"The hot springs here are truly comfortable!"
In the misty hot spring water, Merlin rested his arms on the blue stones on both sides, his back leaning against the smooth pool wall.
"Isn't it just? But weren't you hunting in that sea area? Why did you suddenly come out?"
Fulvio handed over a bottle of warm milk. Merlin took it with a smile. "This isn't your style. No wine?"
Fulvio, who was already in this sea area, dropped what he was doing and rushed over a few days ago upon hearing Merlin was coming.
At this moment, Fulvio chuckled lightly. "The milk here is a treasure. Wine can be drunk anytime, but the milk here is rare."
Merlin smiled and glanced around. It was an open-air hot spring pool halfway up the mountain. In the middle of the spring water was a rockery, surrounded by wooden walls. At this time, Pink beside Merlin took a deep breath and slowly stood up. "I'm done soaking; any longer and I'll faint."
Seeing Merlin look over, Pink's mouth curled up. "I'll go stroll around the town. Want me to buy anything for you?"
Merlin shook his head, just smiling. "Go have fun then. We'll stay here for three days; just remember to come back in time."
Pink nodded with a smile and left. Merlin briefly mentioned the ice wall blocking that sea area. After listening, Fulvio sucked in a cold breath, unable to resist clicking his tongue. "That Teresa's lips are really tight, not even telling her brother."
Merlin looked at him speechlessly. "How could she tell you? That girl isn't an undercover agent we planted in the Marines. Don't say things like that in the future."
Fulvio's mouth curled up. "True. Can't harm her because of this."
Merlin looked at him speechlessly. "Stop testing me like this. Don't think I'll blame Teresa for this. Looking down on me?
"Careful I hammer you."
Fulvio looked embarrassed. "Sorry, sorry, I'll punish myself with a cup!"
Saying this, he downed a bottle of milk in one go.
Merlin was speechless, also drinking the delicious milk. After drinking it, he felt a gentle warm current surging in his body.
He couldn't help raising an eyebrow lightly. "This milk is interesting?"
Fulvio's mouth curled up. "This is a peculiar cow that only produces milk right after giving birth to a calf. The nutrition is extremely rich.
"Just this one bottle costs 100,000 Berries, and it's often priceless with no market supply."
"So expensive!"
Merlin rolled his eyes and complained, "Besides, cows only produce milk during lactation anyway? Are you teasing me?"
A smug look appeared in Fulvio's eyes. "Hehe, you're right, but I said it like that just to highlight the preciousness of this milk."
Merlin looked at him with a subtle gaze, feeling that he wasn't on the same channel as himself, and his words were contradictory.
However, at this moment, Merlin stood up and sat on the pool wall. Fulvio asked puzzledly, "You're done soaking too?"
Merlin smiled. Shadows spread to wrap his palm, then dissipated. In his hand appeared a peculiar fruit shaped like a shark, but the shark-tail-shaped stem looked like it was composed of a string of bubbles.
Merlin looked at him with a smile. Fulvio's eyes went straight, swallowing saliva. Merlin laughed, "What should you say now?"
"Adoptive father is above, please accept Fulvio's bow!"
Seeing Merlin's posture, Fulvio guessed Merlin's plan. But after the joke, Fulvio's face became solemn. "This is for me?"
Merlin smiled. "Aren't you going to ask what type, what ability?"
A gleam flashed in Fulvio's eyes as he spoke, "I believe in your judgment."
Merlin tossed it over. Fulvio hurriedly caught it. Looking at the fruit in his hand, a gleam flashed in his eyes as he asked curiously, "Fish-type fruit?"
"Mmh, you can choose to eat it, or..."
Before he finished speaking, Fulvio smiled, opened his mouth, bit off the fruit's tail, then finished it all in two or three bites, swallowing hard with a green face.
A few seconds later, Fulvio's eyes widened, and his body swelled violently.
In a blink, a sixteen-meter-long Megalodon lay across the hot spring pool, gray-black back and gray-white belly.
Immediately after, his size shrank. Soon, a humanoid creature over three meters tall appeared.
Muscles on his arms knotted, webbing between fingers and toes, a triangular dorsal fin on his back, a thick shark tail below his lower back. The three-meter-plus body looked like a shark fishman, with sharp white serrated teeth in his open mouth.
However, at this moment, Fulvio extended his right hand. A blue-white alcohol bubble appeared. Then he squeezed hard. Pop! It burst with his force, and a rich smell of alcohol spread out instantly.
At this moment, Fulvio looked at Merlin with shocked eyes. "Mythical Zoan?"
In his cognition, only Mythical Zoans possessed strange abilities among Zoan types.
"Merlin..."
Fulvio's tone was grateful. Merlin reached out to stop him, smiling. "How do you feel about the ability?"
"Awesome! I feel like I have explosive power in my body now."
Saying this, his gaze pondered. Then he generated an alcohol bubble under his feet. Soon, he sat cross-legged on the bubble floating in mid-air. Fulvio's mouth curled up. "This alcohol bubble is extremely tough, fully capable of carrying me to float. Moreover, I can control this bubble to transform liquid into alcohol and manipulate it."
