Slada
Slada remained silent, standing there quietly, looking at his fist, seemingly deep in thought.
Although it was just one punch, it was his strongest attack, condensing all the power he could unleash, along with his Haki.
He shook his head slightly. He was not satisfied with the result; he was dissatisfied with himself, his strength, and the intensity of his Haki.
As he recalled the scenes playing in the video, the battles of those powerful figures, although it couldn't compare to experiencing it firsthand, he was a monster, so naturally he could see a lot of things.
Compared to those stronger individuals, he is still far from being good enough.
Before, he only had his anchor, some seasonings, and a lighter for starting a fire. Now, he has something else with him: Transponder Snail).
At the same time, there was also dissatisfaction with his opponent, who was too weak and could not put more pressure on him. Human potential is limitless. Originally, he was unable to deal with the strongest beasts on the island, but after learning Haki, he easily Awakening.
In a short period of time, Haki's progress was rapid, and those ferocious beasts were naturally no match for him. Therefore, in order to gain greater pressure, he also restricted his Armament Haki and fought those beasts with his own body.
Although it still had an effect, it also limited the progress of his Armament Haki.
Perhaps before long, I'll be able to take down those beasts on my own.
This island, with its treacherous environment and ferocious beasts, was the cradle for his growth. Now, it is about to become a shackle restricting his progress.
The once dangerous island is now a place where people can come and go freely.
He needed to fight, to face a more powerful opponent. This island, apart from the village, was almost losing its appeal to Fa.
He lowered his fist, picked up his weapon again, Slada the massive anchor onto his shoulder, assessed the location, and headed in one direction.
Slada is very familiar with this island, especially with the increase in his strength in recent years. What place hasn't he been to?
As for the Blood Lion's corpse, he didn't care. The Blood Lion's flesh wasn't tasty, and the previous stench made him feel uncomfortable.
Slada gradually departed, the Blood Lion's corpse exuding a strong aura of blood, attracting hunters who kept approaching, devouring the Blood Lion's carcass, or perhaps sparking another war.
On the western side of the Hunting Island, there is a swamp with a lake and a small waterfall cascading down from above.
With a "thud," a figure fell from the sky and crashed onto the lake's surface, splashing up a huge spray of water.
In the lake, there also lives a group of ferocious creatures, the masters of this lake and the overlords of this swamp, which is their hunting ground.
On the shore of the lake, or in the water, they lay quietly, or floated silently on the surface. Facing this "outsider" who had fallen, they only glanced at it and paid no attention.
Each one is seven or eight meters long. Although short, it has strong limbs, a long mouth with amazing bite force, a tail with amazing strength, and its whole body is covered with a layer of hard scales.
This is the crocodile, the overlord of this swamp, a dominant group on the entire Hunting Island.
It was Slada who jumped off the waterfall. Judging from their appearance, both sides seemed to be used to it. A huge shadow swept across the calm lake surface, and they arrived beneath the water where the commotion had started, but which had already subsided.
Immediately afterwards, the huge shadow beneath the lake gradually became clear, and soon, a massive body emerged from the water. It was a giant crocodile, unlike the other crocodiles, with a body length of nearly thirty meters. It was one of the dominant creatures on the island and the king of the entire crocodile population.
Half of his body was above the water, and the other half was above the surface. On his head lay a figure—it was Slada.
He had already subdued the crocodile king six months ago, or at least that's what he thought.
By chance, he took a liking to this lake and would always come to it to bathe and cleanse himself after hunting or fighting.
However, this is the crocodiles' territory; they are the masters of this lake, so how could they allow an outsider to come? This is the first time such a thing has happened.
The moment Slada arrived, he was already targeted by this group of crocodiles, who saw him as prey. Thus, a great battle began.
Without a doubt, the group of crocodiles was overwhelmed by Slada. Finally, the overlord hidden in the lake appeared—this giant crocodile. After a battle, it was also defeated, losing its fighting ability, or rather, it fell down, watching helplessly as Slada took a bath in the water and then left very gracefully.
The second and third times, Slada's arrival was a provocation to them. They continued to fight, but none of them were a match for Slada. As their numbers increased, they gradually stopped resisting, allowing Slada to come and then leave.
This is a monster, but it won't cause any trouble anyway. It just comes here to take a bath and occasionally sleeps here, keeping one eye open and the other closed. And Slada has become a regular visitor to this lake.
As evening approached, Slada lay quietly on the giant crocodile's head, opened his eyes, looked at the sky, and judged the time.
Slada doesn't stay in the village often, usually returning only once every three days, which is why the villagers are worried about him.
It was now the third day. "I'm leaving," Slada said slowly as he stood up. Using the giant crocodile's body, he leaped lightly onto a rock face beside the waterfall, landing on a foothold. Despite his enormous size, it was incredibly easy for him. The rock face was very hard, and there was no risk of it breaking if he didn't exert any force.
Walking back to the village, he was dragging a huge bison in his arms.
Suddenly, Slada frowned, then stopped and carefully looked at the ground around him. He often walked this road, but now he noticed something strange: he found traces of someone having passed by.
It wasn't just one person, but many; the twisted weeds and all sorts of signs indicated that many people had passed through this place.
These traces were not left by the village hunters, Slada knew. Following these traces, Slada gradually discovered that the direction of these traces led directly to the village.
Had something happened in the village? Had a group of strangers arrived? With this thought in mind, Slada's expression changed, and he quickly ran towards the village.
