"Let's go."
After teaching Needless a lesson, Hyaku led Koby and Helmeppo away without looking back.
Before long, they returned to the Foxy Pirates' ship, Sexy Foxy.
"Captain Hyaku, attacking Needless like that... Aren't you worried that Gasparde might get scared and not participate in the competition?" Koby asked as soon as they were back on the ship.
"Gasparde enjoys being admired by others, which is why he has a bounty on his head today. With his personality, he won't run away. He'll actually target us first." Hyaku stated confidently.
Hearing this, Koby and Helmeppo nodded silently.
✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣
Meanwhile, at the Gasparde Pirates' camp.
Slam!
After hearing the news brought back by Needless, Gasparde angrily smashed the table with his palm.
Sensing his rage, the crew members all lowered their heads. None dared to even breathe loudly.
"You can't even handle such a small matter, and you have the nerve to come back?" Gasparde growled, "Good, very good, excellent. The Foxy Pirates, is it? I'll show you the consequences of offending me, Gasparde."
As he spoke, a vicious gleam appeared on his face.
Everyone present knew that he was truly angry this time.
Everything happened just as Hyaku had predicted.
✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣
The night passed uneventfully.
Time flew by, and noon of the next day arrived.
The entire Hannabal Island buzzed with excitement and enthusiasm.
"Welcome again, everyone! It's almost time — now let's invite all the contestants to enter!"
Led by the host, the atmosphere at the venue reached its peak.
One by one, all the participating ships entered the competition channel.
From a distance, Hyaku spotted Salamander, the Gasparde Pirates' ship, leading at the front with their captain standing on the bow deck.
Gasparde turned around to look back, finding Hyaku's figure. In an instant, his eyes sharpened. His right hand formed a knife shape, making a throat-slitting gesture in front of his neck.
The tension was palpable!
Seeing this, Hyaku merely smiled disdainfully, paying no further attention to that man.
"Mr. Hyaku, those two brothers of yours...?" Foxy asked, running up to him before the race started.
He was puzzled since he hadn't seen Koby and the blonde boy since the ship's departure.
"I've assigned them different tasks." Hyaku gave him a meaningful look.
Let Foxy figure it out slowly.
"All contestants have arrived. I announce that the thrilling and exciting Dead End Race... Now, begins!"
Boom!!
A loud horn immediately sounded following the host's command.
"Charge!"
"The prize is ours!"
"No one will block my way!"
"..."
In an instant, the crowd erupted with fierce shouting from all directions.
All pirate ships set sail at once, including the Sexy Foxy where Hyaku stood.
Bang, Bang, Bang...
Along both sides of the course, pirate ships crashed into each other, breaking apart and sinking under the bombardment of cannonballs.
Coincidentally, because the Foxy Pirates weren't famous, they were positioned relatively far back, luckily avoiding the first round of fierce competition among the pirates.
The pirate ship encountered little obstruction and smoothly reached the first bend in the course.
"What's that?!" Just then, the helmsman suddenly pointed ahead with a surprised expression.
At the corner of the channel, three pirate ships had stopped. The ships were positioned sideways, connected bow to stern, completely blocking Hyaku and his group's path forward.
"Hahaha... this way is blocked!"
"You dare to offend Lord Gasparde? You can only blame your bad luck."
The decks of the three pirate ships were crowded with pirates, with loud laughter echoing from among them.
Hearing their words, Hyaku immediately understood — these were Gasparde's lackeys, acting as roadblocks.
"Mr. Hyaku... we..." Seeing this, Foxy gritted his teeth in frustration and gave him a questioning look.
"Don't worry, charge through." Hyaku instructed.
"Yes! Everyone, full speed ahead!" With this affirmative answer, Foxy immediately ordered his subordinates.
The pirate ship maintained its speed, charging toward the three blockading vessels.
"They're crazy! They've gone mad!"
"Quick, fire the cannons! Destroy their ship!"
The opposing side was clearly startled by these actions.
In their view, accelerating forward in this situation would undoubtedly be a suicide mission, ultimately resulting in both sides' ships being destroyed and everyone perishing.
The people sent by Gasparde were evidently willing to make that sacrifice.
"Fire!"
Under one person's command, the three pirate ships began to push out cannon after cannon. All weapons aimed directly at Hyaku's ship.
Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!
The next moment, the crew members of the three pirate ships loaded ammunition and lit the fuses. In an instant, cannonballs shot out in rapid succession from all three vessels.
The projectiles arced through the air, tracing perfect parabolas as they descended toward the Sexy Foxy.
Seeing this, Hyaku darted forward, taking position at the bow of the ship.
He crouched slightly, his right hand resting on Ryūka's hilt. His gaze remained fixed on the three pirate ships ahead, completely ignoring the deadly rain of cannonballs.
When the Foxy Pirates' ship was merely two to three hundred meters from the blockade, with the barrage about to strike, Hyaku suddenly called out.
"Foxy! It's your turn to perform."
"Fefefefe! Watch me!" Hearing this, the already impatient Foxy let out a wicked laugh. He raised both hands sharply, aiming at the sky.
✣ Noro Noro no Mi ⭄ Slow Slow Beam! ✣
Focusing his thoughts, Foxy instantly activated his Devil Fruit ability.
Whir, Whir, Whir!
Circular beams of light shot from Foxy's raised palms. As soon as they penetrated the cannonballs, something extraordinary happened.
The cannonballs, which had been plummeting downward, suddenly slowed to a near standstill — as if frozen in mid-air.
This was the power of Foxy's Devil Fruit. The Slow-Slow Beam could make anything it hit react 30 seconds slower!
Seizing this opportunity, the Foxy Pirates' ship maintained full speed, sailing safely beneath the suspended cannonballs and closing in on the three pirate ships.
Hum!
Whoosh!
With determination in his eyes, Hyaku gripped his sword tightly. With a mere thought, the katana trembled in his grasp.
Blue-green flames, representing the Azure Dragon Sword Intent, immediately ignited along Ryūka's blade.
✣✣✣
T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
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