"Whew!"
Bai Yu let out a deep breath, put the seven swords back into the system, then casually took out a bottle of strong liquor. After taking a swig, he tossed it to Onigumo and said,
"As expected of a Marine Vice Admiral. Fighting without holding anything back really felt great. Let's have another match if we get the chance."
Onigumo caught the liquor, a complex mix of expressions crossing his face. Finally, he sighed helplessly, took a swig, and said,
"Brat, I take back my earlier contempt. To reach this level at such a young age, you'll definitely have a place among the Admirals someday."
"But I'd like to know which renowned master taught you your Eight-Sword Style swordsmanship. If they're in the East Blue, I'd like to presume to pay them a visit."
Beside them, Zoro also recovered from his shock.
In all the time he had followed Bai Yu, he had never imagined that Bai Yu still had a skill like this hidden away. At Onigumo's question, a trace of eagerness appeared on his face as well.
"You mean that Eight-Sword Style just now?"
Bai Yu brushed the dust off himself and rubbed the tip of his nose.
"Does this need to be learned? It's just a talent developed through combat."
At that moment, his quiet voice seemed infused with a demonic power, echoing between heaven and earth and refusing to fade for a long time.
Onigumo nearly slapped himself.
Of all the questions he could have asked, he just had to ask that one.
Wasn't he asking to make a fool of himself?
Most importantly, this truly was Onigumo's first time seeing such an unusual Eight-Sword Style. He believed very few people would ever come up with a swordsmanship technique like this.
But if Bai Yu had created all of this by following his body's combat techniques...
Then wasn't the young man before him possessed of far too terrifying a talent for battle?
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on defeating Vice Admiral Onigumo. Main body template unlock progress has reached 14.9%." "Ding! Congratulations, host, on obtaining 500 System Points."
The ethereal notifications rang out in Bai Yu's mind.
Looking at the sudden surge in template unlock progress, Bai Yu couldn't stop his facial muscles from twitching.
He was just one final step away from fifteen percent.
Bai Yu really suspected that the system was messing with him.
Still, going without cheats was impossible. He could never go without cheats in this lifetime.
Bai Yu endured this little setback.
As for the extra five hundred shop points, Bai Yu glanced at the empty shop and left the mental space.
It seemed the landlord hadn't reacted yet.
Otherwise, there really would have been no way to keep those five hundred shop points overnight.
"Bai Yu, are you really not planning to return to Marine Headquarters with me? Our route takes us straight across the Red Line. It'll only take three or four days."
Onigumo spoke again.
Faced with this unusual brat, even Onigumo, a stone-faced hardliner, showed a rare hint of anticipation.
At least when it came to swordsmanship, his instincts told him that the young man before him would be interesting.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo, I appreciate the offer, but for the time being, I still plan to sail independently, see this sea, and find some like-minded crewmates along the way."
Bai Yu shook his head and declined with a smile.
There were quite a few targets worth cutting down at Marine Headquarters.
But once he arrived at Marine Headquarters, Bai Yu would also have to shoulder a Marine's duties.
Then there would be certain people he couldn't easily cut down openly.
Bai Yu had no wish to let this rare stretch of leisure slip away.
"All right. Since you don't want to, I won't force you. As for what happened here, I'll report it truthfully. It should also be a great help to your future promotions."
Onigumo looked a little regretful, but he still made his decision.
For many people, losing to a junior was a disgrace.
But as a hardliner, Onigumo was also straightforward by nature. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned Garp and Sengoku's deep trust and been sent to escort Bai Yu.
"Heh, Vice Admiral Onigumo, when you put it that way, I'll have to thank you for being my stepping stone. If there's nothing else, I'll be off."
Bai Yu smiled, took a swig of liquor, and leaped straight down onto his little boat.
His challenge to Onigumo this time had been purely an accident.
He still didn't know what the situation in Cocoyasi Village was like, and Bai Yu had no intention of wasting any more time here.
Besides, Bai Yu really wanted to know whether he could find an opening with Arlong to gain that missing 0.1% of unlock progress.
"You brat, you really never have anything nice to say. You take completely after Vice Admiral Garp!"
Onigumo shot him an irritated glare. After watching Bai Yu's little boat leave, he turned back to the wrecked warship. His face darkened, and he roared through gritted teeth.
"Brat, get back here right now! You wrecked my ship like this, so hurry back and help me repair it! I should never have accepted your challenge!"
A little under half a day later, at an inconspicuous dock in Cocoyasi Village.
A battered little boat lay moored along an unremarkable stretch of shore. Carrying her backpack, Nami leaped ashore.
"Nami, you're finally back! Was what you said over the Den Den Mushi true? You really scraped together a hundred million Beli to make a deal with the Arlong Pirates?"
Nojiko, with her short blue hair, emerged from the bushes.
Looking at the enormous structure built on the shore not far away, boundless hatred flashed across her face.
This was Arlong Park!
It was also the nightmare that had weighed on Cocoyasi Village for ten years.
All this time, Nojiko and the others had prayed for a miracle.
Unfortunately, heaven seemed to have gone blind, never granting them even the slightest hope.
It could be said that Nojiko had seen everything Nami had shouldered over these nearly ten years.
She had simply been willing but powerless to help.
"Sis, don't worry. I've already contacted Arlong. He said that as long as I bring the hundred million Beli before him, he'll keep his promise."
Nami reassured her in a low voice.
"I originally thought it would take another two or three years to scrape together a hundred million Beli. I never imagined I'd get forty million Beli on this trip out to sea. Heaven really smiled on me."
"So, Sis, you don't need to worry at all."
"Oh, right, has there been any of the news I asked you to watch for? About the treasure hunter Treasure..."
Three days earlier, after landing on Shimotsuki Island, Nami had quietly taken all the treasure away.
With Cocoyasi Village's fate on her shoulders, she clearly hadn't dared to gamble with her life like Carina.
But throughout the journey, that slender, bloodthirsty, battle-hungry figure kept surfacing in her mind, and Nami couldn't help keeping an eye out for news about Treasure.
"Nami, I checked the newspapers from the past few days, but there wasn't any news about Treasure. Does your Beli have something to do with this person?"
Nojiko looked a little worried.
She knew perfectly well what Nami had been doing out there all these years.
"Sis, don't worry. A friend gave me this treasure. If I get to see him again, I'll definitely repay him properly."
Nami shook her head and glanced at Arlong Park again.
"It's getting late. I should go make the deal with Arlong. Soon, I'll be able to buy Cocoyasi Village back and let everyone live in peace."