Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

14. A Deliberate, Powerful Punch (Third Watch)

Just as Sett's knee was about to touch Tina's head, Tina's hands came swung out from both sides.

Sett wasn't bothered by this. His lower body strength was three times that of his upper body, especially in his current state, where the Conqueror's Blade greatly amplified the impact of his knee strike. In this condition, Sett was confident he could smash her skull open a split second before she could hit him!

However, just as Sett was thinking this, a sharp, piercing pain suddenly struck his calf.

Two black iron shrapnels shot out from Tina's hands. The sharp tips resembled massive iron spears rather than shrapnel. The power of a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit is directly linked to the user's physical abilities; she was proficient in the Six Powers of the Navy and Armament Haki. But even so, Tina felt no exhilarating sensation of flesh being pierced.

On the contrary, it felt like a dull knife cutting into thick cowhide. If the iron bar wasn't connected to one's body, it probably would slip and fall apart before it even pierced through due to the blood...

The piercing iron shards stopped Sett from ramming his knee—continuing to do so would not only fail to cause effective damage, but would also completely pierce his calf.

Sett stomped on the ground to get rid of the iron shrapnel, and then raised his fist and smashed it into Tina's chest—I'll flatten you, Panda!

It wasn't that Sett was overly lustful, but rather that, with the buffer in place, the head's target was the small and flexible neck, which gave the head a multi-angle dodge range.

Having broken free of its grip, the upper body is undoubtedly easier to strike than the head, which is harder to hit.

A sharp pain shot through her chest, and Tina felt a swelling and bleeding. But now was clearly not the time to worry about that. Using the force of Sett's fist, she jerked backward. This time, Sett didn't pursue; he simply bent down, pulled the iron shard embedded in her calf, and tossed it, still dripping with blood, onto the ground.

In the past, even someone fighting in underground boxing would be rendered incapacitated and lying on the ground after sustaining such a severe injury. But this time is different. Under the power of the Vastaya bloodline, the pain has further stimulated Sett's potential.

Like a tidal wave, pain washed over his nerves from the wound. But like a wolverine, Sett showed no fear despite the pain. Golden power continued to spread, and in Tina's sight, the wound on Sett's calf was healing at an almost visible speed. And along with the flowing blood, golden waves of energy rose from Sett's body.

It's like they came straight from the Dragon Ball set...

Pride.

Previously, Sett had some doubts about what Hao Yi's state of mind was. But now, Sett understood—or rather, he felt it.

The pain strikes, but the nerves don't tremble. On the contrary, the intense pain further stimulates the release of adrenaline and dopamine in the brain.

Heart pounding, breathing quickening. Energy within his body undergoes a violent transformation, pupils dilate, and the more his activated body is harmed, the more excited he becomes, vaguely resembling a wild beast more than a human—or perhaps, he is a wild beast to begin with!

Leaning back slightly, he faced Tina, who was still in the same spot. Upon seeing this, Tina's heart tightened, and one after another, iron rabble after another shot out like steel spears. But just halfway through, Tina seemed to have thought of something, stopped attacking, and then suddenly flashed behind her.

Tina's body moved at lightning speed, but Sett didn't care.

Unlike the penetrating force, and unlike any other time he had used it before, Sett felt an immense surge of power for the first time since returning to this world! —The attacks from his previous enemies were like mere tickles, failing to evoke even the slightest sense of exhilarating power!

The maximum range of a penetrating force is about twenty meters. But this time, Sett doesn't intend to use it.

Instead, it's something far more violent, Sett's true core skill.

A deliberate, deliberate punch!!!

His fist clenched tightly, his bulging muscles flashing with golden electricity—a raw, powerful force born from extreme compression. His arm suddenly expanded to the size of a fist, the veins bulging like the roots of an ancient tree. The punch was thrown, the intensely compressed energy creating a deafening, visceral explosion—

boom!!!!

A golden, overwhelming force swept in like a storm, destroying everything in its path. The entire courtyard was instantly blasted apart, soil flew everywhere, houses collapsed, and the solid wood buildings disintegrated at a visible speed. The furniture and floor tiles inside were also helplessly reduced to part of the ruins. The lush green weeds, before they could even be blown away, were destroyed by the force into tiny, almost invisible fragments. Almost instantly, the once meticulously maintained Western-style mansion and courtyard were reduced to rubble.

Located directly in the center of the deliberately thrown punch, the track left a deep trench, several meters wide, in the dark brown earth...

