Mumei's eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over to the shelves, scanning the rows of weapons.
A row of finely crafted Flintlocks caught her eye at once. Their construction was similar to the Steam Rifles she was used to, but their workmanship was finer and their barrels longer. Their range and accuracy were clearly much better.
She picked one up, deftly spun it a few times, weighed it in her hand, then raised it to take aim and nodded in satisfaction.
She selected several in one go, grabbed a few daggers and Ammunition Belts as well, then turned to Saint Dio with her arms full.
Saint Dio did not even look at the guns in her arms. Instead, he swept his hand and said, "I'll take everything in this shop."
The shopkeeper froze for a moment before his face filled with smiles, though a shrewd gleam flashed deep in his eyes. "Young master, if you're buying everything... that will be quite a sum."
"You think I can't afford it?" Saint Dio gave him an indifferent glance.
"Not at all! One look tells me you're a man of wealth and status. This amount must be a drop in the ocean to you!" The shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly, then turned to call his assistants. "Quickly! Bring out all the stock! Pack it up! Don't keep the young master waiting!"
The assistants immediately got to work, carrying out the weapons and ammunition from the shelves in crates and stacking them in front of the counter.
The shopkeeper worked his abacus for a while, then looked up and announced a figure with a beaming smile. "Young master, I've rounded it down for you. That comes to 180 million Beli."
Saint Dio glanced at the weapon crates stacked higher than Mumei. There were indeed plenty of them, but most were ordinary standard-issue firearms and swords, nowhere near worth 180 million Beli.
The shopkeeper had clearly taken him for an unfamiliar face and an easy mark, hoping to fleece him for all he was worth.
And the shopkeeper truly had nothing to fear.
Naturally, anyone who could run a weapons shop of this size in the Lawless Zone had someone backing him.
The slave auction house and several major black-market shops in the Sabaody Archipelago were all run by the same boss behind the scenes, and he felt no qualms whatsoever about pocketing this money.
So he was not afraid of Saint Dio lashing out in anger. In fact, he was hoping Saint Dio would turn hostile.
As long as Saint Dio made a move, he would have an excuse to seize this wealthy young man and extort a hefty sum.
How much could selling weapons earn? Capturing someone, making his family pay a ransom, draining their fortune, then sending him to the auction house to be sold-that was where the real profits lay.
The shopkeeper discreetly signaled to an assistant with his eyes.
The assistant understood at once and slipped silently out the back door, taking a shortcut to fetch help.
Naturally, Saint Dio knew what he was scheming.
Trying to squeeze money out of me? Ridiculous.
He had chosen to shop in the Lawless Zone precisely because he had never intended to pay a single coin.
Faced with the shopkeeper's fawning expression, which all but asked how he intended to pay, Saint Dio merely replied indifferently, "Just wait."
Chapter 45: Sandersonia and Marigold's first battle
The shopkeeper's smile stiffened slightly. Just as he was about to press further, a clamor of footsteps and shouting suddenly came from outside. It sounded like quite a crowd.
Saint Dio's lips curved slightly. They were finally here.
He turned and walked out of the shop, only to find both ends of the street completely blocked by a group of burly men.
Every man was covered in scars, with a brutish face and cutlasses and firearms tucked at his waist. They were clearly members of the same pirate crew.
Leading them was a hulking, heavily bearded man with a bloodstained battle-axe resting on his shoulder. His gaze passed over Saint Dio and fixed on Hancock, who was choosing a dagger inside the shop. His eyes immediately went wide.
"Hahaha! She really is a beauty! Even hotter than the rumors said!" The pirate captain licked his thick lips, his eyes filled with greed and lust.
The weapons shopkeeper's expression changed at the sight. He had not expected someone else to dare steal his prize.
He hurried forward a few steps, blocking the pirate captain's path, and warned him in a lowered voice, "My friend, this shop is under my protection, and I have a powerful pirate with a bounty of 180 million backing me! You'd better think carefully before you act!"
The pirate captain paused, then burst out laughing. "180 million? Hahaha! I've spent years roaming the New World! What haven't I seen? A pirate worth 180 million? An ordinary pirate might let you scare him off! But that's how a loser thinks! I'm taking this woman today! Anyone who gets in my way gets split in two!"
