Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

Before they could finish speaking, Sett grabbed them by the collar and threw them into the nearby trash can.

Accompanied by a series of clanging sounds, Sett spat in annoyance: "If you want to die, just say so. I don't mind sending you on your way early."

As he spoke, Sett clenched his fist, his face filled with impatience—the environment has a tremendous impact on people. And right now, Flevans was filled with madness and oppression. This was especially true after arriving at the black market district; the people walking around looked full of life, practically indistinguishable from corpses.

Sett wasn't exactly a model student with a strong belief in truth, goodness, and beauty, nor a college student with all six virtues. Rather than silently venting his frustrations, Sett preferred a simple and direct outburst.

Realizing that Sett was not a kind person, the crowd, who had been discussing the matter, calmed down.

Sett turned his gaze toward the man selling his wares and shoved Hawkeye aside—perhaps because the prices were so outrageous, Hawkeye didn't stop him this time.

"Even the wicked need another wicked to deal with them"—this is a life lesson Hawkeye learned during his voyage with Sett… Unlike Sett, Hawkeye was alone, with no ties. Furthermore, he wasn't one to enjoy trouble, so for Hawkeye, the price of something didn't matter, as long as it solved the problem. He preferred to avoid unnecessary complications if possible.

But Sett is different. Sett is ridiculously petty, especially when facing strangers. He will never suffer the slightest loss.

After deducting the cost of buying the assault boat and repairing the port on Sunshine Island, Moria's bounty also included an additional ten million Berries for voyage maintenance. They'd already spent nearly five million Berries on their lavish spending spree... Even the richest family couldn't spare any more, so they decided to let Sett try and negotiate a lower price.

Thinking this, Hawkeye stepped aside, his hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword to prevent any other unexpected situations.

Upon reaching the man, Sett cracked his neck a couple of times, unleashing a fierce aura that sent chills down the spine.

"Can this lousy wooden barrel even be sealed?!"

“Of course!” Hearing Sett’s words, the man in black, though somewhat frightened, still said, “Would I, a member of the Don Quixote family, sell you a leaky barrel?!”

Upon hearing this, Sett grinned. He raised his notebook and slammed it down on the oak barrel beside him. With a crack, the iron-hooped oak barrel shattered, and the flying wood chips looked as sharp as razor blades.

He flashed a malicious smile, his perfectly white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

"This is the black market! It's an underground black market!" the man said in a panic. "There are rules here!"

Completely oblivious to his wrongdoing, Sett stood there arrogantly, declaring, "But I just think it's rotten! I just think it's not worth that much money!!"

As she spoke, Sett grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him up; "I think you'll give me a discount, what do you think?"

Fierce and violent, Sett's face was filled with untamed rage. He couldn't care less whether this was the Black Market or not—what the hell was a black market? Wasn't it just a place where a bunch of shady characters mingled? What rules were established here? Nothing more than who had the biggest fist.

Unfortunately, Sett always thought his fists were big enough to set rules, much better than Don Quixote!

Terrified and panicked, the man never expected anyone to dare disobey the Don Quixote family rules in the North Sea! But just as the man was still thinking, suddenly, two black iron pellets shot towards Sett from the side with a sharp whooshing sound.

At first, Sett didn't pay much attention, but the moment the iron pellet approached him, it seemed to inflate violently as if it were being pumped up. Then, it exploded with a deafening roar, like a balloon bomb!

"This is Don Quixote's territory. If you don't want to die, you'd better obey the rules..."

Before Gladius could finish speaking, Sett simply stretched out his hand and tore apart the billowing dust. His face was filled with a radiant smile.

"Finally, someone dared to make a move! Hahahaha!!!!"

106. Bargaining Methods (4k)

Despite the violent air explosion, Sett seemed completely unaffected.

Along with the explosion, the shattered iron pellets were further fragmented by the shockwave, turning them into flying shrapnel—this is the terrifying aspect of Devil Fruit users. Using the power of the Boom-Boom Fruit, Gladius could turn anything he touched into air bombs, thus creating a humanoid arsenal.

The flying debris left Sett with a few minor wounds, barely scratches, just superficial cuts to the flesh. Casually ripping away the smoke from the explosion, Sett's face betrayed undisguised agitation.

Blood and flesh surged, and his wounds healed at a visible speed.

"You all saw it, this guy started it! Hahahaha!!!"

He clenched his fist, producing a cracking sound. A surge of energy, like a wave, rippled outwards, the indescribable oppressive feeling like a boulder pressing down on people's hearts.

Upon seeing this, a solemn expression appeared on Gladius's face.

