Chapter 94: Abusing Cats

"I am still too weak; even after eating a Devil Fruit, even after gaining strength surpassing that of the port soldiers, I remain incomparable to the monsters of the Grand Line."

"Last time, I could rely on Mr. Xiang Gaowen to resolve every obstacle, but this time..."

The more she thought,

the more Gaza felt consumed by self-reproach.

Originally, she had believed that as long as she governed with diligence, managed everything within the port well, and enriched the lives of the residents, she could be considered an excellent lord.

But now it seemed she was ultimately too naive.

In this turbulent era, pirates ran rampant, the Navy remained inactive, and the nobility, driven by their own greed and the existence of the Heavenly Gold, exerted every effort to squeeze the common people dry, even reaching a level of sheer madness.

The only way to establish a foothold is through immense power!

Power far greater than that of anyone else!

"If I can be saved, if there is still a future, I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must obtain power greater than that of anyone else!"

Thinking of this,

Gaza's pupils contracted sharply; she finally understood the root cause of falling into such a predicament twice.

Those who wait to be rescued shall never transcend for eternity!

"No!"

"It is I who must survive at all costs!"

"Even if I must fight stray dogs on the roadside for food, even if I must offer up everything I possess, I must survive!"

"Survive until the day I obtain power!"

Thoughts churned violently in her mind; though Gaza was exhausted in body and spirit, she had at this moment found the true pillar of her spiritual world.

The ship tossed violently, sounds echoed incessantly in the darkness, and pirates bearing lewd, sinister grins even stood guard outside the door.

Yet in Gaza's heart, now enlightened as to what she truly desired, there was not a shred of fear, only the resolve to survive at all costs and obtain power!

In the darkness,

the figure curled up in the corner gradually unfolded, and her constantly trembling limbs slowly steadied.

Gaza closed her eyes, quietly awaiting either her final fate or the moment to strike back.

Time passed; in the gloom, no one knew how long had elapsed.

The ship's tossing suddenly intensified as if struck by cannon fire, and panicked footsteps echoed from outside the prison cell.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Gaza slowly opened her eyes and, following the memories in her mind, struggled to crawl toward the door; the next instant—

Hiss!

A silver blade light sliced deeply into the ship's hull, dissipating just a few centimeters before Gaza's eyes.

Gritting her teeth, Gaza dragged her body, rendered weak and powerless by the Seastone handcuffs, and crawled out of the prison cell through the fissure.

Only now did he realize:

that previous blade light had nearly torn the pirate ship completely apart, allowing sunlight to stream straight in through the rift.

She thereby caught sight of the distant sea and the fluttering pirate flag upon its surface.

Based on a round shield, it bore a carved skull.

"Mr. Xiang Gaowen..."

Gaza watched that figure shooting toward her from afar; her face flushed red, yet her eyes were already wet with tears.

He must have come for me, right?

No, no, no... was it for those injured companions? But... but surely I was part of the reason too, right?!

For a moment,

Gaza's inner world fell into chaos, until the increasingly violent swaying of the ship snapped her back to awareness; only then did she regain her senses and struggle to flee toward a safe position.

At this moment, amidst the chaos aboard the pirate ship, everyone was busy engaging the enemy and had no mind to spare for the movements of the captives.

Boom!

Xiang Gaowen, speeding through the air, crashed heavily onto the deck; the violent impact caused the entire pirate ship to sink slightly, displacing even more seawater.

Labut and Lachet glanced at the terrifying slash marks on the ship's hull, then turned their gaze to Xiang Gaowen, their hearts filled with nothing but unspeakable fury:

"A swordsman who masters aerial slash attacks?"

"In a place like the East Blue, one might indeed run rampant without restraint, but do you know the consequences of provoking us?!"

As they spoke,

Lachet arched his back, transforming into his Human-Beast Form; his tall, slender frame, combined with the leopard cat known for its agility and speed, appeared utterly ferocious.

Labut's expression likewise turned ice-cold.

He too transformed into his Human-Beast Form; his body rapidly expanded, and across his burly frame, knotted muscles bulged while the sharp teeth of his Maine Coon lineage gleamed with a cold, deadly luster.

Though his height had originally been significantly shorter than Lachet's, after transforming into his Human-Beast Form, he now towered over Lachet by a considerable margin, his shoulder height already approaching four meters.

Paired with that exaggerated musculature, standing before Xiang Gaowen, he resembled nothing so much as a living wall.

Two giant cats stood upon the deck.

Without a word, the killing intent radiating from the pair chilled the surrounding pirates to the bone, causing them to scatter far away.

Some, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire, even hugged life rings and leaped into the seawater.

"Lord Labut and Lord Lachet have simultaneously revealed such forms; working together, they have even killed pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million—that guy is dead for sure!"

"Anyone daring to lay hands on members of the Hanafuza Pirates must be prepared to die in regret!"

Everyone gazed at Xiang Gaowen, their eyes brimming with blatant fury, already treating him as half a corpse.

Holding a blade in one hand, Xiang Gaowen turned to look at Labut and Lachet, his gaze cold and sharp:

"You smashed up my place and stole my things; if I let you leave so easily, what kind of pirate would I be?"

"Where are my things and my people!"

A cruel smile curled the corner of Lachet's mouth:

"So that port really was your territory?"

"Then it's truly a pity; that woman was already played to death by the brothers on the ship, screaming your name until her very last breath~"

"As for that Devil Fruit, we ate it long ago!"

Labut, standing nearby, also curled his lips in mockery and said teasingly:

"Although your appearance differs quite a bit from the photo on the wanted poster, you must be that so-called Knight Xiang Gaowen; a bounty of eighty-five million sounds quite intimidating, though."

"However."

"The strength of the Grand Line is different from that of the Four Seas; even with the same bounty, pirates who fought their way out of the Grand Line are fundamentally different from trash like you."

"Either mastering aerial slash attacks or being a Sword Master!"

Xiang Gaowen looked at the two cat-people, his brows slightly furrowed:

"Although torturing cats harms heavenly principles, cat-people shouldn't count as cats, right!"

Lachet understood the meaning behind Xiang Gaowen's words; his expression turned extremely ugly, and killing intent blazed fiercely in his heart.

He attacked boldly.

Bending his waist and back, he exerted force with his feet, depressing the deck beneath them, before shooting forward like a coiled spring.

The sharp claws at his fingertips flashed with a grim cold light in the air, and in an instant, they clawed toward Xiang Gaowen's face!

With the naturally powerful physique of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, supplemented by proper training, Lachet's claws and fangs could easily tear through steel plates and even the hull of a pirate ship!

Swish!

The claws slashed down at Xiang Gaowen, yet the familiar sensation of cutting through flesh and blood did not arrive.

While Lachet was distracted, he saw two cat-like arms fly out; he paused slightly:

"Hm?"

Immediately afterward, he felt a heart-piercing pain, only then realizing those were actually his own arms.

In merely an instant.

The excruciating pain of the severed arms rushed into Lachet's mind, so much so that he could no longer maintain his hybrid form; he wailed and knelt before Xiang Gaowen.

"Waaah—!"

(End of Chapter)