Chapter 179 – Who the hell do you think I am? Bring that ship over here for me!!
"Have you decided where to go next?"
Now that he had the Pure Gold locator, the most important thing was to obtain the Pure Gold. As for Bullet, although he had joined his pirate crew, for now he was still a ticking time bomb.
That guy was probably willing to submit for the time being, but if he came into contact with Captain John and the others, it might cause unnecessary trouble.
"You're not going to sea?"
A trace of surprise flashed in Bullet's eyes before he continued, "I need to recover for a while. I'll stay here."
The battle with Renji had shattered nearly every bone in his body.
If not for the protection of Haki, he felt that Renji's last punch might have killed him outright.
"That works too."
If Bullet chose to stay, Renji was only too glad.
In fact, he would rather Bullet remain here.
After settling Bullet, Renji went to find Amatsuki Toki. Seeing her unconscious, he sighed inwardly—what a pitiful child, once again knocked out by Conqueror's Haki.
"Wake up."
Renji patted Toki's cheeks, but when she showed no sign of waking, he could only feel helpless.
It seemed she still needed more training. Though her Devil Fruit ability was support-oriented, power was power and physique was physique. She couldn't remain this fragile.
He could only carry her. It wasn't the first time anyway.
After leaving the Kamui space, Renji immediately took out the Pure Gold detector, something like the radar from Dragon Ball.
A single point and direction appeared on it, the flashing point marking the current location of the Pure Gold. But the point was constantly moving.
It seemed the anglerfish that had swallowed the island was swimming nonstop. Finding it would not be easy.
"Damn, if it's like this, how the hell am I supposed to find it?"
He could dive into the sea—after using the Devil Fruit side-effect removal scroll, he no longer suffered from its weaknesses.
But the deep-sea pressure was deadly if one was careless.
And the fish was constantly moving. From the detector, Renji guessed it was somewhere in the first half of the Grand Line.
"Renji-sama?"
Just then, Toki murmured weakly beside him.
She had awakened, her eyes filled with grievance as she looked at him, clearly not forgetting what had just happened.
Once again she had fainted from Renji's Conqueror's Haki.
"Sorry. I thought the distance was far enough not to affect you."
Meeting her resentful gaze, Renji coughed awkwardly and gave an explanation.
"It's fine. Just warn me next time."
So gentle!
A flicker of surprise passed through Renji's eyes, and all the words he had prepared vanished.
He couldn't help but feel guilty toward her.
"What about that guy?"
Toki didn't dwell on the matter, instead glancing around. The one who had fought Renji earlier wasn't here.
Had he already left?
"Did Renji-sama lose?"
"No. That guy's lying down now—it's over. We're searching for something. Once we find it, we can return."
"What is it?"
Toki asked curiously, though her heart felt reluctant.
These days with Renji at sea, she had come to feel the vast charm of the ocean.
She couldn't imagine what Wano would be like after opening its borders, and she looked forward to that future with hope.
Although she wanted to continue adventuring, since Renji said so, she didn't refuse. Still, she was curious about what he was seeking.
Was this why Renji had left Wano?
"Pure Gold, something that grants immortality."
"Does such a thing really exist?"
Toki's eyes lit up. No woman could resist such temptation.
Even she couldn't. Though her Time Fruit let her travel to the future, she couldn't stop her body from aging.
Could Pure Gold, as Renji claimed, truly exist in this world?
"Yes. This time I came out specifically to find it."
That hadn't been the original goal, but it became so later.
According to the anglerfish's locator—
Renji noticed the point was actually moving toward them.
Was Conqueror's Luck working?
Buggy's Conqueror's Luck always felt like some mystical force, stranger and stronger than any reward.
After all, with that luck, Buggy had become a Warlord of the Sea, then a company boss, and later even one of the Four Emperors.
Truly, that was Buggy.
"Renji-sama, is this what they call an adventure?"
Seeking Pure Gold was treasure hunting.
Toki realized she was adventuring with Renji.
This was something she had never experienced. After eating the Time Fruit, she had borne her mission, traveling endlessly through the tunnels of time, searching for the right era.
Though centuries had passed, she was still just a young girl.
Adventure fascinated her.
"Sort of. Let's head toward the location first."
Renji looked at the detector. The point was deep under the sea. To reach it, they would need a coated ship.
Renji the Pirate: [Can you get me a submarine? I need it to find Pure Gold!]
The fish was in the deep sea. A submarine would help a lot.
He himself didn't fear the sea, but Toki did. He could leave her in Kamui space, but her sparkling eyes showed she wanted to come. She wanted to adventure with him.
And after what happened with his Haki, Renji felt some guilt.
So, after thinking, he decided to fetch a submarine from another world.
Renji Daily: [Hold on, I'll ask Gin to get me one!]
They were in their honeymoon phase, so he wasn't worried Gin would refuse.
It seemed ridiculous. Renji's ability to manage sea, land, and air baffled others. Gin even suspected Renji was preparing to start a war more insane than his own.
This bastard—give him an air, land, and sea strike force and he could probably wipe out a small nation.
Though Gin couldn't understand it and was deeply shaken, he still managed to get Renji a military submarine.
On the other side, Shuichi Akai, upon learning about Gin's recent purchase, fell into deep thought.
Renji Daily: [Hold on a bit, it'll be delivered soon!]
Renji the Pirate: [OK!]
After three days, the submarine was finally delivered.
Inside the Kamui space, where he had been recovering, Bullet was wrapped in bandages, curiously inspecting the submarine before him.
