Chapter 85: You Are the Challenger [62K]

"Cough, cough cough..."

The merchant with gold-rimmed glasses coughed violently, finally able to speak, and said tremblingly:

"Lord, Lord Hanafuda! You misunderstood! It's not that the royal family is slow, it's that this country's territory is simply too vast!"

His merchant caravan had traveled north and south and been to many places. Looking at the whole world, the vastness of Alabasta's territory was among the best.

From the royal capital Alubarna to the mouth of the Sandora River, even riding the fastest Running Duck, day and night, it would take at least a whole day!

Not to mention, the time needed for messages to be passed back and forth and for the royal family to react.

"Oh, is that so!"

Hanafuda realized, clicked his tongue, and spun the scythe in his palm. "It's all because I've been in the New World for too long in recent years, I almost forgot there were such large countries in Paradise."

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the distant horizon filled with yellow sand, a ferocious grin curling at the corner of his mouth.

"...Since the distance is so far, it's understandable that the royal family is slow to arrive."

"Yes, Lord Hanafuda." The merchant with gold-rimmed glasses had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Hanafuda suddenly lean over, the tip of the scythe pressing against his throat:

"But I don't have the patience to wait that long!!!"

"My, my lord..." The merchant was shaking all over. "You've already waited for almost a whole day, the remaining time won't be long. I estimate at most two more hours, and they will be here!"

Hanafuda turned to look at the end of the river. The heat waves of the desert distorted the distant scene, and there was still no sign of any royal guard.

Two or three more hours?

"Tsk, looks like I need to add some spice."

Hanafuda licked his lips and suddenly said, "Jack!"

"Here!"

The golden-haired, strong youth immediately straightened his back, his height actually exceeding eight meters.

"Go, pick a few merchants, slit their bellies to bleed them, and hang them on the mast. For every ten minutes I have to wait, throw another merchant up there."

Hanafuda grinned. "Since they think the road is long, let the smell of blood drift further and see if we can smoke out those royal turtles earlier!"

Bleed them?

Jack scratched his head. He had only bled chickens and ducks before, but he hadn't laid a hand on humans yet.

He was a bit troubled, but since it was Boss Hanafuda's order...

He finally pulled out his weapon from behind—similar to Hanafuda's, it was also a huge scythe—and walked toward the tied-up merchants.

The merchants were terrified and struggled desperately, but the ropes were tied too tightly, and it was to no avail.

"Lord Hanafuda!"

Someone shouted in grief and indignation. "This will kill many people! We didn't offend you, why do you have to do this!"

"Yes! And how did the royal family offend you to require such ruthless means?"

The royal family?

Hanafuda sneered. Just as he was about to say something, a beautiful and slender figure hurried over from behind, offering a Den Den Mushi with both hands:

"Lord Hanafuda, a call, it's a call from the Alabasta royal family!"

"Hmm?"

Hanafuda raised an eyebrow and took the Den Den Mushi. The ferocity on his face faded slightly, replaced by a playful smile.

"Hello?" he said lazily, his tone tinged with mockery. "Finally willing to contact me? King Cobra?"

The other end of the Den Den Mushi was silent for a moment, and then a low, serious voice came through:

"Mr. Hanafuda, I am Igaram, captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard."

Hanafuda's smile turned cold instantly.

"A mere guard captain, worthy of talking to me?"

He sneered. "What, where is that old guy Cobra? Is he feeling guilty, not even having the courage to talk to me personally?"

"His Majesty the King has been seriously ill recently and cannot get away for the time being."

Igaram's voice remained calm, but a hint of tension could be heard. "However, to show our sincerity, the reception team led by our country's only princess, Princess Vivi, is already heading toward the river mouth at full speed!"

"They will arrive within two hours at most. Regarding your sudden arrival in our country and the blockade of the Sandora River, although the royal family does not know the cause, we hope to do our best to reach a reconciliation with you."

