One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

Chapter 112 Dyeing the World Black

"1991...1992...1993..."

Northeast of Beehive Island, in an open space surrounded by lush trees, Seori Tsu, carrying a 5-ton iron block on his back, supported the ground with one hand, and bent down to do push-ups little by little.

As if due to the rigorous training requirements, she tied her white hair into a neat high ponytail. Apart from the blue pants skirt on her lower body, she was only wrapped in a thick and tight chest wrap. Although the chest wrap was like a layer of solid armor, firmly protecting the wound on her body, it also restricted the depth and frequency of her breathing, making it extremely difficult for her to breathe in every time.

Moreover, she has a huge iron ring on her wrist and ankle respectively, and the heavy texture makes people feel its weight at a glance. Every time she completes a set of movements, the short chain tied to the iron ring will make a crisp and sonorous sound, as if cheering for her every effort, encouraging her to constantly break through herself in this extreme exercise.

Fine beads of sweat continued to slide down her cheeks, falling drop by drop onto the ground and gradually forming a small puddle. Her breathing became heavier, but her eyes remained clear and firm as always, without a moment of fatigue.

"1999...2000!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Seorizu suddenly flipped up from the ground, not caring at all that the ground behind him was hit by the big iron lump and had a big hole in it. He raised his hands high above his head and shouted excitedly, "Yeah! I finally finished the first set! It doesn't seem as difficult as I imagined!"

She stretched her stiff arms a little, and her bright face showed an eager expression, "Okay... Next, let's try to get ten groups as our goal for today—"

Before she finished speaking, the smile on her face froze instantly, with a hint of embarrassment. Her eyes turned to several figures of different heights slowly walking out of the woods not far away. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and her expression management gradually became out of control.

"Just as Big Brother expected, you really came to this abandoned training ground..."

——Oops! We've been discovered!

After seeing the faces of those people clearly, a strong sense of uneasiness suddenly rose in Seto's heart. His light red eyes blinked a few times, and his sight swept over those children who looked no older than twelve years old, each of whom stared at him with a stern face. Finally, he fixed his gaze on the child in the lead with a fiery red three-section fan-shaped hairstyle. He touched the back of his head in great embarrassment and stammered, "Well...well...I just felt a little stuffy so I came out for a walk. After all, this place has unforgettable memories for me. I think you all...you won't mind, right?"

"There will be no ghost if you don't mind!"

At this moment, Charlotte Owen, with her eyes burning with flames like a demon, clenched her fists and roared at Setoorizu without mercy, scaring her like a trembling lamb, "How many times have I told you, sister?! Stay in your room and recuperate until your body is fully recovered! Don't even have the thought of sneaking out to practice! What if your injuries get worse?!"

"But...but, I also want to become more powerful than before."

Feeling aggrieved by Owen's barrage of reproaches, Seorizu lowered her head and pouted, rubbing her index fingers together as she whispered, "If any enemy attacks Beehive Island again while Kato and the others are away, I can at least protect you."

"Please don't worry about that, Ms. Seorizu."

Amanda, the third daughter of the Charlotte family, who is younger than Owen but looks much more mature and stable, put one hand on her waist and said in her usual calm tone, "Miss Stussy had already made all the necessary preparations before she left. Once an unauthorized ship appears in the waters five kilometers away, the island's defense system will automatically activate and open a semicircular transparent protective shield around the entire island. Anyone who tries to enter without permission will be instantly shattered to pieces. It is said that this is the result of her development based on Mr. Uno's ability."

"Really? Uno's ability..." Seorizu chewed on these words slowly, his face couldn't help but darken a little, thinking that the companion who had been with him day and night for three years is now gone, an indescribable sadness and guilt surged in his heart.

Although Owen was known to have a hot temper among the brothers and sisters, he was not so ignorant of people's words and expressions. Seeing that Setsu looked a little depressed, he coughed a few times and changed the subject, "It's been two weeks since Mom and the others left for the expedition, but there's been no news until now. Although she cut off contact with us through the Den Den Mushi in advance to prevent the news from leaking out, as her children, we are still a little worried."

"It's not that I don't trust my mother, but who can guarantee that there won't be any accidents when working with those pirates who have their own agenda?"

Daifuku, who has always been inseparable from Owen, naturally agreed with his brother's idea. He folded his arms across his chest, frowned, and snorted, "It just so happens that there is some trouble on Katakuri's side at this time. Even though Brother Peros has gone to mediate, those guys will probably not let it go. After all, even Brulee - um!" Before he could finish his words, the siblings Cracker and Castadel beside him quickly covered his mouth to stop him from continuing.

