Chapter 400

"Gellman, Ella... that's not certain."

Seeing Sima Di's slightly provocative expression, the two knew they had walked into someone's trap.

Whoosh—

Tie Bei jumped out directly, spitting iron spikes at high speed.

Ella didn't react in time; only a flash of silver light passed, and the iron spikes pierced straight through his abdomen, pinning him firmly to the wall. Gellman, relying on Observation Haki, barely grazed past the iron spikes, narrowly escaping disaster.

Sima Di narrowed his eyes slightly.

This Gellman... although not a Devil Fruit user, he doesn't look easy to deal with at all...

"Big brother! Save me!" Ella, enduring intense pain, called out to Gellman for help.

However, Gellman merely snorted coldly and cursed a useless thing. Ella gave a bitter smile; he knew this was the expected reaction, yet he still couldn't bear it.

Gellman looked at Sima Di, his face grim and sinister. "How did you know we hadn't left?"

"I can only say you are foolish... clearly there was something important needing guarding, yet you two left together. Isn't that plainly inviting me to take the bait? If only one of you had been there, I might have actually fallen for it." Sima Di pointed out their flaw without any courtesy. "More than that, I want to know how you knew I was here. I clearly avoided all surveillance."

"We didn't know you were here. We just felt that Divens hadn't returned for a long time, so we figured something must have happened. We left only to draw the snake out of its hole, never expecting to actually draw out a snake... Speak! What did you do to our third brother?"

"Killed him." Sima Di's answer was exceptionally concise.

"You bastard! Today I will definitely beat you into minced meat! Make you tonight's dinner!" Gellman roared and punched forward.

【5】 Sima Di drew the Emperor's Divine Technique Blade, intending to block the strike, but his precognition told him the fist would be covered in Armament Haki and he possessed no power to counter it, so he immediately shifted the blade's edge, flashing Sima Di aside to create distance from his opponent.

Sima Di drew the Divine Art Blade, intending to block the strike, but his precognition told him the fist would be covered in Armament Haki and he lacked the power to resist it, so he instantly shifted the blade's edge, flashing away with Sima Di to put distance between himself and his opponent.

In Gellman's eyes, Sima Di was merely feinting, as if mocking him.

"Rushing Fist!" Gellman grew angrier, covering his entire arm in Armament Haki, striking Sima Di with maximum energy over the shortest distance.

Sima Di dodged the punch and顺势 launched an attack.

"Flash Star!"

The blade struck Gellman's shoulder, yet that spot was already covered in Armament Haki; the Emperor's Divine Technique Blade could not break the defense.

Damn, this Gellman, besides Armament Haki, actually knows Observation Haki too!

Gellman smiled cunningly and swung his fist to strike.

This punch was extremely fast, without a trace of hesitation. It was as if it were the second move following the Rushing Fist.

But in fact, many people like Sima Di who try to chop down find they cannot move the target; this move became Gellman's instinctive attack.

Sima Di hurriedly raised his arm to block, was blasted away by the entire body, and smashed hard into the wall, creating a large crater in it.

"Someone who could defeat our third brother, I thought was some kind of master, but after all this, you are still just a useless thing." Gellman chuckled, his eyes full of contempt.

Sima Di got up in a狼狈 state, holding the Emperor's Divine Technique Blade in his right hand, but his left arm hung powerless, covered in blood.

Previously, his left hand had been injured by Divens' Hundred Flowers Chaos; now it was struck by a punch until the bone cracked.

However, compared to the injury to his eyes, this wound was minor; after Chopper's treatment, it would heal eighty percent in less than a day.

Sima Di turned his head, spat out a mouthful of blood, and said, "Although you are not as fast as the useless thing's defeated rival, your strength and reaction are more than double his."

"Should I say thank you for the compliment? Know that in Fighting Technique, no one can defeat me." Gellman said, eyeing him without any courtesy. "I hope you are a virgin, because that way the meat won't turn sour."

"Your hope is correct, but the method by which I defeat you is not limited to Fighting Technique." Sima Di sheathed the Emperor's Divine Technique Blade and instead took out a shell.

Gellman's eyes became alert. "What, you want to use that thing capable of firing iron spikes to defeat me? No, you cannot break my Armament Haki at all."

"Who said I only have one kind of shell." Sima Di smiled slightly and pressed the shell.

The shell suddenly sprayed a massive amount of flame at Gellman.

