Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

??????"Hey, idiot. How long are you going to keep biting your lip and rolling your eyes?"

??????Leona flicked her dark red high ponytail, her brows furrowing as she looked at the other woman's strange expression. "If you're going to fight, then hurry up and do it. I need to rush to the deep mountains to find even better ingredients."

??????Upon hearing this, Priest Gaidaz suddenly loosened his tightly clenched lower lip and gasped for breath, as if someone who had almost suffocated himself had finally been saved.

??????"Huff... Huff... I forgot the secret of breathing for a moment."

??????Gaidaz adjusted his aviator sunglasses, then his eyes suddenly turned cold as he pointed down at Leona: "Ignorant Qinghai woman! How dare you speak to the priest in charge of the Swamp Trial, where the survival rate is 50%? Before my Heart Net, your death is already sealed!"

??????Before he could finish speaking, Gaidaz jerked his elbows back sharply.

??????The two peculiar shells hidden in his elbows suddenly emitted a visible burst of high-pressure airflow!

??????"Jet Fist!"

??????Using the terrifying thrust generated by the Wind-Blowing Shell, Gadaz's massive body became a blur, instantly covering a distance of more than ten meters. His huge fist, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, slammed straight toward Leona's face.

??????What a great speed!

??????Leona's eyes narrowed, and her instincts from years of hunting giant beasts made her instinctively raise the black steel greatsword in her right hand and hold it horizontally in front of her chest.

??????"clang!"

??????A dull, loud bang.

??????The immense kinetic energy from the whirlwind slammed solidly into the black steel blade. Leona felt a jolt in her arms, the ground beneath her feet instantly crumbled, and she was propelled backward several meters by the brute force.

??????"The strength is barely passable, but this kind of straightforward attack is not even as good as a wild boar."

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????"it's useless!"

??????Gaidaz tumbled through the air and landed, sneering as he pointed at his head. "Under the perception of the Mind Network, every contraction of your muscles is reporting your next attack trajectory to me! You monkey from Qinghai, you can't even touch me!"

??????He spread his hands, and a heavy, viscous, purplish-gray cloud suddenly condensed in his palms.

??????"Go to hell, Swamp Cloud Burger!"

??????With a powerful swing, Geedaz sent the purplish-gray cloud hurtling towards Leona like a cannonball.

??????Leona didn't take the hit head-on, but dodged it.

??????"Bah."

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????"You might manage to dodge one, but what about the ten?"

??????Gaidaz's elbow-shaped jet of energy roared once more as he darted through the jungle like a flea, constantly shifting his position using the surrounding tree trunks. With each push, he unleashed a deadly cloud of swamp energy at Leona.

??????A vast expanse of purplish-gray clouds crashed down, blocking all of Leona's escape routes.

??????"Tch, it flies around like a fly."

??????Leona took a deep breath and gripped her two swords, one black and one silver, tightly. Faced with such a dense attack, she did not retreat but instead closed her eyes.

??????The strange sensation she had been forced out by the naval commodore's finger gun resurfaced in her mind.

??????She abandoned trying to catch the afterimage of Gaidaz's high-speed movement with her naked eye, instead immersing herself in the fluctuations of the surrounding airflow. The tearing sound of the airflow from the jet shell, the weight of the swamp cloud cutting through the air, and the malevolent killing intent emanating from Gaidaz.

??????I "saw" it.

??????Leona suddenly opened her wild, vertical pupils.

??????Facing the swamp clouds crashing down from the sky, she moved like a nimble female leopard, weaving through the gaps in the clouds.

??????"It's no use! I saw right through your moves!"

??????Using the thrust of the Jetpack, Gadaz pounced down from a blind spot in front of a giant tree, unleashing a powerful jet punch!

??????"Do you see right through me, or am I just waiting for you to come to me?"

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

????????????????????????????????

??????The heavy black steel sword collided head-on with the iron fist of the Wind-Breaking Shell.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????"What?!" Gaidaz was shocked. He had clearly predicted that his opponent would take the hit head-on, but this sudden release of force completely disrupted his rhythm.

??????"Your movements are too stiff."

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

?????????????????????????????

??????"Ahhhh!"

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????Having lost his source of speed, Gaidaz's massive body lost its balance in mid-air and crashed heavily into the swamp cloud he had just created.

??????"Cough cough...you bastard woman!"

??????Gaidaz tried to struggle out of the viscous swamp cloud, but the intense pain made his movements sluggish.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????Leona flicked her wrist, and with a whooshing sound, the back of her black steel greatsword slammed into Gedas's head, knocking the priest unconscious.

