Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 373 Li Xia's Conqueror's Haki Unleashed at Full Power!

The campfire crackled in the twilight, its embers occasionally licking the darkening sky.

Li Xia sat cross-legged on a rough stone, his fingers holding an iron skewer on which an octopus as thick as his forearm was pierced.

Actually, there were even bigger ones, but Heitan thought that the larger octopus tentacles might not taste good, so he specially brought a smaller one.

In less than half a minute, the octopus's grayish-blue skin turned translucent white, and its originally firm texture slowly relaxed, with the edges first turning caramel-colored.

Li Xia hummed an impromptu tune, and Hei Tan was also infected by this relaxing atmosphere, so he took out a mini guitar from his personal space.

With a gentle touch, soothing music flowed from it, and the kitten began to meow:
"Meow~ Meow~~~ Meow meow meow"

It sings "Twilight on the Nile," an extremely obscure insert song from the anime/game "Brave Adventure." Not many people have heard it, but it's very fitting for the occasion.

Li Xia picked up a brush, dipped it in the sauce, and brushed it onto the octopus tentacles. The dark brown liquid, coated with the sour aroma of minced garlic and lemon juice, burst into white smoke as soon as it touched the hot meat, drilling deep into the folds of the octopus tentacles.

As the olive oil dripped into the campfire, the flames suddenly shot up, and the octopus tentacles began to curl up, roasting slightly outwards until the edges were charred to a golden brown, with a few charred embers still clinging to them.

Li Xia checked that the heat was about right and flicked his fingers a few times.

With a sharp, sizzling sound, the fingertips subtly brushed against the octopus's tentacles, immediately creating several cuts that revealed the translucent, pinkish-white sauce inside, which, under the high temperature, had thickened slightly and flowed into the cuts.

"Meow!"

Hei Tan put down his guitar, his large eyes reflecting the firelight as he stared at the octopus tentacles that were gradually emitting a strange fragrance.

Li Xia was practically drooling. She smiled and handed over the octopus tentacles, then took one for herself.

Completely disregarding the scalding temperature, I tore off a piece and took a bite. The sauce burst out, a unique blend of sweet and savory seafood, the meat was incredibly tender yet had a chewy texture.

It made you want to chew it a few more times before swallowing it with satisfaction.

The night sky was filled with stars that seemed almost within reach on this floating island, and Li Xia and Heitan did not conduct any training.

I simply found a grassy slope to lie down on and quietly gazed at the entire starry sky.

I've been exhausted enough lately, and the training intensity has been quite high, so it's good to take a break.

And so, the man and the cat gradually drifted off to sleep, until the sun rose again above the horizon, at which point Black Charcoal roused himself and plunged back into the dense forest.

Yesterday it only took down a third of the monsters, today it's going to take down ten!!
The huge size difference resulted in a difference in strength. These monsters were often seven or eight meters tall. Given such a size difference, even if Kuroko possessed Armament Haki, he would be no match for them.

Being hit will also cause a huge shock, so this battle is definitely not as easy as you might imagine.

Li Xia sat on a treetop, watching the battle unfold. Black Charcoal moved as fast as a flash of light, each pause a desperate strike with its claws.

"Meow! (Fist Bone Impact!)"

A flash of black Armament Haki mixed with dark red lightning disappeared in an instant. With a huge impact, the monster was sent flying backward, smashing through several trees.

She groggily got up, looked at the panting charcoal, slowly lay down and rolled over, exposing her soft belly.

Black Charcoal grinned, standing atop the 'mountain' of monsters, and raised its little cat paw at Li Xia.

"Meow!"

Li Xia waved and congratulated the kitten on mastering the most basic fist techniques.

After finishing their training, the man and the cat were bored again, and eventually decided to go fishing by the river.

After missing his shot for the 123rd time, Li Xia finally received a message from Aowu in the team chat.

With a sigh of relief, he dropped his empty fish basket and fishing rod and stood up under the watchful eyes of Black Charcoal, who had already caught a huge catch.

"Has it started yet?"

"Hurry, hurry!"

The woof over there was quite excited, as if it were watching a theatrical version:

"They had already found most of their teammates and were preparing to turn back and run away immediately after Nami strongly urged them to."

But the Golden Lion caught them red-handed, and now they've all been turned into Snickers bars by him!

Snickers?
It took Li Xia a while to understand what Aowu meant—it was probably that the Golden Lion had compacted the soil into a pillar, burying the Straw Hat crew alive inside it.

"Nami has been captured by Shiki again. Oh, and boss, pirates are starting to land!"

Li Xia glanced at Aowu's address; it wasn't too far.

He waved at the charcoal-covered man:

"set off!"

Robin and the others, who had been found and dug out of the mud, sat dejectedly under the rock wall.

A sense of powerlessness and despondency settled over everyone's hearts.

Especially after hearing the echo shell left by Nami, and understanding that she sacrificed herself to prevent Shiki from killing the others.

Luffy's anger reached its peak.

"hateful."

