Golden Lion Shiki

No, this guy is anything but a good person; he's a gang leader, a criminal organization in himself.

Tell me where the body is.

"That might disappoint you."

Seeing that communication had failed, N'Zoth immediately took action.

Two tentacles wrapped around Bartolomeo from the left and right, while Bartolomeo maintained his strange gestures and muttered to himself.

"Protective Barrier!"

The semi-transparent barrier expanded rapidly, almost filling the entire hall in the blink of an eye.

The tentacles were blocked by the barrier again, and then Bartolomeo pushed his right hand forward sharply.

Barrier Crash!

The massive barrier suddenly moved toward N'Zoth, pushing everything in its path straight toward him.

N'Zoth's body is made up of shadows, which are not actual objects but simply the other side of light.

Faced with the approaching barrier, N'Zoth stood still, letting the barrier pass through his body.

With a loud bang!

Behind them, the walls of the banquet hall were smashed by the barrier.

Bartolomeo paused for a moment, "You went through it? Why?"

Previously, his barrier could block the opponent's attacks, so there's no reason why my Barrier Crash shouldn't be able to hit the opponent.

Logia?

Before I could think it through, the opponent's counterattack had already begun.

Bartolomeo's expression changed slightly, and he immediately activated his barrier defense. The semi-transparent barrier was bent into a sphere, protecting his entire body.

The jet-black tentacles, like long whips, lashed against the barrier, yet failed to break through its defenses.

"Hahaha... It's useless, my defense is the best in the world! I'm the Barrier Man who ate the Barrier-Barrier Fruit!"

Bartolomeo laughed triumphantly, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

Even N'Zoth suspected that this guy wasn't a pure-blooded human; what normal human would have teeth like that?

"Barrier-Barrier Fruit?"

"That's right! Although I don't know your specific abilities, once I use this move, you won't be able to do anything to me, right?"

Bartolomeo grinned and said, "I've figured it out. You're not a physical entity. Your tentacles can only be touched at the moment of an attack, right?"

He had seen Logia Fruit users before; Smoker, the base commander of Loguetown, was Logia Devil Fruit User the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

The person in front of me is probably also a Logia, but their Smoke-Smoke Fruit is a bit more bizarre than Smoker's.

N'Zoth tilted his octopus head, his central vertical eye showing a look of confusion.

"Since you know that, why do you think this spherical barrier can stop me?"

He can only be blocked by the barrier for the instant of the attack.

Bartolomeo immediately understood this after their brief encounter.

But it wasn't until N'Zoth uttered those words that Bartolomeo suddenly realized what was happening and felt a bad premonition.

Something seems off...

This premonition came true the very next second!

Suddenly, the monstrous octopus seemed to melt away, shrinking into a dark puddle on the ground.

With a "whoosh," the dark figure ignored the spherical barrier and appeared directly inside it.

Immediately afterwards, the shadowy figure transformed into a black octopus, and one of its tentacles swiftly bound Bartolomeo's feet, causing him to lose his balance.

Bartolomeo's face slammed against the barrier, and before he could struggle, another tentacle bound his hands tightly behind his back.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... I give up, I give up!"

Bartolomeo backed down in a second and immediately removed the spherical barrier.

"But, Octopus Bro, I'm serious. Roger's been dead for almost 20 years. If you want to vent your anger, peeing on his grave is a bit embarrassing."

"Who told you I wanted to..."

N'Zoth was somewhat speechless, so he extended a third tentacle and turned Bartolomeo's face towards him.

Why are you protecting Roger's grave? What is his relationship with you?

"No, it's a misunderstanding."

Bartolomeo, feeling helpless, could only explain, "It's not that I didn't want to take you, it's just that something happened a few days ago—the body was stolen."

"Um?"

N'Zoth's vertical eye emitted a dangerous red light.

"Really? I'm not kidding you. I'll take you there right now."

N'Zoth wasn't afraid of his tricks and immediately released him.

Bartolomeo rubbed his wrist. "Seriously, what use is a dead man's body? Someone actually stole it. Ah, sorry, I wasn't talking about you, Octopus Bro, I was talking about the corpse thief."

"Stop talking nonsense and lead the way."

"Okay, come with me."

