Chapter 127: Xiang Keluo: You with the thick eyebrows and big eyes have also learned to be bad

At the same time.

Behind the arena.

Xiang Keluo changed into clothes more convenient for movement and was constantly wiping his newly reforged claw knives.

He could not help but intervene; indeed, he intended to uphold the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament, but he was also worried that Ah Jin might directly kill his opponent on the battlefield.

He had long learned the intelligence on Doflamingo and Onisell from Gao Wen's mouth, and had even sent people to investigate the two men's totals.

After all, the opponent was a subordinate of Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea; once something happened in the East Blue, there would inevitably be trouble afterwards.

For Xiang Keluo, such trouble was naturally better the less there was of it.

But what concerned Xiang Keluo most now was, on the contrary, that instant when Ah Jin exploded with combat power; it was a posture never displayed in previous sparring sessions.

In that instant, even Xiang Keluo felt a hint of danger.

After pondering slightly.

Xiang Keluo came back to his senses:

"Among us, apart from me and Gao Wen, there should be no one worthy of Ah Jin's such high regard."

"Gao Wen, speaking on the surface about having no interest in bullying the weak, directly placed his attention on guarding against attacks by the Navy and pirates."

"That is to say, Ah Jin is coming for me?!"

"This kid has also learned to be bad."

Xiang Keluo shook his head; while speaking ill of him, the corner of his mouth slowly curled up with a hint of a smile.

His gaze fell upon the claw knives beside him; the blades refracted cold light, adding even more fierce aura.

"It's just that I am not without preparations either!"

"This time, even if the opponent is you, even if that place carries your will, I absolutely will not yield!"

"Crushing you with the strongest, most peak conviction is my greatest response to your will!"

Click!

Click!

Click!

After several consecutive sounds, the claw knives on Xiang Keluo's fingertips were all already donned.

His entire aura instantly became incredibly cold and sinister.

So much so that when he walked out of the room and came to the competitor preparation area in the West District, everyone subconsciously kept a distance from him.

Some people, merely sensing his aura, had their legs go soft and their thighs trembling.

"Where did this strong man come from?"

"It is said that in the preliminary round of the East District just now, a fellow called Ghost Man Ah Jin appeared, fighting Doflamingo to a standstill, and vaguely already earned the title of monster."

"But this fellow gives me a feeling that is more dangerous!"

"No, it is much more dangerous!"

In the words of the crowd, the wariness towards Xiang Keluo had reached an unsurpassable degree.

Even the few figures sitting in the corner felt a fierce killing intent rush towards them at this moment.

The crowd swallowed their saliva simultaneously, gripping the weapons in their hands; for a moment, they felt the chance of victory was incredibly slim.

Simply because such a monster was present, the balance of battle had begun to tilt towards him from the very start.

Xiang Keluo's gaze swept over the crowd and looked directly at a figure in the shadows.

That person raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked at Xiang Keluo faintly.

Their gazes met and parted instantly; Xiang Keluo found a spot nearby and sat down, closing his eyes and falling into a light doze.

The aura on Xiang Keluo's body retracted, and his entire presence calmed down in that moment; the oppressive feeling in the venue instantly dispersed.

Only the astonishment in everyone's eyes testified to everything that had just happened.

It was also at this time that the surrounding crowd finally saw the appearance of the man in the shadows.

A head of short hair almost touching the scalp, a square face, never smiling, radiating a terrifying killing intent all over his body.

He was Daz Bonez, who had received Crocodile's order to come here and seize the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

Long before setting out, Daz Bonez had received intelligence on Gao Wen's pirate crew from Crocodile's hands; the Xiang Keluo before him was naturally among them.

However, hearing a name is never as good as meeting in person; originally he thought that a place like the East Blue, apart from the freak Knight Gao Wen, should not breed any strong ones.

Now seeing it, that is absolutely not the case!

Whether it was Ah Jin in the East District preliminary round, or the Xiang Keluo standing before him now, both were rare experts.

That killing intent even made his skin feel a sharp stinging pain.

"One must say, is he worthy of being that man's right-hand man?"

Daz Bonez muttered to himself, but his expression became incredibly Solemn:

"With these fellows around, my mission this trip will have more waves."

"However."

"Even if I have to use some improper means, I must obtain that fruit!"

"After all, I am just an assassin, not a swordsman chasing the strongest!"

Accompanying Xiang Keluo's entry, the preparation area fell silent for a moment.

The sound of everyone's breathing was subconsciously suppressed, fearing to disturb certain sleeping monsters.

A few minutes later.

The gate of the waiting area was violently shoved open...

Boom!

Everyone looked up.

There, two arrogant figures strode in with great steps.

One had dark brown skin, wore a headscarf, and let his tongue loll wildly in the air.

The other was tall and massive, nearly spherical in shape, yet his bald crown stood exceptionally high.

They were bounty hunters active in the New World, having come to the East Blue naturally for the staggering bounty of three hundred million!

"Hey, Jeter, there are so many prey gathered here!"

The pointed-head man, Abudera, scanned the crowd, a mocking smile curling the corners of his lips.

With just a few glances, he spotted numerous high-value targets with hefty bounties among the crowd.

"Even if we don't win first place, taking the heads of these small fries here will make this trip worthwhile!"

"What foolishness are you spouting?!"

The headscarf-wearing man, Jeter, said indifferently:

"Obviously, we're taking them all!"

The pair's posture was extremely arrogant; they openly discussed taking everyone's heads to claim the bounties.

Yet among the crowd of small fries present, not a single person dared to speak up in rebuttal.

In the corner, Xiang Keluo and Daz Bones lifted their eyelids, swept a glance at the two, and then lost all interest in them.

Simply because they had already slain far too many nonsensical people like these.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The familiar bell toll rang out.

It also marked that the Western Zone qualifiers were about to begin.

Clatter-clatter-clatter—!

The hinges lowered, and the great gate before everyone slammed to the ground with a bang, revealing before their eyes the ecstatic cheers of the live audience!

"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes! The finals of the second match!"

"The slaughter in the previous match was artificially interrupted, and those two fighters were almost in a league of their own in terms of strength, but this match shouldn't be like that!"

"We'll be able to see bloodshed, see death matches, see everything we want!"

Everyone couldn't help but feel anticipation for the slaughter they were about to face.

The group of contestants slowly stepped onto the central arena.

At this moment.

Traces from the earlier battle between Ah Jin and Dellinger still lingered around; their mere presence instantly gave everyone the illusion of being on a battlefield.

Within the crowd.

Abudera and Jeter stood shoulder to shoulder, fixing their gaze on Xiang Keluo in the center.

"That guy's bounty is a full thirty million Berries!"

"Attack!"

Jeter slashed down with his blade; the edge cut through the air, yet no sensation of striking flesh came, only a sound of slicing wind.

"Hm?!"

Jeter paused slightly in surprise.

The next instant.

A ferocious claw mark erupted from his abdomen, extending straight to his shoulder, tearing out a gushing mass of flesh and blood.

Hiss!

Blood gushed profusely, flesh and blood flew everywhere!

(End of Chapter)