One Piece: Who still has dreams?

Redio plunged a shovel into the ground on the bank, and without using his feet, he used only his arm strength to completely sink the pure iron shovel into the ground, slowly and powerfully digging out hundreds of pounds of soil.

Nami watched from the side, shaking her head: "How did you develop such superhuman strength?"

While digging the hole, Redio suddenly said, "The human brain actually has a kind of self-protective instinct. When muscle strength accumulates to a dangerous limit, the brain will make you have the illusion of giving up in order to protect the muscles from tearing and injury."

Nami raised her hand, closed her eyes, and concluded, "This is called 'I'm tired,' thank you."

Redio felt that he was in a similar situation.

I can withstand 10 tons of pressure, although that's the limit and I wouldn't be able to move. But I can walk freely while carrying 5 tons, which is no problem at all.

Five tons—that's the normal amount of power I should be able to exert at this stage.

But perhaps due to the subconsciousness of his previous life as an Earthling, his body was unable to gather these forces. Whenever the amount exceeded about 2 or 3 tons, his muscles seemed to go on strike, refusing to obey orders or commands.

Initially, Reddio consulted Zoro about this issue.

The green algae-headed man replied matter-of-factly, "I don't know, I haven't thought about that. As long as I have a knife in my hand, I can use all my strength to chop."

Thank you, Enma Sword Holder.

Redio became even more determined not to become a one-sided talent. It was too unreliable for his abilities to be significantly diminished without his sword. Although, currently, it seemed his strength was decreasing regardless of whether he had a sword or not…

Even if I can mobilize even greater power, I won't get hurt. This has already been proven time and again when I was training in an environment with 5 times the gravity!

But my brain seems to be going through a rebellious phase: putting aside the facts, my brain has a different opinion. You're still young, you'll understand when you grow up. You need to take care of your body, don't wait until you're old to regret it...

Reddio jolted awake and shook his head. He'd been thinking about these things so much lately that he was almost obsessed.

He quickly dug a large pit, buried the lion's carcass, and erected a simple monument.

The lion had at least caught a mouse for him once, so he deserved credit.

……

"Sirobu Village should be located at the southernmost point of this small island..."

Nami, recalling the map information, led the way along a deserted country path.

Redio laughed, "Then hurry up, run! You think you can't outrun me?"

Nami was speechless: "I'm so weak! It's not surprising that I can't outrun a monster like you."

Despite saying that, she had spent many years at sea, engaging in petty theft and other illegal activities, so she was still quite confident in her ability to run away. Therefore, she reluctantly followed Redio on his escape.

Nami quickly noticed that Redio's running movements, posture, and even the sound of his footsteps had a comfortable rhythm. Even when Nami sped up, Redio could easily keep up, and after running a distance, it was clear that Redio expended less energy than Nami for the same distance and speed.

"Hey...stop...stop for a second..."

With his hands chained, Zango followed behind them, exhausted to the bone! He was covered in sweat, his face contorted in pain, and he stumbled and crawled southwards as Redio led him by the rope.

After running for just over an hour and passing through two towns, I suddenly saw a group of five people walking south on the same road ahead.

Among the five people were a little girl, a refined couple, a man dressed in a butler's suit with a hairstyle like a sheep, and another man in a large old trench coat, who seemed to be completely out of place with them.

The oddly dressed group of five, carrying large and small bags, were chatting and laughing, clearly having had a happy shopping spree in the town they had just visited.

……

The handsome man in the old trench coat was chatting happily with Miss Kaya's family and the butler, Meili. He was well-traveled at sea and had a wealth of knowledge, so dealing with the silly rich people, silly young ladies, and silly butlers in this small town was a piece of cake for him.

But suddenly, someone nearby shouted, "Kro!"

"Huh?" Kaya and her family stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. A strange group of three people walked towards them from the roadside. The leader was a tall young man, next to him was a cute and beautiful orange-haired girl, and next to him was a man with strange eyes, whose hands were tied and who looked so tired that he stuck out his tongue.

"Kro?" The 14-year-old young lady from a well-to-do family asked the man in the trench coat with a face full of curiosity, "Krabatel, are they calling you?"

“…” Kro said, “Of course not, Miss.”

"really?"

Reddio walked towards them with a smile, and with a "whoosh," pulled out a wanted poster for Captain Crowe from his pocket, comparing the large photo on the poster to his face. "Is that you in the photo?" he asked.

Kro calmly replied, "No."

Since he hasn't had plastic surgery, he must be confident that the blurry photo on the wanted poster can't definitively prove his identity. He can simply claim that they just look a bit alike, and it's no big deal.

Butler Meli glanced at the bounty poster and was shocked by the 1600 million Berries. She quickly explained, "You must be joking. How could Krabatel be such a vicious pirate? Two months ago, the master and madam saw him starving to death on the roadside and took him in. If he were such a vicious pirate, how could he be so desperate?"

Your home is the path he's destined to take.

Redio put away the bounty poster and called out, "Hey! Hypnotist over there, who is this person?"

A fierce glint flashed in Chloe's eyes.

Zango stammered, "He's Captain Crowe! He said he was tired of being chased by the Navy, so he used my hypnosis to find a scapegoat for them. He...he...he...he carefully selected a wealthy man, planning to seize their wealth and live in anonymity from then on. Captain Crowe, I'm so sorry, I was hypnotized and could only tell the truth. I'm so sorry, please don't kill me!!!"

Kaya's parents were terrified and grabbed their bewildered daughter. Chloe stood there, expressionless.

Kaya asked fearfully, "Krabatel, is this true?"

