Chapter 17: The Transaction
Water 7, an abandoned artificial dock.
"Shave."
A figure flashed past, the wind pressure from the movement kicking up a trail of dust.
This figure was extremely fast, but their control over direction wasn't very good, charging straight toward a large rock.
With a *bang*, the figure slammed into the rock like a pancake, staggered a few steps, and then fell to the ground with a *thud*.
Su Xiao shook his head. Shave was too fast; he couldn't quite control this speed yet.
After two days of relentless, sleepless practice, he had finally grasped the basics of Shave.
Mastering the basics of Shave wasn't difficult, but using it in actual combat was extremely hard. That required a long period of adaptation, getting a good feel for the distance, speed, angle, and so on of the forward charge.
After initially grasping Shave, Su Xiao had gained a certain understanding of it. This technique essentially used reaction force to propel oneself toward an enemy. Used well, it was a godly killing technique; used poorly, it was a god-tier way to feed yourself to the enemy.
When using Shave, the hardest part was seeing what was ahead. That fleeting perspective was very difficult to get used to.
Brushing the dust off his clothes, Su Xiao checked his skill list. A new skill had appeared.
**Six Styles: Shave: Lv.1 (Active Skill)**
**Skill Effect:** Move forward 5 to 18 meters in an extremely short time, reaching the maximum value of your Agility attribute during the movement.
**Note:** Each use of Shave consumes 20 Stamina points. Cooldown: 30 seconds (Because the Hunter learned Shave through self-study, it can be forcibly used consecutively. Forcible consecutive use will cause a certain degree of damage to the lower limbs.)
...
High-speed forward movement—that was Shave's main function. However, one thing puzzled Su Xiao: what was Stamina? He only had Health Points and Mana Points; he had never heard of Stamina.
After inquiring with Reincarnation Paradise, he learned that Stamina was derived from the Endurance attribute. It was an invisible numerical value, but he could sense it himself.
Everyone had Stamina. It was unconsciously consumed in daily life. When Stamina was very low, a person would feel tired. When it dropped below 2 points, a person would become completely exhausted.
Su Xiao understood what Stamina was. It was his endurance and physical fatigue level.
It seemed that overusing Shave would lead to exhaustion, and because Shave's level was too low, it couldn't be used consecutively.
Su Xiao didn't care about this for now. In the One Piece world, he wouldn't easily use Shave. Its level was too low; using it in actual combat now would be suicide.
If he wanted to integrate Shave into his combat system, he would need to return to Reincarnation Paradise and raise its level to a certain point, at least Level 5, or even higher.
His practice of Shave was temporarily over. Su Xiao flexed his slightly sore calves.
He had been in the derivative world for five days. Tomorrow was the day the Straw Hat Pirates would land on the island. If he remembered correctly, they would start causing a ruckus on the very day they landed, and head to Enies Lobby the next day.
Of course, this was just information from the original work. No one knew what would happen in the derivative world. Under the interference of contractors, the plot might unfold differently.
However, one thing was certain: Nico Robin would definitely be taken away by CP9.
The CP9 members were quite strong in combat. Su Xiao was confident he could handle one. He could also fight two CP9 members at the same time. Against three, he would have to flee. If he faced more, he might not even have a chance to escape.
The strength of CP9 members was somewhat uneven. Some were very strong, others were average, like Kumadori and Rob Lucci.
Su Xiao estimated that Rob Lucci could kill Kumadori within two minutes. Therefore, among CP9, Su Xiao was most wary of Rob Lucci. That guy was very strong. If Su Xiao faced him, he had a thirty percent chance of winning.
Although the win rate was low, Su Xiao still had hope of killing Rob Lucci. His main combat method was swordsmanship. If he seized an opportunity, he could potentially end the fight in a few slashes. Rob Lucci's Tekkai was indeed strong, but Su Xiao could cut through steel with ease.
Lost in thought, Su Xiao walked in front of the residential houses of Water 7. Many civilians returning from a day's work were around. Though their expressions showed fatigue, happiness was evident in their eyes. Being able to live peacefully in the One Piece world was a kind of luck in itself.
The sun on the horizon was level with the sea. A large expanse of fiery clouds appeared at the boundary between sky and sea. Golden sunlight shone through the clouds, bathing all of Water 7 in a pale gold.
This warm color was soothing to the body and mind. Su Xiao walked through Water 7 and arrived at an abandoned warehouse.
Inside the warehouse were many empty wooden crates, forming a complex maze of paths between them.
Su Xiao jumped onto a stack of crates. There were over a dozen crates piled up here, giving him a vantage point to survey the surroundings. Bubuteni also jumped up and sat behind Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sat on the crates and lit a cigarette, seemingly waiting for something.
About half an hour later, the sound of *tap-tap* footsteps came from outside the warehouse. A tall female secretary walked into the warehouse.
Kalifa stopped walking after entering the warehouse. The pale gold sunset light streamed in through the warehouse door. On the stack of crates opposite the main entrance, a man was smoking.
In the dim warehouse, the man's face was somewhat indistinct, but Kalifa could clearly see his pitch-black eyes.
"I've brought what you asked for."
Kalifa raised a cloth bag containing a sword. It clearly held a long blade.
*Zzzz~*
The sound of a metal wire retracting came. Kalifa felt a pulling force in her hand, and then the cloth bag flew through the air as her hand was left empty.
Su Xiao grabbed the cloth bag and untied it. Inside was a long sword in its scabbard. Confirming it was a Fine Grade Sword, he put the long blade away.
"I've done as agreed. Disarm the bomb immediately."
Kalifa's tone was urgent. She was very, very hungry. For the past few days, she had only survived on juice and liquid food, and she didn't dare drink too much for fear that a full stomach might trigger the bomb, causing her to die a very unjust death.
"No."
Su Xiao refused flatly. Kalifa's jaw muscles bulged, making her beautiful face look somewhat ferocious.
"You faithless bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"
Kalifa's figure flickered, and she reappeared below the stack of crates. It was Shave.
"I'm faithless? You're the one. I told you to come alone."
Su Xiao didn't look at Kalifa. The alchemy bomb inside her body hadn't failed yet and could be triggered at any time. His gaze was fixed on the direction of the warehouse door.
"Kalifa, calm down."
A deep male voice came from outside the warehouse. A man at least two meters tall stood at the warehouse entrance. It was Rob Lucci.
Su Xiao slowly stood up from the crates, placing his hand on the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
*Clang.*
The friction of the blade against the scabbard produced a sharp metallic sound. Dragon-Slaying Flash glinted coldly in the dim warehouse.
Su Xiao glanced sideways at Kalifa. What was the meaning of this? She had brought a Fine Grade Sword, yet she had also brought someone else. With Kalifa's intelligence, she shouldn't make such a low-level mistake.
That left only one possibility.
"So... you came with 'sincerity,' not for a transaction."
In the afterglow of the setting sun, a smile appeared on Su Xiao's lips.