Chapter 87: Long Time No See for the Players
"Kuzan, no one's in the office, and you're not answering your Den Den Mushi. Where are you?!"
Kuzan had just propped up his bicycle and was about to rest for a while on the frozen ice when he felt the Den Den Mushi in his arms vibrating wildly. The moment he connected the call, the Den Den Mushi sprouted a black, afro-like head.
Wearing glasses identical to those from the Sengoku period, the Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) gaped open and roared at Kuzan, "It's one thing to slack off at work, be late, or leave early, but do you even know what time it is?!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were already giving the Navy enough headaches, and now even the Red-Haired Pirates, who have returned to the Grand Line, are starting to cause trouble.
Sengoku had a strong premonition that the title of the fourth Emperor of the Sea would most likely fall to this former member of Roger's pirate crew.
Frustrated by the changing situation at sea, the victorious general gave Kuzan his final order: "Return to Marineford within three days, or you'll be demoted..."
Kuzan casually picked at his ear.
"...Send him to work under Sakazuki!"
Kuzan almost poked his finger into his brain in his excitement.
Send him to work under Sakazuki? Who came up with this idea? It's incredibly unethical.
However, he couldn't find Vera at all, and had no idea where that brat had gone.
The World Government people are useless. They brought back that person named Kalifa, but she told them she couldn't contact the two CP members who were taken away by the Whitebeard Pirates.
However, judging from Mr. Zhan Guo's tone, he seems quite angry, so, well, still...
Kuzan opened his mouth, about to say that he had decided to return, when suddenly, a simple wooden boat sped past him from the side.
Standing at the bow of the ship was Violet, whom he had been searching for so long, and... Robin?!
What a huge surprise this is! At his age, he can't handle these kinds of unexpected events anymore. A simple and peaceful life is the best, isn't it?
Kuzan: "Wait, Mr. Sengoku, I have an urgent matter here, really, a super urgent matter. Can I just consider this an early holiday?"
Kuzan quickly kicked away the bicycle support, took a long stride, and straddled the bicycle, ready to chase after Violet.
Zhan Guo roared, "Annual leave? You have the nerve to mention annual leave to me? You've already used up your annual leave ten years in advance!"
Kuzan: "Then let's take the eleventh year in advance. Don't worry, Mr. Sengoku, I'm confident in my strength and lifespan. I can definitely fight for the Navy for another twenty years!"
"Okay, I can't talk to you anymore, bye-bye!"
Seeing that the simple little wooden boat was about to disappear from sight, Kuzan quickly took a deep breath, hung up the Den Den Mushi, his expression resolute, his leg muscles bulging, and he half-stood up, frantically pedaling the bicycle pedals, rapidly approaching Violet.
On the ship, after a long and heartfelt conversation with Olbia that night, Robin's eyes were red, but Violet could sense that Robin had emerged from the tense, almost breaking state she had felt when they first met.
Violet had no intention of prying into the specific content of the mother and daughter's conversation; in any case, she was still confident that she was Robin's best choice.
Just as she had thought, Robin, a strong girl who could witness the destruction of her hometown and survive alone with a huge bounty on her shoulders, took the initiative to find Val the next day after a whole night of calming down and thinking. She expressed her desire to live in R'lyeh and asked about a suitable job for her.
Vera: "Well, actually we're lacking a finance person right now."
With the expansion of the R'lyeh fruit and vegetable supply line and the cooperation and exchanges between Violet and various forces, Law, who was responsible for logistics, warehousing, negotiation, and treatment, was starting to feel the strain. Even though they had caught Sabo working illegally during this time, it was clear that the clever Sabo hadn't invested his skill points in mathematics. While he didn't make mistakes in calculating those complex income and expenditure figures, he still occasionally cast resentful glances at Violet.
Seeing that Robin didn't speak, Violet, while lamenting how hard it was to find someone on this vast ocean to acquire this skill point, comforted him, "It's alright, it doesn't matter if you don't want to. R'lyeh is a power with great potential. As long as you're willing to work hard and treat R'lyeh like your own home, I believe everyone who comes to R'lyeh will find their place to shine."
Robin quickly explained, "No, I mean, I've never done finance before... but I think I can do it!"
Robin was a well-known little genius in Ohara back in the day. Although she had never done finance before, Robin felt she could learn it.
"That's wonderful!"
Having recruited another useful ox or horse, Violet leaned against the side of the boat, enjoying the cool sea breeze and comfortably squinting her eyes...
Hmm, wait a minute, the sea breeze seems a bit too cold?
Violet turned her head and met Kuzan's gaze, who was grinning wildly as he rode his stationary bike.
Kuzan: "What kind of crappy ship is this? How can it go so fast?!"
This small, dilapidated boat looks tiny, but its speed is almost comparable to that of a regular warship. Isn't that a bit outrageous?!
Violet stared at Kuzan's rather distinctive cauliflower-shaped head for a few seconds: "Ah, it's you, Mr. Sea King!"
"What sea king? I've already said I'm Kuzan, Kuzan!"
Kuzan stopped his bicycle, raised his hand, and froze the entire nearby sea: "ICE TIME!"
Robin took a step back in alarm and nervously grasped Violet's hand.
"Kuzan..."
Why is he here?
The terrifying memories washed over Robin again: "Island, island lord, we must, we must escape..." They were absolutely no match for this man.
"Escape?" Violet looked directly at Kuzan, who was clearly trapped in terrible memories of the past. "Why are you trying to escape?"
