One Piece Gunslinger

Although Hancock had never heard of such an ability, she had no time to investigate further and decided to remain skeptical for the time being.

"I can stun them without affecting them. And then what?"

Sure enough, when Li Ang heard that Hancock's Conqueror's Haki was indeed stronger than his own, worthy of being the Empress of Amazon Lily, Li Ang had a solution: "Alright, in that case, let's do it this way."

Chapter 292 Then a red person suddenly appeared.

After questioning and investigation, the two lieutenant generals each said they saw Captain Tyr die in the gunfire, and Tyr's mangled body was later found among a pile of corpses that were pulled up.

"Lieutenant Admiral Stolberg, what are your thoughts now?" Chaton lit another cigarette and asked, leaning against the ship's railing.

"Without a doubt, they're just a bunch of ordinary pirates. Their reason is also childish—they just want to test their skills against the Marines before entering the Grand Line. Ha, we're not some Marine from some remote branch."

Tea Pig nodded and said, "After our investigation, we didn't find anything suspicious, but I still have a little unease in my heart. But I can't figure out why."

Seeing that Chaton was still worried, Storoberry suggested, "Oh? But I think the pressure of escorting them all this way is too much. Encountering a group of small-time pirates has made us suspicious. I don't think we can keep being on edge like this. Why don't we take a break? Anyway, these small-time pirates in the West Blue can't threaten our elite navy. If anything unexpected happens, we can come out again."

Chaton didn't say anything more, just nodded, and returned to their respective rooms with Stromberg.

However, Chaton was not convinced by Storobelli. He preferred to believe his own intuition. Even if it turned out to be just psychological, and he was safely escorted to the Golden City without any problems, he wouldn't suffer much. At most, he would just be a little mentally exhausted, and he could recover after a few days of rest.

In short, Chaton wanted to continue the investigation, and the reason he agreed to Strobelli's request was to separate from him so that it would be easier for him to act alone.

After returning to his room, Chaton took off his flamboyant navy cloak and wide hat, and then quickly walked out without attracting anyone's attention.

Chaton planned to infiltrate the Celestial Dragons' ship alone to investigate, and he would only feel at ease after confirming that there was nothing unusual on the Celestial Dragons' side.

The fact that Cha Tun was also trying to infiltrate was not good news for Li Ang, who was currently at a crucial juncture in his crime.

Wait, isn't the point why Chaton, as a vice admiral, had to infiltrate? Why couldn't he just go in openly and honestly?

Hey, that's really not possible. The Celestial Dragons' ships don't allow marines like them to board. In their words, inferiors aren't qualified to board their ships, so there are only two Celestial Dragons and their slaves on board. And slaves aren't people; they're their property.

These two are idiots! To put themselves in danger for such a ridiculous reason. Didn't they realize they have enemies all over the world? Do they really think they're the masters of everything? No wonder Li Ang sensed their idiotic blue auras glowing brightly in his Observation Haki.

If Li Ang were the one being protected, he would definitely want Cha Tun by his side at all times. Even when sleeping, he would arrange for the two lieutenant generals to be on either side of his room, so that they could kick down the wall and arrive in time if danger arose. Extremely reliable.

On the other hand, after Li Ang told her his plan on how to get Hancock to kill the two of them herself, the two of them did not exchange another word.

Even Hancock had to admit that while the plan was excellent, she was somewhat apprehensive.

(Huh? What the heck? It seems like every time Li Ang mentions a plan, Hancock always seems to resist or be unwilling. Is Li Ang doing this on purpose? And then, even if she's unwilling, she'll still end up carrying it out. Your next sentence would be: But she still gritted her teeth and agreed.)

However, she gritted her teeth and agreed, even though it would leave her to face that deep-seated fear alone.

Leon was doing this for Hancock's own good. If Hancock could accomplish this, it would mean she had basically emerged from the shadows of her childhood. Even if she ultimately failed, Leon could still try to salvage the situation.

The saying "The master leads you through the door, but the cultivation depends on yourself" is a bit inappropriate here, but Li Ang was indeed the one who led Hancock to this point. Since Hancock was to personally understand these two Celestial Dragons, the remaining work was left to Hancock to complete alone.

The process wasn't complicated, but it was tailor-made by Li Ang for these two mentally challenged individuals, meaning it could only be used to deal with mentally challenged people and was completely useless against intelligent people.

