Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 228 Arrival at Whisky Peak

Leigh the lion sauntered across the deck, his eyes vacant, looking no different from a kitten that had just been spayed.

"Pfft, hahaha! What kind of outfit is this?! Has Liki turned into a lioness? But lionesses have fur on their necks too!"

Usopp looked at the pitiful lion and burst into laughter. There was nothing he could do; Usopp was originally at the bottom of the food chain on this ship, and even the lion Riki often threatened him.

Now that the lion is in trouble, it would be strange if Usopp didn't laugh.

Seemingly having heard Usopp's laughter, Leigh the lion turned his head to look at his long-nosed human, baring his sharp teeth and biting without a word.

Having been bitten along the way, Usopp was already experienced. Seeing that the lion Riki's expression was not right, he immediately turned and ran. However, the lion roared and a pair of wings instantly grew from its back, flying into the sky. Its original lion head also turned into a sharp bird head.

"A griffin?! What... what's going on?"

Usopp screamed as the flying lion grabbed his collar. The lion's claws had turned into eagle claws, gripping Usopp so tightly that his eyes rolled back in his head.

Nami, on the deck, ignored Usopp's screams in the sky, her gaze sweeping over the molting griffin before settling on Uchiha Touyu:

"Feiyu, what happened? Why did this lion suddenly turn into this? Is it because of that Devil Fruit user?"

As she spoke, Nami glanced at the wooden tub filled with seawater. The Vulture Fruit user who had been soaking in the tub had long since turned into a dried corpse and was thrown into the sea by Uchiha Touya.

"That's right. I extracted the Devil Fruit power from that Devil Fruit user and gave it to this lion, which is why he was able to evolve into a griffin."

Uchiha Touyu nodded and said something, then looked up at the griffin in the sky with a strange expression on his face:

"However... I never expected this lion to lose its neck feathers like a vulture... Theoretically, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit shouldn't have any impact without transforming, right?"

For example, Chopper, the deer who ate the Human-Human Fruit, looks strange in human form, but in his reindeer form, he is no different from an ordinary reindeer, except for his blue nose—which is his natural defect and has nothing to do with the Devil Fruit.

Uchiha Touyu had never really seen a Devil Fruit whose image could actually affect the user's physical form.

According to Uchiha Touyu's guess, it's probably because the Devil Fruit power is extracted directly from the user's body, rather than being obtained by eating the Devil Fruit.

It doesn't matter, we'll know the result after doing a few more experiments. Devil Fruits are hard to find on the Grand Line, but Devil Fruit users are a dime a dozen.

Leaving aside the unfortunate Usopp and the lion Leigh, who didn't know whether to be sad or happy, the Going Merry was very fast. In less than a day, Whiskey Mountain, the bounty hunter's lair, also known as Cactus Island, appeared in the distance.

When the Going Merry appeared, a number of bounty hunters gathered on Cactus Island, welcoming it with fine wine and food, singing and dancing. However, as the Going Merry drew closer, the bounty hunters discovered that the ship did not fly a pirate flag, and they all cursed their bad luck.

These bounty hunters are not very strong and dare not actually arrest pirates. Instead, they block the entrance to the Grand Line and deceive some new pirate crews who have just entered the Grand Line.

If the rookie pirate crew is even slightly more vigilant, they could easily get drunk and become their prey.

Seeing that the other party was not a pirate group, the bounty hunters were naturally a little unhappy. However, some of the bounty hunters had their eyes darting around, and seeing that the people on the ship did not seem to be very strong, they began to have some wicked thoughts.

After all, there isn't a clear dividing line between bounty hunters and pirates, and some bounty hunters who have been doing it for a long time often take on the role of pirate.

However, one of the bounty hunters' leaders, Icarum, who wore a large curly wig and looked like a gorilla, never left the dock and even stopped the bounty hunters:

"You bunch of idiots! Those people on board are our colleagues from Baroque Workshop! Can't you see that's Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday?"

