The wind swept black smoke from burning trash across the barren mountains of garbage, carrying the acrid stench of charred waste. Lin Ye stood motionless. His Observation Haki spread out instantly like an invisible net, taking in everything around him. Three men in total. Their leader was a scar-faced man, two meters tall and corded with muscle. Dried blood stained the steel pipe in his hand. His presence was the steadiest, his killing intent the strongest; he was the backbone of the trio. The man on the left was tall and thin, holding a Mountain-Cleaving Knife with a blade polished to a gleaming edge. His eyes were sinister and his steps light-clearly someone who specialized in speed and ambushes. The man on the right was short and fat, holding a homemade shotgun aimed straight at Lin Ye, his finger resting on the trigger. His presence was the most agitated, and he was the likeliest to lose control. The three formed a triangle around Lin Ye, sealing off every escape route. Lin Ye's gaze remained calm, but he rapidly assessed the situation. These three were nothing like the street children he had encountered before. They carried the genuine killing intent of men accustomed to life and death. Their movements were controlled, their coordination seamless. One glance told him they were ruthless men who had fought together for years, far beyond any disorganized rabble. The fat man with the shotgun was especially dangerous. In Meteor City, firearms were absolute killing machines. Even with Iron Body and the rudiments of Armament Haki, Lin Ye couldn't withstand a close-range shotgun blast. "I asked you a question, brat." The scar-faced man took a step forward and hefted the steel pipe in his hand with a dull sound. "Last month, in the gap between the shipping containers to the west-were you the one who killed two of our brothers?" Lin Ye finally spoke, his voice quiet but bone-chillingly cold. "It was me." He didn't deny it. There was no reason to. In Meteor City, if you killed someone, you owned up to it and faced the consequences. Begging or denying it would only earn their contempt and get you killed faster. "Good. You've got guts." The scar-faced man grinned, revealing yellow teeth stained with blood, while the murderous intent in his eyes deepened. "You're the first brat to kill members of our Black Snake Gang and live this long. Today, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs to avenge my brothers." The Black Snake Gang. Something stirred in Lin Ye's mind. He had heard of them. They were one of the largest gangs in this area, with dozens of members, controlling several nearby supply points and garbage-sorting yards. Among Meteor City's bottom ranks, they were a sizable force. The two men he had killed had actually belonged to the Black Snake Gang. This was more trouble than he had expected. "Boss, why waste your breath on him!" The fat man with the shotgun lost patience, thrusting the muzzle forward as he roared, "Just blow the brat away and avenge our second and third brothers!" "What's the rush?" The scar-faced man raised a hand to stop him, staring viciously at Lin Ye. "Shooting him would be letting him off too easy. I'll take my time playing him to death. Let him learn what happens when you cross the Black Snake Gang." Before he had finished speaking, the scar-faced man suddenly moved. His two-meter frame exploded into motion with speed completely at odds with his bulk. The steel pipe whistled through the air as he smashed it toward Lin Ye's head. The blow was fast, vicious, and crushingly powerful. If it landed, Lin Ye's head would burst like a rotten watermelon. Almost simultaneously, the tall, thin man on the left moved too. With catlike steps, he circled behind Lin Ye and silently swept his Mountain-Cleaving Knife toward Lin Ye's lower back at a vicious, treacherous angle. Attacked from front and rear, Lin Ye had no room left to dodge. His gaze sharpened. His Observation Haki had already predicted both attack trajectories. Just as the pipe and knife were about to strike, he moved. "Shave!" His feet stamped the ground repeatedly in an instant, the rapid impacts blurring into a single sound, and his body vanished from where he stood. The steel pipe smashed into the ground, scattering stone chips and leaving a shallow crater. The Mountain-Cleaving Knife missed as well, slicing through the spot Lin Ye had just occupied before striking the shell of an abandoned car in a spray of glaring sparks. Both the scar-faced man and the tall, thin man froze, their eyes filled with disbelief. Neither had seen how Lin Ye moved. Their vision had merely blurred, and he was gone. "On the left!" The fat man suddenly roared, swinging the shotgun left and pulling the trigger without hesitation. Bang! The deafening gunshot erupted across the open garbage heaps. Lead pellets rained toward the spot where Lin Ye had just appeared, shredding discarded metal sheets and sending fragments flying. But the instant the fat man turned his muzzle, Lin Ye used Shave again and vanished. Every pellet missed, leaving only a dense cluster of holes in the garbage mound. "Fuck! How's this brat so fast!" the fat man cursed, fumbling to reload. Lin Ye reappeared on the roof of an abandoned car ten meters away. His breathing was slightly ragged, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Using Shave twice in succession had placed an enormous strain on his leg muscles and aura. To evade that shotgun blast, he had nearly drained the aura inside him to execute the second instantaneous Shave. He understood his current strength clearly. Against the scar-faced man alone, he was sure to win. Against him and the tall, thin man together, he could fight and had a decent chance. But against all three, with a shotgun in the mix, he had almost no chance at all. A head-on fight would only get me killed. I have to take out