??????After confirming the enemy was unconscious, Leona let out a long breath. Since the captain had said that Skypiea was suitable for them to develop their base, these people would eventually become subordinates of their Eclipse Pirates, so she decided to spare his life for now. She touched the scabbard at her waist, glanced at the swamp clouds covering the ground, and turned to continue deeper into the jungle.

??????"But these so-called priests seem to be nothing special. Let's continue and see what fun things there are."

????????????

??????Apayado, an ancient ruin area entwined by giant vines.

??????Sunlight pierced through the dilapidated stone pillars, illuminating the ancient gold coins scattered on the ground and the moss-covered vessels.

??????"We're rich! We're rich! It's like gold is everywhere!"

??????Karina's eyes gleamed as she expertly scooped the scattered gold bars into a large sack. Above her, in the treetops, Bailey was idly preening his feathers.

??????Suddenly, Karina paused slightly as she picked up the gold coins.

??????She closed her eyes, and the intelligence network in her mind transmitted clear visual feedback. Less than two kilometers away in the sky, several scout seagulls were desperately flapping their wings to escape, while simultaneously transmitting back a massive, suffocating bio-electric wave.

??????"Bailey, look over there," Karina whispered.

??????Bailey immediately looked up, blinked his small eyes, and then reported in a low voice, "A big bug! A really big bug! It's crawling this way!"

??????Karina opened her eyes, took out a simple map of Apayado from her purse, and drew a big X on her current location with a red pen.

??????"A super-large cold-blooded animal with a body length of nearly 400 meters. Even in the Grand Line, a monster of this size would be considered a tyrant."

??????Karina calmly analyzed the information in her mind. Instead of panicking, she deftly zipped up the sack that was half full of gold and slung it over her shoulder.

??????"As expected of Jaya Island four hundred years ago, even the snakes have grown so exaggeratedly. Let the captain and Leona deal with these monsters; I'll just take the money."

??????She glanced at the treetops in the distance and could already faintly hear the rumbling sound of giant trees being crushed rapidly approaching.

??????Without pausing for a moment, Karina turned and disappeared into a complex underground passage beneath the ruins.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????The giant python flicked its scarlet tongue in a fit of rage, then could only helplessly and furiously sweep away several stone pillars with its tail before swimming away elsewhere.

??????Inside the underground passage, Karina calmly and methodically planned her next absolutely safe treasure hunt route, while looking at the map and using birds and radar.

Chapter 64 An Encounter with Wipa

??????Apayado, southern dense forest.

??????Sabo, top hat pressed down, carrying an alloy staff, walked steadily on the leaf-strewn soil. Unlike the clouds of Angel Island, the solid ground beneath his feet confirmed Karina's deduction: this entire island was Gaya Island, which had been swept into the sky four hundred years ago.

??????A sharp whooshing sound came from the side and behind without warning.

??????Sabo didn't even turn his head; his Observation Haki instantly detected the trajectory of the attack. He slightly raised the arm holding the staff, his dark Armament Haki covering the staff, and precisely parried backward.

??????"clang!"

??????A piercing metallic clang rang out in the silent forest.

??????A fierce, brute force traveled along the long staff, instantly shattering the ground beneath Sabo's feet. He was pushed forward half a step by the force.

??????Sabo turned around and looked at the attacker.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????Wipa, the strongest warrior of the Shandians.

??????"A person from Qinghai."

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????Before he finished speaking, a burst of high-pressure airflow erupted from the skateboard shoes under Wipa's feet.

??????His figure zigzaggled rapidly between the tree trunks, leaving afterimages in his wake. As he closed in on Sabo, the heavy rocket launcher in his hand was aimed directly at Sabo's chest.

??????"Incendiary Cannon!"

??????A terrifyingly hot, eerie blue flame roared from the cannon barrel, instantly turning the area where Sabo stood into a sea of ??????fire. Even the surrounding towering trees were rapidly carbonized by the intense heat.

??????"Is he dead?" Wipa landed on a distant tree branch using the recoil, coldly looking down.

??????"Is it using some kind of special gas in conjunction with the flames ejected by the wind turbine? The destructive power is indeed impressive."

??????A steady voice came from the center of that dark blue sea of ??????fire.

??????Wipa's pupils contracted sharply.

??????The flames, powerful enough to melt steel, strangely converged towards the center, like rivers flowing into the sea.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

??????Sabo raised his head, his blue eyes flashing with fighting spirit. His right arm instantly transformed into a dazzling orange-red flame, and the temperature of the surrounding air instantly surpassed the limits of the incendiary cannon.

??????"His body has turned into flames?!"