Saying this, the bubble burst again with a pop! He jumped into the hot spring water, which now only reached his calves.
Immediately after, glug glug alcohol bubbles appeared from the water surface. Soon, the entire pool of hot spring water smelled pleasantly of wine.
Moreover, wisps of liquid transformed into wine wrapped around his body under his clumsy control. Fulvio played happily.
Merlin looked at him with a twitching mouth. "If you do this, the hot spring won't be usable for soaking anymore?"
Hearing this, Fulvio smiled mysteriously. "How is that possible?"
Saying this, he manipulated the pool water. Soon the water boiled and separated the alcohol bubbles.
Watching his operation, a smile rose on Merlin's lips, and appreciation flashed in his eyes. To be able to do this step just after eating the fruit, his talent was indeed good.
Before long, the two continued soaking in the pool water. Fulvio remained in his half-beast shark-man form. He sighed, "Thanks, brother!"
Merlin glanced at him, drinking a bottle of milk, and chuckled. "Only when you become stronger can I be at ease. If you get killed like a trash fish, wouldn't I suffer a huge loss?"
Fulvio looked at Merlin gloomily but soon laughed. "How am I a trash fish? I am clearly a strong shark."
---
A group of five walked on the bustling shopping street. Merlin watched Monet and the other two women buying things excitedly on the street, a smile curving his lips at their joyful appearance.
"Tsk tsk! I envy you too. Surrounded by three little beauties, and hiding three at home. Tsk tsk tsk."
Merlin rolled his eyes at him speechlessly. "What nonsense are you talking about? And are you jealous?"
Fulvio sighed. "I wouldn't dare. It's not like no women like me; I'm a man who walks through a garden of flowers without a leaf sticking to me."
"Teacher Fiore didn't lecture you?"
"Uh! Let's just play ours; why bring up the old man?"
"By the way, I recently found a trace of Germa 66, but not sure yet. I'll tell you first thing once I confirm later."
Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. "Good, tell me when you find them."
"Big Brother Merlin, come eat this!" At this time, in front of a dango shop ahead, Baby 5 shouted excitedly. Merlin looked over, walked over with a smile, took a few skewers of tri-color dango from her hand, and ate them in big bites.
Soft, glutinous, and chewy; tasted good.
Fulvio, seeing no one paid attention to him, twitched his mouth. But at this time, Monet handed over a few skewers with a smile. Fulvio was instantly moved to tears.
After buying a lot of things, everyone returned to the ship. Only then did the sailors from Fulvio's ship, who were temporarily guarding the ship here, leave.
In a flash, they played in this port town for three days, sleeping until they woke up naturally every day, then soaking in hot springs, and sweeping through the food street again.
These few days, Merlin didn't force them to train or anything. This was balancing work and rest; coming out to play meant playing happily.
And Merlin had a great time with them.
But Fulvio left here on the second day.
Early morning of the fourth day.
Merlin sailed the ship away from here. On the azure sea, the weather was sunny. Merlin sat on the railing fishing.
Shadow wrapped the fishing line. Merlin sensed the seafood in the area thirty meters below the surface. Before long, Merlin found a target. The fishing line wrapped in shadow drilled into its mouth incredibly nimbly. Immediately after, the fishing line in Merlin's hand went taut.
Merlin held the fishing rod and began to play the fish.
Half an hour later, with continuous reeling, a four-meter-long blue-spotted Elephant Tuna with a pair of 1.5-meter snow-white ivory tusks was fished up.
A smile flashed in Merlin's eyes as he looked proudly at Pink, whose face was dark beside him.
Pink's mouth twitched. "That's heresy; that's not fishing."
Merlin raised a smug smile. "My fishing rod, line, and hook are all here. I caught the fish like this; dare you say it's not fishing?"
Beside Merlin, Perona covered her mouth and giggled at Pink. "Use your own ability to cheat if you can; don't be a sore loser!"
"Should I go swimming in the sea then?"
Pink twitched his mouth, his fist hardening. Immediately, he turned his head to look.
However, seeing clusters of spirit bodies emerging from Perona's palm, his mouth twitched, and he looked away sensibly.
Can't afford to provoke; his actual status on this ship was the lowest.
"Merlin, Doflamingo and the others called."
Monet walked over hurriedly at this time, her expression somewhat subtle. Merlin took the Den Den Mushi receiver in surprise. "This is Merlin."
On the other end, Gladius spoke, panting heavily, his tone pleading. "Merlin, we were blocked by Aokiji in the Cardia sea area. The Young Master has been fighting him for several hours and is currently at a disadvantage. Can you come to rescue us?"
Merlin raised an eyebrow lightly. Before he could speak, Gladius spoke urgently, "A Devil Fruit. We'll give you a Devil Fruit as remuneration."
Merlin's mouth curled up. "Deal. We'll arrive in half a day. Hold on."