Kro pushed up his glasses with a strange gesture and looked coldly at the terrified Zango. "Zango, don't get me wrong. It's not just about taking the property. What I want is to live a peaceful life away from crime. I need to use your hypnosis to make them write a will that leaves their entire estate to me. It has to be done flawlessly."

"You..." Kaya's parents and the housekeeper, Meili, glared at him angrily. Fortunately, they hadn't known each other for long and their relationship wasn't very deep, but they were still filled with fear.

"But it doesn't matter. You're not the only hypnotist on the high seas. After I kill you, I can find another one. Besides, there are even better hypnotic techniques in the world..."

A cold glint flashed across his glasses as he suddenly lunged at Miss Kaya, shouting, "That's 'love'!"

when!

Redio raised his knife to block Crow, and smiled at the terrified Kaya family and the butler, Melly, saying, "Excuse me, a fight is about to break out over here."

Chapter 20: Not thinking about anything.

Kro's agility was indeed remarkable. While muttering incomprehensible phrases like "love is a stronger form of hypnosis," he took out a pair of special gloves from the lining of his trench coat. The gloves were "cat claws" with ten sharp blades sewn onto each finger. His movements were so fast that even Reddio almost didn't see them clearly.

But Redio had already been preparing for his desperate act when he was about to reveal his identity, so he decisively drew his chef's sword and blocked the claw that was about to strike Kaya.

With the sharpness and hardness of the greatsword, the five blades tied to Crowe's right hand immediately chipped in several places, with the one on his middle finger, which was subjected to the most force, snapping off completely.

Redio said, "If reasoning doesn't work, then resort to force? Kidnapping a little girl and forcing her parents to give you their inheritance—isn't that still a crime, still pirate behavior?"

"..." Kro looked at Redio coldly.

Kaya was pale and still in disbelief. Just a moment ago, Krabatel was so polite and kind. How could he suddenly become so terrifying?

The housekeeper, Meili, pulled Kaya along and pushed the master and mistress, urging them to quickly move away.

"I never expected that my plan would fail so completely as soon as it started."

Kro looked at the ten blades in his hands... now nine blades, and coldly glanced at the pale-faced Django over there, "I just want to live an ordinary life, why do you have to force me?"

With a clang, Redio actually sheathed the Royal Chef.

Kro looked up at him. "What do you mean? Are you scared? I have no intention of letting you or anyone else here leave alive."

Nami raised her hand in objection: "I didn't do anything to you!"

Redio laughed, "My knife is too good; it might accidentally cut off all your claws, which won't do. Hmm... forget about this one. I doubt your claws could withstand that either." With that, he untied the three-section staff made of sea stone, Youyun, and threw it aside along with the chef.

Seeing this, Kro's face remained calm, but his eyes were bloodshot, clearly feeling severely insulted. He was about to take a step forward and begin his attack when the kid opposite him suddenly stretched out his hand: "Wait, wait, wait!"

"I almost forgot,"

He turned around and called out, "Sir and lady over there, would you like me to help you deal with this wretched Captain Crowe with a bounty of 1600 million Berries?"

Nami was truly exasperated. Even at a time like this, this guy still hadn't forgotten this strange quirk.

"..."

Veins bulged on Kro's forehead, and with a flicker, he disappeared before everyone's eyes.

What a great speed!

Redio's pupils contracted, only catching a blurry shadow. The distinctive sound of a sharp blade slicing through the air reached his ears. He hastily twisted to dodge, but was still cut on the arm by the "cat's claw."

Kro's weapon, with blades sewn onto all ten fingers, is practically a tacky version of the Six Meridians Divine Sword. With a light flick of his fingers, he can greatly increase the range of the blades' attacks. Combined with his superhuman speed, it is indeed a formidable threat.

"Captain Crowe's speed is a silent killing technique..." Zango muttered to himself, his face grim. "Even facing 50 assassins, he could take them all down without a sound. Your friend daring to challenge him is simply courting death..."

Nami couldn't tell who was stronger or weaker. She knew Reddio was strong, but Kro's speed was also as fast as teleportation. When she heard what Django said, she got really nervous. When she got nervous, she seemed to have no control over what she was saying and whispered something to Kaya's family next to her.

Butler Mary shouted, "Mr. Reddio! Go for it! Please help us defeat Captain Crowe!"

[Merry has entrusted you with a mission: Defeat Crow]

Estimated Difficulty: ★★

Kro's attack failed, and he disappeared again in a flash, constantly reappearing in front of, behind, to the left and right of Redio, extending his "cat claws" from various angles.

[Task accepted]

Since he couldn't compete in agility, Redio simply gave up and focused his eyes on the footwork of his opponent during each brief appearance.

He hadn't forgotten his original purpose. By banning Yu Chuzi and You Yun, he wanted to prolong the one-on-one fight as much as possible and observe Kro's body movements carefully.

In just a few minutes of silent movement, Kroo had carved dozens of bloody wounds all over Redio's body.

I'm gradually getting used to this speed...

Redio suddenly raised his arm to the side, his muscles bulging. The cat's claw that was thrusting out just then slashed into his forearm with a soft thud, but it only went in a few centimeters before being stuck by the muscles, leaving him unable to move.

“You really didn’t get the nickname wrong,” Redio laughed. “You, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, do attack like a harmless kitten. What, you have speed but no strength?”

“…?!” Kro’s five sharp blades in his left hand were stuck in the muscles of the other’s forearm and he couldn’t pull them out. Just as he was shocked by the kid’s strength, he was hit hard in the abdomen.