Speed Is Power—Have You Ever Been Kicked by Lightning? (Please Keep Reading, Extra-Long 4K Chapter)

Speed Is Power—Have You Ever Been Kicked by Lightning? (Please Keep Reading, Extra-Long 4K Chapter)

"You're here already. What's the rush?!"

Bai Ye strode forward, then took a quick step onto the Arena.

Did these guys think he was still the same person he had been a while ago?!

No matter what, he was going to teach them a lesson today.

"You bastard, I thought you weren't coming!"

"Captain Rocks, hurry up and start! I can't wait to beat this guy up!"

The pirates below the stage could no longer hold back when they saw Bai Ye's arrogant expression. Watching him show off right in front of them made their whole bodies itch with the urge to beat him up.

That handsome face of his, pretty enough to belong to some pampered boy, especially made them want to smash it into a pig's head.

"Jihahahaha! Bai Ye, you bastard, if you don't hide, people are going to die later!"

Golden Lion clenched his cigar between his teeth and turned to Bai Ye. He simply could not understand why Bai Ye had come back. Wouldn't it have been fine to just forfeit?

Did he really think he could become strong after training for only one month?

"Golden Lion, you old bastard, you're not dead yet, so I won't die either. I'll definitely live longer than you!"

Bai Ye shot back without mercy. In the Rocks Pirates, weakness would only make others look down on you.

Even when Bai Ye had been weak, he had never backed down. If Golden Lion cursed at him, he certainly would not indulge him—he would curse right back.

Why had he been so bold back then?

What a joke!

He had always been this bold!

It definitely was not because Rocks had been protecting him from behind!

"Is that so?"

Golden Lion gave an eerie smile. He took Bai Ye's words as nothing more than the bravado of a man about to die.

There were plenty of people here stronger than Bai Ye, not to mention that so many of them had made Bai Ye their main target.

Bai Ye was naturally in for a rough time.

"Exactly, exactly. I love telling the truth!"

"..."

Golden Lion turned his head and stared at Bai Ye with a strange expression. Bai Ye seemed to constantly spout things he could not understand.

What did "exactly, exactly" even mean?

Those repeated words suddenly gave Golden Lion a chill. Could this guy really like men, just as the rumors said?

He was so handsome and dashing, especially with that flowing hairstyle of his. It had captivated countless young women. If Bai Ye liked men, then he would surely like his type.

Fuck!

He would have to stay farther away from Bai Ye from now on.

No, wait!

Bai Ye would die today anyway. It was fine. He would not need to avoid him.

Golden Lion silently recalled the rumors about Bai Ye within the Pirate Crew. It seemed Bai Ye had never gone through those friendship things between men.

There were rumors that Charlotte Linlin had approached Bai Ye before. Even Gloriosa and Kurosumi Orochi aboard the ship had confessed to him, yet Bai Ye had rejected them all. Of course, Bai Ye himself did not even know anyone had confessed to him.

But even if they had confessed to him, Bai Ye would still have rejected them.

Charlotte Linlin truly was the number one beauty of the Rocks Pirates at the moment.

But fuck, that woman wanted to have children with all kinds of races.

Unless he had a cuckold fetish and enjoyed NTR, he would never accept Big Mom. Besides, after having children later on, Big Mom's figure would completely go out of shape, turning her straight into a fat old woman.

Gloriosa, the former former former empress of Amazon Lily, was currently a standard great beauty too. But later, she would turn directly into a shrunken Elder Nyon.

As for Kurosumi Orochi, she would become an old witch later on.

Bai Ye could not understand it. They were all women, so why was the difference between the Naruto World and this world so huge?

When people in the Naruto World got old, they merely got old. They did not shrink in height, nor did they undergo such exaggerated changes. People like Anko were naturally rare—you could see the marks time had left on her, but it was not like the butcher's knife of this world, which could turn a woman into someone even her own mother would not recognize.

"Hey, you bastard, what kind of look is that?"

Bai Ye noticed Golden Lion's disgusted gaze and went numb.

It seemed this guy was thinking something terrible.

"Nothing. I just feel like you bastard are going to die today too. Don't worry, I'll come watch when they bury you!"

