Chapter 16: A Deadly Trap (Fourth Update)
The Celestial Dragon on the deck was still unconscious. Su Xiao stomped on the wooden plank beneath his feet, causing the U-shaped nail to fly up. The plank clicked open, and the green-haired Celestial Dragon fell into the space below.
Gurgle, gurgle...
"Help... me..."
The sound of choking water and cries for help came. That Celestial Dragon had woken up. His location was a huge water tank. Because one of his legs was chained to the bottom of the tank, he could barely keep his head above the surface.
Clear water flowed into the tank, and the water level gradually rose past the green-haired Celestial Dragon's mouth, soon reaching his nose.
On the deck, Su Xiao pulled up the plank covering the water tank and looked at Eddie K.
"You have at most five minutes to kill me, otherwise, he dies first."
As Su Xiao spoke, he tapped the plank under his foot. Seeing this, Koala, who was on top of the cabin nearby, muttered, "How despicable."
Eddie K didn't act rashly. This man, who was a full five meters tall, clasped his hands together.
"Life Return: Gaseous State."
Eddie K's body visibly shrank, finally stopping at about two meters in height. Fist-sized red bubbles appeared around him.
The moment Eddie K clasped his hands, Su Xiao had already advanced with his blade, slashing at Eddie K's neck.
Pop!
A red bubble burst. Dragon-Slaying Flash stopped just before Eddie K's neck. Dark Armament Haki coated Eddie K's hand, and the muscles under his suit bulged as he punched toward Su Xiao's jaw.
With a deafening crash, splinters flew. Su Xiao was sent flying backward, crashing into the cabin. Before being knocked away, he flicked his longsword upward, slicing a large chunk of flesh from Eddie K's upper arm.
Just as Su Xiao crashed into the cabin, Eddie K immediately ducked. Banishment flew past, nearly grazing the back of his head.
Banishment suddenly halted mid-air and began to split.
Pop, pop.
Two red bubbles near Eddie K burst. Banishment stopped splitting. Seizing the opportunity, Eddie K leaped several times to get far away from Banishment, landing on the ship's railing.
As a CP0 combatant, Eddie K's strength was only slightly weaker than an Admiral's. But his Devil Fruit ability was far more bizarre. If he were on an assassination mission, he would be even stronger than a Marine Admiral.
Plop~
The large chunk of flesh Su Xiao had cut from Eddie K fell onto the deck. Just as Su Xiao stood up from inside the cabin, ready to charge at Eddie K, he noticed that chunk of flesh on the deck was gradually dissolving, turning into a red bubble.
Su Xiao raised his arm. Water stains on his hand slowly gathered, soon forming a water droplet. This was an effect of the opponent's fruit ability.
Su Xiao still didn't know what kind of fruit ability Eddie K had. As for using the Apostle's Eye to detect it, he had already tried. The result was unexpected: the detection succeeded, but the data wasn't about Eddie K. Instead, it was something called "Gaseous Biological Structure." This likely happened because Eddie K had wrapped himself in this substance, preventing the Apostle's Eye from penetrating one biological layer to detect another beneath it.
Whenever a bubble near Eddie K burst, Su Xiao felt a thin film appear around him, enveloping him. If he tried to break free with full force, it wasn't impossible, but it would lead to more severe consequences. That film wasn't binding Su Xiao; it was binding the water inside his body. Forcibly breaking free would cause the water to separate from his body.
When fighting a Devil Fruit user, figuring out their ability was crucial. Eddie K's ability was most likely a Paramecia type, with a small chance of being a Zoan Mythical Beast type.
With a crisp crack, Eddie K stomped through the deck, bending down to reach into the water tank. Just as he was about to pull the green-haired Celestial Dragon out of the tank, he noticed the chain binding the man's foot. If he pulled forcefully, Eddie K's strength wouldn't be a problem, but the green-haired Celestial Dragon's leg would break.
"Finger Gun: Piercing Execution."