First, under Leon's guidance, Hancock stood in a specific position, separated from the Celestial Dragons by only a wooden plank. At Leon's gesture, she activated Conqueror's Haki, successfully stunning both of them.

The Celestial Dragon father and son were sitting on two recliners, having a nonsensical conversation that Li Ang couldn't understand at all. He finally managed to wait until they finished speaking.

The two slave bodyguards standing behind them didn't hear the Celestial Dragons' voices for two minutes, and seeing that the two were not moving, they assumed they had fallen asleep. After all, this was a common occurrence; the mentally challenged father and son would sometimes even forget what they were saying in the middle of a conversation.

Not long after, the two bodyguards heard a knock on the door, and then a slave girl walked in carrying a fruit platter. Before the two slave bodyguards could ask the girl what she wanted, she preemptively asked, "Why are you two still here?"

"Huh?" This completely baffled the two men. "We're bodyguards, it's only natural for us here. Why is this slave girl asking this?"

"Oh, I see. They were asleep. No wonder I didn't tell you." Just as the two were confused, the girl began to explain, "This is my shift. Could you go out for a moment and stand guard at the door?"

Hearing the girl's words, the two understood what she meant and naturally imagined what would happen next. However, they remained cautious and asked doubtfully, "But nothing like that happened yesterday..."

We departed from Mary Geoise yesterday morning, and now it's the second day, only halfway through the journey. If what the girl said is true, then the same thing should have happened yesterday.

"Well... actually, it happened yesterday too, but you weren't here then. And yesterday it was one of my sisters..." The girl could only awkwardly explain.

The two thought about it and realized that the only time they weren't around yesterday was at night, when they were dragged back to the iron cage to sleep. Hey, these Celestial Dragons have different times for *that* each day.

Since that was the case, the two had no reason to hesitate. They couldn't refuse, and it would be no fun if they angered the Celestial Dragons. So they left the room and stood guard outside the door, closing it behind them.

In fact, the so-called slave girl was Hancock in disguise, just to get the chance to be alone with these two mentally challenged people.

Therefore, only Hancock could accomplish this; Leon, a man, couldn't do it.

But that person's map-like face was gone; they were given a makeover to ensure they were still somewhat beautiful, but so that others wouldn't recognize them as Hancock.

As mentioned before, after excluding Leon, Hancock, and Chaton who infiltrated with his equipment, the only people on the ship were Celestial Dragons and slaves. Therefore, the two naturally assumed that the girl in front of them was a slave.

But the most important thing to notice was the collar around Hancock's neck. This directly proved her status as a slave. However, this was easy to handle; Leon simply knocked out a slave and, without touching the bomb, cut his neck off.

Then, after putting the two collars back around Hancock's neck, he used his ability to re-glu the cut shut.

Sigh, this ability petrifies others, but in Leon's eyes it becomes super glue. It has to be said that Leon, this lunatic, has a wildly creative mind; he always manages to come up with all sorts of bizarre uses for Devil Fruits. And now he's using Hancock's ability as a kind of stone adhesive. First he used it to "weld" the bottom of a ship, and now he's using it to glue together rings.

As for the glued part being a different color, that's not a problem. Just cover it with your hair and leave only the front part showing.

Every word Hancock uttered after entering was taught to her by Li Ang. Her opening remarks immediately silenced the two bodyguards, drawing them into the rhythm Li Ang had prepared. Then, she explained why Hancock was there through self-questioning and answering.

Including that seemingly risky question, "You weren't here yesterday either." Li Ang was able to anticipate this question thanks to the two large iron cages he had discovered during his previous infiltration. It was because of this that Li Ang was able to realize upon seeing the two burly men that these were prepared for two powerful henchmen; clearly, the Celestial Dragons treated these two as two strong dogs.

However, Li Ang couldn't be sure what other security measures the Celestial Dragons would take at night, and he was worried that they might be discovered if too much time passed. Otherwise, he could have made his move while the two were in the cage at night.

In addition, Li Ang had thought of many other questions and prepared them all for Hancock, ensuring that he could handle any question they asked with ease.

However, assassinating a Celestial Dragon is never a smooth process. It's as if fate is deliberately making things difficult for Li Ang, not wanting him to help Hancock fulfill her wish so easily. There have already been enough unexpected events, and now another one has occurred.

