Mobius Makes a Move, Hidden Stalking

Two days later, the merchant ship finally arrived at an island. This was Mud Island, the first of three islands on the way to Pet Island.

Their luck had been good during this time; the weather was excellent, and the sea was calm all the way. It was as if all their bad luck had been used up on Devil's Island.

The merchant ship gradually docked at Mud Island's port, attracting quite a bit of attention. However, upon seeing the guards clad in armor and wielding large sabers, many people retracted their eager gazes.

The merchant ship was indeed a big catch, but whether it could be taken down was another question. The fifty guards on board were not to be trifled with, nor were the sailors who frequently sailed the seas. If they hadn't lost so many men on Devil's Island, the merchant ship's strength would have been even greater. Even after the Old Captain led a rescue attempt to the outskirts of Devil's Island, a final headcount revealed just over eighty survivors, with more than forty lives lost on that island.

The merchant ship needed to make a brief stop on this island for repairs, about an hour's time. Teach and Mobius stepped onto the island's soil, feeling the ground beneath them was incredibly soft, their feet sinking slightly.

"Wow! My feet sank in, the ground here is so soft," Mobius exclaimed in surprise. He stepped his feet from side to side, his feet sinking in with each step. But as soon as he lifted his foot, the depressions in the ground sprang back, filling themselves in and returning to their original state.

"Mmm, this island is very peculiar. It's called Mud Island, and it's filled with very soft yellow mud everywhere, which is why the land here is so yielding," Teach nodded and chuckled.

He led Mobius towards the small town. Teach's clothes were tattered, and he had no clean clothes to change into, making him look like a beggar.

So, the first thing they did upon landing was to get some suitable, clean clothes. The pirates around them looked at Teach with mockery, pointing and whispering.

"Boss Teach, let me teach them a lesson for talking nonsense here." Mobius was very angry hearing the people around them speak like that, but Teach stopped him.

"Mobius, don't let anger cloud your judgment. Once a strong person attacks a weak one, it shows their limitations. In front of me, they don't even have the right to die," Teach said with a slow smile, unconcerned by the surrounding stares.

Suddenly, a few thugs approached, brandishing small knives and iron rods, with smiles on their faces. "Hey, you two, hand over whatever good stuff you have. Otherwise, if you happen to lose an arm or a leg, it'll be a real hassle to deal with."

"Hey, boss, isn't this a bit much? This guy's clothes are so ragged, how could he have anything valuable?" one of his companions reminded him. The leader's face changed. "Idiot." He smacked the thug next to him on the head. "Am I the boss, or are you?" He held a small dagger, twirling it effortlessly in his hand. It was a flashy trick, but not very useful in a real fight.

Seven other thugs, led by him, stood behind him, each trying to look as ferocious as possible. But Teach and Mobius didn't seem to care at all.

A few thugs were no pressure for Teach at all. "Mobius, it's up to you now. Let me see how much you've improved these past few days."

Hearing Teach's words, Mobius felt a bit nervous, facing so many people, eight thugs in total. But soon, he felt eager. Mobius also wanted to see how much he had improved, as he hadn't had a clear measure of it.

"Then let me handle it." Mobius stretched his limbs. His slightly elongated neck now made him nearly 1.9 meters tall.

"Kid, who are you looking down on? You think you can take on all eight of us by yourself?" The thug leader was angered, wanting to teach Mobius a lesson and make him pay for his arrogance.

Mobius wanted to gauge his progress, and these eight men were his test subjects.

"Hmph! If you want to deal with Boss Teach, you'll have to get past me first," Mobius sneered. These people were just petty thugs, lacking the courage to go out to sea, spending their days on the island bullying the weak and robbing others of their money and food.

From his perspective, these people were beneath his notice.

He raised his left hand and grabbed his right shoulder joint. Crack! To the thugs' shocked gazes, Crack! Crack! He dislocated his shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints one by one. During this process, Mobius only gritted his teeth in pain. He had now learned to dislocate his own joints.

And through days of training, his arms had gradually become accustomed to the looseness of his joints, no longer causing as much pain as before.

After dislocating the major joints of his right hand, Mobius then loosened the major joints of his left hand. A hint of excitement played on his lips.

The thugs stared blankly at Mobius's actions, bewildered. They seemed to want to ask, "Doesn't that hurt?" Just thinking about it made them cringe.

"Showing off." The thugs' leader gritted his teeth and sneered. With dyed blonde hair and bare arms, he had some strength to be the leader of these petty thugs.

He held a sturdy steel pipe and swung it fiercely at Mobius.

"Snake Hand: Coil." Mobius's hands swung rapidly, as flexible as snakes. To the onlookers, they suddenly elongated, directly wrapping around the steel pipe swung at him. He twirled it twice on the pipe and then flung it backward. The immense force sent the steel pipe flying out of the thug leader's hand, too slippery to hold onto.

The sheer power sent his body lurching forward, throwing him off balance. At this moment, Mobius struck again. "Snake Hand: Wild Barrage!" His coiled hands, like whips, lashed out repeatedly at the thug leader. Szlack! Szlack! Szlack! Szlack! Mobius's wicked amusement was evident as his snake hands struck the thug leader's face again and again. Whip after whip, the thug leader was dazed, completely unable to resist. His entire face swelled up, red and bruised, to the point where his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

Mobius's whipping became more and more enthusiastic. For some reason, he was starting to enjoy this feeling. He panted slightly, a smile of excitement on his face. The thug leader collapsed unconscious on the ground, and Mobius still felt unsatisfied.

He turned his attention to the other seven thugs standing nearby. They were already trembling with fear, and when they saw Mobius's gaze fall upon them, they nearly wet themselves.

"De... Devil!"

"Long-armed monster!"