There were no corpses in the ravine, only some rags. This annoyed Sett—had he dodged the true damage from the deliberate punch?

In a game, Sett could guarantee the opponent couldn't dodge. But in reality, this is Sett's first time using it... so some accuracy issues are inevitable.

Sensing the surrounding atmosphere, Sett spotted Tina amidst the ruins, her clothes torn and covered in blood. He pulled her from the rubble, and just as Sett was about to finish her off to end the matter, he saw Robin, who was being held tightly beneath Tina but had fallen unconscious from the impact.

"...Tsk," Sett clicked his tongue in annoyance.

15. Waking up

Her mind was a complete blank. Tina got up from the sofa. The summer sun shone down, making Tina feel uncomfortable. But what bothered her even more than the sun was the throbbing pain all over her body.

Tina looked up and gazed outside. She sat leisurely on a bench in the courtyard, reading a book, as if nothing had happened... If it weren't for the lingering pain in her chest, Tina might have actually believed it.

A clanging sound came from behind. Turning around, I saw none other than Robin, the young girl, preparing dinner in the kitchen.

However, something puzzled Tina: that house should have been destroyed by now…

Shaking her head, Tina knew this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Taking somewhat heavy steps, even after dodging the massive true damage from the deliberate punches and taking the impact of the strong winds, Tina was still covered in injuries. Even a rough sense was enough to easily determine that the bruises under her skin were not limited to one place.

Tina dragged herself to sit beside Sett, her eyes fixed straight ahead on the courtyard.

"You know who that girl is, right?"

"Hmm." Sett nodded casually and said, "So?"

“Her identity is special, you’d better stay away from her.” Taking a cigarette from the dimensional pocket on her chest, Tina said heavily as the nicotine numbed her pain. “The destruction of Ohara was no accident… Even that gang leader you killed before was only worth thirty or forty million. Think about that leader’s power and evil deeds, and then think about this girl.”

"The world government values ​​her far more than you can imagine..."

"Enough with the nonsense," Sett said coldly. "You survived because you saved Robin's life; otherwise, you would have been dead long ago."

After hearing Sett's words, Tina said after a brief silence, "I am a lieutenant colonel from headquarters. If you kill me, it will attract the wrath of major generals and even lieutenant generals from headquarters."

"At worst, we'll just run away." Sett said without any scruples, "Your strength is not bad, and there can't be many Navy lieutenant commanders. If I take you down, I don't think the other small fry will dare to mess with me."

Tina was speechless at Sett's blunt theory. However, she also knew that everything Sett said was true.

Even among the lieutenant colonels at headquarters, Tina was considered one of the most capable. If a lieutenant colonel like Tina were to die in a place like the West Sea, aside from anything else, at least outside of headquarters' elite forces, no one would dare to mess with her… That being said, Tina was ultimately a member of the official ranks, and faced with Sett's bandit-like behavior, Tina felt only helplessness.

“Never mind…” Tina shook her head and said, “Since you’ve already made up your mind, I won’t try to dissuade you anymore… Be prepared, your future challenges will be much more than just me.”

"The O'Hara massacre has attracted countless people's attention from the moment it happened, including many opinions within our Navy. Believe it or not, I am against it."

As she spoke, Tina exhaled a thin mist. Surrounded by the mist, Tina's tense nerves relaxed slightly due to the nicotine.

"It's lucky that little Robin survived... Let her go, and she might have a chance to live on in anonymity."

"Oh."

Tina had clearly anticipated Sett's perfunctory answer. She simply continued puffing on her cigarette as she asked:

"Speaking of which, why do you act so entitled in my house?"

"Because you destroyed my home."

"..." Faced with Sett's words, Tina paused slightly in the hand holding the cigarette, her eyes filled with a hint of desolation: "Didn't you ruin it yourself?"

"None of this will happen if you don't come to our door."

So all of this is my fault?

"It's okay, I've already forgiven you."

"..."

Her hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. Tina raised an eyebrow, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief; "One-sided forgiveness?"

"Otherwise what?" Sett shrugged and said, "I've already forgiven you, and you're still holding a grudge. That's petty of you."

"………call."

She let out a long breath, and a throbbing pain shot through her old chest wound. If she weren't so weak against this man, Tina would definitely have shown him where her nickname, "Black Cage Tina," came from.

Then, as if remembering something, Tina turned her head and asked, "Who changed my clothes?"

