One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

On the vast sea, waves were surging, and a huge ship was sailing against the wind on the sparkling sea. On the spacious deck stood a tall house, and a young man stood at the door, holding a heavy mace in both hands, swinging it forward vigorously. Every time he swung it, several dark lightning bolts burst out from the tip of the stick, making a "crackling" sound.

"Well, well, well! You really work hard."

The door of the house was pushed open, and Lingling walked out with a plate of cream puffs, her face full of smiles, "Every time before dawn, I find you practicing your domineering skills here all the time, and you don't even eat much. Are you not confident enough in yourself?"

The boy stopped what he was doing, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and glared at her coldly: "This has nothing to do with you, right?"

"You're still as hard to talk to as always!"

Lingling sat cross-legged on the ground, grabbed a piece of puff with her right hand and put it into her mouth without hesitation, chewing and saying, "According to my observation, your current domineering power is much stronger than when we first met, and even not inferior to mine, but let alone Rocks, there is still a world of difference compared to Whitebeard."

“It still doesn’t work…!”

Kaido slammed the iron rod heavily on the deck, making a heavy muffled sound, and said bitterly, "If this continues, I don't know when I can defeat that guy!"

After hearing his complaints, Lingling licked the remaining butter on her fingertips and asked with interest: "Is it really that important for you to surpass Rocks? I've never seen anyone more powerful than him!"

Kaido looked at the endless sky and murmured, "Only by bringing that guy down can I prove my own worth. This is the unique law of the world where the strong prey on the weak. You won't understand if you haven't experienced war."

"Well, well, well! You have a sentimental side too."

Lingling stood up, walked slowly to Kaido, and said with a smile, "If it were you, maybe it would bring unexpected results! Here! The rest is your breakfast, be grateful to me!"

"Noob! I don't need to eat..."

Kaido looked at the plate she handed over with a lot of puffs on it. Just when he was about to refuse, his stomach growled twice. His cheeks turned red. He slowly picked up a puff with trembling arms and put it into his mouth in big mouthfuls. He closed his eyes and savored it for a while. The puff melted in his mouth and filled his mouth. The dense and sweet cream constantly stimulated his taste buds. He immediately showed an intoxicated expression on his face and nodded with satisfaction: "Delicious!"

"Eclairs are my favorite. I would never give one to you normally."

Lingling's gaze shifted to the front, and a hint of solemnity was revealed in her deep eyes. "This time, it's a different matter."

The sun slowly rose from the sea, giving it a golden hue, as if one were in a dreamlike world. At some point, an island gradually came into view, with densely packed buildings and a huge palace towering into the sky, gleaming like flames in the sun.

This is the destination of Lingling and his group - the Kingdom of Etel. Five days have passed since they set out. During this time, they did not encounter any trouble along the way. Occasionally, some pirate groups that overestimated their capabilities came to harass them, but they were all defeated effortlessly by Lingling. Long Baomao contacted the insider many times and confirmed that there was no obvious movement over there.

It can be said that the development of things was within their expectations.

"Hmm... I feel like this is going too smoothly."

Lingling frowned and shouted into the house, "Baby, come out to me! We're almost there!"

"This girl is still ordering people around like before. I haven't gotten enough sleep yet!"

Long Bread complained, rubbing his eyes and walked out of the house. Uno followed him in a dark green tights. He saw Kaido waving and greeting him. The two stopped in front of Lingling and waited quietly for her instructions.

"Well, well, well! Everyone is here!"

Even though there were only four of them on the deck, Kaido understood what she meant, using the fear of the Kingdom's soldiers to create a Hormies that could rival an army.

Lingling glanced at them, her eyes stopped on the short man and said, "When we send a signal nearby, the insider will sabotage from inside, right?"

Long Bread patted his chest and said confidently: "Don't worry, with his help, those citizens can smoothly serve as our fighting force. Weapons are no problem either. The only one who can be considered a threat is the army commander!"

"I hope that guy is as reliable as you say."

Lingling pulled down the brim of her hat and spoke word by word, "When the operation begins, I will deal with that fellow Herjog, and you three will find that bastard king and do whatever you want with him!"

"Leave everything to me!"

"...Mr. Longbread, I have been paying attention to one thing since just now."

Uno, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly pointed to the front and said, "Usually, in order to prevent pirate attacks, the member states will send out a troop to guard the surrounding areas in addition to the navy patrolling nearby. But let alone the navy, they don't even have many warships of their own. Isn't it strange?"

Everyone followed his gaze and looked into the distance. Just as Uno said, the waters around the island were quiet and there was no sign of any naval ships. There were a few warships parked sparsely near the port, but the number was too small for the garrison.

Long Bread touched his nose in confusion and said in astonishment, "Strange. The insider told me yesterday that there were many warships gathered in the harbor. He is definitely a trustworthy person. But the enemy's actions seem to... want us to land on the island smoothly."

"That is to say."

Lingling propped her chin with her knuckles and said seriously, "I'm afraid this is a conspiracy by the enemy to lure us into a trap so that they can catch us all in one fell swoop."

"You are worrying too much."

Kaido waved the iron rod in his hand and said disapprovingly, "What can those useless guys do?

"

"That may not be the case, Mr. Kaido."

Uno shook his head and said word by word, "Perhaps we missed some very important information in the intelligence we obtained."

At 6:30 in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, Nosaiken had already put on a neat suit and combed his spiky hair in front of the mirror. Feeling quite satisfied with his appearance, he walked out of the bedroom at the brisk pace.

This was the second time he had given a speech to the people since he became the mayor of the capital, Orram. Although he had only been in office for a month, his excellent speaking skills and the strategy of light taxes and levies were enough to gain him a lot of support from the citizens, making him the most popular person in the Kingdom of Etel.

Of course, all of this was just an appearance he put on. His real identity was the deputy of the pirate "Gourmet Knight" Long Bread.

——It is really difficult to play the role of a good and popular mayor. It would be impossible to climb to this position without taking advantage of his father's status.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh in his heart, and before he knew it, he had walked through the long corridor and arrived at the podium. When people saw him come out, they were all excited.

"Ah! It's Mr. Nosaiken! I've been waiting for so long!"

"Ah~ He's still as handsome as ever!"

“I wonder what he will say to us today?”

Looking at the huge crowd below the stage, Nosaiken felt a little elated. He cleared his throat, raised the microphone and said loudly to the crowd: "Dear citizens, I am glad that you are willing to come and listen to my speech! Before that, I have something important to tell you. Please be quiet for a moment!"

As he finished speaking, the crowd suddenly fell silent. Nosaiken looked around the stage, making sure that no one from the King's Army had sneaked in, and said loudly, "Everyone knows that the current ruler, King Pecunia, is incompetent and ruthless. He has wantonly exploited the people's wealth and spent a huge amount of manpower to build a palace for him, causing countless people to go hungry, and some even died on the streets! This is truly a cause of outrage for both humans and gods!"

The people gathered here already had deep resentment towards the royal family, and Nosaiken's words instantly ignited their anger, and they started shouting and cursing one after another.

"That bastard king! He forced my husband to work on the palace, and he died from overwork. His body was almost rotten before it was discovered!"

"They came to my house time and again to collect taxes, making it impossible for my family to even lead a normal life. One time, my child was so hungry that he drank sewage to fill his stomach, and he is still in a coma! Woo woo..."

"My family was too poor to pay the taxes, so they took my son and wife as slaves. I haven't seen them for three years..."

The people's anger poured out like a torrent of water, and it was out of control. Seeing this, Nosaiken secretly rejoiced in his heart, but shouted: "Everyone, please be quiet! I understand your feelings, but scolding will not solve any problems. Although this is the most marginal area of ​​the city, once the king's army is alerted, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Everyone was startled when they heard his words. Thinking of the severe tortures set by the king, they were terrified and soon restrained themselves. As the scolding gradually subsided, Nosaiken said solemnly: "Thank you all for your cooperation. The only way to break the current predicament is to launch an armed resistance against the tyrant! I have used my personal connections to find a strong reinforcement overseas. With their help, overthrowing the corrupt rule is no problem at all!"

