Chapter 8: Hello There, Candy Seller
Spero wasn't actually that worried. He could use his syrup to create a small boat, at least ensuring he wouldn't fall into the sea.
The small ship-island slowly sank. When the seawater reached Spero's feet, he quickly rushed toward the edge of the small ship-island. As he leaped into the air, he used his syrup to generate a small boat and hardened the syrup.
With a crackling sound, the small boat landed in the sea. Spero stood steadily on the small boat. Although the seawater would slowly melt the candy, he could thicken the candy boat at any time.
Spero had retreated, but Pica had nowhere to go. Helpless, he could only sheathe his longsword, thrust both hands into the deck beneath his feet, and forcefully tear off a large piece of the hull to use as a raft.
In the sea, Su Xiao slashed upward repeatedly with his blade to accelerate the destruction of the small ship-island above.
He wasn't the only one destroying the small ship-island. The earlier diving girl was also secretly sabotaging the ships of the Don Quixote Family and the Beasts Pirates, busily enjoying herself.
The most unfortunate were actually the Beasts Pirates. They didn't want to fight the Big Mom Pirates head-on and seemed intent on using the Don Quixote Family members as cannon fodder.
With Su Xiao and the diving girl's destruction, the small ship-island completely sank into the sea. The pirates who had been fighting each other all stopped and began seeking their own means of survival. Sometimes, a large floating plank would spark a fight among several pirates.
An old pirate floating on the sea showed despair on his face. He clung to a plank. Although this sea area wasn't too far from 'Dressrosa,' it was impossible to determine direction while at sea. Without a ship, death was the only option.
Gurgle, gurgle...
A string of bubbles appeared on the sea surface. Seeing these bubbles, the old pirate instinctively took a deep breath, ready to dive underwater.
"Oh~"
With a strange scream, the old pirate vanished from the sea surface. A few seconds later, a small patch of sea turned red. The old pirate never reappeared.
In the seawater, Su Xiao released the old pirate's corpse. This was a good opportunity to kill enemies, but compared to these ordinary pirates, he preferred to target Charlotte Perospero.
If he could kill Spero, he would definitely gain a huge amount of pirate reputation. But Spero wasn't so easy to kill.
Su Xiao looked toward Spero's location. The guy had already used his fruit ability to generate a large ship, and many of his subordinates were climbing onto this candy ship.
Compared to Spero's situation, Pica's side was in a bad state. The muscular Pica sat on a piece of deck about five meters in diameter, surrounded by over a dozen of his subordinates. They were dragging that deck, desperately trying to keep it afloat on the sea.
Contractors were mixed into the battlefield, and neither side's ships could be saved. So Su Xiao struck first.
"Little ones, speed up."
Spero shouted loudly. The dozens of pirates on the candy ship all gripped oars formed from syrup. The candy ship approached Pica and his group at a decent speed.
On the broken deck, Pica tried to stand up. As soon as he moved, the deck began to sway left and right.
Pica's expression turned grim. If he fell into the sea, the battle would be over. Devil Fruit users were too afraid of seawater.
Although Spero held a significant advantage, his brows were furrowed. He hadn't forgotten how the small ship-island sank. There was likely a swordsman or even a great swordsman underwater. In fact, Su Xiao wasn't a swordsman from the One Piece world at all. Their power systems were only similar, with fundamental differences.
Su Xiao kicked off the seawater, his body speeding through the sea.
With a splash, large bubbles emerged around Su Xiao. He took out an alchemy bomb, which quickly transformed into a half-meter-long 'white snake.'
Su Xiao controlled the alchemy bomb to approach the candy ship. If this were on land, dealing with Spero would require a tough battle. But here, it was the sea.
If Su Xiao activated Demon Hunting Hour, Spero wouldn't even be able to escape.
Su Xiao didn't need to fight Spero head-on. He only needed to drag him into the sea, and the battle would be over.
The white snake formed by the alchemy bomb quickly swam under the candy ship. Su Xiao detonated the bomb.
Boom.
Layers of air ripples spread underwater. The candy ship sailing on the sea shuddered, and large cracks appeared on its hull.
"Not good."
Spero pressed one hand onto the hull, able to instantly repair the candy ship's damage.
Meanwhile, in the sea, Su Xiao's feet were planted on Amu's back. The moment the alchemy bomb exploded, he pushed off with force, shooting upward like a torpedo toward the sea surface.
Just as Spero's hand touched the candy ship, with a splash, seawater sprayed, and a figure burst out of the sea.
