Chapter 74 The Player's Trust
The terrifying force and intense heat of that straight punch caused a massive shockwave that blew all the surrounding gambling tables away.
The moisture brought by the rain and storm was evaporated by the high-temperature shockwave, forming a white mist that enveloped Violet and Tezzolo.
Luo and Sabo watched nervously as the fog slowly dissipated.
Where Violet had stood, a thick and strangely shaped ice wall had formed. Water was dripping from the edges of the ice wall, and a large number of gold fragments, each less than half the size of a palm, were solidified inside.
Looking at the gold fragments that resembled shrapnel from a grenade, even Zeff couldn't help but gasp, his gaze turning worriedly to Violet behind the ice wall.
The strange, spiked weapon she had been holding had somehow been replaced by a staff inlaid with a huge sapphire. Her other hand, which had been covering her side, was slowly raised under Zeff's gaze, revealing a blood-stained palm and a blood-soaked gold fragment clutched in her fingertips.
"hiss--"
Sanji, who was also secretly observing, couldn't help but gasp.
Vera calmly took out two pieces of dragon fruit pie and ate them.
You have consumed 2 Dragon Fruit Pies
[Satiety +150, Health +80, Sanity +10]
The piercing wound on her waist was instantly healed. Violet casually tossed the golden fragment aside and twirled the ice staff in her hand.
Violet: "It's nothing special."
Has her strength increased, or is Tesoro, as a seasonal boss, far weaker than the dragon?
"Yeah?"
Tesoro remained noncommittal. He took the gold embedded in the table beside him, held it in his palm and gently rubbed it. When he opened his hand again, the small piece of gold had turned into a cloud of gold dust, which disappeared into the air with a gentle breath.
Tesoro: "You can dodge those gold fragments, but can you dodge the gold dust that's everywhere in the air?"
Those tiny gold dust particles, blending into the dust in the air, would cause damage to Violet's body from within, no matter how skilled she was, if she inhaled enough of them.
Luo couldn't help but step forward and look at the island lord with concern: "Vell."
Having been able to remove residual lead and platinum from his body using the Ope Ope no Mi (Surgery Fruit), he could naturally use the same method to remove the gold dust that Vera had inhaled, but...
Unlike simply swapping the positions of objects, this delicate operation requires a high degree of concentration, and the object being "operated on" cannot be moved arbitrarily.
Luo: "It will take at least ten minutes."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Sabo. Sabo, who understood what Luo meant, nodded seriously and tightened his grip on the water pipe in his hand.
If Luo needs ten minutes, then he must stall Tezzolo for at least ten minutes no matter what.
“No need.” Violet refused Luo’s idea of replacing her and removing the gold dust from her body during the battle. “Won’t the gold dust stuck in her internal organs explode once it accumulates to a certain level…”
"So the difficulty of this season's boss challenge lies in the limited time available?"
“I’ll defeat him before that happens.” Violet raised her Frost Staff and pointed it at Tesoro. “Then I’ll make him take all that gold dust out for me himself.”
Tesoro's face darkened: "You're quite the braggart, kid."
"Whether it's bragging or not, you'll know once you try it."
The Frost Staff can freeze all kinds of living and non-living things, and can also lower the ambient temperature, making it perfect for dealing with Tezoro's Golden Blast, which generates high heat and golden fragments.
However, aside from being able to swing it around like a stick to hit people, the Frost Staff doesn't have much offensive power.
A purely defensive approach is not Vera's style.
After thinking for a moment, Violet switched her Frost Staff back to Tentacle Spikes and opened the crafting encyclopedia in the crafting menu.
[You have crafted a Cooking Pot, consuming 3 Stones, 6 Charcoal, and 6 Twigs]
[You have cooked 1 watermelon, 1 ice cube, and 2 twigs. The [Watermelon Popsicle] is cooking. Countdown to completion: 00:20, 00:19...]
Tesoro was dumbfounded when he saw Violet suddenly start cooking after making those harsh words.
