Will immediately cut the thin old man into several pieces.
But because Will didn’t know Haki, the attack had no effect.
The thin old man, meanwhile, produced a lump of blue chewing gum in his hand and placed it in his mouth.
After chewing several times, the old man actually began blowing bubbles.
One enormous blue bubble after another appeared between the two of them, floating in front of the old man.
He blew dozens of them until all the chewing gum in his mouth had been used up.
Will kicked a small stone into the air.
It happened to strike one of the blue bubbles.
BOOM!
The blue bubble exploded with tremendous force.
“Chewing gum contains glycerol.
Glycerol absorbs hydrogen sulfide from the air.
When a large amount of hydrogen sulfide suddenly comes into contact with air, it can explode—and it’s highly poisonous, too.”
The thin old man casually lectured Will.
“Never underestimate a Devil Fruit.
Especially not the person who develops its abilities.
I used to be a scientist, you know.”
He wasn’t actually trying to educate Will.
He was buying time.
The second lump of blue chewing gum already forming in his mouth made that obvious.
This is troublesome.
The man in front of him was definitely the kind of person who could turn an seemingly useless Devil Fruit into an extremely dangerous ability.
Someone like Kuma and his Paw-Paw Fruit.
This guy was probably the most troublesome opponent Will had ever encountered.
He didn’t know Haki, so his attacks were basically ineffective.
What could he do?
Run?
He could have escaped earlier, but now nearly ten blue bubbles had already surrounded him.
For the moment, he couldn’t return to help his master.
If they were going to explode, then there was a good chance they were flammable.
Will picked up another stone from the ground.
This time, he didn’t throw it immediately.
Instead, he used a powerful current of electricity to heat the stone in his hand.
After several years of growing stronger, the strength of Will’s Lightning Core had also increased.
It had already reached a level capable of electrocuting an ordinary person to death.
The stone soon became scorching hot.
Will hurled it with all his strength.
Then he jumped as hard as he could.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Several consecutive explosions erupted below him.
Using the opportunity, Will landed outside the encirclement.
He didn’t immediately go help his master.
Bringing an enemy he hadn’t defeated yet to reinforce his allies would have been incredibly foolish.
Will rushed toward the thin old man again.
His sword flashed.
He severed the old man’s arm.
This time, however, Will didn’t immediately retreat.
He picked up the piece of chewing gum that had fallen to the ground and then backed away, watching the old man’s reaction.
As expected, once the thin old man returned to human form, he was missing an arm.
“So the chewing gum that forms your limbs can’t regenerate indefinitely.”
Will smiled.
“Once separated from your body, you can’t control it anymore.
And your physical combat skills are terrible.
People who rely solely on their Devil Fruit abilities are useless.”
“Which means you’ve lost.”
Seeing the ugly expression on the old man’s face, Will became even more pleased.
Once again, he moved at a speed the old man couldn’t react to.
He smashed all the blue bubbles apart and severed both of the old man’s legs.
Then he picked them up.
Holding a large mass of chewing gum, Will didn’t continue fighting the old man.
Instead, he turned and ran.
He deliberately didn’t cut off the piece of chewing gum corresponding to the old man’s head.
That was the only piece of chewing gum the old man could still control after it had been separated from his body.
When the old man saw the direction Will was running, he was initially confused.
Then his face turned deathly pale.
He desperately began crawling in the opposite direction, looking like a stray dog driven from its home.
The place Will was running toward wasn’t anywhere special.
It was the one thing all Devil Fruit users feared.
The sea.
When Will reached the shoreline, he forcefully threw the lump of chewing gum in his hand into the sea.
Then he immediately ran back in the direction he had come from.
With Will’s speed, the entire trip took less than two minutes.
When he returned to the thin old man’s side, the old man was already lying there completely powerless.
Will didn’t say a word.
He didn’t even stop moving.
His sword flashed.
The old man’s head was severed.
Will continued running toward the One-Sword Dojo.
I wonder how Master and the others are doing.
If the old man hadn’t been along the way, Will probably wouldn’t even have bothered killing him.
It would have been a waste of time.
When Will finally returned to the dojo’s courtyard, the sight before him left him stunned.
His master appeared to be injured somewhere and was simply lying on the ground.
Aiden himself appeared to be seriously wounded.
One of his arms had been severed, and his entire body was covered in injuries.
Will’s eyes turned scarlet.
He stared murderously at Stuart Aiden.
“Kid, I didn’t expect you to survive.”
Aiden didn’t appear particularly interested in fighting Will either.
His injuries were severe.
“Why don’t you join my family?
What future could you possibly have following Niss?”
“Join your—”
In his extreme grief and fury, Will spat out a classic curse from his previous life.
“Go to hell.”
Looking at everything before him, Will didn’t know what to do.
He was just about to check on his master when he heard his Senior Brother calling him.
“Will…
Will, come here.”
Roy had only just regained consciousness.
He had witnessed the moment Will stomped Stuart Aiden’s head apart.
A relieved smile appeared on Roy’s face.
Will hurried over and helped his Senior Brother sit against the wall.
“Senior Brother, how are you?”
“I’ll take you and Master to a doctor right away.”
“It’s all right.
You shouldn’t have suffered any internal injuries.
You’ll recover soon.
Don’t worry.”
Will spoke words that even he didn’t really believe.
His eyes were already filled with tears, but he desperately tried not to cry.
“Hahahaha…
you brat.”
Roy laughed weakly.
“I can already see my own stomach.
Your Senior Brother isn’t going to make it.”
“Little Anna is dead too.
My daughter…
she’s only five.”
“I should have realized it sooner.
How could an assassin ever have a good ending?”
This middle-aged man, who had always been so carefree, finally began to cry in grief.
