Water bullets whistled out, dragging along tornado-like white torrents, carrying the crushing pressure of seawater as they blasted toward the ship above.
The missing subordinate was on that ship. Whatever needed to be said could wait until after it sank.
Against people like this, Barbell saw no need for any communication.
As for his own people on board…
It was just a shipwreck. In history, no Fish-Men or Merfolk had ever drowned. With their dual respiratory systems, they could provide oxygen both underwater and on land.
Ordinary people can't dodge this kind of underwater surprise attack, let alone a bulky ship. To be able to snatch away one of his own sentries—Barbell admitted the opponent had some skill, and his methods were incredibly ruthless.
But this seemingly certain strike was dodged just as the sea current was about to hit.
"It dodged? A Devil Fruit user?!"
It wasn't that Barbell had missed. Rather, at the moment the sea current surged forward, the ship had eerily shifted position, causing the attack to miss.
"I don't believe you can dodge all of them…"
As if refusing to accept it, Barbell grabbed another sea current. The already turbulent ocean grew even more furious, columns of water erupting one after another toward the surface, but every single one was avoided by the ship with movements almost like teleportation.
"Grand Line's sea currents… how are they so terrifying? What even is this?!"
The people on the ship were far from calm. The successive water columns carrying lethal force filled them with fear. If even one hit, the ship would definitely be doomed.
"This isn't a natural phenomenon, it's man-made. That speed… I really underestimated those fish living under the sea."
On the ship's deck, a slightly chubby man with a small braid, dressed in a French-style suit, crouched down with his palm pressed firmly against the ship.
"Commander Hardinge! Stop joking! Can't you just teleport the ship straight to Red Port? If he catches up to us…"
"You think teleporting something this big doesn't consume stamina? Even Devil Fruits have limits. There's no way I can teleport the entire ship and everyone on it directly to Red Port!"
"Then why not just release that Mermaid? The World Government already issued orders before… If we go against those people from Ryugu Kingdom on the sea, we won't gain anything from it, sir…"
After Hardinge pointed out that this was man-made, the people aboard quickly realized the root of the situation. It was definitely the consequence of Hardinge abducting that Mermaid at the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Heh, just a bunch of fish from the bottom of the sea. The fact that the World Government agreed to their demands is already a sign of incompetence. What right do they have to sit at the same table as us?
Don't worry. I'm a user of the Warp-Warp Fruit. The distance I can move may be limited, but that guy won't be able to hit our ship.
Once we reach Red Port, I don't believe they'll still dare to chase us."
Paramecia-type: Warp-Warp Fruit. Its ability was simple: Teleportation. Not only could the user teleport themselves, but they could also bring along other people or objects.
The more things they carried, the greater the stamina consumption, and the longer the teleportation distance, the greater the drain.
The distance of teleportation depended on the user's own condition.
Nereus's first liberation of slaves at Mariejois was widely believed to have been a nighttime raid.
As for the second act of armed diplomacy, the World Government had issued a gag order. The outside world largely knew nothing about it. Most people believed that it was truly a meteor that had struck Mariejois.
Thus, in the eyes of most people, Mariejois still represented absolute safety.
"C-Commander! It's a tsunami!!"
The waves below came roaring again, but this time they did not form water columns; instead, it was a sea wave.
It was as if the whole sea had been forcibly lifted by some invisible force. Countless tons of seawater surged upward and overturned, crashing toward their ship.
"Hmph, useless. It's just a wave, just dodge it."
Hardinge activated his ability once more, directly taking the ship through the wave and reappearing behind the massive wave.
However, Hardinge failed to notice that an additional tall figure had appeared on the ship. Just moments earlier, Barbell had concealed himself within the wave.
He realized that although this ship could teleport, the distance it could move was limited. In that case, he would simply find a way to board it first.
And after getting aboard, he did not attack immediately. Instead, following the position of Una he had sensed, he first rescued his captured subordinate.
Compared to killing these people, rescuing his own was far more important. If he couldn't bring his people back, then no matter how many enemies he killed, it would be meaningless to Barbell.
"You're the user of the Warp-Warp Fruit, aren't you? That ability of yours can't warp others away from a distance. Good thing I've read the Devil Fruit's Encyclopedia. Boss was right, reading more books really helps."
In battles between ability users, understanding the opponent's ability was extremely important. Only then could one respond more effectively.
"So the smelly fish from the sea does have some knowledge…"
"Smelly fish… heh, let's see if you can still say that when you become a corpse at the bottom of the sea…"
In the era when Fish-Men and Merfolk suffered the worst discrimination, they were classified as fish rather than humans.
Thus, such terms were inherently insulting toward Fish-Men. No different from pure-blood wizards calling others "mudbloods."
Just as Barbell was about to destroy the ship, the vessel beneath his feet suddenly vanished, causing him to fall straight into the sea.
"You got lucky this time. You'd better stay on guard every moment. Don't give me another chance!"
Hardinge had no intention of fighting Barbell at all. The moment he realized the opponent was troublesome, he immediately used his ability to escape.
"A troublesome ability…"
Looking at Una, who was still unconscious, Barbell chose not to pursue further. After all, with that Devil Fruit ability… even chasing them to the Red Line might yield nothing.
Seeing that the opponent had used his ability so many times in succession yet still seemed full of stamina, Barbell decided to bring her back first.
This information was then reported after Nereus returned.
"So, you let him escape?"
"Boss, that fruit's ability is extremely troublesome. This was indeed my fault, I'm willing to accept punishment."
Inside Ryugu Palace, Barbell stood to the side with a face full of guilt. Although the situation had been contained in time and the abducted citizen had been rescued, letting the criminal escape was still a failure.
"His ability being troublesome isn't your fault. But you do deserve punishment for your carelessness. Have you figured out Hardinge's identity and motives?"
From the looks of it, the other party didn't seem to be a simple human trafficker, but rather someone with a specific purpose.
Three years of peace had made Nereus puzzled by this situation. He wanted to find out exactly what motive had driven the other party to do such a thing.
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