On the other side, Law similarly encountered a pirate who clearly wasn't an ordinary fodder.
His complexion was pale, he wore a black mask revealing only vertical slit pupils, and at his waist hung a leather pouch filled with poison sacs.
Law's gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at the man and spoke word by word:
"Kashu the Poison Viper! Zoan Type. Snake-Snake Fruit. Viper Model ability user, can transform into a giant venomous viper, fang venom can corrode flesh and skin, scales can secrete paralytic poison! Bounty seventy-eight million Berries!"
"Huh?!"
Kashu let out a light exclamation, his voice extremely hoarse, and his gaze towards Law carried a hint of surprise.
"You navy brat, you sure know quite a bit about me!"
A faint smile curled at the corner of Law's mouth as he spoke calmly:
"As a navy man, understanding enemy intelligence is the most fundamental skill!"
Luffy: ???
Kashu laughed, his laughter grim.
"Since you know that much about me, why aren't you running yet?"
"Why should I run?"
Law asked calmly in return.
"With your strength, you haven't reached the level that would make me flee!"
"To put it simply, you... are not worthy!!"
!!
Kashu's gaze instantly turned extremely cold, dense killing intent emanating from him, yet he did not immediately attack Law; instead, he revealed a smile.
"Kid, I admire your courage!"
"How about joining our pirate crew? I guarantee you'll live the high life here, a hundred times better than your treatment in the navy!"
"Save that nonsense, especially when you're trying to pull a trick behind your back!"
Law stated, his words causing Kashu to freeze.
Behind him, a snake tail was coiled around a venomous barb, poised in a ready-to-fire stance.
Looking at Law's eyes, which carried a faintly mocking expression, Kashu dropped the pretense and fiercely flicked the venomous barb behind him, shooting it towards Law.
Law's expression remained calm.
"ROOM!"
A light blue hemispherical domain expanded.
With a flick of a few fingers from Law, a 'whoosh' sounded, and their positions instantly swapped.
On Kashu's side, his field of view suddenly changed; coming to his senses slightly, he saw the venomous barb he had shot now flying straight towards him, his expression shifting.
He twisted his body in an inhuman posture, narrowly dodging the barb.
This barb was made by himself, so he knew all too well how potent the venom was; getting hit by it was no joke.
He wasn't immune to the poison.
Kashu stared intently at Law, then glanced at the surrounding light blue hemispherical domain, his brow deeply furrowed as he spoke:
"What kind of ability is this?!"
"You think I'd tell you?"
Law said with a faint smile.
A venomous viper? As a doctor, these were the things he feared least!
Abruptly, Law slashed out fiercely, a blue sword arc shooting forth, speeding towards Kashu...
Meanwhile, Zoro, Sanji, and Kuina continued to deal with the slightly stronger fodder.
Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo were jointly confronting a tall man who resembled an iron tower, his body clad in thick rock armor.
Thud!!
A dull sound rang out as Sabo slammed his steel pipe against the heavy rock armor, the immense force causing the man to stumble back several steps.
But that was it; the rock armor itself showed no sign of damage.
"Hahahaha!! Put more strength into it, brat!! You haven't eaten, have you?!"
The tall man laughed heartily, taunting Sabo.
Sabo and Ace stood shoulder to shoulder, their expressions grim.
This towering man before them was named Galle, a Paramecia Type. Armor-Armor Fruit ability user, able to harden his body into high-density rock armor, absorb impact, and deflect part of the damage. His bounty was one hundred fifty million Berries.
He was the pirate with the highest bounty in Wang Zhi's crew, second only to Wang Zhi himself.
The three had been fighting for a while now, and during this time, Sabo and Ace had fully experienced just how 'hard' this guy Galle was.
Their attacks on his rock armor had almost no effect; instead, their own hands ached from the recoil.
Ace's fire had little effect on Galle's rock.
So now the two were in a predicament; they were having great difficulty inflicting substantial damage on Galle.
This meant they couldn't defeat Galle.
Not that Galle could easily defeat them either.
The Armor-Armor Fruit granted Galle immense defensive power, but it also made his movements extremely cumbersome, his speed far too slow compared to Sabo and Ace.
His attacks rarely managed to hit them.
Thus, a stalemate had developed.
Sabo's gaze was fixed intently on Galle when he suddenly seemed to notice something; he leaned close to Ace and whispered a few words in his ear.
Seeing this, Galle frowned slightly and bellowed:
"What are you two brats whispering about over there?!"
"Thinking about how to break my defense? Let me tell you in advance, that's impossible!!"
"Old man's defense ain't something two little brats like you can crack!"
Shortly after, Sabo and Ace turned their attention back, looking at Galle and speaking calmly:
"Whether we can break it or not, we won't know unless we try!!"
"Ace, let's go!!"
Sabo suddenly shouted, and Ace immediately positioned himself in front of Sabo, punching out fiercely.
"Fire Fist!!"
Violent, surging flames erupted forth, sweeping towards Galle.
Galle immediately crossed his arms in front of his head, the fierce flames battering his body without causing any harm.
A smile curled on Galle's lips.
"Don't bother with pointless attempts, your fire's useless against old man!!"
"If fire's useless, what about my steel pipe?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind Galle, causing his body to stiffen instantly.
Then a steel pipe was brought down on his head.
Thud!!
The dull sound echoed again, but this time Galle's body was sent flying over ten meters before crashing heavily into a house.
Sabo and Ace stood side by side, faint smiles on their lips as they watched Galle brush the rubble off himself.
"Wasn't that a bit too obvious?"
"Your body's rock, but you covered your head in Armament Haki? Isn't that just telling everyone your head is your weak point?"
"What's wrong?! Your armor can't protect your head, is that it?"
Ace's tone was flat, but his words made Galle's expression turn extremely sour.
Why was it sour? Because Ace had hit the nail on the head.
His Armor-Armor Fruit couldn't cover his head; that was the most fatal flaw of this fruit.
But in truth, it wasn't always so fatal.
The head was a relatively small target, and being a weak spot was only relative.
He could still cover his head with Armament Haki.
"So what if you found out?! I just got careless earlier; you think you'd have had a chance to hit my head otherwise?"
"Same as before, whether there's a chance or not, we won't know unless we try!!"
With that, Sabo and Ace both charged forward simultaneously, rushing at Galle at full speed...
---
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