Chapter 173: Immortality and Treasure
Kaito Shirogane stared at the empty stretch of sea. The only way to judge their coordinates was by the angle and distance to Mock Town in the distance. He had re-checked the treasure map, and the navigator had confirmed: this was the right place. But the empty ocean didn't look like it was hiding any treasure.
"Send a couple of men down to check!" Kaito ordered casually.
The Marines had no choice but to obey. Every single one of them had been "disciplined" by him on the journey here, and even their commanding officer, Captain Hina, had seemingly submitted to his authority. Besides, all he seemed to want was to find treasure, which didn't trigger their resistance as Marines.
The warship was far better equipped than any pirate ship. Soon, two men in simple diving gear jumped into the sea. Their gear was little more than a weight belt and a long breathing tube; it wouldn't support a deep dive. Kaito wasn't expecting much.
He looked up at the sky. A treasure in this location… it made him think of Skypiea. If the treasure was really on a sky island, it would be a major problem. While he could pay a price to overstay in this world, that price would quickly escalate beyond what he could afford. Without a proper flight ability (his [Rakshasa Demon] trait was more of a short-range glide), he had no way to reach a sky island in a short amount of time. And because of the major changes to Enel in this world, he had to wonder if Skypiea itself had also been drastically altered.
After a while, the two Marines surfaced, shaking their heads. "No good! It's too deep, we can't see the bottom! And the current is too strong, it's impossible to dive!"
Hina just waved her hand. She knew that new treasure maps appeared on the sea every day, but the number of treasures actually found was minuscule. She didn't care. At this moment, she was just leaning against the deck, her eyes fixed on the black-haired man. His physical skills were terrifying, and his body was in peak condition. In her opinion, he was already at the level of a Branch Captain or a Rear Admiral. In these seas, that was a respectable rank.
But then, the ones who could surpass that level were all infamous monsters with bounties in the hundreds of millions. And those monsters, in turn, were being hunted by high-ranking admirals.
"Hey. You ever think about joining the Marines?"
The sharp, calculating light in Hina's eyes was gone. After facing that overwhelming "divine punishment," she knew that all her schemes and connections were meaningless. She had surrendered. This sea didn't belong to the clever. It belonged to the violent monsters. Hina had already decided to retire from the front lines and take a desk job. If this man agreed, she could use her connections to get him promoted, allowing him to take full command of the G-51 branch.
[Plot Character Hina invites you to join the Marine Faction. Do you accept?]
Kaito hadn't actually joined a faction yet. He looked at this woman, a playful smile on his face, as if he were trying to see through to her heart.
WHOOOSH!
The sound of a massive wave suddenly roared. Kaito's senses, far sharper than a normal human's, made him instantly spring up from the deck. He leaped to the stern of the ship and saw that the once-calm sea was now roiling with dark undercurrents. The sky in the far distance was turning black.
He held out his hand. The wind wasn't strong, but the current was growing more and more violent. The ship's navigator ran out from his cabin. "There's an abnormal current! It's dangerous! We have to leave this area, now!"
Kaito's heart leaped. He knew what this was: the Knock Up Stream. Four hundred years ago, an unprecedentedly massive current had shot up from the seabed, launching a piece of Jaya into the sky, where it had landed on a sky island. For some reason, this part of the sea would periodically produce this terrifying phenomenon, a geyser that shot the surrounding ocean thousands of meters into the air. Any normal ship caught in it would be instantly pulverized.
But Kaito was different from the plot characters. He was a Reincarnator. His treasure map had been authenticated by the Nexus. It couldn't be a fake, and the coordinates couldn't be wrong.
His mind raced. The treasure was either on the seabed, or in the sky. And either way, it was linked to this current. Hah. Just as I thought. This is the Nexus's style. You want the treasure? Fine. Go and risk your life for it.
The navigator's face was frantic, and the other Marines were all looking at Hina and Kaito.
"We have to go now! If we get caught in that current, we'll all die!" The navigator was grim. He knew the terror of the sea better than anyone. This was a disaster far more terrifying than the lightning. This deep, dark sea could swallow anyone.
Kaito just leaned against the rail. "My treasure is in that current. Why would I leave now?"
The navigator turned to Hina. "Captain!" he screamed. "If we don't leave now, we will all die!"
Hina looked at Kaito. She saw that his eyes held no fear. Only a deep, greedy desire for the treasure. "Are you really going to bet your life, and all of our lives, on a treasure map?"
Her voice had no authority. She knew that the control of this ship was no longer in her hands. She could see the intent in the eyes of her crew. They were looking to her for the order. They were ready to mutiny, to kill this black-haired man.
