Chapter 24 Coming for Merry
"My goodness!"
Zoro unconsciously uttered a catchphrase he'd picked up from V.
His fairly intelligent brain reacted instantly...
If combat is also a form of training, can it trigger the "Effort Leads to Success" effect of the prosthetic body, which provides more than ten times the return?
Doesn't that mean I can get stronger the more I fight?!
"I see!"
Zoro suddenly grinned.
At that moment, he finally realized why V was so obsessed with cybernetic modifications.
Anyone would be confused if that happened to them!
"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me!?"
Just then, V's voice suddenly rang in Zoro's ears, interrupting his thoughts.
"V?"
Zoro paused for a moment, but wasn't too surprised.
After all, he had already tested the short-range communication function with V after installing the second-order brain-computer interface.
"It's nothing~"
The voice of V in Zoro's mind was clear and calm.
"I have a video here that might be helpful to you and Luffy."
As he spoke, a high-resolution video suddenly appeared in Zoro's mind and started playing automatically.
It was the complete footage of Crowe leaping from the second floor, using his silent footwork to swiftly cross the courtyard, and finally disappearing into the woods.
The video has clearly been manipulated, with key moments slowed down, areas magnified, and even marked with semi-transparent trajectory lines.
"This thing... can be used like this!?"
Zoro was startled, once again feeling a sense of unfamiliarity and awe at the "cybernetics" bestowed upon him by V.
But the thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before his fighting instincts made him quickly regain his composure, his gaze locking onto every detail of the scene like that of a hawk.
Zoro clearly saw that Kuro wasn't simply running.
The moment his foot touched the ground, his calf muscles trembled continuously at an extremely high frequency that was difficult to detect with the naked eye. His toes made several slight pushes at almost the same landing point, thereby generating a propulsive force far beyond reason, yet he skillfully controlled the force so as not to stir up dust or make a sound.
"...It's not about brute force sprinting, but about generating an instantaneous burst of speed through high-frequency ground stomping..."
Zoro's eyes suddenly lit up, as if a door to a new world had been pushed open before him.
Some things can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words.
Given Zoro's limited perspective at this moment, even if he widened his eyes, he wouldn't be able to discover the technique of "Silent Step".
But now that we have this video, everything is clear.
"Hey, Zoro!"
On the other side, Luffy, with a huge bump on his head, stood up, pointed at Kuro not far away, and flashed his signature wide grin:
"This guy seems pretty good! Let's all go for him!"
Zoro did not answer immediately.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The video transmitted by V in my mind is still playing back slowly over and over again... Every detail is etched into my memory like a brand.
And the prosthetic meridians on his wrist were flashing incessantly.
Understanding is also a form of cultivation!
"asshole!"
Kro's face was gloomy, but he immediately turned around after hearing the sound of wind behind him.
The next second, he saw a pair of strange fists suddenly shoot out, heading straight for his face.
"Damn ability user!"
Kuro's eyes sharpened, and he resumed his Silent Step, his figure shifting like a ghost, easily dodging the powerful yet predictable attack. His cat paw then slashed towards Luffy's neck.
However, almost simultaneously—
Zoro moved.
Instead of sprinting at full speed as usual, he bent his knees slightly and tapped his toes on the ground three times in quick succession.
Buzz!
An indescribable burst of power erupted from the soles of his feet, and Zoro's figure suddenly blurred as he darted in at an almost teleporting speed!
Clang!
Wado Ichimonji precisely blocked the cat's claws, sparks flying!
"What!?" Kro's pupils shrank sharply.
—This is no coincidence.
Zoro's movement and the way he exerted force just now clearly carried a hint of the "silent step"!
Although it's still very raw and the speed is far slower than mine, there's no way I could have mistaken the rudimentary form of that high-frequency stomping technique!
"You... how can you use the Silent Step?" Kro's voice was hoarse, and for the first time, genuine surprise and doubt appeared in his eyes.
This is a skill he mastered after years of hard work.
It was precisely because of this skill that he was able to dominate the East China Sea for so many years.
Zoro grinned, sweat trickling down his forehead, but his eyes burned with a fierce light:
"The power of cybernetics, isn't it interesting?"
He mimicked V's soft chuckle.
In an instant, he suddenly exerted his strength to deflect the cat's claws, and swung out three knives at the same time!
"Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!"
The fierce slashes intertwined into a net, sealing off all of Kro's escape routes.
Klo was forced to retreat, but as soon as his foot touched the ground—
"Rubber Rubber - Shoot Wildly!"
Luffy's arms came crashing down from the other side like a torrential downpour!
Kro's pupils suddenly dilated.
A tight, unsettling baptism was about to engulf him.
...
...
Meanwhile, at Koya Manor.
From the moment his identity was exposed to the moment he escaped, only a few minutes had passed.
Kaya was still in shock, unable to believe that what she was seeing was real.
"Kaya!"
Usopp shouted anxiously.
Kaya trembled slightly, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
The collapse of three years of trust was a devastating blow to a sickly girl who had rarely left home.
But Usopp's shouts successfully brought her back to the cruel reality she had to face.
...
A moment later, in the reception room on the first floor of the villa.
The atmosphere remained somewhat tense.
Kaya sat on the sofa in the main seat, her face pale but she tried her best to remain calm.
The housekeeper, Melly, stood behind her with a worried expression, her eyes scanning V and Nami warily.
He already knew the general outline of the matter.
The shock of discovering that their colleague of three years was actually a pirate who wanted them dead was equally difficult for Merry to accept.
But what's done is done, and now all he can do is help Miss Kaya deal with the situation.
V and Nami sat on the sofa opposite Kaya.
"Mr. V".
Kaya tried to sound calm, but her hands were tightly gripping the hem of her skirt.
"I have a general understanding of the situation."
"Thank you very much for your help to me and Xiluobu Village."
"Regarding the sale of the ship you mentioned, I will have Merry acquire it at the highest market price."
"But about the ship you want..."
Kaya looked at Merry with a puzzled expression.
"Can you also design ships, Merry?"
She knew that her family owned several small docks and ports, but she never expected that someone would specifically come here for a ship.
Moreover, the design blueprints for this ship were actually drawn up by her housekeeper.
"...cough cough."
Having used his position to achieve his own dreams, Melli coughed lightly in shame.
But faced with Kaya's innocent gaze, he ultimately gave in and said apologetically:
"That's right, Miss Kaya."
"A while ago, one of our small sailboats accidentally hit a reef and sank, so I took the opportunity to hand over my previous design drawings to the shipyard and have them rebuild a small sailboat."
"That sailboat is currently anchored in the harbor on the east side of the island."
"Please punish me, Miss."
"Is it really true?" Kaya pursed her lips in surprise, but didn't blame Merry.
"What's there to punish? You didn't do anything wrong."
Kaya's gentle voice reassured Merry, "Besides, if it weren't for your ship, we wouldn't have been able to attract a powerful figure like Mr. V to help us solve the problem."
As she spoke, Kaya turned to look at V and Nami:
"Since Mr. V and you like this ship so much, let's forget about the deal."
"I can make the decision to give this ship to you directly."
"Really?" Nami was overjoyed.
A small sailboat would cost at least ten million pegories.
This is no small sum.
V grinned and said, "That's great!"
"After all, we're here today... specifically for Merry!"
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End of this chapter...