Chapter 124: Beating Boss Hua Zha Senseless

Boom!

A blinding crimson beam erupted from the T-Rex's mouth in an instant!

Between heaven and earth, the entire field of vision was instantly filled with red; terrifying high heat rushed forward, and wherever the beam passed, the air instantly distorted and evaporated.

Siano had never expected this move.

With both hands still gripping the dragon tail, he had no time to dodge; instead, he simply lifted the tail to block, while Armament Haki hummed and instantly covered both his arms.

Sizzle—!

The crimson beam struck the dragon tail; the scales instantly carbonized and shattered, exposing the vertebrae within, as a burnt smell spread amidst billowing white smoke.

"Roar!"

Stung by pain, the T-Rex let out a furious roar, its thick tail beginning to twist and struggle wildly.

Meanwhile, Siano's arms sizzled from the scorching aftermath; although Armament Haki blocked most of the damage, his arms were burned glowing red.

So hot!

Siano gritted his teeth in pain, glancing at his arms where large patches of skin had peeled off like lacquer.

This feeling was all too familiar.

The temperature and destructive power unleashed by Boss Hua Zha's attack were comparable to magma blasted at close range by Akainu!

Wait, is this reasonable?

You're a T-Rex; on what grounds can you breathe dragon fire!

If he hadn't reacted in time and used the opponent's tail to block most of the damage,

his arms would likely have melted away by now, leaving nothing but bare white bones!

"You like breathing fire, do you!"

He flew into a rage himself; veins bulging on his arms, he held the dragon tail fast regardless of how hard Boss Hua Zha struggled.

In the next instant, Siano exerted sudden force, lifting the entire T-Rex over his head; without bothering to slam it back and forth, he simply swung it in circles through the air, just like a helicopter's rotor—

He clearly felt that

ever since firing that beam, Boss Hua Zha's aura had weakened considerably, and now, under this rapid spinning torment, it was declining at a visible speed.

Whirrr! Whirrr!

The rotation speed increased rapidly, exceeding a hundred revolutions in the blink of an eye.

Boss Hua Zha's furious roars gradually turned into intermittent wails amidst the high-speed spinning, and its already scarred tail was now on the verge of being torn off by Siano.

"Get up there!"

Boom!!!

The T-Rex suddenly flew from his grip; aided by the combined forces of centrifugal force and inertia, its massive body, like a small mountain, was flung high into the sky!

Fifty meters, one hundred meters, the altitude climbed continuously—

Siano glanced upward.

Then, in the next instant, he bent his knees slightly; the ground exploded with a boom, and his entire person shot skyward like a cannonball!

Swish swish swish!

In several flashes, his figure instantly caught up above the T-Rex; he raised his right leg high, and black Armament Haki surged like a tide, spreading from his ankle to his entire lower leg in an instant.

"You like breathing fire? Then go ahead and spit it out again!"

Sneering, Siano bent his knees and plunged downward, his right leg chopping down fiercely like a battle axe!

"Storm Leg: Ripple Meteor!"

Thud—!!!

This kick heavily struck the T-Rex's abdomen, and visible ring-shaped shockwaves exploded outward.

The scales on the chest and abdomen of the T-Rex form instantly concaved and shattered, and its internal organs nearly shifted position under the terrifying impact.

Pain turned Boss Hua Zha's eyes blood-red; it suddenly twisted its head to bite, but Siano tanked it with Iron Body, its sharp teeth scraping against his Haki-covered shoulder and sparking blindingly.

"No strength left to breathe fire, but still enough to bite people, huh!"

Siano's smile grew even more ferocious. "But such tricks can no longer threaten me!"

It was time!

He drew his right fist back; terrifying aura gathered like a vortex, the muscles of his entire arm bulging and expanding by a full circle, veins protruding like coiling snakes and worms.

The final strike!

"Elbaf Lance—"

Hearing the low shout suddenly ring out beside his ear, Boss Hua Zha looked up in disbelief.

Impossible!

This guy... how does he know this move just like Brother Kaido?!

"Raikou!!!"

Boom!

Boss Hua Zha had no time to react before the surging, turbulent fist wind was fully released toward its abdomen!

"Roar!!!"

Amidst a piercing scream, the T-Rex's limbs hung limp, and its entire body plummeted downward at a speed even faster than its ascent!

Rumble-rumble-rumble—!!!

The T-Rex's massive body crashed into the desert like a meteor, and the terrifying impact instantly stirred up towering waves of sand!

The entire desert seemed ignited by a small mushroom cloud; a violent shockwave exploded outward in rings, and yellow sand surged skyward like a tsunami, blotting out the sun and sky!

Crash-crash-crash!