As mentioned before, Gladius's ability is the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Boom-Boom Fruit. With this ability, given enough stamina, Gladius could even transform an entire island into explosives. And those two iron pellets, although Gladius only intended them as a lesson and didn't detonate them at full power, still possessed the power of fragmentation grenades.

Having suffered no harm... after glancing at the beast ears on Sett's head and recalling Sett's almost freakish recovery speed, Gradus fell into the same misconception as everyone else.

A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user?

Before Gladius could think further, Sett had already strode towards him.

He didn't even use Armament Haki—or perhaps, he was too lazy to use it. Driven by pure violence, Sett's punch sent a violent roar through the air.

Under intense friction, Sett's fist even developed a slight halo of high temperature.

Although Sett's attack was anticipated, its sheer power exceeded Gladius's expectations when it actually arrived.

However, as a special operations officer of the Donquixote Family, Gladius is by no means weak. Just like now, he dodged the moment he sensed danger—although he has not yet mastered Observation Haki, the Donquixote Family knew about the training methods of Haki early on, thanks to their young master Doflamingo's status as a Celestial Dragon.

Although he hadn't fully mastered it and it only worked intermittently, now, feeling Sett's intense threat, his life force was stimulated, his inner strength surged, and his potential was unleashed. Gladius narrowly dodged.

Even under such circumstances, even with just a slight glancing blow from the fist, the steel helmet on Gladius's head still shattered instantly, and amidst the flowing blood, his long, blue, Saiyan-like hair was exposed to the air.

"So fast!"

His eyes behind the goggles constricted sharply; the intense pain and accompanying slight dizziness proved that his brain had suffered a contusion. Almost without thinking, the special clothing on Gladius's arms produced a loud bang. Amplified by the recoil, Gladius's body flew backward like a cannonball—

The Shave technique, which ordinary people might not be able to master even after a lifetime of training, was something Gladius could achieve simply by developing his Devil Fruit.

Unfortunately, it was still too slow. In the blink of an eye, Sett's body reappeared in front of Gladius's eyes.

"Why are you running! Weren't the firecrackers fun?!"

While in the air, Sett could use explosions to increase his momentum and change his flight direction, but Sett's pursuit speed had already exceeded Gladius's expectations.

Unable to dodge, a powerful punch landed squarely on his head. Gladius's body was blasted into a U-shape in mid-air, his internal organs shattered, and even with a mask on, he couldn't stop spitting out a mouthful of blood.

With each impact, the speed increased further. Gladius felt like a bowling ball, instantly smashing through large swathes of buildings. The already crowded black market street was completely shattered, and when he opened his eyes again, the surroundings had transformed into a city center.

Step, step, step.

With steady footsteps, Sett emerged from the dust and smoke rising from the ruins, stretching his shoulders as he walked out.

"Get up! At least put up a fight, give me the illusion of a real battle, okay?" Sett's face was filled with ferocious agitation, and he didn't hide his berserk fighting desire: "Don't you still have your family? Call them to come and join the fray!"

"I don't need anyone else... I can handle you all by myself!"

Struggling to his feet, feeling the excruciating pain within his body, Gladius knew that defeating the monster before him was practically a pipe dream.

But there was no way to escape—there was only one officer stationed in the black market district; the others were just lackeys. Baby 5 and Buffalo, in particular, were still developing their Devil Fruit abilities for the first time… They could only stall them, letting the family's underlings inform the young master!

Upon hearing Gladius's words, Sett spat in disgust—"You think I'd find you tough? Stop acting like a clown and making a scene. Family, my foot! A bunch of rats hiding in the corner, pretending to be some tragic hero."

Everyone else is one thing, but what are Gladius and his gang? Sett doesn't know about anything else, but one thing is very clear: they are just a bunch of gangsters who take advantage of the country's chaos to make money. Their so-called camaraderie and chivalry are nothing but hypocritical masks built on the suffering of others!

Sett has seen plenty of scum like this in both his past and present lives—"A whore who wants to pretend to be virtuous—just look at me!"

Sett grinned maliciously, raised his arms, and shouted, "I'm a villain! I'm a thug!! Hahahaha!!!"

Meanwhile, seeing Gladius being brutally beaten, Baby5, Buffalo, and the others nervously ran out of the house.

Having already consumed Devil Fruits and witnessing this almost one-sided and brutal battle, Buffalo and the others instinctively wanted to rush over to help Gladius... Although they were indeed ruthless to outsiders, for Buffalo, who was an orphan, Baby5, and Delinger, a half-human, half-fish fish, they were indeed the only family they could trust.

Unfortunately, just as they took their first step, a chilling aura suddenly swept through their consciousness. The next moment, a smooth, mirror-like slash sliced ​​across the entire street.

Rock, ground... and even steel!

Sitting on a chair to the side, Hawkeye held up a glass of red wine.