He had seen submarines before, but never one like this. Its complexity far surpassed any he had encountered, with deeper diving capability and advanced weapons like underwater missiles. It was far more powerful than anything he had seen.
"Where did you even get this submarine? Even the World Government doesn't have something this advanced, do they?"
Bullet touched the instruments as he familiarized himself. He seemed born to handle weapons; though this was his first time operating such a submarine, he quickly figured it out. Controlling its descent was easier than he imagined.
"Good. You should specialize in military engineering from now on."
Renji always felt some people in the pirate world had their skill points set strangely.
Still, having someone who could master it so quickly was a blessing.
He definitely didn't want to waste time teaching idiots like Kaido. Who knew if they could even learn it?
"You've got more of these?"
"There are even better toys."
Not yet, but there would be in the future.
"All right, let me see them later." Bullet didn't refuse. Such things held deadly allure for him. Then he looked at Renji and asked, "Where are we going, Captain?"
"The deep sea. Follow this radar."
Renji pointed to the blinking dot on the Pure Gold radar. Bullet glanced at it, surprised.
Another piece of high-tech. It looked like a locator. This man really was full of secrets.
But Bullet didn't dwell on it. None of that mattered to him. He hadn't joined the crew for technology—he joined to defeat Renji.
"Renji-sama, it seems to be getting closer!"
Toki pointed at the glowing marker. The distance was shrinking, as if it were coming straight toward them.
"No, it's still some ways off. We'll need to dive for quite a while. But treasure? We're all Devil Fruit users—none of us can retrieve it, right?"
Bullet estimated the distance after looking at the marker. The treasure was deep undersea.
With three Devil Fruit users, there was no way they could get it.
"Who says so?"
"Wait—there's someone else on this sub?"
Bullet was surprised. His Observation Haki didn't sense a fourth person. Could it be some master of Haki concealing themselves?
Impossible.
If so, why hadn't they revealed themselves?
As Bullet controlled the submarine's descent, he watched the marker draw closer. In the pitch-dark depths, nothing was visible, but his Observation Haki sensed a massive Sea King approaching.
And as it neared, the deep ocean seemed to light up.
The anglerfish!!
"Bullet, hold the sub steady. I'm heading out."
"Oh—wait, what the hell, you're going out?!"
Bullet stared in disbelief, and even Toki quickly grabbed Renji.
This had to be a joke!
Devil Fruit users diving into the deep sea was suicide!
"I'm not afraid of seawater."
Renji looked at them seriously. Then, under their stunned gazes, he left the submarine.
Through the sub, Bullet's Observation Haki sensed Renji charging straight at the anglerfish. He froze.
So he really could do it?!
Then he wasn't a Devil Fruit user?!
For a moment, Bullet was completely thrown off.
Ahead, the anglerfish was charging at Renji, something seemingly chasing it from behind.
"Perfect timing."
Renji felt the crushing pressure around him, a weight pressing on his chest.
But soon he adapted to the depths. Covered in Armament Haki, he threw a punch at the anglerfish.
He had planned only to retrieve the Pure Gold, but now he changed his mind. He wanted the anglerfish too. Its nature was to swallow all glowing objects, which could help him find more treasures in the future.
"The very sea trembles—he can strike with such power even in the depths! The gap between us just grew again!"
Inside the submarine, Bullet felt the cabin shake and was stunned.
A Devil Fruit user able to function underwater was shocking enough, but to strike with such overwhelming power down here? The ocean was no battlefield for land-born creatures!
Yet the anglerfish took a single punch, rolled its eyes, and fainted.
Damn!
When had the sea gained such a monster?
"Pure Gold secured!"
Renji absorbed the anglerfish, along with part of the seawater, into Kamui space, preparing to leave.
Just then, a delighted voice reached his ears. "Renji-sama?!"
"Lilia?"
The mermaid he had once saved at the Sabaody Archipelago—she was here again?
"Renji-sama, it's me!"
Lilia's cheeks flushed as she looked at him, asking excitedly, "Renji-sama, I've grown up. Can you take me with you?"
She had been happy on Fish-Man Island, but what she truly wanted was to adventure with Renji.
Back at Sabaody, Renji had refused her once.
That rejection had left her somewhat disappointed, and since then she had always looked forward to meeting him again.
Now that she saw him, she wouldn't let this chance slip away.
"Of course."
Back then he had refused her because he didn't want to bring along a child and ruin his image of mermaids, and because he had been in the Rocks Pirates, making it impossible to take her.
But now, there was no reason to refuse.
"So, you just recruit people this casually?"
Bullet muttered as he eyed the mermaid. He hadn't expected Renji to return with one, then glanced at Toki, hesitating.
He wanted to warn Renji not to get lost in beauty.
Otherwise his strength might decline, and Bullet didn't want his rival weakened by such things.
But what excuse could he use?
Weren't pirates at sea for exactly this—treasure, adventure, women?
Who else was as pure as him, chasing only strength?
"I don't recruit people for their usefulness or power. I don't care how strong they are—none of them are stronger than me anyway!"
"..."
The words were arrogant, yet Bullet had no argument.
Renji decided to deal with the two inside the anglerfish later. Once things here were settled, he brought the three of them back to Wano.
And upon return, he saw Kaido—and the little girl hiding behind him.
What the hell—after all those years at sea, you went and had a daughter?!
Kaido, that was seriously unbrotherly!
He had guessed Kaido's daughter must have been born during those years, but seeing her now was still a surprise.
And not just Yamato. Kaido had also found the Three Calamities. But right now, King of the Ships was still just a child, far from the imposing figure in the anime who once faced Sengoku, Tsuru, and Fujitora head-on.
(End of Chapter)
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