Before the last syllable of his words had even fallen, Sami had already raised both arms. Pale purple venom rapidly coated his palms.
"Poison Cascade · Thousand-Needle Rain Curtain!"
A wide fan of venom sprayed outward, blanketing a large area in front of him.
"Watch out! It's poison! Scatter—ugh!"
The warning from a Marine soldier abruptly cut off.
The Marines hadn't expected Sami to attack so quickly. The distance was too close, and the venom spread too widely. Most of them didn't have time to react before the liquid splashed onto their bodies.
Instantly, burning pain and intense numbness spread across their skin. One after another, they groaned and collapsed to the ground.
Although their minds remained clear, their bodies had become stiff and immobile. They could only glare helplessly.
"Damn pirate! Despicable!"
"Aldo! Marcus! Caheiro! Don't just stand there! Gather every usable weapon, ammunition, medicine, and anything valuable or useful! Move fast! We don't have much time!"
Aldo stepped forward with his spiked club resting on his shoulder. Looking at the Marines sprawled across the ground like immobile "treasure" and the scattered equipment everywhere, he grinned widely.
"Haha, got it! This is what you call the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—and grabbing a little something along the way! But boss… there's so much stuff. How are we going to carry all this? And these big things…"
He nudged a heavy flamethrower on the ground with his foot.
"What about this? Should we take it too?"
Sami glanced at the bulky flamethrowers and decisively shook his head.
"Leave the flamethrowers. They're too heavy. We can't use them on our ship, and the fuel supply for those things is troublesome. Prioritize light, practical weapons and ammunition."
"Got it!"
However, a problem quickly arose.
They had come lightly equipped for reconnaissance and hadn't brought many bags.
"Boss, there's too much stuff! There are dozens of guns alone—we can't pack them all!"
Marcus frowned. A small mountain of weapons had already piled up in front of him.
Hearing this, Sami slowly turned his gaze toward the Marine soldiers lying on the ground, glaring angrily yet unable to move.
A mischievous smile gradually appeared on his face.
"As for bags… aren't the materials right here?"
The Marines: "???!!!"
"Hey, this fabric's pretty tough!"
"Hahaha! This guy's wearing a floral shirt underneath!"
"Take off the belt too—we can use it to tie things!"
"The boots… eh, forget the boots…"
The scene quickly descended into chaotic black comedy.
The crew skillfully sorted the confiscated firearms and ammunition. Using stripped-off Marine jackets, they fashioned crude bundles to pack the spoils.
Throughout the entire process, the paralyzed Marines could only watch helplessly.
Not even a finger could move.
Meanwhile, Sami walked straight toward the shallow crater, his gaze falling on the still-unconscious Colonel Ronald.
"Sorry about this, Colonel. You sleep. I'll do my thing."
As he spoke, Sami crouched down and began searching Ronald's body for valuables or useful information.
When his hand reached Ronald's waist, his fingers touched something cold and hard.
Without thinking, Sami tried to pull it off as part of the loot.
But the moment his fingers grasped the metal ring—
A terrifying wave of weakness instantly swept through his body.
Sami felt as if he had suddenly been thrown into deep water. His strength was violently drained away, and even breathing became difficult. His legs buckled, and he dropped to one knee in the crater.
"Ugh!"
With a muffled grunt, he jerked his hand back as if electrocuted and stumbled backward onto the ground, gasping heavily. Cold sweat immediately broke out across his forehead.
"Boss?!"
Aldo and Marcus, noticing the abnormality, immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed over.
"I—I'm fine."
Sami took a few breaths and waved them off.
The horrifying weakness rapidly faded once he released the object, though the lingering discomfort and racing heartbeat still clung to him.
He stared uncertainly at the pair of shackles hanging from Ronald's waist, their surface reflecting a unique matte sheen in the dim light.
"Could it be…"
A thought flashed through his mind.
Unwilling to accept it without testing, Sami tried again. This time he carefully avoided the metal rings and instead pinched the iron chain connecting them.
Nothing happened.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
He quickly tapped the edge of one of the metal rings again.
That familiar, disgusting wave of weakness surged through him once more. Though much milder due to the brief contact, Sami's vision still darkened for a moment and he nearly collapsed again.
He immediately let go, bracing his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Only after several seconds did he fully recover.
"Ha… hahaha…"
Sami chuckled softly, his eyes burning as he looked at the unconscious Ronald.
"I didn't expect such an unexpected bonus… Seastone shackles. Even with money, these aren't easy to obtain. Colonel, oh Colonel—going out to capture a forty-three-million pirate, and you actually brought something this deadly with you…"
He carefully removed the shackles from Ronald's waist and wrapped them securely in a piece of cloth torn from a Marine uniform.
"You've really delivered me a tremendous gift."
Aldo leaned over, staring curiously at the small cloth bundle.
"Boss, what is that thing? You're treating it like treasure."
"Seastone," Sami replied briefly. Seeing Aldo still confused, he added,
"It's a special mineral that makes Devil Fruit users lose all their strength. It's incredibly hard and even rarer than diamonds. Basically… it's made specifically to deal with ability users."
Soon, Sami and his crew finished cleaning the battlefield.
Each of them now carried one or several bulging bundles made from Marine uniforms, filled with their spoils.
After taking one last glance at the chaotic battlefield, they grabbed the unconscious Morris and prepared to leave.
However, just before departing, Sami looked at Morris in his hand and suddenly had an idea.
He abruptly stopped and turned to his crew, loudly sighing in admiration.
"Ah! What an incredible Devil Fruit ability! Did you see that? Those fists the size of houses! Even an elite Marine colonel couldn't fight back! That level of control over fungi is absolutely unique on the Grand Line!"
He lightly slapped Morris's cheek.
"A rare talent like this, wandering outside and chased by the Marines like a stray dog—what a waste! It's practically throwing away a priceless treasure! I've decided!"
His voice rose dramatically.
"I'm definitely recruiting him into our Jellyfish Pirates! I'll train him well and make him an indispensable powerhouse on our ship! Hahaha! Today's trip was really worth it!"
This declaration of "thirst for talent" drifted clearly into the ears of the Marine soldiers lying nearby.
"Boss?"
Aldo blinked, clearly struggling to follow Sami's train of thought.
"You really plan to recruit this guy?"
Sami didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he simply winked at Aldo, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile. Then he hoisted a bundle onto his shoulder.
"Alright, alright—let's go! Time to head back and properly welcome our new companion!"
Carrying their loot and their prisoner, the group quickly disappeared into the depths of the mushroom forest.
Behind them remained only the devastated battlefield—
And a group of Marines lying on the ground, their hearts in complete turmoil.
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