Actually, those bounty hunters didn't notice... Princess Vivi had let her hair down and wasn't dressed like a tomboy anymore. As for Mr. 9, his crown had been split in two, and without that most distinctive feature, he didn't look special at all.

In the world of One Piece, most people suffer from some degree of face blindness. Luffy is one of the most severely affected, but others are more or less face-blind as well, so it's not surprising that they can't recognize each other.

"It really is... Where's Mr. 9's crown?"

"Miss Wednesday looks so beautiful! You couldn't tell at all with her old hairstyle."

While the bounty hunters were still discussing amongst themselves, Uchiha Touya had already jumped off the ship and looked at the curly-haired man:

"Are you all bounty hunters from Baroque Works?"

Curly-haired Icarus was a little impatient. "Who are you? How dare you talk to me like that?" But Princess Vivi, who had also jumped off the ship, quickly gave him a wink, which made him more respectful.

"Indeed, this entire Whiskey Peak is Baroque Works' base; everyone there is a bounty hunter..."

"Alright, I understand. In that case, you guys pick a few who aren't entirely aligned with Baroque Works, and leave the rest to me!"

"Uh...wh...what do you mean? Who are you? What do you want?"

"Mr. Uchiha Tou, do you intend to help us deal with Baroque Works?"

Vivi's face suddenly lit up with a delighted smile as she looked at Uchiha Touka. Although she didn't know Uchiha Touka's strength or whether he could deal with the Shichibukai Crocodile, she knew that he was definitely the strongest person she had ever seen in her life.

If Alabasta had someone to help them, they would at least have a better chance of defeating that Shichibukai.

"No, I just need some test subjects. Besides, to be frank, these bounty hunters are just the outer perimeter of Baroque Works. Even if we kill them all, that Crocodile might not care."

"If you want me to help you solve your national problems, you'd better at least be prepared to pay me!"

Upon hearing Uchiha Tou directly ask for payment, Princess Vivi's smile froze for a moment. To be honest, Alabasta is indeed one of the top powers on the entire Grand Line, with a standing army of 60. Logically speaking, they shouldn't be short of money.

However, the Alabasta royal family doesn't actually have much money. In recent years, the royal family's private treasury has been used to subsidize the common people, leaving them even more strapped for cash.

In the past, the national treasury was relatively full, and at worst, some money could be taken from the national treasury for rewards. After all, this money was originally for the benefit of the country. However, in recent years, the severe drought caused by the dancing fans has dried up the national treasury.

Under these circumstances, even Princess Vivi herself was not sure if Alabasta could offer a reward that would satisfy them.

"Um... how many Berries do you want?"

"How much money do you Alabasta have?"

"Well... I'm not entirely sure, but it's probably a few hundred million Berries..."

Very good. A country with a standing army of 60 only has a few hundred million Berries. Speaking of which, the slightly famous pirates in the New World all have bounties of several hundred million!

Uchiha Touyu didn't know whether to say that Alabasta was too poor or that the King of Koza was truly so selfless, but the speechless expression on his face clearly expressed his meaning, making Vivi blush as well.

"Well... Alabasta has had some tough years, but once we defeat Shakrokfar, I believe the whole country will recover quickly."

That's not necessarily true... While Alabasta's current predicament is largely due to Shakrokfar, the country itself likely has its own significant problems as well. This desert nation has existed for 800 years, and any system that operates for 800 years will inevitably be riddled with problems and become deeply entrenched in issues.

Perhaps due to the character of the people in the pirate world, and the fact that it is, after all, a supernatural world, which is better than the real world, but probably not by much, the lower class can barely survive, not to mention the quality of their lives.

This kind of thing can't be solved by a king's benevolence or love for his people. Emperor Chongzhen worked 18 hours a day, ate only four dishes a meal, and had patches on his clothes. Can you not say he was diligent and frugal? Can you say he had no feelings for the country? But in the end, the Ming Dynasty still collapsed.

The tides of history cannot be changed by any individual. Even the World Government is showing signs of this now. The so-called Great Pirate Era is not much different from peasant uprisings.

