Klein rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then said, "Blue Rooster."
Since magma was called Red Dog, how could this blue slash not have a na with a better match?
"..."
"..."
"...."
Os, Gloriosa, Shakky, and the others all looked at him with strange expressions.
Os muttered inwardly, "It feels like Klein-san's naming sense is always… off. Always sothing weird."
He suddenly recalled that Klein never actually shouted out nas for his slashes during combat.
It was always just a plain 'basic attack.'
Could it be… he's just bad at naming things?
Shakky smiled elegantly. "Nas don't matter—what matters is power. Just thinking about a slash strong enough to split the sea becoming a Homie is absolutely terrifying."
The next mont—
Her beautiful eyes widened. 'Blue Rooster' shot forward, unleashing a brilliant flying slash. A stream of blue light ripped through the sky like a teor, slicing off a distant mountain peak in an instant.
The cut was smooth and mirror-like, cleanly separated.
It looked like the mountaintop had been flung into the heavens.
BOOM——
"With power like that, it rivals a Great Swordsman!" Gloriosa's pupils shrank in awe.
Ever since she started following Klein, she'd had her worldview shattered several tis. The sea was vast and boundless indeed.
The world of the strong…
Still felt a little out of reach for her current self!
Os and the Marines behind him were all dumbfounded.
"With just one casual swing, he lopped off a whole mountaintop?! This Homie's combat power is insane—"
Seeing Charlotte Linlin overjoyed, Klein still couldn't help but utter that classic reminder:
"Charlotte, you shouldn't rely too much on your ability!"
"As everyone knows, the stronger the user, the stronger the Devil Fruit's power. So, you still have to be strong yourself. Train and practice every day with dedication, understand?"
Even though he'd helped Linlin create powerful Homies, from the start, Klein intended to guide her toward training her physique, Haki, swordsmanship, and so on.
Haki—the power that transcends everything—was only becoming more valuable!
And it would be indispensable for fighting the Five Elders and the Holy Knights.
"I understand! I've been training really hard," Linlin said sweetly with a cute expression.
Klein decided to let her act like a child for a while. With her new Homies, Linlin was completely obsessed with 'Red Dog' and 'Blue Rooster.'
"Go play around the island for a bit. We'll head out later."
What followed—
The environnt of the island paid the price. Mountaintops were lopped off, and the fires from the magma burned through the forest without rcy.
A scene like hell on earth.
But with Linlin around, the atmosphere on the warship beca lighter and more cheerful.
Of course…
This also piled on the pressure for Os, Gloriosa, and Shakky, who began training even more rigorously and diligently.
The grind began!
A "Grind Training Era" was ushered in aboard the ship!
At the sa ti, Linlin's weight-loss training arc was officially underway.
Today I work twice as hard as you. Tomorrow he'll work twice as hard as .
Half a month later.
Sphinx Island.
"Big bro Newgate! There are two kids who want to join us." A filthy, ragged boy called out to Newgate.
At this ti, Newgate was also dressed in clothes as dirty as a beggar's. He was surrounded by a group of children—boys and girls, tall and short.
At just 14 years old, Edward Newgate hadn't yet grown his signature crescent-shaped mustache.
"No way!"
A nearby boy frowned and grinned with a mouth missing a tooth. "We barely have enough food for ourselves. If we help two more kids, there won't be enough to go around... Life will get even harder for us…"
"Bring them here," Newgate said firmly, his expression deep and resolute.
"But Newgate bro—"
Newgate gripped the wooden stick in his hand. Despite his young age, he already carried a calmness and leadership aura that surpassed many adults.
"If we can help, then we help. At least it gives them a sliver of hope to survive in this hell."
In an instant—
The mood turned somber. The children around him stared at Newgate with reverence, admiration, and gratitude.
They all knew: surviving in this lawless place, with a group of kids in tow, was no easy feat.
Soon, the two new kids were brought before Newgate.
He handed over two of their few remaining pieces of bread to the starving, ragged newcors.
The other children, seeing the bread, had stars in their eyes. Their glowing gazes resembled starving wolves. They couldn't help but swallow instinctively.
Newgate's heart tightened.
"This won't work. At this rate… maybe the only way to earn enough money is to go out to sea and beco pirates…"
As their numbers grew, the food shortage worsened.
The two kids who received the bread wolfed it down like madn, stuffing the dry chunks into their mouths. Even when they choked, they pounded their chests and kept devouring the bread in large bites.
BANG—
A gunshot rang out.
All the children flinched in fear, their faces turning pale with panic.
They instinctively hid behind Newgate.
"Kyahahaha—so here's where you little brats have been hiding. I finally found you," cackled a manacing voice.
A group of pirates appeared, surrounding the kids.
The pirate captain sneered viciously, eyes filled with bloodlust. "You brats steal from everyone—even dared to steal from . You almost made off with a precious Devil Fruit! That thing's worth hundreds of millions!"
"With that, I could've lived in luxury for the rest of my life. But before that, I think selling you all off would make for a decent payday."
"Get 'em!"
"Round up every last one. Even a few extra bucks is enough for a good night's drink!"
As the pirates moved in, Newgate leapt forward with his wooden stick and cleanly knocked out two of them.
"Whoa, this kid's got so skills..." the captain muttered as he drew a gleaming long blade from his waist.
The tal shimred with a cold, murderous glint. The pirate sneered, "Still glaring at like that? You think being mad will change anything?"
"If anger worked, we wouldn't need weapons."
"Today, I'll teach you a lesson—on this lawless island, strength is all that matters!"
Clap clap clap——
A slow applause echoed in the air, followed by a mocking voice. "Yo, not bad, pirate. Didn't expect you to actually be this wise."
"Bastard!" the pirate growled, imdiately recognizing the sarcastic tone.
He turned around—and instantly collapsed in terror, pissing himself as he dropped to his knees with a loud thud.
The speed at which his face changed from evil to obsequious fawning couldn't have taken even a second.
A performance worthy of an Oscar.
He chuckled nervously, "S-Sir! We were just playing a pirate ga! Please don't take it seriously!"
At the sa ti, he desperately gestured at his crewmates to drop their weapons.
All the pirates trembled like leaves in a storm.
Damn it!! the pirate captain cursed in his heart.
Why the hell did we have to run into this damned reaper?! Wasn't he supposed to be in the first half of the Grand Line?!
It's broad daylight—why does it feel like night fell just from him walking over?!
"Marines...?" Newgate was stunned. "Why would Marines co to a lawless island like this?"
This place had once been a kingdom. But after failing to pay the Celestial Tribute, it lost the protection of the Marines and the World Governnt...
And slowly fell into ruin.
The Marines were never supposed to care about a place like this!
The children behind Newgate stared in awe.
"Wow! So cool!"
"The pirates are too scared to move!"
"If only I could be that aweso one day..."
"Look at that kid next to him—so tall and built! Bigger than even Newgate bro!"
"Waaah—she's so pretty! I've never seen such a beautiful woman before!"
"·······"
Watching the pirates kneel and beg, Klein chuckled and slowly walked forward from the distance, his voice tinged with amusent:
"Yo, how sensible of you. I think I heard sothing about a Devil Fruit just now…"
"I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys wasted trips. I always like to bring sothing back with to make it worthwhile."
"This backwater dump's got nothing, but hey—if all else fails, I can just bring back a few pirate corpses as rit. Sounds fair, right?"
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