"No matter what, since this is the choice made by Lingling and the others, what we have to do is respect the decision of our companions."

Fortunately, Setoori had already shifted her attention to Lingling and the others, and didn't pay close attention to what Daifuku was saying. She clenched her right fist tightly in front of her chest, her eyes full of determination and clarity, "Don't worry! They have survived so many crises, I believe they will be fine - huh? What happened to everyone?"

Seeing the Charlotte children suddenly become silent and look up at the sky in doubt, Seto felt very strange, but still followed the crowd's gaze. It would not have mattered if he hadn't looked, but when he looked, Seto was so shocked that his mouth couldn't close, his pupils shrank sharply, and even his heartbeat seemed to stop.

Because she saw that a thick layer of black fog was gradually spreading in the distant sky. The black fog was swirling and rolling in the clouds, like countless hideous and strange human faces, spreading towards their direction. In a blink of an eye, it had covered half of the sky. The heavy sense of oppression made everyone feel suffocated.

"Eh? This..."

Setoorizu's eyes widened in disbelief, and even his speech was a little slurred, "What on earth is going on?"

At the same time, after witnessing this scene that could not be explained by common sense, the pirates in the town stopped what they were doing and inevitably fell into chaos.

"Hey! Did you all see that? The sky suddenly turned dark without any warning!"

"Could it be the most violent storm in history... No, even if it's a natural disaster, it can't be this exaggerated, right?!"

"What are you all still standing there for? Hurry up and take all your treasures and prepare to escape! Anyway, we have no obligation to keep an eye on this island for Rocks!"

"We wanted to, too! But the problem is that Kalpa suddenly disappeared! We searched everywhere but couldn't find him! That bastard still owes us a huge debt!"

"It was because that guy was always honest, so when he claimed that he would pay back all the money in half a month, everyone believed him without hesitation. Who knew that he would sneak away! He even took the ship called 'Flying Shark' with him!"

"What the hell are you doing here, you good-for-nothings! That boat is a speedboat that can reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. It can sail freely without even touching the sea surface! Once Lord Wang Zhi finds out about this, you and I will be implicated!"

"There are even more troubles than this! If he finds out that several of our brothers were killed by that eel-eating kid from Charlotte's family, I'm afraid the situation will be completely out of control, right? After all, that gentleman has been unhappy with the Charlotte family for a long time..."

On this day, residents of islands all over witnessed the haze covering the sky. The doomsday-like scene was deeply imprinted in everyone's mind, making them never forget this picture of fear for the rest of their lives.

Many people rushed to flee the town and planned to escape by boat. However, when they finally squeezed into the port, they unexpectedly found that all the ships docked on the shore had disappeared, without even any wreckage left, as if they had disappeared out of thin air.

What is even more strange is that the originally azure blue sea is covered with a layer of turbid and sticky black mud. There is not a single ripple on the sea. From a distance, it looks like a swamp polluted by death, and its former beauty and clarity can no longer be seen.

The black mud attached to the sea surface surged around as if it had self-awareness, and it seemed that its appetite, like a bottomless pit, could never be satisfied, wanting to devour everything around it.

In an instant, rolling black fog spread to the distant sky with an overwhelming force. The originally bright and warm sunlight seemed extremely fragile and helpless in the face of this thick and inky darkness, and was gradually completely blocked by it.

As the black fog continued to spread, the entire sky, and even the entire world fell into endless darkness. The earth lost its light, the mountains and rivers were hidden in the shadows of darkness, and the flowers, plants and trees all lost their vitality and vitality.

People looked around in horror and despair, their hearts filled with fear and uneasiness about the unknown darkness. The world they once knew became so strange and terrifying, as if the angry gods had punished the mortal world in order to punish mankind. They could only linger in this eternal dark world, waiting for death to come.

"Darkness Fruit...?"

Garp seemed to have thought of something, and he repeatedly chewed on the word with his head. Then he slapped his head and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "I remember it! I have seen it in the illustrations before. It is said that this ability can suck anything into the darkness and crush it to pieces. It can even limit the performance of the ability user, but in return, it needs to bear the risk of doubling the pain!"

At this point he gave himself a thumbs up and said proudly, "As expected of me, I still remember everything I taught in my school days clearly!"