He clenched his fists and continued to shout: "Be angry! Act! Raise the weapons you have available and crush the minions of the evil rulers! If you don't fight now, when will you fight!"

Nosaiken's impassioned words deeply attracted every audience member in the audience. People cheered and shouted his name, which echoed continuously in the city. Some people picked up the knives they carried with them and ran towards the palace.

——Very good, that's it, let's make a big fuss! This will give them an opportunity to take advantage of us, and those who survive will become Rocks' companions, and I can be further promoted to a cadre!

"boom!"

A sudden explosion quickly pulled Nosaiken back from his beautiful fantasy. The street not far away had turned into a ruin, with thick smoke billowing and people screaming and crying. The smile on his face gradually disappeared. He was about to go forward to check the situation, but a cold and emotionless voice came from behind: "Don't worry, only the main road was blown up, no one was injured."

He turned around hurriedly and saw a thin man floating up from the side of the podium, as silent as a ghost, with a large sack on his left shoulder. There seemed to be some living thing in the sack, which was struggling and squirming inside.

The strange aura that the man exuded made Nosaiken feel a little timid, and a few beads of sweat oozed out of his forehead. He took two steps back and said with a forced smile: "Excuse me, who are you? I don't think I have ever seen you in this country."

"Before I tell you my name, let me show you something."

The man untied the sack, and three men tumbled out of it and fell to the ground. They were tied together tightly with thick ropes. Each of them had a bruised face and swollen face. They uttered very weak sounds: "Sorry, we failed..."

Senoken vaguely recognized them as his trusted followers who had been planted among the crowd. It was they who started shouting and slowly incited the people. Now they were beaten into this state. He thought it was not good, but he said calmly: "So you were sent by the king. Unfortunately, it's too late now. The reinforcements will arrive soon. Your actions are just like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"

"Just as we expected, a big fish has indeed been caught, and it's almost the same time as we calculated."

The man pulled out a pair of weapons from his back, two silver needles of different lengths, and approached step by step. "Also, you seem to have made a mistake. We are not the king's men. We just took his money, so we have to do things well. I think you understand this principle."

"Humph, at least I've fought hard at sea, don't underestimate me!"

He threw the microphone aside, jumped back, and used both hands to shoot three small hazelnut bombs from top, middle and bottom. The man seemed to have forgotten to dodge and stood still.

Just as the bombs were about to hit his body, the man sneered, and saw a flash of silver light, and the three bombs suddenly turned into countless powder and fell to the ground. Nosaiken was shocked, and when he was about to take the bombs out of his pocket, the man's figure flashed on his left like a ghost, and said calmly: "General."

As he spoke, he gently poked Nosaiken's forehead with the long needle in his right hand. In the blink of an eye, Nosaiken's once handsome face aged at a speed visible to the naked eye. His hair became sparse and gray, his body was covered with dense wrinkles, and his eyeballs gradually became sunken. He looked like he had aged fifty years, and his body collapsed to the ground like mud.

The man put the weapon back in place, bent down to pick up the microphone on the ground, walked to the front of the stage, and announced to the panicked people: "Everyone, please be patient. The explosion just now was just a false alarm. The instigator of this incident, Nosaiken, has been subdued by us. He secretly colluded with the pirates and tried to sell this country. The pirates are about to land. Please go to shelter immediately. Don't waste a minute!"

The magnetic voice coming out of his lips seemed to have infinite attraction, which made the people present calm down involuntarily. One of them asked in confusion: "What evidence do you have to prove that Mr. Nosaiken betrayed us?"

"I don't want to spend more time explaining this, just ask these guys."

He pointed at the three unlucky guys and raised his voice, "Anyway, find a safe place to hide first. There are more important things waiting for us..."

After saying that, his figure disappeared in an instant. People looked at each other, puzzled by his irresponsible behavior. After a long while, they finally realized what was going on and hurried back to their homes. In a blink of an eye, the huge auditorium was empty.