"Reconciliation?"

Hanafuda laughed as if he had heard a joke.

The next moment, the smile on his face faded, the tip of his scythe tapped the deck lightly, and he said expressionlessly:

"Sure, hand over the two Devil Fruits that Crocodile was supposed to give me, and I'll leave immediately, without delaying your kingdom's business with these merchant caravans."

"Devil Fruits?"

Igaram was stunned, and when he spoke again, his voice was clearly surprised:

"Where would we have any Devil Fruits... Listening to you, it seems you had an unfinished transaction with Lord Crocodile, and because of his accidental death, it wasn't completed? But why come to us for it?"

"Why?"

The veins on Hanafuda's forehead throbbed, and he roared:

"Stop playing dumb! On this sea, who doesn't know how good the relationship between Crocodile and your Alabasta royal family is? Good enough to wear the same pair of pants!"

"What's more!"

Hanafuda shouted angrily, "From the beginning, Crocodile used your royal family's name to buy weapons from me! That guy doesn't even have subordinates, why would he need so many weapons and equipment? Isn't it obvious he was purchasing for your royal guard?"

"For the past few months, I've delivered the weapons on time every time, but what was the result? What was the result?"

"The result is that the two Zoan Devil Fruits promised to me in exchange were never delivered! Crocodile is dead, if I don't come to your royal family to collect the debt, who should I look for? Huh? Who! Answer me!!"

The other end of the Den Den Mushi was silent again.

Igaram seemed to want to say something, but the receiver was snatched away: "...It's okay, Igaram, let me talk to him personally!"

"Hello?"

A young girl's voice came from the receiver:

"I am Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom. Hello, Lord Hanafuda. Regarding what you just mentioned, I think there must be some misunderstanding."

Hanafuda narrowed his eyes.

Princess Vivi?

Seems like she's just a little girl about the same age as his own daughter, Ulti?

What could a little brat of this age know?

He felt disdain in his heart, but still said coldly: "Oh? Little girl, tell me, what kind of misunderstanding could there be?"

"First, the royal family has never entrusted Crocodile to purchase any weapons. Second, the so-called Devil Fruit transaction he reached with you is something the royal family has never known about."

Princess Vivi's voice was young but carried an undeniable firmness.

"I can swear on behalf of my father and the 800-year reputation of the Nefertari family that there is absolutely no such thing!"

"Instead, we should thank you for the information you inadvertently revealed, which made us suspicious of the true motive for Crocodile's long-term activities in Alabasta. The royal family has already arranged for people to investigate the truth, and once there is a result, we will definitely notify you as soon as..."

"Too much nonsense!"

Hanafuda picked his ears impatiently. "What truth, what motive, I don't care about that stuff! I just want to know, those two Zoan Devil Fruits... no, since you wasted so much of my time, it should be three now!"

"Three fruits, or you can replace them with Zoan ability users. One word, can your royal family give them to me or not!"

He swung his scythe suddenly, and a huge air wave was slashed out.

Boom!

A merchant ship not far away was instantly cut in half and burst open. The merchants and sailors on it fell into the water, making panicked cries.

"Did you hear that pleasant screaming, Princess?"

Hanafuda grinned:

"My patience is limited. Regardless of whether you can arrive at the river mouth in time, as long as the Devil Fruits I want aren't gathered, from now on, I will destroy one ship every ten minutes until the royal family hands them over!"

*Click*, regardless of Vivi's reaction on the other side, Hanafuda hung up the phone expressionlessly.

He looked at the dumbfounded Jack and frowned:

"Why are you standing there like a fool? My previous order is still valid, do it!"

Jack finally woke up.

"Yes, Boss Hanafuda!"

Just as Jack reached out to grab the first unlucky guy—

*Swish!*

A vine made of smoke suddenly extended rapidly, wrapping around Jack's wrist, and pulled hard!

Boom—!

