Chapter 21: The Clown and the Queen

The scorching sun hung in the sky, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadows in the forest.

Aside from the bull-horned lion from just a moment ago, the crew had hunted a few other animals, and by now they had already tied them to a spit to roast over a fire; A Nuo was currently preparing the seasonings.

Xiao En brought some liquor over with a few crew members, Ka Li Na sat on the ground drawing maps, and Gai Ou watched the strange animal being prepared on the grill, struggling to hold back his drool.

After eating and drinking their fill, Luo Di gave a few instructions to Xiao En and Gai Ou, then let the crew have some free time; Luo Di took Ka Li Na to the foot of a mountain.

Previously, because time was tight and activities on the ship were limited, these past few days had only been basic physical training without high-intensity cultivation; now that there was an opportunity, he naturally had to seize the time.

Ka Li Na found a wooden stump to sit on and observed Luo Di not far away; Luo Di stood at the foot of the mountain and closed his eyes.

"Hoo— ha—"

Following his unique breathing, the Ripple within his body surged slowly under his guidance, and the surrounding leaves were also stirred up by the air currents.

Luo Di suddenly opened his eyes and waved his palm toward the ground; an invisible force surged out, and in an instant, the leaves on the ground seemed to be endowed with magnetism, sticking together one after another and gathering into a spherical shape.

As Luo Di waved his arm, the sphere followed the direction he controlled, flying out violently as if it had been kicked, and then instantly hovered in front of Ka Li Na.

Ka Li Na was startled, the sphere being less than a meter away from her.

Ka Li Na was so frightened that she trembled, her chest heaving like soft, bouncy jelly, and she coquettishly chided: "Can't you aim at something else? My small frame can't handle being scared like that."

"Hehe." Luo Di smiled, pointed his arm toward the sky, and the sphere instantly flew up, bursting in the air to create a rain of leaves.

The leaves fell onto Ka Li Na's head one after another; she sighed and continued to sit down.

Truly excessive.

Ripple is energy produced through a specific breathing method; the "Crimson Ripple" with scorching properties that Luo Di used earlier was just one type, and what he was using now was another, "Life Magnetism Ripple," whose effect is to manipulate organic matter like leaves through the adhesive properties of the Ripple, somewhat similar to Ji De's Magnet-Magnet Fruit.

However, this type of Ripple can only adhere to organic matter like trees, and its offensive power is far inferior to the steel manipulated by the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, making it more functional.

Aside from Crimson and Life Magnetism, he also had a strand of Immortal Pulse Ripple within his body nourishing it; any substance harmful to his body would be immediately decomposed and evaporated, which was also the reason why he didn't get drunk when drinking.

Besides Ripple, he also needed to practice his control over Haki.

In the world of pirates, Haki is definitely an essential quality for the strong; the fact that he could learn Armament Haki and Observation Haki through the precise observation of Star Platinum showed that his mentality was fine; if he had been timid and only thought about finding a place to hide when he first transmigrated, he might never have been able to master it.

The rarest of the three types of Haki is Conqueror's Haki, which can release an overwhelming and terrifying aura, causing the weak to lose their minds directly; if the training intensity is high enough, one can also use high-level skills like Infusion.

Luo Di wasn't sure if he could master it, but his mindset remained unchanged; from the moment he set sail, he had prepared himself for death.

Being able to skillfully use a Stand and integrate Ripple and Haki is a necessary condition for sailing toward the New World.

Luo Di was immersed in cultivation; the roars of wild beasts and the sounds of slashing could be heard from the forest from time to time, and after Ka Li Na drew maps for a while, she watched Luo Di's serious cultivation with great interest.

If it were him, he probably wouldn't lose to those people.

Two days later.

Luo Di rose from the stream and walked to the bank; Ka Li Na stood up immediately and handed him a clean towel.

"You're becoming more sensible, Ka Li Na." Luo Di praised with satisfaction.

Ka Li Na pouted and said: "Hmph, I'm just too bored; I can't cultivate like you guys, and there's nothing to do after the sea charts are finished."

Luo Di dried his body, put on his clothes, and walked to where everyone was gathered.

They had stayed here for these two days; besides training, they hunted, and under Ka Li Na's guidance, they also picked many fruits and collected plenty of fresh water.

Luo Di felt that the rest was enough and was about to order the crew to board the ship when a crew member suddenly ran over in a hurry, panicking: "Captain! It's bad, there's a ship coming toward us!"

Because the crew member's steps were too hurried, he accidentally tripped and fell toward the ground; just as his face was about to make intimate contact with the ground, a force pulled him up and hauled him directly in front of Luo Di.

"What's wrong?" Luo Di asked.

The crew member pointed to the coastline: "Two pirate ships are coming; they are both large ships, and there are quite a few people on them."

Hearing this, the crew members who were still sitting and resting stood up one after another, gripping their weapons tightly, waiting for Luo Di's orders.

Not far from the coastline, two pirate ships painted with playing card patterns were sailing toward the shore; Jack the Clown stood at the bow of one of them, his eyes looking coldly at Luo Di's ship docked at the coast.

And the bow of the other ship was shaped like a bathtub; Honey Queen was bathing, her smooth buttocks exposed above the water, and she said with seductive eyes: "They really are here; it wasn't in vain that we searched for so long."

The clown drew his long sword: "Blood Calamity, you bastard actually dared to lie to me; I'm going to torture you to death and then use your skull to soak liquor!"

Hearing the name of the Poker Pirates, Ka Li Na felt her heart tighten instinctively, and a sense of fear welled up; she remembered the punishment the Honey Queen had inflicted on her back then to make her submit and obediently marry their Da Xiong Wang.

Luo Di patted Ka Li Na on the shoulder and said calmly: "Relax, you are my navigator; I will make the guys who hurt you pay the price."

After saying this, Luo Di turned around and said: "Little ones, the time to test the results of your training these past few days has come. Xiao En, you will command this battle."

"Yes, Captain Luo Di." Xiao En nodded, flattered, and then shouted to the crew: "Everyone, head to the coast quickly."

"Kill!" The crew members were all high-spirited.

Xiao En said respectfully to Gai Ou again: "Lord Gai Ou, I'll go to the ship to command first; please trouble yourself to sneak underwater from the other side..."

The Poker Pirates' ships were getting closer and closer to Luo Di's ship; the clown commanded, pointing his long sword at the ship: "Fire the cannons for me and sink the ship!"

The underlings began to load the cannonballs, and just as they were about to fire, Gai Ou's shark head suddenly popped out of the sea surface.

"Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot!"

Gai Ou waved his arm, and droplets of water struck the Poker Pirates' artillery platform like a barrage of bullets.

Bang!

After the artillery platform was hit by the water droplets, it flipped directly onto the deck; the clown frowned fiercely and drew his Flintlock, wanting to shoot at Gai Ou, but Gai Ou quickly dived again, causing him to lose his target.

"Was that a Fish-Man just now?" The seductiveness in Honey Queen's eyes faded, replaced by a touch of astonishment.

She stood up quickly, not bothering to wipe herself, and put on her clothes and suspender stockings directly.