Unlike Sett, Hawkeye wasn't particularly fond of beer. His true love was the rich, mellow, and fragrant red wine. Unfortunately, resources were scarce on Flevans Island; aside from a small stock in the cellar at the bar, there was absolutely no alcohol in town.

Now that he's finally found a bucket, Hawkeye doesn't care whose it is... Anyway, it was Sett who hit him, so he can just put it on Sett's tab later.

After all, Sett wouldn't care about such things—as the saying goes, "a lot of lice won't bite, and a lot of debt won't bother you."

"Just watch," Hawkeye said casually. "Before taking any action, it's best to ascertain your own strength."

Looking at the slashes on the ground, Buffalo and the others felt a chill run down their spines—they hadn't even seen how the sharp-eyed man had drawn his sword!

The classification of swordsmen in this world is quite vague. The broadest understanding is that they can cut through flesh and blood, through rock, and through iron...

A swordsman's strength lies not only in swordsmanship but also, and perhaps more importantly, in their willpower. Different sword styles specialize in different areas. Even so, to be able to unleash a flying sword aura tens of meters long with a single strike, slicing through an entire path—rock, steel, and all—as smoothly as a mirror, is undoubtedly the realm of a master swordsman!

Although it is not as powerful as it later became, Hawkeye is now able to wrap it around part of the blade.

He paused as he spoke, then Hawkeye looked up at Baby5 and the others beside him.

"However... if you want to save that guy, there is a way."

Hawkeye hadn't forgotten that their goal from the beginning wasn't to find someone to beat up—well, Sett's goal might indeed have been that from the start.

On the other side, gazing at Sett before him, Gladius's arms swelled once more. Then, he forced his ailing body to charge towards Sett.

Without flinching, Sett stood there silently. Seeing this, a serious glint appeared in Gradus's eyes. The moment his hand touched Sett's body, his already swollen arms began to expand even more violently. His special clothing rattled precariously.

Then, starting from his arms, Gladius's entire body began to swell. His previously form-fitting black clothing, under constant charging, transformed into a five-meter-diameter black balloon. The highly compressed energy surged wildly; under the influence of the Devil Fruit, all inorganic matter began to transform into high explosives for Gladius. The ground, his clothes, even the hair on his own body!

Maximum output! Full-body explosion!!!

boom!!!

A mushroom cloud rose dramatically from the street, directly in the center of the explosion. Thanks to the Devil Fruit's protective mechanisms, Gladius wasn't seriously injured. However, due to his reckless exploitation of the fruit's limits, Gladius was now completely naked. Even his once thick, towering hair had turned to ash in the explosion. He was utterly bald, as if he had just undergone a full-body hair removal treatment.

With such immense power, Gladius had reason to believe that even a monster like Sett would be seriously injured.

Unfortunately, before the raging flames could subside, a dark figure emerged from the raging inferno with an amused expression.

His entire body was stained black with Armament Haki. The impact of the explosion fueled his inner power, and golden rays of energy surged and flowed from Sett's body like lightning. His robust physique, as solid as steel, reflected dazzling light under the flames.

"Hahaha! I'm finally starting to feel it!!!"

Grabbing Gladius's head, they lifted him into the air—the explosion had exhausted all of Gladius's strength. Forget resisting; in such high temperatures, even the slightest movement was extremely painful for Gladius.

"What's your relationship with Taro? Why are you both playing with Ultra Bombs? Want to yell 'Fuck you, let's get this party started!' Hahahaha~~~"

Sett was short-sighted; he hadn't watched One Piece as a child. But who hasn't had a childhood? What do kids like most? Women? No, it has to be Ultraman!

Cat's Eye is something that you watch secretly at home by yourself, and you can't discuss it with your friends... Similarly, there's Shugo Chara!

Laughing wildly, Sett paid no heed to Gladius's so-called tragic sentiment—a villain laughs! Laughs to show power! Since he was never a good person to begin with, he should laugh even more! It's best to incite public outrage, so he doesn't have to search for a reason to fight!

Shaking Gradus's head, Sett realized that Gradus had completely lost the ability to resist. Seeing this, a look of disappointment rose on Sett's face—just as Sett had guessed, the full-body explosion just now was Gradus's final attack.

Perhaps Gradus knew that his chances of touching Sett were too few, so the moment he made contact with Sett's body, he unleashed his maximum attack without hesitation!

Sett casually tossed it into the ruins, stretched his shoulders, and then looked toward the Black Market Street.

"So, what's next?"

"Almost got it."

Just as Sett was still thinking, Hawkeye walked out from the passageway that had been smashed open, and behind him, Baby5 and the others were nervously pulling a small cart.

The cart was piled high with sealed oak barrels filled with fresh water.