The Tyrant and the Bounty Rise Again

Watching Luo Ya's retreating back, Bartholomew Kuma asked in confusion, "Why?" He was deeply puzzled; why would Luo Ya spare him, only to wipe out the people from the Sorbet Kingdom?

Dragon explained, "According to our investigations, although the Black Flame Swordsman has countless souls under his blade—killing over tens of thousands by the bounty office's own count—he never slaughters the innocent. On the contrary, he frequently unleashes his wrath upon the nobility, yet treats even the humblest fishermen with equality. It is not impossible that we might fight side-by-side in the future."

"As for you, he likely just has a simple penchant for dueling the strong."

Hearing Dragon's explanation, Bartholomew Kuma rolled his eyes. Damn it, he nearly hacked me to death for no reason, and now we might be on the same side? It seems I'll never get the chance for revenge.

Luo Ya did not know how long he had been unconscious on the ship before he was awakened by the roar of machinery. He rose, opened his door, and stepped out of the cabin to see a machine firmly hooked onto the drifting Black Pearl.

Luo Ya scratched his head and headed to the bridge, only to find the energy reserves completely depleted. After docking the ship, he stepped onto the pier.

The workers on the dock had notified Vitt the moment they saw Luo Ya, and by the time he stepped onto the pier, Vitt was already hurrying toward him.

"My Lord Luo Ya, your sleep quality is truly impressive. We've been calling for you for three days, and you've finally woken up." Luo Ya scratched his head in embarrassment, signaling for them to eat and talk at the same time.

Vitt led Luo Ya to the dining hall. As the plates piled up like a mountain on the table, Luo Ya let out a satisfied belch, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Any news from the Sorbet Kingdom? Has anyone delivered anything for me these past few days?"

"No one has come to deliver anything for you yet. As for the Sorbet Kingdom, all the news is right here; it's been in the papers all week." Vitt handed over a few newspapers.

The first thing that caught his eye was a photograph of Luo Ya, wreathed in rolling black flames, locked in battle with Bartholomew Kuma.

The bold headline on the paper read: The Battle Between the Black Flame Swordsman Luo Ya and the Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma—Black Flame Swordsman Victorious.

His bounty was listed at 250 million Beli. In the fine print beside it, the Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma's bounty was listed at 210 million Beli.

Luo Ya had assumed that his intervention as a butterfly effect would alter Kuma's title and bounty, but it seemed things had remained largely the same.

Flipping through the subsequent pages, Luo Ya finally understood the situation.

After Hafiz and his men were killed upon reporting the news, King Bekli had returned to the Sorbet Kingdom in a frenzy of joy.

As a result, he was cornered and beaten by Bartholomew Kuma, who had recovered some of his strength, along with the Revolutionary Army fighters who had arrived on the scene. As it turned out, King Bekli was a lucky man; just like in the original story, he escaped with his life and contacted the World Government, leading several naval warships to the Sorbet Kingdom, only for Bartholomew Kuma to sink them all single-handedly.

Due to the destruction of the warships and King Bekli's accusations, Bartholomew Kuma was branded a pirate and slapped with a high bounty, earning him the moniker "The Tyrant."

The Sorbet Kingdom was now in the midst of liberation, and the fighting had gradually subsided. Bartholomew Kuma would likely follow the original path, choosing to head out to sea as a pirate to avoid bringing further ruin to his country.

After finishing the papers, Luo Ya asked Vitt, "What about the Underworld? Any news there?"

Vitt sneered, "My Lord, the fact that Hafiz and his group were tasked with capturing Kuma alive was on the record. Everyone in the industry is calling them idiots. They hired you to do the job, but because they wanted to show off and take him alive, they ended up getting themselves killed."

"Heh, as long as my hundred-percent completion rate remains intact, that's all that matters. Once the fighting dies down in a few days, Kuma and his people should send over what they promised. You can collect it for me then." With that, Luo Ya rose and returned to the room he had booked earlier, falling into a deep sleep.

After all, the only way to recover his soul power was through sleep, not to mention the massive amount of memories that had emerged from the melting Scorching Cloud, waiting to be digested.

For the next few days, Luo Ya's routine was strictly regimented: practice swordplay and sleep. He even took his meals at the training grounds.

The benefits of digesting the massive fragments of memory were significant. First, Luo Ya had finally mastered Sword Intent, stepping into the third stage of swordsmanship.

The improvement in Sword Intent also meant a massive boost to his soul power. Manifested physically, Ryujin Jakka could now maintain a temperature of 3,000 degrees at full power, drawing very close to the 5,700 degrees of Old Man Yamamoto.

A few days into Luo Ya's focused training, Vitt brought over the famous blade sent by the Revolutionary Army, along with a training manual for the "Dragon Claw Fist," and a Den Den Mushi to contact Dragon.

Vitt mentioned that the messenger had said they wanted to hire Luo Ya again if the opportunity arose, and that this Den Den Mushi was a direct line to their leader.

Luo Ya accepted the Den Den Mushi and shrugged it off. Working for others was out of the question; he'd done enough of that in the past, and he intended to be a free-spirited wage slave from now on. Unless, of course, the pay was truly astronomical.

The blade was indeed one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, named Odenta Mitsuyo, a short tachi with a blade length of 66.10cm. Without exception, every blade that made the list of the 21 Great Grade Swords was a "Black Blade" tempered over many years.

Luo Ya stored it in his soul space alongside the Kikuichimonji he had acquired earlier.

When he first discovered he could store the Kikuichimonji, Luo Ya had been ecstatic, thinking he finally had a storage space. He soon realized, however, that he couldn't put anything inside except for famous blades.

Once a famous blade entered that space, it was plunged into a purgatory of fire, constantly eroded by endless black flames that melted down the sword intent the blade had carried for years, turning it into nourishment for Luo Ya.

The Dragon Claw Fist manual also left Luo Ya completely enthralled. After all, taijutsu had always been his weak point; strictly speaking, a swordsman's style was based on controlling the distance of a fight.

Close-quarters combat was the Achilles' heel of every swordsman, though each had their own way of compensating for it.

The Dragon Claw Fist was truly worthy of being the technique that allowed Sabo to become the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army even before eating the Mera Mera no Mi. It was a "sharp claw" technique forged specifically to crush arrogant and tyrannical powers.

Luo Ya had only just begun to master it, but even with just the coverage of Armament Haki, he could already crush ordinary iron blades. For Luo Ya, this was a qualitative leap in his close-quarters combat.

In future battles, opponents would not only have to watch out for his kicks, but also be wary of his left hand, which was usually kept firmly on his scabbard.

Time flew by as Luo Ya continued his cultivation.