The Pirate Who Refused Red-Hair's Invitation

"Your Majesty! Are you all right?" Wapol's men shouted in alarm.

Luo chuckled and returned to Lin Mo's side. "These useless fools are no match for us."

Lin Mo walked on in silence.

Just then,

Dalton used his Ox-Ox Fruit powers to transform into a black bull and blocked Lin Mo and Luo's path.

"I don't want to fight you, but I'm the Guard Captain. No matter how incompetent this country's king is, I can't let you hurt him," Dalton said grimly. "Leave this country, both of you. Right now. Don't force me to attack!"

Lin Mo did not stop.

Just as he had when he first came up the mountain,

he ignored Dalton and kept walking.

Then, as he was about to pass him,

Dalton let out a roar. However reluctant he was, he had no choice but to act.

Dalton charged at Lin Mo, trying to knock him away with the force of the impact.

Lin Mo easily dodged several attacks. He was less than three meters from the innkeeper, and Dalton was still pressing him,

when Lin Mo raised a hand and struck Dalton in the chest as he closed in again, sending him flying more than ten meters.

The Armament Haki on Lin Mo's hand slowly faded.

Lin Mo approached the guard holding the innkeeper.

Before he could say a word,

the guard's legs began to shake. He let go of the rope binding the innkeeper and stumbled several steps back.

Lin Mo calmly untied the rope.

Once free, the innkeeper looked utterly stunned. "Lin Mo, you... you sent Guard Captain Dalton flying with one hit? Good heavens, was everything they said true? Are you really that strong?"

Drum Island: The Munch-Munch Fruit Put to Waste

The innkeeper's astonishment did nothing to sway Lin Mo.

The Drum Kingdom guards, on the other hand, wore expressions of growing disbelief.

"What's he doing?" Luo noticed that Wapol, whom he had cut into several pieces, was eating the severed parts of his own body. Disgust rose in him. "So he has a Devil Fruit power too... That's revolting."

Lin Mo had known about Wapol's ability all along, so seeing him eat himself came as no surprise.

"Wapol has the Munch-Munch Fruit," the innkeeper said anxiously. "Anything he eats becomes part of his body. If he eats everyone's weapons, you'll be in danger. Hurry, Lin Mo, Luo! Leave while you still can!"

"Hmph! None of you are getting away!" Wapol had eaten every piece of his severed body, then spat a slimmer version of himself out of a large tin barrel. He picked up the guns the guards had dropped and began eating them.

Luo's brow furrowed.

He had not dismissed his ROOM yet.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Wapol again and swung his blade.

Wapol fused the guns he had swallowed into a rocket-launcher-like barrel that emerged from his chest. As Luo's blade came down, a powerful shot grazed his cheek.

It would have hit Luo

if he had not reacted quickly enough to dodge.

"Damn it!" Luo frowned and attacked Wapol again.

Wapol kept eating the weapons around him as more gun barrels emerged from his body. Bullets poured toward Luo as though Wapol had an endless supply.

Inside the ROOM, Wapol had little chance of hitting Luo. But Luo was finding it just as hard to get close.

Then Wapol's men wheeled several cannons out of the Castle.

Wapol immediately jumped over and began devouring them, bite by bite.

"Heh-heh. Those two little monsters are finished."

"When His Majesty Wapol gets serious, he's incredibly strong."

"Hahaha! I almost feel sorry for those two brats. They should've run while they had the chance. Now they couldn't escape even if they wanted to. Serves them right!"

The guards pushing the cannons jeered.

Luo had meant to finish Wapol before he ate all the cannons.

But before he could get close,

countless more barrels sprouted from Wapol's body, firing a torrent of bullets at once.

Luo could teleport within the ROOM, but dodging that many bullets still took effort. He had very little experience using his Devil Fruit powers in combat.

After all, he was only fourteen.

When he saw he could not dodge the next volley, Luo flashed to the far edge of the ROOM and escaped the shots.

By then, Wapol had finished eating every cannon his men had brought out.

He wiped his mouth.

Then Wapol turned his gaze on Lin Mo, who stood less than five meters away.

"You little brat, I'll deal with you first, then kill that fellow in the hat! Ahahaha!" Wapol roared with laughter.

The guards behind him laughed just as wildly.

Lin Mo could only stare at Wapol in exasperation as the man turned both hands and the top of his head into rocket-launcher barrels and aimed every one at him.

"Die! Ahahaha!" Wapol laughed and opened fire.

Several shells of different sizes flew toward Lin Mo at once.

The innkeeper was so frightened that his legs shook beneath him. He lost his footing and fell.

Only three words filled his mind: We're done for.

Lin Mo watched calmly as the shells drew closer.

