A Beast That Had Lost Its Intelligence

After seeing the two siblings off.

The three agreed to meet on Tutu Island the next day and discuss exactly how they would kill Garde.

Back at the restaurant, Werther picked up the Devil Fruit on the table and admired it for a while. Devil Fruits were exceedingly rare, and this was Werther's first time seeing a real one.

But Werther had no intention of eating it. Never mind what ability it granted—after eating one, he would become a landlubber, afraid of Seastone and the sea. Even taking a bath would leave him weak and listless; he would have to wash with a basin instead. Devil Fruit users really had it rough.

And that was not even the worst part. The worst were the more extreme Devil Fruits. For instance, after Magellan ate the Venom-Venom Fruit, he spent most of his life on the toilet. He even had to hold it in during battle, or he might really get beaten so badly that he shit himself.

There were also some bizarre abilities that required immense imagination and time to develop. So Werther would not eat it, though keeping it as a collectible was not bad either.

He placed the Devil Fruit in the safe in his bedroom, putting on airs as he collected one. In truth, he was saving it to sell in an emergency if he ran short on money someday.

Since his injuries had not fully healed, Werther only did some restorative training before returning to bed to play dead.

Time passed quickly while he slept.

The next day, Werther arrived at their appointed location dressed entirely in black. Catarina was already waiting there. Although her aura remained as cold as ever, the ice cream in her hand betrayed her true nature as a foodie.

Werther had already learned the astonishing fact the day before: this icy beauty was a foodie.

After nodding, Catarina led Werther toward Ferdinand's home.

Upon arriving at Ferdinand's home, Werther could not help sighing. As expected of a former Celestial Dragon and the current manager of Tutu Island, his home was extravagantly luxurious.

Following Catarina into the building, which could already be called a castle, Werther went up to the second floor. Ferdinand had long been waiting in the study.

After discussing it, the three settled on a simple yet effective plan.

Once Gat returned, they would immediately let him know that his brother had died, and that Ferdinand's auction house was involved. Garde would surely come to Ferdinand seeking an explanation.

Ferdinand would then falsely claim that he had captured Werther and lead Garde into an escape passage beneath the castle. Werther and Catarina would lie in ambush on either side of the passage. Once Garde entered, they would surround him from front and back. No matter how strong Garde was, he could not possibly deal with two powerful enemies attacking him from both directions. Ferdinand, meanwhile, would look for an opportunity to open one of the passage's inner doors and hide inside.

With enemies before and behind him, no matter how skilled he was in hand-to-hand combat, he could not grow two heads and four arms. It was a good plan—simple plans were easier to carry out, and the easier they were to carry out, the fewer variables there would be.

But Werther was most concerned with how they would lure Garde into the passage.

The siblings, however, were not worried about that at all. Ferdinand told Werther that he would understand once he saw Garde in person.

Werther still had one concern: he did not fully trust the siblings. He absolutely had to inspect that passage first. If Ferdinand had not seemed so sincere, Werther would not have stepped a foot into the castle.

Werther felt that his current strength simply was not worth someone using a Devil Fruit to lure him in.

So he went with Ferdinand to inspect the underground passage. Sure enough, there were many traps inside, while the walls were made from a special alloy and were extremely sturdy.

A passage full of metal walls was practically half of Werther's home turf. Inside, he could use electromagnetic force to move freely in every direction, ignoring the gravity beneath his feet. It was an excellent place for an ambush.

As for whether to carry out the plan, Werther would decide only after seeing Garde himself.

After waiting bitterly on Tutu Island with Ferdinand for more than ten days, the Furious Lion Pirates' ship finally returned.

Before the ship even docked, a figure flew rapidly toward the shore like a cannonball, headfirst, and slammed viciously into the ground. The dock boomed with a tremendous crash.

The people busily working on the dock did not seem surprised by the bizarre sight at all. Instead, they looked somewhat disdainful and jealous, as if thinking, How could a lunatic like that be so strong?

Werther could not help opening his mouth wide as he watched the burly man in his thirties rise from the dock and roar, "Successfully landed!"

Werther looked at Ferdinand with a peculiar expression and asked, "That guy is the partner you've been working with all this time?"

Ferdinand seemed a little embarrassed as well. He nodded, emphasizing that the man was very strong.

Werther merely chuckled at that and said nothing. Instead, he directly called to Catarina and headed toward Ferdinand's castle. He seemed completely reassured now and ready to set the ambush.