He delivered his words forcefully and passionately. The pirates behind him raised their cutlasses and firearms, cheering in unison, their spirits soaring.
Just then, crisp applause rang out from among the crowd.
Clap, clap, clap.
Saint Dio leaned against the doorframe, clapping unhurriedly with an amused smile on his face. "Very well said. Quite spirited."
The pirate captain shot Saint Dio a glare. "What's it got to do with you? Get lost if you know what's good for you, brat! Boys, get them! Tie them all up!"
At his command, the pirates behind him charged forward, howling.
Saint Dio did not even move his feet. He merely smiled faintly and said, "Sonia, Gurude. This is your first battle against humans in this world. Let me see what you're capable of now."
Sandersonia and Marigold, who had long since grown impatient, instantly had a bloodthirsty gleam flare in their eyes at his words.
They stepped forward, their bodies swelling rapidly in an instant. Dense scales appeared across their skin, and their bodies below the waist swiftly stretched and fused into two thick snake tails. Already nearly three meters tall, they shot up to over eight meters under the power of their Devil Fruits.
Two enormous snake heads looked down from above, their slit pupils gleaming coldly as their flickering tongues hissed in the air.
The pirates at the front saw the two humans instantly turn into half-human, half-snake monsters and stopped dead. The ferocity on their faces froze, replaced by deathly pallor.
"W-what's going on?! How did they suddenly transform?!"
The pirates stared, dumbfounded, at the two enormous half-human, half-snake figures before them, their legs beginning to tremble uncontrollably.
Some instinctively looked back at their captain, hoping for instructions.
Only to find empty space behind them. Their captain was long gone.
The instant Sandersonia and Marigold transformed, the captain who had just delivered that impassioned, stirring speech had turned and fled without the slightest hesitation.
For all his bold talk in front of his men, he had survived the journey through the Grand Line to the Sabaody Archipelago not through any real strength, but through a pair of long legs faster than anyone else's.
Rob anyone he could beat and run from anyone he could not-that was his way of survival.
At that moment, he was sprinting flat out, secretly pleased with himself.
Good thing I ran fast, or I'd have died back there today!
Before he could congratulate himself for long, however, he heard a soft "pfft" from behind him.
Marigold stood in the middle of the street, her lips moving slightly. Then she spat upward, and a glob of thick, dark green venom cut through the air and landed squarely on the fleeing captain's back.
"Aaaaaah!"
Agonizing pain instantly swept through his entire body. The moment the dark green venom touched his skin, it began furiously eating away at his flesh, hissing and giving off plumes of acrid white smoke.
He fell to the ground screaming and rolled about, trying to smother the burning agony with dirt and gravel. But the venom had already seeped into his flesh and was slowly dissolving his muscles and bones.
His screams grew weaker and weaker. Finally, his body twitched a few times, then lay still.
Saint Dio stood at the shop entrance, looking at the corpse corroded beyond recognition, and thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
The people of the pirate world really did have tough bodies. Venom capable of completely corroding a Kabane into foul liquid within seconds had only eaten down to these pirates' muscles, without even fully dissolving their bones.
Still, this level of intimidation was already enough.
The remaining pirates were scared out of their wits at their captain's miserable fate. How could they dare stay another second? They threw away their weapons and fled, wishing their parents had given them another pair of legs.
But Sandersonia and Marigold were not about to let them go.
How dare they harbor such filthy thoughts about Hancock, our big sister? Only Lord Saint Dio may touch her. How could dirty pirates like you ever dream of having her?
Dragging their thick snake tails and carrying bloodstained Naginatas, the two pursued them like figures of death. A succession of shrill screams and pleas for mercy immediately filled the street.
Sandersonia and Marigold rampaged through the street like two tireless meat grinders.
The pirates trying to escape did not even amount to speed bumps before them.
Splattered blood and scraps of minced flesh littered the ground, staining the street's paving stones a shocking dark red.
The pirates ran, but despite their enormous size, Sandersonia and Marigold were far from slow.
Several pirates were driven into a corner. Fear finally overwhelmed their reason, unleashing the madness of a dying struggle.
