The person is wearing a straw hat, and starts with the power of words!

“Gelman, Ella…that’s not necessarily true.”

The two men knew they had walked into a trap when they saw Sima Di's slightly provocative expression.

whoosh-

The iron clam jumped out and quickly spat out its iron spikes.

Before Ella could react, a flash of silver light appeared, and the iron spikes pierced his abdomen, pinning him firmly to the wall. Gell-Mann, relying on his Observation Haki, narrowly escaped the attack, brushing past the spikes.

Emperor Sima narrowed his eyes slightly.

This Gellman... although he's not a Devil Fruit user, he doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with...

"Big brother! Save me!" Ella cried out to Gellman, enduring the excruciating pain.

However, Gell-Mann merely scoffed and muttered "trash." Ella gave a wry smile; he knew this was the expected reaction, but he still couldn't stand it.

Gell-Mann looked at Sima Di, his face grim. "How did you know we hadn't left?"

"This just shows how stupid you are... There were important things that needed to be guarded, yet you two left together. Wasn't that obviously trying to lure me in? If there had been only one of you, I might have actually fallen for it." Sima Di pointed out their flaws without any politeness. "More than that, what I want to know is, how did you know I was there? I clearly avoided all the surveillance."

“We didn’t know you were there. We just thought that Devins hadn’t been back for a long time, and we figured something must have happened. We left just to lure the snake out, but we didn’t expect to actually lure one out… Tell me! What did you do to Third Brother?”

"Kill him." Sima Di's answer was unusually concise.

"You bastard! I'm going to beat you to a pulp today! And make you my dinner tonight!" Gell-Mann roared as he punched him.

Sima Di drew his Divine Art Blade, intending to block the attack, but his premonition told him that his fist would be covered by Armament Haki and that he did not have the power to resist it. So he immediately turned the blade of the Divine Art Blade and dodged away with Sima Di, creating distance between them.

In Gell-Mann's eyes, it was just a feint by Sima Di, as if he were making fun of him.

"Charge!" Gell-Mann grew even angrier, his entire arm covered in Armament Haki, and he punched Sima Di with maximum energy over the shortest distance.

Sima Di dodged the punch and launched an attack.

"Shining Star!"

The blade struck Gell-Mann's shoulder, but that area was already covered by Armament Haki, and the divine blade could not break through the defense.

Damn it, this Gellman not only has Armament Haki, but he also knows Observation Haki!

Gell-Mann gave a sly smile and threw a punch.

This punch was incredibly fast, without any hesitation or delay. It was as if it were the second move following a straight punch.

But in reality, many people who tried to cut down Sima Di found themselves unable to do so; this move became Gell-Mann's subconscious attack.

Sima Di hurriedly raised his arm to block, but was sent flying and crashed into the wall, creating a large crater.

"I thought someone who could beat Third Brother was some kind of expert, but it turns out he's just a piece of trash." Gell-Mann chuckled, his eyes full of disdain.

Sima Di rose in a disheveled state, still holding the divine magic knife in his right hand, but his left hand hung limply at his sides, covered in blood.

His left hand had been injured by Devins's dazzling attack earlier, and now he had been punched so hard that his bone was fractured.

However, this injury is much smaller than that to the eye, and with Chopper's treatment, it will be 80% healed in less than a day.

Sima Di turned around, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then said, "Although you are not as fast as the defeated underlings of this trash, you are more than twice as strong and quick-witted as him."

“Should I say thank you for the compliment? You know, no one can beat me in hand-to-hand combat,” Gell-Mann said, giving him a sizing-up look without any politeness. “I hope you’re a novice, because that way the meat won’t turn sour.”

"Your hope is correct, but my methods for defeating you go beyond mere hand-to-hand combat." Sima Di sheathed his divine magic sword and instead took out a seashell.

Gell-Mann's eyes turned wary. "What, you think you can defeat me with that thing that can launch iron spikes? No, you can't break through my Armament Haki at all."

"Who says I only have one kind of seashell?" Sima Di smiled slightly and pressed the seashell.

The shell suddenly spewed a large amount of flames at Gell-Mann.

On the Sky Island, Sima Di not only seized some Iron Shells from the Iron Trial, but also the Fire Shell of the Three-Foot Bird. These spoils significantly boosted Sima Di's combat power.

