Chapter 11: You

Seeing Colonel Mouse looking at him,

Arlong desperately tried to signal him with his eyes,

indicating that he shouldn't deduct the bounty,

that he should pay the full amount,

and quickly send this fierce person who had defeated him with one sword strike on his way!

Seeing this,

Colonel Mouse nodded confidently,

and gave Arlong a "Don't worry, I've got this" look!

It would have been better if he hadn't responded,

but with that response,

Arlong panicked even more!

Do you even understand what I mean?

What’s with that mysterious confidence of yours!

If someone could translate the eye contact between the two,

the content would be roughly as follows:

Arlong: "Give him the money quickly! Thirty million berries is fine! Forty million berries is fine! Give it to him! Let him go!"

Colonel Mouse: "Hey, no need to praise me. Given our relationship, it’s only right that I help you deal with this brat!"

Arlong: "I’m telling you to give him the money! Give him the money! Let him take the money and leave! Do you even understand what I mean!"

Colonel Mouse: "Don't worry, I've got this!"

Arlong: "I’ve got your [expletive]! I’ll [expletive] your [expletive]!"

…………

At the same time,

hearing Colonel Mouse’s words,

Li Xiao laughed!

Oh my,

you’re so thoughtful!

I was just hesitating about how to handle this,

and you’ve made the decision for me!

Originally, he was just wondering whether to finish off the Arlong Pirates on the spot,

since he could collect the bounty whether they were dead or alive,

and since he was already here,

he didn't have to worry about the trouble of moving corpses!

As for Colonel Mouse,

Li Xiao still didn't intend to take action against him.

After all, he hadn't provoked him,

and he was a Navy Colonel after all,

so killing him would inevitably cause some trouble!

But alas,

he was determined to court death!

Not to mention anything else,

the bounties of Arlong himself and a few officers added together

were at least over thirty million!

And you actually wiped out a zero for me!

You are truly asking to be cut!

it would have been at least over thirty million!

You mother-fucker, you just wiped out the zero for me!

You really are a scarecrow flying into an army camp—looking to get chopped!

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow.

He turned his head to look at Colonel Mouse.

He questioned him:

"Three million Berries? But I remember the bounty poster I saw earlier clearly said twenty million Berries!"

Upon hearing this,

Colonel Mouse waved his hand.

He retorted:

"You must have remembered wrong. I just looked at the bounty poster; it is three million Berries, there's no mistake!"

"Oh,"

Li Xiao nodded.

He immediately reached out a hand toward him and said:

"Where is the bounty poster? Let me see it!"

Seeing this,

Colonel Mouse's expression stiffened instantly.

After a few seconds of slight silence,

he said with a somewhat gloomy face:

"What do you mean by that? I am the highest-ranking officer at this Marine branch base. If I say it's three million Berries, then it's three million Berries. Are you questioning me, or are you questioning the Marines?"

Upon hearing this,

Li Xiao frowned slightly.

With a thought,

the Green Frost Sword slowly manifested in his hand.

Seeing this,

a look of astonishment flashed across Colonel Mouse's face.

He hadn't expected the person before him to be a Devil Fruit user!

To others in the pirate world,

Li Xiao's ability to conjure swords out of thin air

was clearly one of those strange abilities only possessed by Devil Fruit users.

However,

seeing Li Xiao draw the Green Frost Sword,

Colonel Mouse did not retreat.

Instead, he leaned his body forward a little more,

stared at Li Xiao's face, and said:

"What, do you want to make a move on me?"

Regarding Li Xiao's strength,

Colonel Mouse did not doubt it in the slightest.

After all, even Arlong had fallen into his hands,

so he certainly wouldn't be a match for him!

But he did not believe Li Xiao would dare to attack him!

Since Li Xiao dared to bring the Arlong Pirates to exchange for the bounty,

it meant he was definitely not a pirate.

He was most likely a bounty hunter type of person!

And he himself was, after all, a Marine Colonel.

If Li Xiao dared to attack him or even kill him,

that would be offending the Marines!

Not to mention how he would make a living in the future,

he wouldn't be able to handle the pursuit sent by Marine Headquarters!

Therefore,

in Colonel Mouse's view,

as long as he gave a few million Berries to show some gesture,

the probability of Li Xiao attacking him was extremely low!

By comparison,

tens of millions of Berries were what he truly couldn't bear to part with!

To avoid paying out those tens of millions of Berries,

taking such a tiny risk was completely worth it!

It was just a pity,

he guessed wrong,

and the price he paid was death!

Li Xiao slashed out with his sword without hesitation!

With his spiritual power circulating,

Colonel Mouse didn't even have time to react

before everything went black and he lost consciousness.

Blood sprayed,

the head was flung high,

and the body collapsed with a crash!

If it were someone else,

they might have been somewhat wary of his status as a Marine branch Colonel.

After all, if the highest-ranking officer of this G-16 Marine branch base were to die,

Headquarters would certainly intervene!

But for Li Xiao,

there was absolutely no need for any wariness at all.

Even if he really ended up on the Marines' blacklist,

Li Xiao had nothing to fear!

Once I, Li, spend a year or so developing quietly,

I'll cut down Marine Headquarters with a single slash!

What's more,

a mere Marine branch Colonel,

while his rank is indeed quite high within this East Blue,

if you put him at Headquarters,

they're a dime a dozen!

Even if someone came to handle it,

it would most likely not exceed the rank of Rear Admiral.

As for Rear Admirals and below,

Li Xiao stated that he could handle them with ease!

At this moment,

at the entrance of the Marine G-16 branch base,

following the tragic death of Colonel Mouse on the spot,

the atmosphere fell into a dead silence!

The smile at the corner of Arlong's mouth had long since vanished without a trace.