With that, Bartolomeo glanced at his underlings in the corner and instructed, "I'll be leaving with this old man for a bit. You guys keep playing the music and dancing!"

Not long after, at a sea cliff on the outskirts of Loguetown.

"Look, I originally buried Roger here, but a few days ago... about a week ago, this place became like this."

Standing at the foot of the sea cliff, Bartolomeo pointed to it and said.

The sound of waves crashing against the sea cliffs filled the air, a continuous, resounding crash.

N'Zoth looked up at the sea cliff with a missing corner and fell into a long silence.

He assumed someone had "stole the body" by secretly opening the coffin and taking away the bones inside.

The scene before him told him that the person who stole the corpse had also moved half of the sea cliff.

Why are we so certain?

Because the fracture at the cliff mouth has a very neat cut, it is clearly not caused by the natural environment.

"Someone cut it in half with a single sword strike?"

"That seems to be the case."

Bartolomeo, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face, said, "Maybe he's a really good swordsman, hahaha..."

What are you laughing at?

N'Zoth narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who did this?"

"Brother Octopus, how would I know? One of my underlings came to tell me, that's how I found out this place has become like this."

Bartolomeo shrugged and asked curiously, "You, and that guy who stole the corpse, what do you need the corpse for? Is there a bounty on the black market for Roger's body? How much?"

N'Zoth ignored him.

At this stage of the mission, the situation became complicated.

Someone stole Roger's body before they could commit the Seven Deadly Sins.

There are three questions now.

First, how did the other party know that Roger's body was here?

Second, what was the other party's purpose in stealing Roger's body?

Third, where is the body now?

"Huh? Brother Octopus, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Shut up, human. I need to report to my lord!"

Ignoring the other party, N'Zoth immediately tried to call out to Ain.

"The master already knows."

The sudden sound startled Bartolomeo.

"I'm so sorry, Master, it seems I'm a step too late. Someone stole the body beforehand."

N'Zoth was filled with unease. He had been given the title of Left Hand of God by his master, but his first mission had ended in a disastrous failure. He now wished he could tear the person who stole the corpse to pieces.

"Knew."

Dimon's response was simple: three words followed by no further instructions.

N'Zoth grew increasingly panicked.

Bartolomeo listened in stunned silence as two voices rang out, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

One dish looked somewhat immature, like a teenager, while the next dish was a bit somber, probably referring to the "master" the octopus brother was talking about.

Who exactly are these people?

It seems to be a mysterious organization!

"Hey Octopus Bro, who exactly are you?"

Bartolomeo suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered a certain force that had caused a worldwide uproar some time ago.

"You wouldn't happen to be... one of the Seven Deadly Sins, would you?!" His Big Eye, and he instinctively took two steps back.

N'Zoth was in a terrible mood, and all nine of his eyes were fixed on his opponent.

"That's right, human, you can be called... N'Zoth!"

"... The Left Hand of God!"

Two voices rang out in succession.

Before Bartolomeo could understand anything, the tentacles attacked him frantically the instant he finished speaking.

In an instant, Bartolomeo's neck was wrapped and he was lifted into the air.

"Ha, N'Zoth, you piece of trash! You should deal with these little guys like I do!"

Chapter 234 Golden Lion Shiki

With his neck tightly wrapped by tentacles, Bartolomeo felt difficulty breathing, his face turning red.

What exactly happened?

The octopus guy seems like a completely different person!

The giant black octopus in front of me gradually transformed into a black hand, which stood upside down with its index and middle fingers resembling two human legs.

Tentacles extended from his little finger, wrapping around his neck and tightening their grip.

Bartolomeo struggled desperately, trying to pry open the tentacles.

"Who are you? You're not the octopus guy from before...!"

Such an obvious change would make even the most oblivious person realize that something was wrong.

"You can call me the Left Hand of God, but I'm not as 'gentle' as N'Zoth!"

The Left Hand of God temporarily suppressed N'Zoth's will and gained control of the body. His index and middle fingers moved, manipulating the tentacles to move Bartolomeo in front of him.

"Speak, who stole the body? Don't hide anything."

"I already told you, I really don't know..."

"Tell me the details of what happened."

Bartolomeo felt wronged and had no choice but to tell the other party everything that had happened a week ago.