Will had a feeling that this was the most dangerous situation he’d encountered since arriving in the world of One Piece.
If things went badly, he might actually die here today.
His opponent wasn’t some brainless, arrogant fool.
When Will had fought Gatte to the death just now, the young nobleman hadn’t rushed in to help Gatte.
Instead, he’d summoned reinforcements and surrounded the entire dock layer by layer.
If there was one thing a speed-based fighter feared the most, it was probably large-scale attacks and overwhelming numbers.
Now, except for the small area immediately surrounding Will, the entire dock was practically packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
He needed to think of a way out.
At the very least, he had to buy himself some time.
He didn’t need to recover completely.
As long as he recovered enough to fight, that would be sufficient.
Right now, he could barely stand.
After several years of using the Lightning Stimulation Method to activate his cells, Will’s ability to recover from injuries was impressive.
It couldn’t compare with the monstrous regenerative ability of an awakened Zoan like Gatte, but his stamina recovered extremely quickly.
Will looked toward the young nobleman and spoke in a low voice.
“May I ask who you are?”
“Judging from the situation, I suppose you’re determined to kill me today.”
“Is it really just because I killed Gatte at your dock and embarrassed you?”
Will voiced the question that had been bothering him.
If this man had been close to Gatte and wanted revenge for him, that would have made sense.
But judging from his earlier words, the young nobleman didn’t seem particularly fond of Gatte.
And as for the excuse that causing trouble at the docks meant death…
Give me a break.
This was the world of pirates.
“You don’t seem completely stupid after all.”
The young nobleman maintained the hypocritical smile characteristic of a nobleman.
“You’re right.
There are quite a few pirates causing trouble at the docks every day.”
“But not every pirate who dies here is named Gatte.”
“I’m merely giving someone an explanation.”
“After all, Gatte was my business partner.”
“If I weren’t doing this for his sake, how could a greedy and arrogant fool like Gatte have survived until today?”
The young nobleman answered Will’s questions casually, as though everything was already under his control.
“Oh?”
“So Gatte had a powerful backer?”
Will continued making small talk with the nobleman.
“To make even a noble like you so wary of him…
that’s unfortunate news.”
Will wasn’t worried about what the man might reveal.
Right now, the most important thing was buying time and recovering his strength.
As for Gatte’s backer, Will had never been afraid of powerful enemies.
Even if Gatte’s backer turned out to be one of the Four Emperors, Will would still have killed him.
“Stop trying to stall for time.”
“So…”
“Goodbye.”
The young nobleman finished speaking and gestured for the large group of men to advance toward Will.
“Hehehe…”
“Looks like I’ve run into a clever one.”
“But I think I’ve recovered enough.”
Will stopped wasting words.
He activated Lightning Mode and charged into the surrounding crowd.
Now that he’d recovered enough to fight, Will didn’t slaughter everyone in front of him as he had in the past.
Instead, he fought his way toward a specific direction.
His ship was there.
As long as he could get aboard, there was a good chance these people wouldn’t be able to catch him at sea.
The man who had inflicted such severe injuries on Will was someone he actually recognized.
It was the young gunman he’d encountered during his very first mission—the man who had carried a huge Adam Wood chest on his back and had pistols strapped all over his legs.
Will had cut off one of his arms back then.
Somehow, that man had also made his way to the Grand Line and happened to cross paths with Will here.
Apparently, he’d joined one of the factions operating on Toto Island.
But Will no longer needed to worry about revenge from him.
That gunman was already dead beneath Will’s sword.
The price Will had paid was the deep wound across his lower abdomen.
Will suddenly noticed something strange.
The enemies had stopped advancing.
Instead, they formed a circle around him and stared at him in horror.
Will was exhausted beyond belief and couldn’t afford to worry about much else.
He simply sat down atop the mountain of corpses.
Then he pulled a bottle of liquor from the pouch at his lower back and took a large gulp.
The alcohol helped ease his fatigue.
He also poured some over his wounds to disinfect them.
That was why they were terrified.
Even though the small-time commanders behind them desperately urged them forward, none of the men dared move.
After all, a person’s life only came once.
No amount of money could buy another one.
Who would willingly throw away their life?
In the distance, the young nobleman stood atop a rooftop.
His expression was ugly.
Originally, he’d intended to deal with the other lunatic who was currently away from the island.
That man’s older brother had died, and the nobleman had planned to give him an explanation.
But now, it seemed that doing so hadn’t been a wise decision.
The man in front of him felt even more insane.
The young nobleman was deeply troubled.
He’d originally intended to keep a hidden trump card in reserve and use it to deliver a fatal blow to Will.
But perhaps it was better not to use it. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
If Will somehow survived and escaped, the nobleman would never be able to sleep peacefully again.
He summoned one of his bodyguards, gave him some instructions, and then headed toward the town.
He left the dock that now looked like something straight out of hell.
After drinking for quite some time, Will realized that he’d completely frightened the remaining enemies into submission.
He laughed.
Originally, if he couldn’t break through the encirclement, he’d planned to forcibly push Lightning Mode to its maximum and charge toward his ship.
But if he’d done that, his chances of surviving would have been extremely slim.
Fortunately, it seemed he’d succeeded.
Will stood up and slowly walked toward his ship.
The crowd that had previously blocked the dock completely actually opened a path for him.
Everywhere Will went, the people there desperately backed away.
Until Will finally walked out of the crowd.
Not a single enemy dared pursue him.
Will maintained his dignity for the first few steps, walking slowly and calmly.
Then he entered a nearby alley and started running for his life.
Don’t be fooled by how much Will had looked like a god of death moments ago.
In reality, he’d already been pushed to his absolute limit.
Drinking that alcohol had been nothing more than an act of bravado.
He’d lost far too much blood.
His head was now dizzy and heavy.
The wounds on his body no longer hurt.
They had gone numb and swollen instead.
Just as Will was about to reach his ship, he suddenly noticed someone standing by the seaside.
A stunningly beautiful woman.
She had long, wavy green hair and wore a red top with black pants.
A pair of extremely high heels completed her outfit.
Yet despite such a striking appearance, there was nothing seductive about her.
Instead, she radiated an icy coldness that seemed to reach straight into the heart.
Will’s first thought was:
One of my kind.
This woman was probably an assassin or something similar.
In his current condition, if they fought, there was a good chance he’d die.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not here to fight you.”
“Someone asked me to give you something.”
After saying that, the woman placed a box on the ground and turned around.
Then she walked away.
Will frowned the moment he heard her voice.
The beautiful woman’s voice was extremely unpleasant.
It was low and hoarse, almost as if her vocal cords had once been damaged.
Will immediately thought of a throat-slitting injury.
He picked up the box and opened it.
Inside was a Den Den Mushi.
After thinking for a moment, Will picked it up and returned to his ship.