"Robin."

Hearing this, Tina breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, before she could completely relax, Sett continued calmly, "She changed it for you after she woke up."

"...And what about before that?"

“You just lay there.” Sett said, pointing to the lawn not far away. “For about two hours. You were filthy, I could even see bugs crawling all over you. Robin was the one who cleaned you up and wiped your body and blood.”

Tina hardened her fist.

But they can't beat them.

16. Well said

After dinner, which was strangely enough, this was probably the first time Tina had eaten dinner with anyone since returning to her hometown. Although it wasn't particularly delicious, Robin's careful manner still made Tina feel a pang of pity.

Robin is so sensible; she understands that even when Tina is with a straight-laced guy like Sett, she doesn't have many options. But unfortunately, Robin is still wanted... and judging from the high-ranking officials of the World Government, they have no intention of letting go.

After finishing their meal, Robin volunteered to wash the chopsticks and dishes. While the weaponry in the One Piece world is only average, the technology tree is inexplicably off-track. For example, they now even have televisions.

Unlike the television set in the previous world, this world's Dai connects via a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) and projects the image onto a specific screen. It's exclusively for the World Government, inaccessible to ordinary civilians. The programming is also extremely limited; people mostly rely on the radio for entertainment.

As a lieutenant commander stationed outside the Navy Headquarters, Tina's home was undoubtedly much more luxurious than Sett's. Sett skillfully took a bottle of beer from the refrigerator, then lay down on the sofa and began snacking and watching TV.

“You really don’t consider yourself an outsider…” Tina covered her forehead, unable to imagine what kind of big heart Sett had that allowed him to stay in the home of a naval lieutenant commander with the world government’s most wanted criminal.

More importantly, he had just gotten into a fight with the naval captain who owned the house.

"Am I supposed to take Robin out to sleep on the streets?" Sett said nonchalantly. Before Tina could retort, Robin chimed in, her big, watery eyes gazing pitifully at Tina:

"Sister Tina, Robin doesn't want to sleep on the streets..."

“…” Looking at Robin, who was acting cute, Tina pursed her lips, said nothing, and took a deep drag on her cigarette.

Sett looked at Tina with some impatience: "Smoke less, there are children here."

If it weren't for the fact that she was outmatched, Tina would have definitely executed Sett on the spot, letting him know that the dignity of a Navy lieutenant commander was not to be violated. However, the situation was beyond her control, and she was still injured. Therefore, Tina could only suppress her dissatisfaction and stare intently as Sett stubbed out his cigarette. Her fierce posture made it seem as if she had crushed Sett's head.

After a brief silence, Tina spoke again: "Why didn't you kill me back then... You don't seem like the kind of person who would show mercy to women."

“You saved my little agent,” Sett said nonchalantly. “I, Sett, never owe anyone a favor—not even to the dead.”

"..." Tina nodded upon hearing Sett's answer. If it were anyone else, Tina would have assumed there was some ulterior motive or hidden agenda. But the words coming from Sett carried a different kind of persuasiveness—although this guy was utterly despicable, a scumbag beyond words, and a beast in the face of her beauty, one thing was undeniable: he was so arrogant that he didn't even bother to deceive her.

As soon as she finished speaking, Tina saw Robin engrossed in reading an encyclopedia. Seeing this, a look of helplessness appeared on Tina's face, and she quickly put the book away.

"Although learning is a good thing, it's just that you... I don't want you to continue learning."

His words carried a hint of bitterness; the thirst for knowledge was a precious gift. But now, whether for his own sake or for Robin's safety, stifling Robin's talent and passion was the best option.

"Why don't you learn?!" Hearing this, Sett didn't provoke him in the slightest. It was precisely because he had been fighting in underground boxing matches without any real knowledge that Sett understood the importance of knowledge and wisdom. And more importantly, he knew that thinking was painful. Unlike fighting, it was pure torture that couldn't generate any sense of accomplishment.

Hating to think, Sett had already decided to make Robin his gang's future strategist—after all, what strategist can't read?!

"I'm doing this for her own good! This will kill her."

“These are two different things,” Sett said. “You’re just killing her in a different way.”

Upon hearing this, Tina looked at Robin, seemingly hoping that the sensible Robin would understand her good intentions.

After a moment of silence, Robin shook his head, a resolute look in his eyes.

“If I just give up like this…” Robin said, pursing her lips, “everyone in Ohara will really die.”