Kaito, as if he hadn't noticed their quiet movements, just leaned back against the rail, his center of gravity shifted, as if a single push would send him tumbling into the sea.
Hina looked at him, and her eyes suddenly met his. In that instant, her pupils dilated. She remembered the look in Enel's eyes just before he unleashed his judgment. This man... this man had that same, casual, arrogant, smiling expression.
Hina's breath caught in her throat. She shook her head and said, her voice cold, "Follow his orders, Marines. And you, Watson," she barked at the Marine at the helm, "get back to your post. Don't disgrace yourself."
Her voice snapped the men out of it. They knew they had been seen.
Kaito looked away. He didn't want to kill these valuable crew members. He needed them to sail the ship, to complete his milestones. But if they had crossed that line, he would have slaughtered them all without hesitation.
The current was now a raging torrent. Even the massive warship was beginning to shake violently, pulled toward the center of the vortex.
The navigator screamed from the cabin, his voice hoarse, "Captain! If we don't turn back now, we'll never be able to!"
Finally, one of the Marines couldn't take it. He drew his sword and charged at Kaito.
Kaito, however, was staring at the bottom of the vortex. The seabed was becoming clearer. He could see a massive hole, the ocean pouring into it. And on that seabed, a special, skull-shaped mark.
His heart began to pound faster.
He didn't even look back. He just lifted his left leg, and, balancing on his right, he spun, kicking the charging Marine. The man's sword hit empty air, and he was sent flying off the deck, into the massive whirlpool, and instantly vanished.
The other Marines froze, their hearts stopping. That was, without a doubt, the most terrifying way to die.
Hina had finally broken. She roared, "You monster! Are you trying to kill us all?! Don't you feel any fear?!"
Kaito turned. He leaned back against the empty air, the ship now tilted at a severe angle, the massive, churning vortex right behind him. He was still smiling.
"Hahahaha! This is a magnificent sight! A sight you will probably never see again in your entire lives! Why the long faces?"
A madman! He's a complete madman! Hina could no longer hold back. To die in the bottom of the sea… there won't even be a body left.
"Turn the ship around!" she screamed. "Navigator! Turn back!"
But Kaito was no longer paying attention to her. He suddenly spread his arms, and to Hina's absolute disbelief, he leaned back and fell, into the center of the giant whirlpool. As he fell, he was still laughing.
"I am immortal! Why should I fear death?!"
His robes snapped in the wind. His skin, which had been purple-black, had now completely returned to normal.
[Based on the lineage ability of Human - Perfect (Mythical, Myriad), you have activated the bloodline trait: Medium Immortality.]
[Medium Immortality (Scarce - Extreme): As long as your body is not completely destroyed, or your blood completely drained, you will not die.]
This trait had, in fact, been activated the moment he had left the Blacklist world. It was the result of him using the complete [Cursed Blood Origin] formula. This had been his true trump card all along. It was the reason he had dared to face [Enel]. It was the reason he had been so calm when he'd started with a -7 score. He was no longer the same man. His comprehensive strength was in no way inferior to a [Strong]-tier Reincarnator. And with Medium Immortality and High-Speed Regeneration, his survivability surpassed that of most characters in this world.
In the air, Kaito re-equipped his [Rakshasa Demon] milestone. He spread his arms, let out a roar, and flew straight toward the skull-marked cave at the bottom of the vortex.
VMMMM!
He tucked his arms and, at a terrifying speed, shot into the cave.
The next moment, an infinite amount of seawater erupted from the other holes in the seabed.
BOOM!
A terrifying pillar of water, dozens of miles in diameter, shot into the sky, carrying everything that had been swallowed by the vortex up, up, nearly ten thousand meters into the air. The tiny warship was instantly capsized by the blast, thrown to an unknown part of the sea.
Kaito, however, was slammed into a different body of water. The force of hitting the water from that height was no different from hitting concrete.
SPLAT!
His blood instantly stained the water. He shook his head, and stood up. By the time he had stood, the lacerations on his face had already healed, his broken bones snapping back into place. He was in a hollow cavern. He was at the bottom of the sea, but the water was being held back.
He immediately sensed that something was wrong. He clutched his heart. It felt heavy. It was hard to breathe. It wasn't low oxygen; he had already trained for that.
He searched the cavern. In the center, there were three items. There was no gold, no treasure. Just three things.
To the left, a massive black greatsword was embedded in the stone. It was double-edged, as wide as two palms, and the blade that was visible was still nearly two meters long.
To the right, a half-open chest, and inside it, a fruit with gorgeous, swirling patterns. A Devil Fruit.
And in the very center, where the most important item should have been… was a severed arm.
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Guys We cross the 100 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 200 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter