Staring at the treasure map, Lu Zhuo's pupils contracted. "You even have information like this? You know a little too much, don't you?"
A powerful sword aura swept out as he spoke. Lu Zhuo made no effort to hide his killing intent.
Kuma remained as calm as ever. "I have my own channels for information. According to what I've heard, you're a swordsman, so you don't care much for Devil Fruits. We can make a trade."
At Kuma's words, Lu Zhuo suddenly chuckled. "Even if I don't use it, I can give it to one of my crew. You want to trade a treasure map to the Nidai Kitetsu for a Logia Devil Fruit? That hardly seems fair."
"Besides, given enough time, I can find all the Kitetsu swords myself. Your intelligence network probably doesn't know that the Kitetsu I have can sense where the others are."
Kuma fell silent. He put away the treasure map and stood there quietly, making no move to leave.
Lu Zhuo didn't move either. He stood there, watching Kuma coldly.
Suddenly, Lu Zhuo spoke in a cold voice. "With strength comparable to an Admiral's, you're certainly no match for me. But if you want to kill me, you'd better be ready to die with me. You may not care much about your own life, but I imagine your Shichibukai status is still important to you."
At those words, Kuma's expression finally changed. "What do you know?"
Lu Zhuo gave a scornful smile. "I know more than you could ever imagine. You've already begun your transformation, but it won't be complete—and you won't lose your sense of self—until at least three years from now."
Kuma's eyes seemed to radiate a fierce pressure, trying to overwhelm Lu Zhuo. But Lu Zhuo ignored it and continued, "It can't have been easy for the Revolutionary Army to place a pawn in the World Government."
Whoosh!
As soon as the words left his mouth, Kuma vanished.
In the next few seconds, deafening booms erupted around Lu Zhuo. The sword in his hand moved like an eternal flower, at once utterly still and violently alive!
Boom!
When the two separated again, both had sustained new injuries, though Lu Zhuo's were clearly much worse. Even so, there was no fear in his eyes.
Even if you could defeat a true swordsman, killing him and walking away unscathed was another matter entirely.
Kuma calmed down again, as if nothing had happened. "Where did you get your information?"
"You don't need to know. Just know that I have something on you," Lu Zhuo replied with a cold laugh.
Kuma fell silent again. After a long while, he took out the piece of parchment and gave it a light tap.
With a soft slap, the parchment dropped into Lu Zhuo's hand.
"Take it. It should save you some time. Since you know so much, I can't force you. What do you want?"
Kuma's words gave Lu Zhuo pause.
It seemed that the Shichibukai position was very important to the Revolutionary Army over the next three years. Though Kuma would lose his consciousness after that, he must have already obtained what the Revolutionary Army wanted during those three years.
With that thought, Lu Zhuo suddenly sheathed his sword.
"I don't want anything. I'm just a swordsman. But if there's one thing I want, it's this."
"Go on."
"Until I become the Pirate King, the Revolutionary Army must stay out of affairs on the seas!" A fierce glint flashed in Lu Zhuo's eyes as a powerful sword aura surged out, throwing the already-ruined surroundings into even greater disarray.
At those words, Kuma finally looked astonished.
His eyes fixed on Lu Zhuo, as if he wanted to see right through him and understand what gave him the nerve to say such a thing.
After a long while, Kuma regained his composure. He gave Lu Zhuo a long look, then said, "Fine. The Revolutionary Army has no intention of interfering in affairs on the seas anyway."
"Good." Lu Zhuo nodded and drew in his aura.
Kuma gave Lu Zhuo one last long look, then moved his hand slightly and vanished from before him, disappearing to who knew where.
Watching Kuma disappear in an instant, Lu Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. His body swayed slightly as he let out the breath, and pain shot through every one of his internal organs. It was almost unbearable.
He could fight with everything he had and leave Kuma on the brink of death, but he would certainly die himself. He'd spoken boldly, but he had no idea whether he could take Kuma down with him.
If all he could do was grievously wound Kuma, Kuma would surely be willing to trade a serious injury for Lu Zhuo's life. Unfortunately, Kuma didn't dare take that gamble either...
Lu Zhuo had never before faced something so uncertain, something he couldn't control.
His strength still wasn't enough.
Beyond Intermediate Swordsman came High-Level Swordsman, and beyond that was Top-Level Swordsman.
Only a Top-Level Swordsman could barely fight an Admiral. Though Lu Zhuo could just about match a Vice Admiral through various techniques and his knowledge of this world, he still couldn't stand up to an Admiral.
Only after reaching the High-Level Swordsman stage would Lu Zhuo feel confident facing an Admiral head-on. After all, Kuma's strength was merely comparable to an Admiral's.
At the thought, Lu Zhuo felt a tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood. He could no longer hold himself up and slowly sank to the ground.
"Sir... are you all right?" Conis noticed that everything had gone quiet and hurried over. She found Lu Zhuo sitting on the ground, his face deathly pale and his expression drained.
"Cough... Don't call me sir. Call me captain, or just Lu Zhuo. How many times have I told you..." Seeing the worry all over Conis's face, Lu Zhuo managed a faint smile. "Come here. Help me back."
"Okay." Conis hurried over and helped Lu Zhuo up. The two disappeared into the forest.
"Lu Zhuo! You..." Seeing Conis return with Lu Zhuo, his face pale, Nami was startled. She hurriedly helped him onto the ship.
"What happened?" Robin watched them, looking tense too.
Lu Zhuo had gone out and returned badly wounded. Was there someone on Skypiea even stronger than Enel?
Lu Zhuo slowly opened his eyes and looked at everyone. He gave a bitter smile. "I'm fine... Don't worry. I'm not going to die."
As he spoke, Lu Zhuo carefully took the Devil Fruit from his clothes and handed it to Nami with a smile. "A gift for you."
Looking at the fruit in Lu Zhuo's hand, Nami felt a pang in her chest. Anger flashed across her face, and she slapped the precious Devil Fruit out of his hand.
"You idiot! Why did you go off and do something dangerous without telling me?"
"Nami, you?!" Robin exclaimed. She quickly sprouted several hands and caught the Devil Fruit.
Then tears suddenly welled in Nami's eyes. She threw herself onto Lu Zhuo and sobbed, "I don't want any gifts! Why would you put yourself through this for me? Do you have any idea how worried everyone was? What if you... mmph."
A slightly chapped pair of lips pressed against hers, silencing her. Robin and Conis tactfully stepped aside.
"Nami... remember, there are no 'what ifs' when it comes to me. I have everything under control. Besides, what's a little danger if it's for you?" Lu Zhuo gazed tenderly at the soft figure in his arms and smiled.
In truth, he hadn't gone looking for a Devil Fruit specifically for Nami. He'd gone to find the other Kitetsu swords. But for that Logia Devil Fruit, he really had taken a great risk and fought Kuma.
Nami lifted her head, her eyes clouded with tears. She looked at Lu Zhuo and whispered, "Don't do anything like this again..."
"For you, just this once..." Lu Zhuo smiled faintly and wrapped an arm around Nami, managing to draw her into his embrace. Then his body slackened, and he passed out.
"Lu Zhuo... Lu Zhuo!"
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