Chapter 68: Do You Understand Fire Style?
So they targeted me first after all?
In this world where the average person is a idiot, Reiner felt his own IQ was merely '125' – not exactly brilliant.
But he still had some street smarts. Thinking back on people he might have offended since setting sail, potential lingering threats...
There was Smoker, whom he'd tricked, and that small Joker base. Those two.
After brief consideration, Reiner directly ruled out Smoker. The remaining answer became obvious.
Damn, they could actually trace it back? That's ridiculously unexpected.
"Not playing anymore. You girls can have what's left."
"Really, sir?"
Reiner chuckled softly. Amidst the two bunny girls' delighted gazes, he pushed the remaining two million Beri in chips across the table, casually pinching a firm, round buttock on the way, eliciting soft moans from both women.
Reiner adjusted his collar, stood up, turned away from the gambling table, and walked straight outside.
"Looks like playtime is over for tonight."
Zoro picked up the three swords leaning nearby, speaking with interest. He glanced over at Sanji, still lost amidst the crowd of women...
Ah well, best not mention it!
Reiner exited the second-floor casino and went into the stairwell. After confirming no one was around, he summoned the Frieren undead.
Among his powerful undead, this was the only one that hadn't been publicly revealed yet, and it also looked the most human – perfect for testing the waters.
"What's wrong?" Zoro had followed him out from behind. He had noticed the person Reiner made eye contact with and also recognized him as the guard they encountered during the day.
"Not sure yet. Probably fallout from Loguetown," Reiner said coolly.
"Loguetown... ah, that incident."
Zoro rubbed his chin thoughtfully, recalling what Reiner had mentioned before. He rested a hand on his sword hilt and asked, "I left the others inside. Need help?"
"Nah~~ No need. I'll let my undead handle it," Reiner replied with a smile.
The Frieren undead, fused from Ace and Crocodile's templates, was extremely strong. Although its physical stats couldn't compare to Blue Ogre or Red Ogre's, it had abilities.
In a one-on-one situation, Frieren was actually stronger than either the Blue or Red Ogre.
If even this couldn't handle the opponent, then their whole crew might as well pack up and go back to the East Blue.
"Alright then. Looks like there's no excitement to watch here. I'll wait for you to come back for drinks," Zoro said, stuffing one hand in his pocket, the other resting on his sword, before turning back.
He knew Reiner's strength, and even better, he knew Reiner's personality. If Reiner said it was no problem, then there absolutely wouldn't be any accidents.
The Feiwen Grand Hotel was situated at the end of a street, one of the liveliest in the kingdom.
Even though night had fallen, the prosperous royal city still glittered with neon lights. On the streets filled with hedonism, tourists came and went endlessly.
After parting ways with Zoro, Reiner continued downstairs. As soon as he stepped out of the hotel's main entrance, the bustling, vibrant atmosphere of the city that never slept washed over him.
It made Reiner feel momentarily dazed, as if transported back to another world. The noisy chatter of pedestrians reached his ears, yet didn't annoy him in the slightest.
You really have to go out to sea. The wonders of this world are just beginning.
Reiner smiled faintly. No time for excessive emotion. He had already spotted the long-haired man he was looking for in the crowd; the man wasn't moving quickly.
Reiner followed behind Frieren, who in turn tailed the long-haired man. Like this, they unhurriedly navigated through the crowd.
He sensed the man was intentionally leading him somewhere, apparently not planning to fight in this busy area. This coincided perfectly with Reiner's own thoughts, so he went along with it.
He even conveniently bought a pack of cigarettes along the way...
Gold Island was divided into eastern and western peninsulas, connected only by a small strip of land in the middle. Viewed from the sky, the entire island resembled a barbell.
However, although the two peninsulas were symmetrical, the scenery on the island was completely different.
The western peninsula housed the Holled Kingdom city-state, hailed as one of the most prosperous cities and a resort paradise in the first half of the Grand Line. The eastern peninsula, though also belonging to the Holled Kingdom, was mostly vast farmland as far as the eye could see.
The inhabitants were mostly commoners from the lower classes.
Following Sandi to the eastern peninsula, Reiner observed the starkly different scenes within the same country, couldn't help but be reminded of the Goa Kingdom, his 'hometown' in this world.
A nation lauded as the most beautiful in the East Blue, yet rotten to the core with decadent, pathological class ideology – from the Royal Palace, High Town, down to the Edge Town, and even the Gray Terminal.
People were stratified layer by layer; even right and wrong could be twisted by class. In such a shitty place, Sabo, born into the noble class, managing not to be assimilated by the rotten ideology was truly commendable.
However, this country was much better. It didn't have Goa Kingdom's pathological situation. The eastern side served as a concentrated agricultural area simply because the terrain and climate were more suitable.
For convenience to work the nearby fields, the farmers spontaneously moved out of the city-state to live here, resulting in small wooden houses scattered every few hundred meters across the endless fields.
At least, that was the information Reiner had gathered.
Sandi walked all the way to the eastern peninsula but didn't venture deep into the fields. Instead, he stopped and turned, his gaze falling upon a nearby patch of reed marsh.
"Come out. Following me all this way must have been tiring for you."
