Chapter 14: Shao Si, Ti, and Romel

“I don’t believe it!”

Keluo gritted his teeth, swallowing the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, and activated Shao Shi once more, his body turning into a phantom and dissolving into the air.

Although Shao’s speed was fast, among the strong opponents he had fought before, there had been those who could keep up with Shao’s pace.

But Shao Si was different.

To achieve that absurd speed, he had abandoned his own perception entirely, trading away indiscriminate attacks in exchange for a velocity more than twice that of Shao.

“No human could keep up with this speed!”

Keluo’s voice, now distant, now near, echoed again through the air.

The vicious claw-blades unleashed another indiscriminate assault, carving fresh slashes across every surface within sight—from the mast to the deck railings—all at superhuman speed.

In his fury, Keluo’s speed increased by another third beyond what it had been moments ago!

Yet in his blurred vision, the figure standing at the center of the deck remained as unmoving as a mountain, radiating an invisible pressure merely by existing.

“This strike won’t let you live!”

“I’ll die!”

Keluo gritted his teeth, crossing his arms to shield his face, his sharp claw-blades spreading wide at his sides, slicing through the air with a piercing shriek.

“Shao Si—Ghost’s Wail!”

The words fell.

Keluo shot forward like a streak of light toward Gao Wen, barely lifting his head, barely opening his eyes, gazing at Gao Wen in the distance—only to meet a pair of eyes utterly devoid of emotion…

He really saw it!

The instant that thought formed in his mind, Keluo felt a chill crawl up his spine—then Gao Wen’s cold voice suddenly appeared in his ear:

“Keluo, the limits of humans are far higher than you think.”

The words fell.

A silver-white glow rapidly expanded in Keluo’s vision—he instantly realized Gao Wen had simply placed his sword directly along Keluo’s path of motion.

But in Shao Si state, he had nearly lost all bodily awareness, able only to vaguely sense his enemy’s position and control general direction.

At this distance… he couldn’t dodge!

He’d be cut in half!

In that moment, Keluo remembered the gruesome scenes of enemies he had killed in the past—and his heart grew calm. Or rather, he had foreseen this day ever since he killed his former captain to take his place.

Now, at last, he understood: the moment he grew weary of pirate life, he had already grown old.

Pirates don’t grow old—they only die.

“Tch—!”

The next instant.

Keluo slammed straight into it—but the expected chill of his body being severed never came. Instead, a large, bony hand clamped down hard upon his chest.

“Cough!”

Keluo spat another mouthful of blood. Though he had avoided being cut in half, being forcibly stopped at such speed was no different from being hit by a cannonball.

At least five ribs were broken; his internal organs suffered varying degrees of damage; every breath felt like fire burning in his chest cavity.

Tap!

A longsword rested on Keluo’s shoulder—the blade had curled and even shattered in the earlier battle, yet the man holding it inspired even greater awe.

“The East Blue is too small for you—and too small for me.”

“Become my second-in-command, Keluo.”

Gao Wen extended the offer again—he truly wanted to bring this man under his command.

Even setting aside potential, Keluo’s reputation as the second-smartest man in the world made him an elite strategist, and his potential was no less impressive.

A screen invisible to others unfolded before Gao Wen’s eyes:

【Name—Keluo】

【Potential—Bronze】

【Rating—Iron: Exceptional natural talent in footwork, Kexi physical Tianfu holds him back—but Iron is not his limit!】

Yes.

Keluo was the only being Gao Wen had seen so far—aside from himself—whose potential surpassed Iron.

According to the system’s standards, a Bronze-level talent, fully developed, could reach the threshold of a Marine officer rank, and among pirates, would warrant a bounty exceeding one hundred million Berries—enough to serve as a high-ranking officer in a major faction.

Moreover, Gao Wen was deeply intrigued by Keluo’s footwork, called Shao Si.

Some had compared this technique to the Marine Six Powers’ Shave—but in Gao Wen’s view, the two were incomparable.

Let me use an imperfect analogy: Shave is a blink, while Shao Si is acceleration.

Shave’s principle lies in rapidly stomping the ground ten or even dozens of times in quick succession to gain explosive speed.

Shao Si, however, could maintain super-high speed continuously—but carried an uncontrollable flaw.

This skill bore striking similarity to Cavendish’s second personality, the White Horse known as “Romel’s Scythe Wind.”

Both possessed speed beyond normal human limits, and both had their own restrictions—but clearly, Shao Si’s ceiling was higher.

After all, once the perception problem during high-speed movement was solved, all of Shao Si’s remaining flaws would vanish—and Gao Wen happened to know the solution.

“Hah.”

Keluo let out a light laugh, his face now relaxed:

“Is this my end? How ugly it is~”

“Hahahahahaha~”

The hoarse laughter echoed across the sea.

The Black Cat Pirates who had barely escaped death slowly returned to the deck—but the scene before them was the complete opposite of what they had imagined.

Keluo knelt on one knee, grinning widely—a calm acceptance of death after defeat.

Gao Wen loomed above, his eyes holding a trace of regret.

…

“Shao Si was broken? How is that possible? How could anyone keep up with that speed?”

Xia Mu fired off a string of questions; if not for the lingering pain in his wounds, he’d have thought this entire scene a dream.

But seeing Keluo kneeling on the deck, all his questions found their answers.

“Knight Gao Wen—I’ve heard that name. His bounty is only eight million. How could he be this strong?”

Bu Zhi slowly rose, puzzled.

A gust of sea wind blew past, bringing a chill—and a wanted poster slapped against Bu Zhi’s face.

He snatched it down, glanced at it, and his body jolted violently, his voice stammering:

“F-F-F-Forty-eight million?”

“What forty-eight million?”

Xia Mu leaned over, saw the number on the poster, then compared the photo to Gao Wen standing afar—and felt a chill run down his spine:

“Knight Gao Wen… bounty… forty-eight million Berries? Isn’t A Long the highest-bountied pirate in the East Blue? When did someone this powerful appear?”

“I…”

At that moment, Gao Wen’s gaze swept over them.

The Cat Brothers hesitated not a second—they immediately raised both hands and surrendered.

To show they posed no threat, they even removed the cat-claw weapons from their hands.

“We surrender!”

“Captain Gao Wen, we have influence in the East Blue—we’re valuable to you!”

Gao Wen said nothing, turning instead to Keluo, speaking softly:

“That hypnotist named Zan Gao has already surrendered—and he’s the one who gave me your information.”

“Keluo, you have no chance left to turn this around.”

(End of Chapter)