Chapter 66: Silver Axe's Death! The Fate of Pirates
As the words fell,
Vine-like saplings suddenly sprouted from beneath Silver Axe's feet, rapidly wrapping around his limbs and torso, covering him completely in a way that left people puzzled.
Silver Axe raised an eyebrow and sneered coldly.
"Hah? You think mere saplings like these can trap me? Lotte, don't tell me this is all you've got?!"
Lotte watched the scene with an amused smile.
"Enjoy it while it lasts, Silver Axe."
"Maybe next year I'll come water your grave."
While Silver Axe was still confused,
The seemingly ordinary saplings suddenly sprouted razor-sharp thorns. Before he could react, they pierced into the areas not covered by Armament Haki.
The moment they broke through the skin, they began absorbing his life force at a terrifying speed. In just a few seconds, the saplings visibly grew into towering trees dozens of meters high.
They crushed everything except Silver Axe's head beneath them.
When the cadres saw this scene,
Including Golden Lion Shiki, all of them were shocked.
Those seemingly harmless saplings actually contained such terrifying power—the tide of battle had instantly turned in Lotte's favor.
Though Shiki could tell Lotte was taking advantage of the terrain,
On these seas, the winner is king. If Lotte could win, that proved his strength was sufficient.
The other crew members were also dumbfounded.
"S-Silver Axe… is he really going to lose?!"
"The Azure Emperor's ability can be used like this… it's terrifying!"
"Hiss—! The ship's about to undergo a huge change!"
Though Silver Axe hadn't died instantly, the growing giant trees and the panic of having his blood continuously drained made him desperately raise his head to beg for mercy.
"Damn it?! What kind of ability is this… Wait! Spare my life!"
But when he looked up,
He saw Lotte had somehow already appeared right in front of him.
Both hands gripped the hilts tightly and exerted force.
Swoosh!
A silver flash cut through the air.
Shodai Kitetsu, carrying an eerie demonic aura, sliced clean through his entire head.
Silver Axe's wide-eyed, ferocious face was filled with unwillingness. Scarlet blood poured out, becoming nourishment for the giant tree, which devoured him completely.
After finishing off Silver Axe,
Lotte calmly turned to look at Rocks nearby.
"Captain, this guy is dead. The deathmatch can end now, right?"
Rocks nodded lightly with an indifferent expression.
"This matter ends here. The deathmatch is over."
He had to admit, Lotte's displayed strength was quite impressive. At this rate of growth, in just a few short years, he could undergo earth-shattering changes.
But Rocks would never give anyone the chance to surpass him.
Now that God Valley's location was almost confirmed, there was at most a little over a year left. He wouldn't give Lotte any more time to grow.
Once the plan succeeded, this kid could not be allowed to live!
Lotte knew what Rocks was thinking, but his expression remained unchanged.
He only needed to sign in at various locations as quickly as possible over the next year or so. That way, his self-preservation options would increase significantly.
Now wasn't the time to turn against Rocks.
Seeing Lotte's victory, Golden Lion Shiki immediately walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Jie hahahaha! You kid really had that up your sleeve!"
"No wonder Newgate didn't look worried at all. Knowing your strength has progressed to this level puts my mind at ease!"
Golden Lion Shiki laughed heartily.
He had long disliked that Silver Axe.
The guy always acted superior just because he was a veteran cadre, but his strength wasn't much while his temper was huge. Now he was finally dead—satisfying!
Newgate also walked over, drinking from his gourd and laughing.
"Gurararara! I told you, you dumb lion—how could you possibly understand? Lotte's strength now is on a completely different level from before!"
"Come on, let's drink!"
While the two were celebrating Lotte's victory,
Lotte himself had no mood to continue chatting with them, because the familiar system voice had just rung in his mind again.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host. After intense battle, Hashirama Cells mastery increased by 1%.]
[Flame Dance Dual Sword Style proficiency maxed! Successfully broken through!]
As expected.
This duel with Silver Axe had finally allowed his dual-sword style to break through. He was now one step closer to the realm of a great swordsman.
This was excellent news for Lotte.
While he was deep in thought,
Not far away, Kaido clenched his fist again. A ferocious grin spread across his face as he stared intently at the contemplative Lotte.
The guy's strength had improved enough again since last time!
But precisely because of that,
He was worth crushing completely!
Once he ate that Mythical Zoan Fruit, he would eventually defeat Lotte once and for all!
Charlotte Linlin watched Kaido with amusement while eating her dessert.
She could feel the firm determination radiating from him. Investing in this guy really was a good decision.
She wondered how far he would grow in the future.
Her gaze shifted to Lotte, and a trace of wariness flashed through her eyes.
The kid's talent was truly terrifying on these seas. In just a few months, even cadre Silver Axe was no longer his match.
Even if Silver Axe had underestimated him,
Being able to kill Silver Axe so easily made Lotte an undeniable monster.
Captain John's expression was also quite ugly. Silver Axe had been a fellow veteran cadre, and their relationship had been fairly good.
He never expected him to die at the hands of a newcomer.
He snorted coldly and turned to walk back to the ship. With John's departure, the others also snapped out of it. The crowd gradually dispersed and returned to the ship.
As for Silver Axe, he had already been forgotten.
On these seas, only the victor was righteous. A dead pirate had no value!
Even Rocks wouldn't waste time on a corpse.
Lotte glanced at the now dozens-of-meters-tall giant tree that had stopped growing, swaying gently in the wind. Sunlight pierced through the leaves.
This was the only grave he left for Silver Axe.
That was the way of pirates.
Lotte sheathed Flame King and Shodai Kitetsu, turned around, and left without hesitation.
He planned to leave the pirate crew alone for a while to handle some matters.
Not just for signing in.
But also to uncover Rocks' ultimate goal.
He needed to go to that island—home to the Tree of Omniscience, revered in the original story as the holy land of archaeology.
Ohara.