Puppet

"This..."

Golden Lion, a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at Baro's corpse on the ground and sneered, "Quite ruthless, aren't we?"

He glanced sideways at Flog, who was being held tightly by Louis, "Did you do it?"

"No, no, I didn't, Admiral Golden Lion," Flog quickly defended himself. "How could I dare? Forbidding private fights is your strict decree! Let alone killing, how could I dare to violate it!"

"Lord Golden Lion," Louis grabbed Flog and shouted, "Many people saw him chasing Vice Captain Baro last night!! Please don't listen to this bastard's sophistry!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Golden Lion raised an eyebrow. "Many people saw it?"

"Yes, Admiral," someone stepped forward at this point. "I did indeed see Flog chasing Baro last night."

"I saw it too."

"I didn't see the chase itself, but I did see Flog return to your camp alone."

"Is that so?" Golden Lion nodded in understanding. "Tell me, did your captain go out to chase this person named Baro last night?"

He looked at Flog's subordinate, his eyes narrowing slightly. An invisible ripple spread out, and Flog's subordinate trembled, stammering fearfully, "Y-yes, yes, Admiral Golden Lion, the captain did go out last night! And then, after a long time, he, he came back!"

"Oh? Then, Toad," Golden Lion looked at Flog. "Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes, Admiral Golden Lion, I did go out last night, and I did chase Baro," Flog gritted his teeth. "But he provoked me first! Although I chased him, I didn't catch him! After chasing for a while, he suddenly disappeared!"

"Are you trying to say," Louis gritted his teeth, "that you returned empty-handed? You're an ability user of the Zoan-type, the Frog-Frog Fruit, with its amplified jumping power. Could you not outrun Vice Captain Baro?"

"Oh oh! That makes sense!" Golden Lion looked enlightened.

"I-I don't know what happened," Flog's forehead was covered in sweat. "He vanished when I turned around."

"Ho ho." Golden Lion narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Admiral!!" Rhode pushed through the crowd. "Please don't listen to his excuses anymore! Our two pirate crews have always had a bad relationship! Not long ago, when we set sail, he tried to capsize us with his massive ship! We almost drowned! We had a small conflict last night too! Baro provoked him severely! It must be because of that, so he..."

"Is what he said true?" Golden Lion asked Flog's subordinate.

"Y-yes," the subordinate stammered. "When the captain returned last night, he said he had to kill, kill Baro and, and someone named Mario..."

"Ah, the plot is clear now!" Golden Lion laughed. "Hey, kid, let him go."

"But..." Louis hesitated.

"Hey! Kid, are you looking down on me?" Golden Lion glared, and Louis felt a terrifying aura rush towards him. He instinctively took two steps back and released Flog.

"Hmm? Not bad." Golden Lion looked at Louis with surprise.

"Do you have anything else to say, Toad?" Golden Lion blew a smoke ring.

"Admiral, I am framed..." Flog, who had been wailing, suddenly moved. He picked up the long sword Louis had stuck in the ground and thrust it directly at Golden Lion's chest.

"Admiral, be careful!!" Louis instantly snapped back to his senses and slammed a heavy fist into Flog's back.

"Jiehahahaha!! Does a Toad dare to stick out its tongue at a Mighty Lion? This is too amusing!!" Golden Lion laughed heartily. Without him seeming to move much, as if it were just a gentle breeze, Flog let out a scream. His limbs broke simultaneously, blood gushed out, and at the same time, he took Louis's heavy punch to the back, flying out and crashing heavily to the ground. After rolling a few times, he was stepped on by Rhode.

"Wh-what incredible power!"

Louis exclaimed from the bottom of his heart. The two swords at Golden Lion's waist seemed completely still, yet they had effortlessly severed Flog's limbs. Louis, standing behind Flog, hadn't noticed a thing. Golden Lion was terrifyingly strong.

"What's going on! What's happening? My body moved on its own!!"

Flog, now a human cripple and heavily struck by Louis from behind, coughed up blood and cried out, "Admiral! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

"Still trying to lie your way out of this? You scum!!"

Rhode stomped heavily on Flog's back, then looked at Golden Lion. "Admiral!"

"Leave him to you,"

Golden Lion waved his hand dismissively, flying into the sky. He glanced at Louis one last time and left directly. "Just don't mess up tomorrow's departure."

"No! No! Admiral! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!!"

Flog could only scream in agony.

"Toad!! What you did to Baro, now you can taste it yourself!!"

Rhode's glove was coated in Haki as his hands moved like phantoms, grabbing at Flog.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!"

Blood, along with flesh and internal organs, began to splatter. A man who cherished his comrades would become the most brutal executioner when avenging them.

"Phew."

Louis let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over. The annoying guy and the troublesome guy were both dealt with at once. His injuries hadn't been in vain.

The cause and course of events were quite simple. Baro had been captured by Louis early on. At the end of last night's banquet, Louis excused himself. Baro followed him, and though Baro was strong—as Rhode's second-in-command, his strength was around the level of a hundred million—Louis wasn't necessarily stronger in terms of raw power.

But a fight isn't just about comparing stats. The human body is fragile. A sword through the heart would kill even Whitebeard Roger. Louis's advantage over Baro was that he knew Baro's moves, while Baro knew nothing about him. He deliberately feigned weakness early on, letting Baro inflict shallow wounds all over him. When Baro thought he had him cornered, Louis dodged Baro's decisive killing blow, then used his hair to bind him and finished the fight with Rokuogan.

It was that simple. Then, he bound the unconscious Baro, gave him some medicine, concealed his own wounds with activated skin, hid Baro, destroyed the training ground, put on Baro's clothes, disguised himself as Baro, and even had time to take a bath. He then joined Rhode at the banquet, provoking Flog along the way.

After the banquet, he excused himself to find himself, immediately took off his disguise, and changed back. He then returned from another direction, disguised as Baro through manipulated skin, "accidentally" met Rhode, and immediately changed back into Baro's disguise. He went to Flog's place to lure out that toad. Flog, with his frog-like jumping ability, was indeed fast, but Louis could easily deceive him by simply changing his clothes and appearance.

After ditching Flog, he immediately went to kill Baro, destroyed the body, and, while provoking Rhode's anger, focused on destroying the internal organs to hide the wounds from Rokuogan. Then he disposed of the clothes and went back to sleep soundly.

This was everything Louis had done last night. He had to admit, he had the perfect timing, location, and people. Last night's banquet was incredibly opportune; everyone was at the banquet, and no one paid attention to the place Louis had specifically chosen.

Then, all he had to do this morning was follow Rhode and take down Flog. The enraged Rhode would certainly not listen to Flog's explanations. An angry person doesn't need facts; a general outline is enough for them to act. With that and his cooperation, taking down Flog should be no problem.

The only thing Louis hadn't anticipated was the deep-seated awe the surrounding pirates held for Golden Lion. They immediately subdued them, saving Flog's life.

But it didn't matter. Flog was still speechless, and at the same time, Louis had delivered the final blow.

It was Louis's doing that Flog would attack Golden Lion like a madman.

Question: The essence of Life Return is the injection of consciousness into the body to achieve complete control over it. So, is it possible to inject one's consciousness into another person's body?

Answer: Yes, it is possible.

Louis was truly imaginative. Even his hair could be controlled, so why not someone else's body, which had no neural connection to him?

After Golden Lion arrived, he immediately grabbed Flog. Many strands of his hair took the opportunity to pierce into Flog's body. Life Return was activated to its fullest. His consciousness, or rather, his brainwaves, were continuously injected into Flog's body through his hair. He didn't need to control any vital parts of Flog; just being able to slightly manipulate his ligaments was enough.

It took a considerable amount of time, but he finally managed to influence Flog's right-hand ligaments, causing his right hand to move and stab Golden Lion. It was a simple action, but it had exhausted Louis. The drawback of this technique was that it was best if the hair pierced into the target's body, close to the part being controlled, which would save some time. However, it still took a long time. If Flog hadn't been so panicked and already injured, it wouldn't have been so easy to succeed.

However, Louis felt this ability had great potential. After all, even hair separated from the body possessed its own consciousness and could be manipulated.