Killing Intent All the Way

Linley fiddled with the Seastone dagger.

Seastone was a mysterious stone possessing the power of the sea, capable of rendering any Devil Fruit User who came into contact with it completely helpless, as if they had sunk into the sea. It was usually made into handcuffs to control Devil Fruit Users.

However, this stone was extremely precious and exceptionally difficult to process, which was why only behemoths like the World Government and the Marines could process it, or even forge it into weapons.

Yet now, this precious weapon made of Seastone appeared in the hands of an unknown nobody.

"It seems Kuro has contacted a formidable power!"

Linley mused to himself.

"Likely the World Government, or perhaps even a Celestial Dragon."

There couldn't be only one Seastone weapon, otherwise Kuro wouldn't have sent an unknown nobody to deal with him.

The only logical explanation was that the Black Cat Pirates and the Krieg Pirates had infiltrated Loguetown, and almost everyone was armed with Seastone-laced weapons, lying in wait to strike him from the shadows.

"Are they trying to assassinate me?"

Linley glanced around. At first glance, everyone appeared to be ordinary residents of Loguetown, and even the young man before him was dressed like a civilian.

In such a complex environment, the only thing Linley could do was passively endure the assassination attempt from Kuro's side—

Unless he beat up everyone in Loguetown.

But that was obviously impossible.

"Hey, buddy."

Linley slung an arm around the young man's shoulder and asked with a smile, "Where's your base?"

The young man's brow furrowed, and he said stubbornly, "Do you think I'll tell you!"

Then, he watched as Linley used brute force to press the Seastone dagger into the ground, leaving nothing but the hilt!

Linley smiled kindly and said, "Do you want to be planted in the ground too?"

"..." The young man fell silent for a moment, then replied, "Back Street Number 5. The captain said he'll be waiting for you there."

"Thanks for your cooperation."

Linley, still with his arm around the young man, suddenly punched him in the stomach.

The young man grunted, his eyes rolled back, and he was knocked unconscious from the pain.

Linley, as if supporting a drunken friend, placed the young man on a nearby bench and then quickly departed.

There were simply too many civilians in Loguetown, and Linley didn't want to cause a larger disturbance. He just wanted to quickly deal with the mastermind of this whole affair—

Kuro.

And now, Admiral Krieg should be added to the list.

Most East Blue pirates were petty and not very brave. Therefore, once those two were dealt with, the remaining rabble would collapse on their own!

With that thought, Linley quickened his pace, heading towards Back Street Number 5 on the other side of Loguetown.

Linley had seen that place on a Marine map. It was a very secluded district.

Loguetown's port was located in the far west, while Back Street was in the far east, completely in the opposite direction from the port.

If Kuro had truly established his base there, then his scheme was practically laid bare, becoming an overt maneuver—

From the port to Back Street, Linley had to cross dozens of streets with complex situations.

Kuro clearly intended to use the civilians of Loguetown as cover on this route to take Linley's head!

And after crossing one street, the two figures who appeared behind Linley further confirmed his conjecture.

"You've been following me for a while, haven't you?"

Linley turned his head and saw two familiar faces.

It was the Cat-type brothers: Buchy the "Calico Cat" and Sham the "Siamese Cat"!

"How did you find us?"

"Intuition," Linley replied.

He couldn't exactly tell these two alley cats that his ability to sense presences was already comparable to Observation Haki!

Meanwhile, the Cat-type brothers, dressed as civilians, were surprised but still donned their Seastone claws, preparing for battle.

Sham the "Siamese Cat" chuckled, "We really appreciated your help before. That scratch of yours gave me a headache for three full days!"

To avoid any surprises, Linley asked once more, "Kuro said he's waiting for me at Back Street Number 5?"

Sham nodded, then licked his claws and said coldly, "I know the weakness of Devil Fruit Users. This is a weapon laced with Seastone. As long as it's plunged into your body, you'll be completely defenseless!"

According to the plan devised by Buchy and Sham, they were to exploit the Seastone weapons' counter to Devil Fruit Users to eliminate Linley!

But…

Suddenly, Sham felt an itch on his skin.

"So cold?"

He subconsciously looked up, only to see frost covering the ground. Linley had already vanished without a trace.

"Sam... Sam..."

Buchy's voice rang out. Just as Sam was about to turn, a familiar hand grabbed his head again.

Linley had appeared between the cat-type brothers at some point!

White cold air billowed from Linley's mouth, and a low voice immediately followed.

"I don't have time to play with cats right now!"

Hero Skill: Skull Splitter.

Bang!

Sam and Buchy's heads were slammed together instantly. The immense impact caused both of them to roll their eyes, spit blood, and fall to the ground on either side, their fates unknown.

Linley then exhaled his last breath of cold air, and the Icebound Domain state was lifted. The entire process took less than three seconds!

This sudden turn of events was naturally witnessed by the surrounding residents of Loguetown. However, before any screams could erupt, Linley had already left the scene at maximum speed.

Throughout this, Linley's vigilance had not relaxed for even a moment.

This was because he clearly sensed that besides those two weaklings, the cat-type brothers, another aura had locked onto him.

And that aura gave Linley only one impression—

Extreme danger!

"Who could it be?"

The only possibility Linley could think of was those behind Kuro's group—

The forces capable of producing a large number of Seastone weapons were few and far between, even in the New World.

The most likely candidates, of course, were the World Government or the Celestial Dragons behind them.

If they had also sent people to Loguetown, that would be the greatest threat to Linley!

"I wonder where Smoker is."

Linley continued to advance towards Back Street No. 5 while remaining wary of his surroundings.

Along the way, some cannon fodder wielding Seastone weapons tried to block Linley, but he dealt with them one by one with a single punch.

Even with such precious weapons, if one's own strength was insufficient, they couldn't pose a threat to a true powerhouse!

However, that aura, which even Linley found extremely dangerous, remained like a shadow, tightly locked onto him.

Linley subtly observed his surroundings but found nothing.

About halfway through his journey, Linley arrived at an abandoned, deserted street.

At this moment, a figure in a brown robe suddenly blocked his path.

Linley grinned, "Not hiding anymore?"

Before he could finish speaking, Linley prepared to use his fastest speed to defeat the opponent, but a sentence from the other party made him halt his attack.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Linley, I've come on behalf of the Revolutionary Army!"

The Revolutionary Army?!

Linley's first thought wasn't about why the Revolutionary Army was looking for him, but rather whether the dangerous aura belonged to the Revolutionary Army member in front of him.

The answer was no, because the Revolutionary Army member before him showed no hostility towards Linley whatsoever.

So, who was it?

At the corner of the alley.

Vergo had skillfully concealed his aura.

He watched the scene on the street and felt the entire situation was becoming more and more interesting.

The Revolutionary Army was actually trying to make contact with Linley Barik!