Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

The Grand Line is somewhat better, as it's teeming with pirates. But the Four Seas are a different story. As the World Government's base, the Four Seas are arguably the most severely affected by piracy. Even the Celestial Dragons like to come to the Four Seas to "comfort the people"—they say it's for the sake of comforting the people, but everyone knows what they're really up to. Especially their henchmen, who take every opportunity to find ways to make money.

Thanks to the casino, the living environment and conditions on Antuo Island have improved somewhat in the past two years. Young people may not notice, but having lived through the most chaotic era, these older people will not stand idly by when faced with such a situation.

Ultimately, due to events such as the Ohara massacre, the West Sea has always been the sea area closest to the Grand Line in terms of average level among the four seas.

The appearance of the elderly woman was not an isolated case. Immediately afterward, one after another, old men and women emerged from the crowd, searching for their sons in the navy and pointing fingers while launching into a tirade of angry curses, as if afraid their voices would be too soft for others to hear.

"Look at you! I told you to go work as a lowly 'shoe 49' at the Max Casino, but you insisted on joining the Navy! Now you've been sold out and you don't even know it!!"

Upon hearing this from the crowd, Tina's expression twisted in disbelief—when did the navy in the Four Seas become less desirable than a casino employee?!

It may sound a bit far-fetched, but it's true... Who doesn't know that casinos nowadays provide special training for their employees on etiquette and culture?

Especially after hearing that both Sett the Dragon King and Guanyin the Paper Fan were born into slavery, their children must be treated much better than those nobles! For one thing, just the benefits... they give out chicken, duck, fish, meat, milk, and alcohol during holidays. It's a real status symbol—my son works at the Armor Casino, and he often brings home gifts. I heard there's even an end-of-year bonus called a Devil Fruit! I wonder if my rascal will ever get one!

Thanks to Robin's deliberate promotion, even Tina didn't notice that the Armstrong Casino now possessed the ability to replace the functions of the World Government on Antwerp Island...

Tina, of course, didn't know—because Tina rarely participated in people's livelihood, spending most of her time training as a military officer.

Robin is different... For Robin, apart from Sett, no one else is trustworthy. Even someone she spends every day with, like Tina, is not trustworthy. Having experienced too many betrayals and treachery, Robin now treats everyone except Sett with a degree of caution!

"...Oh my God..."

Tina rubbed her forehead in exasperation, then waved her hand dismissively and said to the soldiers, "Dismissed..."

There's nothing we can do if they don't disband—if this group of elderly men and women continues talking, the soldiers might even mutiny on the spot.

New recruits can be fooled, but those seasoned veterans know exactly how deeply entrenched the gambling dens are these days.

Go up there and fight to the death? Be loyal to the World Government?

Don't be ridiculous... You all have wives and kids. If you're faithful to your husband, who will take care of your wife and kids?

The World Government? The Celestial Dragons? Don't be ridiculous, we should be grateful they didn't take advantage of our misfortune!

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A new outbreak has occurred in Rizhao. I heard it's because someone in Wulian was having an affair and didn't pay attention, thus spreading the virus... My family works in logistics, and my dad just got back from assisting at the makeshift hospital. My younger brother and his colleagues are also being tested for nucleic acid twice per shift. We had all relaxed a bit, but because of this, people on the streets have started wearing masks again...

217 Naval Battle

The morale of the navy was basically zero, especially after the family group participated in the exhibition. Even the young and enthusiastic navy personnel realized that something was wrong and were scolded by their elders so badly that they couldn't even lift their heads.

When Tina came to her senses, she realized that as a naval branch captain, all she could command now was the Capone family's mafia... and even those mafia members weren't exactly in high spirits.

Looking at the crowd before her, Tina sighed and dismissed them—the premise of a desperate army being defeated is absolute certainty of death, leaving only a sliver of hope to fight their way out. And now, it truly was certain death. However, unlike ordinary certainty of death, this death was a societal one.

Through continuous efforts, Antuo Island is now so secure that even if it were to secede from the World Government, it wouldn't suffer any negative consequences. They harbor no goodwill towards the Celestial Dragons, and the Great Pirate Era is currently at its most intense...

"Come on," Tina casually tossed her coat aside, then looked at Robin and said, "Let me see how far you've progressed in your cultivation!"

