Chapter 233: Ranking Battle 20

Ah Jin had already noticed.

After Xiang Keluo returned from Aruba to Shanfeng, the ten claw knives he had never parted with were all set down by him.

This could only mean that Xiang Keluo had already obtained a power capable of replacing the claw knives.

Originally, Ah Jin could still vaguely perceive the gap between himself and Xiang Keluo, but now he could no longer feel it.

Facing Xiang Keluo at this moment, he even had the illusion of confronting Gao Wen as he once was.

"Who knows?"

Xiang Keluo remained expressionless, instinctively pushing his glasses up with his hand; his gaze still fell on the two figures clashing in the distance.

But Ah Jin saw a trace of indescribable desolation on his face.

Xiang Keluo murmured:

"At first, I also thought the distance between Gao Wen and me might not be so far."

Recalling the scene of fighting Gao Wen in the desert on the outskirts of Alabasta back then, Xiang Keluo swallowed:

"But now I cannot tell how strong that guy truly is."

"Isn't that to be expected?!"

A smile curled at the corner of Ah Jin's mouth:

"The captain is naturally the strongest in a pirate crew."

"But the distance between people should not be so vast."

"What you said sounds a bit familiar to me..."

Ah Jin glanced indifferently at Zoro, who was battling Roubo Luqi.

His expression was strange.

He turned his head to look at Xiang Keluo, and a smile involuntarily curled at the corner of his mouth:

"If you have even lost your fighting spirit, you might not even be able to defeat me."

"Me?"

Xiang Keluo glanced sideways at Ah Jin, his chin lifting slightly:

"If I say that a few days ago you still had a sliver of a chance to defeat me, then now, on this ship, everyone except Gao Wen, even if they join forces, are no match for me."

"You..."

Ah Jin's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he had intended to refute Xiang Keluo's words, but he saw absolute confidence in the latter's eyes.

He swallowed the words he was about to speak and asked the question he had asked at the beginning again:

"What ability have you actually obtained?!"

Xiang Keluo smiled faintly:

"You will know later."

"You..."

Boom!

Their conversation was interrupted by a roar from the distance.

Another cactus with a diameter exceeding ten meters was severed by Zoro's flying slash, then shattered by a punch from Roubo Luqi.

The battle grew more intense, and the blood within both sides' bodies boiled even more; after only a brief pause, the two resumed their deadly struggle.

Ah Jin looked at the two in the arena and could not help but let out an exclamation:

"Roubo Luqi is one thing, but Zoro has already grown to this extent; can one not say he is indeed the monster personally selected by the captain?"

"Ah."

Xiang Keluo nodded:

"This fellow is someone who could be valued simultaneously by both that Hawk Eyes and the captain; his fighting spirit, even among us, is number one or two."

"However, he still has a gap compared to Roubo Luqi now; this battle is about to reach its conclusion."

"Hmm?!"

Ah Jin was stunned and instinctively turned his head to look at the two fighting fiercely in the battlefield.

As expected.

In the very next instant, Roubo Luqi seized the flaw in Zoro's sword technique, instantly surged into the dense net of blades, and thrust his black fists forward...

"Six Styles Ultimate Technique - Six Kings Gun!"

Guu—!

A layer of transparent shockwave struck Zoro's chest head-on.

Zoro felt as if he had been hit by a pirate ship.

A bitter sweetness rose in his mouth; he barely gripped the sword in his hand, but his body was already flying backward uncontrollably, colliding with and breaking several giant cacti before landing.

"Hnngh—!"

Zoro let out a muffled groan, feeling his entire body go limp; he struggled several times to stand up, but each attempt ended in failure.

"Continue?!"

Roubo Luqi appeared, his long leopard tail swaying constantly behind him, his chest heaving as he panted heavily,

clearly, his victory was not easy.

"Although I am unwilling, it is yours."

Zoro closed his eyes, took a golden coin from his chest, and casually tossed it into the air.

Roubo Luqi raised his hand to catch it, then spread his palm to look.

What met his eyes was a coin entirely golden; the front bore the number three, while the back featured a skull flag set against a round shield.

The craftsmanship of this coin could not be called very exquisite, but the meaning it represented was priceless to Roubo Luqi.

"Number Three..."

"Compared to the Four Emperors' pirate crews, does that equate to something like a Star or a Disaster in some sense?!"

"Anyway..."

Roubo Luqi carefully placed the Number Three coin in the pocket closest to his heart, then bent down and extended his hand toward Zoro:

"I'll be waiting for you to take it back."

