Boom…!!
The meteor hammer sent Sebastian, the fishman-giant hybrid, flying. Hanafuda swiftly retreated, avoiding the magical cubes created by Gairam using his ability.
Hanafuda looked with slight anxiety at the drifting poison mist not far away, which was moving further off.
"Give it up. That man absolutely cannot defeat World-sama."
Gairam spoke softly, the blue arc light flashing across the goggles on his face.
"World-sama is a Multiply Human who ate the Paramecia-type Moa Moa no Mi."
"He can increase the speed or power of anything by a hundred times, and that includes himself."
"Lizard King, if it were you, could you dodge an attack with a hundred times increased speed?"
Hanafuda didn't answer.
He just dealt with the attacks with a grim expression.
"Hanafuda-sama, we're here for support!"
"Kill those invaders! We have the Atoner troops helping us, don't be afraid, let them charge first!!"
Roar…!!
The roars of the living dead made the pirates of the World Pirates retreat several steps.
Rotting faces, dangling eyeballs, plus a stench that could be smelled hundreds of meters away.
"So smelly, I don't wanna fight those things!"
"Open fire, quick! Kill them before they get close!"
Bang-bang…
Boom...
Firearms and cannons fired simultaneously, the brilliant flashes of light tearing open a path of slaughter.
But the firearms, which would be certain death for ordinary people, were ineffective against the Atoners.
Even with legs broken or bodies blown apart, as long as they had limbs that could still move, those living dead controlled by Naraku's Poison would crawl bit by bit towards their enemies.
Their rotten eye sockets stared fixedly at their prey, unintelligible growls coming from their mouths.
"Don't be afraid!"
Nightin, wearing a white coat, suddenly rushed out from behind the crowd. Medicine packets flew from her hands, exploding in the sky.
Powders of various colors drifted down.
"Medicine Poison Mist: Paralysis!"
The Atoners touched by the powder stopped moving after a few seconds.
"We have hundreds, even thousands of Atoners! How many medicine packets do you have?"
Jeers came from the Lizard Pirates who hadn't yet joined the fight at the rear.
"Even if you can paralyze all these few hundred Atoners, we have even more coming from behind."
"You're doomed, World Pirates!"
"Daring to attack our Beast Pirates? You must be tired of living!"
Seeing more Atoners approaching, Nightin could only organize her companions to retreat temporarily, still throwing out medicine packets from time to time.
"Gairam, my medicine can't paralyze this many enemies. They'll recover in at most half an hour!"
"Retreat first, implement Plan B!!"
Gairam's eyes flickered, "Sebastian, we're pulling back! Plan B!"
'Plan B?'
Hanafuda watched the suddenly retreating enemies, utterly confused.
'How strange... And why is Kaido-sama's presence getting further away? Didn't he say he was just meeting an acquaintance?'
'And judging from that unstable aura, is there an even stronger enemy?'
Costa, wearing glasses, walked over slowly, "Captain, should we pursue? If we let them go help the World Destroyer, it would be bad for Bazel-sama..."
"Do they have a death wish?"
Hanafuda pointed at the poison mist ring moving towards the sea.
"Look at the area the poison mist has covered. Toxicity at that level is already a human exclusion zone."
"If they're willing to go help World, I'd actually be quite happy."
Costa looked at the cracked ground and the withered, rotting plants, instinctively covering his nose and mouth.
"Stop covering it, it's too late for that."
Even so, Hanafuda obediently took out the gas mask he carried and put it on.
"Captain, you're so sneaky!!"
"Yeah, Captain, why do you carry that thing with you!?"
"You guys don't understand." Hanafuda wagged his index finger side to side, "Anyone who's fought Bazel personally knows the importance of a gas mask."
"Clear the path. The Atoners will figure out what tricks they're playing."
Half an hour later, the living dead recovered from the paralysis and got up, staggering forward.
"Truly a terrifying technique. Good thing we're on the same side."
Letting the living dead pass by him, Hanafuda looked towards the eastern part of the ruined Mock Town.
That was the direction the World Pirates had retreated.
"But don't think you can escape... A spinosaurus never abandons its prey..."
