Chapter 77: Return (Sixth Update)
After the three CP0 members left, Nico Robin felt her legs go weak. She had seen that tallest figure once before; she had witnessed him slaughtering a small nation just to find her trail. This person was practically a childhood shadow for her.
"Eddie K."
Robin murmured, nothing but fear in her eyes.
"Robin?"
The little thief cat, Nami, put her arm around Robin. As a fellow woman, the observant Nami naturally noticed Robin's distress.
"Luffy, we need to flee."
Nami's gesture helped Robin calm down, and it also made her realize they absolutely could not stay on the island any longer.
"You seem to need help?"
A woman in a black tight suit with a cat tail at the base of her spine walked over.
"Don't ask who I am. The island will soon be surrounded by the Navy. Follow me."
The one appearing now was the Masked Wildcat. She had witnessed the three shots that pierced the auction house, so she knew who killed the Celestial Dragon.
"I know the direction that madman set sail. We must not share the same course as him."
The Masked waved to the Straw Hat Pirates crew, signaling them to follow. The direction she headed was exactly where the Thousand Sunny was docked.
"That madman?"
Luffy and the others were baffled, but they had to get back to the Thousand Sunny quickly, so they could only go along with the Masked.
"Yeah, a madman who dares to kill a Celestial Dragon. It's all that bastard's fault, or else there should have been a 'carnival' here."
The Masked gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Don't worry, he has no interest in you. Otherwise..."
Was the Masked really this helpful? Helping the Straw Hat Pirates escape? In truth, the Masked had no ill intentions; she wanted to grab some benefits before this world ended.
The Masked's main mission was to hold off Kizaru and assist the Tyrant, Bartholomew Kuma, in helping the Straw Hat Pirates escape.
...
At sea, in an unknown area.
The 'Raging Potato' sped across the ocean. Hearing that name, one could guess it was named by Bubu Wang.
Amu looked up at the sky. The days underwater had really stifled Amu, causing it to now gaze at the sky whenever idle.
The small fishing boat slowed down a bit. Su Xiao lit a cigarette. He himself didn't even know where he was now, let alone the World Government or the Navy.
If there were no pursuers, Su Xiao only needed to drift at sea for 12 hours to complete the mission.
Time passed, and the 'Raging Potato' sailed steadily on the sea.
"Unexpectedly smooth."
Su Xiao pulled two playing cards from his hand and tossed them onto a wooden barrel.
Bubu Wang saw the pair of 8s on the barrel, then looked at Amu, meaning: "Hit the master, he only has one card left."
Amu glanced at the pair of 2s in its hand, then shook its head like a rattle drum, forcefully passing.
Bubu Wang looked at the cards on the barrel and judged that Amu had at least three 2s. This made it roll its eyes in anger, meaning: "We two are the peasants, the master is the landlord. Which side are you even on?"
Under Bubu Wang's 'despairing' gaze, Su Xiao threw out his K. Seeing this K, it nearly made Bubu Wang die on the spot. Amu... had two Jokers, the two biggest cards.
When Amu revealed its hand, Bubu Wang's entire dog spirit collapsed. Amu's hand was: Double Jokers, four 2s, four Qs, four 10s.
Seeing Amu's hand, Su Xiao coughed lightly. Amu was unexpectedly straightforward.
The sea breeze blew, and a few seagulls flew by. Just as Su Xiao picked up the playing cards from the wooden barrel, his hand paused. His instincts sent a very strange feeling, one he had experienced a few times before. Su Xiao wasn't sure yet what this feeling represented.
Thirty nautical miles away, a warship cut through the waves.
A woman in a white robe, wearing a mask, sat at the bow.
"At this rate, we'll never catch the culprit."
The woman spoke, her gaze looking into the distance, exactly in the direction Su Xiao was located.
"Use Moonwalk to chase. That's the only hope."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, the two companions behind her leaped up.
Boom, boom, boom...
The three stepped on the air, rushing forward at high speed.
Seven hours after Su Xiao sniped the Celestial Dragon, on the 'Raging Potato,' Bubu Wang, who had completely 'despaired' of playing Dou Dizhu, looked up at the sky. Beside it were Su Xiao and Amu, one human, one dog, one cow, perfectly synchronized.
Clang!
A blue slash cut toward the fishing boat. Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash and slashed forward. A blade aura flew out, meeting the blue slash.
With a crackling sound, the two slashes collided and shattered.
"Incredible stamina."
Su Xiao went to the motor at the stern and twisted the throttle. The fishing boat shot forward with a whoosh.
Su Xiao wasn't surprised at all by the three CP department agents behind the boat. They had been chasing for an hour, but catching up to a small fishing boat loaded with a 300-horsepower motor was somewhat difficult.
If this motor were installed on a large ship, the speed wouldn't be that fast, but a small fishing boat was different. Su Xiao's biggest worry was that this small boat would fall apart. This wasn't a baseless fear; the boat had already started leaking.
While Su Xiao controlled the direction, Bubu Wang and Amu took small buckets and bailed out the water seeping into the hull.
Boom, boom...
The three CP members used Moonwalk to chase through the air. That 'broken boat' on the sea was too fast. Moonwalk's speed was limited; they couldn't catch up in a short time.
Su Xiao had no interest in fighting these three CP0 members. If he got entangled by them, things would go bad. The World Government would definitely not send only these three; they were likely just the vanguard.
In the chase, 10 hours passed, leaving only 2 hours until the mission was complete.
Looking at the CP department agents struggling behind him, Su Xiao's expression wasn't good. The small fishing boat he was riding was about to give out. This was the best boat he could get in such a short time.
Su Xiao stood on the boat, ready to counter the slashes kicked by the three agents using Moonwalk. Bubu Wang was in charge of the motor, and Amu was in charge of bailing water.
The three agents silently closed in through the air, never saying a word from start to finish.
"Bubu, accelerate."
Hearing this, Bubu Wang twisted the motor's throttle to the max.
With a buzz, a bewildered Bubu Wang hugged the motor as it shot out. The 'Raging Potato' shattered with a crash, and Su Xiao and Amu fell into the water.
The three agents felt a surge of satisfaction. They were exhausted like dogs.
When the three agents arrived above the wreckage of the small fishing boat, the sea surface was calm. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu were nowhere to be seen.
This was the second escape plan: underwater. Su Xiao had set up a total of five escape plans, and only two had been used so far.
Among the three agents, the strongest was a Devil Fruit user, so the other two dove into the water.
A few minutes later, the two surfaced and shook their heads at the agent in the air.
"Bastard."
Agent Eddie K finally spoke.
Under the sea, Su Xiao sat on the back of a 'bruised and battered' Sea King. He was quite lucky; just a few minutes after diving, he encountered a Sea King that was foraging.
This was above Fish-Man Island, the area with the most Sea Kings. The ancient weapon, Poseidon, was on Fish-Man Island, and she would unconsciously attract Sea Kings.
Seeing this Sea King of unknown species, Su Xiao knew the subsequent escape plans wouldn't be needed.
Two hours later, 190 meters underwater, Su Xiao took a flintlock pistol from his storage space. The gun shattered in an instant.
[Tip: The Hunter has completed the Promotion/Main Mission.]
[You will return to the derivative world in 30 seconds.]
[Estimated end time for this derivative world: 6 hours.]
[Pirate Reputation Ranking for the Hunter: First Place.]
[This ranking has been temporarily locked. Pirate reputation exceeds second place by 4280 points. With 6 hours remaining in the derivative world, second place needs to gain at least 5600 points of pirate reputation within 6 hours to surpass the Hunter's current ranking.]
[Teleporting...]
[Teleportation complete.]