One Piece Gunslinger

It must be said that Miss Valentine is one of the few high-颜值 (good-looking) characters in the One Piece world. Her body proportions are normal; she's a normal human. She's not like some long-armed, long-legged tribe or other races with various disproportionate features. It's said that Miss Valentine even has a fan club and boasts quite a few fans.

However, we must clarify one point: Li Ang is absolutely not trying to act like a thug at this moment! This is very important!

Li Ang jumped high to execute his throwing technique, grabbing Miss Valentine's body before she accelerated too much. Otherwise, it would be difficult to throw her once she gained speed.

Taking advantage of Miss's panic on Valentine's Day, Li Ang showed no mercy or chivalry. He grabbed her thigh and slammed her down to where he had been standing.

At this point, some people might ask, "Then why did you grab her thigh? And you still say it wasn't indecent behavior?"

If a fishman were here, he would be able to tell that this is a genuine fishman karate technique.

Fishman Karate isn't just for land-based combat; many of its techniques are used in the three-dimensional battlefield of the sea. When two people are fighting on land, trying to grab the other's leg is practically suicide. But it's a different story in a three-dimensional battlefield.

Although Li Ang is not currently in the water, the same principle applies in the air. Miss Valentine's thighs are easy to grab, easy to exert force on, and easy to throw in the air.

"So you bunch of losers, you can only get outplayed by me if you don't go all out!" Li Ang shouted at the ground after throwing Miss Valentine, a 1,000-kilogram beauty, down from the air.

That's right, the spot where Li Ang was standing just now was exactly where Miss Christmas was. Miss Christmas couldn't see what was happening on the ground; after burrowing down, she simply dug towards the spot Li Ang remembered.

But while she couldn't see from underground, Li Ang could sense everything clearly from the surface. He was proud of his Observation Haki. So, as soon as she launched her attack, Li Ang had already grabbed Miss Valentine's leg and thrown her down.

Just as Miss Christmas Merry emerged from underground, ready to give Li Ang a big surprise, she was surprised by Li Ang instead.

How about a 1,000-kilogram Miss Valentine's Day?

Unsurprisingly, Miss Christmas had never seen such a surprise before, and was immediately stunned along with Miss Valentine's Day.

Actually, Miss Valentine lacked combat experience and the ability to adapt to changing situations, or perhaps she was caught off guard by Li Ang's forceful and lewd actions. At this point, the best course of action would be to restore her weight to one kilogram, so the two wouldn't fall together.

However, Li Ang's plan was a series of interconnected steps, and the most fatal one was yet to come: as everyone knows, Mr.4 and Miss Christmas have a very good working relationship.

Chapter 216 The Act, Continue the Act

The two were thrown off balance by Li Ang's move, but they were still not in full fighting spirit. As long as they got up, they could fight again.

But Li Ang won't give them that chance, or rather, Mr. 4 won't give them that chance.

Miss Christmas has always been an impatient person, and she's very dissatisfied with Mr. 4's slow pace and lazy personality. However, despite their contrasting personalities, the two have an excellent understanding of each other.

This tacit understanding is reflected in the fact that every time Miss Christmas Merry emerges from the ground and grabs someone's feet, Mr. 4's bomb will immediately follow and explode on that person.

Just like this time, before Miss Merry Christmas even emerged from the ground, Mr. 4's big stick was already raised. And when she did emerge, the bomb had already been fired.

Perhaps before the bomb exploded, Miss Christmas was thinking, "It's better not to be so in sync in the future."

With a deafening boom, the two were instantly stunned by the bomb, resulting in another two casualties. Li Ang, however, used the momentum from throwing Miss Valentine's Day to jump to the other side, escaping the blast.

Fortunately, Mr. 4 followed orders and did not use any weapons to kill Li Ang. The bombs were not very powerful; the two were covered in dust and dirt, but only lost consciousness.