He was thrown away violently, smashing heavily against the ship's rail, and the wooden railing shattered instantly!

Dust rose, and Jack's huge body rolled a few times on the edge of the deck before stabilizing, not falling into the sea.

"Who is it!"

Jack stood up abruptly, looking around in anger. "Who! Which bastard, so bold, actually dares to sneak attack me!"

"..."

Hanafuda narrowed his eyes, as if he had sensed something, turned around, and looked toward the river mouth.

Seeing the scene in front of him clearly, he raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of surprise:

"A bit like that guy Aokiji from the Marines. What kind of ability is this?"

—I saw that on the wide Sandora River, at some point, a crystal-clear ice road had condensed.

Amidst the lingering cold air, seven figures stepped on the ice and walked over.

The merchant ships that were originally fleeing to the periphery in terror couldn't help but stop and look back at this side.

"Captain's orders, I'm just following them. What, do you have an opinion?"

A low voice sounded from the white-haired figure on the far right. He was smoking a cigar, tilting his head slightly, and looking indifferently at Jack's angry gaze.

And on his left, the crew members lined up.

Red-Leg Zeff crossed his arms, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's;

Robin, with black hair, lowered her eyes, a faint smile hanging on the corner of her mouth;

Kuina pressed one hand on Wado Ichimonji, her eyes as sharp as a knife.

There were also two young girls standing on either side of the center. The blue-haired girl was emitting ice-cold air, and the orange-haired girl had raging flames burning on her head.

In the very center was the black-haired boy walking slowly.

Xia Nuo had his hands in his pockets, his expression flat. The huge pirate ship blocking the river like a mountain, with its immense pressure, seemed non-existent to him.

After seeing his face clearly, the surrounding merchant ships were in an uproar.

"Hey, are you kidding me, those guys are..."

"That's right! It's that group!"

"How did they happen to come here too... Run, run quickly!"

"If we get caught in a collision of this level, we're done for!"

Amidst the panicked whispers around them.

Xia Nuo raised his head slightly, his gaze passing over Jack and landing directly on Hanafuda:

"Hey, you Warlord."

"Listening to you talk so much nonsense, threatening merchant ships and the royal family, it's very troublesome. It seems... there was a simpler way in front of you."

"A simpler way?"

Hanafuda narrowed his eyes, spun the scythe in his palm, and a ferocious arc rose at the corner of his mouth.

"Brat, tell me, what way?"

Xia Nuo stepped on the ice and moved forward step by step, his crew following closely behind, their momentum becoming more and more steady and powerful.

"Very simple."

He raised his head, his pitch-black eyes staring directly at Hanafuda, and grinned:

"—Just come find me directly, wouldn't that do?"

"...?"

Hanafuda's expression froze for a moment, then he laughed wildly. "Hahahahaha! Find you? A brat who hasn't even grown all his hair? What are you?!"

He swung his scythe abruptly, the blade pointing directly at Xia Nuo!

"Who are you, Crocodile's debt to me, what does it have to do with you?!!!"

As soon as these words came out.

The entire huge pirate ship was dead silent, with only the sound of the sea breeze blowing.

Xia Nuo and the others on the ice were all stunned.

The officers and crew of the Hanafuda Pirates were even more petrified, standing still.

Only Jack stood there holding his scythe, looking blank.

—Boss Hanafuda's tough talk, wasn't it cool and standard? Why is everyone reacting like this?

"Uh, Boss Hanafuda, don't you know him..."

The slender female officer who had brought the Den Den Mushi swallowed, carefully leaned into Hanafuda's ear, and lowered her voice:

"That... the newspaper I gave you last time, did you throw it away without reading it carefully?"

"Newspaper?"

Hanafuda frowned. "What do you mean? You've been following me for so long, don't you know I'm illiterate? When have I ever been able to read that crap!"

"But you should be able to understand the wanted posters..."

