A strange cry echoed across the sky. The guards, busy at their work, froze.
Hearing the sound, the Celestial Dragons emerged. When they saw Noyer's face, terror seized them.
That detestable man — the enemy of the gods!
The Celestial Dragons would never forget that night. Black flames soared to the heavens as this man called Noyer single-handedly fought his way through the prison holding slaves.
More importantly, he had kidnapped over thirty nobles and publicly executed one before a crowd. That terrifying heavenly fire remained vivid in their minds. Some Celestial Dragons collapsed to the ground and fled backward in panic.
Noyer, holding Rasetsuō, said to Blueno, "Prepare the escape route. I'll deliver them a gift and then leave."
Blueno grimaced and transformed into a working slave as he began pushing open air doors. The portal took time to open due to the great distance — just enough time for Noyer to cause a ruckus.
Noyer leaped down from the high tower like an unbridled wild horse, charging toward the densely crowded areas. That day, there were so many people to worry about that he couldn't fight freely. Today was different.
The large mass of shadows beneath his feet extended outward, instantly binding numerous guards. The shadows on the ground twisted slightly. All those connected by the shadows had their necks gripped by tremendous force — with a crack, they snapped.
This was the "rule" ability of the Paramecia type: shadows change following a person's movements. But if reversed — when the shadow changes, the person's movements are also controlled.
Even the buildings covered by shadows bent and collapsed with a thunderous crash. Several Celestial Dragons hid in corners, trembling with fear.
Noyer held a package in his hand. Watching more guards flood in, he smiled eerily. A red shockwave aura burst forth from his body, sweeping across the battlefield in an instant. Countless guards fell unconscious.
"Hehehe…"
Noyer hummed a little tune as he walked through the field of "corpses". He raised his blade with a beaming smile and cleaved open the door ahead.
Behind the door, several Celestial Dragons stared wide-eyed in terror. This ruthless man didn't care whether you were a Celestial Dragon or not — he was a demon who dared to kill gods!
Noyer tossed the cloth-wrapped object to the Celestial Dragons and smiled, "I'm troubling you all — give this to the Marines."
He turned to leave. The Celestial Dragons' hearts relaxed slightly.
But then Noyer, who had already walked away, suddenly flashed back. He said with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I just can't help myself."
The moment he spoke, a dark red blade flashed before the Celestial Dragons' eyes. A chill pierced their chests. Neat holes opened through their obese bodies, straight through their hearts. Their eyes filled with the despair of death.
Noyer shook the blood from his blade, his expression regretful.
"Consider it a losing deal." He murmured, "I'm giving you guys ten billion berries…"
With that, he left the room. From the embrace of a Celestial Dragon corpse, the cloth-wrapped object rolled out.
The round object was the crimson severed head of the kidnapped Celestial Dragon. On his forehead, a line of text was carved.
Thirty-five days remaining.
◇◆◈◆◇
After a brief commotion, the Holy Land returned to silence. But the ground strewn with corpses revealed the short, swift battle that had just taken place.
Before long, the Marines' blue and white seagull flag fluttered as officers rushed toward Mary Geoise. If Noyer had seen this, he would have exclaimed how fortunate he was to have run fast enough.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the Hero Garp, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, and Sakazuki, who had just returned from a mission. This luxurious lineup — an elderly team walking a Tibetan mastiff — forget about Noyer, even one of the Four Emperors would be hard-pressed to gain any advantage.
Sengoku looked at the Holy Land, reduced to ruins once again. His heart filled with endless sorrow and rage he didn't know how to release.
Mary Geoise had been attacked just one day ago — that damn Noyer!
Why would he think to kill his way back? Did he think we wouldn't increase our forces? What gives him the audacity?
This gambler-like behavior — Devil Man!
I must kill you!
Sakazuki picked up a severed head from the collapsed building and looked at it expressionlessly.
After seeing it, Garp silently read the words carved on it, "Thirty-five days remaining."
Tsuru glanced at the corpses on the ground and sighed, "These should also be Celestial Dragons."
Sengoku wore his round-framed glasses, but the murderous aura in his eyes could no longer be concealed. Waves of energy surged forth.
"Noyer! Damn it!"
