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"Of course I ran!"
The moment he dashed out, Larson had already put dozens of meters between himself and the rest.
Whitebeard twitched the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, he was long accustomed to Larson's character and this kind of scene.
Whitebeard caught up with Larson as he ran, glancing back to observe the black tide behind them.
He smiled and said, "Hehe, it's really much smaller than what we saw at the beginning."
"Of course," Larson replied calmly—though his running legs betrayed his nerves.
The black tide initially formed as one massive surge. Then, Whitebeard and Roger had split it into two. Now, due to the fearless efforts of Garp and Sengoku, it had been split again, reducing it to a quarter of its original size.
And perhaps due to the grudge the Kuroshio held against Larson and the others, it stubbornly pursued them. Along the way, it ignored other people unless they directly stood in its path. The black tide wasn't about to pass up anyone foolish enough to stand in its way.
So even after chasing Larson and Whitebeard for so long, the black tide hadn't gained much ground or grown significantly in size.
"I believe that if we split these black waves a few more times, they'll lose any real threat."
Whitebeard hesitated, saying, "But if it realizes it can't threaten us, could it go back and devour others to build itself up again?"
Larson's expression tightened momentarily, though he quickly regained his composure.
"That's fine. It would take time for it to devour others. We could circle around people, forcing it to take the longest route possible whenever it tries."
Whitebeard chuckled. "Are you going to get others involved again?"
Larson replied with a straight face, "How can you say that? What good is it for them to come here without facing some dangers? All the threats on this level are chasing us—no reason why we should always carry the load alone."
Whitebeard's eyes lit up. "I was a little guilty at first, but after what you said, I feel much better."
"Hmph."
The corners of Larson's mouth lifted slightly.
"Look, someone's there!"
Whitebeard focused on the distance. A few hundred meters ahead, both he and Larson noticed a group.
Based on their perception, there were at least a dozen people in that crowd!
Larson's eyes brightened. Just as he prepared to split the black tide again, he noticed this group would be the perfect target.
"Old Man, get ready to act."
Seeing Larson's excitement, Whitebeard sighed helplessly. At some point, Larson's roguish nature had worn down Whitebeard's usual seriousness.
The Noria Pirates were a small crew from the East Blue, numbering only about 20.
Recently, they'd been plundering the East Blue when they heard of an island called Yerug appearing there. Following the principle that Pirates never pass up opportunity, they headed straight for it.
But they ran into several Sea King attacks along the way, whittling their crew of over 20 down to just fifteen.
Their survival mostly depended on the captain of the Noria Pirates, a Devil Fruit user with superhuman abilities. He used his Devil Fruit powers to carve out a name for himself in the East Blue. Without him, they'd have likely suffered far more severe losses.
After stumbling onto Yerug Island, they considered themselves lucky. On the first floor, they encountered only one beast and quickly learned these creatures couldn't be killed. Escaping into the second level, they pressed on.
They lost three more crew members on the following levels before finally reaching the fourth floor of Yerug Island.
Now, twelve Noria Pirates rested.
Captain Noria lay on the ground, regaining his strength. Meanwhile, crew members on either side kept a vigilant watch, ready to detect any threats.
Their survival wasn't due to luck alone. Without strength, they'd have ended up like the shadows haunting the third floor.
"Captain, it seems there's no danger here. I think we've reached the core of the island."
A man with sharp features approached Noria and whispered.
Noria opened his eyes. "Impossible. You've all seen the dangers of this island. If there's no immediate threat, it only means something worse lies ahead. This is no time to let our guard down. Remind everyone: stay sharp. If we fail here, everything we've fought for will be in vain."
"Yes!"
The sharp-featured man rose and shouted, "Everyone, keep your spirits high! Victory is within reach, but we can't fall here!"
"Snap!"
The sharp-mouthed, monkey-chinned man fell to the ground in pain, clutching his head as he looked up at his captain in confusion.
Noria sneered. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know where we are? Yelling like that—do you want to announce our location to everyone here?"
Only then did the sharp-featured man realize how reckless he'd been.
As Noria shot him a sharp glance, a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. He turned to look behind them, instincts flaring. He couldn't explain it, but years at sea had heightened his senses. Something was approaching, and fast.
His mind raced. Was it drawn here by that fool's loud voice? Could it be other Pirates who'd come to the island—or perhaps one of the island's creatures?
Either way, it wasn't good news.
He raised an arm, signaling those nearby to stand and ready their weapons.
At the same moment, Noria's body began to shift, transforming as if made of liquid.
This was the power of his Devil Fruit—a Paramecia-type, Liquid Fruit.
It allowed him to liquefy his body, enabling him to mimic Logia-type abilities by letting attacks pass through him harmlessly. While his Devil Fruit wasn't especially powerful offensively, it often gave him a surprising edge in combat.
For example, when an opponent swung a sword at him, he could liquefy, causing the weapon to pass through his body. Yet, he remained able to launch counterattacks seamlessly.
With this ability, Noria had risen from an unknown figure in the East Blue to the captain of a Pirate crew.
Though his crew wasn't particularly formidable, they still held a certain reputation in the East Blue.
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