Gell-Mann immediately dodged, only getting slightly stung by the flames.

"This thing can indeed hurt me, but if it can't hit me, there's nothing I can do... Then what is it? Are you an ability user?" Gell-Mann was about to say something sarcastic when he saw a flame-wielding man standing next to Sima Di.

Sima Di smiled and waved to Gell-Mann.

"farewell!"

"what?"

Gell-Mann watched in astonishment as the Flame Man casually raised his hand and launched seven fireballs at him in a strange arrangement.

89. Am I your fan?

This is nothing compared to pyramid schemes.

To be honest, if it weren't for that person's appearance, Sima Di would hardly imagine himself as he is now.

"Ella, I'm giving you two options now: either die a quick death or be tortured beyond recognition and then... die."

Sima Di approached Ella and looked directly into her eyes.

"Now you're the only one left... So, are you going to confess now or tell the truth after we torture you?"

As Sima Di spoke, he sensed something was amiss. Ella's expression lacked the fear of someone at their wit's end; instead, it held a half-smile.

At this moment, even her Observation Haki told her what would happen three seconds later, but it was too late.

I was still careless...

Sima Di felt a buzzing in his head, all his thoughts receding like the tide, leaving a large blank space, just for that voice.

Just commit suicide.

Use your own knife.

Death... is your final destination!

Ella smiled as she watched Sima Di's pained expression.

"Yes, yes... pick up the knife and put it to your own neck."

Sima Di placed his hand on the hilt of the Divine Art Blade and slowly drew the blade out.

"Yes, that's it..."

"Heh, wouldn't it be too easy for you to die like this?"

“My eldest brother died in such agony, I don’t think my third brother will escape the same fate.”

"But just to be on the safe side, I won't torture you anymore... Just die a quick death!"

Swish

Ella's pupils constricted as she stared in disbelief at the knife pressed against her neck.

"you……"

The owner of the knife was already two meters away from Ella, slapping his face and trying to clear his head.

"I was really careless. I didn't expect your Devil Fruit ability to be like this... Aren't you the user of the Dog-Dog Fruit?" Sima Di said.

Devins told himself that his eldest brother was skilled in martial arts, and his second sister was a Dog-Dog Fruit user.

“It seems my third brother didn’t tell you everything. Red foxes are canines too.” Ella grinned, her face now transformed into that of a fox. But Ella still couldn’t break free of the iron thorns, not to mention, a divine sword was still held to her neck.

Sima Di scoffed.

I should have expected this. While that guy was telling the truth, he concealed some crucial information. For example, he didn't tell her that Gell-Mann could use two types of Haki.

“Tell me! How did you break free from my hypnosis! No one has been able to break my hypnosis yet!” Ella shouted.

"Have you ever tried to hypnotize your master?" Sima Di turned away, rubbing his temples, avoiding Ella's eyes.

“How could I possibly use it on my master! No… no… I think I used it once…” Ella suddenly remembered what happened when she first received her master’s reward. In order to show her abilities, she had used hypnosis on her master once, but it was instantly broken by him.

Afterwards, she asked why her master was unaffected by her hypnosis...

"Do you really expect to control a religious madman with hypnosis? A sedative would be more effective. It's not just me, there are several others too. Don't even think about using that ridiculous hypnosis to put them to sleep; if you anger them, I can't protect you."

Do the Spade Masters have religious beliefs? Are their beliefs aligned with the true masters of Spade?

[Him? He's thinking of controlling us all too early. We're just partners. Each of us has different beliefs; some believe in people, some in things, some... even just an intangible concept.]

What is the master's faith?

[Myself.]

"Seeing your silence, I believe you've already got the answer... Alright, now tell me how to open this strange box," Sima Di said.

"...Are you a religious madman?" Ella asked tentatively.

"A madman with faith? No wonder he's the originator of toxic chicken soup for the soul. He can elevate concepts with just a few words... I don't know if he has faith or not, but I do know... I'm a madman who can't go mad."

The woman had her back to Ella, so Ella couldn't see her expression, but she could hear the pain in her voice.

"A madman who can't go mad..."

"Stop getting off-topic. Tell me how to open this box. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life." Sima Di walked up to the box and knocked on it.

Ella hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Alright, I'll tell you the password. But first you need to tell me who you are and why you're investigating Spade..."

"You really want to know?"

"yes. .... "