On the going merry, the sea breeze gently caressed, and the sunlight spilled onto the deck, casting a golden glow.
The Straw Hat crew sat together, excitedly discussing the latest newspaper.
"The Arlong Pirates in the East Blue have been annihilated, and Cocoyasi Village has returned to peace!" Luffy pointed at the headline on the newspaper, shouting excitedly, "Nami!"
Nami stared blankly at the newspaper, tears silently streaming down her face.
The hatred she had suppressed for years was finally avenged; she jumped up excitedly, hugging Luffy tightly and crying loudly.
"It's great…it's great…finally…truly free…" Nami stammered, her voice choked with sobs.
"Idiot Nami, why are you crying? It's all over!" Luffy awkwardly patted Nami's back, comforting her.
Zoro, standing nearby, looked at Nami, a rare hint of tenderness appearing on his face, before quickly returning to his usual cold demeanor and taking a swig from his sake bottle.
"Look what I found, Luffy's bounty poster!"
Usopp exaggeratedly widened his mouth, almost drooling:
"Thirty…thirty million Berries?!"
Luffy picked up the newspaper and laughed loudly: "Hey hey! My bounty! Haha, 30 million Berries! Sanji! Can we buy lots of meat?!"
He proudly spread his large headshot in front of everyone, his mouth stretched into a grin almost splitting his face, just like the picture.
Zoro crossed his arms, leaning against the mast, and snorted coldly: "Don't celebrate too early. A high bounty also means more trouble."
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at the newspaper, his brow slightly furrowed: "Yes, Captain. A high bounty might attract unnecessary trouble."
"Well, well…then let them come!" Luffy waved his fists, shouting indifferently, "I'll beat as many as come; just send them flying!"
Nami knew in her heart that the newspaper's mention of annihilation meant not that they were captured and imprisoned by the Marine, but that they all died!
Her thoughts were quickly pulled back to the transaction she had made with Cheng Xiaoyu not long ago, and a brutal image appeared in her mind.
When the Arlong Pirates' base completely fell, that man, Cheng Xiaoyu, stood in the shadows, indifferently observing everything.
His eyes were deeper than the night, colder than the sea breeze, and the countless surging shadows behind him were like prostrating devils.
The entire Arlong Pirates were swallowed into endless darkness, not even a single scream escaping.
He, using violence to curb violence, completed a thorough massacre.
Cheng Xiaoyu once told her: "In this world, the dead are the safest."
"Nami? Nami!" Usopp tentatively pushed Nami's shoulder.
Nami snapped back to reality, pulling her gaze from the newspaper, but her face was still somewhat pale: "Ah…nothing."
"Hey, look, this guy's bounty!" Usopp pointed to another news item on the newspaper, exclaiming.
On the bounty poster, a stern-faced man was clearly visible; it was Cheng Xiaoyu.
The bounty was clearly marked: 60 million Berries!
"60 million Berries?! Who is this guy, so powerful?" Sanji asked in surprise, a cigarette in his mouth.
"Ah! I remember now! He's that grilled fish master we met at sea before!" Luffy suddenly realized, pointing at Cheng Xiaoyu's bounty poster.
"His grilled fish was really…super delicious!"
Everyone was speechless; Luffy's focus was always so peculiar.
"This guy actually went from 20 million to 60 million directly. That's too fast, isn't it? What exactly did this guy do?"
Zoro frowned, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes, "I really want to fight him if I get the chance!"
"His bounty tripled, so it seems the Marine values him highly," Nami said, wiping away her tears and analyzing, "Perhaps he's even more dangerous than we imagine."
… …
Meanwhile, Cheng Xiaoyu, far away in another sea area, also saw his bounty poster.
"60 million Berries? Heh, following Kuro's advice really made it multiply several times, but it's still far from enough." Cheng Xiaoyu sneered, throwing the newspaper aside.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for increasing your bounty to 60 million Berries, you have received 40,000 points!] The system's voice sounded at the opportune moment.
Cheng Xiaoyu opened the system panel, looking at the points balance displayed, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly upwards.
"50,000 points, that's enough."
Cheng Xiaoyu unhesitatingly spent 50,000 points to upgrade his Armament Haki to intermediate level.
He looked at the system panel floating in mid-air,
[Level: 39 (2000 experience needed until next level).]
At this upgrade speed, if nothing unexpected happens, he will reach level 40 at the next stop in Loguetown.
