Chapter 99: Diamante [Third Update]

The Tailed Beast Bomb detonated in the darkness, and dazzling white light illuminated everything.

A violent explosion erupted at the heart of the darkness. The darkness that had been devouring all things suddenly stopped contracting, then began to collapse.

A small figure fled from within the darkness. His face was pale, and lingering fear showed in his eyes as he watched the darkness rapidly shrink. He pulled a scroll from his robes and swiftly formed a series of hand seals.

“Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitating Drawing!”

Ink flowed across the paper. A gigantic ink bird burst from the scroll, and Shu Mingyuan leaped onto its back. The great bird spread its wings and beat them once, swiftly carrying him away from the darkness.

Blackbeard emerged from the darkness, his face covered in blood. All the black aura was surging back into him, drawn inward and restrained. During the final explosion, he had used the Dark-Dark Fruit to swallow a tremendous amount of its destructive force, but even so, he had still suffered serious injuries.

He stared grimly in the direction Shu Mingyuan had fled. He had never expected that, even after using Dark Descent, he would still let the man escape. The main reason was that Shu Mingyuan was far too cunning, and his abilities were so varied that the slightest carelessness could leave one caught off guard.

Seated atop the great bird, Shu Mingyuan flew toward the opposite side of Jaya Island. Even now, he still felt shaken whenever he thought of Blackbeard’s troublesome abilities.

It was becoming rather difficult to deal with anyone above the rank of vice admiral.

“Bang!”

A gunshot rang out. A bullet coated in Haki flew toward him at an inconceivable speed, piercing the great bird’s wing before striking Shu Mingyuan in the shoulder.

“Captain, I shot the brat down. Judging by his location, he should be on the southern side of the island.”

“Hehahaha! Well done, Augur!”

Shu Mingyuan’s expression changed as he looked at the bullet wound in his shoulder. He suddenly remembered one of the Blackbeard Pirates’ snipers—Van Augur, a man capable of firing from extraordinary distances with astonishing accuracy.

His Armament Haki instantly covered his entire body. This distance was clearly within Van Augur’s shooting range. If the bullet had struck his head instead, this novel might well have ended right there.

Clutching his wound, Shu Mingyuan plunged into the sea. Fortunately, this was only the coastline, and the distance from the island was not great.

…

Inside a cave.

A young man sat with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing. Five days earlier, Van Augur had shot him from the sky, so he had found a cave and concealed himself there. Given Blackbeard’s determination to achieve his goals at any cost, he would certainly come searching this area for him.

In his condition at the time, Shu Mingyuan had been unable to exchange blows with Blackbeard, let alone contend with the several capable subordinates at the pirate’s side.

The entrance to the cave had been concealed with green branches and leaves taken from this side of the island. Blackbeard and his men had searched the area twice, and each time Shu Mingyuan had suppressed his presence as completely as possible, fearing that Blackbeard’s Observation Haki would detect him.

Fortunately, luck seemed to be on his side, and he had successfully escaped disaster.

After five days, his gunshot wound had completely healed, and the chakra he had expended was fully replenished. He still had no idea whether Blackbeard and his men had left.

He opened his status panel, and the familiar display appeared before him—one he had seen countless times.

Character: Monkey D. Shu Mingyuan
Rank: Genin
Chakra: (368,721/50,000) Promotion requirements unmet
Tailed Beast Chakra: Infinite
Justice Points: 123,447
Ninjutsu Acquired: Lightning Release: Chidori; Lightning Release: Chidori Current; Lightning Release: One Thousand Years of Death; Clone Technique; Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique; Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique; Super Expansion Technique (partial); Super Beast Imitating Drawing; Multiple Shadow Clone Technique
Taijutsu Acquired: Dancing Leaf Shadow; Lion Combo
Tailed Beast Acquired: One-Tail, Shukaku
Ninjutsu Value: 1,546
Taijutsu Value: 1,572

Of the 260,000 Justice Points he had accumulated in Impel Down, 110,000 remained after exchanging them for Shukaku. After his continuous battles, his total had risen to 120,000. His Taijutsu and Ninjutsu values had also advanced considerably.

However, judging from his status alone, the system did not seem to include the enhancements Shukaku granted him. Instead, they were calculated separately. No matter how powerful a tailed beast’s abilities were, the system refused to recognize them as the host’s own strength.

What troubled him most was the condition required to advance from genin to chunin. Even now, he remained utterly baffled by it.

It seemed that unless he could fulfill that condition, he would have to remain a genin for the rest of his life.

The opposite side of Jaya Island was covered by a primeval forest, home to all manner of insects and ferocious beasts, as well as South Birds, which always pointed toward the south. Shu Mingyuan made his way through the forest. If he wanted to reach Skypiea, he would need a South Bird to guide him.

Moreover, the Knock Up Stream appeared roughly once every six days. Over the past few days, he had not seen a single sign of an Accumulation Cloud darkening the sky. Judging by the timing, the next Knock Up Stream should appear within the next two days.

“Sarkies, you’re saying Bellamy was killed by a man? To be taken out in a place like this—what a disgrace to the Donquixote Family.”

At the center of the forest, an open area had been artificially cleared, and several warehouses had been built there. A man in a red cape, dressed like a tribal native, sat atop a crate as he spoke.

“Lord Diamante, Captain Bellamy was defeated by that boy with a single punch. You saw the traces of his battle with that other burly man as well, did you not? That kind of strength is beyond anything we can handle,” said Sarkies, the vice-captain of the Bellamy Pirates.

“That strength is indeed beyond your ability to resist. But regardless, you have ruined the task Doffy assigned you. It will not be long before the Marines hear of this place and discover the warehouse. If you fools had not provoked trouble in the first place, how could things have ended up like this?” Diamante said indifferently.

“Lord Diamante, I swear that I will never make the same mistake again!” Every member of the Bellamy Pirates fell to his knees.

“Heh heh. In the future? I’m afraid you won’t have one.”

Diamante bared his teeth in a cold grin.

“What… what do you mean?” Sarkies asked, his heart trembling as a terrible thought flashed through his mind.

“I mean that you have disgraced the Donquixote Family and humiliated Doffy. He has no use for such incompetent subordinates. According to the agreement we made back then, you have broken your promise. So he sent me here to kill every last one of you.”

Diamante opened his mouth wide, revealing a row of white teeth. The two lines painted across his face made him look especially ferocious.

“Lord Diamante, you cannot kill us! You have witnessed our loyalty to Young Master!”

Diamante’s lips curled upward.

“Heh heh. Loyalty? Since you are so loyal to Doffy, then atone with your lives.”

“Bravo, bravo! What an entertaining little drama. I never expected that wandering around would lead me to such a melodramatic scene.”

Shu Mingyuan slowly emerged from the forest. He had searched everywhere for a South Bird without success, but he had discovered these warehouses in the center of the forest. After observing them carefully, he realized that this was actually Bellamy’s headquarters on Jaya Island—and he had overheard some extremely interesting information.

This was one of the bases belonging to Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.