The Marine force surrounding the area was not particularly large, roughly one hundred soldiers.
The strongest among them were Marine Headquarters Captain Hina and her subordinate, Major Deren.
Hearing Aether shout while fleeing, Hina only sneered coldly.
This man who had suddenly appeared, Augustus D. Aether, had already caused her serious injuries earlier and forced her to waste three entire days investigating him.
Ti was sothing she could not afford to waste.
The Marine Headquarters had already issued a mobilization order. Elite Marines like her were required to return to Marineford imdiately.
Every extra day spent chasing this criminal increased the pressure placed on her.
A cigarette rested between her fingers.
Her red lips exhaled a cloud of smoke before she spoke coldly.
"Augustus D. Aether, Hina will make sure you spend the rest of your life in Impel Down."
The pink haired Marine instantly activated Soru, one of the Six Powers, closing the distance between them in a flash.
At the sa ti, Aether's status panel appeared in his mind.
Host: Augustus D. Aether
Age: 26
Level: 11 (13/550)
Strength: Beginner, Lieutenant level
Constitution: Beginner, Lieutenant level
Agility: Beginner, Lieutenant level
Devil Fruit: None
Combat Techniques: Top Tier
Armant Haki: None
Observation Haki: Beginner
Conqueror's Haki: Peak
Weapon: Ace
Points: 1103
A notification appeared.
Level 10 reward obtained. One White Gacha draw granted.
Reaching level ten and receiving a reward was a pleasant surprise.
As long as he continued leveling up, the system would eventually grant Green, Blue, Purple, or even Gold Gacha draws.
Although his physical attributes were still not impressive, combining his combat techniques with Observation Haki allowed him to compete with ordinary Marine Captains.
And more importantly, he still possessed his greatest trump card.
Without hesitation, Aether leapt across the giant mangrove roots and ran deeper into the forest.
Marines who attempted to block his path were casually knocked aside by his swordsmanship.
Soon enough, Hina caught up.
Her gloved hand reached directly toward him.
If that hand touched his body, the ability of the Cage Cage Fruit would instantly imprison him.
Aether drew another sword from his waist.
The blade twisted sharply as he attempted to stab toward her vital point.
However, the attack was intercepted by her palm.
Hina suddenly withdrew her arm and changed her attack with astonishing speed.
Her next punch carried overwhelming force.
Her arm had turned pitch black.
Armant Haki.
Clang!
The ordinary sword Aether used to block the strike shattered instantly.
The impact sent him flying several ters backward.
After landing, Aether pressed a hand against his chest and steadied his breathing.
"Armant Haki..."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
This woman was far more troubleso than he had hoped.
Unlike certain Marine officers who specialized in only one field, Hina possessed balanced abilities.
She had Observation Haki, Armant Haki, her Devil Fruit ability, and solid physical strength.
If it were not for her lack of seniority, she could easily qualify for the rank of Rear Admiral.
Aether did not hesitate.
He turned and continued running.
Under normal circumstances, escaping from Hina would be extrely difficult.
But his Observation Haki had already detected sothing interesting ahead.
Soone unexpected had entered his range of perception.
Scratchn Apoo.
Captain of the On Air Pirates.
One of the Twelve Supernovas with a bounty of 190 million Berries.
User of the Tone Tone Fruit, capable of turning sound into explosive attacks.
Aether rembered this pirate very clearly from the original story.
And his impression of the man was terrible.
So he imdiately changed direction and rushed toward Apoo's crew.
At the sa ti he shouted loudly.
"Boss! The Marines are planning to wipe us out! Run!"
Apoo stared at him expressionlessly.
That man was clearly not one of his crew mbers.
Yet he dared to drag the Marines straight toward them.
Apoo's lips twisted slightly.
He raised his arms.
"Fighting Music!"
His arms transford into musical instrunts as he began playing rhythm while dancing strangely.
The mont the sound entered Aether's ears, an explosion erupted from his body.
Boom!
Smoke engulfed the area as Aether collapsed to the ground, appearing completely defeated.
However, Apoo's attack had not targeted Aether alone.
The Marines chasing behind him were also caught in the sound wave attack.
Explosions erupted among the soldiers.
Several Marines fell instantly.
Apoo had never cared about the Marine forces.