Watching Sengoku's fury, Tsuru spoke up, "His subordinate has the Door-Door Fruit ability — it's impossible to defend against. We can't remain passive anymore."
Sengoku looked at her, suppressing his anger, "What's your idea?"
Tsuru's aged eyes gleamed, "Moria most likely died at Noyer's hands — we've already deduced this. And Noyer should be at Moria's territory right now."
Sengoku was stunned, "You mean he didn't head to the New World but went back to Moria's territory?"
Tsuru nodded, "Judging from his behavior, the Devil Man likes to do the opposite of what's expected, so…"
The more Sengoku thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
He had nearly turned the New World upside down — the only unsearched places were the core territories of the Four Emperors. Tsuru's guess was remarkably accurate.
Sengoku gave his orders, "Garp, Sakazuki!"
Garp yawned, while Akainu stood at attention with a solemn expression, "Guaranteed to complete the mission."
At this point, Sengoku couldn't be bothered with matters of slaves or principles. Noyer was now the Marines' greatest enemy. If they didn't eliminate him now, once he grew stronger, he would be an endless source of trouble.
Garp understood this as well, so he didn't object. How much effort he would actually put in — only he knew.
The model Admiral Akainu and the rice cracker Vice Admiral Garp set out, leading three warships toward the first half of the Grand Line without delay.
◇◆◈◆◇
Meanwhile, Noyer had already stepped through the door and returned home. He stretched contentedly.
After this provocation, Sengoku would make his move soon — a tough battle was coming.
The coming period would be the most difficult Noyer had faced on the seas. But as long as he persevered — even if only one Celestial Dragon remained alive in his hands — he could brazenly negotiate with the government while dancing in front of the Marines.
The World Government would not abandon the Celestial Dragons. Noyer had already planted a seed in the hearts of those who thought they were safe.
You're not a god — you're just lucky you didn't die at his hands…
If the Marines ignored the safety of the Celestial Dragons in his custody and attacked him directly, they would face suspicion and resistance from all Celestial Dragons.
The Marines were running out of time…
Noyer and Blueno returned to the Thriller Bark. Wyper and the others, whom he'd sent to purchase a ship, had sent back news.
According to Mayor Iceburg, a giant ship accommodating five hundred people wouldn't be large for a Grand Line pirate crew, but it wasn't small either — it would take considerable time to build.
After all, Don Krieg, the overlord of the East Blue, boasted of having five thousand subordinates and fifty ships when he first appeared in the original story. He ran rampant on the Grand Line for a while.
Unfortunately, as soon as he entered the route, the hot-tempered Hawk-Eyes caught and smashed him to pieces. When he returned to the East Blue, Luffy beat him down.
What a tragic story…
Iceburg offered Noyer a suggestion: if the pirate crew planned to expand in the future, they might as well buy two ships to accommodate even more people.
Noyer thought this made sense. After all, he wasn't short on money. He used the Den Den Mushi to inform Iceburg of his requirements. Once the ships were ready, Wyper and Enel would sail them back directly.
With everything arranged, the only remaining problem was handling the pursuers. The Marines probably wouldn't expect him to be hiding on Moria's Thriller Bark, but he couldn't stay here forever.
However, he was reluctant to abandon the Thriller Bark and flee. Noyer still hadn't figured out how to sail such a massive ship into the New World.
Just as he pondered this, the little wolf Jabra came running over excitedly, "Captain, we found the person you told us to look for!"
Hmm?
Noyer was delighted. They found Brook?
The Revive-Revive Fruit — the power of resurrection. He had to get his hands on it!
Noyer said urgently, "Take me to see him."
Jabra nodded and led him into Hogback's research facility. The moment Noyer entered the laboratory, he spotted the living skeleton.
Brook had returned from the dead as a soul, but his body was nothing but bones — a creature neither human nor ghost. Despite being a skeleton, he still had a head of black afro hair with a small top hat perched on top, and his bone hands gripped a purple cane.
"Yohohoho… Hello, new master of the Thriller Bark." Brook's voice was odd, tinged with anxiety.
Moria, the previous master of the Thriller Bark, had stolen his shadow and stuffed it into Ryuma's body, leaving Brook unable to see the light. He'd battled Ryuma to reclaim his shadow but lost, and continued drifting in these dark waters.
