bookbashuk Page 40
Page 40
These three are the people who came with the Warring States period.
Because these three had such distinctive features, after getting used to the art style of Sengoku and the pirates he brought with him, Bai Ye quickly recognized them, which is why he asked that question.
Although it's known that the possibility of Sengoku betraying the three Logia-type users is very small, who can guarantee that they won't encounter that one in ten thousand chance?
Unfortunately, in the end, the world chose the remaining 9,999 out of 10,000...
Listening to the somewhat nonsensical conversation between Byakuya and Sengoku, Sakazuki, the most straightforward of the three, couldn't hold back any longer: "General Sengoku, what's going on? Where is this place? Who is he?"
"How am I supposed to answer all these questions at once?" Sengoku glanced back at him. "When will you learn from Borsalino and Kuzan? Don't be so impatient when things happen. Stay calm."
Sakazuki: "..."
This morning at the general officers' meeting at headquarters, you didn't say that when you criticized two incompetent lieutenant generals who were just getting by!
"As for your question, I think Borsalino and Kuzan probably have the same question." Sengoku paused. "Now that I've brought you here, I'll explain the situation to you when we get back. For now, I only have one question..."
"Do you believe me in the name of Admiral Sengoku of the Navy Headquarters?"
“Letter,” Sakazuki was the first to speak.
“I believe you,” Kuzan added, and Borsalino concluded, “If even the Admirals don’t believe us, are we still considered a navy?”
"Very good." Sengoku nodded in satisfaction and looked at Byakuya: "Then I'll leave the rest to you, Manager Byakuya."
"Mr. Sengoku, you're joking. It's a mutually beneficial matter, what's the trouble?" Bai Ye waved his hand: "Besides, given the current situation, I'm happy to see your navy become stronger."
“That’s true, it’s mutually beneficial.” Zhan Guo smiled.
Natural Science Third Lieutenant General: "..."
Although they didn't know who this mysterious person was, they felt something was off when he spoke so much about the Navy's interests.
Under Sengoku's arrangement, although they still had doubts about the claim that trading one's Devil Fruit ability and then buying it back could eliminate the Devil Fruit user's fear of the sea, the three of them still completed a series of transactions with Byakuya in turn.
After the transaction was completed, the three of them stood in a row, each holding a piece of seastone, lost in thought...
What the heck? It's actually true?
When did the abilities of those with superpowers become so versatile? And it seems that the benefits that the Sengoku general gained from this place are not limited to this, right?
No wonder Admiral Sengoku, Zephyr, and Vice Admiral Garp were so enthusiastic when they were catching pirates recently. Moreover, Admiral Sengoku often visits the Marine Headquarters prison. If nothing unexpected happens, those pirates will be treated the same way that the deal ends after the first transaction.
I never imagined that a general from the Warring States period, with his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and upright demeanor, could pull off such a bizarre stunt.
Although their thoughts differed, there was one thing that all three of them had thought of simultaneously...
Judging from the recent movements of several high-ranking officials in the Navy Headquarters, it's clear that Admiral Sengoku wasn't the only one who knew about this place. Now, Admiral Sengoku has brought them here. It's rumored that Fleet Admiral Kong will soon be promoted to World Government Commander-in-Chief, which will surely lead to another power struggle within the Headquarters. Could they perhaps take advantage of this opportunity...?
Think a little excited.
Just as the three were dreaming about the future, the light on the portal behind them shone again, and a tall woman with long, ice-blue hair walked out of it.
After she entered the dimensional shop, she could clearly feel that the indoor temperature had dropped a few degrees.
"Esdeath, put away your murderous aura." Bai Ye frowned. "Tempted" by the other party's murderous aura, his own aura unconsciously emanated outwards, causing everyone in the room except for Jeanne Alter to turn pale.
"Ah~ I'm sorry, I just came down from the battlefield and I couldn't control myself for a moment."
