The pressure emanating from the Giant Beast and the woman caused the surrounding Bounty Hunters to freeze, falling silent as if struck by frost, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Where's Mr. 8?"
Robin stopped in front of everyone, asking curiously.
"Miss All Sunday, Mr. 8 was injured," one Bounty Hunter quickly replied.
Robin immediately frowned and asked, "Injured? Who injured him?"
All the Bounty Hunters looked at the burly man. He quickly said, "My lady, Mr. 8 and Monday challenged me, and I defeated them. I held back, but they still sustained quite serious injuries. I am willing to accept punishment."
"You held back? You defeated them while holding back, your strength seems impressive."
Robin looked at him curiously and asked with a smile, "Are you the newcomer who intends to join Baroque Works?"
The burly man quickly replied, "That would be me, a Bounty Hunter from the West Blue, Heckle."
"You don't need to reveal your real name. Baroque Works only uses codenames."
Robin waved her hand and then said, "Since you intend to join, if you truly possess the strength of a Senior Agent, after an assessment, I will assign you a codename and a partner."
"Understood."
Heckle said respectfully, "Then I'll trouble you to assess me, my lady."
If I'm respectful, she'll go easy on me. And since I said I wanted the lady to assess me, that Giant Beast won't make a move.
But in the next moment, Xia Qiu charged out, roaring as he rushed towards Heckle.
"Xiao Qiu!"
Robin saw this and tried to call him back.
"Come on."
Xia Qiu didn't stop, charging straight ahead.
He not only wanted to test the other party but also himself: how was his strength on land?
Once on land, his movement became slow, and his attack methods were further reduced.
This person has the strength of a Senior Agent; let's see how strong I am.
If he can't even withstand me on land, then his strength is very weak, not of much value.
If he can't withstand it and is severely injured, I'll kill him and eat him.
Xia Qiu charged directly, his six massive legs moving as he rushed towards Heckle.
"Not good."
Seeing this, Heckle moved his legs, his body darting away.
The other Bounty Hunters scattered, running far away.
"Trying to run?"
Xia Qiu caught up to Heckle. The moment he dodged to the side, Xia Qiu suddenly stopped his forelimbs, spun around, and twisted his head to bite him.
"Can't dodge."
Heckle saw this and was chilled to the bone. Feeling the teeth getting closer and closer, he suddenly gritted his teeth, turned, and punched out with both fists.
"Steel Fist."
As Heckle spoke, his biceps bulged, and his arms thrust forward.
Dong.
Heckle's fists struck Xia Qiu's two massive teeth, emitting a loud bang.
Hua la.
The next moment, Heckle was sent flying backward, crashing into a wall, shattering it, and rolling inside.
Xia Qiu twisted his body but didn't dissipate the force, crashing sideways into the row of buildings.
Rumble.
All the walls shattered, load-bearing walls collapsed, and even the second-floor ceiling broke.
Moreover, without the support from below, the upper floors collapsed one by one, crashing down with a boom.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
The building turned into ruins, burying Xia Qiu within.
"Xiao Qiu."
Robin quickly ran towards Xia Qiu, her expression worried. She was about to reach out and use her Devil Fruit ability.
Rumble.
The rubble slowly bulged, and Xia Qiu stood up, slowly backing away, shaking his head and twisting his body. Debris flew everywhere, and smoke filled the air.
He was unharmed; there wasn't even a scratch on his scales.
Although the upper floors were heavy, there were gaps between them. The floor slabs fell one by one, smashing onto him, but they couldn't penetrate Xia Qiu's scales and were instead absorbed by his muscles.
As for the weight of the building itself, it wasn't much for Xia Qiu.
"He's actually fine."
The surrounding Bounty Hunters were a bit surprised to see this. So many floor slabs had fallen on him, yet he wasn't even scratched.
And his strength was immense, directly causing the building to collapse.
"Too clumsy on land."
Xia Qiu was somewhat disappointed. If he were in the water, he could control his body better and wouldn't have flung himself so far.
Moreover, attacking the opponent was strenuous; the other party had almost escaped his attack range.
"Xiao Qiu, are you okay?" Robin asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Xia Qiu quickly shook his head, swayed his body, and looked curiously into the distance. "Did you kill him?"
"Cough, cough."
At that moment, a coughing sound echoed from afar. A figure stood up from the large hole that had been smashed open and walked out.
He let his arms hang down, the clothes on his arms tattered, and bloodstains covered them.
"He's not dead?"
Xia Qiu was disappointed that his single blow hadn't killed him.
Again.
Xia Qiu locked onto Heckle in the crowd, intending to charge, but his body froze the next moment.
"Sixty Petal Flower, Giant Tree."
Three massive arms appeared around Xia Qiu. Two arms grabbed Xia Qiu's forelimbs, and the remaining hand pressed down on Xia Qiu's forehead.
"Is this Robin's ability?"
Xia Qiu felt his body suddenly halt. With his two legs and his front, his body couldn't move forward an inch.
The giant arms were Robin's ability.
And there were three arms, which meant Sixty Petal Flower.
Robin hadn't used Sixty Petal Flower in the manga, and she couldn't do it two years ago.
Two years later, she could directly use Eighty Petal Flower, with four arms.
"Even without charging, the power is immense, but I can still block it for now."
Robin felt the force transmitted from the giant arms in the distance and thought she could still stop him.
She had spent a year and a half on the island, dedicating half a day every day to training her Devil Fruit abilities, and her power had grown astonishingly.
After training, she could now grow up to three giant arms at once, barely holding back Xia Qiu.
And this was Xia Qiu before he charged.
Of course, if Xia Qiu charged, she could handle it more easily by controlling his joints and attacking from the side, which would instead cause Xia Qiu to injure himself due to his own momentum.
"Xiao Qiu, that's enough. Don't test him further, or he'll die," Robin said helplessly from the side. "Besides, you're causing too much destruction."
"Then forget it."
Xia Qiu glanced at the other party. Being stopped, his insistence on killing would be too obvious.
If he wanted to eat, he could sneak over and ambush him.
But there was no need for now. To survive his attack without dying, even though it wasn't a full-frontal assault and only his head exerted force, meaning his full power wasn't unleashed, it was still quite good that he didn't die from one blow, only sustaining arm injuries.
Becoming a Senior Agent was no problem.
Baroque Works needed such subordinates, especially the Senior Agents recruited by Robin into the organization, who would be crucial components of the Baroque Works he envisioned for the future.
He had to make him indebted to Robin.
Xia Qiu retracted his body, lying there and ceasing his attack.
"I'm sorry, Miss All Sunday, I'm not a match for it," Heckle said with a grim expression.
Robin replied, "It's alright, it was enough. Surviving his attack without dying is sufficient to pass."
Heckle asked expectantly, "Did I pass the assessment?"
"Of course."
Robin looked at Heckle and said, "Your strength is good. For now, you'll be designated Mr. 5, ranking last among the Senior Agents. Do you have any objections?"
"I have no objections."
Heckle nodded, then said, "Thank you, Miss All Sunday. If it weren't for you..."
"No need to thank me."
Robin took a Den Den Mushi from her waist and threw it to him. "This is for you. Only you and the President can contact you proactively. I will arrange a new partner for you and assign your missions."
"Yes."
Heckle took the Den Den Mushi and respectfully retreated.
Miss All Sunday's strength was beyond doubt. He himself couldn't even withstand a single blow from that Giant Beast, yet she could stop it.
It wasn't just him; even the surrounding Bounty Hunters gained a new understanding of Miss All Sunday's power.
She's strong, truly Mr. 0's partner.
However, Mr. 0 had never appeared before the public. Robin was the only one who had ever met him, and she also served as the Vice President and supreme commander.
In a sense, Robin represented the highest authority of Baroque Works.
As long as Crocodile was dead.
Robin would be the only one in control of Baroque Works.
"You all handle the rest. I'll have someone bring the necessary building materials. Please restore this place to its original state as quickly as possible," Robin said to everyone.
"Yes."
The Bounty Hunters quickly replied, not daring to complain that Xia Qiu had destroyed their living quarters and killed quite a few people.
Robin nodded and said, "Xia Qiu, let's go."
Xia Qiu glanced at the Bounty Hunters who dared not move and slowly followed, his mind replaying the recent battle and comparing it to his experiences in the ocean.
His forward speed was fast, but his flexibility was poor, far worse than in the sea.
His attack methods were singular, only able to use his head, teeth, or tail, and at most one claw.
Other body parts, like tentacles, were under him and would obstruct his movement if he didn't wrap them around his back.
The dorsal fin and the spikes on his back were out of reach for the enemy, making them largely useless.
As for the maneuvers he could perform in the sea, they were impossible to execute on land.
The weakening of his strength upon coming ashore was greater than he had imagined, while the enemy faced no such restrictions, thus reducing his overall combat effectiveness.
Therefore, he still needed to continue strengthening himself for the time being.
Enhancement was the priority; the stronger and more robust his body, the faster he would be, and the greater his combat power.
Secondly, his body structure needed to change. At least his current structure was less flexible and agile than many animals.
Finally, his attack methods. Xia Qiu needed a new way to attack, preferably not a physical one, but an ability.
Should he expand his sonic attacks to coordinate with future Conqueror's Haki?
Or could he spew flames?
Or perhaps generate electricity?
Or shoot water, or spray poison?
Xia Qiu could find creatures in the One Piece world to consume for these abilities, but he needed to carefully consider which ability to choose and the dangers of the creature's habitat.
After reading some of your comments, I've made some minor adjustments to details regarding concerns about the protagonist becoming a mount or pet, and I will be more mindful of this in the future. Except in situations where they are fleeing together, Xia Qiu will not allow Robin to ride on him, and some dialogue has also been modified.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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