Just as everything was going smoothly, Li Ang activated his Observation Haki and cheered Hancock on from behind. Just when the plan was about to be completed, Li Ang's Observation Haki "saw" something glaringly obvious.

"When did a red figure appear on the ship?!"

Chapter 293 A Sad Story

Chaton really did appear on this ship suddenly, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he jumped off the warship and crawled in from the position where the gun emplacements were set up in the hull.

Although Li Ang didn't know who the red figure in his perception was, he was certain that this guy was definitely not originally from this ship. It was impossible for a slave to be captured and still display such positive emotions.

Therefore, Li Ang could easily conclude that anyone who could infiltrate at this time, especially with such a background, must be a naval officer, and a lawful good naval officer at that. However, the fact that they infiltrated also proves that Li Ang's previous actions hadn't left any clues; he only resorted to this method because there was no evidence.

On the other hand, Chaton doesn't use Li Ang's method. He can sense the people on the ship, but he can't distinguish between the slaves and Li Ang. It seems that Fujitora's unique use of Observation Haki for the blind is indeed very effective.

In Li Ang's view, although the red figure suddenly appeared on the ship, he was clearly avoiding the sight of these slaves. This meant that it would take him some time to get there, but Hancock could deal with the two of them in an instant. Then Hancock could cut open the floor, jump down, and meet up with Li Ang. They could then return to the bottom of the ship and escape.

"So Hancock, why don't you do something already? Hey! What are you standing there for?!"

Indeed, just when Li Ang thought the red figure would inevitably arrive late, Hancock upstairs caused him some trouble. She simply stood motionless in front of the two Celestial Dragons. Moreover, in Li Ang's vision, Hancock's emotions were very unstable, and the colors on her body were like neon lights, multicolored and rapidly flashing and changing colors.

Excitement? Fear? Sadness mixed with surprise. These chaotic emotions were all swirling within Hancock, something Leon had never encountered before. He had only heard Fujitora mention that this was actually quite rare, a state of extreme emotional distress that would cause someone to exhibit such a disordered state.

Li Ang knew this was yet another unexpected accident. As an accident expert, he didn't just sit idly by. The most direct solution was undoubtedly to dig a hole, jump up, and wake Hancock up. Although he had already hidden a tactical knife on Hancock's person, Li Ang also had a scimitar on hand when he cosplayed as Captain Jack Sparrow.

But this thought was immediately dismissed by Li Ang. Hancock's mental state was very unstable at the moment, and Li Ang had a rough idea of ​​why. The only thing that could drive Hancock into a daze was these two Celestial Dragons. So these two Celestial Dragons must be Hancock's "old acquaintances," and it's even highly likely that they were the two Celestial Dragons who directly enslaved Hancock back then.

"Sigh, it looks like we won't be able to make this soy sauce. I wonder how long it will take for Hancock to finish."

In that case, this unexpected crisis is also an opportunity. If Li Ang were to rashly wake Hancock, he would undoubtedly waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If Hancock can pull herself out of this predicament, she will surely be able to erase the childhood trauma left behind.

If she can't overcome this, she might become insane, or something else entirely; Li Ang couldn't be sure, since he hadn't tested it himself. However, the Empress's possession of Observation Haki was a rare, one-in-a-million quality of a king, and Li Ang believed she could definitely emerge from this shadow, returning to normalcy and no longer needing to use that arrogant, overbearing demeanor to mask her inner vulnerability. In other words, Li Ang wouldn't have to struggle so much with communicating with Hancock in the future.

Therefore, Li Ang chose a difficult plan: to abandon his plan to just stand by and personally obstruct the red figure, thus buying Hancock enough time.

Thinking and acting, Li Ang has always been a man of action. This person, like them, was an uninvited guest who had to sneak in carefully, meaning that the visitor was also avoiding the sight of other navy personnel and slaves. In other words, if Li Ang killed him here, no one would notice for a while.

Moreover, with the enemy in the open and us in the shadows, Li Ang felt he had a great advantage.

……

"Who's there! Sneaking around like that, come out now."

The two doormen who had been driven out earlier were now standing at the doorway, on high alert, their ears perked up. They would quickly notice any movement.

This is from the psychological perspective of those two burly men.