Esdeath glanced at Sengoku, whose attire was clearly different from the commoners she had seen last time she went out. Guess guessed that these four were probably also guests. She touched her cheek and apologized to the four.
"It's nothing." Sengoku shook his head, his brows furrowing unconsciously.
What a murderous aura!
If this were still my own world, I'd probably just slap this guy the moment I saw him. As for whether you're on the same side as the Navy... we'll see how you fared after you survive.
"This gentleman... doesn't seem to like me very much?" Noticing that Sengoku's gaze was a little strange, Esdeath, who had become accustomed to such stares during her growth, quickly guessed the reason why he was looking at her like that.
“From my perspective, although I don’t know why you’ve done so much killing, getting lost in this feeling is clearly not a good thing.” Sengoku was silent for a moment. “Just take this as well-intentioned advice from an outsider from a different world.”
“That’s definitely something only an outsider would say.” Esdeath gave Sengoku a deep look, then walked to the counter and placed a string of wolf fang necklaces on the table. “This is a trophy I got after conquering a foreign tribe in the north. Can I sell it?”
"If I ask you to repeat myself, there's nothing I can't sell for 0.1. The only difference is the price." Bai Ye patted his forehead and casually cast an "appraisal spell" on the necklace.
Name: Wolf Totem (Twilight)
Type: Imperial Arms
"Attribute: Beast"
Quality: Excellent
"Note: One of the forty-eight Imperial Arms made by the founding emperor of the empire. It contains the essence of a wolf-type super dangerous creature. The user can summon the wolf spirit to descend, greatly increasing their strength and speed, and growing indestructible claws on their ten fingers."
"Only excellent quality?" Esdeath's face didn't show much disappointment. "No wonder its user is so weak. It's a real waste of the Imperial Arm's reputation..."
"..."
Chapter 096 Esdeath, how about considering the Ice-Ice Fruit?
"...I remember you said before that Imperial Arms are the highest level of power in your world, right?" Seeing Esdeath's nonchalant attitude, Bai Ye didn't immediately take back the wolf fang necklace. Instead, he curiously looked up at Esdeath: "Even though it's your spoils of war, is it really okay to just sell it?"
"What could possibly happen? The user of this thing was frozen into an ice block before he could even activate the power of the Imperial Arm when he fought me. Even my adjutant didn't know that the thing around his neck was an Imperial Arm."
"Okay, that's a pretty unreasonable reason."
Bai Ye casually stored the card in the seemingly never-ending interdimensional space of the dimensional shop, then transferred the Origin Coins for recycling the Imperial Arm to Esdeath's card. His eyes involuntarily drifted to Kuzan, who was still holding a Seastone and staring blankly.
It seems like this also uses ice, right?
"Esdeath, I have something here that can greatly increase the power of your Imperial Arms, and the price isn't too high for you. Would you like to consider it?"
Byakuya can have the Dimensional Shop archive anything he has handled, and the Devil Fruits of the three Logia-type Vice Admirals are no exception.
Having replicated an Ice-Ice Fruit, Byakuya used his index and middle fingers to hold the card so that Esdeath on the other side could clearly see the words on it.
Name: Logia-type Devil Fruit - Ice-Ice Fruit
Type: Fruit
Attribute: Ice
Quality: Perfect
"Note: The highest grade of the Ice-type Devil Fruit. After eating it, the body can turn into ice and create freezing air. Physical attacks are ineffective against it. After the fruit awakens, there is a certain probability that the fruit's ability will transform into the level of laws."
"How is it? Doesn't it match your Imperial Arm perfectly?" Seeing Esdeath staring at the words displayed on the card in silence, Byakuya raised an eyebrow at her.
Under Bai Ye's teasing and persuasion, Esdeath showed him her Imperial Arm "Demon Manifestation: Devil's Essence." However, because the ownership had not yet been transferred to Bai Ye at the time, he did not save the data. Otherwise, when he completed the transaction with Kuzan and the other two, Bai Ye would definitely not have minded selling the Imperial Arm to Kuzan and making another profit from the Navy.
