The points he had just earned from Trejer were a drop in the ocean compared with the prices of those two items.
"System, this is daylight robbery..."
Lin Xuan took a deep breath, but still couldn't suppress the urge to curse.
The origins of those two items were obvious: they were Killer B's trademarks from the world of Hokage.
The tricky swordsmanship of Eight-Sword Style, paired with a battlefield killing weapon like the Kubikiribōchō, really suited a combat template like Kenpachi Zaraki's.
A lunatic who fought on Beast Instinct, wielding another seven or eight blades-the mere thought was exciting.
This system really was thoughtful when it wanted to be, and utterly ruthless when it didn't.
It knew exactly what appealed to Lin Xuan most, then slapped on a price he couldn't possibly afford, purely to whet his appetite.
"Forget it. Out of sight, out of mind."
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xuan swiped a slightly trembling finger through the air and forcibly closed the shop interface.
Watching good stuff slip away before his eyes left him so frustrated that he wanted to find someone to fight and blow off steam.
Bang!
A gunshot interrupted his thoughts.
Overhead, a circling sea eagle suddenly stiffened. Without even a cry, it dropped straight down and splashed into the sea less than two meters from the railing, sending up a small spray.
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow and turned to look.
Carina stood on the upper deck, holding a flintlock pistol that was still trailing smoke.
Perhaps because of the recoil, her shoulder twitched slightly, but her eyes held a stubborn refusal to give up.
"I... I'm practicing my shooting."
Noticing Lin Xuan's gaze, Carina hurriedly tucked the pistol back at her waist and explained like a schoolgirl caught doing something wrong, "When we go to Cocoyasi Village, I don't want to just hide behind you. I'm not as strong as you or that Moss Head monster, but at least... I want to avoid holding you back."
The sea breeze lifted her short orange hair, exposing a stretch of pale, taut neck.
Lin Xuan looked at the dead bird slowly sinking into the sea, then at Carina's earnest face. Much of his irritation over his lack of points suddenly faded.
"Nice shooting."
Lin Xuan grinned, casually took a gold coin from his pocket, and flicked it over. "You've got the accuracy. Try a moving target next time. Shooting living targets that don't fight back won't teach you real skills."
Carina scrambled to catch the coin, a blush rising to her cheeks.
Meanwhile, something suddenly clicked in Lin Xuan's mind because of the casual advice he had just given.
Wait.
Shooting living targets that don't fight back won't teach you real skills?
He rubbed the bluish stubble just beginning to emerge on his chin.
He had spent the past few days pondering how to increase his template's unlock progress, only to hit a dead end.
The skills in the system shop were good, of course, but they were external aids.
Where did Kenpachi Zaraki's power come from?
It came from slaughter, from battles on the brink of death, from clashing with powerful opponents every time he swung his blade.
Do missions, save points, and buy skills? Too slow.
That step-by-step way of growing stronger didn't suit his temperament at all, much less this body's instinctive thirst for battle.
Since I can't afford Eight-Sword Style, why not find someone who uses multiple swords and learn directly in combat-or simply smash his techniques apart with my fists?
Rather than wait for the system's handouts, I might as well seize the chance to grow stronger myself.
"Lin Xuan! Two o'clock! Something's happening!"
Carina's slightly panicked voice rang out again.
She held up a spyglass, but her hands began to tremble slightly. "It's... it's a warship! A large warship! That's the kind used by Headquarters Vice Admirals!"
Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes without reaching for the spyglass.
At this distance, his eyesight worked better than those lenses.
An invisible power of perception spread out instantly along the sea breeze.
Although his Observation Haki was still at the elementary Beast Instinct stage, it was enough to detect powerful signs of life.
A straight-backed figure stood at the bow of that enormous warship.
The man wore a Justice Coat and a strange helmet. Most conspicuous of all was the long pink hair behind him, which he controlled with his ability to hold several swords.
Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Onigumo.
Lin Xuan's eyes instantly lit up, almost frighteningly bright.
He had just been worrying about Eight-Sword Style, and now a ready-made teacher had delivered himself to his doorstep.
Although Onigumo held swords with his hair, he was a genuine Eight-Sword Style swordsman.
Moreover, the man was a notorious hardliner who believed in Absolute Justice and would show no mercy in a fight.
An opponent of this caliber might not rank among the best on the Grand Line, but in the current East Blue, he was definitely a top-grade monster that could get the blood pumping.
"What luck..."
Lin Xuan licked his somewhat dry lips, the suppressed fighting spirit in his eyes beginning to stir. "A pillow delivered just as I was getting sleepy."
"Lin Xuan, let's turn around!" Carina's face was pale, her voice on the verge of tears. "That insignia... that's a monster from Headquarters! He's on a completely different level from a branch officer like Captain Nezumi! If a warship like that targets us, we'll die!"
Zoro, who had been training on deck and sweating profusely, stopped as well. With Wado Ichimonji clenched between his teeth, he looked warily into the distance, every muscle taut.
"Turn?"
Lin Xuan chuckled and straightened up beside the mast.
He rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.
"Yes, we should turn."
He raised his hand and pointed his index finger straight at the enormous warship cutting through the waves toward them, his voice carrying a delight that made their scalps prickle:
"Carina, hard to port! Head straight for them at full speed!"
"Huh?!"
The chart in Carina's hand fell to the deck with a slap. She was utterly dumbfounded. "Head... head for them? Do you mean... that's the direction we're escaping in?"
"Escape, my ass."
Lin Xuan drew the Asauchi at his waist, its edge reflecting a cold glint in the sunlight.