Mobius was initially pleased by the first exclamation, but the second one made his face fall. He charged forward, giving them no chance to escape.

"Snake Hand: Frenzied Barrage!"

Teach watched with a slight smile. He didn't intervene. Mobius needed this release, and it was beneficial for him to see the results of his training.

Mobius's Snake Hand was now showing initial results, but it was only effective against petty thugs. He was still far from his goal of breaking a tree with a single strike. However, compared to his past self, his progress was incredibly evident, a comprehensive improvement in a short period.

Now, Mobius had become accustomed to striking with both hands, so he no longer practiced stiff, single-handed strikes. Instead, he practiced dual-handed strikes, and his targets had changed from wood to steel. As Mobius's strength grew, so did the power and efficiency of his strikes. Where else could he find so much wood to waste?

But he was still far from his goal of breaking a tree with one strike. Mobius's strength and striking speed still needed to increase.

Before long, the group of thugs lay on the ground, beaten to the point where they couldn't get up. Their faces were swollen into round balls, bruised and purple. Mobius had landed most of his attacks on their faces. Teach watched Mobius, slightly breathless but with an excited look on his face, and couldn't help but wonder if Mobius had unlocked some unusual fetish.

Mobius, lost in his excitement, suddenly shivered. His body trembled, and he snapped back to reality. He looked around, wondering if someone was thinking bad thoughts about him.

These petty thugs were merely a minor interruption. Teach and Mobius asked for directions and soon found a well-known clothing store on the island.

They walked in and looked around. There were all sorts of clothes, but most were for men, with a casual style. This island was a gathering place for pirates, and many stopped here. However, in Teach's eyes, they were all minor pirates who couldn't compete with the Great Pirates elsewhere and had to resort to places like this.

"Hello, sir, is there anything you need?" the clothing store owner asked with a smile as Teach entered.

He didn't look down on Teach because of his attire. As a clothing store owner, he had seen all sorts of pirates. In his eyes, Teach didn't look like an ordinary pirate; his demeanor was unusual. Furthermore, he immediately recognized the seemingly ordinary emerald bracelet on Teach's wrist as valuable, worth at least hundreds of thousands of Belly.

"Hahahaha! See? I want to change into an overcoat, a shirt, and a pair of pants. The overcoat should be primarily black," Teach said with a hearty laugh, asking the owner to help him choose. The owner's attitude was good, and with his discerning eye, he would surely help him pick out a good outfit. The store was large, and Teach couldn't take it all in. "Money is no object."

"Alright, please wait a moment!" The owner's eyes lit up. He took out a measuring tool and measured Teach's shoulders and waist. As for Teach's height, he could tell at a glance.

He was very efficient. After taking the measurements, he went to the back to pick out clothes. Then, he brought out an outfit. "Sir, how about this shirt? And these pants."

It was a blue-purple plaid shirt, and the pants were dark blue. Teach put on the shirt and stood in front of the mirror, buttoning it up and turning to look at himself. It looked good. Teach nodded. He held the pants up against himself and tried them on. For him, they were capri pants, a bit too short. He handed them back to the owner. "Get me a longer pair of pants, about nine-tenths length would be good."

"Alright." The shopkeeper nodded and immediately took out another pair of pants of the same style.

Teach changed into the new pants and took the captain's coat from the shopkeeper. It was themed in black with gold and silver trim, and on the back were two white crossed claws.

Those ten sharp claws matched Teach perfectly. Teach nodded and looked at the shopkeeper. "Help him change into suitable clothes too," Teach said, patting Mobius on the shoulder.

A few minutes later, Teach and Mobius left the clothing store. Mobius looked joyfully at his new outfit: a short-sleeved shirt inside, a button-up shirt over it, and blue shorts with white stripes.

Seeing that they still had time, Teach took Mobius to wander around the town for a bit, buying some food, including cherry pie. Mobius saw the necklace Teach wore around his neck and thought it was very cool, so he picked out a silver, snake-shaped necklace for himself.

Teach paid for everything, of course. He didn't care about such small amounts of money, and since Mobius wanted it, he bought it for him.

The two slowly walked back to the port. The crew members who had gone shopping were gradually returning, boarding the merchant ship one by one. Teach and Mobius followed suit. However, during the journey on the merchant ship, Teach seemed to sense something and couldn't help but smile.

"What's wrong, Boss Teach?" Mobius asked, carrying their purchases. His senses were very sharp, and he noticed Teach's expression. He realized that whenever Teach made that kind of face, something was about to happen.

"Shishishishi, it's nothing. Just a small bug has set its sights on the merchant ship," Teach said with a faint smile, not taking it to heart. Mobius understood when he heard this; pirates setting their sights on a merchant ship was a perfectly normal occurrence at sea.

At the port, on the surface, everything appeared normal, no different from usual. In reality, however, the situation was fraught with hidden currents. In various hidden corners, many eyes were observing the merchant ship's condition, gazing at the massive vessel with greed in their eyes.

On the merchant ship, Teach noticed that the guards had become serious and were on high alert. The sailors also seemed ready for battle, quickly returning to their posts.

Everyone on the merchant ship was preparing to leave. It seemed they had also noticed something was amiss, that someone had targeted them.

"Captain, the merchant ship is about to depart," a pirate whispered into a Den Den Mushi from a dark corner.

"Is that so?" On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, a robust man, with a naked woman in his arms, heard the news. A glint flashed in his eyes. He immediately pushed the woman beside him away. The woman let out a pained groan but didn't dare say anything; she knew who the man beside her was.

"Then tell the lads to gather," the man roared with laughter, putting on his clothes and walking out the door.

"Haha, I didn't expect a merchant ship to carry such a treasure. Heaven is helping me! If I obtain this, I can become a Great Pirate," the man muttered excitedly to himself.