Robin glanced at Tina and shook her head—Robin knew very well how powerful Tina was. Especially after Sett arrived, because Sett's credit was automatically split in half with Tina, she received far more resources from the Navy and the World Government than other Marines. Under these circumstances, Robin herself was already far behind from the start…

However, the length of cultivation time is not irreparable. For example...

Taking out a delicate little bottle, Robin twisted open the cap and drank it all in one gulp, all while Tina looked on in bewilderment—although it had been diluted, the concentration was still sufficient.

After successfully ingesting the mixture, a flush quickly rose around Robin's body. Then, the Armament Haki that had initially only covered her fists began to spread rapidly under the influence of the Rage Mixture. In just a moment, it had covered her entire arm!

As a result, all of Robin's arms also became visibly harder.

Under Tina's astonished gaze, Robin's body suddenly transformed into a blur—compared to Sett, this blur was only incredibly slow. But in a place like the West Blue, it was already considered top-tier!

Sensing the rapid burst of Robin's power, Tina's eyes widened in surprise—she knew Robin's strength.

Indeed, Robin is very strong and talented. But the amount of time she has spent training is limited. Tina, who personally taught Robin, has a thorough understanding of her training progress—of course, it now seems that Robin is intentionally hiding her true abilities.

Even so, in that instant, the speed and power that Robin unleashed exceeded Tina's predictions—a shave at such a speed should have been completely unbearable for Robin's bones and flesh!

While Tina was still pondering, Robin had already launched her full-scale attack. Enhanced by the magical potion, the number of arms on Robin's back had expanded from six to eight—and could even be more if quantity were the sole focus. However, having dedicated herself to physical training, Robin now understood that quality was more important than quantity!

Including his original two arms, his ten arms swung wildly like a dark storm. From a distance, they were in no way inferior to Sett—of course, that's only in appearance. After all, the afterimages seen from Sett's combos were merely the trajectories that the naked eye could catch. Countless others were too fast to detect due to their immense speed.

Even so, Robin's strength remains unquestionable—ten arms, while representing greater energy expenditure, also mean that Robin can strike from more varied angles.

Because of her misjudgment of Robin's strength, Tina's ribs were exposed—this was intentional on Tina's part.

But it wasn't out of defiance. Tina knew very well that after missing the initial advantage, she had to create an opening to seize the opportunity and turn the tide of the battle. A punch isn't something that can be thrown and cause damage—Sett's every punch was powerful because every muscle in his body worked together in unison. Each punch was the result of 80% of his muscles working together. And now, with Robin's original arms restricted, even if her eight arms landed several hits in succession, they wouldn't be able to—ugh!

Just as Tina was still thinking, a sudden, heavy blow left her mind blank. The heavy impact struck her ribs, but the force far exceeded the limits of Tina's Armament Haki hardening. Intense pain surged through her, and with the force of the impact, Tina's body was sent flying five meters away.

Looking up, Robin's arms had shrunk from eight to four. But in their place was an even more terrifying silhouette of her back.

"Did you think I knew nothing about fighting? Don't forget, I've been following Sett all this way."

Robin shook his head indifferently; "Indeed, without muscle coordination, even if you were attacked by me, you wouldn't be greatly affected... but you seem to have misunderstood something."

"What is it?" Tina looked at Robin with some curiosity, but there was a hint of bitterness in her eyes—clearly, although Robin was close to her, he had never accepted her in the same way he had accepted Sett.

“Sett has told me more than once…” Robin raised a finger; “The advantage my abilities offer in close combat is not the ability to launch multi-dimensional attacks using more limbs.”

"what is that?"

"It allows me to freely combine muscles and bones." As the Flower-Flower Fruit powers expanded, Robin's muscle density constantly changed. However, unlike Sett, Robin's changes weren't as obvious as they appeared. More often, it resulted in certain parts of her body becoming fuller:

"This gives my jab the destructive power of a heavy hook, and my arms the muscular strength of my thighs. You think newly formed limbs can't pose an effective threat? Of course, after all, the synergy of muscles and the strong support of bones are the foundation of power... Perhaps you should pay more attention to my bookshelves."

Upon hearing Robin's words, Tina paused for a moment—then quickly recalled that she had once asked Robin why he read medical books.

Robin's initial answer was to treat Sett while he was injured—but now it seems that might not be the case. Or perhaps, it wasn't just about healing Sett, but also about gaining a more accurate understanding of biological structures, thereby allowing the Hana Hana Fruit to more comprehensively enhance her own abilities!

Robin is fully aware of her own abilities, while what she knows about Robin seems to be something Robin has deliberately revealed.

Realizing this, Tina said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Can't you just genuinely trust other people for once?"

At this, Robin, who had been keeping a cold expression, also smiled slightly. However, she quickly masked it—Robin had always had a mischievous streak. It was just that because of her tragic childhood, she rarely showed the innocence that should be present at her age. Faced with Tina's accusation, she simply said in a coquettish voice, "You're not Sett."

Capone Becky was stunned as he watched the two suddenly reconcile after their fight. "No way," he thought, "I risked my life to fight Sett. And now you two've rekindled your old flame?"

As a mafia boss, Capone Becky felt like a clown for a moment—neither Heath Ledger nor Joaquin Phoenix could portray him as convincingly as he did.

"This won't work."

Looking at Robin, Tina was amazed by the girl's intelligence, but she still said, "The three admirals, and the Fleet Admiral who can provide support at any time... the best outcome for Sett is to enter Impel Down. A rebellion like this will only push you to the brink of destruction!"

“Sett will win.” Robin shook her head, then, perhaps remembering something, a look of relief appeared in her eyes as she said, “Besides, I’m tired of living on the run… No one can take all of this away from me!”

“You can’t protect it,” Tina said. “The West Blue is the most chaotic sea. To prevent a new wave of pirates from setting sail in the Great Pirate Era, the Marine Headquarters has deployed three officers here to guard it—Vice Admiral Fire Mountain, Vice Admiral Onigumo, and Rear Admiral Mole.”

“Sett has done something like this; they’ll be here soon. You alone absolutely cannot defend this place!”

Hearing Tina's words, Robin's eyes also revealed a hint of worry—something Robin was actually well aware of. However, Robin also knew that if she were to concede defeat without hesitation over something like this, then regardless of the final outcome, Sett would be utterly disappointed in the Casino of the Arms.

Sett can accept defeat, but he will never accept cowardice—Robin knows this better than anyone.

But as Tina spoke, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed from the distant port. Two enormous figures, like pillars of heaven, could be vaguely seen. Wielding weapons, they swung their blades together at the approaching naval fleet: "Elbaf War God's Spear—Overlord!!!"

The giants' secret technique of delivering a devastating blow, passed down through generations. In the story, using a broken, inferior sword and a shattered axe, they shattered the gigantic sea king, the "Island-Eating Goldfish," with a single strike. Now, with better food, rest, training, and weapons—

A violent shockwave swept across the sea, instantly shattering everything in its path, from waves to warships!

Immediately afterward, a bolt of lightning streaked across the distant sky. Where it passed, dark clouds gathered. Surging thunder crackled between the clouds, and the next moment, a spear of lightning, gleaming with azure light, rained down like a torrential downpour!

218·Mundo

Standing at the bow of the warship, Fire Mountain's face was filled with helplessness—Fire Mountain was a very gentle vice admiral. He had briefly met Sett before. Although he was a nice person, Robin didn't have the slightest goodwill towards him. The reason was simple—Fire Mountain was one of the vice admirals who had participated in the Buster Call on Ohara.

However, so much time has passed, especially after meeting Sett, that Robin has lost her initial hatred for the Ohara massacre... Or perhaps, through continuous learning, Robin has come to realize that the true culprits behind the Ohara massacre were not the soldiers like Fire Mountain, but the Five Elders as leaders.

Based on this, Robin has absolutely no goodwill towards the World Government... In contrast, she is more accepting of the Navy because of her relationship with Tina.

After all, Robin was able to survive thanks to Kuzan's help.

Looking towards Antuo Island, Huoshaoshan's gaze was filled with regret—the navy received information much faster than ordinary news networks. Therefore, Huoshaoshan had set off a day earlier. Now approaching the port of Antuo Island, although they hadn't made contact yet, Huoshaoshan knew this might be a tough battle.