As for whether the Warring States will agree to this issue...
Although he had never personally gone to the world of One Piece to "investigate," he could still see that the high-ranking Navy officers, represented by Sengoku, harbored ill intentions towards the World Government. Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long for the person coming here to trade with him to be Sengoku, rather than some staff member from the World Government.
Bai Ye welcomed this unconventional "internal strife"—the more chaotic the situation over there, the greater the demand for dimensional shops in the Warring States period.
For example, right now, if Byakuya could produce something that would boost the strength of the three Logia-type Vice Admirals or Sengoku himself, Sengoku would definitely buy it even if it meant gritting his teeth, as long as the price wasn't outrageously high.
However, the fact that Byakuya cannot sell "Demon Manifestation: Essence of the Demon" to Kuzan does not mean that he cannot resell a copy of the "Ice-Ice Fruit" that he just acquired to Esdeath.
On her previous visits, Esdeath had complained more than once that as she went through battle after battle, the development of her Imperial Arm "Demon Manifestation: Demon's Essence" was getting higher and higher. However, recently, she could clearly feel that her strength had reached a bottleneck, and even going to the Misty Lake to ask her "teacher" for help was useless.
Sure enough, after standing there for a while, Esdeath's face showed obvious signs of being moved.
"How much is this Ice-Ice Fruit?"
Kuzan, standing nearby: "o((⊙﹏⊙))o"
What is that? The Ice-Ice Fruit?
Under the watchful eyes of the four naval personnel and Esdeath, Byakuya crushed the card, and a pineapple-shaped fruit appeared in his hand.
Kuzan would swear on his eyepatch that this was definitely the Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit he had eaten before!
But the unique Ice-Ice Fruit power within him is undeniable... So what exactly is going on?
"I'll tell you when we get back," Sengoku mouthed to him.
Esdeath's gaze followed the Ice Fruit bobbing up and down in Bai Ye's hand. After Bai Ye announced the price of the Ice Fruit, Esdeath pondered carefully... Wasn't this exactly the amount of all the Origin Coins she had? They hadn't even rounded down the change!
Are you not afraid of being rejected if you calculate so precisely?
"I need to know if this fruit is as useful as I think." After thinking for a moment, Esdeath neither refused nor agreed, but instead made the request that she "see it for herself".
In her memory, Bai Ye, as the store manager, seemed to be able to use the products in his hands at will, and such a display should be within the other party's acceptable range.
As expected, Bai Ye nodded.
“Logically, I should be the one temporarily fusing with this thing and demonstrating its effects to you, but the true owner of the fruit is right here, although he still has a long way to go before he can truly unleash the fruit's full potential…” Bai Ye looked at Kuzan: “Vice Admiral Kuzan, could you do me a favor?”
Sengoku, standing to the side, was frantically glaring at Kuzan from an angle that Baiye couldn't see.
Kuzan: “…”
Although Vice Admiral Garp brought him into the Navy and Admiral Zephyr taught him, here, Sengoku, who holds the rank of Admiral, is his superior.
Not to mention he was also quite interested in the woman who made Byakuya say that "the Ice-Ice Fruit suits her very well".
"OK, I'm glad you made the right choice." Bai Ye clapped his hands, and the power "Eternal Labyrinth" was activated instantly, taking everyone in the store to a new location.
Since the purpose of this trip was to demonstrate the concept of the Ice-Ice Fruit to Esdeath, there was no need to create the walls inside the labyrinth or the labyrinth's weakening effect on the beings inside. Therefore, what Sengoku and the others saw was a large square similar to the Colosseum in ancient Rome.
Byakuya, Jeanne Alter, Sengoku, Borsalino, and Akainu stood on a slightly distant high platform, while Esdeath and Kuzan stood in the very center of the plaza.
"Judging from his meaning, he wants me to use my skills freely to avoid subjective differences caused by others' interpretations, right?" Esdeath produced a deep blue ice-made military knife: "As thoughtful as ever~ Well then, I won't be polite. Don't blame me if you die here, okay?"