The female officer had cold sweat on her forehead. "It's the extra edition on the front page of the World Economic News last month, the ones tucked inside..."

"I'm also face-blind!"

Hanafuda played with his scythe and said impatiently, "Even if I look, I can't remember. Damn it, why are you being so long-winded? Speak up if you have something to say!"

"Yes..."

The female officer shivered, stole a glance at the black-haired boy on the ice, and lowered her voice:

"Boss, this guy is the Xia Nuo who killed Crocodile, the super rookie with a bounty of 540 million Berries..."

Hmm?

Hanafuda's expression froze instantly.

The movement of the scythe spinning in his palm also stopped abruptly.

"..."

Hanafuda's pupils constricted, staring fixedly at the black-haired boy on the ice. "Xia Nuo... you are the captain of the Looming Pirates, the swordmaster Xia Nuo?"

"Correcting you, it's the Looming Adventure Group."

Xia Nuo sighed and rubbed his brow. "Illiterate and face-blind... do I really have to fight an idiot like you? I feel like I'm bullying a mentally disabled person..."

"Less big talk!!!"

Cold sweat seeped from Hanafuda's forehead, but he quickly returned to his arrogant posture and sneered:

"Heh, a brat who just entered the Grand Line, killed Crocodile, so what? Do you think your strength is enough to challenge all the Warlords?"

"I am Hanafuda! A man who had a bounty of 500 million five years ago. I'm different from that clown Sand Crocodile who lost his fighting spirit and only knew how to play hero in the desert!"

He gripped his scythe tightly, his gaze gradually becoming cold and ferocious:

"However, you were right about one thing. Crocodile couldn't deliver the order because he was killed by you. This bad debt should indeed be settled with you!"

"Now that you've shown yourself, are you planning to give me three Zoan fruits, or should I cut off your two arms and one leg to vent my anger as compensation?"

"What if I don't want to do either?" Xia Nuo said with a smile.

"How arrogant, brat..."

Hanafuda grinned ferociously. "Looks like you're really determined to challenge me. Then let me show you my strength!!"

*Swish!*

He stepped on his heel and lunged, waving his scythe from the sky, slashing fiercely at the black-haired boy on the ice below—

"Challenge?"

Xia Nuo raised his head slightly, looking at the huge scythe slashing down with terrifying wind pressure, a mocking arc slowly curling at the corner of his mouth.

*Clap.*

It wasn't until the scythe was about to embed into his facial skin that he finally made a move. In Hanafuda's stunned gaze, he easily grabbed the blade of the scythe with just his left hand.

"I say, did you get something wrong..."

The sharp edge of the scythe was only an inch away from Xia Nuo's brow, but it couldn't move forward at all—that slender, powerful palm gripped the blade so casually yet firmly, without even using Armament Haki.

This guy's strength is actually this great?

Hanafuda's pupils shrank, and he suddenly noticed that the other party's free right hand had clenched into a fist at some point.

Boom!

The next instant, the fist wrapped in Armament Haki smashed heavily into Hanafuda's abdomen, and the terrifying shockwave exploded like ripples!

Hanafuda's eyes bulged instantly, and blood sprayed wildly from his mouth!

"Wuaaah!!!"

His body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through the sails of several merchant ships, and finally crashed heavily into the desert on the right side of the riverbank, dust filling the sky.

Xia Nuo's calm voice came at this moment:

"—Clearly, you are the challenger, right?"

The entire Sandora River mouth was dead silent.

Jack and the other pirate officers were dumbfounded, and the civilians on the merchant ships opened their mouths wide, looking at this scene in disbelief.

—Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a great pirate with an original bounty of 500 million Berries, was actually blown away with one punch?!

"Ara, is he dead?"

Robin didn't seem surprised at all, turned her head, and asked with a smile.

"Not quite."