After all, the arena matches on Antuo Island are already the most popular events in the entire West Blue. Especially after Enel and the Giant Warriors joined the fray. Regardless of his identity as a giant or his possession of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Fire Mountain felt it was a pity—it would be such a waste not to try and recruit such a promising talent into the Marines.

As Huoshaoshan was still pondering this, he saw two enormous black figures appear on the harbor in the distance. Although they were far apart, he could still make out the giants' faces through their half-covered helmets.

He laughed heartily, his eyes showing no trace of panic or fear. On the contrary, there was even a hint of eagerness in them!

"Have you decided to leave the Wanhao Casino?" Huoshaoshan thought silently, a cigar dangling from his mouth. But before he could figure out what to do, he saw the two of them strike a baseball player pose.

However, unlike baseball players, Dorry and Brogy wielded a massive two-handed sword and a giant battle axe.

"Elbaf War God's Spear - Overlord!!!"

In the instant they swung, all the power within the two giants was twisted into one, channeled through the movement of their muscles and onto the weapons in their hands.

With a sudden swing, the air produced a violent friction noise, and the weapons in the hands of the two men even underwent obvious deformation and distortion due to the sudden burst of speed!

boom!!!

An invisible shockwave surged forth from the point of their combined attack, the waves crashing like Moses parting the sea. In no time, it collided head-on with the fleet. Those vice admiral-level warships that could withstand the pirates' cannon fire without damage were instantly blasted in two upon contact with the shockwave!

With no chance to resist, the warship was surrounded by surging currents. The soldiers on board were thrown into the water one by one like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, scrambling to swim towards the driftwood.

"It seems they've made up their minds!"

With a somewhat helpless sigh, Huoshaoshan leaped up—he knew he couldn't let these two giants run rampant here.

But just as Huoshaoshan was about to leap up, a clap of thunder sounded. Before Huoshaoshan could even react, a golden cudgel crackling with lightning appeared amidst the roar and flashes.

"The sky is my territory!"

He slammed the stick down, and immediately afterward, a bolt of lightning erupted from Enel's palm. Then, it transformed into tangible plasma—a technique Enel had learned after returning to the casino.

Although he'd only been there for a little over two months, Enel's growth rate was faster than in the previous year. Beyond the thrill of being recognized upon his first appearance, there was also a burning desire to defeat Sett—perhaps youthful arrogance, or perhaps a lack of accurate understanding of just how powerful a true strongman really was. But whatever the reason, one thing was certain.

That is, Enel doesn't think Sett will lose—or rather, he can only lose to himself.

Whether it was youthful impulsiveness or trust in Sett, Enel had long harbored resentment towards the Navy and the World Government—as a "god" from his homeland of Birka, he descended to the Blue Sea to fight in the arena, and yet he had to pay taxes on the money he earned? And even give a share to the local nobles?

Although he couldn't disobey Robin's orders, being able to openly and fairly beat up the Marines like this was undoubtedly extremely satisfying!

Speaking of which... the potion that guy with the paper fan gave me was really good.

Enel thought to himself—after only two months of systematic training, if you really want to count, Enel had only mastered Observation Haki, and hadn't even scratched the surface of Armament Haki. But now, after taking the mixed potion, Enel could clearly feel that he could not only enhance his fists and feet with Armament Haki, but could even wrap some of the golden staff around it.

Consequently, the control over lightning has become much more effortless... Even if plasma lightning spears could be manufactured before, they couldn't be produced as quickly as this. And the precision of the control is astounding!

As he pondered, watching Fire Mountain prepare to dodge, Enel lightly flicked his arm. Instantly, before Fire Mountain's eyes, the once terrifyingly large lightning spear began to rapidly split. From a single spear, it forcefully cleaved into dozens. With repeated, identical attacks, the lightning spears rained down from the sky like a storm, unleashing a devastating attack on the soldiers positioned on the sea surface!

Looking at the scene before him, Huoshaoshan's expression was somewhat grim—Huoshaoshan could indeed ignore these lightning bolts with his powerful physique. But what about the soldiers? They couldn't withstand the lightning spears head-on like he could. In fact, the sheer electric current diverted into the ocean by those spears was something they couldn't endure!