"Never mind... we'll deal with Alabasta later. I'll take care of the bounty hunters here first."

"Uh, wait a minute, let me go call one of my companions over first!"

Mr. 9 spoke, then ran over. A moment later, he was seen dragging a muscular woman along.

"I only have this one companion... I'm not very familiar with the other bounty hunters..."

After Mr. 9 finished speaking, he whispered a few words to the muscular woman. Although the muscular woman looked very muscular, she had a pretty good temper. After listening to Mr. 9's words, she nodded and stopped talking, as if betraying Baroque Works was not a big deal at all.

As for Princess Vivi, besides the curly-haired girl, she also brought along a fast-running duck; she said she didn't know the rest of them.

Speaking of which, it's Mr. 9 who's with Princess Vivi every day and they have a pretty good relationship. As for the other bounty hunters, what are they? They're just rotten tomatoes and watermelons. How could they possibly be able to mess with a princess?

"Very good, then I'll take care of these bounty hunters from now on."

Uchiha Touyu nodded, glancing at the group of still somewhat bewildered bounty hunters, and said calmly:

"Is there anyone here who wants to leave Baroque Works and turn to the light?"

"Leave Baroque Works?" A group of bounty hunters looked at each other in bewilderment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Where did you come from, you fool, daring to mess with our Baroque Workshop!"

"Heh, you probably don't know the power of Baroque Works! Just some guy from the four seas..."

Some bounty hunters also looked at Princess Vivi and her group with cold eyes:

"It seems you have betrayed Baroque Works! Have you forgotten the horrors of Baroque Works?"

"They're just a bunch of low-level agents. The studio will soon send in stronger agents to take care of you!"

"Very good," Uchiha Touyu nodded. He was genuinely afraid that these bounty hunters would surrender directly. After all, opportunities to go on a killing spree are hard to come by, and he didn't really want to slaughter ordinary civilians. The fact that these people were so determined was a great help to him.

"Very well, I don't know if Baroque Works will send a powerful figure to avenge you, but I do know—you definitely won't live to see that day!!"

In a flash, the Sandai Kitetsu pierced the heart of a bounty hunter. The mutated Armament Haki and Blood Nerve were activated simultaneously, and the bounty hunter was almost instantly drained into a dried-up corpse.

Before the other bounty hunters could react, Uchiha Touya swiftly severed the corpse in two. Amidst the flashing blade, several bounty hunters standing nearby were cut in half at the waist before they could even utter a word. Their blood was instantly extracted, merged into the Third Generation Kitetsu, and then transferred into Uchiha Touya's body.

The power of the Blood Nerve reappeared within Uchiha Touyu's body, this time dissipating more slowly. Uchiha Touyu immediately activated the power of the Blood Nerve and began constructing his Asura Body.

The blood begins to refine, the heart becomes more vibrant, the internal organs seem to ignite, and the skin can vaguely reveal the shape of scales...

This is a complete change to one's original physique. With the power of the Blood Nerve, it would be impossible to do such a thing in this world—unless one is constantly killing people to practice and extract blood essence!

Uchiha Touyu is currently killing people and extracting their life force.

Several bounty hunters picked up their guns and opened fire on Uchiha Touyu. However, Uchiha Touyu neither dodged nor evaded. With a flash of his blade, a head fell to the ground, and the body turned into a dried-up corpse.

A bounty hunter took out a rocket launcher and fired it at Uchiha Touya, but the rocket was split in two, and a sharp blade pierced through his forehead, revealing another withered corpse.

Ten, twenty, thirty… More and more bounty hunters turned to bones under the terrifying flash of the blade. The courage that the bounty hunters had initially gained by relying on their numbers finally crumbled completely, and some began to drop their weapons and flee. And this situation spread like wildfire; soon all the bounty hunters began to run for their lives.

"Monster...a monster!"

"We can't win, damn it, this isn't even up to the standard of pirates from the Four Seas!"

(End of this chapter)