"Relax, relax. You're one of us now, so don't be scared." Nami smiled and patted Conis's little head. Conis was three years younger than in the original story, still a very pretty little angel.
Watching Conis leave with a confused look on her face, Nami smiled helplessly. Lu Zhuo pursed his lips, then turned to Robin and smiled. "Come on. I'll take you to find the Poneglyph."
Robin's beautiful eyes lit up. She gave a soft hum and followed Lu Zhuo back into the jungle.
In the jungle, War Demon Wyper and his group had been thoroughly defeated by Enel. Even though Enel had fought another battle and sustained some injuries, they were still no match for him.
Once they realized they stood no chance, they made a swift retreat. Since Lu Zhuo had beaten the Four Priests and God's Squad, Enel couldn't stop them all by himself, and half of Wyper's group managed to escape.
But in Enel's eyes, none of this mattered. The petty mortals couldn't stir the slightest ripple in his heart.
With a thought, his body turned into lightning. Sensing Lu Zhuo's presence at the same time, he vanished from where he stood in a flash.
Lu Zhuo had been wondering how to take advantage of Robin when Enel suddenly appeared, startling him. His hand went to his sword, and his expression turned serious.
Enel looked somewhat tired after his recent fight. He gazed at Lu Zhuo and smiled faintly. "I'm not here to fight you. I just want to invite you to take part in my plan."
Lu Zhuo shook his head. "Not interested..."
As if! He had nothing better to do than team up with Enel and head to the moon. That desolate, uninhabited place didn't even have air. Was he supposed to go there and wait to die?
"Uh." Rejected outright, Enel looked as if he'd swallowed a dead child. He'd thought Lu Zhuo would at least ask what the plan was, but instead the man turned him down without even asking!
Enel opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say. With a helpless shake of his head, he disappeared in a flash.
Watching him leave, Lu Zhuo let out a quiet breath of relief.
Robin chuckled behind him. "It's rare to see you so nervous."
Lu Zhuo feigned indignation. "That's because of you, you little minx. If you weren't here, I wouldn't be afraid of him at all. But with you here, I'm worried he'll hurt you, and I might not be able to protect you."
His words touched Robin. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head without a word.
Seeing this, Lu Zhuo walked over and calmly took her hand.
"Let's go."
"Mm." Robin didn't pull away. Her heart fluttered with unease as she let Lu Zhuo lead her running through the jungle.
After they'd gone some distance, Lu Zhuo's rudimentary Observation Haki detected Robin's rapid heartbeat. He had some experience by now, so he knew what to do. He simply held her hand calmly, making no other teasing or invasive moves.
Just as their hearts were gradually drawing closer, Lu Zhuo's expression suddenly shifted.
The Kitetsu at his waist began trembling on its own.
The other Kitetsu was here!
Lu Zhuo's eyes narrowed. Robin noticed the change in his expression and came out of her daze, her face flushing as she gently slipped her hand free of his.
Sensing what was around them, Lu Zhuo's expression gradually turned to surprise.
"It's actually inside its stomach?"
"It" could only be the enormous serpent from the original story, Lord of the Sky.
The surrounding trees shook, and the ground seemed to tremble. Robin jumped in alarm. "What is that?"
"Just a rather large snake," Lu Zhuo replied calmly. "Don't be afraid. What I'm looking for is in its stomach. I'll go get it."
With that, Lu Zhuo leaped onto the branch of a giant tree and spotted the enormous serpent's head ahead.
Looking at its gaping maw, Lu Zhuo felt a little sick. He really didn't want to be swallowed by this thing and search for the Kitetsu fragment in its stomach.
In that case, you can't blame me for what happens to you.
Lu Zhuo's expression turned cold as he slowly drew his swords.
As the serpent lunged to swallow him, Lu Zhuo sprang onto its head. As he ran along its body, the Kitetsu in his hand trembled faster and faster.
Lord of the Sky angrily thrashed about, but couldn't shake Lu Zhuo off.
Its massive size was both an advantage and a weakness. It was agile for a snake, but trying to bite Lu Zhuo on its own body was still too difficult.
Lu Zhuo raced along its length until he reached the point where the sensation was strongest. His eyes flashed, and a powerful sword aura emerged.
Gathering his strength, he unleashed Evil Light Slash!
Without hesitation, Lu Zhuo used his strongest single-target attack. To break through the serpent's astonishingly tough body, he put everything he had into it.
Crack!
The sound of scales bursting rang out. The serpent let out a cry of pain and began thrashing about. Lu Zhuo had no choice but to leap away from its body.
But his slash had already carved a half-meter-long gash into the great serpent's belly. It wasn't very wide, but it was deep enough to pierce through its body.
The next moment, a streak of black sword light flickered from the gash in Lord of the Sky's belly. An unsheathed black Kitetsu flew out, and like two magnets, it and the Kitetsu in Lu Zhuo's hand snapped together.
Blood poured from Lord of the Sky's belly. Its body writhed as it fled without looking back.
Seeing this, Lu Zhuo also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, the creature was simply too huge. His Evil Light Slash had broken through its body, but compared with its hundreds-of-meters-long frame, it was only a small wound.
It was too big to move nimbly, but if the fight continued, Lu Zhuo would probably be exhausted to death before it was cut down.
Just then, Robin saw the serpent leaving and ran over.
"So this is the 'rather large snake' you were talking about?" Robin gave Lu Zhuo a playful look and smiled. Then she stared in surprise at the two swords floating in the air and fusing together. "What's going on?"
Lu Zhuo smiled. "My sword is a Kitetsu. You know that part of history, don't you?"
Robin gave a soft "Oh," then watched the floating Kitetsu in amazement for a few more moments. "I never thought that wasn't just a legend, but real history."
Just then, the two Kitetsu fused completely. A streak of pitch-black light flashed along the sword, and its blade rang softly.
Lu Zhuo caught the newly fused Kitetsu. A sword intent, even stronger than before, surged through him. With that sword intent, a powerful sword aura erupted from his body. Robin felt that even approaching him would get her cut, and hurriedly backed away a few steps.
Several seconds later, the sword aura around Lu Zhuo vanished. His expression was almost entranced.
"So this is... complete sword aura. I've broken through to Intermediate Swordsman with ease!" Lu Zhuo laughed heartily, his laughter open and bright.
"But... I have no idea where to go from here. Oh well, there's always a way forward. I'll focus on tempering my sword aura to its peak first."
Robin watched Lu Zhuo, her beautiful eyes glimmering. Had he just grown a little stronger again?
Robin didn't understand swordsmanship, but she could still sense the change in the aura surrounding him.
Lu Zhuo turned to Robin, who was standing there in a daze, and beckoned with a smile. "Let's go."
Before you continue