Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

“It’s all agreed upon!” Witt continued; “We’ll rob the nobles so that the common people will realize the consequences and pay to fight the bandits! Then the nobles’ goods will be returned in full, and the common people’s money will be split 30/70!”

"Hey, that's what I'm really curious about." Sett raised his fist; "Could this make money?"

"Yes, on the stage."

"So, can this make money?" Sett pointed to the henchmen outside the door. Although there weren't many of them, Vittor still guessed what Sett meant. He immediately nodded and said, "Yes, but you have to kneel."

"And the other one?" Sett's fists bumped together. After a moment of silence, Witt cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask who Mr. Sett is?"

"I am Sett!"

If the contract had been finalized previously, then Witt could be fairly certain that the matter had been successfully completed.

The dark world may not have the same comprehensive legal system as the world of light, but its longevity is based on only one thing: integrity. With integrity, nothing is impossible. Without integrity, for those in the dark world, it's tantamount to death.

For others in the dark world, even death would hardly make them break their contracts. But after getting to know him over this period, Witt knew that Sett had never intended to uphold the spirit of the contract from the beginning—as long as it wasn't a rule he specified, expecting him to perfectly abide by it was simply wishful thinking.

But what can we do?

Sett wasn't even going to give those nobles any face; it was already a huge achievement for him to even sign a contract...

But now that I think about it, it doesn't matter anymore.

Witt put away the contract. He glanced back at the enormous casino. According to the contract, the casino no longer belonged to the Capone family, but was now under the control of Sett's Skullcrushers... which meant that the Capone family's focus had shifted towards maritime smuggling; otherwise, their boss would never have agreed to such a thing.

After all, there are many other conflicts of interest within the casino... but these are things Sett will have to deal with later.

In contrast, all I had to do was handle the handover of the business. Then I could work on the shipping aspect.

Looking at the contract, Sett's face showed a hint of indifference.

"I didn't expect to hand over the casino so easily... I thought we'd have to play a few more rounds!"

“There have been rumors for a while that the Capone family is shifting its focus toward maritime smuggling, and now they may be taking this opportunity to distance themselves from casinos,” Robin said from the side. “Besides, casinos haven’t been as profitable lately.”

"There are casinos that don't make money?" Sett looked at Robin with some surprise.

Robin replied blankly, "...Yes. I looked at the casino's financial report and found that since Sett, you fought Fujitora last time, some of the casino's customers have been going to the Walker family's casino to spend money because of its poor facilities and perceived danger."

"Upon learning of this news, the Walker family's casino launched a series of activities to attract customers. Compared to the previous foot traffic, the Capone Casino's current customer traffic has dropped by a full 80 percent."

“That’s even better!” Sett said. “Smash everything else! From top to bottom! The entire casino! Just leave the ring standing!”

In Sett's opinion, gambling is harmful... boxing is much more fun!

Since casino foot traffic has plummeted to such an extent, what else is there to say? Just rip them all up! I've been annoyed with those gamblers who've lost everything—wouldn't it be better to use that spare money to watch a couple of boxing matches?!

Robin, standing nearby, opened her mouth to speak. But in the end, she nodded in understanding—very much like Sett's idea.

“Okay…but that means it will take some time to renovate,” Robin said. “And during that time, the customers we lose might be absorbed by Walker Casino. By then, even if we reopen, there probably won’t be many customers.”

“Simple,” Sett said casually. “We’ll have their funeral procession when we open, and then the customers will come to us.”

48. Tina's Teacher

After Sett took over, Capone Casino underwent renovations. The first thing he did was remove the four large signs that read "Capone Casino." While the future name of the place is still uncertain, Sett has no intention of following in Capone Bege's footsteps.

What's the point of working for someone else in all sorts of different ways? A real man should do something big!

Although Sett was an underground boxer in his previous life, he never gave up on the possibility of becoming a professional boxer.

Back then, Sett could only look up in awe, because he had no chance. But after coming into this world, Sett's ambition began to grow along with his increased power.

As things stand now, Sett has decided to personally build a professional fighting arena—wrestling, boxing, or even Devil Fruit abilities, it doesn't matter. The world is already in such a mess, so let's just have a more brutal arena to support these techniques.

I don't ask for anything else, but at least I need to achieve the same level of professional dominance as BA.

