Taking Down

The encircling force was not large, only around a hundred men. The strongest among them were Marine Headquarters Colonel Hina and the major under her command, Deren.

Hearing the other man's rogueish roar, Hina merely sneered. This Augustus D. Sal who had suddenly appeared had seriously injured her and wasted three days of her time investigating him.

Marine Headquarters had already issued a summons, and elite Marines like her had to return to Marineford. The more days she wasted, the greater the pressure she would have to bear.

A cigarette rested between her fingers as smoke slipped from her red lips.

"Augustus D. Sal, Hina will make sure you spend the rest of your life in Impel Down."

The pink-haired beauty used the Six Powers' Soru to close in on Sal. Meanwhile, Sal's constitution had undergone tremendous improvement as he leveled up.

[Host: Augustus D. Sal]

[Age: 26]

[Level: 11 (13/550)]

[Strength: Beginner (Lieutenant)]

[Constitution: Beginner (Lieutenant)]

[Agility: Beginner (Lieutenant)]

[Fruit: None]

[Skill: Top-tier]

[Armament Haki: None]

[Observation Haki: Beginner]

[Conqueror's Haki: Peak]

[Weapon: Ace]

Points: 1103

[Level reached 10. Reward: one white draw.]

Reaching Level 10 had rewarded him with a white draw, an unexpected delight. As long as he kept leveling up, he would eventually receive green, blue, purple, and even gold draws.

His constitution was still nothing impressive, but with his skills and Observation Haki, even ordinary Marine colonels might not be his match. Not to mention his strongest trump card.

Sal turned and fled at top speed, leaping constantly across the roots of the mangrove trees. Any Marines who blocked his path were casually defeated by his swordsmanship.

Hina had already caught up. Her black-gloved palm reached toward Sal; if she touched him, her Devil Fruit ability would restrain him.

Sal drew the other longsword at his waist and blocked her palm, twisting the blade toward a vital point. Yet her hand still caught it.

Hina suddenly withdrew her arm and changed moves. Her speed far surpassed Sal's current reaction speed, and when she threw another punch, her entire arm had turned jet-black.

Clang... crack!

The ordinary blade he used to block shattered beneath her fist, and Sal was sent flying by the punch.

After landing, he clutched his chest and steadied his breathing. Intermediate Armament Haki really packed a punch.

He was not yet Hina's match. This beauty was not a lopsided fighter like Smoker; she had both types of Haki, a Devil Fruit, and a solid physique. It was difficult to find a way to counter her.

If not for her lack of seniority, she would have been more than qualified to serve as a Marine rear admiral.

Sal continued running outward. Logically, Hina was faster than him. Unless he jumped into the sea, escaping would be difficult.

But his Observation Haki had already discovered someone ahead who surprised him.

Scratchmen Apoo, known as "Roar of the Sea," captain of the On-Air Pirates, one of the Twelve Supernovas, with a bounty of 190 million Beli. He was the Sound-Sound Fruit user, capable of producing all kinds of explosions and damage through sound waves.

Sal had disliked this man after reading the original story, so he headed straight for the pirate crew. He intended to shift the trouble onto them and shouted at them as well.

"Boss, the Marines are planning to wipe us out! Run!"

Apoo stared blankly at Sal. This man was definitely not one of his people, yet he dared bring the Marines here. He was courting death.

"Battle Music."

Apoo removed his arm, using it as an instrument, and expertly began to play music. He danced wildly as he played.

When the music reached Sal's ears, his body suddenly exploded. Covered by the smoke of the blast, Sal collapsed where he stood, looking as though he had been taken out.

Apoo did not only attack Sal; the Marines behind him were also within his attack range. As he beat drums and struck gongs, the bodies of the Marines charging at the front exploded as well.

He was a warrior who dared strike even admirals. Mere ordinary Marines meant nothing to him.

Even Hina was attacked. Her formidable Observation Haki sensed the disturbance, and she used Armament Haki to withstand the explosion.

Apoo's grinning attitude made Hina's delicate brows shoot upward, and she immediately prepared to step forward and stop him.

However, Apoo obviously would not let her have her way. He retreated while causing explosions, fighting with this cowardly long-range kiting style.

The continuous explosions left Hina covered in dust and grime. Several parts of her work outfit had been torn, exposing a hint of spring scenery.

Black Spear Array.

Several enormous black spears shot from Hina's hands, sending the unprepared Apoo flying. She took the chance to close the distance.

Apoo had a chunk of flesh sliced away by the spears, and the pain made him grit his teeth. Before he could widen the distance again, Hina had arrived before him and launched a fierce attack.

Black Cage.

Fence-like iron bars extended from her arms and surrounded the enemy in front of her, attempting to close around Apoo and capture him.

Quick-eyed and nimble-handed, Apoo barely leaped away from the cage. If he had been caught, the battle would have ended immediately.

As the two commanders clashed, their subordinates also began fighting.

Sal, who had been lying on the ground, slowly opened his eyes and secretly used Observation Haki to watch both sides fight.