Sandi stood ramrod straight in his white shirt and pants, one hand on his hip, the other resting on his greatsword. He looked up at the bright moon, an expression of enjoyment on his face.
"This is one of the kingdom's scenic spots. At sunset, the evening glow spills across the endless fields, and the cool autumn wind sweeps through, creating waves of golden wheat."
"I quite like it here. It feels like the wind here can always blow into my heart, bringing a rare moment of clarity. Which is why... I've buried quite a few enemies' bones here."
Sandi paused, lowered his head, his eyes turning sharp. "And tonight, you will be one of them."
Rustle rustle~
A soft rustling sound echoed as a small, delicate figure slowly walked out from the reed marsh.
Long, grayish-white hair tied in twin tails, short bangs parted in an inverted 'V' on her forehead framed a round face. Her vacant, emotionless eyes sent an unconscious chill down one's spine.
"A little girl? Where's the blond man?"
Sandi was clearly puzzled by the figure that appeared. Then, thinking back on the blond man's various actions, understanding dawned in his heart. He stated coolly:
"No need to hide. Your identity is already exposed. You were the one responsible for the Loguetown incident, weren't you? Since you could follow me here, you must know my identity as well."
"Ah, right here."
Rustle~
The golden-haired figure pushed aside the reeds and walked out. Since his identity was exposed, there was no need to hide anymore. Dealing with the opponent here was the key.
"Quite the insidious man. But, not a coward, I'll give you that," Sandi commented expressionlessly, simultaneously drawing the greatsword from his waist.
Zing—!
Heh heh, of course Reiner wasn't a coward. If he were, he wouldn't have gone out to sea, let alone gone to mess with Crocodile.
Knowing Luffy would fight Old Sand, he had prepared Crocodile's coffin step by step. Even when Crocodile charged right at him, he didn't retreat a single step. Insidious and cowardly were never the same thing.
"Speaking of which, how did you suspect me? I don't mean back at the casino," Reiner asked, walking over to stand beside Frieren. A cluster of flame ignited spontaneously, lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
He understood now; the casino incident was the opponent deliberately testing him. The key was why. The opponent wouldn't just test random people; he must have already suspected Reiner to do so.
"The munitions."
Just two words were enough...
"That worked?"
Reiner scratched his golden hair. So that's where they started.
Who would normally think someone would raid their base and then immediately sell off the arms locally?
He thought he was playing it smart, hiding in plain sight, assuming people in this world weren't too bright. Turns out he was the one being too clever for his own good.
Just entered the Grand Line, first Crocodile, now this long-haired man...
"Ai~~ Forget it."
Reiner sighed, walked straight towards a nearby haystack, sat down cross-legged right there, ignoring the man facing off against his summon.
"Underestimating me this much?" Sandi looked displeased. Doesn't even deign to make it a two-on-one?
Reiner remained unconcerned. Of course, he wouldn't do such a thing. Frieren had already scanned the opponent's strength with Observation Haki; that's why Reiner was so fearless.
He just needed to let her perform now. Guaranteed the opponent can't even get close.
Frieren raised the staff in her hand. A small flame ignited, its faint light illuminating her clothes.
The next second, without any warning, the dancing flame instantly transformed into a pillar of scorching fire shooting outwards.
"So fast!" Sandi was instantly alarmed. A Devil Fruit user?
He twisted his foot, forcefully pushing off to the side, barely dodging the abruptly attacking flames. His clothes were somewhat scorched, and even the tips of his hair were burnt curly.
But he clearly had no time to pay attention to these details; the power and speed of the opponent's flames far exceeded his imagination.
Almost like that monster who gained notoriety in the New World these past couple of years...
Reiner was also pleasantly surprised. Complaining aside, he never thought Ace was weak. In fact, Ace's fruit application was definitely top-notch.
Otherwise, back on the ship, Frieren wouldn't have attempted Ace's signature move first.
Cool!
As Frieren waved her staff, numerous fire birds materialized, spreading their wings and attacking Sandi.
Sandi continuously dodged and weaved. However, the fire birds seemed to possess life, relentlessly pursuing him. Even when he swung his sword and cut them apart, they quickly reformed and continued charging at him.
Sandi's expression looked as if he had eaten a fly. He knew continuing like this would just be a waste of stamina.
More importantly, as time passed, the number of fire birds on the field kept increasing!
The true way to solve the problem was to deal with the little girl standing far off, casting fire.
Sandi's expression turned grim. With a slash of his sword, he cleaved an oncoming fire bird in two, then abruptly leaped through the gap, charging towards Frieren.
"Sweeping Sword Wind Pressure!"
Sandi wielded his greatsword as if it were weightless, unleashing a powerful charged slash towards the distance. The several fire birds blocking his path were completely dispersed!
"A flying slash attack?" Reiner was slightly moved. This was the first time he had seen a genuine flying slash.
Just as the opponent was about to reach Frieren, the flame cluster atop her staff instantly swelled, erupting into a sky-high blaze, transforming into an orange-red giant wave dozens of meters high.
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!
Reiner just needed to slightly search his memories, and a pile of techniques could be developed – Fire Style, Earth Style, Lightning Style... plenty to play with.
The key issue was that people like Ace and Old Sand used their fruits well, allowing the template to truly unleash the power of these techniques.
(End of this chapter)
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