The reason why WWE is considered the dominant force in the professional world is quite simple. Pierre de Coubertin, revered as the "Father of the Olympics," drafted the first Olympic Charter, emphasizing the amateur nature of the Olympic Games. Therefore, Olympic boxers, if one were to categorize them, would be amateur boxers.

After all, the Olympics need to convey the sporting ideals of "faster, higher, stronger." The rules provide relatively stricter protection for the personal safety of athletes. In contrast, professional boxing is much more lenient. Although fewer in number, nearly two professional boxers are killed in the ring each year.

In the world of underground boxing, there is even an octagon specifically for gambling with one's life.

And that's the kind of place Sett wants to be.

Undoubtedly, any event requires sound management. Sett, who knew absolutely nothing about operations, entrusted this entirely to Robin.

At only thirteen, Robin already shoulders a burden far beyond her years…

In contrast, Sett had it much easier. For the next two months, Sett slowed down and began to build up his strength.

The gathering storm causes Sett's muscle density to increase slightly every day. Although it's very small, it adds up. Combined with the accumulation of the Undying Grasp, Sett's total muscle mass increases by 1.2% each month, which adds up to about 15% a year.

Although the growth rate is significantly reduced compared to that in the game, there is one point.

That is, the increased attack and spell power in the game can only be applied to attack and skill bonuses. However, in the real world, increased muscle fiber density provides not only stronger attacks, but also more solid defense and even greater survivability.

This feeling of continuous growth filled Sett with immense satisfaction. And with enough time, the stacks of the Undying Grip began to accumulate rapidly.

Based on Sett's actual experience, this Grasp of the Undying is clearly the normal version... The normal Grasp of the Undying increases maximum health by five points per stack for melee and three points per stack for ranged. The ARAM enhanced version, however, increases it by ten points per stack for melee and six points per stack for ranged. While the difference may seem small, its impact in-game is extremely significant.

With continuous stacking, over two months, Sett increased his survivability by 20% from its original level solely through Grasp of the Undying. He was killing hundreds or even thousands of bugs every day… In fact, to maintain his combat readiness for longer periods, Sett had to have a custom-made gauntlet filled with non-toxic bugs. He would kill one every four seconds to stack Grasp of the Undying.

These insects have evolved from fleas to bullet ants. At first, Sett would feel some intense pain, but now, the stimulation they provide is utterly tedious.

Knowing that even the Vastaya factor in his body had become accustomed to this pain and was too lazy to secrete dopamine to excite Sett, the only time he could experience such a long-lost thrill was when he wrestled with Mundo—that guy Mundo had something wrong with his head, and he wouldn't hold back even in a sparring match. This feeling of potentially getting injured at any moment was wonderful to Sett.

However, Sett always felt a little regretful after each battle—if Fujitora were there, his growth would definitely be much faster under twenty times gravity.

Yes, aside from attribute increases, Sett himself is also getting stronger. Gathering Storm is enhanced through base muscle mass. Although the number of stacks of Grasp of the Undying doesn't affect Gathering Storm, Sett can enhance its effect by strengthening himself.

After a day of training, Pad, dressed in a green tracksuit, reported on the situation in the West Blue—this would be Sett's base from now on.

Following Robin's suggestion, Sett casually signed a few names, and then returned to Jianzhong.

Tina returned early; she'd been in a bad mood lately, probably because of some rumors circulating in the Navy branch. But it didn't matter; Sett always loved a good show.

Dinner was somewhat unexpected for Sett.

"My teacher is coming tomorrow...you should get ready." Tina seemed to have a headache.

Tina's teacher?

"The one named Zephyr?" Sett wondered curiously.

49. Attack on Zephyr

If Sett remembers correctly, Tina's teacher was that guy named Zephyr.

Although Sett hasn't left Antuo Island much, that doesn't mean his crew knows nothing about this world. Thanks to Tina, Sett now knows about some of the top fighters on this sea... As for pirates, there's no definitive answer yet. But within the Navy, the strongest are undoubtedly the Admirals.

At least, that's how they advertise it.

"Would you like to come with me to greet them?" Tina asked. Sett was a little curious; "Why do you want me to come along? I'm not even a Marine, am I?"

Tina rubbed her temples, looking somewhat troubled.

