Chapter 60: About the Treasure (Please Follow for Updates! Tuesday PK Recommendation Spot!)

A faint smile curled at the corners of Xiang Gaowen's lips; disregarding the warning, he took a step forward.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out from the dense forest ahead.

Before the dark bullet could touch Xiang Gaowen's body, a silver blade of light sliced it in half, sending the two halves flying past his clothes.

"Take one more step forward, and my bullet will aim at your head!"

Another warning voice came from the dense forest.

Xiang Gaowen had already seen his fear and unease, and had even guessed the identity of the person.

He continued forward.

A box with a green afro appeared in Xiang Gaowen's line of sight.

"What is that?"

Nami looked curiously at the box ahead, then pointed a finger at the flintlock pistol nearby:

"The gun is there! It's even smoking!"

The words fell to the ground.

The box trembled noticeably.

Xiang Gaowen even saw a small section of a foot sticking out from underneath.

He stepped forward, grabbed the afro inside the box, and lifted it up.

An uncle's face instantly emerged from the box; apart from the arms and feet that barely managed to stick out, the rest of his body was squeezed inside the box.

"Stop pretending; the one who fired just now was you, wasn't it!"

Xiang Gaowen had already recognized that the strange man trapped in the box was indeed the memorable Box Man Kuro from the original story.

He was unfortunate, guarding a treasure his whole life only to find it was just a few boxes, but he was also fortunate, because here he found something truly worth guarding.

"Let me go! Pirate!"

Kuro struggled constantly, but his short little hands couldn't even reach his own head, making the scene extremely comical.

"What is that?"

Nami squeezed out from the crowd, looked at the Box Man struggling in Xiang Gaowen's hands, and her eyes were filled with utter astonishment:

"A person inside a box? How does one live like this?!"

The people around also grew curious and gradually gathered closer.

Even the usually coldest Xiang Keluo couldn't help but pick up a wooden stick and poke Kuro's face, causing a twitch at the corner of Zeff's mouth nearby:

"That's a bit rude, you know~"

Suddenly.

From the distant woods came a series of hissing sounds; dozens of strangely shaped wild beasts charged out, baring their teeth at Xiang Gaowen, who was holding Kuro.

Even facing the killing intent radiating from every inch of Xiang Gaowen's body, they did not retreat.

Kuro's pupils contracted; unable to turn his head while curled up inside the box, he could only say anxiously:

"You all go back quickly!"

"I used to be able to knock down a whole group of such guys by myself!"

"And you!"

"If you dare harm my friends, I will absolutely not let you go!"

Saying this,

Kuro waved his short little arms, which held no threat whatsoever, and instead made the corner of Xiang Gaowen's mouth twitch involuntarily.

"Why does this make me look like the villain?"

Xiang Gaowen helplessly rubbed his head and slowly set Kuro down.

The moment the latter touched the ground, he ran with his short little legs to the front of that group of strange beasts, shielding them with his not-so-tall body, then looked at Xiang Gaowen with a guarded expression:

"Don't you dare have designs on them!"

Xiang Gaowen shrugged:

"As you can see, we are a crew of pirates; a storm has come, and we need a place to take shelter."

"If it's convenient..."

Kuro's eyes lit up, and he said:

"Fine, but I need you to fetch something for me!"

Xiang Gaowen nodded; he already knew what thing Kuro needed him to fetch.

"Only you can come alone!"

"Fine!"

With that said,

Xiang Gaowen nodded to Xiang Keluo and the others, telling them to wait here, then turned and followed Kuro away.

As for Xiang Gaowen's safety, apart from Nami, no one mentioned it at all; after all, if the opponent couldn't even defeat Xiang Gaowen, anyone else present besides Xiang Keluo would just be going to their deaths.

Kuro's legs were short, but his steps were not slow.

In a few minutes, the two of them reached the depths of the island and headed toward Shanfeng.

Following behind him, Xiang Gaowen couldn't help but ask:

"Aren't you afraid I'll attack you?"

Kuro paused in his steps:

"I can tell."

"Your strength far surpasses that of any other pirate I've seen. If you really were the evil sort, you would already be dead from the shot I fired."

"You don't act arrogant toward the weak — you don't seem like a typical pirate."

Having said that.

Carmen set off again on her little short legs, heading deeper into the island.

Xiang Gaowen, however, stood there in a daze for a few seconds, then gave a wry smile and shook his head:

"Does this count as being friend-zoned?"

"Still."

!

"Doesn't feel bad."

Then Xiang Gaowen quickly followed after her.

Not long after.

The two arrived at a mountain peak.

A massive boulder stood in the middle of the peak, rising nearly twenty meters above the ground. Given Carmen's height, even with the help of her animal friends, she couldn't get up there.

"That's it — help me get the chest down from up there. Even if you want to take what's inside after we open it, I still want to see what this treasure I've guarded for over twenty years actually is!"

Carmen spoke with excitement.

Xiang Gaowen, who already knew the answer, had no interest in this. He grabbed Carmen and tossed her up.

"Why don't you go see for yourself!"

Xiang Gaowen said lightly.

Carmen up above had no mind to listen to him. After several sounds of a chest being opened, silence fell from above.

A long while.

Then came a long, drawn-out sigh:

"So at that time, they already knew these chests were empty?"

Carmen murmured to herself.

But just then.

Xiang Gaowen's voice came again from below:

"How is it? Was there what you'd been waiting for?"

Carmen was stunned.

Her gaze swept the surroundings.

This was the highest point on the whole island. From where she stood, she could even see every part of the island.

Strange beasts one after another roamed through the island, drawing toward her position.

These friends who had kept her company for all these years — how were they not a kind of treasure in themselves?

Carmen raised a hand and wiped the tears from the corner of her eye:

"Ah."

"Truly the greatest treasure, worth protecting with a lifetime."

"Hmph."

Xiang Gaowen smiled faintly and caught Carmen as she fell from above.

The latter looked at Xiang Gaowen and asked:

"Hey."

"Kid, I've already found my treasure. What about you?"

"Since you set out to sea, has there been something you'd wait twenty years for, even at the cost of your life?"

"If there isn't, then even if you possess great power, sooner or later a stronger enemy will take everything from you!"

Xiang Gaowen was stunned, his mind a blank. He had never once considered this question.

Since transmigrating, with the blade in his hand and the efforts of his companions, he already had no opponent left in East Blue who could stop him.

Everything had gone far too smoothly.

Whether it was Morgan at the beginning, or Krieg and Arlong afterward, none of them could withstand even a single exchange against his swordsmanship.

His original plan had been to make a name for himself on the Grand Line and become one of the Seven Warlords.

But that was only one part of the plan, not what Xiang Gaowen ultimately wanted.

"Something I'd give my life to obtain…"

(End of Chapter)