Smoker responded with a cigar in his mouth. "The Captain's punch, someone else might not be able to take it, but this guy, after all, was once a Lead Performer of the Beasts Pirates, brothers with Kaido, the type with thick skin and flesh. It's not that easy to be defeated."

As if to reflect the accuracy of his words.

The next moment.

Rumble—!!!

The entire desert on the right side of the riverbank suddenly trembled violently, like the shuddering before an ancient giant beast wakes up.

"Hey!"

"What's wrong, what's the situation, what is this movement!"

On the merchant ship closest to the riverbank, the sailors stared in terror.

But before their eyes, this originally calm sandy land was now like a boiling pot of oil, yellow sand rolling and surging like waves!

"ROAR!!!"

A roar that shook the heavens and the earth suddenly tore through the heat wave, and the sound waves rippled visibly in the air!

A behemoth broke out of the sand, and the sandstorm it set off instantly covered half the sky.

—It was actually a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex over twenty meters long.

It was covered in pitch-black scales, and a sweep of its thick tail snapped several poplar trees in half. In its bloody mouth, white sharp teeth flashed with cold light.

Turning its head to look over, seeing the black-haired boy on the riverbank, the T-Rex's eyes were instantly filled with ferocity:

"Bastard... brat, you've completely angered me, get over here!!!"

"No wonder this guy's nickname is Lizard King." Smoker frowned. "So it's an Ancient Zoan T-Rex fruit, really a rare item..."

He had seen a guy named Drake at the Headquarters before, who also had a similar fruit ability, but it was only an Ancient Zoan Allosaurus, and his strength was already firmly above his own. Now he was already a Rear Admiral at Headquarters.

And compared to a T-Rex... the Allosaurus obviously didn't count for much.

"Looks a bit scary indeed."

Xia Nuo also looked up at the giant T-Rex with interest. With the movement of that transformation just now, he almost thought he had traveled to the Ultraman set.

"How about we just ignore this guy."

Nojiko laughed. "The ice I made is very shallow. If this guy rushes over, he'll probably fall directly into the sea. This form is scary, but on the coast side, it can't threaten us at all."

Yes.

The Snow-Snow Fruit brought back by her brother, because Kuina stubbornly wanted to become the purest greatest swordmaster, she refused to eat it. Uncle Zeff also said that a chef on the sea couldn't be a landlubber, and if he wanted to eat a fruit, he would have done it when he was young. Gin and the mochi didn't care at all...

So in the end, she ate it.

Nojiko loved the cool effects this fruit could produce and had been studying it hard for the past few days.

She had basically adapted to it and combined it with martial arts, developing several moves with good lethality.

"We still have to deal with him."

Xia Nuo grinned. "It's been a long time since I've seen a guy with such thick skin. It's rare to have a suitable punching bag, how can I not stretch my muscles?"

Oh, there seems to be another thick-skinned guy.

He looked at Jack on the huge black pirate ship, who was still standing there a bit dazed.

This guy seems to be a rookie, unlike the Drought who dared to rush at a ship full of Marine bigwigs. It seems he doesn't need to be taken too seriously.

"Officers of the Hanafuda Pirates, I'll leave them to you. Let Gin come down to help too. Try not to affect the merchant ships nearby."

"Don't worry, Captain, leave it to us."

Kuina nodded and looked back. "As for those merchant ships, don't worry, they are very sensible and have already retreated far away."

"Hmm, then I have no worries, I can go play with this Warlord."

Xia Nuo shifted his gaze to the giant T-Rex.

"Hey, brat, why haven't you come over yet!"

The T-Rex stared at him, grinning ferociously. "Could it be that after seeing your Boss Hanafuda's power, you're trembling with fear!"

"People from the Beasts Pirates really don't have very good brains."

Xia Nuo sighed.

He twisted his neck slightly, and a series of crackling sounds like popping beans suddenly sounded.

*Crack!*

The next moment, the ice surface suddenly burst, and the black-haired boy's figure disappeared from the spot in an instant!