The crowd was still laughing when several deafening booms rang out. Every shell struck Lin Mo.

Thick smoke billowed across the scene.

Everyone there except Luo thought Lin Mo and the innkeeper were finished.

Not far away, Dalton climbed out of the snow where Lin Mo had sent him flying. He turned just in time to see Wapol's attack hit Lin Mo, and regret and guilt crossed his face.

"Hahaha! That kid must be dead. What an idiot. He saw the shells coming and didn't even run."

"Bet he was too scared to move! Hahaha! Serves him right."

"Your Majesty, hurry up and deal with that kid in the hat. Being stuck like this is awful. If you take him out, maybe we'll go back to normal."

The guards clamored around Wapol.

Wapol turned to Luo with a nasty grin. "You're next, brat. Ahahaha! Die!"

"Heh." Luo gave a cold laugh.

Wapol paused before firing, his brows drawing together. "What are you laughing at?"

"You really think an attack that feeble could kill Lin Mo?" Luo said with a chuckle.

"What?" Wapol immediately looked toward where Lin Mo had stood.

As the smoke from the explosions cleared, a glowing golden sphere slowly came into view.

"Huh? What's that?" Wapol asked in surprise.

Lin Mo released the Fairy Sphere.

When everyone saw Lin Mo and the stunned innkeeper standing there unharmed, their jaws dropped.

"Huh? They're all right?"

"How is that possible? How could anyone withstand His Majesty Wapol's attack?"

"What was that golden sphere?"

A chorus of startled voices rose around them.

Wapol glared at Lin Mo through gritted teeth and aimed every barrel on his body at him again. "You little brat! Let's see how many times you can dodge my attacks!"

Lin Mo stared back, speechless.

This guy was such a nuisance...

Before Wapol could fire again,

Lin Mo flashed directly in front of him, intent on leaving as soon as possible.

Wapol had no time to react. Lin Mo drove his foot into Wapol's stomach, shattering the barrel protruding from it with Night Guy and sending him flying in a graceful arc.

"Huh? Your Majesty Wapol!"

"Your Majesty, we're coming to save you!"

The few of Wapol's men Luo had not dismembered raced after him.

Lin Mo turned and headed for the cable car he had ridden up.

As he passed the innkeeper, he said, "Let's go."

The innkeeper answered in a daze, scrambled up from the ground, and stumbled after him.

Luo was about to leave too, but Dalton stopped him.

Dalton had returned to his human form. "I know this is too much to ask, but my men only attacked you because they were following orders. They're innocent. Please put them back the way they were."

Luo glanced at the scattered pieces of guards who were somehow still alive and sneered. "Are you telling me what to do?"

Drum Island: Are You Happy, Kids?

Beep! You fought White Iron Wapol and earned Guard Captain Dalton's goodwill. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 70%. Reward: Iron Body level +1. Current Iron Body level: Lv3.

Lin Mo had just reached the cable car at the edge of the cliff when the System Notification Sound rang in his mind.

He had long since grown used to sign-in tasks completing for reasons he could not predict.

So he was not particularly surprised. He simply boarded the cable car.

The innkeeper followed close behind.

Luo, however, did not follow at once.

Dalton stood in his way, grief filling his eyes. "I know this country is beyond saving. No matter how much I despise Wapol's actions, as long as I'm Guard Captain, I have to carry out the duties of my post. I know you have no reason to put my men back together when we were your enemies moments ago. But they attacked because they had no choice. We're citizens of the Drum Kingdom. If we defy Wapol, the current king... I don't care if I die, but you can imagine what would happen to them."

Without another moment's hesitation, Dalton dropped to his knees in the snow. "I'm begging you. Please put my men back together. You can kill me if you want. I won't fight back."

"Captain, you knelt to an enemy for us? Sob... Captain, you've been so good to us."

"Captain... sob... please get up..."

"Captain..."

Sobs rose all around them.

They were grown adults, yet they were crying like children.

Luo's mouth twitched. He had no intention of helping,

but their sobbing was getting on his nerves.

From the cable car, the innkeeper spoke up for Dalton. "Dalton isn't like Wapol. He's treated us fairly well. Luo, if you can put those fellows back together, please do it. It's freezing on this cable car, so hurry. I'll be fine, but we don't want Lin Mo catching a cold."

Lin Mo: "..."

A little wind like this was hardly going to give him a cold.

After a moment's silence, Luo helped Dalton to his feet.

Looking irritated, he spread his hands and opened a ROOM again. Using his ability, he put the guards back together as quickly as he could.

"Thank you so much," Dalton said gratefully.

Luo waved him off. Without another word, he headed for the cable car.