Chapter 35
"Hmph! I'll come back tonight and teach him a harsh lesson!"
Kai snorted lightly. Morgan's attitude had truly infuriated him!
Night soon fell. Kai moved stealthily under the cover of darkness and quietly returned to the Marine branch! This time, he was dressed entirely in black with a simple mask covering his face!
Arriving at the outer wall of the Marine branch, Kai leaped over it with a single jump and landed in the plaza inside—the same place where Zoro would later be tied up in the original story. But with Kai as the butterfly flapping its wings and changing history, it was unknown whether Zoro would still be bound there years later!
"Stop! Who goes there?"
Unfortunately for Kai tonight, luck was not on his side. The moment he landed inside, he ran into two patrolling Marines! Seeing him jump over the wall, they immediately pointed their guns at him!
"Damn! I should have sensed for emotional fluctuations first before jumping in!"
Kai thought helplessly upon seeing the two Marines. It seemed he had been too careless! His Emotion Fruit could be used like Observation Haki!
"Heh heh! You didn't shout immediately—that was your mistake!"
Kai grinned at the two Marines. Then, under their puzzled gazes, his eyes changed. A mysterious aura erupted from his body. The two Marines felt their minds tremble—and then they collapsed unconscious!
"Tsk tsk! Looks like Haki really is essential for robbery and murder!"
After knocking out the two Marines, Kai chuckled inwardly. He then continued deeper into the Marine branch!
Along the way, Kai learned from his earlier mistake. He used the Emotion Fruit to its fullest extent, constantly sensing for any emotional fluctuations in his range. Whenever he detected any, he knew Marines were nearby!
After silently knocking out several more Marines, Kai smoothly reached the branch's treasury!
"Haki!"
With a low shout, Kai released his Conqueror's Haki once more. The Marines guarding the treasury fainted before they even saw his figure!
"Hmph! This is too easy!"
Kai scoffed. He appeared in front of the treasury door. Seeing it locked, he didn't waste time. He drew Wado Ichimonji, sword energy instantly condensing along the blade, and slashed at the treasury door!
"Fangs Bloodlust!"
Clang!
A metallic clash rang out. The heavy lock on the treasury door was instantly cut apart by Kai. He pushed open the door and entered. Inside, it was mostly empty—only a few gold ornaments worth a few hundred thousand Berries, which Kai didn't even bother with! His eyes went straight to the safe in the corner!
"Don't disappoint me now!"
Kai muttered. He walked up to the safe!
"Damn! It's a combination lock too!"
Seeing the safe used a six-digit combination lock, Kai cursed lightly. But then he grinned. Back on Earth, he had loved adventure and learned quite a few lock-picking skills. A simple six-digit combination lock wasn't going to stop him!
He squatted in front of the safe and slowly applied the lock-picking techniques he had learned on Earth!
Click!
A crisp sound rang out. The safe opened under Kai's skillful hands. Inside, it was packed full of Berries!
"Ten million!" "Twenty million!" "Forty million!" "One hundred and thirty million…"
With just a glance, Kai quickly calculated the total amount of Berries inside. He laughed heartily in his heart. It looked like the trip was worth it—one hundred and thirty million Berries. That should be enough to bid on a Devil Fruit. He just wondered whether this year's auction would actually have one. In past years, there was usually one—sometimes none at all!
In the One Piece world, there were quite a few Devil Fruit users, but finding an uneaten Devil Fruit was extremely difficult. Even CP9's commander had only managed to collect three Devil Fruits for his subordinates. It showed just how rare they were!
"Heh heh! Not bad, not bad at all!"
Kai chuckled lightly. He took out the bag he had brought and stuffed all the Berries inside. As for the gold ornaments, he left them—there wasn't enough space!
"Not good! Someone's coming! A whole squad— they must have found the unconscious Marines outside!"
Just as Kai was about to leave, he sensed a large group of panicked emotions entering his perception range. He immediately knew a squad of Marines was rushing over!
"This is bad! The treasury door has been opened…"
Then he heard a cry of alarm!
"Damn it! Surround the treasury! If the thief escapes, I'll hold you all responsible!"
A furious roar followed. Kai recognized it as Colonel Morgan's voice!
"Hmph! Perfect timing!"
Kai was only slightly surprised at how quickly the Marines had arrived, but he didn't panic. He snorted coldly and moved to the side of the treasury door, hiding behind it!
"Report, Colonel! There's no one inside!"
One Marine poked his head into the treasury, saw nothing, and immediately reported to Morgan outside!
"Is the treasure still there?"
Morgan asked angrily!
"Report, Colonel! All the gold ornaments are still… ah…"
The Marine first reported that the gold items were still there, but when he saw the safe had been opened, he cried out in shock!
"Get out of my way…"
Hearing the Marine's cry, Morgan's furious voice rang out from outside. Then, with a loud bang, the Marine was swept aside by Morgan's massive hand and slammed into the door. Morgan stormed into the treasury in a rage!
"Hmph! Idiot!"
Hidden behind the door, Kai inwardly cursed Morgan as an idiot. If Morgan had positioned his men with guns aimed at the door and brought in a few cannons to bombard the treasury, Kai would have been heavily injured even if he survived. Of course, no one would do that—the Berries inside would be destroyed! Kai had already counted on this!
"Thousand Pound Kick!"
The moment Morgan only cared about the opened safe, Kai leaped into the air. His right leg hooked downward in a powerful kick, smashing straight toward Morgan's shoulder from behind!
Screech!
Kai's kick now carried several hundred pounds of force. "Thousand Pound" was just an exaggerated name. The heavy kick tore through the air with a sharp whistle!
"Who—?!"
Feeling the powerful gust of wind behind his shoulder, Morgan was startled. He shouted and spun around, swinging his giant axe blindly toward his own back!
"Heh heh! Don't call it a sneak attack—your speed couldn't stop me even if you tried!"
Kai sneered inwardly at Morgan's reaction. Before Morgan's axe had swung halfway, Kai's heavy kick slammed hard into Morgan's shoulder from behind!
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