As he approached the village, Slada gradually slowed his pace. He had naturally Awakening his Observation Haki and could sense the presence of the villagers. It seemed that nothing unexpected had happened.
However, there was still a lot of unfamiliar atmosphere. Slada slowly approached the village, filled with doubt. But for some reason, his heart began to pound, and his usually calm heart was suddenly filled with nervousness.
Slada's Observation Haki alerted many people. Some members of the Night Pirates noticed that someone was spying on them. Those with stronger Observation Haki and a longer range could sense a powerful aura slowly approaching, and curious looks appeared on their faces. They also guessed who the person returning was.
"Looks like he's back," someone said, and the others nodded in agreement.
The villagers who were preparing also heard their words and couldn't help but feel happy.
Soon, Slada appeared, his six-meter-tall figure surprising them. A tall stature often symbolizes strength and physique, though that's not entirely accurate, but his strength certainly wouldn't be lacking.
He held an anchor in one hand, using the enormous anchor as a weapon, and dragged a huge bison with the other.
Looking at the lively atmosphere of the village and the members of the Night Pirates who had appeared there, he naturally knew about the members of the Night Pirates. He had paid a lot of attention to the Night Pirates, the pirate crew that Gari had joined, as many of the members' clothes bore the mark of the Night Pirates flag.
A hint of surprise and excitement flashed in Slada's eyes; he had imagined this scene many times in his mind.
Immediately afterwards, he sensed a familiar presence and saw a familiar figure—it was Gari.
"Slada, you're back." Gari was excited to see Slada return; he hadn't seen Slada in a long time.
Standing before Slada towering figure was like that of a small giant, towering two meters above Gari, Slada remarked with admiration Gari, "It seems you haven't fallen behind in this time either."
"Hmm, you're back too. So, your pirate crew is here as well?" Slada asked, unable to contain himself.
"That's right." Gari nodded. "Most of them are on another island, the rest are here. Come with me, I'll take you to meet our captain, he's very interested in you."
Gari didn't say much, but Stara understood what he meant and felt a surge of excitement.
The village wasn't big. Teach sat on a relatively flat rock, Gari brought Stara to Teach.
Teach had longed to meet Slada for a long time. Although he had experienced Slada's situation before, this was the first time the two of them had met.
You can also more clearly feel the terrifying power and powerful physique within Slada.
He exudes an aura like a ferocious beast, just like Big Mom. He never hides, or rather, he disdains to conceal, making people feel terrified at first sight. His invisible aura and pressure are the result of Slada's years of constant battles with ferocious beasts.
Standing before you, it's as if a ferocious beast is standing before you.
He had a tall, strong physique and was full of power.
This was also the first time Slada had seen Teach in person. Although he had seen Teach through videos and witnessed the power she displayed before, he had never seen her in Teach.
But only by standing in front of Teach can you truly feel how terrifying Teach is. Teach is like an ordinary person, sitting there quietly, as if returning to simplicity.
But Slada's intuition warned him of danger; within Teach lay a great terror, a deadly threat that seemed poised to erupt at any moment.
This was the first time Slada had ever felt this way. He was no match for Teach. If Teach were to make a move, he would be easily killed. Their strength was simply not on the same level.
He was well aware of this, having witnessed the images and knew how terrifying Teach's strength was. He had also seen the power of the world's elite, but only after seeing Teach did he realize how terrifying such power was. He didn't know how much he would need to improve his strength to reach that level.
Five times, ten times?
But this did not dampen Slada's confidence; instead, a burning passion surged within him. This was the goal he sought: to see a wider world on the high seas and pursue even greater power.
Teach looked at Slada, and the two stared at each other in silence. Under Teach's gaze, Slada felt an invisible pressure, a mental oppression, but it didn't have much of an effect. Slada was not weak-willed, and he could tell that this was probably a test from Teach.
Seemingly seeing through Slada's thoughts, Teach smiled, slowly stood up, and withdrew his attack.
Standing before Slada, he extended his hand. "Captain of the Night Pirates, Marshall D. Teach." Slada was indeed very tall; Teach, nearly four meters tall, only reached Slada's abdomen.
"Slada." Slada also extended his hand, clasped the two hands tightly together, and then released them.
Gari stood to one side, while other members watched from a distance.
"Slada, the purpose of my visit is for you. Gari said you are very strong, and the Night Pirates need strong members. Now that I see, it's true. Come join our Night Pirates and become a member of our crew. I have prepared a great gift for you." Teach couldn't help but open his arms and laugh loudly, extending his invitation. His eyes were fixed on Slada, and he exuded an invisible charisma.
"Yes, I agree, Captain." Slada smiled and lowered his head.
He had always wanted to join the Night Pirates; he intended to set sail to find Night Pirates and then join them.
Furthermore, Teach, known as the "Dark Emperor," is a world-renowned Great Pirate. His personal invitation shows his sincerity. He is not arrogant; the Night Pirates and do not need him.
At the same time, he was also curious about what exactly Teach had prepared for him.
"Hahaha! Then welcome to the team, Slada." Teach was delighted to see Slada agree. Although he had expected it, nothing was certain until it actually happened.
Teach turned around and laughed loudly, "Guys, let's welcome Starra to the team!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the members present cheered. Gari was very happy, and Starra, watching this scene, couldn't help but smile as well. Comrades?
On the other side, listening to the message coming through the Den Den Mushi, Rediat smiled, "A new executive has appeared. Welcome to our new comrade!"