After returning to the ground, Hyaku glanced forward.
Besides Kizaru, who had ended his elemental transformation and reappeared, another person stood there.
This newcomer was very tall, wearing a white vest and dark blue shirt. He had fluffy curly hair and wore an eye patch on his forehead. Like Kizaru, he gave off a lethargic impression.
He was none other than another of the Marine Three Admirals.
Kuzan "Aokiji", the Freezing Human who wielded the Logia-type Hie Hie no Mi (Ice-Ice Fruit)!
The three ice pillars that had just attacked Hyaku were clearly created by his Devil Fruit ability.
Who would have thought that in a small place like Water 7, two Marine Admirals would suddenly appear!
While Hyaku vigilantly watched Aokiji, the Admiral carefully observed him in return. Aokiji also instinctively glanced at the injured Kizaru.
"Enough, Hyaku." After a long moment, Aokiji spoke, "You and I are both Marines — there's no need for us to kill each other. Since we've clarified this was a misunderstanding, let's end it here."
After speaking, he specifically looked at the package that had fallen to the ground.
"When he attacked earlier, he didn't seem to think it was a misunderstanding at all." Hyaku replied.
Kizaru had been fighting with real intent just now.
Now, with just a word from Aokiji acting like nothing happened — Hyaku found it hard to swallow this frustration.
Hearing his words, Aokiji immediately gave his Admiral colleague a look.
Kizaru understood. After a pause, he actually opened his mouth to apologize.
"Earlier... this old man was indeed rash. I attacked you without clarifying the situation."
Upon hearing these words, Hyaku's anger instantly subsided by half.
An Admiral had humbled himself to apologize. He didn't understand why this man would go to such lengths.
Seeming to notice his confusion, Aokiji took several quick steps toward him. He bent down and whispered in Hyaku's ear.
"I promise you, this kind of thing won't happen again. Also, Vice Admiral Garp sent me here. Let's consider this matter settled." He quietly said.
"..." Hyaku suddenly understood.
Kizaru had indeed been sent by Marine Headquarters, while Aokiji had come at Garp's request.
That old geezer probably never imagined his "disciple" could hold his own against an Admiral to such an extent.
With Aokiji's assurance, Hyaku immediately nodded. He sheathed his sword and dispersed his sword intent.
In reality, he had no desire to continue the fight either.
Kizaru had been forced into such a desperate situation partly because he was unfamiliar with Hyaku's techniques. He hadn't expected Hyaku to break through during battle, suddenly unleashing completely different power.
Additionally, Kizaru had somewhat underestimated his opponent. Otherwise, with his Devil Fruit's near-light-speed velocity, even if he couldn't win, he could have easily avoided attacks.
If the fight continued and Kizaru adapted, the outcome would be uncertain.
As Aokiji said, being fellow Marines, there was no need for them to kill each other.
"If the two Admirals have no other business, I'll take my leave now." Hyaku said to them.
He picked up the package that had fallen to the ground, put it away, and turned to leave.
"You're just letting him go like that?" After Hyaku left, Kizaru touched the burning wound on his chest and questioned Aokiji.
"What else can we do? You saw it yourself — he doesn't have what we're looking for on him." Aokiji shrugged.
With the clothes Hyaku was wearing, there was nowhere to hide anything. The only package that could have contained something had also proven to be normal.
"With Hyaku's character, if properly cultivated, he will undoubtedly become a great asset to the Marines. But if we make him lose trust in the Marines, it will be very troublesome. That's something Marine Headquarters doesn't want to see." Aokiji added.
He then looked at Kizaru's wound and teased.
"Better get that wound treated quickly. A Marine Admiral, slashed by a newly appointed Captain — if word gets out, it might cause quite an uproar."
"What about you?" Kizaru asked.
"Naturally, I'm going to have a good chat with our future Marine star." With that, Aokiji waved his hand and left.
Seeing this, Kizaru shook his head.
Beep!
His body instantly transformed into elemental form, becoming countless points of light. With a whoosh, he vanished from the spot.
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The view returns to Hyaku.
After saying goodbye to the Admirals, he headed straight back to the inn.
Once in his room, he sat down.
"System Panel." Hyaku immediately called up the system panel.
" Supreme Swordsman System "
" Host: Hyaku Shiro "
" Swordsmanship: Basic Swordsmanship "
" Techniques: Rokushiki | Azure Dragon Sword Intent (75%) | Rokkōgiri (30%) | Three Colors of Haki (20%) "
" Weapon: Katana Ryūka "
" Constitution: A-Grade "
" Other: Pluton Blueprint "
{T/N: I decided to leave Basic Swordsmanship alone in the category, since the author seems to want to change it to something better in the future. I thought it was everything involving swords, but it's not. So I'll leave everything in techniques instead.}
After the battle with Kizaru, all of his abilities and techniques had improved significantly.
More importantly, his constitution had broken through to A-Grade. This higher level constitution gave Hyaku strength, speed, and explosive power far beyond his previous capabilities. His current strength was now incomparable to what it had been before.
Next, he looked at the last section of the system panel.
"Thank goodness the system reminded me of this function at the crucial moment." Hyaku thought with relief.
The Pluton blueprint hadn't disappeared, nor had he hidden it somewhere on his person.
It had been stored in the system!
When he first acquired the Pluton blueprint, the system had sent him a prompt. Certain special items that came into his possession could be stored directly in the system panel.
Unless he actively summoned them with his consciousness, others couldn't access them at all.
It was precisely because of this function that Hyaku had successfully dispelled the two Admirals' suspicions.
"Before the time is right, I'd better not take out this blueprint." Hyaku reminded himself.
If others discovered the Pluton blueprint was in his hands, it would attract the attention of countless factions.
A moment later, he waved his hand and dismissed the system panel.
Looking down at his sweat and dust-covered body, he took out a set of clean clothes and headed to the bathhouse on the first floor of the inn.
The inn where Hyaku was staying didn't have individual shower rooms, only a large communal bathhouse.
He didn't mind. He entered the bathhouse, quickly washed himself, and then sank into the warm bath. Nothing felt more refreshing than soaking after an intense battle.
Clang!
Suddenly, the bathhouse door swung open, and a figure walked in.
Since it was already late at night, Hyaku was the only one in the entire bathhouse. Hearing the noise, he looked over curiously.
The person walking in was none other than Admiral Aokiji!
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T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
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