Not only Tesoro, but even Zeff and Sanji, who were watching nervously from behind, were dumbfounded. Both of them were chefs who dreamed of finding All Blue, the place where fish from all seas gathered, and they had a strong passion and deep love for cooking.
But they wouldn't cook on the spot during a life-or-death battle or a critical situation!
What is this person doing, trying to please the god of cooking and hoping for His blessing to achieve victory?!
Violet looked at the bubbling cooking pot and said, "Luckily, I brought enough supplies."
Luo: "..."
Alright, at least the junk in Violet's backpack has finally come in handy once.
Tesoro felt that Violet was playing him: "Are you looking for death?"
Vera tossed her backpack to Law to prevent it from being ignited by the intense heat of Tesoro's attack, and then donned her wooden armor to confront Tesoro.
With a gurgling sound, the lid of the cooking pot automatically opened, revealing the frost-covered pot walls and a corner of watermelon frozen in ice.
Vera stuffed the watermelon popsicle into her mouth in a few bites.
[Watermelon Popsicle] In addition to increasing satiety, health, and sanity to varying degrees like other foods, it also has a continuous cooling effect that lasts for 10 seconds, enough to resist the high temperature brought by the Golden Burst.
As for those dangerous pieces of gold, Violet looked back at Ro.
"Luo, I'm entrusting those gold fragments to you."
"Yes, no problem."
Law raised his hand in the standard starting position for using the Op-Op Fruit, and a pale blue semi-circular space enveloped Violet and Tesoro.
Tesoro: "You really trust that kid? Can he keep up with Golden Blast's speed?"
Golden Blast is a close-range attack technique; the kinetic energy of the golden fragments increases instantly to a terrifying level due to the explosion. Tesoro had observed the Devil Fruit ability of the boy wearing the spotted hat, and it didn't seem like it could guarantee 100% blocking of all fragments.
"Stop trying to sow discord here, you pathetic lone wolf." It's just trash talk during battle, right? Violet decided to give Tesoro a little shock from the information age. "Don't underestimate our bond, you guy who doesn't even have friends!"
“Friends, bonds? What laughable words.” Tesoro sneered. “These are all things that can be sold for a price. In other words, as long as there is enough reward, they are all commodities.” Violet: “Oh, so this is your last word? I will help you engrave this sentence on your tombstone.”
Sabo chimed in, "Don't worry, I've already memorized it for you, but with so many words, the tombstone would be huge."
Luo: "Then we're at a huge loss."
Vera stroked her chin: "Yeah, then let's just write 'This guy is obsessed with making money' on it."
Tesoro, angered by the three men, calmed down. Since he had the audacity to run away while Tiger was causing havoc in Mary Geoise and even steal the fruits of the infamous Don Quixote family, he was naturally a bold, meticulous, and ambitious person.
This kind of person wouldn't lose their temper over a few words.
Tezzolo clenched his fists, his arm muscles bulging beneath the golden gauntlets.
"Golden Wave!"
The gold that had initially been incorporated into the carpet shot up, and the gold leaf swirled like a storm, enveloping Violet.
Vera looked up and saw endless golden walls all around her, the gold leaf reflecting the light of the crystal chandeliers from different angles, creating a dazzling and extravagant effect.
Violet felt like her eyes were about to be blinded by the light. Although, the boss's attacks this season were just too visually disruptive.
Pointing and gesturing.jpg
Flakes of gold foil flew toward her, and Violet tried to deflect them by swinging her tentacle spikes. The light and thin gold foil shattered at the touch of the sharp tentacle spikes, and Violet broke through them with almost no resistance.
She frowned as she looked at the gold fragments stuck to the sharp spikes.
After realizing that Violet possessed extraordinary, monstrous strength and reaction speed, Tesoro changed his offensive strategy.
Those light, fluttering gold foils are so fragile that even a slightly stronger breath could blow them apart, let alone a sharp fingertip.