"It's alright." Kuzan exhaled a breath of cold air, and a military knife with a different style from the one in Esdeath's hand appeared in his hand.
Chapter 097 The Monkey, Chicken, and Dog About to Embark on a Road of No Return
Seeing that Kuzan had already taken his stance, Esdeath crouched down and used the reaction force from pushing off the ground to lunge forward, her ice blade clashing with Kuzan's.
"Click"
Kuzan's ice blade broke, while Esdeath's only developed some cracks.
Although it looks like it's about to fail, it hasn't broken down no matter what.
"It seems that if we're just talking about ice, your Ice-Ice Fruit isn't as good as mine~" Esdeath chuckled and continued her attack on Kuzan.
It seems that becoming her apprentice to her current teacher was not a bad choice. At least in the process of freezing frogs according to her instructions, she did learn a lot of ice-making skills, even if these skills were just instincts for her teacher.
As she reflected on what she had seen and heard in Gensokyo these past few days, Esdeath's attacks became increasingly swift. Seizing on a mistake by Kuzan, her saber slashed across various vital parts of Kuzan's body in an instant.
This can be said to be an instinct she developed through countless battles.
bang——
To Esdeath's astonishment, Kuzan exploded into a shower of ice shards with a bang. After drifting several meters away, the shards reformed and stood unharmed, staring at Esdeath.
"Your combat skills are quite good, but pure physical attacks are ineffective against me, or rather against any Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Unless you come up with other attack methods..."
"no need."
"Huh?" Kuzan opened his mouth, seemingly unable to understand why Esdeath would say such a thing.
“Just this ability to turn myself into ice is already very useful to me.” Esdeath waved her hand, shattering the ice blade in her hand into ice shards: “After all, as he said, the price of buying an Ice-Ice Fruit is indeed not high for me.”
The first page of the instruction manual states that there is nothing that cannot be recovered by White Night, including human life force. Esdeath killed at least three-digit numbers of enemies when she led the Imperial Army in foreign wars.
Therefore, for Esdeath, when she lacks Origin Points, all she needs to do is get a contract from Byakuya for the voluntary and uncompensated sale of Origin Coins, and have the prisoners put their handprints on it one by one...
Using the twisted logic Bai Ye taught her, she reasoned that since these prisoners were going to die anyway, they might as well contribute to her becoming stronger, so that their lives wouldn't have been in vain.
Delighted, Esdeath pulled out her card to pay the bill and happily accepted the Ice-Ice Fruit from Byakuya. Under the knowing gazes of Sengoku, the Logia-type Junior High, and the other two experienced users, she opened her mouth and took a bite.
"Ugh...cough cough cough...waa..."
"It is said that the effect of the ability is better if you eat the whole thing than if you only take a bite..." Bai Ye's voice rang softly in Esdeath's ear.
At this moment, in the eyes of the Warring States, Bai Ye had successfully surpassed the image of a demon, reaching the most evil level.
Having been instilled with the distorted idea that "only the strong survive" from a young age, Esdeath's pursuit of power is undoubtedly almost pathological.
Especially after she obtained the Imperial Arms and felt that she was about to become the strongest in this world, only to find that she was actually just a frog in a well, and that there were countless beings in other worlds who were stronger than her.
So after hearing Bai Ye's words, even though her body's instinctive reaction was resisting, she forced herself to swallow the entire Frozen Fruit despite feeling nauseous.
After finishing her meal, Esdeath, looking pale and sickly, leaned against the counter and barely managed to stand. "Why is there such a terrible-tasting thing in the world?" Esdeath stared at Kuzan with regret.
"Uh... we're actually quite curious about the origins of Devil Fruits too."
"Heh." Esdeath patted her face, trying to stop herself from thinking about the taste of that fruit... Seriously, how could something that tasted so disgusting be considered a fruit?