…
Meanwhile, in the northwest forest of Jaya Island.
The purple poison mist cluster slowly migrated from the center of the island, leaving utter desolation in its wake.
Greenery withered, the earth cracked and dried. Even birds that managed to fly high in time died after inhaling just a trace of the poison.
Then they were revived by Naraku's Poison, becoming Bazel's claws.
"It's no use, Byrnndi World."
"You can feel it, can't you? Your body is getting heavier. Your eyes can barely see what's ahead."
"Even your Haki..."
Whoosh…!
A stone accelerated a hundred times shot through, dispersing a patch of mist.
A flicker of surprise passed through Bazel's eyes. The trajectory of the stone just now had been about three meters to his right.
"Figured out the pattern of my movements, have you? As expected of a man even the World Government fears."
"At the very least, you have good eyes."
The constantly moving poison mist was actually the ability of the Venomous Vine Serpent, Poison Realm.
Centered on the Venomous Vine Serpent, it released the most potent poison Bazel could currently produce.
The radius was roughly three kilometers.
The closer to the center, the stronger the poison's potency, and vice versa.
As for the debuffs of the poison after Gear 2...
Hallucinations, deep paralysis… these were newly emerged effects.
Coupled with previously unlocked effects like corrosion and convulsions, even Bazel couldn't help but click his tongue in private after ascertaining the full power of his current venom.
Once the accumulated snake venom in an enemy's body reached a certain level, Bazel wouldn't even need to lift a finger… the enemy would simply drop dead.
This coincidentally aligned with the hunting habits of most venomous snakes.
Bite the enemy, inject the venom, then wait for the prey to succumb.
He had already completed the first two steps.
Now, he just needed to ensure the enemy remained within the range of his Observation Haki and adjust his speed and position accordingly.
At the edge of the forest, Byrnndi World leaned against a giant coconut tree.
Coughs interspersed with ragged gasps echoed.
He looked down.
Staring at his hands, already covered in festering sores, Byrnndi World's eyes held not a trace of despair.
'So it is poison after all. It can even affect my Armament Haki.'
Jet-black Armament Haki spread from his fingertips to his wrists, but the speed was significantly slower than before.
'At this rate, the roles of hunter and prey will be reversed. Seems I'll have to go all out.'
"More More Hyakubai Soku."
He burst out from his last cover, using Geppo to fly towards the sea.
Not far away, Bazel, who had sensed this, narrowed his eyes.
"Trying to use Geppo to create an opening? But I know that technique too... Wait! Toki?! Why are you here?!"
As Bazel turned, he happened to see Toki, fully armed, cautiously making her way towards him.
"Bazel? Thank goodness, I finally found you!"
"I was worried, so I thought I'd come to help. Don't underestimate me just because I'm a girl."
A blade left its scabbard.
"I am a swordsman who can cut through iron!"
Although he couldn't see Toki's face behind the mask, her charmingly naive tone made the reproach on Bazel's lips vanish.
"Yes, yes, you are a swordmaster who can cut iron. Then I'll be counting on you to fight alongside me this time."
"Hehe~ Since you're begging me so earnestly, I'll cooperate with you just this once."
"Alright, come over. There's no poison mist around me now."
At this point, Bazel couldn't possibly send Toki away after she had found him.
If the enemy launched a hundredfold speed assault, he could never match that level of speed.
If something happened to her, he wouldn't even know where to cry.
"Coming~"
Shedding the cumbersome hazmat suit and gas mask, Toki smiled and leaped onto Bazel's back.
"Sorry, I know I'm probably just causing trouble by being here. But for some reason, I just couldn't stop worrying this time."
"A woman's intuition is a super powerful move! You should definitely take it seriously."
A freebie question had arrived.
If he scolded Toki now, not only would he gain nothing, but he would also hurt that little heart that cared for him.
Bazel knew things had reached a point of no return. Rather than blaming her, it was better to spare some effort to protect her.
"Well, you'd better hold on tight then. I'm going to accelerate."
---
Check out My Patreon For 40+ Advanced Chapters:
Pat reon.com/IamPoorGuyToo