vivi nodded. He had injured her this time, so he must have wanted to show off his strength.

However, he did not break any of the agreements, nor did he take advantage of the opportunity to get what he wanted.

He injured himself, perhaps to tell himself that he would keep his promise.

He could have killed himself, but he chose to keep his promise, which instead earned Vivi's trust in his commitment.

Therefore, I must also fulfill the agreement and complete the commitment between the two of us.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Vivi nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.

That's about it.

He had demonstrated his strength, which made Vivi afraid to resist him or do anything extra.

He also expressed that he would continue according to the agreement.

With the casino partnerships, intelligence network, and future plans, she will undoubtedly manage them even better.

Casinos are relatively easy to deal with; profit sharing is quite simple.

As for intelligence, she probably wouldn't hesitate too much to get the information she needs in the future.

Most importantly, there's that plan. If Vivi can become even stronger, she will be a huge asset.

Xia Qiu's goal was simply to complete the plan; she did not desire anything more.

Or rather, completing that plan would make me strong enough.

As Xia Qiu was thinking, Zala pushed open the door and came in, asking in confusion, "President, what happened to Vivi? Why was she injured? She didn't say anything when I asked her."

"I just gave her a little lesson," Xia Qiu said softly.

"You injured her?"

Zala was somewhat surprised. Vivi had Logia Devil Fruit, and she was no match for her. How did Mr. 0 manage to injure her?

"That's right." Xia Qiu nodded.

"This..." Zala didn't know how Xia Qiu had done it.

"Don't worry about these things." Xia Qiu looked at Zala and said with dissatisfaction, "Zala, your strength is a bit weak."

"I'm sorry, President." Zala was somewhat apprehensive. Mr. 0 had killed many people because others were weak. Would he turn against her?

Xia Qiu snorted and said, "But you've been with me for so long, you've worked hard even if you haven't done anything great. In a while, I'll help you improve your strength."

"Increase your strength?"

Upon hearing this, Zala felt relieved and overjoyed, then asked, "You want to help me improve my strength?"

"Certainly."

Xia Qiu said, "However, it will take some time to prepare, and I will need your cooperation at that time."

"I will do my best," Zala said quickly.

Xia Qiu nodded, walked to one side, and entered the ocean.

Mastering Haki is my first step in the plan.

Next, I will proceed with the second step of my plan to obtain the Six Powers.

The Six Powers is a special physical technique. Shave can accelerate, Geppo can make you fly, Tekkai increases defense, Shigan can increase attack power, Tempest Kick can create Rankyaku, and Paper Arts can improve your evasion.

My physical condition is good enough to allow me to learn the Six Powers technique. Although I may not be able to learn it, if I do, it will be of great use.

Of these, the Tekkai is of little use. I have Armament Haki, so I don't need the Tekkai. Besides, the enemies I encounter are not those that the Tekkai can handle.

Paper Arts isn't very useful. Given my large size, it's difficult to use Paper Arts to dodge enemy attacks, making it hard to use.

Shigan, a technique that concentrates power in the fingers. Although one does not have fingers, Fukurou in CP9 can fire Shigan with his fists.

So, can I do this with my head?

There's also the Tempest Kick; he has six legs, and if he could use the Tempest Kick, it would be very effective.

The effects of Geppo and Shaving are self-evident.

If you know how to shave, it will greatly increase your movement speed. And Geppo will allow you to walk in the air.

These are the two abilities that Xia Qiu most desires, but she doesn't know if she can learn them.

But besides the Six Powers, Xia Qiu also wants another ability.

Life Return.

By infusing consciousness into the body, hair, and internal organs, one can freely control them.

For example, the lion in CP9 can control his hair at will.

For example, Onigumo can grip a longsword with his hair, and can even twist his hair like an arm.

The goal of Xia Qiu is to freely control one's wrists and feet.

One's own wrists and feet cannot perform very fine movements; they can only rely on muscle contractions to move, such as popping out, whipping, contracting, and wriggling.

After delivering a strike, at most it will contract its muscles and use its wrists and feet to entangle the enemy.

Unable to control the wrists for a second full-force attack, unable to control the wrists at will.

As it strengthens itself, its arms and legs become more and more resilient and its strength increases.

However, if the control is not sensitive, it will only become a burden and serve no purpose.

Once Life Return, one can control their wrists and limbs to perform extremely precise movements, and with the help of Armament Haki, their combat power is extremely strong.

With the addition of Geppo and Shave, Xia Qiu's attack methods have increased, his mobility has improved, and his weaknesses have been compensated for.

When the time comes, if I am Haki enough, I will be able to contend with a lieutenant Vice Admiral on land.

Moreover, the Six Powers can also be used to arm one's subordinates and help them improve their strength.

Therefore, Xia Qiu was determined to obtain the Six Powers.