The sandy ground for several kilometers around collapsed wildly, forming a giant crater hundreds of meters in diameter, with sand and gravel at the edges cascading inward like a waterfall.

At the center of the pit, scorching heat continuously rose, distorting the air, and as the dust settled, the Tyrannosaurus's body had already reverted to human form.

Boss Hua Zha lay slumped in the depths of the pit, covered in blood.

His chest was deeply caved in, his arms twisted at grotesque angles, and he continued to vomit fresh blood mixed with shards of internal organs.

"Cough... cough-cough..."

After a long while, Boss Hua Zha exerted all his strength, barely managing to lift his upper body.

In his blurred vision, a tall, slender figure was walking slowly across the sand waves, looking down at him from above.

"See, I said that if I wanted to end it, then it should be ended, yet you refused to believe it."

Boss Hua Zha strained to open his eyes wide, finally making out the other's appearance clearly.

At this moment, the black-haired youth, though covered in blood and with his arms burned by high temperatures until the skin split and flesh gaped, possessed an aura even more ferocious than at the start of the battle.

In those pitch-black eyes, a battle intent that made his hair stand on end still burned.

Clearly, the opponent still retained a final shred of remaining strength.

In other words.

Whether in strength, speed, martial arts technique... or even the physique he was most proud of, the opponent was actually superior to him by a margin.

"My skills are simply inferior..."

Boss Hua Zha completely abandoned his last will to resist, lying down powerlessly, and let out a bitter laugh:

"Today counts as Laozi having bad luck; I specifically picked an auspicious day to come to Alabasta to collect a debt, only to run into a monster like you right away... Forget it, saying more is just nonsense, go ahead and do it!"

"Rest assured, I will give you a quick end."

Siano said in a deep voice.

"Thank you."

Boss Hua Zha grinned, closed his eyes, and quietly awaited the arrival of death.

Siano drew the tachi from his back, stepped forward, his expression calm.

This was precisely the charm of this great sea.

Those who roam here, regardless of their faction, whether noble or base in character, whether adhering to their own hearts or causing harm everywhere.

Those capable of shaking the world for a time and calling themselves heroes, when the fate of death arrives, ultimately possess some pride and backbone, having long made their resolve.

Of course, occasionally, there are a few shameless exceptions.

But the Boss Hua Zha before him clearly did not fall into that category.

A few minutes later.

Siano, covered in blood, stepped out of the sand pit and arrived at the riverbank.

The entire area along the Sandora River was silent.

Whether it was the residents of the Oasis City on the opposite bank, or the sailors and merchants on the merchant ships, everyone stared wide-eyed, fixated on the figure of that black-haired youth.

"He... he won?"

Someone asked, trembling.

The next second—

"He won!!!"

The entire riverbank instantly erupted in deafening cheers!

"So strong! That was a Warlord of the Sea with an original bounty of 500 million Berries! He was actually defeated so quickly!"

"Boss Hua Zha is dead! The Hua Zha Pirates are completely finished! We are saved!"

"Lord Siano! Lord Siano!"

The sailors on the merchant ships waved their hats excitedly, and some even knelt directly on the deck, kowtowing heavily in the direction of the riverbank.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving us!"

"If you hadn't stepped in, we would never have escaped; we would all have died here!"

"Long live the Curtain Fall Pirates!"

"Idiot! Didn't you hear Lord Siano say earlier? It's an adventure group!"

"Oh, right, right, right, long live the Curtain Fall Adventure Group!!!"

Cheers swept across the entire riverbank like waves, and some people even excitedly jumped into the river, swimming desperately toward the shore, wanting to gaze upon this youthful hero from close range.

However, not everyone was like this.

On the opposite side of the riverbank, Siano clearly perceived.

Many local residents of Alabasta looked at him with eyes containing wariness and fear, even mixed with hatred.

Even though he had defeated Boss Hua Zha, who was about to go on a killing spree, and saved them, this was their reaction?

Siano shrugged, having expected this long ago.

After all, this was Alabasta; the previous national hero of this nation, Crocodile, had died at his hands not long ago.

Old Croc had operated in Alabasta for many years, actively hunting pirates and accumulating a good reputation, so among the local residents, there were naturally no shortage of his die-hard fans.

And the scene of his battle with Boss Hua Zha, in the eyes of these people, would likely only be seen as black eating black among villains, wouldn't it?

Regarding this, Siano did not care.

This was the consequence of the masses being manipulated and blinded by a mastermind behind the scenes; the truth behind it would surely come to light one day.

No.

To be precise, the day the truth comes to light seems to be today.

As if sensing something, he turned his head to look to the left.

