Whitebeard and Patri Vic also joined the war of plunder.
After all, Patri Vic had mastered Wood Release, but aside from using it against Whitebeard, he had yet to use it against any other formidable foe.
This time, the Amendos Kingdom would be his proving ground.
His Nintaijutsu was now ％ unlocked, Fire Release was ％ unlocked, and Wood Release was ％ unlocked.
"Vic, let's go together."
Whitebeard and Patri Vic headed for the center of the Amendos Kingdom.
Whitebeard wasn't worried that anyone in the country could hurt Patri Vic.
What he feared was an attack from one of the Rocks Pirates' officers.
"Edward, a flower in a greenhouse won't grow," Patri Vic replied calmly.
He knew Whitebeard wanted to protect him.
But he was already quite strong. Even some members of the Rocks Pirates would have a hard time defeating him.
Besides, he hadn't provoked any of the Rocks Pirates' powerful fighters.
Though he often felt hostile eyes on him aboard the ship,
now that he had grown much stronger, he didn't care as much.
"That's true." Whitebeard paused briefly.
Thinking it over, he'd nearly forgotten that Patri Vic was no longer the tavern waiter he'd once been.
"Then be careful. If you run into an enemy you can't beat, call me with a Den Den Mushi." Whitebeard patted Patri Vic on the shoulder as he cautioned him.
"Okay." Patri Vic nodded.
Whitebeard then took Murakumogiri and joined another battlefield.
Not long after Whitebeard left, Patri Vic sensed a familiar killing intent.
"Come out." Patri Vic turned around with a dark expression and scanned the woods behind him.
A figure slowly emerged. It was Ochoku, an officer of the Rocks Pirates.
"What do you want with me?"
Patri Vic had never spoken with Ochoku. They'd barely even crossed paths aboard the ship.
He couldn't imagine why the other man harbored such intense hatred toward him.
"Patri Vic, I finally got my chance. This time, I'll kill you for sure." Ochoku's expression was cold as he slowly drew the blade at his waist.
"Hey, have you got the wrong person?"
It was impossible for Patri Vic not to be puzzled by the sheer intensity of Ochoku's killing intent.
Golden Lion had attacked him before, even though they hadn't known each other.
But Golden Lion hadn't used his real power or shown even a trace of murderous intent.
Ochoku's hatred toward him, however, was completely genuine.
It was the kind of murderous intent that made him want to hack Patri Vic to pieces.
If Patri Vic and Ochoku had a serious history, he wouldn't have asked so many questions.
But he barely knew the man!
"All the officers think I'm inferior to a mere trainee. I'll kill you today and show them!" Ochoku stared at Patri Vic, his gaze cold and his killing intent intense.
He'd never forgotten the officers' taunts at a gathering a month ago, when they'd said he was no match for a lowly trainee.
During the days they'd spent on the island, he'd often heard similar jibes.
His pride was too great to accept that he couldn't defeat the officers who mocked him.
So he could only vent his anger on Patri Vic.
Whitebeard was often by Patri Vic's side on the island.
And if a fight broke out there, it would surely attract plenty of attention, leaving Ochoku no chance to strike.
But now the Rocks Pirates were attacking the Amendos Kingdom, giving him an opportunity to go after Patri Vic.
The place was engulfed in battle, and Whitebeard wasn't here. Even if Ochoku fought Patri Vic, no one would notice.
It was as if fate itself had lent him a hand.
"Is something wrong with your head?" Patri Vic said, exasperated.
He didn't want trouble, but Ochoku's intense killing intent was already bearing down on him.
How could he back down now?
"Die!"
Ochoku flew into a rage at Patri Vic's words. He was an officer of the Rocks Pirates.
How dare a mere trainee speak to him that way?
With a longsword in hand, Ochoku suddenly slashed at Patri Vic.
The blade scraped through the air with a faint boom, as if it were tearing the very space around them apart.
A devastating wave of Sword Qi surged toward Patri Vic, unstoppable as it cut through everything in its path.
Patri Vic's expression darkened. He didn't want to provoke anyone, but he wouldn't let anyone walk all over him.
"Wood Style: Forest Creation!"
"Rumble!!!"
Countless enormous, thick trees sprang up before Patri Vic, each as wide as a water vat. They towered like pillars reaching into the sky, and the ground trembled beneath them.
The trees grew wildly, forming an impenetrable mountain before Patri Vic and easily blocking Ochoku's Sword Qi.
"W-what is this?!"
Seeing the countless thick trees crisscrossing before him, vast as towering buildings and mountains, even Ochoku was deeply shaken.
"Boom!"
The interwoven trees surged toward Ochoku with the force of an avalanche. The ground in their wake was left in ruins, as if blasted by bombs.
"Swish, swish, swish!!!"
Ochoku was a master swordsman. He sent countless waves of Sword Qi flying, destroying a great many trees.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Patri Vic quickly closed in on Ochoku, then spat a vast sea of flames toward him.
The flames covered an enormous area, leaving him nowhere to dodge. They roared like ravenous demons reveling in their feast, swallowing Ochoku whole.
"Ah..."
Ochoku's screams rang out from within the sea of flames, but several waves of Sword Qi also shot out. Patri Vic used Observation Haki and leaned aside to dodge them.
When the flames died down, Ochoku stood before him, his clothes almost entirely burned away and his body charred black.
"Is that all? You're an officer?" Patri Vic sneered, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Now that he'd clashed with the officer Ochoku, was there any reason to be afraid?
"I'll kill you!" Ochoku roared furiously, his face twisted with rage.
He was no weakling among the Rocks Pirates' officers, but he'd been made a pawn.
The grudge was between Whitebeard and two other officers, yet Ochoku had been dragged into it, and in the end, Patri Vic had been caught up in the mess too.
Patri Vic had nothing more to say. If things could stay peaceful, he'd let them. If not, he'd meet his enemies in battle and kill them.
"Hah!" Patri Vic gave a sharp shout and waved his hand.
A gigantic palm suddenly appeared behind Ochoku, towering like a building. It came down with blinding speed.
"Thud!"
The ground shook with a thunderous crash, splitting into countless cracks like a vast rift. Ochoku's body disappeared beneath the massive palm.
"Whoosh!"
A tremendous slash of Sword Qi shot into the sky, scattering the clouds. Ochoku rose from beneath the shattered palm, his entire body clad in Armament Haki.
Judging by his expression, however, the giant palm had injured him badly.
"As expected of an officer with a bounty of hundreds of millions. He's certainly a pain to deal with," Patri Vic said approvingly.
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(Event period: Day 4–Day 7)
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