However, the only thing that pained Li Ang was that when he picked up the toy gun that had been thrown on the ground, it was completely destroyed. He didn't know if it could be repaired.

"Ah, Shiba. This is a standard Navy toy, a rare and high-end item. I finally managed to trick Tashigi into giving it to me." Li Ang felt like he had lost a fortune.

It was only then that Mr. 4, being so slow-paced, realized he had accidentally hit friendly fire and panicked, completely at a loss for what to do. Li Ang didn't let this opportunity pass, forgetting all about the broken toy gun. The rifle was gone, but Tashigi had at least given him a pistol. He drew the pistol and fired two shots at the flustered Mr. 4.

Although Mr.4 is a slowpoke, even the slowest person won't remain indifferent when their life is in danger; they'll still take action when necessary.

He quickly held the thick baseball bat in front of him, trying to block Li Ang's attack.

Unfortunately, while the large baseball bat is indeed wide, its body is even wider, and it cannot completely cover the entire bat, leaving a large portion of the obese body exposed.

The key point is that Li Ang didn't aim for his vital points with those two shots at all. Protecting your vital points won't do you any good, kid.

So after two shots, Mr.4 had two holes punched in both arms.

"Ouch, it hurts."

Mr. 4 was in so much pain that tears were about to stream down his face. The pain in his arms caused him to involuntarily release his grip on the massive baseball bat. And then…

"what--!"

An even louder scream than before came from Mr. 4's mouth, and then he collapsed to the ground, rolling around. It turned out that his own huge metal baseball bat had fallen freely and smashed into his foot.

"Well done, kid. With those two from before, that's a triple kill." Three out of the four were finished off by Mr. 4. Li Ang was secretly laughing.

So Li Ang took over again and successfully knocked him down. As for his pet dog, or rather, his pet gun? Without its owner, it couldn't do anything.

And so began this battle—well, Li Ang started it without even saying a word. This journey of crushing the weak came to a perfect end with the fall of the last person.

If you really look at the process, from Li Ang's sudden attack to the final two shots that knocked down Mr. 4, it was all resolved within a minute.

Li Ang's displayed strength was only roughly equivalent to the average combat power of these four people. The fact that he could fight four opponents single-handedly, clear the level without taking damage, and even speedrun it, suggests that besides the fact that the others weren't using their full strength, there were also differences in combat experience, intelligence, and overall intelligence.

Li Ang knew these people's capabilities and had a sufficient understanding of the enemy to be able to respond accordingly, letting them fight each other. Li Ang did a small part in this process.

Lacking combat experience and adaptability, Miss Valentine was airdropped by Leon, and Mr. 4 couldn't withstand the attack at the last moment and fired the bomb.

"Clap clap clap."

Just as Li Ang had knocked down four men and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, a clapping sound rang out from behind him, accompanied by light footsteps.

"Your next words will be 'Well played!'" Li Ang heard the clapping, his back to the person who had approached. He felt no panic, only confidence.

Just as Li Ang had expected, sure enough, a voice exclaimed, "That's amazing!" Li Ang was practically a prophet; he guessed almost exactly right.

Li Ang doesn't have any prophetic abilities; he just has too much information at his disposal, allowing him to calculate a lot of things.

In fact, Li Ang's actions were entirely for show, meant to impress others.

To be honest, if no one is watching, then all this show-off would be for nothing. Why attack those four at this particular moment? It's entirely to cater to the audience outside.

On one hand, it demonstrated his power as CEO of the Grandet Group, letting others know he wasn't someone to be trifled with. Don't expect to be subdued by some minor characters. On the other hand, it also allowed him to test the attitude of the person behind him—whether they would directly help the four of them deal with Li Ang, or remain neutral as they were.

Fortunately, things are developing in the direction Li Ang hoped for; the person who came has not yet made a move. This means that the key figure who can provide Li Ang with a fulcrum to leverage the entire Baroque Works has arrived.

And such a person is Nicole Robin, the vice president of Baroque Works.