Roaring, they raised their cutlasses and firearms and charged at Sandersonia. A cutlass hacked viciously into her scale-covered snake tail, but there was only a crisp clang. Several chips broke off the blade, while not even a pale mark remained on her scales.
The firearms sounded right after. Bullets struck her scales in showers of sparks, ricocheted away, and clattered to the ground, likewise leaving not the slightest mark.
Sandersonia lowered her head, and her thick snake tail suddenly swept out.
With a dull thud, the pirate flew sideways as though struck head-on by a speeding train. He tumbled seven or eight times through the air, smashed through the wall of a shop across the street, and vanished into bricks and dust, never making another sound.
Chapter 46: Finished in one move
Of course, not all of these pirates were reckless fools.
A few quick thinkers immediately realized that taking those two monsters head-on was pure suicide after seeing Sandersonia and Marigold's terrifying, impervious forms.
But their gazes soon landed on Saint Dio, standing at the weapons shop entrance.
That white-haired boy seemed to be the two monsters' master.
If they captured him, they could threaten the monsters into stopping.
Besides, he looked fair-skinned and delicate. Though a sword hung at his waist, nothing about him suggested he could fight.
Several pirates exchanged glances, then abruptly changed direction and lunged at Saint Dio.
However, there was one thing they had underestimated.
Those two snake women were not the only ones at Saint Dio's side.
Before Hancock could act, a petite figure had already rushed out ahead of her.
Mumei snatched up her newly acquired Flintlock and met the charging pirates like an agile cheetah.
The pirate in front saw a little girl who was barely out of childhood daring to charge at him and gave a vicious grin. "Get out of the way, brat!"
Then he raised his firearm and fired straight at Mumei.
Bang!
As the gunshot rang out, Mumei rolled to the left the instant the bullet left the barrel. It grazed her hair and kicked up a spray of dirt from the ground.
She rose smoothly out of her roll, having already circled behind the pirate.
The pirate saw only a blur before his target vanished. Before he could turn around, a crisp gunshot sounded behind him.
Bang!
The bullet struck his heel precisely, shattering his Achilles tendon.
The pirate screamed and pitched forward, crashing heavily to the ground.
Mumei leaped lightly onto his back and pressed the muzzle of her Flintlock against the back of his head.
"M-mercy! Don't kill me! I surrender!"
Feeling the cold metal against the back of his head, the pirate was scared out of his wits and repeatedly begged for mercy.
Mumei's finger rested on the trigger, but she did not pull it. She looked up at Saint Dio, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
After all, this was a living person, not a monster like a Kabane.
Back in the world of the Kotetsujō, she could shoot Kabane without hesitation because they were no longer human.
But faced with a living person who could speak and beg for mercy, she still found it hard to do.
Saint Dio saw her hesitation and said indifferently, "If you don't want to kill him, leave it at that."
Mumei nodded, moved the muzzle away, and aimed at the pirate's limbs-bang, bang, bang, bang!
After four shots, a bloody hole had appeared in each of the pirate's arms and legs. The agony made him let out heart-rending howls as he rolled endlessly on the ground, unable to stand again.
Before the other pirates charging at Saint Dio could get within three paces of him, a tall, slender figure swept past like a whirlwind.
Hancock's figure traced an elegant arc in the sunlight. Her long leg rose high and swept out with a sharp rush of wind.
"Perfume Femur!"
The heads of the two pirates struck by her kick instantly turned to gray-white stone, their expressions frozen in terror, then shattered with a crash into rubble scattered across the ground.
The whole process was clean and swift, without even a single drop of blood spilled.
Mumei skipped back to Saint Dio, slung her Flintlock over her shoulder, and smiled with a hint of eagerness for praise.
Saint Dio glanced at the pirate still rolling on the ground and howling.
A bullet in each limb, a ruptured Achilles tendon, and shattered joints-he would never stand again for the rest of his life.
He looked at Mumei and asked, "Why not just kill him with one shot? Why insist on wounding him?"
Mumei tilted her head and answered as though it were obvious, "If I injure him, he won't be able to do bad things anymore! Isn't that better than killing him?"
Saint Dio looked into her clear, innocent eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Before you continue