One Piece Gunslinger

If this plan fails, then next time Li Ang will devise an even clumsier scheme, deliberately revealing his anxiety and agitation. He'll intentionally let Vander Decken see through the trap and lure him out. He'll then leave a back door, allowing Vander Decken to use it to abduct Shirahoshi. Li Ang simply needs to wait for him at that back door.

If the second attempt also fails, it would demonstrate that Vander Decken's intelligence is already quite high, and Li Ang would be unable to continue operating in the short term. After that, no matter how ingenious Li Ang's arrangements become, the suspicious Vander Decken will not intervene again.

If it gets to that point, we can only wait until we have time to deal with it later, or maybe four years later those idiots will expose him along with them.

As a result, everything else could be skipped. Van der Deiken couldn't contain himself and pounced on Shirahoshi with a howl as soon as he saw her. Li Ang's plan, which he came up with on a whim, had successfully lured Van der Deiken out.

Once this hardest step is done, the next step will be easy.

Like a cat catching a mouse, the worst thing is when the mouse hides out of reach; once it emerges, there's no escape. And Li Ang is just like a cat—quiet and deadly.

He silently pulled out a sniper rifle, then slung it over his shoulder, aiming the crosshairs at Van der Deiken's forehead.

"I'll accept the target fruit."

For a sniper, Van der Deiken's pretentious pose made him an easy target. With someone standing at the bow of the ship, Li Ang would feel it would be a disservice if he didn't snipe him out with one shot, given his excellent sniping position.

It could be said that the moment Van der Deikun emerged from the water at the bow of the ship, his death was already sealed. Li Ang was that Grim Reaper, the one who pronounced his death sentence.

If the King of Hell wants you dead at midnight, who dares to keep you alive until dawn?

Ace: "I dare!"

Just as Li Ang was about to fire, a burst of fiery red light filled his sniper scope.

Li Ang quickly looked up and saw Ace leaping in mid-air, one of his hands burning fiercely. A large ball of flame in front of him was emitted by Ace, successfully blocking Li Ang's 15x sniper scope.

"fire punch!"

Li Ang watched as Ace's fiery fist struck the exposed half of the tattered garment, only then hearing Ace shout "Fiery Fist!"

The ship beneath Van der Deiken's feet was blown apart, but he himself did not die; instead, he was blasted back by the explosion.

"That life-saving move was brilliantly executed, Ace!"

Chapter 310 Overestimating One's Abilities

Li Ang had to admit defeat when it came to troublemakers. They had clearly sent people to deliberately lure Ace away from this direction, but this guy still managed to shake off those two mermen and successfully come over to cause trouble for him.

Ace's punch was incredibly precise. It killed two birds with one stone, a resounding success. It even made Li Ang want to turn his gun on Ace and shoot him.

Not only did they manage to rescue Vander Decken, but they also caused the hatred between humans and Fish-Man Island to escalate further.

Previously, Li Ang was researching two major problems facing Fish-Man Island with Neptune: one was Vander Decken, and the other was this. Originally, if the Revolutionary Army could successfully enter Fish-Man Island, this problem would gradually be resolved. However, Ace's punch exacerbated this conflict.

The reason is that a small section of Vander Decken's ship had poked its way in from outside the bubble, and Ace's punch, while hitting that section of the bow, also destroyed the bubble there. Now, a large amount of seawater is indeed pouring into Fishman Island through that breach.

Ace, you are really awesome.

Li Ang will witness firsthand what it means for a great flood to wash away the Dragon King's temple.

Although fishmen won't drown, before the bubbles are repaired, many houses and facilities will inevitably be washed away by the water, causing economic losses to Fishman Island.

Ace seemed to realize the enormity of his mistake. After landing, he stared in disbelief at the surging seawater rushing towards him. He wasn't a Devil Fruit user; getting into the water would be the end of him.

Well, there's nothing I can do. Only Whitebeard can handle this kind of personality. Li Ang could only quickly notify Neptune to fix the hole first, and then rushed to Ace's side, grabbed him and threw him onto the roof behind.

"Ah, Leon, I'm saved... Ahhh... It hurts." That was the sound Ace made after being saved by Leon.

"Get out of here!" Li Ang shouted.

The current is still relatively small, since there is still a ship blocking the entrance to the cave. But if the Flying Dutchman leaves, the current will suddenly surge.

Instead of retreating, Li Ang advanced rapidly towards the ship. He intended to board and launch a powerful attack while Vander Decken was still in a daze and before he could tow the ship away. The impact of Ace's punch was too severe; Li Ang couldn't let Vander Decken escape again.

Just as Li Ang had predicted, Van der Deiken was completely dumbfounded.

Upon learning that Shirahoshi had emerged from the Hard Shell Tower, he felt a surge of happiness wash over him. Despite the influence of his family's ingrained "cowardice" technique, he decided to intervene after several attempts.

Van der Deiken had meticulously planned his entrance, but he'd barely peeked out, about to unleash his signature "ho ho ho ho" laugh, when a sudden fireball blasted him back. He survived, but was nearly killed.