On the riverbank there, besides his companions, there was another group of people who had long been waiting for him.

The blue-haired girl at the front looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old; she was staring this way without blinking, and upon seeing him look over, she suddenly became excited, waving her arms frantically:

"Lord Siano, come over here, over here, over here!"

Weiweidian?

Siano's eyebrows lifted slightly; during the earlier call with Boss Hua Zha, the man's voice had been so loud that everyone on the riverbank had heard it clearly, so he had long known that Weiweidian would represent the royal family in coming over.

It was just that this reaction... seemed a bit strange.

He and this little girl were clearly meeting for the first time, weren't they?

Why did she act like a star-struck girl finally meeting her idol?

——————

Siano's doubt was soon answered.

After the two sides met and briefly introduced themselves, Weiweidian immediately latched onto him.

One moment she popped up on his left, the next she blocked his right front, incessantly asking this and that.

"Lord Siano! So you're this young, only a few years older than me! Can I call you Big Brother?"

"Big Brother Siano, how can your strength be so great? You can even throw a Tyrannosaurus Rex around; that's amazing!"

"Big Brother Siano, what must I do to become as powerful as you? Can you teach me?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't walk so fast, Big Brother Siano! You haven't answered my questions yet!"

"..."

Siano's head throbbed from the little one's noise; he would rather fight Boss Hua Zha again than endure this torment.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at the Captain of the Kingdom Guard accompanying them.

"Uh, Uncle, your name is Igaram, right? Is Your Highness the Princess usually like this?"

"Uh, no, Lord Siano..."

Wiping sweat, Igaram smiled awkwardly, "Although Her Highness Weiweidian is still young, she is usually very sensible, strong, and responsible; this time, with His Majesty the King bedridden by illness, she knew the danger yet still voluntarily stepped forward to shoulder the mission..."

"Then how come..."

"It may be that Her Highness the Princess was too worried along the way, fearing that the people near the port had already fallen victim to Boss Hua Zha's poison."

Igaram spread his hands, "However, carrying an extremely tense mood, after finally arriving, what she saw was the scene of Boss Hua Zha being completely controlled by you..."

"Thus, her tense body suddenly relaxed, and subconsciously, she transformed all that relief on the spot into worship and respect for you."

Igaram understood his own Princess's state of mind very well.

Indeed, he himself had gone through a similar psychological journey.

Compared to Her Highness Weiweidian, who had little contact with outside information, he had long heard of the terrifying reputation of the Warlord of the Sea, Hua Zha.

That was an existence who had carved out a fearsome reputation even in the New World, and yet?

Rushing over with bated breath, he had just arrived to see, on the opposite riverbank, that huge and terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex being thrown back and forth like a toy, almost powerless to fight back.

In very little time, it was completely defeated.

The crisis looming over the nation vanished into thin air.

And the one who accomplished this turned out to be a youth who looked only seventeen or eighteen, with delicate and handsome features.

After witnessing this shocking scene firsthand, who could not feel admiration and awe!

Even a middle-aged man of his years could not suppress his excitement; he wanted to clear his throat and sing a song for the other party, alright!

"La la, la—"

Hearing the low tenor voice drifting to his ears.

Siano's head throbbed even more, and he couldn't help rubbing his brow.

Great, he had almost forgotten that this uncle was an opera lover, the type who, even in the original timeline while undercover at Baroque Works, would feel uncomfortable if he didn't sing a few tunes every day.

However, with Igaram's explanation, he mostly understood.

Weiweidian was still young, and under continuous emotional fluctuations, she was easily influenced by the hero worship effect, the bridge effect, the Tyndall effect, the Pythagorean theorem, and so on.

Ultimately, upon seeing him, she ended up looking like this, a fan-girl with shining eyes.

"Speaking of which, you really are quite bold; just for this reason, you dared to actively approach me?"

Siano shook his head, "Don't forget, I am also a pirate with a bounty of 540,000,000 Berries; your national hero, Crocodile, also died at my hands."

"You, who have defeated two Warlords of the Sea in succession, possess such immense power; if you truly harbored ill will toward our nation, what meaning would there be in our vigilance, no matter how strict?"

Igaram stopped his throat-clearing motion and spoke solemnly:

"Moreover, after this contact and conversation, your words and deeds, your conduct and character, do they not precisely prove that our judgment was correct?"

"You, who see injustice and are willing to lend a hand; you, who suddenly saved so many merchant ships and local residents—you are absolutely not the heinous villain described in the newspapers!"

"Rather than trembling with fear and being on guard, it is better to speak openly and treat each other with sincerity; this is the way of treating guests that we, the people of Alabasta born in the desert, believe in!"

(End of Chapter)