Chapter 149

Its eyes blazed with madness as it charged toward them.

Kuina placed her hand on the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji at her waist, drew a light breath, then drew her blade and swung.

A flash of sword-light streaked through the air.

The Wado Ichimonji in her hand had already returned to its sheath.

The draw and the sheathing were but a single instant.

Crack!

A slash-mark appeared on the stone monster that Wapol had become.

Under Dalton's stunned gaze.

It sliced him diagonally clean in two.

The cut surface was perfectly smooth.

"What a beautiful sword-stroke."

Conis praised, "It looks like you, Kuina, aren't all that far from becoming a Great Swordsman."

Kuina shook her head: "No, I'm still far from it."

"Indeed."

Luo En nodded and offered a serious critique: "That Iaido slash only achieved such power by borrowing the Lei Zhi Breathing Method to condense force extremely tightly and unleash it in a single instant. In truth, compared to a Great Swordsman, it still…"

Before he could finish, he saw Kuina shoot him a somewhat annoyed look, her cheeks puffed out slightly.

Conis, Luo Bin, and Bonney, who had taken the form of a little girl, also stared at him with exasperated expressions.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Luo En asked, puzzled.

Bonney, in the form of a little girl with a red cloak and long pink hair, stood with her hands on her hips, sighed at Luo En, and said: "The captain can be pretty dumb sometimes."

"Indeed."

"That's right."

Luo Bin and Conis nodded in agreement.

Luo En and his disciple Xiao Qi exchanged a glance, question marks popping up over their heads, both utterly bewildered.

Dalton, who had by now confirmed the identities of this group and whose heart was churning with monstrous waves, took a deep breath, dropped his weapon, and prostrated himself before the black-haired youth at their head, his forehead pressed tight to the ground, and declared loudly:

"Offending you all without cause is truly… a crime I cannot escape even by dying ten thousand deaths!!"

Luo En and the others turned to look at him.

"The offense to you all is the responsibility of King Wapol and me, his captain of the guard. I am willing to pay with my life. I beg you… do not take it out on the citizens of this country!"

Dalton had already steeled himself to die.

Hearing his words, Luo En narrowed his eyes slightly: "Is that so… then go ahead and die."

He raised a hand and pointed; the snowflakes suspended in the air around them coalesced into several giant lions that surged toward him with the force of an avalanche.

Dalton, prostrate on the ground, was buried directly beneath the snow.

Luo En snapped his fingers again, and the snow scattered once more. Dalton lay sprawled on the ground, alive or dead unknown.

"Is he dead?"

Conis asked Luo En.

"Zoan users aren't that easy to kill."

Luo En smiled at her, "Besides, I'm not a bloodthirsty person. He was just following orders, so why would I want to take a life for no reason? Killing the one who gave the order is enough."

Kuina nodded lightly; she too felt Luo En had done the right thing.

But the next second.

Luo En turned to look in a certain direction, smiling faintly: "Wouldn't you say so, Bear?"

Kuina, Conis, and the others hadn't yet reacted.

The massive bear appeared on that open ground as if by teleportation.

"Tyrant—Bartholomew Kuma!"

Luo Bin stared at the bear, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her forehead.

"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

Conis was also somewhat shaken.

Why would one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea appear here?

As for Bonney, looking at the bear, a flush of excitement and joy appeared on her face.

Kuina stared at the bear for a moment, then remembered.

Back when she and Luo En had arrived at the Goa Kingdom aboard the Revolutionary Army's ship, hadn't he been at Dragon's side? He had even given her and Luo En a few candies; he had seemed like a very gentle person.

Why had he, once a member of the Revolutionary Army, become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?

"It's been a long time."

Luo En smiled at the bear, whose nickname was Tyrant.

"It's been six years. I didn't expect you to still remember."

The bear looked at him and spoke, his voice unexpectedly gentle to Luo Bin and Conis.

Hearing his voice, tears welled up at the corners of Bonney's eyes.

Back then, when he and the Revolutionary Army had rescued her in some war-torn country, he had spoken comforting words to her in that same gentle voice.

Although Kuma had probably long forgotten, Bonney would never forget, no matter what.

To her, Bartholomew Kuma was a benefactor!

"I heard everything you said just now. Well said."

The Bear looked at Luo En and said, "Wanton slaughter can never solve a problem. The me of the past simply didn't understand this truth, which is why I committed many mistakes."

Luo En's heart stirred slightly.

The Bear of the past?

The mistakes he had committed?

Could the things Bartholomew Bear had done in the past be related to his later willingness to be modified by Vegapunk?

134, Facing Huang Yuan Head-On, the Shocking Battle on Drum Island!

"You came here to capture me?"

Luo En looked at him and asked.

The Bear nodded: "Besides me, there's also Admiral Huang Yuan."

Luo En's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Bear only mentioned one Huang Yuan — in his view, only Huang Yuan was worth noting.

Those two Vice-Admirals were irrelevant whether mentioned or not; they posed no threat to the black-haired youth before him.

"During the battle, I'll find a chance to send you away. If you're traveling, where would you like to go?"

The Bear asked Luo En.

Before Luo En could give an answer, a yellow flash flickered on the distant sea surface.

Almost at the same instant, the Bear who had sensed Huang Yuan's arrival raised his bear paw and slammed it down toward Luo En and the others.

"Pressure Cannon."

The bear-paw-shaped shockwave shot toward Luo En at high speed.

Luo En activated Soru and dodged in an instant. The bear-paw-shaped shockwave slammed into the ground; the surface first cracked, then collapsed downward with a rumble, forming a bear-paw-shaped crater over ten meters across.

Yellow photons coalesced in the air into Huang Yuan's figure, hands stuffed in his pockets, his lecherous look unchanged as always.

"Already fighting, I see. Tyrant Bear, you really do move fast."

The instant he appeared.

Kuina, her long blue hair tied in a high ponytail, placed her hand on her sword hilt. Sword intent gathered around her entire body, as if she would draw and slash the next second, erupting with the might of thunder.

Conis also activated her ability in an instant; iron spikes materialized around her, spinning and hovering outside her body, their frosty tips pointed straight at Huang Yuan in the air.

Kung-Fu Sea Lion Xiao Qi threw himself into a boxing stance, spiral-shaped qi coiling around his small fist, ready to blast out at any moment.

"Oh?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Huang Yuan's eyes.

All three of them have mastered Observation Haki?

Bonney and Luo Bin were a step slower, but they reacted immediately as well, staring warily at Huang Yuan in the air, ready to activate their abilities at any moment.