As he watched that spiderlike hairstyle become clearer in the distance, the smile on his lips widened until it formed an unrestrained grin:
"I'm telling you to sail over there. I want to have... a nice little chat with that Vice Admiral."
The sword nearly fell out of Zoro's mouth. He stared wide-eyed at Lin Xuan as though looking at a madman. "Hey, are you serious? That's a Headquarters Vice Admiral! You want an all-out war with the Marines in this dump?"
"What does it matter?"
Lin Xuan ignored their shock entirely. His gaze remained fixed on the figure at the distant bow, who was likewise watching them coldly.
The prickling sensation of being targeted by someone strong made every pore on Lin Xuan's body open.
What the system won't give me, I'll take myself.
No money to buy skills? Then I'll use your life to fill that damned progress bar!
Out on the sea, the enormous warship cleaved through white waves. Its dark cannon muzzles gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight, and a wave of murderous intent swept toward them.
On the warship's command platform, Vice Admiral Onigumo slowly took the mission orders for this trip from inside his coat, his expression thunderous.
As the distance between them rapidly closed, the Marine warship's enormous shadow fell over them, gradually swallowing the small sailing ship beneath Lin Xuan's feet, the Predator.
The heavy pressure of its tonnage and firepower, accompanied by the dull sound of waves slapping the hull, nearly froze the air on deck.
Carina gripped the railing so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
She glanced at Zoro beside her, who was likewise covered in cold sweat, his hand already on his sword hilt. The two exchanged an exceedingly bitter look.
"Hey, Moss Head..." Carina's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz and trembled as she spoke. "Is a monster on this level really someone we can afford to provoke right now?"
Zoro swallowed, his eyes fixed on the row of dark cannon muzzles above. His mouth twisted into something uglier than a grimace. "Who knows... We've boarded a pirate ship. Looks like we have no choice but to go along with that lunatic to the bitter end."
Lin Xuan ignored the whispers behind him.
He raised his head, looking past the towering side of the ship to meet the gaze of the tall figure by the warship's railing.
Up close, Onigumo's presence was even more oppressive.
His ability-controlled pink hair, paired with a sullen face that looked as though everyone owed him eight million Beli, gave him an unmistakable air of "I'm pissed off. Don't mess with me."
Clearly, this Headquarters Vice Admiral found being sent on a mission to a place like the East Blue quite beneath him.
"Hmph. You've saved me some trouble."
Onigumo looked down at Lin Xuan from above, his eyes devoid of any respect for a person, as though assessing a piece of merchandise.
He didn't draw his swords, and scarcely even looked at Zoro and Carina. His deep-seated arrogance poured down with his low, hoarse voice:
"Since you've delivered yourself to me, I won't have to search everywhere. Lin Xuan, these are direct orders from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Come back to Headquarters with us."
Having said that, Onigumo didn't even wait for Lin Xuan's response.
In his view, a brat from the East Blue-even Mr. Garp's adopted son-could have no option but obedience when summoned by a Headquarters Vice Admiral.
He turned away listlessly, the Justice Coat on his back snapping in the sea breeze. With his back to Lin Xuan, he waved a hand, his tone betraying an eagerness to finish this boring assignment as soon as possible:
"Lower the rope ladder and bring him aboard. Don't dawdle. We're returning immediately."
The Marines on deck sprang into action. Accompanied by the scraping of machinery, a thick rope ladder slid down the warship's side and hung right in front of Lin Xuan.
That matter-of-fact, commanding attitude was like an owner calling back a lost pet.
Lin Xuan looked at the swaying rope ladder before him, then at Onigumo's utterly unguarded back. A trace of cold mockery flashed in his eyes.
The pent-up anger in his chest had finally found an outlet.
"Hey, you up there playing with your hair."
Lin Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but in the silence broken only by the waves, it reached everyone's ears clearly.
Onigumo, who had been about to leave, stopped in his tracks.
"I think you might have misunderstood something." Lin Xuan pushed aside the obstructing rope ladder and rested his palm on the seemingly unremarkable Asauchi at his waist. He could no longer suppress the wild grin on his lips:
"I didn't come over here to follow you to some bullshit Headquarters."
He raised his head, staring intently at the ends of Onigumo's hair, which resembled spider legs. His voice carried a chilling excitement, like a hunter finally locking onto his prey:
"I hear your Life Return ability lets you control your hair like limbs, and together with your hands, you can use Eight-Sword Style... You've made quite a name for yourself on the Grand Line."
"As it happens, I'm a little short on cash lately and can't afford the swordsmanship scroll I want."
Lin Xuan licked his lips as the wild instinct deep within his soul began to stir. "So I'd like to ask you for a lesson, Vice Admiral... Would you let me take apart your Eight-Sword Style, along with your bones, piece by piece, and study them?"
The instant his words fell, time seemed to stop.
On the warship's deck, the busy Marines froze mid-motion, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
They stared at the sixteen-year-old boy below as though he were insane.
What was he saying?
Was he challenging a Headquarters Vice Admiral? With such a bloodthirsty provocation, no less?
Onigumo slowly drew back the right foot he had already stepped forward with.
He turned around slowly, his movements as stiff as a rusted machine.
His sinister eyes, usually half-lidded, finally opened fully as he stared at Lin Xuan, his gaze seeming ready to spit fire.
"Brat..."
Onigumo's voice seemed to squeeze through his teeth, carrying a biting chill. "Do you know who you're talking to? Pointless jokes like that can get people killed."
Chapter 32: Eight-Sword Style versus Eight-Sword Style? Vice Admiral, Your Legs Are Shaking!
"Killed?"
Before you continue