Until today. A group of peculiar people found the drifting Brook and brought him back to the Thriller Bark. There he learned that both the Shadow-Shadow Fruit and the Thriller Bark had changed hands.
Noyer looked at him like a rare treasure and smiled kindly, "You've come to reclaim your shadow?"
Brook nodded. His hollow eye sockets showed no expression, and his voice trembled slightly, "Yes…"
Noyer snapped his fingers. Ryuma's corpse, lying on the research lab's lounge chair, trembled. The shadow beneath it flowed like liquid onto Noyer's hand, taking the shape of a skeleton.
"Of course. Here you go."
Brook said incredulously, "Just… that simple? You're giving my shadow back to me?"
He'd thought getting his shadow back wouldn't be easy. He never expected Noyer to impose no conditions whatsoever.
Since Noyer treated him kindly, Brook wouldn't disappoint him. He removed his hat and said solemnly, "I am deeply grateful that you're willing to return my shadow to me!"
Noyer paid no attention to what he said afterward. The system had already started sounding a series of notifications — quite a few this time, leaving Noyer somewhat dazed.
『 Met Important Character, "Soul King" Brook! Rewards: River of the Underworld, Universal Copy Card ×1! 』
「 After years of accumulation, host's innate talent quality has improved. 〔Otherworlder〕 has become 〔Otherworlder Conqueror〕! 」
「 Host's strength has reached the system's first stage target. Upgrade will begin, taking thirty days. During this period, the system's copy function will be unavailable. 」
The system is upgrading again?
Noyer took a long time to process this. The system had last upgraded when he entered the Grand Line, and now — on the brink of the New World — it was upgrading again.
This time would take even longer: a full month. And it said his strength had reached the system's target. What did that mean?
He couldn't help but wonder: why does the system exist? Why does it help him grow stronger?
He'd worried about this before, afraid the system's gifts were part of some conspiracy. After all, anyone capable of creating such a powerful system could probably only be a god.
But since he couldn't resist it anyway, Noyer decided to accept it with a carefree attitude.
In his daily life, he'd force himself to forget these speculations. But today, a statement from the system plunged him into contemplation again.
He didn't know when it started, but Noyer always had this inexplicable feeling — as if a voice kept telling him the system had no malicious intent. He even vaguely felt the system was close to him, like an old friend…
After thinking for a long time without answers, Noyer set aside this train of thought.
First, he'd look at the other rewards.
Noyer extended his consciousness into the dusty system panel and examined his innate talent, Otherworlder, which had changed considerably.
﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁﹁
〔 Otherworlder Conqueror 〕
〔 Rank: Red 〕
〔 Description: Retains all characteristics of Otherworlder
When recruiting after defeating an opponent, success rate increases by 20%.
When a member of the opposite sex has a non-negative favorability toward the host, the longer they spend time together, the faster favorability increases, the higher their compliance becomes, and it will not decline. After confirming a romantic relationship, the other party's loyalty becomes permanently maxed out, and charm will not decline. 〕
〔 Note: Cannot be Removed 〕
﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂﹂
This talent… why did it feel like it had evolved in a questionable direction?
Noyer scratched his head. Compared to 〔Otherworlder〕, 〔Otherworlder Conqueror〕 was far stronger in its influence over others. As long as he beat them into submission, recruiting subordinates would be easy. And his ability to attract the opposite sex had jumped to another level.
This seemed like a harem-building talent.
Noyer didn't know what expression to make. He and Robin hadn't even gotten anywhere yet. Could it be the system couldn't stand watching anymore and decided to upgrade it?
Steel-hearted straight man Noyer expressed his disdain — does a handsome guy like him even need talent bonuses? You understand persistence pays off, right? You understand good things take time, right?
He simply wasn't willing to radiate his massive charm. Otherwise, he'd have been riding off into the sunset long ago…
After righteously declaring this in his heart for a while, Noyer reluctantly moved on from the new talent and turned to the system's other reward.
River of the Underworld — the name alone was impressive. When Noyer saw what this ability could do, he was overjoyed.
He'd just been worrying about how to bring the Thriller Bark to the New World, and here was the solution!
This reward, River of the Underworld, was less an ability and more a small world!
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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