Chapter 150: Pirate Ren Arakawa's "Awakening" (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Pirate Ren Arakawa only felt his head dizzy, as if it had been severely crushed by a road roller.
All the strength in his body had been drained.
With difficulty, he pried open his heavy eyelids. His vision was blurry and unclear at first, and many figures seemed to sway vaguely in the shadows.
As his eyes gradually adjusted and focused on the scene before him, he couldn't help but gasp.
Standing before him were more than ten Ren Arakawas, identical to him in appearance, but each dressed in wildly different styles.
One was clad in ancient robes, with long hair flowing freely, a sharp longsword at his waist, exuding an antique aura, as if a cultivator who had transmigrated from a xianxia World/Dimension.
Clinging tightly to him was a "Ren Arakawa" dressed in a crisp modern suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and holding a briefcase. He looked like an elite white-collar worker bustling about in a skyscraper of a prosperous city.
Another was wearing casual sportswear and sneakers, with headphones around his neck, full of vitality, like a young man ready to sweat it out on a sports field at any moment.
What utterly dumbfounded Ren Arakawa the most was that among these "doppelgangers," there was actually a feminized version of himself.
She had long, soft hair tied into cute twin ponytails, wore a pink dress, and a shy blush adorned her face. Seeing Ren Arakawa wake up, she shyly waved a hand and softly said, "Hehe, I'm a little soldier from the Moe Three Kingdoms!"
Ren Arakawa's eyes widened, filled with shock and confusion. His heart began to pound violently, and an inexplicable fear surged into his mind.
He subconsciously pinched his arm, and the pain that came was real. "This isn't a dream?" His lips trembled slightly as he muttered to himself, "This... what exactly is going on? Could it be... could it be that I'm already dead?"
Just as Ren Arakawa was riddled with doubt and fear, his mind unsettled by the bizarre scene before him, the inky blackness above his head suddenly stirred.
He instinctively looked up, only to see a huge head slowly emerging from the darkness. It was a face he was incomparably familiar with — Emporio Ivankov.
Ivankov's face was slightly pale, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, clearly having gone through a difficult struggle himself.
Beside him, Lightning also looked fatigued, but his eyes shone with determination.
Ivankov took a deep breath, his voice somewhat weak but full of hope, saying, "You and I both experienced the antidote taking effect earlier. Although our whole bodies are aching intolerably right now, thankfully, the poison has been neutralized. But that little guy... He injected too much antidote, and his body seems to have developed antibodies. Moreover, he was soaked in the poison for far too long."
Lightning frowned, his expression serious. He bit his lip and softly said, "Then... we can only use that, right..."
Hearing this, Ivankov nodded heavily, a hint of resolve flashing in his eyes.
Then, Ivankov clenched his fist and exclaimed, "You *must* hold on, little guy! You still have to marry your childhood sweetheart!"
That voice echoed in this bizarre space, carrying endless concern and anticipation, like a beam of light trying to pierce through layers of fog, reaching the depths of Ren Arakawa's heart.
Suddenly, all of Ivankov's fingertips transformed into syringes, which he then plunged into Pirate Ren Arakawa's body!
"AMBORI HORUMON!"
"Pfft!"
The next second, Pirate Ren Arakawa was jolted awake as if struck by lightning. Instantly, an overwhelming, mountain-toppling pain surged from every corner of his body, as if ten thousand steel needles were simultaneously piercing his skin, muscles, and even his bone marrow!
His face contorted instantly, his features twisted into a knot, his eyes wide and bloodshot from the extreme agony, and blue veins bulged on his forehead like writhing earthworms.
This intense pain, like surging tides, came wave after wave, ceaselessly, making it utterly unbearable for him.
His body uncontrollably trembled violently, involuntarily rolling on the ground. Each collision with the surface brought additional pain, yet he was powerless to stop.
In his extreme suffering, his hands thrashed wildly, trying to grasp something to alleviate the intense pain. Unwittingly, he grabbed the iron bar next to him.
In that moment, Ren Arakawa clung to it as if grasping a life-saving straw. His hands gripped the bar tightly, his fingernails peeling back from the excessive force, and fresh blood oozed from his fingertips.
His teeth also fiercely bit onto the bar. The immense biting force made his teeth creak, and with a crisp "crack," a tooth actually fractured. Yet, he was completely oblivious, still biting the bar desperately, as if only this way could he slightly distract himself from the intense pain in his body.
Ivankov, Lightning, and a few other okama crew members and prisoners on the ship watched Ren Arakawa's miserable state, all profoundly shaken.
Their eyes instantly welled up, tears uncontrollably streaming down their faces.
Ivankov's lips trembled, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes full of heartache and reluctance.
Lightning turned his head, his shoulders subtly shaking, trying his best to suppress his sobs.
The okama crew members leaned on each other, quietly weeping, and even the prisoners, who usually flaunted their defiance, silently wiped away their tears.
They all knew that the pain Ren Arakawa was currently enduring was unimaginable for ordinary people, yet they were powerless to help. They could only silently pray from the sidelines, hoping Ren Arakawa could overcome this ordeal.
This scene also simultaneously entered Uchiha Ren Arakawa and Stephen Ren Arakawa's field of vision.
Seeing "themselves" suffering such agony, both felt an unbearable heartache.
Stephen Ren Arakawa blamed himself, saying, "If I could have exerted a little more strength, he... he wouldn't have had to suffer such pain. It's all my fault."
Uchiha Ren Arakawa sighed, "Things happened too suddenly. Level 5.5 will be discovered by Impel Down very soon. We can't wait for the day you learn the immortal devil techniques."
As the two blamed themselves, a voice echoed in the chat group.
"It's alright, I'm not dead yet."
The moment Pirate Ren Arakawa opened his eyes, Lightning couldn't help but hug him.
At the same time, Ivankov also squeezed his head up, but because of that guy's explosive head, he ended up squeezing both Lightning and Pirate Ren Arakawa into his hair.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Ren Arakawa drilled out of Ivankov's explosive head, lying on the deck, gasping for breath as he looked at the azure sky. "Finally, we escaped, didn't we?"
Lightning wiped away his tears. "Not only did you escape Impel Down, but you also survived Officer Ivankov's healing hormone, which only has a one to two percent success rate!"
"So that's how it is." He struggled to his feet. "Is that how I survived? Thank you all."
Ivankov stepped forward and offered Ren Arakawa a facial cleanser. Ren Arakawa felt his nasal cavity instantly filled with a strong masculine scent, but he still didn't push Ivankov away.
If it weren't for these okama of the Okama Kingdom, he wouldn't have been able to escape.
"Oh, right."
A long time later, Ren Arakawa looked at the crowd around him. "Why don't I see that guy Byrnndi World? Aren't we on the same ship? That guy, he's too lonely!"
As he spoke, Ren Arakawa suddenly noticed that Ivankov and Lightning's expressions weren't quite right.
"Is that so?" He slumped to the ground, his expression despondent.
It was a long time before he looked up again.
"Once I return perfected, I will definitely bring him back to the high seas!"
(end of chapter)