On the mountainside path, strange, jagged rocks lay scattered across the terrain. Two massive, bloated toads, each the size of a millstone, squatted atop one such rock.
The storm raged around them, but none of it could extinguish the fiery passion burning within the toads.
The sound of the storm, the thunderclaps overhead, these were nothing more than the background music to their mating ritual.
Law arrived here just when the male toad was about to take up his gun and go into battle, with a sudden bolt of lightning streaked across the sky behind the two toads, forming a very dazzling background.
Law thought about the task that Biscuit had given him, but he did not take action against the Doom Toad immediately. He always felt that it was inappropriate to do so. So he decided to wait until they were done having fun.
Running into Doom Toads was already lucky, but finding a pair in the middle of mating? That was like hitting the jackpot.
Because Doom Toads were so rare, even local hunters refrained from disturbing them mid-mating. Instead, they would wait until the male toad had released its life force, then capture it while letting the female go.
Law waited patiently by the side. Ten seconds later, as the male toad's body shuddered violently, the storm roared on, but in that moment, the scene seemed to fall silent.
A few seconds passed, the female toad under him abruptly leapt away and headed towards the cave where she came out without looking back.
The male toad squatted on the rock without moving, as if he was thinking about life, or perhaps savoring the happiness he had just experienced.
"… Finished?"
Law scratched his cheek, 'That was really fast.'
After a brief pause, he stepped toward the male toad. The raindrops seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier surrounding his body, never touching him.
The male toad seemed not to notice Law's existence. It suddenly moved, took out a mushroom from somewhere, and squatted there to eat it.
When Law saw this scene, he felt like he was watching someone light up a cigarette after doing the deed.
When Law was within five meters, the toad, that was eating mushrooms, suddenly pounced towards Law in mid-air. Its razor-sharp claws, laced with fine strands of deep blue, slashed through the rain, shattering the droplets mid-air.
'Cunning little bastard.'
Law smiled slightly and dodged to the side just in time to evade the toad's airborne strike.
As they crossed paths, he clenched his right fist and flicked his thumb towards the Doom Toad that was pouncing towards him. A small, egg-sized Nen Sphere shot from his fingertip, piercing straight through the toad's skull.
Splurt!
The Nen Sphere penetrated the head of the Doom Toad. The toad's body convulsed before slumping onto the rock, lifeless. Blood flowed out from the hole in its head and was instantly washed away by the rain.
Law walked to the corpse of the Doom Toad and picked it up.
If the people gathered near Talma Mountain Range saw this scene, they would've been heartbroken. After all, living Doom Toads were far more valuable than dead ones.
Law didn't know much about the Doom Toad, but he has the White Smoke Font. The moment he touched the toad, the relevant information was suddenly flooded into his head.
After seeing the introduction about the Doom Toad, Law's expression turned slightly strange.
Doom Toads were extremely venomous. Their mole-like claws were coated with potent toxins, and even the smallest scratch could mean certain death. What's even worse, since after this toad had just finished mating, his venom contained an added aphrodisiac component.
In other words, this thing was covered in deadly poison, completely inedible, and even in death, its body remained dangerous. Just now, if he got careless, he wouldn't just die, as he'd die in a very unpleasant way.
Law picked up the toad's body and walked towards the rock.
Under the flickering lightning, he noticed several fist-sized mushrooms growing along the side of the rock. There's dark blue copper coin spots on their caps, similar to the spots on the Doom Toad.
This was the same kind of mushroom that the Doom Toad had eaten just now. Law picked one up casually, and a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
This was a highly poisonous mushroom that could cause extreme tongue hallucinations. After consuming it, the victim's body would stiffen like stone, and within half an hour, they'd die.
However, toxins are toxins and are not the culprits that cause the tongue hallucinations.
Law twirled the mushroom between his fingers for a moment before casually tossing it away.
'…Should I take this toad over to that woman and flaunt it a little?'
Law glanced down at the dead Doom Toad. Biscuit's plan had been for him to stir up some trouble, but the Doom Toad come to him too easily, so it seemed unnecessary to cause any trouble.
Just as he was thinking this, along with a flash of lightning, six arrows tore through the rain, slicing toward him with deadly precision.
Law's face changed slightly, and he looked straight at the arrow that was shot at him.
Despite the storm, the arrows remained completely unaffected by wind or rain, which is the proof of their immense power.
Facing the sneak attack of the arrow, Law just stood where he was, stopping the arrow in front of him.
At this time, his eyes gradually turned cold.
The poorly concealed killing intent had alerted Law the moment the arrows were loosed. Whoever fired them wasn't just trying to scare him, and they were aiming to take his life.
'Just for this toad?'
Law stretched out his hand and took down the arrows hovering in the air one by one. He activated his Nen Ability and crushed the arrows into powder. Then, he picked up the toad and went to the place where the arrows came from.
Suddenly, another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and a moment later, six arrows came flying through the air again.
Law easily stopped the arrows, then let them dropped onto the ground and continued forward.
After walking for dozens of meters, Law stopped.
Ahead, partially obscured by the rain, six shadowy figures loomed in the darkness.
Rumble!
A lightning bolt lit up the scene for an instant, revealing the appearance of these six figures.
They were not Nen Users, but they were strong. From the power of the arrows, it could be seen that these six people were all seasoned hunters.
At this time, the six men in raincoats approached Law, each holding a machete in their hand.
They had relied on the storm's darkness to launch their ambush, waiting for the next lightning flash to confirm whether Law had been struck down.
The first two attempts failed, and when they saw Law approaching unharmed, they assumed he had simply dodged their arrows. While cursing the weather, they chose to take the initiative to attack.
Without a word, the six people suddenly rushed towards Law.
Their intent was clear: kill Law, and then steal the Doom Toad.
From the whole process to the result, they didn't care about Law's life.
Looking at these desperate criminals rushing towards him, Law's gaze turned cold. He drew out the venom from the Doom Toad and shot it at the six people with a flick of his finger.
The venom condensed into marble-sized particles pierced through the downpour, striking each of the six people.
"Huh?"
The moment the venom entered their bodies, the six people, who were running quickly, felt their bodies tremble. Their charging strides slowed, and their faces suddenly twisted.
Law didn't spare them another glance. He turned his attention toward where Gel was likely to be and adjusted his course, heading in that direction.
Meanwhile, the six people remained frozen in place, emitting guttural, choking sounds. Their twisted expressions contorted further, and blood started flooding their faces, with their eyes turning bloodshot.
A moment later, these people fell to the ground.
They did not die immediately. Instead, they writhed in torment, consumed by an unbearable, fire-like sensation spreading through their bodies.
There were not many Doom Toads that appeared during thunderstorms, and Law had essentially won the lottery by stumbling upon one. But since he didn't know the value of it, he killed it easily.
At this time, about five hundred people scattered across the mountain range just for the Doom Toads.
For example, the six men just now wanted to kill Law and rob him, but were killed by Law instead.
Elsewhere on the mountain, Gel had expanded her search area.
Her luck had been terrible so far. She hadn't encountered a single Doom Toad, and neither had those around her.
What she didn't know was that a very lucky individual had already captured a Doom Toad and was now making his way directly toward her.