Loguetown, as the place where Roger was executed, attracts quite a few pirates who come to visit.
He plans to catch them all in one go!
"It seems it's time to intensify the development of my Devil Fruit ability," Cheng Xiaoyu muttered to himself.
Currently, his Devil Fruit attack methods are somewhat singular.
Aside from being able to extract and store shadows, perform shadow exchanges, condense shadows into Shadow Spikes for attack, and use that special Shadow Raid Sniper, there are no others.
However, the development of a Logia Devil Fruit should be far more than this.
Take Fire Fist Ace, for example; he also has many small skills, such as Fire Fist, Flame Ring…
Not to mention that the three Admirals of the Marine are all masters in Logia Devil Fruit development, like Aokiji's Ice Saber, Ice Ball, Ice Age…
After a moment of silence, he called out: "Kuro."
The shadow under the deck stirred slightly, and Kuro, dressed in a suit, emerged from the darkness, his gold-rimmed glasses glinting in the sunlight.
Kuro, as Cheng Xiaoyu's strategist and advisor, always maintained an orderly appearance.
In stark contrast to Cheng Xiaoyu's coldness, his indifference carried a precise calculation.
Cheng Xiaoyu waved his hand, displaying his own panel to Kuro.
"You should have seen my current attack methods. They are simple and direct, with sufficient lethality, but…they are monotonously boring."
"To give you an example, if I were to face a powerhouse of Garp's level, what are my chances of winning?"
"Zero."
Kuro replied without hesitation, showing no mercy to Cheng Xiaoyu.
"That's direct." Cheng Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow slightly; he liked Kuro's directness, "Then tell me, what's the solution?"
Kuro cleared his throat, adjusted his tie, and began to explain: "Firstly, I believe your Devil Fruit ability is not sufficiently developed, especially in close combat."
"Close combat?"
Cheng Xiaoyu frowned; he had always favored long-range attacks, using the properties of shadows for assassination and sniping, focusing on surprise attacks.
"Indeed, your Shadow Fruit ability is powerful, but it relies too much on long-range attacks. Once an enemy gets close, you can easily fall into a passive state."
"Although powerful Armament Haki and Observation Haki can compensate for this weakness, what if you encounter an opponent who also possesses Haki?"
Cheng Xiaoyu fell silent for a moment; Kuro's words enlightened him.
"Captain, I think you can develop some techniques that combine with physical attacks."
"For example, using the extensibility of shadows to strengthen your attack range, forming effective killing power similar to Fire Fist."
"I understand." Cheng Xiaoyu nodded.
"Kuina, Gin, Arlong!"
"Present!"
Three figures appeared almost simultaneously: Kuina, holding wado ichimonji, looked heroic and spirited;
Gin was taciturn, his fists clenched tightly;
The Fishman Arlong, carrying his signature sawtooth sword, grinned, revealing his sharp teeth.
"From now on, you will all be my opponents."
"You mean?" Kuina frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat confused.
"Kuro is right, I need more close-quarters combat skills." He glanced at Kuro beside him, who pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses in agreement.
"I believe that only through actual combat can new moves be developed fastest, and the same goes for you!"
"As my shadows, being weak is also a sin!"
Cheng Xiaoyu's tone was unquestionable; to become stronger, one must rely on overall strength; fighting alone would definitely not work.
"Understood!"
"Remember, don't hold back!" Cheng Xiaoyu reminded them.
"Ah? Won't that be too dangerous? What if we accidentally…" Kuina said with a worried expression.
"There is no 'what if.' Do you think intermediate Armament Haki is just for show?" Cheng Xiaoyu laughed.
However, the next second, all four of their weapons were covered with a layer of Armament Haki!
It turned out that shadows could share Haki from Cheng Xiaoyu, although it would be one level weaker than Cheng Xiaoyu's Haki.
This meant that although they currently did not have Observation Haki and Haoshoku, because Cheng Xiaoyu had upgraded his Armament Haki to intermediate, they already possessed basic Armament Haki!
Of course, only these shadows that Cheng Xiaoyu had individually separated had this growth characteristic; other ordinary shadows did not.
"Then let's go! My great sword has been thirsty for battle for a long time!"
Arlong impatiently swung his great sword, slashing towards Cheng Xiaoyu's neck!
"Oh no, I was careless!"