“Will…”
“Having a Junior Brother like you has truly made me happy.”
“Your origins are mysterious, but you’ve always treated Master, me, and An sincerely.”
“Help me fulfill my final wishes.”
“Help me drink the most delicious wine in this world…
the kind of wine that makes you never want to stop drinking.”
“And bury me together with Senior Sister An.”
“Find a good owner for An’s sword.”
“He doesn’t need to be particularly strong.
He just needs to know how to cherish his sword.”
“An never said it, but she loved her sword very much.”
“Other than me and Master, you were the only person she ever allowed to admire that sword.”
Roy smiled faintly at Will.
The light in his eyes slowly faded.
“Senior Brother…”
Will could no longer hold back.
He collapsed onto Roy’s body and began sobbing uncontrollably.
The man who had died before his eyes was the same man who had accompanied him during training every day.
The same Senior Brother who had taught him how to drink.
Who had never acted superior simply because he was his Senior Brother.
Who had argued with him over the smallest things.
Sometimes, when their arguments became heated, the two of them would even wrestle around on the ground like children.
Whenever Will’s training reached a bottleneck, Roy would encourage him.
Whenever Will successfully created a new technique, Roy would offer his guidance and celebrate with him.
And now…
That man was dead before his eyes.
After crying for some time, Will suddenly remembered something.
Master.
How is Master?
Will hurriedly ran toward him.
Earlier, because it was dark and they had been some distance apart, he hadn’t been able to see the full extent of his master’s injuries.
But when he reached him, Will suddenly stopped.
He couldn’t accept what he was seeing.
He took two steps backward.
Forcing down the despair threatening to overwhelm him, he slowly approached his master again.
Then he discovered it.
A faint heartbeat.
Master was still alive.
Will immediately hoisted his master onto his back and ran toward the hospital in Loguetown.
He hadn’t gone very far when he felt his master move slightly.
“Will…
put me down.”
Long Ounce’s voice was extremely weak.
His fatal injuries had left him with almost no strength.
“Master, we’re almost at the hospital.
Please hold on.
We’re almost there.”
Will answered hurriedly. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
His feet never stopped.
Because he was carrying his master, he couldn’t activate Lightning Mode.
He was afraid the electricity would injure Master, so he couldn’t reach the hospital quickly enough.
“Put me down.”
Long Ounce forced himself to shout.
“Are you going to disobey your master?”
Will froze as though he had been turned to stone.
His face was filled with struggle.
In the end, he slowly lowered his master and helped him sit against the side of the road.
“Will…”
“I’m afraid your master isn’t going to make it.”
“There are a few things I want to tell you.
I’m afraid I won’t have the time later.”
Long Ounce struggled to breathe after saying this.
“Master, go ahead.”
“I’m listening.”
Will desperately tried to keep himself from crying in front of his master again.
“A man shouldn’t cry.”
“Will…”
“Being able to teach a disciple like you has already made your master proud.”
“Your achievements in the future will certainly surpass mine.”
“There are several things I want you to do for me.”
“You must fulfill them.”
“First, help me find my ancestor’s Black Blade, Shusui.”
“I know you love swords, so find it a worthy owner.”
“Don’t let it fall into the hands of my family’s descendants again.”
“You must promise me.”
Long Ounce forced the words out.
“Master, don’t worry.”
“Shusui is currently in the hands of your ancestor, Ryuma.”
“Ryuma was turned into a zombie by Gecko Moria, and Shusui will eventually fall into the hands of a swordsman who will be no less extraordinary than Dracule Mihawk.”
“I’ll personally make sure of it.”
Will spoke rapidly to his master.
“Hahaha…”
Long Ounce was initially surprised by Will’s words.
Then he smiled in satisfaction.
“That’s good.”
“Let it happen naturally.”
“There is one more thing.”
“If a descendant of the Kozuki Family ever encounters danger, help them once.”
“After all, Kozuki Oden once spared my life.”
“Back then, I had committed a crime in Wano Country that should have resulted in my execution.”
“Remember…
only do this when you have become strong enough.”
“Don’t throw your life away recklessly.”
The more Long Ounce spoke, the more difficult it became for him.
Every so often, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“I was exiled from Wano Country because I violated a taboo.”
“Later, I learned by chance that the Kozuki Family were the creators of the Poneglyphs.”
“That alone wasn’t the most important thing.”
“The important thing was that I learned how to read the Poneglyphs.”
“Will, do you remember those two months when I taught you wilderness survival?”
“Do you remember the writing I taught you?”
“That wasn’t the language of Wano Country.”
“That was the language of the Poneglyphs.”
“I passed that knowledge on to you.”
“I know you want to see this world.”
“But if you can’t understand the ancient script, there are many things in this world you will never truly be able to see.”
“What you see may only be what the World Government wants you to see.”
“Your Senior Brother and Senior Sister An both understand the ancient script.”
“But they have no interest in it.”
“You must remember this.”
“Never…
ever admit that you can read the ancient script.”
“The Celestial Dragons will take an interest in you if they find out.”
“Those fat pigs are a troublesome race.”
“Set sail, Will.”
“You’ve grown up.”
“Before I knew it, you were already sixteen.”
“Time really does pass quickly.”
“You were once just a little boy.”
“Now you’ve become a man.”
“Remember.”
“Don’t lose yourself.”
“Even if everyone in the world condemns you, your master, your Senior Brother, and Senior Sister An will always support you.”
After saying that, Long Ounce raised his head and looked toward the sky.
It was as though he were remembering something beautiful.
Long Ounce suddenly recalled that summer.
That beautiful girl.
The promise they had made in Wano Country.
They were beautiful memories.
And yet, several decades had passed in the blink of an eye.
With a smile on his face, Long Ounce slowly closed his eyes.
His breathing gradually stopped.