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Roger was so angry that his face turned into a shark's. He couldn't help but punched Garp on the head, "Otherwise, I might have thought of a solution a long time ago!"

"Hehe, don't worry, I've already figured out how to deal with that guy."

Garp, who did not change at all because of Roger's punch, rubbed the big bump on his head, but showed a smile that did not match his embarrassed appearance. "From what I know, that guy should be able to suck the ability user directly and invalidate his ability. In other words, if the landlubbers encounter that guy, it will be very difficult to deal with him."

Roger turned his head and stared blankly at Garp's confident face. He really didn't expect that this old rival who seemed to be a bit stupid would come up with a conclusion after careful consideration. He touched the back of his head with a curious look on his face and asked, "So, what are you going to do...?"

"Since my ability can't work on him, can't I just use my Haki to deal with him?!"

Before Roger could finish his words, Garp suddenly stepped on the ground with his right foot. The ground around him exploded inch by inch. With the rising smoke and dust, he soared into the air like an arrow from a bow, and turned into a dazzling stream of light that shot straight into the sky. Roger's complaining voice could be vaguely heard from behind him: "Isn't the result no different from just going up and beating him up?!"

The strong wind from below made Rocks's robes rustle. But he seemed not to notice it, with his hands quietly clasped in front of his chest, standing on the top of the black fog like a rock, his face always showing a calm demeanor, without any intention of avoiding it, letting the black fist dragging a long black and red lightning gradually appear in his field of vision.

The next second, the whole sky did not utter a deafening sound as expected, but fell into silence. At the same time, Karp's eyes suddenly widened, and his pupils trembled constantly. The expression on his face changed from the initial determination to surprise, and then from surprise to surprise.

The moment his fist touched the black air lingering around Rocks, it was as if he had hit a ball of cotton. His usually powerful and domineering fist force was like a drop in the ocean, and there was no response at all.

"I can't remember how long ago, many guys, after finding out about my abilities, came to challenge me with the fluke mentality that they could win by learning domineering aura, but they were all in extreme despair before being crushed into pieces. Do you know why?"

As if he had guessed what Garp was thinking from his face, Rocks reached out his hand like lightning and grabbed Garp's right wrist. He smiled sinisterly and gave Garp the answer before he could reply, "The results of their lifelong practice of Haki were all gone in an instant! For example, just like now..."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden gust of strong wind behind him. Without even turning his head, when the incoming long sword was about to hit the back of his neck, Rocks grabbed the Garp in his hand and threw it backwards.

With a muffled groan, the man seemed to have no time to react before he collided heavily with Garp who was flying towards him. The two of them shot back a few points faster than when they came, and crashed into the rock mountain behind them like a meteor across the sky. The entire rock mountain collapsed after such a strong impact, and countless rubbles fell down, raising a cloud of dust.

"It hurts! How come you can't even dodge this kind of attack?!"

"It's because of your reckless behavior that I can only feint a move to make sure I can rescue you. If your domineering aura is sucked away, who will be able to fight against that guy?!"

Just as Roger and Garp struggled to get up from the rubble and got into a fierce argument again, Rocks had already landed directly from the air and hovered one meter above the ground, looking down at the two people who had noticed his movements and once again stood on the same front. A barely perceptible sneer suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Use whatever trump cards you have as soon as possible, otherwise don't blame me for not reminding you."

Feeling an extremely surging pressure coming towards them, Roger and Garp swallowed their saliva unconsciously, as if they were in a huge whirlpool with no bottom, unable to find the direction or the fulcrum. Despite this, they did not choose to retreat. Instead, they looked at each other and nodded, and looked at Rocks who seemed to be waiting for their answer but was not in a hurry to take action, and shouted in unison.

"Then don't be too quick to regret it when you get knocked down, you Black Mist bastard!!"

On the west side of the central square of the Valley of the Gods, there stood a giant circular building surrounded by rolling hills. The surface of the wall was made entirely of refined alloy, which was extremely strong, obviously to prevent outsiders from discovering or breaking into the place.

At this moment, there was a tall young man standing in front of the collapsed gate, standing there like a petrified man, completely motionless, staring blankly at the unbelievable scene inside. His rough facial features seemed particularly stiff at this moment, his pupils almost shrunk to the point of a needle tip, and the mace in his hand seemed to be unstable because he could not withstand the turmoil in his heart, and fell to the ground with a clang.

What exactly is this place...?