But that wasn't the case at all. In their minds, the Celestial Dragons were perfectly safe. The last attack on a Celestial Dragon was many years ago, and there was a layer of Marines surrounding the area, so there was no way anything could go wrong. The two of them were practically asleep standing at the doorway.

No sooner had they finished speaking than a timid young male slave emerged from around the corner. His fearful expression, thin frame, and trembling body, like a leaf, immediately put their minds at ease. Most importantly, this man also wore a slave collar around his neck—he was one of their own.

"Our own people my ass! This person is actually Li Ang. Li Ang is almost moved by the dedication of these two. What a bunch of idiots! They didn't even notice the first two times when the commotion was small, but they had to make a big fuss to find him. How can you two protect the Celestial Dragons? It's utter nonsense."

When it comes to acting, Li Ang is far superior to Hancock; he could easily fool both of them. And since they could get one for Hancock, they could get one for Li Ang too.

The original plan was that once the collar was on, the way back wouldn't require hiding, and many places could be walked through directly for a quick retreat. However, the appearance of the red figure turned out to be even more useful.

Upon noticing the red figure, Li Ang felt he had a significant advantage. His mind was preoccupied with how to sneak up and eliminate this person. He'd already killed the Celestial Dragons; one more wouldn't make a difference. In his eyes, even a Vice Admiral wouldn't fare well under his sneak attack.

But when he actually charged in, feinted at a corner, and caught a glimpse of Cha Tun's true form, he deflated like a punctured inflatable doll, almost collapsing his feet. He instantly abandoned the idea of ​​attacking. Even though it was just a glimpse, he saw it clearly: this guy was unbeatable!

Fortunately, Cha Tun didn't do anything to him. The moment the two met, Cha Tun dodged at lightning speed. Li Ang also reacted quickly, pretending to rub his eyes and showing a puzzled expression, muttering to himself, "Did I see wrong?"

He completely transformed himself into a slave, turned around and walked away, thus escaping a disaster.

If Li Ang reacts slowly, once Cha Tun confirms that this person has discovered him, he will definitely come up and knock Li Ang unconscious. Then Cha Tun will realize that Li Ang's skills are not those of an ordinary slave.

This was undoubtedly a formidable enemy who could plunge the two of them into utter ruin, and Li Ang immediately had the idea of ​​directly dragging Hancock away. However, after some hesitation, he decided to take the risk, not disturb Hancock, and continue to stall for time.

Therefore, Li Ang decided to focus on how to expose Cha Tun's whereabouts.

There was still an advantage. Because Li Ang was dressed as a slave, he didn't need to hide and could take the shortest route to reach the Celestial Dragon's room before Chaton did. Li Ang didn't know if Chaton also knew the location of the Celestial Dragon's room, so he had to act quickly.

“That…” Li Ang took a deep breath and said in a sorrowful tone, “The person who just went in was my girlfriend. We were captured and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons the day before our wedding.”

Upon hearing this, both men wore strange expressions, and they automatically conjured up a tragic story in their minds, feeling a pang of sympathy for the slave before them.

One of them sighed, "Ah, young man... this is fate, there's nothing we can do about it."

It seemed he wanted to say something to comfort Li Ang, but once the words were on the tip of his tongue, he realized that nothing he said would make a difference, so he could only gently pat Li Ang's shoulder.

Although everyone is now enslaved, reality is much crueler than that of the young people in front of us.

A tragic story can always make people feel sorry for you, but a story you imagine can be even more moving. Although Li Ang only said one sentence so far, his wonderful performance had already given the three of them tens of thousands of words of information.

three people?

The third person was Cha-tun, who had already successfully made his way to the vicinity of the room and was hiding not far away. Li Ang's performance, which he put on first, was for Cha-tun's benefit.

In Li Ang's Observation Haki, Cha Tun was clearly affected as well; his previously vibrant, sun-like red emotions had dimmed somewhat. He crouched behind, motionless.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Hancock was taking the most crucial step. They were extremely close, and Hancock's emotional state had softened, giving her an eerie purple hue.

"Damn it, at a time like this, can you please stop with the slaughter? Just give them both a quick death so we can get out of here." Li Ang quickly realized that Hancock was venting her pent-up resentment on the two of them.

Fortunately, Chaton could only confirm that three people were inside; his Observation Haki was too far away to "see" what they were doing.