"You rascal, you've scared my islanders!"
With one hand bracing against the side of the ship, Violet leaped onto the ice floes created by Kuzan, stomped down twice to confirm that the ice was thick enough, and nodded in satisfaction.
That's great. This way, even if we're fighting during the day in the dry season, we don't have to worry about heatstroke.
Kuzan looked down at Violet, preparing to take the initiative and suppress her arrogance: "You're the one who made Whitebeard look younger, aren't you?"
"yes."
No, wait, what's with that smug expression and that arrogant tone?
He was questioning Violet, not praising her!
Kuzan: "Give me at least a denial!"
Why deny what she did? Besides, she cured Mr. Edward, not killed him.
Kuzan followed Violet's train of thought for a moment, and for a moment he couldn't decide whether it was more terrifying to kill Whitebeard or to cure him.
So, if Violet didn't want to be targeted by the World Government, she shouldn't have gotten involved in this kind of thing in the first place.
Kuzan looked at Robin, who was standing nervously by the ship in the distance. In fact, he had been paying attention to Robin all these years, wanting to see what kind of life path the girl his old friend Saul was willing to risk his life to protect would take.
Now, the lone bird has found new companions and is happily preparing to start a new life.
Kuzan looked at Vera: "Let me see how much you've grown over this time."
Since you've chosen to stir up trouble, you should at least have the ability to survive the storms, right?
Kuzan's expression hardened as he threatened, "Let them watch from there. If you lose so easily, then I'll be the one to cut off your path, you dangerous bunch."
"Hey, but I don't feel comfortable fighting them here."
Violet tilted her head and smiled, taking advantage of Kuzan's inattention to take out her Flame Staff and wave it towards the armored ship behind her. A fiery serpent emerged from the ruby at the top of the staff, rushing towards the armored ship with the scorching, distorted air it carried.
The ice that Kuzan was using to anchor the ship melted instantly, and Law and Sabo seized the opportunity to start their propellers and escape in a direction far away from them.
Kuzan took a step forward to try to stop him, but the next second, flames licked his face.
Clang—
Melted ice fell from Kuzan's body, but such an attack was clearly not enough to harm Kuzan, who was known as a monster even in the recruit camp.
Unfortunately, Violet is also a little monster.
Moreover, it was a monster that was much smaller and gained the monster title much faster than Kuzan at the time.
Violet, who hadn't expected the Flame Staff to hurt Kuzan in the first place, wasn't disappointed. Instead, she put the staff back in her pocket and swapped it for her new favorite, the Shadow Sword.
The moment the half-solid, half-illusory Shadow Sword was taken out of his pocket, Kuzan couldn't help but stare at it.
Something's off. Let me take another look. Still something's off?
He had wanted to criticize Violet's aesthetic sense when choosing weapons since the first time he met her, but he didn't expect that after so long, Violet's aesthetic sense had not improved at all, but had even deteriorated.
Kuzan, who originally didn't want to bully a child and was prepared to fight her bare-handed, thought for a moment, then blew a breath into his palm, which condensed into an ice blade.
Well, weapons against weapons, isn't that fair?
With a practiced flourish, Violet charged towards Kuzan.
As a true-blue naval officer, Kuzan may seem lazy and laid-back, but he actually has exceptionally solid fundamentals.
Not to mention his strength, which is the strongest among all the opponents that Violet has ever encountered.
After exchanging a few blows with Violet, Kuzan quickly discovered Violet's biggest problem—she lacked a systematic combat training.
Violet's fighting style is mostly something she figured out on her own. Apart from that, there are some influences from Mihawk, some from dragons, some from the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders, and even more outrageous, some from the various spiders and bats she fought.
Kuzan believes that while there is plenty of flexibility, there is a lack of systematic approach, which leads to slight misalignments between the moves when Violet attacks.
Against ordinary enemies, Vilshan can cover up this weakness with her superb combat intuition, but against Kuzan, who has no shortage of experience and strength, this weakness is fatal.
By flaunting such similar ideas in this sea area, Violet will eventually get herself killed.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kuzan seized the opportunity when Violet's attack missed and she was unable to defend herself, and plunged his ice blade deep into her shoulder!
Violet decisively jumped back several steps to dodge Kuzan's subsequent attacks, and without changing her expression, she broke the ice blade and pulled it out from the piercing wound in her shoulder.
For an ordinary person, such injuries would be enough to end the battle, but for Violet...
She took out the honey ointment from her pocket and applied it to herself; the wound on her shoulder healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It doesn't matter if you get hurt, it doesn't matter if you get defeated, it doesn't even matter if you die.
The final victory will belong to the players.
The pain and even death before victory are merely part of the exciting experience of the game.
Violet, her fighting spirit high, looked at Kuzan with sparkling eyes: "Again!"
Oh dear, things seem to be developing a little differently than he imagined?
Kuzan scratched his head in frustration, but he had to admit that he too had been aroused by Violet's fighting spirit.
After all, anyone who sees a talented, quick-learning, and injury-resistant prodigy would be tempted to offer some guidance.
As a senior, I also want to tell these ambitious younger generations who are still in their growth stage that this ocean still belongs to their era.
"OK."
Kuzan raised his hand.
"Puffed-up pheasant beak!"
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Author's Note: The Warring States period, more than a decade later: Kuzan, you big liar! You promised to work for the navy your whole life! [crying emoji]
What? I'm not a marshal anymore? That's alright; uh... [Let me see]
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