As Werther neared the castle, he suddenly heard someone roar from far behind him.

"Big brother, who killed my big brother? I'm going to butcher him, crush him, and eat him!"

Werther urged Catarina on, and they ran toward the castle.

Upon arriving at the ambush point they had agreed on beforehand, Werther pressed a mechanism on the passage wall. A door opened in the wall, and he slipped inside before closing the hidden door behind him.

After waiting for about an hour, Werther heard footsteps. Ferdinand should have arrived. Now all that remained was to wait for the signal.

As the footsteps drew closer, Werther heard—

Cough, cough-cough, cough. Several intermittent dry coughs.

It was the signal. Werther pressed the mechanism at his side, and the door before him opened in response.

Standing before Werther was the burly man who had played human cannonball at the dock—Garde. Ferdinand had already used a hidden door in the passage to escape.

Seeing this, Werther relaxed somewhat. It appeared this was not a trap meant for him. He drew his sword, activated Lightning Mode, and stared at the powerful enemy before him.

Because the passage was narrow, Werther did not grip his sword normally, instead choosing a reverse grip. Although a reverse grip did not offer as much force in slashes, it was more flexible in this cramped passage. It made it less likely for his blade to strike the wall, slow his attack, and expose such a basic opening to his enemy.

Catarina stood directly opposite Werther. She held no weapon and was stamping her feet as she adjusted her condition. She looked like an expert at using her legs. Werther had originally assumed she was a Devil Fruit user.

Since this was their first cooperation, Werther had not asked sensitive questions beforehand, such as how she fought. With neither side fully trusting the other, he had only asked Catarina about her combat strength.

The beauty pointed at Werther, then at his sword, and finally at herself before shaking her hand.

Werther had been completely baffled at the time. Ferdinand had translated for him, roughly meaning that it would be difficult for Werther to kill her.

With that information, Werther had been reassured.

Seeing that Catarina had no intention of making the first move, Werther charged at the enemy. Before he had even taken more than a few steps, Catarina cooperatively rushed toward Garde as well.

Sword and leg attacked Garde together. Since Werther was much faster than Catarina, he was the first to clash with the enemy.

Garde had been confused by the situation, looking around in every direction. Only now did he realize that enemies had ambushed him. He covered both hands in Haki, clenched his fists, and met Werther head-on.

With a clang, sword and fist collided with the sound of metal striking metal. Garde looked relaxed and was just about to say something to Werther when he felt a tremendous force slam into his back.

Werther had just blocked Garde's attack and was waiting for Catarina's support. But when her attack landed, he immediately felt something was wrong. A huge force surged through his hands, and both he and Garde were sent flying backward.

As he flew through the air, Werther was speechless. This woman is absurdly strong. Could this be some kind of Devil Fruit ability?

He deftly adjusted his posture in midair. Since the surroundings were all metal, Werther could rely on electromagnetic force to avoid falling too badly. Still, he hit the ground hard because Catarina's kick had been far too heavy.

It was impossible to tell that those slender legs possessed such tremendous power. But they were still in battle, and he had no time to think further. He rose and continued slashing at Garde.

Garde had taken that kick head-on, and Catarina's high heel had struck him squarely in the middle of the back. Werther knew those were no ordinary high heels. He could tell from the sound they made while walking that the heels were definitely metal. Given Catarina's leg strength, they had to be made of rare metal—otherwise, how could they withstand such force?

Although Garde had covered part of his back with Haki, the kick still left him unable to rise. Werther would never miss such a perfect chance to beat a drowning dog. Although Garde could use Armament Haki, he could not cover his entire body. It seemed he did not know Observation Haki.

So under Werther's rapid slashes, whenever Garde failed to react in time and could not coat the struck area in Haki, deep, bone-revealing bloody wounds appeared across his body.

Just as Gat was desperately defending against Werther's attacks, Catarina's second kick arrived. It was still not fast, but it carried terrifying power, and it looked even heavier than the previous kick.

Boom! A massive rumble echoed through the underground passage, caused by Catarina's kick.

At the critical moment, Garde endured Werther's slash and twisted his body with all his might. Though the kick did not hit a vital point, it struck one of Gat's arms, breaking it instantly.

Even though Garde had coated himself with Armament Haki, he had to cover the areas struck by Werther's blade while also dealing with the kick. His coating had shifted slightly off target, and he paid for it with an arm.

So far, the three men's plan had achieved tremendous success.

(Such stable updates—please add it to your collection.)