Before awakening Armament Haki, he would have suffered serious injuries from that sound-wave explosion if he had not unleashed peak Conqueror's Haki to offset it.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Sal quickly slipped into a patch of vegetation, his black eyes examining the battle between the two sides.

The ordinary soldiers were evenly matched. The victor would be decided by the battle between Hina and Apoo.

Once the fight became close combat, Hina, who was proficient in the Marine Six Powers, completely held the upper hand. She would never give Apoo a chance to widen the distance.

Without a trump card, Apoo's defeat was inevitable.

But the unexpected finally happened. Just as Hina used Black Cage to strike Apoo directly and the black bars bound him—

Apoo somehow pulled out a Seastone chain and swiftly locked it around Hina's arm. It looked like mutual destruction, but Apoo had actually won. The black cage binding him was slowly disappearing.

Disbelief filled Hina's eyes as her sexy, delicate body collapsed to the ground.

With his trump card having worked, Apoo burst into arrogant laughter.

"Haha! Marine bitch, you think you can capture Lord Apoo? Save your sweet dreams for your next life!"

"Yeah, save those sweet dreams for your next life."

"..."

Apoo jerked his head around in shock. Sal had appeared behind him at some unknown point, and a sword flashing with cold light was already sweeping directly toward his head.

Apoo's body had not yet broken free from its restraints. He could only struggle helplessly as he watched his vision spin.

Sal flicked the blood from his sword, ignoring the head that rolled to his feet.

[Grade A character Apoo has developed negative emotions toward the host. High fear. Experience +500.]

[Greatly altered the fate of Grade A character Apoo. Points +500.]

[Grade A character Hina has developed negative emotions toward the host. Low fear. Experience +100.]

[Level increased to 12 (64/590).]

Sal looked at Hina with an unfriendly expression. This little girl was finally afraid, wasn't she? She had dared keep hounding him, so now she would pay the price.

His steps slowly approached his prey, making Hina struggle continuously. Unfortunately, the power of Seastone was not something she could resist yet.

"What are you trying to do? Hina will not be afraid of you! Leave immediately if you know what's good for you, and Hina will generously let bygones be bygones."

Sal directly hoisted her soft, delicate body over his shoulder and slapped her elastic rear, cutting her off.

"I always keep my word. Have you forgotten what I once said?"

"..."

Hina's beautiful face instantly turned pale. She remembered what he had once said, and immediately struggled even harder.

"You rogue, let Hina go! You beast, mmph..."

Not giving her the chance to spit out any more harmless insults, Sal lowered his head first.

He then found the key on Apoo's body and swaggered away before the Marines could come to her rescue.

Night fell, and something ordinary happened somewhere.

Early the next morning.

Sal admired Hina's sleeping beauty, then unlocked the Seastone chain before leaving without a backward glance.

[Greatly altered the fate of Grade A character Hina. Points +500.]

No matter what stance they took in the future, whether they became enemies or something else, he would accept it. After all, Hina's first time belonged to him.

Doing such a thing had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. How much of it had been driven by lust, even he did not know.

As for killing her, that would have been a little too heartless after taking what he wanted.

After leaving the beauty behind, Sal looked at his points. He was still 1,500 short of a blue draw. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he pressed the button for ten green draws.

As items flashed one after another across the draw platform in his soul—

"Soldier Pill x1, Minor Recovery Potion x1, Rin Tohsaka's Panties x1, Jotaro Kujo's Underwear x1, Dragon Tiger Panther Magazine x1, KFC Three-Piece Meal x1, Fine Longsword x1, Emperor Taizong's Used Chamber Pot x1, A Stone Touched by Wu Zetian x1, Hwarangdo Inheritance x1."

"..."

Sal stared at the items in a daze. The Soldier Pill, recovery potion, and fine longsword were decent enough, worth 100 points. The three-piece meal could at least remind him of the flavors from his old life.

This Hwarangdo, an ancient Korean martial arts inheritance, left him speechless. What man would learn a martial art that defeated opponents through flashy moves and effeminate posing?

As for the chamber pot, the stone, and the two pieces of underwear, what the hell were those? They were just trash. So the green draw had such a high chance of junk, accounting for forty percent.

Sal decisively threw away three pieces of trash, keeping Rin Tohsaka's panties in his pocket.

He then opened the Hong Kong vintage magazine. So that was what it was. He stored it away; after all, it was nice for reminiscing about Blue Star.

After sorting out the foul mood caused by the draws, Sal decided to do something today to clear his head. He would no longer target those lowlife scum at the bottom of society.

Area 8.

Sal stood on a tree branch dozens of meters high, looking down at the transport convoy below.

This was a group that had just disembarked from a slave ship. Their destination was the slave auction house in the distance. Throughout the Sabaody Archipelago, there were more than a dozen slave auction houses and slave shops, large and small.

The owners behind these businesses were leaders of various dark forces. Behind some auction houses even stood the World Government. That was why the Marines could do nothing about the auction houses and even provided them protection.

Today's target was the property of Du Feld, the Loan Shark King and one of the Six Kings of the Dark World.