Spero's hand paused, but a smile appeared on his face. The moment Su Xiao rushed out of the sea, his Observation Haki had already sensed him.
Su Xiao, holding his longsword, was in midair, descending toward the candy ship.
Whoosh~
A sound of breaking air came toward him. Spero turned his body, swinging his candy cane staff at Su Xiao.
Clang!
Candy fragments flew. Spero took a step back. If you looked closely at his feet, you'd see they were covered in syrup, with finger-thick threads stretching out.
The syrup threads had strong elasticity. Spero, knocked back, was pulled back to his original position.
"Your strength, returned to you."
Spero's body was almost pulled into a blur. The candy cane staff, with a mournful whoosh, swung at Su Xiao.
Bang! Air ripples spread. The candy cane staff struck Su Xiao's abdomen. There was a faint sound of something breaking. Su Xiao, still in midair, was sent flying backward.
Spero was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Su Xiao to be so weak. Seeing Su Xiao holding a longsword, he instinctively thought Su Xiao was the one who had slashed blade auras underwater.
Spero's mind raced. Su Xiao's earlier slash had nearly cut through his candy cane staff. He knew the hardness of his staff well. Ordinary people couldn't damage it, let alone knock him back a step.
Spero quickly judged that Su Xiao wasn't weak. If they fought on land, he would be a troublesome enemy.
But this troublesome enemy had been struck by his staff on a vulnerable abdomen and sent flying.
The moment he hit Su Xiao, Spero heard a crisp sound. At first, he thought his staff had broken, but that wasn't the case. The front of the candy cane staff was only covered in cracks, not shattered.
These thoughts flashed through Spero's mind in an instant. As Charlotte Linlin's eldest son, Spero had extensive combat experience.
The more Spero thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Until two seconds later, a stinging pain and a binding sensation came from his arm.
Spero's arm involuntarily lifted. Fortunately, his feet were covered in syrup, sticking to the candy ship, preventing him from being pulled off.
A dark cyan metal thread was wrapped around Spero's wrist. Su Xiao, flying through the air, suddenly stopped. The metal thread connected him and Spero.
With a splash, Su Xiao fell into the sea and tightened the Realm Severing Thread.
Spero's body was jerked forward, but the candy ship beneath him was large enough to prevent him from being dragged into the sea.
Bang! A figure burst out of the sea, bringing up a large amount of seawater. Ice crystals could faintly be seen in the water.
The figure landed on the candy ship, and cold air spread everywhere.
"Moo!"
Amu, now on the ship, roared. He raised his [Frozen Roar] warhammer. His muscles bulged, and the barrel-thick hammerhead smashed onto the candy ship.
Boom!
Large cracks spread across the entire candy ship. At the same time, Su Xiao, under the candy ship, delivered a side kick to the hull.
Thud!
The massive candy ship was actually kicked two meters into the air, nearly leaving the sea surface.
Under such a heavy blow, the entire candy ship shattered. But at that moment, Spero pressed one hand onto the hull, ready to forcibly repair it.
Just as Spero's hand touched the candy ship, a figure appeared out of nowhere and pounced on him, biting his arm.
Bubu Wang bit Spero's arm and looked at him, his gaze seeming to say, "Hello there, candy seller. Want to come play underwater?"
With a crisp crack, the entire candy ship shattered. Spero had no time to react before being dragged into the sea by the Realm Severing Thread.
"No!! Gurgle, gurgle..."
Spero, now in the seawater, raised his arm, but the next moment, his arm was also dragged underwater. The dozens of pirates on the sea surface immediately tried to dive in to rescue Spero, but a large blade aura slashed up from below, staining the surrounding seawater red with blood.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Spero in the sea spat out a large stream of bubbles, his eyes rolling white. Devil Fruit users were this useless in the sea.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu's coordination was perfect. It took them a total of seven seconds to drag Spero into the sea. Su Xiao wouldn't have been afraid of Spero in a land battle, let alone at sea.
On the nearby deck raft, Pica, who had witnessed Spero being dragged into the sea, twitched at the corner of his eye. He swore to the heavens that he definitely didn't have such ferocious subordinates.
Pica really wanted to know one thing: whether those three guys would use the same method to drag him into the sea too. He glanced at the dozen or so disheveled subordinates around him, and a feeling of impending doom arose.
Whoosh! A black shadow passed under the deck raft. Pica tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
"Lord Pica, great news! Spero has been taken out."
One of Pica's subordinates cheered, which made Pica want to slash him. At that moment, Pica sighed inwardly: 'Why are my teammates so stupid?'