"Hey everyone, can I ask you something?"

Brook, who joined after Thriller Bark, raised his hand:

"Why did Nami mention sending us to Natsu? Who is Natsu?"

The air seemed to suddenly become heavier, and Brooke was somewhat surprised to find that his companions' expressions had changed to varying degrees.

Zoro closed his eyes and gripped his sword tightly, while Sanji lit another cigarette, tilting his head back and exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.

Usopp shuddered and cried out in terror:

"Hey, is that scary navy guy chasing us again? Why is he always staring at us?"

Robin's expression was somewhat strange; she felt that Xia was shrouded in a mist, making her unable to see through him.

Chopper was the only one who seemed pleased; he had a good impression of the black guy next to Natsu.

"Should I not have mentioned that name?"

Sensing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Brooke said apologetically, "No, Brooke, this isn't your fault."

Luffy slowly stood up, his usually smiling face now showing only seriousness and a resolute determination to break through everything.

"Although Xia is a navy officer, he is a good one."

Luffy lowered his head, looking at his hands, and it was as if he could see Nami being captured with tears in her eyes again. At this moment, he had never hated his powerlessness so much.

“He’s here too. Finding Natsu is indeed a good idea. Nami told me that his target is very likely Shiki.”

Luffy suddenly raised his head, his eyes seemingly burning with fierce flames:

"But I don't want to rely on him. I want to rescue Nami with our friends!"

Zoro and Sanji stood silently behind Luffy, expressing their support through their actions.

After a brief moment of surprise, Frank and Robin also smiled.

Luffy turned his head, looked at the Golden Lion's mansion in the distance, and took a deep breath:

Let's make a scene!

"Boss?"

Aowu turned its head to look at Li Xia, who was floating high in the sky and had witnessed the whole process.

"It's okay, let them save their own, we'll fight our own."

Li Xia turned around and looked in the direction of the Golden Lion Mansion, where it was brightly lit.

"Let's go, most of the people should be here by now."

Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, like petals falling on the golden lion's enormous residence.

This mansion, which occupies an entire hillside, is comparable to a small town.

Inside the enormous banquet hall, the vicious pirates raised their glasses, clinking them together with other pirates, filled with anticipation for a future where they could burn, kill, and plunder at will.

Drinks dripped from the corners of their mouths, and the lively atmosphere seemed enough to overturn the entire banquet hall.

"Cheers to our Golden Lion Boss!"

"Cheers to endless money and countless beautiful women!"

"Today is the day we pirates truly rise to power! Cheers!"

All sorts of food and drinks were being served in a continuous stream, and the air was so hot and the aroma of alcohol was so strong that you could get drunk just by breathing in it.

The pirates became increasingly unrestrained, making the banquet hall even noisier.

But the noise did not affect the upper echelons in the slightest.

At the very top of the mansion, a golden lion sat on its high throne, looking down at the entire room with smug satisfaction.

More than twenty pirate leaders were sitting cross-legged below, dressed in black suits.

These are all notorious pirates, each with a bounty of over 100 million. In the past, Shiki might have looked down on them.

Twenty years later, the aging Golden Lion became increasingly enamored with the feeling of being the center of attention.

In particular, these pirates, because of their past reputation, commanded a large following and flocked to join them from all over the world.

It also gave the Golden Lion a feeling that he had not yet grown old.

He remains the legend who strikes fear into the world government, instills terror in ordinary people, and keeps pirates at bay!
"Next, we will hold the sworn brotherhood ceremony. Everyone, swear allegiance to me!"

The golden lion stretched out its hands:

"I will never forgive traitors, but those who are loyal to me will be rewarded with the whole world!"

The pirates below suddenly began to breathe heavily. Why did they come here? Wasn't it because of the Golden Lion's reputation that once plunged the whole world into panic?

"Drink this cup of wine and set off! Let those mortals cry out in fear, steal their wealth, and take their women."

Let the fear we bring engulf the entire East China Sea!

The pirates shouted loudly and raised their wine bowls high.

'Kara'
The huge sliding doors opened out to both sides.

The room fell silent abruptly, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the doorway.

Li Xia slowly walked in with Aowu and Heitan.

The golden lion's gaze lingered for a moment on the pure white navy coat draped over his body.

A disdainful smile gradually appeared:

"Navy? Colonel? Haha ...

Not only him, but all the pirates burst into laughter. As great pirates, who hasn't killed a few marines? Not to mention colonels, they've even killed rear admirals.

He waved his hand dismissively, showing no interest in even acknowledging Li Xia, as if he were swatting away a fly.

The sliding doors around the room were pushed open again, revealing the mid-level officers of the pirate crew waiting for the sworn brotherhood to end.

Li Xia stopped and glanced around indifferently.

The toe of his left foot lightly touched the ground.

"boom!"

An incredibly powerful shockwave instantly emanated from around his body.

"Conqueror's Haki: Overwhelming Power!"

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Two updates again! What can I say?!

(End of this chapter)