A basin-sized hole burst open on the side of the water tank, and the water inside gushed out with a whoosh.
Clang.
A crisp slashing sound reached Eddie K's ears. He was about to leap back to dodge when he felt something strange on his arm.
The water in the tank quickly drained. The green-haired Celestial Dragon lay motionless at the bottom of the tank, only able to roll his eyes.
A blade aura swept over Eddie K's head. Just as Eddie K dodged Su Xiao's slash, Banishment followed closely, stabbing straight toward the back of Eddie K's neck.
Eddie K intended to crouch low, but his Observation Haki suddenly sensed that Su Xiao, who had been on his left, had vanished.
Ding, ding, ding...
The sound of metal clashing rang out. Eddie K felt the air around him become viscous.
A longsword pierced through Eddie K's chest, the tip stained with blood. Even though he had coated his chest with Armament Haki, it couldn't block Dragon-Slashing Flash.
Standing behind Eddie K, Su Xiao stepped on the spine of Dragon-Slashing Flash. The longsword began to cut downward, reaching Eddie K's abdomen in an instant.
Eddie K grabbed Dragon-Slashing Flash with his Armament Haki-coated hand. All the bubbles around him burst. Taking advantage of the moment Su Xiao couldn't move, he lunged forward, falling into the water tank below.
Boom!
The entire ship shook. The planks beneath the hull shattered. The green-haired Celestial Dragon was thrown out through the hole in the ship's hull. As soon as he entered the sea, a giant whale shark opened its massive mouth and swallowed him whole.
The planks on the deck shattered. Eddie K leaped back onto the deck amidst a shower of splinters. From the very beginning of the fight, he knew he was doomed. It wasn't about strength or combat experience; it was that the enemy had prepared everything. If he dared to board the ship, he would die.
Blood gushed from the wound on Eddie K's abdomen. He grabbed his left arm, exerted force, and tore the entire arm off, throwing it onto the deck with a plop. The water tank where the green-haired Celestial Dragon had been contained poison. No, it should be that the water was mixed with a drug that could penetrate the skin and induce anesthesia. Even though Eddie K had wrapped himself in "Gaseous Flesh," he couldn't block this drug.
Eddie K looked at the bloody hole in his palm, a wound pierced by Banishment. Now, over a dozen fragmented blades had invaded his body.
A stabbing pain came from his heart. Eddie K, his mouth full of blood, grinned. He had completed his mission: rescuing that Celestial Dragon.
Eddie K's body trembled. He sat down weakly on the deck.
"Has my heart been destroyed?"
As Eddie K spoke, over a dozen fragmented blades burst out from his chest. Completely powerless, Eddie K collapsed onto the deck. Blood gradually soaked the planks beneath him.
Su Xiao walked up to Eddie K.
"Mission... complete."
Eddie K murmured. Su Xiao said nothing, simply slashing his blade across Eddie K's throat.
From the start of the fight, Koala and Reiss Max had been watching the entire time. They were both stunned. From the moment Eddie K boarded the ship, every move he made seemed to have been anticipated by Su Xiao. Except for that first punch he took, it was clear that Su Xiao hadn't known Eddie K's fruit ability.
[You have killed Eddie K.]
[Eddie K was a member of CP0. You have obtained 5.3% World Source. Current total World Source: 16%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been activated. Permanently increases Mana Points by 30.]
[You have obtained an Epic Chest (21%).]
...
The World Source obtained from killing Eddie K was very little. This was normal. Eddie K was a CP0 member, a powerhouse who couldn't be exposed to the light and rarely acted. Despite his strength, his influence on this world was less than Stussy's.
The Epic Chest represented Eddie K's strength. He was not weak; he was merely bound by the authority of the World Government.
As soon as he killed Eddie K, Su Xiao took out a military tablet. There were no satellites in this world, so the signal range of the tracker was limited.
Determining the location of that green-haired Celestial Dragon, Su Xiao rushed to the ship's railing in a few steps and leaped into the sea.