One sheet, two sheets, three sheets… Violet could easily tear them apart, but the shattered gold foil would stick to her weapon. Perhaps once or twice wouldn't matter, but…
The amount of gold leaf that made up the storm was enough to be hundreds of thousands!
The storm of gold foil suddenly contracted before Violet. Unlike the previous probing attacks, this time countless sheets of gold foil attacked Violet from all directions at the same time.
The tentacled spikes tore through one sheet after another, but more and more gold leaf stuck to it, transforming it from a ferocious weapon into an exotic decorative item that could be displayed directly in a glass case.
Violet peeled the gold foil off her arm, but the next second more gold foil was stuck to her body.
Slaughterhouse!
A familiar pulling sensation came, and Violet, who already had an excellent rapport with Law, adjusted her body position and landed easily. But the next moment, Tesoro's fist wind was right in front of her—
It's those gold leaves!
The gold foil obscured Law's vision and also had a locating function. The moment Law moved Violet out of the storm, Tesoro located her based on the gold foil clinging to her, and then charged towards her without hesitation, gathering his strength to launch an attack.
Violet's dark pupils reflected the fist pressed against her face, the violent heat wave and shattered metal tearing through the air!
"Vell!"
Sabo couldn't help but take a half step forward, his fingers almost leaving marks on the water pipe in his hand.
He turned to look at Law, only to see that the other was staring intently into the casino, his eyes exceptionally bright due to the high-speed operation of his Devil Fruit ability, which made the faint blue marks under his eyes stand out even more.
Everyone on R'lyeh, including the island's owner, Violet, and the people she took in, has their own unknown past.
To his own disbelief, Mr. Dragon had only spoken two words to him via Den Den Mushi before deciding to send him to R'lyeh.
“R'lyeh is perfect for you” and “You’ll love it there.”
Even more incredibly, Sabo was actually convinced by what seemed like a scam. Based on two vague descriptions, he boarded a ship heading to completely unfamiliar waters, and then met the island owner that Mr. Dragon had mentioned for the first time on that magical island.
She looked like an ordinary girl with delicate and pretty features, and her clothes even had an aristocratic extravagance that made Sabo instinctively uncomfortable.
What? Is this really the same person as the island owner that Mr. Long mentioned?
But Sabo's innate politeness and manners... or rather, his caution, allowed him to greet Violet with great courtesy. He quickly gained her trust in a very short time, and the island lord even took him along on this trip.
Is it out of confidence stemming from their strength, or trust in the person introduced by Mr. Long?
Sabo himself found himself suspicious, and sometimes, when faced with his reflection on the sea, he couldn't help but question who the other person really was.
Missing memories, facial burns, the unusual combination of a tuxedo and top hat on the high seas, and the overly formal and ornate language that occasionally slips out with surprising naturalness.
Did the island owner really not notice?
Sabo knew that Luo also had his secrets; that rigorous training and study plan, day after day, could never have been sustained without some kind of extremely strong obsession.
If there are really problems with his identity and past, can Luo and the island owner resolve them, and can their relationship continue?
It's hard to tell whether Mr. Long trusted him too much or Violet too much.
But at least at this moment, Sabo understood one thing perfectly clearly.
Trust is such a hard-won and precious thing, and he doesn't want to lose it.
Sabo forcefully suppressed his confusion about the past and his fear of his true identity at this moment.
Sabo stands here at this moment, with only one identity: a resident of Vil's island.
Protecting the island lord and carrying out his will—isn't that exactly what he should do?
Sabo looked at Tesoro, who had been sent flying again, and the golden fragment hovering a few inches in front of Violet, and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
"Luo, I trust you very much too."
In order to control those fragments, Luo, who was highly focused on his mind, completely failed to understand the meaning behind Sabo's words.
Luo: "What?"
But it doesn't matter, Sabo answered the question in the next second by flying away with the water pipe in his hand.
"Island Master, I'm here to help you!"
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Author's Note: Sabo is worried that he wasn't a good person before he lost his memory. Don't worry, your island lord doesn't care about that at all. [Eating popcorn emoji]
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