"Mainly because the teacher...would like to see you."

"Why do you want to take me? I've never even left the Western Sea."

"This is all because of you!!" Tina said angrily; "It's all your fault for insisting on bringing Robin to stay at my house! How awful! Now everyone in the Marine branch says I'm married and that I have an older brother!"

"Normally it's one thing! Instructor Zephyr is touring the seas to select the next batch of trainees for the Navy. But he's only just arrived in the West Blue and he's already hearing this kind of rumor!!"

As she spoke, Tina weakly pounded the table.

Tina hates Sett to death right now, but she can't beat him, which makes her really angry!

Sett, standing to the side, was filled with anticipation—a Marine Admiral sounded very challenging. Even Fujitora himself only considered himself to be at the level of a Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral. In this situation, a Marine Admiral, especially one known as Black Arm Zephyr…

Just thinking about it makes my hands itch.

Under Sett's expectant gaze, the next day arrived.

The port was already crowded with people who had come to welcome them. People in green tracksuits stood in a row, and the two characters "Xihai" (西海, meaning West China Sea) stood out neatly in front of them.

As he stepped off the ship, Zefa, still in his prime, looked on with a touch of melancholy—he hadn't returned to the Western Sea for over a decade.

"teacher!"

Upon seeing the teacher disembark, Tina rushed over to greet him. Meanwhile, the naval branch's band began their welcoming ceremony with drums and gongs. It's fortunate there are so few devout believers on Antuo Island; otherwise, there would probably have been a huge red carpet and a bunch of elementary school students lining the streets with flowers to welcome them.

Unfortunately, Sett has never been one to play by the rules. Just like now, while Zeff and Tina were catching up, Sett flew straight over from afar.

His steady footsteps landed with a solid, powerful sound, and his entire body shimmered with golden light. The fighting spirit in his eyes could be easily felt even from dozens of meters away.

Seeing this, Tina cried out in despair, "Sett!!!"

They were initially a little confused, but after hearing Tina's words, both Zephyr and the boys and girls behind him showed curious expressions.

Is this Tina's (senior's) brother (husband)?

Thinking about all this, and sensing Sett's undisguised fighting spirit, Zeff's eyes also revealed a seriousness. Then, the moment the two approached, Zeff's arms were instantly wrapped in Armament Haki, which was as black as steel.

Fueled by the overwhelming force of the opponent, the golden iron fist collided with the black iron fist. The heavy impact echoed through the air with a dull thud.

Experiencing such a heavy blow for the first time, Sett could even feel his bones groan. The immense force spread from his fist to his entire arm, and the force exploded with a deafening roar, sending Sett flying back at nearly five times the normal speed, turning him into a blur.

"Not bad strength! But it's still a bit lacking compared to mine!!"

Zefa laughed loudly, his dark arms reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight. But just then, the building that had been blasted apart was once again blasted open by a surging shockwave, and a golden figure emerged from within.

A surge of heroic spirit coursed through him, Sett casually flicked the blood seeping from his arm. Thanks to his powerful regenerative abilities, the blood, which had been flowing profusely, stopped flowing at a visible speed.

After stretching his shoulders, Sett charged at Zeff once again.

"It's not over yet! Again!!!"

Upon witnessing this scene, Ain and Binz, who weren't even interns but were rescued from a shipwreck, were also astonished, their mouths agape. They knew that Zeff's punch could easily shatter towering tsunamis and giant waves. In their young minds, Zeff was the epitome of invincibility.

But now, that guy named Sett is actually able to fight Lord Zeff head-on!!

Not only were they surprised, but even Zephyr was secretly astonished by Sett's formidable physical abilities and regenerative capacity. And after seeing the pair of ears on Sett's head, he understood—was it a Zoan-type Devil Fruit awakening?!

But then Zephyr felt a little incredulous—Sett looked to be only in his early twenties at most!

50. Zephyr

Regardless of Zeff's thoughts, Sett's movements were not affected in the slightest. On the contrary, the adrenaline surge caused by the pain made Sett's movements even more agile.

Despite suffering severe injuries, Sett's health was replenished by the Undying Grip, and he was fully recovered in just a few seconds. Looking at Zephyr before him, he unleashed a devastating blow that cleaved Zephyr's skull as he drew near!