He quickly realized it was a trap, and despite the pain, he shouted, "Fix the liner and get out of here!"

Seeing that Van der Deiken was easily defeated at first sight, his men realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly took action.

They were quite experienced with things like damaged hull membranes. Spending their days on the seabed, they encountered all sorts of amazing marine creatures and sea monsters; sometimes a mere brush against them would create a hole. So, they quickly repaired the tear.

Just as the bald sea monster was preparing to pull the ship away, Li Ang seized the opportunity to rush over and unleash his full Conqueror's Haki, blasting the monster into a daze. Luckily, this thing was just big in size, not very strong.

"What happened?" Van der Deiken was extremely anxious when he saw the tugboatman collapse.

After knocking down the tugboat workers, Li Ang easily boarded the boat in no time: "Sorry, I don't think you can leave." If they were to leave, who would plug the gap?

"Kill him." Van der Deiken didn't say much more; Li Ang was definitely up to no good.

Actually, even without Van der Deiken saying it, the others were already on alert when they saw Li Ang, and they were waiting for Van der Deiken to say this.

Seeing the group of pirates charging at him with a roar, Li Ang calmly pulled out his old shotgun, which had been with him for many years. Dealing with a group of people, this was the easiest way.

At this moment, two mermen rushed up to Li Ang, wielding curved blades and slashing fiercely at him. However, Li Ang didn't even blink, raising his hand to fire a spear.

Then everyone saw that the upper bodies of the two who charged the fastest had been reduced to pieces of flesh, scattered in all directions. The other merfolk standing a little behind were also affected, with several pieces of flesh blasted off their bodies.

As the saying goes, under a hail of bullets, all are equal. The fish-men have always longed for equal status with humans, and many even dream of enslaving them. But Li Ang is here to tell them: the equality you've been waiting for has arrived; sign for the package.

Unless one is a powerful individual who has cultivated their physical body, they generally have little chance against this kind of shotgun. And this group of fishmen is clearly not considered any powerful individual.

After killing the two men, Li Ang did not stop. Since they were stunned and wouldn't come over, he would go over and reap the lives of these pirates as he walked forward.

"Bang, snap." "Bang, snap."

The sound of Li Ang firing his shotgun repeatedly drowned out all other sounds, until the magazine was completely empty.

Regardless of the reactions of others, after emptying his chamber, Li Ang stood there and reloaded the chamber with bullets one by one.

"He's out of bullets." This was the thought in all the fishmen's minds, and Leon temporarily stopped in his tracks. But what should they do? Charge in now?

No, when Li Ang finished reloading and looked up again, he saw that these people had all put down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and surrendered.

The murderous aura emanating from Li Ang was shocking. Seeing the slaughtered people and the scattered pieces of flesh belonging to who-knows-who at their feet, the fishmen were terrified and lost all courage to continue fighting.

"I thought you guys would be a bit tougher. But it happened even sooner than I expected," Li Ang said, shaking his head.

Then, ignoring the terrified fishmen, he walked past them step by step as if he hadn't seen them, and went straight to Vander Decken.

At this moment, Vander Decken was not hit by Ace's fire fist, but his injuries were not serious. At this time, his group of cowardly subordinates who had been bullies and followed him for life surrendered one after another. Vander Decken could only lean against a staircase and could do nothing.

“To be honest, you are the weakest opponent I have ever faced in my life, without exception. I feel no sense of accomplishment in defeating you.” Li Ang squatted down next to Vander Decken and muttered to himself, “But it is a weakling like you who has threatened Fishman Island for many years, and even your ancestors have become a major thorn in the side of Fishman Island.”

Leon didn't expect Van der Deiken to understand what he was saying; it was actually for his own benefit. Van der Deiken, if this had been a few years ago, when Leon had just joined the Revolutionary Army, would have been a formidable opponent. Leon compared the two, and Van der Deiken's threat was no less than any force he had encountered in the Kingdom of Yutakana.

But now, Li Ang has easily defeated them without even making a ripple. In fact, if it weren't for Ace's interference, there wouldn't have been any surprises at all. The reason for this is simple: strength.

The revolutionary army has developed rapidly over the years, and Leon's strength has grown accordingly. Van der Deiken serves as a good example. Over the years, Leon has gone from having to agonize over how to deal with the mafia in the Kingdom of Yutakana for a long time to now being able to easily destroy Van der Deiken all by himself.

"How ridiculous. It seems I've been too attached to appearances," Li Ang continued to mutter to himself. "Why make things so complicated? There's really no need for all these roundabout ways, don't you think?"

Of course, van der Deiken could no longer answer; a sharp knife was already plunged into his neck. And his eyes remained motionless.

As Li Ang crouched down, Van der Deiken tried to launch a sneak attack, but Li Ang easily disarmed him and casually stabbed him in the back.

Without making a sound, Li Ang picked up the target fruit that had condensed on Vanderdeken's chest and sold it to the shop without thinking.