the fat man with the shotgun first. The firearm was the greatest threat to him right now. Lin Ye's eyes turned cold. He spread his Observation Haki to its fullest, locking onto all three men's movements and anticipating their next attacks. "All you can do is run, brat?" The scar-faced man looked up at Lin Ye on the car roof, a cruel grin spreading across his face. "Come down and fight me head-on if you've got the guts! Scurrying around like a rat!" Before he finished speaking, he snatched a stone from the ground and hurled it at Lin Ye. At the same time, the tall, thin man moved again, scrambling up the car's shell like a monkey and swinging his Mountain-Cleaving Knife at Lin Ye's legs. Lin Ye didn't try to block. He used Shave again, leaping off the roof and landing on the ground. But the moment he landed, he realized he had fallen into their trap. The scar-faced man was already waiting at his landing spot, bringing the steel pipe crashing toward his chest with devastating force. This time, there was no escape. "Iron Body!" Lin Ye instantly tensed every muscle. The aura inside him surged frantically toward his chest, and Armament Haki covered his entire upper body, making it as hard as steel. Clang! A deafening crash rang out. The steel pipe slammed into Lin Ye's chest. The tremendous force sent him flying like a kite with its string cut, smashing him into the abandoned shipping container behind him and caving in its metal wall. Blood burst from his mouth. Agony tore through his chest, his ribs felt broken, and darkness swam before his eyes. Iron Body and Armament Haki had absorbed most of the impact, but the scar-faced man's strength was simply too great. The shock had still injured his internal organs. "Oh? Interesting." Surprise flickered in the scar-faced man's eyes as he watched Lin Ye. "You took a hit from my pipe and didn't die. No wonder you managed to kill two of my brothers." He advanced one step at a time, dragging the pipe along the ground with an ear-piercing scrape. The tall, thin man and the fat man, who had finished reloading, closed in as well. Once again, the three surrounded Lin Ye. This time they were closer, leaving him no room to evade with Shave. Bracing against the dented container wall, Lin Ye slowly rose. Blood hung at the corner of his mouth, his chest heaved, and his whole body hurt. Yet his eyes grew colder and brighter. He had nowhere left to retreat. "I'll give you one more chance, brat." The scar-faced man stopped, looking down at Lin Ye. "Get on your knees, kowtow three times to my brothers, then break both your arms. I'll let you keep your corpse intact." Lin Ye smiled coldly. He looked up at the scar-faced man and slowly tightened his grip on his dagger. "You want to kill me? The three of you aren't enough." Before the words had faded, Lin Ye attacked. Rather than retreat with Shave, he charged straight at the fat man holding the shotgun. His speed reached its limit, his body low like a cheetah pouncing on its prey. Startled, the fat man instinctively raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Bang! Another gunshot rang out. But a second before he squeezed the trigger, Lin Ye's Observation Haki had already predicted his movement. Lin Ye ducked sharply and slid between the fat man's legs. The pellets skimmed his scalp and blasted a gaping hole through the shipping container behind him. The instant he slid behind the fat man, Lin Ye drove his dagger deep into the man's lower back. "Aaargh!" The fat man let out a piercing scream. His shotgun fell to the ground, and his body crumpled. The biggest threat was down! But before Lin Ye could rise, wind whistled behind him. The scar-faced man's steel pipe was already crashing toward his back. This time, he couldn't evade it at all. Gritting his teeth, Lin Ye activated Iron Body again, sending Armament Haki surging frantically into his back. Thud! The pipe struck his back squarely. The immense force made him spit another mouthful of blood and slammed him hard into the ground. His vision went black, and he nearly passed out. The bones in his back felt shattered. His aura fell into instant chaos, and he didn't even have the strength to lift a hand. "You put up quite a fight, brat." The scar-faced man walked up and planted a foot on his back, pinning him firmly to the ground as he pressed the end of the steel pipe against the back of his head. "Too bad you're still too green." The tall, thin man approached as well, pressing his Mountain-Cleaving Knife against Lin Ye's neck, a vicious grin plastered across his face. "Boss, stop wasting your breath. Just cut his head off and avenge our brothers." Lin Ye lay on the ground, wounded all over and unable to move. The shadow of death washed over him like a tide, engulfing him completely. He could feel the icy killing intent from the pipe and blade. He could feel his aura draining away little by little, his life slipping away with it. Am I going to die? I've only been in this world for half a year, and I'm going to die here? He couldn't accept it. He refused to accept it! He hadn't left Meteor City yet. He hadn't taken the Hunter Exam, hadn't seen the vastness of this world, hadn't fused Haki and Nen to their ultimate potential! How can I die here! An overwhelming will to survive erupted in his heart like a volcano. I don't want to die! I'm going to live! Just as the scar-faced man was about to bring the steel pipe crashing down, the aura inside Lin Ye suddenly surged out of control. That once-feeble aura, which could barely cover his arm, swelled explosively under the drive of his desperate will to survive, sweeping through his entire right arm like a tsunami. A black hardened coating with a metallic sheen instantly enveloped his whole right arm. In the depths of desperation, his Armament Haki had fully awakened!
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