On the Sky Island, Sima Di not only confiscated some Iron Trial iron shells, but also seized the Fire Shell from that Three-Zhang Bird. These spoils increased Sima Di's combat power by more than just a little.

Gellman immediately dodged, only being slightly grazed by the flame.

"This kind of thing can indeed hurt me, but if it doesn't hit, there's nothing to be done... What is that? Are you a user?" Gellman was about to say some cold words, but saw a Flame Man standing beside Sima Di.

Sima Di smiled and waved at Gellman.

"Have a safe journey!"

"What?"

Gellman watched in shock as the Flame Man raised his hand, producing seven fireballs that struck him in a very strange formation.

89 Am I your fan?

Pyramid schemes and this thing cannot be compared.

To be honest, if that person had not appeared back then, Sima Di could hardly imagine what he would look like now.

"Ella, now I give you only two options: one is to die quickly, the other is to be tortured into an unrecognizable state and then... die."

Sima Di approached Ella, looking directly into her eyes.

"Now only you remain... What? Will you confess now, or only after torture?"

As Sima Di spoke, he felt something was wrong. The expression on Ella's face held no fear of someone at their end; instead, it was replaced by that half-smiling, half-serious look.

At this moment, even Beyond Observation Haki told her of herself three seconds later, but it was too late.

Still too careless...

Sima Di felt his head buzz, all thoughts receding like a tide, leaving vast emptiness, solely to make room for that voice.

Commit suicide.

Use your own blade.

Death... is your final destination!

Ella watched Sima Di's painful expression with a smile.

"Yes, yes... pick up the blade, place it against your own neck."

Sima Di's hand rested on the hilt of the Emperor's Divine Technique Blade, slowly drawing the blade out.

"That's right, just like that..."

"Hehe, would letting you die like this be too cheap?"

"Big brother died in such agony; I don't think third brother can escape it either."

"But for safety's sake, I won't torture you… Just die quickly!"

Swish

Ella's pupils shrank, staring in disbelief at the knife pressed against her neck.

"You…"

Yet the knife's owner was already two meters away, slapping her own face to force herself awake.

"I was careless," said Ma Di. "I didn't expect your Devil Fruit ability to be like this… Aren't you a Dog-Dog Fruit user?"

Devins told herself that her big brother excelled in Fighting Technique, and her second sister was a Dog-Dog Fruit user.

"It seems third brother didn't tell you everything," Ella grinned, her face already transformed into that of a fox. But Ella still couldn't break free from Iron Thorns, let alone escape the Divine Art knife resting on her neck.

Ma Di snorted.

I should've realized sooner. That person spoke the truth—but withheld key information. For instance, she never mentioned that Gailman could use two types of Haki.

"Tell me! How did you break my Deploy Hypnosis? No one has ever broken it before!" Ella shouted.

"Have you ever tried deploying hypnosis on your master?" Ma Di turned away, rubbing her temples, avoiding Ella's eyes.

"How could I ever deploy hypnosis on my master! No… wait… I think I did once…" Ella suddenly remembered the moment she first received her master's favor—she had used Deploy Hypnosis to demonstrate her ability, only to be instantly shattered by her master.

Afterwards, she had asked why her master was immune to her Deploy Hypnosis…

【Do you really expect hypnosis to control a madman with faith? A sedative would work better. Not just me—several others too. Don't even think of trying to hypnotize them; if you anger them, I won't protect you.】

【Are all the Spade Lords men of faith? Is their faith the true master of Spade?】

【Him? He's far too early to control us. We're merely allies. Each of us holds a different faith—some worship people, some worship objects, some worship… even an intangible concept.】

【Then what does the master worship…】

【Myself.】

"Seeing your silence, I believe you've found your answer… Now tell me—how do you open this strange box?" said Ma Di.

"…You're a madman with faith?" Ella asked tentatively.

"A madman with faith? No wonder you're the originator of toxic鸡汤—just saying something casually can elevate the concept… I don't know if I have faith, but I know this—I'm a madman who can't go mad."

The woman stood with her back to Ella; Ella couldn't see her expression, but she heard the pain in her voice.

"A madman who can't go mad…"

"Don't stray off-topic. Tell me how to open this box. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life." Ma Di walked to the box and tapped it.

Ella paused, then spoke: "Fine, I'll give you the password. But first, tell me who you are—and why you're hunting Spade…"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes…"