He then stood up, turned to the other mermen, and said, "Don't worry, I won't kill you, as long as you behave and don't move. Guards will come to take you away later."

After saying that, Li Ang walked towards Fishman Island without turning his head, completely unafraid that the fishmen would escape.

Actually, this mission was really simple. Li Ang didn't need to go through these complicated procedures at all. First of all, they weren't that strong, and secondly, they weren't that smart.

As long as he deliberately makes a commotion to get the scout to report to Vander Decken, then Li Ang can easily use his Observation Haki to find the scout, then use the scout to find Vander Decken's whereabouts, and finally just kill him.

Simple and straightforward, but effective.

Li Ang's roundabout plan this time was utterly superfluous. Not only was it completely useless, it also created the troublesome situation caused by Ace.

Only after Li Ang boarded the ship and saw this group of paper tigers did he realize that his own strength was no longer what it used to be. He then reassessed his own abilities.

Fishman Island is not without radical fishmen who spend their days plotting to break free and enslave humans. Their mistake lies in their blindness to the outside world. Their fear of the outside world prevents them from making the right choices.

The same applies to Li Ang. His disregard for his own strength, his long-term reliance on his intelligence, and his overconfidence in this area prevented him from making the right decisions.

But Li Ang mocked them as a bunch of idiots, saying it was just the pot calling the kettle black.

Chapter 311 Death

Li Ang wasn't particularly interested in this "playboy" who might not even be of any use, and now that his mindset had changed, he had even less interest in the remaining cleanup work.

Li Ang had originally planned to explain things to Ace later, since many people had seen the leak appear after his Fire Fist hit. "You fish-men can think whatever you want," he thought. "Let it get worse. I'm too lazy to deal with these little problems. Worrying about these trivial matters all day lowers my image. Besides, I've done everything; what do I need others for?"

So after that, Li Ang gave Neptune a few instructions over the Den Den Mushi, and then went off to play with Ace.

As Li Ang had predicted, Neptune had already taken care of everything else. Before long, the entire Fishman Island knew that Vander Decken had been dealt with by these two humans, and the problem that Ace had created was no longer so important.

Honestly, Li Ang now understands the thinking of Ace and his two brothers. Constantly being hesitant and overly cautious is pointless. Even if what Li Ang is doing is different from Ace's, like dancing on a tightrope, there's no need to micromanage every detail.

Some minor things can be handled casually, like the Van der Deiken matter. Li Ang could just deal with it however he felt like and do whatever made him happy.

So the next day, Li Ang accompanied Ace on a sightseeing trip on Fishman Island, enjoying delicious food.

The first day passed by in this way, spent playing with Ace. On the second day, seeing that Ace wanted to explore the underwater world, Li Ang, not wanting to deal with this curious child any longer, stopped playing with him and instead asked Jinbe to keep an eye on things and guide them. Just in case they couldn't get back.

As for Li Ang, he found the coffee shop owned by Mrs. Shirley with the information provided by Neptune.

As soon as Li Ang entered, he saw all sorts of mermaids swimming around. The café was packed with customers. It seemed the business was booming. Li Ang had originally wanted to find a quiet spot to sit alone, but now he couldn't find a seat. In all his life, Li Ang had never seen a café so crowded.

"Sir, I'm sorry, we're full." Just as Li Ang was bewildered, a mermaid waiter quickly swam up to him.

Li Ang couldn't help but scrutinize the merman. By both human and merman standards of beauty, she was a stunningly beautiful mermaid. The other waitresses were also mermaids; there wasn't a single ugly one.

These mermaids wear bubble-like rings around their waists, which allows them to swim in the air and move through crowds. Furthermore, there are different species of mermaids, each with its own unique characteristics. They are all different kinds of mermaids.

Well, it has to be said that Mrs. Shirley is much smarter than her half-brother Aaron, at least when it comes to making money. Perhaps the money Mrs. Shirley makes from her coffee shop is about the same as the money Aaron plunders from those villages.

Mrs. Shirley's coffee shop is truly unique and skillful. The mermaid waitresses she hired are all beauties, making all the coffee shops Li Ang has ever seen pale in comparison. As the saying goes, beauty is the best teacher; with such special service, even the worst coffee becomes rich and flavorful.

Li Ang asked, "Is it like this every day?"

"No, everything was normal yesterday, but today it's suddenly overcrowded."

Even though Li Ang wasn't a customer, the waiter patiently answered his questions, demonstrating the exceptional quality of service. It's surprising that Madam Shirley, residing on the almost isolated Fishman Island, could think of so much.

Li Ang was taken aback, then understood what was going on. Yesterday's commotion had damaged nearly half of the Fishman Island's houses and roads, requiring repairs. Those areas were naturally inaccessible, while the unaffected areas saw a surge in business.

However, Li Ang's main purpose was not to come here for coffee. Since he didn't have the chance to experience the coffee here, Li Ang was not disappointed. Instead, he said to the waiter, "Please inform Mrs. Xia Li that Li Ang requests an audience. She should know who I am."