Kacha!
The Den Den Mushi hung up. Seeing Pink's grateful gaze, Merlin said helplessly, "Don't worry. I have a cooperative relationship with him; impossible to abandon him now."
Saying this, he looked at Monet, pointing at the Elephant Tuna on the deck. "Process it; we'll eat it on the way."
Then he looked at Perona. "Go get the nautical chart."
Soon, Merlin controlled the helm, turning left according to the chart. Then the ship's speed soared to the limit instantly.
Merlin looked at the sea ahead, thinking. Not looking down on Doflamingo, but fighting Aokiji for several hours—logically, he should have lost already. Yet he could still have Gladius ask for help?
Then there was only one result: Doflamingo was the bait, the small fish, and Merlin should be the ultimate target.
Aokiji! Current him should have Admiral-level strength, right?
Although he hadn't fought an opponent of this level yet and probably couldn't beat him, if he wanted to leave, the opponent probably couldn't keep him either.
Fortunately, the distance to that sea area wasn't too far.
Six hours passed in a flash. An area of frozen environment appeared in front of Merlin.
Merlin stopped the ship. At this time, he looked at Monet and the others. "You guys stand by here; I'll go take a look."
Saying this, Merlin jumped off the bow, stepping on Moonwalk, shadows wrapping his body, flying over in a wingsuit.
On the ice field thousands of meters in diameter.
"Hah~ Hah~ Cough cough~"
Doflamingo was bruised and swollen, covered in frostbite. Half of his sunglasses were shattered, and two teeth were broken. At this moment, he supported himself on his legs, panting heavily.
The ice under his feet was being assimilated by white threads. Hundreds of meters away, most of the Numancia Flamingo's base was frozen in the ice layer.
Only a few people were present under the ship. Gladius looked gloomy, unaware that he had bitten his lip. Beside him, Lao G, whose right arm was frozen into a block of ice from the root, said in a deep voice with an ugly look, "Young Master can't hold on much longer. Hasn't that guy come yet?"
Beside them, Rosinante pressed his right hand on Law's shoulder in front of him, exerting force, looking at his brother with incredibly complex eyes.
This wretched appearance, except for childhood... Law whispered at this time, "Can Merlin beat that monster?"
As soon as these words came out, the whole scene fell silent.
Ten meters opposite, Aokiji was surrounded by frost-white freezing mist. Half of his face was covered by frost. His gaze under the sunglasses calmly looked at this ordinary opponent who was on the verge of his limit. "Arara! It seems you are only a man of this level!"
Doflamingo grinned, looking at him fiercely. "What are you waiting for? Not going to finish me off?"
He had some doubts in his heart but also some guesses. At this time, Aokiji's eyebrows raised slightly. Bang! A black arrow pierced through his chest.
Crack crack crack! His chest cracked instantly, then frost-white freezing air permeated, and the cracks disappeared.
At this time, turning to look at a figure that suddenly appeared ten meters behind him, seeing Merlin suddenly appear, his mouth curled up. "This White Demon brother, you really came!"
Merlin looked at Aokiji calmly, then at the wretched Doflamingo behind him. A curve rose on his lips. "Take your people and withdraw from here. I'll take over this fight now!"
In this moment, hearing these words, a flash of emotion passed through Doflamingo's eyes. Pursing his lips: "Thanks! I'll come to support you in a while."
Saying this, he turned and left decisively. Aokiji narrowed his eyes slightly, just about to turn and finish him off quickly. At this time, Merlin's figure suddenly appeared in front of him. "Don't treat me as non-existent. I'll be very troubled by that!"
Accompanying these words was a whistling punch from Merlin. Bang!
A wave of air spread out from between their fists.
Aokiji suddenly blocked with his left palm in front of him, firmly gripping Merlin's left fist.
"Arara! Seems you want to become a popsicle early!"
Saying this, crack crack, ice spread towards Merlin's left arm.
In this moment, Merlin's gaze was calm.
Bzzzz—
Dense blue-white electric arcs jumped from his body surface, then instantly became incredibly violent... Boom—Crack!!!
In this instant.
Aokiji's eyes widened.
A ten-meter diameter blue-white electric light ball manifested instantly at this moment.
A few seconds later, the electricity dissipated. Merlin, whose figure appeared, exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Black flames rose from his body surface, absorbing the paralysis in his body. Simultaneously, he tore off the charred clothes on his upper body.
Looking calmly at Aokiji, who was gradually growing crack crack from the ice surface ten meters away.
At this moment, his clothes were also charred black. His gaze was no longer as lazy as before. He spoke solemnly, "White Demon Merlin."
"Aokiji Kuzan."
A faint smile appeared on Merlin's lips. "How about letting me leave now?"
"No deal. Without a fight, I can't explain to Vice Admiral Tsuru."
"Then fine. Just right, I also want to try and see where the gap lies between the current me and a Marine Admiral?"
Saying this, Merlin reached out and grasped the hilt of Zanye at his waist.
"Come fight!!"