Golden Lion took a drag from his cigar and did not say much more.

He felt there was little point in telling Bai Ye any of this.

He would die soon anyway.

"Old Lion, I'm truly touched. Don't worry, after you die, I'll burn a few more beauties for you."

The two of them started up again.

Whitebeard, standing nearby, turned to look over with interest as he listened to their exchange.

He had long grown used to their bickering.

Within the Rocks Pirates, Bai Ye and John had a fairly good relationship. Whitebeard got along with Bai Ye as well. The others did not interact with Bai Ye much, but their relationships were not particularly bad either.

Only with Golden Lion was it different. Whenever those two met, they could truly start arguing on the spot.

"You bastard, are you looking for death?" Golden Lion turned directly to Rocks. "Captain, I request a one-on-one duel with him!!"

Fuck!

That mouth was even more vicious than his. What did Bai Ye mean by saying he would burn beauties for him after he died?

Did Bai Ye think he liked that sort of thing?

Those punchable words combined with that expression were more than Golden Lion could take. He directly asked Rocks for a duel with Bai Ye. Before the captain competition, he had to let Bai Ye know how formidable he was.

Otherwise, if Bai Ye died later, he probably would not even know how strong Golden Lion truly was.

"I'm telling you two..." Rocks rubbed his forehead helplessly. After looking the two of them over, he continued, "Can't you wait until later? I didn't come here to watch you two fight. You really want to fight? If you do, I can fight you two!"

Rocks could not stand these two living treasures anymore.

Were they idiots?

What was the purpose of holding this competition?!

First, his Pirate Crew had only recently been assembled. So many people had joined, and he needed to make the others acknowledge them.

These captains were the best choice. A competition could reveal whether the captains were all show, while also uncovering any other talented people who had yet to be discovered.

It would also let everyone see the captains' strength, making it easier for them to recruit pirates into their own teams afterward.

Otherwise, many pirates had not yet been assigned to divisions, and they could be difficult to manage at times.

It was also meant to strengthen the crew's cohesion. At the very least, he did not want any accidents when it came to God Valley.

"Then forget it. Golden Lion can't beat you anyway." Bai Ye said, then turned to Golden Lion with a solemn look. "Old Lion, even though you've been cursing me this whole time, as your father, I still have to consider your well-being. Don't worry, I won't let you fight Captain Rocks."

Click.

Golden Lion tightened his grip around Kogarashi and Oto.

He could not take it anymore. He wanted to chop Bai Ye to death right now.

"Bai Ye, say a little less!"

Even John could not bear to watch anymore.

Good brother, if you kept talking, even if you did not die on this Arena later, Golden Lion might kill you afterward.

Were you really not afraid at all?

"Enough, you two have said enough. Let the competition begin. Everyone, stop wasting time!"

Rocks waved a hand. The moment his words fell, the surrounding pirates erupted into commotion, and their first target was Bai Ye.

After all, Bai Ye was publicly recognized as the weakest captain in the Pirate Crew.

"Bai Ye, Bai Ye, don't blame us. You're the weakest one, after all!"

"Sorry, I'm from Boss Golden Lion's division, so I have to vent Boss's anger!"

"It's decided—you're the one, Bai Ye!!!"

The pirates surged forward in a wave and charged toward Bai Ye.

Compared to the other six Arenas, not a single person had gone up against Whitebeard, Golden Lion, or Charlotte Linlin. No one was stupid. Unless they genuinely wanted to challenge them rather than compete for captaincy, nobody would choose those three.

As for Ochoku, John, and Silver Axe, a few people had gone up to challenge them, but their numbers were negligible compared to Bai Ye's.

Apart from the pirates rushing in all at once, there were also plenty watching from beneath the stage. They intended to make their move at the end. Taking the stage now might grant them a temporary advantage, but only the person who remained standing at the end would be the true winner.

Everyone only had one chance to challenge. Being killed or knocked off the Arena counted as failure. This was meant to prevent pirates from endlessly taking turns exhausting the contestants' stamina. Once someone took the stage, life and death were left to fate.

Some were willing to risk their lives for the position of captain, but many more had come merely to watch the excitement.