"Arrogant guy!"

Zoro's lips curled into a grin; after muttering a complaint, he took Luqi's hand and struggled to his feet.

Although Zoro had a slight premonition of this outcome, now that it had actually happened, he felt somewhat unwilling to accept it.

"Next time, next time I will absolutely take it back!"

"No!"

In the midst of his words,

Zoro turned his head to look at Xiang Keluo in the distance, a flame seeming to burn in his eyes:

"Next time, I want that one!"

"Oh my~"

Xiang Keluo smiled faintly, completely unmoved by Zoro's challenging gaze, and couldn't help but tease:

"Heal your wounds first; otherwise, if you suffer a major defeat this time, you won't be able to hold your head up for at least a few months, especially..."

Xiang Keluo glanced at Sanji, who was still frantically training before the match nearby, lost in wild fantasies.

"... that man who gets along with you the least."

Zoro looked at Sanji, and his expression instantly froze.

No way; if I really lose to that curly-brow, that bastard will laugh at me for the rest of my life!

"Chopper!"

"Doctor Chopper, reporting to you~"

Chopper, wearing a white coat, hurriedly rushed to the scene with tiny, quick steps from behind.

Although the crew's self-healing abilities had been greatly enhanced by the blessing of Gao Wen's badge, after such intense combat, they still needed examination to check for any hidden injuries.

Naturally, this task fell to the chief ship doctor, Chopper.

Under Chopper's command, two assistants took Zoro back to the temporary camp behind the scene to treat his injuries.

The battle on the scene continued.

The fight between Zoro and Roubo Luqi was merely the opening of this ranking battle; as one pirate after another appeared and clashed, everyone's rankings gradually settled.

Van Augur successively defeated Miss Kalifa and Chopper, only to finally fall helplessly before Sanji.

"So~"

"This kind of one-on-one, range-limited, direct combat is really disadvantageous for a sniper, isn't it~"

Sanji looked down at the bullet holes in his clothes, couldn't help but raise a hand to light a cigarette for himself, and only after exhaling a puff of smoke did he continue:

"If I really had to place the battlefield somewhere that favors you, I wouldn't dare appear within your line of sight."

"Hahahaha~"

"Such is the fate of a sniper~"

After a few light laughs, Van Augur left the field helplessly, and Sanji also withdrew to rest.

By now, among Gao Wen's pirate crew, apart from Xiang Keluo and Mr. Jinbe, who had remained as steady as a rock, everyone else had basically challenged opponents and bore more or less scars.

This ranking battle differed from the previous one in the East Sea, which relied on a martial arts tournament; since Gao Wen was absent, no clear rules had been established.

If you spot an opponent you want, just challenge them directly; if the opponent avoids the fight, they must hand over their coin to the challenger.

Simple, crude, and utterly outrageous.

At this moment,

everyone's gaze converged on Mr. Jinbe and Xiang Keluo, who were sitting side by side.

Seeing this, the two no longer waited; they slowly stood up, walked into the battlefield, and faced each other, their meaning unmistakable.

The air around them instantly grew noisy; invisible Haki clashed in the void even before the battle began.

"The only ones who haven't made a move yet are these two."

"As the two top officers originally recruited by the captain, the strength of these two is undoubtedly on a non-human, monstrous level."

"But which of these two will be stronger?"

"It should be Captain Mr. Jinbe, right? Like Vice-Captain Xiang Keluo, he has mastered two types of Haki and has the advantage of the Bone-Bone Fruit."

"I don't think so."

After bandaging their wounds, Roubo Luqi, Zoro, and Sanji walked out of the temporary infirmary and sat side by side, watching the two in the battlefield with keen interest.

"A few days ago, Xiang Keluo left Whiskey Peak alone and went to Alabasta, where he obtained the fruit most suitable for himself from the captain."

"The fruit most suitable... for himself?!"

Sanji froze, the cigarette he was sending to his mouth pausing halfway in the air.

When it comes to the most distinct personal fighting style in Gao Wen's pirate crew, the first person that comes to mind is Xiang Keluo.

After integrating Shave, the Death Scythe can also achieve short-distance charge capabilities, with an explosive speed even far surpassing that of Shave.

This forged Xiang Keluo's combat style of breaking through at high speed; if one strike fails, he can flee a thousand li away.

"No wonder Mr. Xiang Keluo even abandoned his familiar claw knives; did he obtain some Devil Fruit ability that fits him perfectly?!"

"But what kind of fruit could combine with Xiang Keluo's fighting style?!"

