Chapter 53: Dead Monkey
After a short while, Su Xiao had more than a dozen pairs of thick handcuffs clamped onto his hands, extending from his forearms to his upper arms. The chains on his body were even heavier, weighing at least several dozen jin in total. His feet were also fitted with a pair of absurdly large "dark iron leg shackles."
A navy soldier, after locking the shackles on Su Xiao, seemed to notice something off about the texture of Su Xiao's pant leg. He touched Su Xiao's trouser leg with his finger and clearly felt a thin, transparent layer.
"Vice Admiral, we've discovered an unknown garment on the target."
"Unknown garment?"
Kapu looked puzzled, sizing up Su Xiao. Vice Admiral He even stepped forward directly to try touching Su Xiao's trouser leg.
"There is indeed a transparent layer."
Vice Admiral He tore at it, and with a ripping sound, a layer of transparent film as thin as a cicada's wing was pulled off.
"What is this?"
Vice Admiral He examined the transparent film in her hand. Soon, she seemed to realize something.
"He's wrapped in this stuff all over his body."
Rip, rip.
Under the inspection of several navy soldiers, they tore off a layer of transparent film from Su Xiao's clothes. Throughout the entire process, Su Xiao remained silent.
"This guy might be a Devil Fruit user."
Vice Admiral He observed the film on the ground. After putting the film on her hand, she reached for the Sea Stone handcuffs restraining Su Xiao. She showed no signs of weakness.
"This is..."
Kapu seemed to have figured something out as well.
"This guy suddenly disappeared in the villa earlier. That wasn't something speed could achieve; it was a sudden, inexplicable vanishing."
Kapu recalled the moment Su Xiao used Dragon Shadow Flash.
"A Space-type Devil Fruit ability?"
Vice Admiral He narrowed her eyes. She felt something was off.
"Doubting a prisoner like this shows real guts, Navy."
Su Xiao, sitting on the grass, had a smile on his face. Just then, Vice Admiral He suddenly stepped forward and pushed him. Su Xiao, keeping his body completely relaxed, nearly fell over.
"He's weakened."
"No mistake. This guy is a Space-type Devil Fruit user."
Kapu's tone was certain.
"Don't let your guard down. This guy is cunning."
Vice Admiral He was still full of doubts, but the layer of film on Su Xiao that insulated the Sea Stone, along with his weakened reaction upon direct contact with the Sea Stone, all pointed to him being a Devil Fruit user.
More importantly, that layer of film as thin as a cicada's wing could indeed insulate the Sea Stone. Vice Admiral He had personally tested this.
However, such a thing didn't exist in the pirate world. But don't forget, Su Xiao was a "scientific researcher" in weaponry.
"This thing has great research value."
Vice Admiral He ordered someone to collect the film. As for the research value she mentioned, Su Xiao didn't think the Navy could replicate this stuff.
This was a layer of nanomicrobial protective suit, used to insulate against radiation, poison gas, strong acid corrosion, etc. This thing was actually composed of countless nanoorganisms, which was why it could insulate the Sea Stone—it was a living organism itself.
Wearing the nanomicrobial protective suit consumed 10 Health Points per minute to keep the nanoorganisms alive. Once separated from the host, this thing would naturally decompose within 30 minutes.
Whether it was Su Xiao's earlier teleportation or his items vanishing into thin air, it all seemed like a Space-type Devil Fruit ability. Combined with Su Xiao's current "weakened reaction," all these factors led Kapu and Kizaru to conclude that Su Xiao was a Devil Fruit user, and his ability development wasn't high.
The pirate world didn't have devices to detect Devil Fruit abilities. Confirming whether someone was a user relied solely on observation.
"Whether he's a Devil Fruit user or not, proceed as planned."
Vice Admiral He signaled the navy soldiers to loosen some of the chains on Su Xiao. The hundred-jin chains were too much even for her to bear; it was pointless.
The navy soldiers got busy, replacing Su Xiao's handcuffs and leg shackles with a "Sea Stone set." Heaven knows how many Sea Stone restraints Vice Admiral He had on her ship.
The capture was unexpectedly smooth, but Kapu and the others couldn't be happy. Setting aside the Navy's casualties, Su Xiao's sudden surrender alone made them feel vaguely uneasy. The only good news was that Su Xiao seemed to have eaten a Devil Fruit. If so, it was easy—once the Sea Stone was on, no matter what plan Su Xiao had, it would be useless.
"Did any of you see a dog?"
Kizaru's gaze swept around.
"A dog?"
Vice Admiral He couldn't understand why Kizaru cared about a dog.
"Yes, a dog named Bubu. That dog is very smart..."
Kizaru transformed into a mass of yellow light, shooting into the sky, intending to find Bubu Wang. Unfortunately, it was the dead of night, and everything around was pitch black.
Bubu Wang, sitting beside Su Xiao, looked up at Kizaru, as if to say, "This Wang is right here, dead monkey. Any advice?"
"You, behave yourself."
A navy soldier glared at Su Xiao angrily. Su Xiao met his gaze calmly. After a moment, anger surged on the soldier's face.
"Withdraw."
Vice Admiral He gave the order, and a large group of navy soldiers escorted Su Xiao toward the coast. The leg shackles clinked against each other.
Half an hour later, five dark green warships docked at the shore. Su Xiao was "surrounded by stars" as he was brought aboard, earning seven pairs of large Sea Stone handcuffs, a pair of "dark iron leg shackles," and two Sea Stone chains.
The "escorts" around him included Navy Hero Kapu, Chief Staff Officer He, and Kizaru Borsalino. The three formed a triangular formation around Su Xiao to prevent any accidents.
Boarding went surprisingly smoothly. The only hitch was that a dog also boarded the ship.
Once Su Xiao was on board, he was immediately escorted to a large single cell (prison) inside the ship. This cell was at least 40 square meters, with several chains fixed to the floor and a row of Sea Stone pillars in front. This was the ship's prison for holding criminals.
...
Creak...
The warship sailed on the sea, the wooden planks inside the hull creaking. Inside Su Xiao's cell.
Su Xiao lay on the cold metal floor. This cell was made of metal mixed with Sea Stone powder, integrated with the pillars in front. The only exit was a metal door with three locks.
With a jingle, Su Xiao sat up from the ground. His hands and feet were bound with Sea Stone shackles, and two chains were locked around his chest and abdomen, connected to the wall, limiting his range of motion.
Vice Admiral He sat in the corridor in front of the cell, while Kizaru leaned against the wooden wall nearby, yawning.
Seeing Su Xiao sit up, both Vice Admiral He and Kizaru turned their gazes toward him.
"Don't bother with useless struggles. You can't escape."
Vice Admiral He crossed her arms, sitting on a folding chair. Bubu Wang crouched five meters away from her.
"Vice Admiral He, I'm curious about one thing."
Su Xiao stretched his neck. The Sea Stone handcuffs on his hands couldn't be broken by brute force, but if he took out Dragon-Slaying Flash, he could cut through all the restraints in two seconds.
"Speak your mind. Regardless, you've made great contributions to the World Government. I've used those bombs. Though you're not a good person, the weapons you've developed are commendable."
Vice Admiral He's expression was blank, unclear whether she was praising or mocking.
"What do you think would happen if this ship sank?"
"Wishful thinking."
Vice Admiral He closed her eyes to rest. Bubu Wang beside her blinked at Su Xiao, as if to say, "At most ten minutes, and this Wang can sink this ship."