Just as Li Ang made his move, Robin arrived at the door and entered Li Ang's perception range. So, while marveling at how quickly and efficiently Robin arrived, Li Ang began his attack.

Li Ang was not surprised at all by the arrival of Vice President Robin. It wouldn't matter if anyone else came, because they wouldn't know who the real boss was, and Crocodile couldn't just come out to see Li Ang himself, otherwise his identity as the president would be exposed. So it could only be her, without a doubt.

But the act had to continue. Besides Robin, Mr. 4 and Mr. 5 on the ground were still conscious. Although Li Ang already knew that the person who came was Robin, he still quickly turned around and asked, "Who goes there?" As he spoke, he even prepared to raise his gun and aim.

However, Robin had been observing Li Ang's entire fight from the outside and knew that Li Ang was incredibly skilled, especially with a gun. She couldn't allow Li Ang to point a gun at her. The instant Li Ang turned and raised his hand, she activated her Devil Fruit ability, locking Li Ang's hand holding the gun in place.

"Two-round flower!" With Robin's delicate shout, Li Ang saw two white arms grow from his arm, firmly suppressing him.

With his right hand restrained and unable to lift it, Li Ang could only quickly twist his wrist from below, throwing the gun to his left. He immediately gripped the gun with his left hand, raised it, and fired, aiming straight for Robin's forehead.

Unfortunately, although Li Ang's movements were quick, lasting only two seconds, Robin still managed to misjudge and react. Another hand reached out from Li Ang's left arm and successfully knocked it away before he could fire, raising Li Ang's left hand upwards so that Li Ang's shot would hit the protective panel.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Robin then summoned both hands and used them to strangle Li Ang's neck. If Li Ang made any unusual movement, Robin could break his jawbone.

"This? Another Devil Fruit user?" Li Ang looked at the fair arms that had grown out of his body and said with a serious expression, "When did Devil Fruits become so common? I've encountered five already. It seems your organization is quite powerful."

"Heh, really?" Robin had almost been shot dead by Li Ang, a bead of cold sweat forming on his forehead. If he hadn't arrived in time, he might have been caught off guard and drowned. After completely subduing Li Ang, he smiled and said, "Then, are you interested in joining us?"

In fact, Robin will definitely be able to catch up. Even if she can't, Li Ang will deliberately slow down so that she can catch up.

"Oh? Then why can't you join me? I suppose you've investigated the forces behind me before you came to me. I think, with the power of the Grandet Consortium, they should have that kind of influence."

"Heh." Robin chuckled lightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Li Ang's words. A large conglomerate was certainly quite influential. However, on this sea where strength reigned supreme, they were still somewhat inferior to the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"Let's not talk about that now, let's talk about some business matters." Judging from Robin's tone, if those people hadn't brought Li Ang here with guns, he might have believed it.

"Come on, just say what you want to say. Who does business like this?" Li Ang raised an eyebrow and said, "Using swords and guns to do business is something only pirates do."

Robin didn't try to hide anything and said directly, "Fine, if you don't think this is business, then it isn't. You don't need to know who we are, but now you're in our hands, so you can do what you want."

Pshaw, how did I end up in your hands? Even if Crocodile came, I wouldn't be afraid of him.

“You should have said so earlier. I’m just a straightforward person,” Li Ang said matter-of-factly. “I understand this kind of thing too.”

Robin nodded, called in two elders, and pulled the four people lying on the ground out for treatment. Then he got down to business with Li Ang: "We hope you can terminate your cooperation with Cobra."

After all, these things couldn't be known to those below him; Crocodile's conspiracy had to remain hidden.

“Oh? Quite the opposite, I want to talk business, not this. I want to talk to you about the Poneglyphs,” Li Ang chuckled.

Chapter 217 Outwitting and Fighting Against the Air

Early this morning, after seeing the article in the newspaper, Crocodile found Robin and asked her to send troops to find the CEO of the Grandet Corporation mentioned in the newspaper. In Crocodile's common sense, unless Leon could fly, it was impossible for him to leave Alabasta in a day or two on foot or on a fast mount; he must still be in the country.