Shhh—!

As soon as Sanji's words fell, a sound of tearing air came from the distant battlefield.

Everyone turned to look.

They saw the air around Xiang Keluo churning, as if boiling.

His figure swelled, a layer of snow-white fur growing on his limbs, fluttering in the wind.

A tail tipped with a blade swayed behind him, and two blades fanned outward on his arms.

It looked ferocious and grim!

"Is this a Zoan-type Mythical Beast like the Captain's?!"

Roubo Luqi murmured.

He had seen similar descriptions in the CP organization's internal files on Devil Fruits, but he couldn't recall which Devil Fruit it was at that moment.

Sanji, standing nearby, also reacted at that moment:

"That's right!"

"It has obvious weasel-like animal traits, but the blades on the arms and tail tip are not something normal animals have, and I'm very concerned about..."

Sanji's pupils shrank slightly:

"The air around Mr. Xiang Keluo is different from the direction of the wind; this is... a Kamaitachi!"

"A legendary creature, an invisible wind that leaves wounds on people that feel no pain."

Zoro was stunned:

"Are you sure you're not talking about Mr. Xiang Keluo's fighting style?!"

"The two are exactly the same."

Sanji shook his head, his guess becoming even more firm:

"This explains exactly why even Mr. Xiang Keluo, the brain of the pirate crew, couldn't sit still upon seeing this fruit."

"This fruit matches his fighting style perfectly; in his hands, it might unleash power beyond imagination!"

"But does a fruit that matches a user to this degree really exist in this world?!"

Roubo Luqi's tone was filled with disbelief.

He had seen far more users than everyone present and knew better than anyone that most users need to spend a great deal of time familiarizing themselves with their abilities after gaining them.

This process could even take several years to complete.

But if the Kamaitachi's ability is truly as Sanji said, then his compatibility with Xiang Keluo would be infinitely close to one hundred percent.

The adaptation process would be nearly non-existent; usable immediately upon taking it.

"Just watch and see!"

Watching Xiang Keluo's abnormal posture at that moment, everyone couldn't help but start discussing, and the noise grew louder as time passed.

At the same time, they became even more eager for the upcoming battle.

"This is a fight between the second and third in command of Gao Wen's pirate crew!"

"Even if I die this time, it will be worth the price of admission!"

A pirate, acting as if mad, drew sideways glances from his companions nearby.

As everyone waited in anticipation.

On the battlefield, Jin faced an unprecedented sense of pressure, and a layer of fine cold sweat had already seeped onto his forehead.

Damn it!

This feeling... it's like seeing the Captain during the Martial Arts Tournament era; just how much stronger has this guy Xiang Keluo become?

"What's wrong?"

A hint of a smile played on Xiang Keluo's lips; looking at Jin before him and the shocked eyes of the people around, he felt a surge of secret satisfaction in his heart.

Indeed, Gao Wen, that pervert, was just an exception; after all, who could grow to that extent in just over a year?!

Now it felt good, truly good.

"Want to give up?!"

"Don't joke; I've been preparing for this day for a long time."

Jin's face was Solemn; bone after bone extended from his body, intertwining and weaving together, instantly twisting into a suit of pure white armor.

His height, which had already surged to over 2.7 meters within half a year due to the existence of the Bone-Bone Fruit, became even more massive; the height of his shoulders alone exceeded four meters.

Then, a layer of black Armament Haki slowly appeared, until it dyed all the white bones around Jin black.

This was Jin's other trump card, aside from his Second Bone form.

Compared to the Observation Haki he awakened first, he was actually more skilled in Armament Haki, and his talent in this area was even more outstanding.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Accompanied by a series of grating sounds, Jin's already exaggerated bone armor on his body surface swelled again, arming his body to the extreme.

His ferocious posture even caused the people around to momentarily lose their wits.

"This posture... is it too ridiculous?!"

"You don't know anything!"

"What's truly exaggerated is Captain Jin's Armament Haki, which is enough to completely cover this body."

"That's right; originally I thought the winner of this battle would be Vice-Captain Xiang Keluo with his new ability, but now... it's hard to say!"

……

"Armored Haki stronger than mine—so this is your trump card?!"

Xiang Keluo, seeing Jin armed to the teeth, a veritable war machine, could not help but let out a sigh of admiration.

Yet the confidence in his eyes did not diminish by half:

"Indeed, on this ship, aside from me, you are the one closest to that monster Gao Wen, but that is not enough, far from enough."

"This battle will end very quickly."

"Be mentally prepared."

(End of this chapter)