"Bai Ye, if you step down on your own, you can still keep your life. Otherwise, don't blame us when our blades show no mercy!"

The pirates still had some reservations about Bai Ye—not because of his strength, but because Rocks was backing him. Thus, they were somewhat wary.

So if they could make Bai Ye step down himself, that would naturally be for the best.

"What are you afraid of? My strength is only average. If you're afraid of hurting me, then just step down yourselves."

"Then don't blame us!"

Seeing that Bai Ye would not step down, the pirates understood that words alone would not work.

Since Bai Ye insisted on clinging to the captain's position, they could only use their strength to tell him that it was not a position he could keep just by refusing to leave.

"Don't move, Bai Ye!"

One pirate had already raised a pistol at Bai Ye's head. While Bai Ye had been talking to the others, the man had circled around to Bai Ye's side and drawn his gun.

"So scary."

Bai Ye raised both hands, putting on a surrendering pose. The pirates beside him went numb as they watched.

Was that all it took?

"Is he stepping down just like that? He's doing this for his life?"

Disappointment flashed across Golden Lion's face. Although he and Bai Ye bickered, he had still reluctantly acknowledged Bai Ye. Otherwise, he would not even bother bickering with Joker. But if Bai Ye stepped down just like this, Golden Lion would be deeply disappointed.

"A swordsman... is he going to lose the sharpness that belongs to him?"

Ochoku sighed. He did not understand it. It was only a gun—was Bai Ye really afraid?

Or had he seen so many pirates around him, realized he could not win, and chosen to give up?

But wasn't doing the impossible precisely the spirit a swordsman needed to possess?

"Fuck, you nearly fooled me, you brat! These past few days, you weren't off playing on Sky Island, were you?!"

Captain John stared at Bai Ye, dumbfounded. Yesterday, he had been thinking about how shameful Bai Ye's hard work was, secretly training behind his back. Yet today, he was seeing this scene.

So he had just been out having fun all that time?

And he had not brought John along?

Fine, fine, fine!

Every time John held a banquet, he always brought Bai Ye along, but Bai Ye went out to have fun without him!

"Gurarararara, this guy!?"

Curiosity flashed through Whitebeard's eyes. Deep down, he did not believe Bai Ye would surrender so easily.

"If you're surrendering, then hurry up and get down!"

The pirate holding the gun could not help showing a smug expression.

He had never expected to scare Bai Ye off with a single pistol.

That meant he was temporarily the winner, right?

Even if he lost afterward, his reputation would still spread.

"Speed is power. Have you ever been kicked by lightning?"

Bai Ye turned toward the pirate. Before the man could react, Bai Ye's shin struck his face in an instant, sending him flying backward!

He!?

Had they seen that wrong just now?!

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?!

"No way! That guy ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Brother, don't tell me you went to Sky Island to eat a Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?"

John's mouth fell wide open. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his jaw practically hit the ground.

Fuck!

You hadn't secretly gone off to train—you had secretly gone off to eat a Devil Fruit.

And you ate the fucking Rumble-Rumble Fruit!?

Are you sick in the head?!

Why did you have to become this strong?

"Jihahahaha! You bastard ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit! No wonder you're even more arrogant than before. In my entire life, I've never seen anyone as arrogant as you. You're really something, you bastard. You had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and didn't eat it sooner?!"

From what John had said, Bai Ye had clearly known the location of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit for a long time.

Yet he had not eaten it until now.

Had this guy waited for this exact moment, secretly eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to amaze everyone?

Golden Lion admitted that, for a moment, he truly had been amazed.

Whether it was the Float-Float Fruit or the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, if their users had not been powerful, neither fruit would truly compare to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Even an idiot who was not particularly smart could develop the Rumble-Rumble Fruit into something incredibly powerful.

"You're no longer a pure swordsman... Why do all swordsmen have to eat Devil Fruits? Bai Ye, you bastard!!!!"

Ochoku roared, but deflated the next second.

Because he understood Bai Ye too.

If the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had been placed before him, he would have struggled over whether to eat it as well. Besides, given Bai Ye's current situation, he had no choice but to eat it to increase his combat power!