Unfortunately, there was no photo of Li Ang in the newspaper, making the task difficult to carry out. By the time Cobra brought the reporters, Li Ang had already disappeared, leaving them no opportunity to take pictures.

However, Baroque Works was powerful and had many informants. After a quick review of the intelligence, Robin identified Li Ang as the only stranger to enter the palace yesterday and found out his physical characteristics.

Of course he's there! He's the only guy in the whole country with such a cool style—a leather jacket he never buttons, a rifle slung over his shoulder, and a pistol at his waist. There aren't many armed people on the street to begin with, and with those other distinctive features, it's easy to spot Li Ang.

So after Robin sent out all of Leon's characteristics and asked the people at Baroque Works to search for him, they quickly found Leon's trail at the Rainfield headquarters.

Robin, of course, had everyone bring him to this base, and even said that if necessary, the four high-ranking agents at the base could be deployed. She herself, following Crocodile's instructions, had come all the way here, intending to speak with Leon. She was confident that with four high-ranking agents present, they could definitely take down Leon.

However, Robin only guessed the beginning, not the end. Li Ang was indeed surrounded by many elders and coerced all the way to the base. But Li Ang's fighting prowess later exceeded Robin's expectations; he actually took down all four of the officers.

Although she was faster than Li Ang and could have taken them down with just one group of "second-round flowers," she was still impressed by how easily Li Ang could defeat the four of them.

Although Robin and Baroque Works were not of one mind and did not directly intervene to save the four, this forced her to take matters into her own hands and subdue Leon.

Robin knew about Crocodile's plan. But if you asked Robin whether she supported it, the answer was definitely no. She was only forced to cooperate with Crocodile for the sake of the Poneglyphs.

However, a problem arose in this final step. Li Ang did not want to discuss any issues related to seawater desalination, but instead targeted the area that Robin cared about most.

"What?! You know about the Poneglyphs too?" Robin asked in surprise.

Robin had only one goal in his life: to decipher all the Poneglyphs and uncover the secrets of lost history.

However, under the pressure from the World Government, this goal is simply too difficult to achieve. The destruction of Ohara and the wanted poster for the Devil Child demonstrate the World Government's zero tolerance for the interpretation of the Poneglyphs.

Robin had also been wandering for over a decade with almost no results, never having had the chance to access any Poneglyphs. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the risk of joining Crocodile in usurping Alabasta. Going against her conscience to do something so risky and dangerous was not her true intention.

In the original work, after Robin successfully read the Poneglyphs, she was unwilling to tell Crocodile about Pluton and even helped Luffy defeat Crocodile. This shows that Robin was actually unwilling to watch Crocodile take over the country and obtain such a powerful weapon as Pluton.

However, opinions on Hades are subjective, and Li Ang felt there was nothing wrong with using it. Weapons themselves are neither good nor evil; it depends on where they are used. Used for good, they are good; used for evil, they are evil.

This also illustrates just how important the Poneglyphs were to Robin. She was even willing to give up everything for them.

“That’s right. At least we know that we have the Poneglyphs.” Li Ang nodded. Now everything is on track, and the future is converging and collapsing in the script written by Li Ang.

"This..." Robin was about to say something, but then suppressed her emotions, thinking in horror, "How did this guy know I needed the Poneglyphs? Not only does he know who I am, but he also knows my purpose?"

Robin is nothing like Nami, a little girl; her experience and life lessons are undoubtedly far more extensive, and her hardships are considerably greater. After all, she started adventuring at sea at the age of eight and already carried a huge bounty. She's now seventeen years old.

Over the years, I've experienced countless betrayals and schemes, and fallen into numerous plots and intrigues. I've become shrewd, adaptable, and vigilant. These are the scars left after repeated traumas.