Chapter 8: Traveling Group Members
Su Xiao glanced at the dozens of ordinary civilians around him, then stopped paying them any attention. Clearly, he had been targeted by a contractor. As for the reason, there was a small chance it was revenge, but a high probability it was a contractor from the World Government faction.
"Sneaky."
Su Xiao only needed to do one thing now: stall the unknown contractor through conversation, while Bubu Wang was already searching for them.
"Your dog is good, but there's no need to send him looking for me."
Still, dozens of people spoke at once. The next moment, all of them collapsed, leaving only a man wearing a white shirt, floral shorts, and a gray ponytail. The buttons of his white shirt were completely undone, revealing three characters tattooed on his chest: Chi, Xiong, Shi.
The gray-haired man was supporting a girl in a swimsuit. His black-green pupils held a faint hint of amusement.
"It's not easy finding you."
The gray-haired man's movements were gentle, as if he didn't want to hurt the girl in his arms. He carefully laid her down on the sand.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Blood energy surged around him. This gray-haired man gave him a very dangerous feeling, with a threat level no lower than Kizaru.
"Gulu mentioned you to me. From her tone, it seems you bullied her quite a bit, though she herself won't admit it. Aside from flaying people alive when interrogating enemies, Gulu is still quite cute, so don't bully her."
The gray-haired man walked toward Su Xiao across the sand. The sand beneath his feet gradually changed color, turning emerald green.
"So, are you with the World Government now?"
Su Xiao didn't know the gray-haired man's name, but he vaguely guessed that this was likely a member of the Traveling Group.
"Sort of. There's a bounty mission on you from the World Government. By our standards, the reward would be around one or two Epic-grade equipment pieces."
The gray-haired man stopped a few meters away from Su Xiao, meeting his gaze.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
After the gray-haired man said this, Su Xiao was completely certain that the other party was from the Traveling Group.
"Very sure."
"Is that so? Then pretend I never said it."
The gray-haired man turned and walked toward the sea. After just a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
"What else was there... Let me think... Oh, right! The Life Flower that Gulu sold you—don't use it directly as a World Key. That would teleport you to the deepest part of the Black Abyss, where there's a very terrifying thing called the Blade Demon. You're a Shadow of Law Destruction, sure, but the Blade Demon is no longer a pure Law Destroyer. He acts entirely on instinct. One moment he might protect you as a kindred spirit, the next he might kill you."
The gray-haired man finished speaking and continued walking away, but after two more steps, he stopped again, letting out an awkward laugh.
"There's one more thing. Our boss asked me to pass this on: if you ever get the chance to meet, he hopes to negotiate something with the Demon Race through you. You can collect a fee for that. Yeah, that's about it, I think."
The gray-haired man seemed to have severe forgetfulness. He would pause every few steps. When he was about ten meters away, he actually backed up toward Su Xiao again.
"..."
Su Xiao's brows furrowed tightly. This Traveling Group member gave him only two impressions: forgetfulness and absurdity. This guy seemed like he was here to be funny.
"The energy inside you—are you selling it? I'm planning to deal with Magellan soon, so I might miss the battle at the top. What a shame. I heard from the boss that the energy of a Law Destroyer can counteract potent toxins."
"Not for sale."
"Oh, what a pity. If you ever want to join us, go find Gulu. As the last surviving Law Destroyer, our boss has his eye on you."
This time, the gray-haired man finally walked far away, quickly disappearing into the seawater.
Su Xiao's body gradually relaxed. If he had to fight this gray-haired man, his chances of winning might not exceed fifty percent. The other party's aura was too unique—strongly corrosive, seemingly able to devour specific substances.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang appeared, barking beside Su Xiao, as if to say: "Is this guy here to be funny?"
"No, he's here to probe."
Su Xiao had encountered several Traveling Group members before. Most of them shared a trait: their code of conduct couldn't be judged by common sense. They were a group of rational yet insane people.
"Our guest has arrived."
As Su Xiao spoke, he shifted his gaze to a little boy wearing a gold necklace and sunglasses.
The boy looked under ten years old. His eyes wandered over the girls in swimsuits. Soon, he sat down on the sand near Su Xiao.
"Half an hour, at the beach tavern."
The boy muttered this softly, then lay down on the sand. He appeared to be under ten, but from his aura, Su Xiao sensed that his actual age was definitely over twenty. This was likely some kind of Demon Fruit ability.
"Let's go."
Su Xiao pulled out a few Berries—the currency of the One Piece world—from his pocket and tossed them onto the beach chair.
As soon as Su Xiao left, the little boy came over to the beach chair, grabbed the Berries, and muttered: "I guess this is the only benefit of dealing with people from the underworld."
Marco was cautious, but after all, he was just a pirate. By asking around, Su Xiao easily found the beach tavern.
As soon as he pushed open the tavern door, Su Xiao smelled a mix of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Dozens of eyes turned to him at once, making him rub his chin. This feeling was familiar.
Marco was inside the tavern, and beside him were two others. One was a burly man, sitting down and nearly at eye level with Su Xiao. His height was conservatively estimated at around five meters, putting him in the same small-giant category as Katakuri, though not as tall as Whitebeard. This burly man was the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Diamond Jozu.
As for the other person, sitting next to Jozu, he looked short. At first glance, he seemed like a woman, but he was actually a man with heavy makeup, dressed like a performer. For an ordinary person, such an outfit would give off an androgynous vibe, but this guy didn't have that feeling. He was Izou, the Sixteenth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Marco, Jozu, and Izou had all arrived, bringing along dozens of elite pirates. Any one of them could be a captain-level fighter from the second half of the Grand Line.
"Mr. White Night, we don't have much time to dock on this island, so..."
"Alright, let's get straight to the point."
Su Xiao sat down in the chair in front of Marco, then tilted his head up to look at Diamond Jozu. Out of "politeness," Jozu gave a stiff nod.
Bubu Wang crouched beside Su Xiao, looking up at Jozu with a look that seemed to say: "Did this guy grow up on fertilizer? He's at least five meters tall. What a waste—he could carry at least two hundred buckets of manure at once."
Su Xiao patted Bubu Wang, steadied his mind, and kept his expression unchanged.
"As I mentioned before, I have some confidence in suppressing or even treating Whitebeard's physical condition. I can also provide you with some intelligence. But what are you willing to pay for this?"
"Some confidence?"
Marco seized on the key phrase.
"If I said I could definitely cure Whitebeard's injuries, would you believe me? That's impossible. I learned about Whitebeard's poor physical condition through special channels. As for how severe his injuries or illness are, I need to see for myself to judge."
Hearing this, Marco nodded thoughtfully. If Su Xiao had made bold claims about definitely curing Whitebeard's injuries, it would have been less believable.
"So what do we need to pay?"
As soon as Marco finished speaking, he noticed that both Su Xiao and Bubu Wang were staring at him.