Trens' right index finger slowly pressed down, the distinct sound of the trigger moving scraped through the air and rang sharply in Somu's ears, making his fear peak to its limit.
For the first time, he felt that death was so close.
"I, I'm a weakling!!" The hoarse cry, like a pig being slaughtered, echoed down the entire street. Not far away, two big figures watching from a distance smiled faintly at the scene.
"This kid… is kinda interesting." Crocodile took a long drag on his cigar, exhaled a smoke ring, and said calmly.
He naturally remembered this kid, one who had once driven him into a near-death situation. When it came to snipers, this one was the most unique he'd ever seen.
From afar, the two of them watched as Trens slowly walked toward them.
After Somu had screamed that humiliating confession, Trens had simply holstered his weapon and turned away without hesitation.
The girl he liked was the Lusha from his memories. But now that those memories had blown away like dust in the wind, What did he have left to hold on to?
Somu, the blond man with slicked-back hair, was still kneeling on the ground, trembling all over. He had been scared out of his wits.
Lusha stood dumbly at the entrance of the blacksmith shop, staring at Trens' retreating back, a back that showed not the slightest hesitation or regret. That courage, that fearless aura he had just exuded, suddenly, she understood.
In just one short year, not only had she changed, but so had he, the boy she had once liked in her younger days. He had grown up.
Trens walked boldly up to Jason and the others, his body trembling slightly. His voice carried a noticeable quiver.
"Brother Jason, let's go."
"Alright!" Jason gave Trens a firm pat on the shoulder and turned to leave with him.
But after taking just two steps, Jason looked back and called out to Crocodile: "You're not coming?"
"You two go ahead. Leave the rest to me." Crocodile puffed on his cigar, let out a ring of smoke, and looked calmly toward Somu, who was still kneeling and now speaking rapidly into a Den Den Mushi.
Jason's eyes flicked over and caught sight of the movement, Black-suited men were flooding out of a nearby alley and heading their way.
He gave a small nod, then supported Trens and helped him away.
"So fragile inside, but trying to act tough! Seriously, this guy's a handful…" Feeling the weight of Trens nearly leaning his whole body onto his arm, Jason shook his head and strode off quickly.
Their figures soon vanished from view, leaving only Crocodile standing there.
Still smoking his cigar, his expression remained indifferent. His long black cloak fluttered in the wind, giving off a unique and domineering imposing aura.
About ten seconds later, the black-suited men rushed up beside the blond man.
"Kill them!" Red-faced with shame, Somu roared furiously, pointing both at Crocodile and at the departing Jason and Trens.
"Whoosh…" Exhaling a thick puff of white smoke, Crocodile's eyes sharpened instantly.
Though he didn't particularly like those two, as Jason had said, they were now comrades. At the very least, they needed to have each other's backs, right?
The ground around him began to shift quietly. Grains of sand began to rise and swirl around Crocodile. This eerie sight instantly startled the advancing black-suited thugs.
"Wait, his face looks really familiar!"
"I think he's… he's called Crocodile!"
Suddenly, someone recognized him and shouted in panic.
"Great pirate, Crocodile! Oh my god!!"
"Why the hell is it him!?"
Panic swept through the group. To these small-time thugs, someone like him was on an entirely unreachable level, a monster.
"Not coming at me? Fine, then I'll make the first move!"
With the cigar clenched between his teeth, Crocodile raised his brow slightly and flicked his right hand.
"Sààà!"
The sand surged forward, sweeping toward the approaching thugs. In just a blink, all of them were engulfed by the grains. Under Crocodile's control, the soft sand behaved like a thick, powerful arm. With just a few violent sweeps and strikes, he easily sent every one of the attackers crashing to the ground.
Seeing them all go down in a single move, Crocodile felt bored.
Shaking his head, he turned around and walked away slowly.
Alubarna – a rural area.
To be more accurate, it was more of a suburban region, some distance from the city. Before them stretched a vast rapeseed flower field, golden-yellow like a sea of gold.
"This is it." Rojen stood in front of a wooden cabin, nodded, and quickly finalized the transaction with the property owner.
While Jason and the others went to explore the surroundings, Rojen, along with Rouge and Lordling, had come here to purchase this property. It was a six-bedroom, two-living-room duplex wooden cabin, with distinct and unique design. The interior was fully furnished, no need to buy anything else.
In front of the cabin was a courtyard about 100 square meters wide. To the left was an old pine tree, to the right a 20-square-meter vegetable garden, and beyond that, a golden sea of rapeseed flowers.
You could say that this place was beautifully scenic, with fresh air and an extremely pleasant atmosphere. After assigning rooms to Jason and the others, Rojen went into the cabin to rest.
Rouge, accompanied by Lordling, lay down on a bed to relax as well.
As dusk approached, Jason and the other two arrived at Rojen's place.
"Wow, this is a really nice house!" Jason exclaimed.
Crocodile and Trens also looked around with interest, their eyes shining.
"We'll be staying here for a while," Rojen said, closing the book he had been reading as he looked at them. "And during this time, I'll help you all improve your strength."
Then he noticed Trens, whose eyes were unfocused and cheeks flushed red.
"What's up with him?"
"This kid had a breakup. We drank with him a little," Jason replied with a shrug.
Seeing the three of them standing together without any real hostility, Rojen nodded in satisfaction.
"The failure of love makes a man mature faster. But seeing the three of you not fighting, I'm actually relieved."
Crocodile chuckled. "Captain, were you hoping we'd fight?"
Rojen shrugged and joked: "If you did, you'd definitely get ganged up on by the other two."
"That'd be a bit of a problem." Crocodile also shrugged in mock defeat.
Jason burst into hearty laughter.
"Let's rest for today. Training begins first thing tomorrow morning." Rojen ended the conversation with that.
The Possession System did indeed grant him incredible power, but in the end, true strength still came from within.
Rojen wasn't about to slack off, he would seize every opportunity to train and strengthen himself.
As for Jason, Crocodile, and Trens, these three… Perhaps even they didn't realize just how much potential they had. Rojen felt it was absolutely necessary to broaden their horizons and help them grow stronger quickly.
After all, they were his future companions, and their strength would also be his strength.
(End Of The Chapter)
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