He was the kind of pirate who would even challenge a Marine Admiral if the opportunity appeared.
Naturally he had no intention of showing rcy.
Even Hina beca one of his targets.
Fortunately her Observation Haki detected the incoming attack.
She imdiately covered her body with Armant Haki, blocking the explosion.
Seeing her clothes damaged and the enemy acting with such arrogance, Hina's expression darkened.
She rushed forward to capture him.
But Apoo was not foolish.
He continued launching explosions while retreating.
His fighting style focused on long distance harassnt.
The continuous bombardnt left Hina looking disheveled.
Several tears appeared in her uniform, exposing patches of pale skin.
"Black Spear Formation!"
Several massive black spears shot forward from Hina's hands.
The unexpected attack struck Apoo directly and forced him backward.
She seized the opportunity and rushed forward.
One of the spears sliced flesh from Apoo's body.
Pain flashed across his face.
Before he could retreat again, Hina had already closed the distance.
"Cage of Feathers!"
Black iron bars extended outward, attempting to trap him completely.
Apoo barely managed to jump aside.
If he had been caught in that cage, the battle would have ended instantly.
While the two commanders clashed, their subordinates also began fighting fiercely.
At that mont, Aether slowly opened his eyes.
He had been pretending the entire ti.
Using Observation Haki, he carefully watched the battlefield.
Without Armant Haki, the explosion from earlier could have seriously injured him.
Only by releasing his peak Conqueror's Haki to counter the sound wave had he avoided damage.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Aether quietly slipped into a nearby thicket.
His eyes calmly analyzed the situation.
The ordinary fighters on both sides were evenly matched.
The true outco depended entirely on the battle between Hina and Apoo.
In close combat, Hina possessed the absolute advantage.
Her mastery of the Six Powers allowed her to pressure Apoo constantly.
Without a hidden trump card, Apoo's defeat was only a matter of ti.
But suddenly, the situation changed.
Hina successfully struck Apoo with Cage of Feathers, binding him tightly with black bars.
Just as she believed victory was secured, Apoo suddenly produced a Sea Stone chain.
With lightning speed he locked it around Hina's arm.
The effect was imdiate.
The black bars binding him began to disappear.
Hina's eyes widened in disbelief.
Her body collapsed helplessly to the ground.
Apoo burst into loud laughter.
"Haha! You Marine woman, did you really think you could catch Lord Apoo? Go back to dreaming in your next life!"
A calm voice suddenly echoed behind him.
"You are right."
"In your next life."
Apoo froze.
He turned his head slowly.
Behind him stood Aether.
The sword in Aether's hand flashed downward.
The blade sliced cleanly through Apoo's neck.
A mont later, Apoo's head rolled across the ground.
Aether flicked the blood from his sword.
He did not even glance at the corpse.
System notifications appeared instantly.
A rank character Apoo generated negative emotion toward the Host. High fear. Experience 500.
Fate of A rank character greatly altered. Reward 500 points.
A rank character Hina generated negative emotion toward the Host. Low fear. Experience 100.
Level increased to 12. Current progress 64/590.
Aether turned his gaze toward Hina.
This stubborn Marine woman was finally afraid.
Slowly, he walked toward her.
Unable to resist the Sea Stone chain, Hina struggled helplessly.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"Hina is not afraid of you. If you leave now, Hina will forget what happened."
Aether did not answer.
He simply lifted her slender body over his shoulder.
His voice carried a calm amusent.
"I always keep my promises."
"Did you forget what I said earlier?"
Hina's face imdiately turned pale.
She rembered clearly.
Her struggle intensified.
"You rogue! Let Hina go!"
Her protests were cut off as Aether silenced her before she could shout again.
Later, he retrieved the key from Apoo's corpse and left before Marine reinforcents arrived.
Night quietly passed.
Early the next morning, Aether looked at the sleeping Hina beside him.
For a brief mont he admired the peaceful expression on her face.
Then he unlocked the Sea Stone chain and quietly left.
System notification appeared again.
Fate of A rank character Hina greatly altered. Reward 500 points.
No matter what would happen between them in the future, whether hatred or sothing else, Aether accepted it calmly.
After all, he had already made his choice.
Outside, Aether checked his remaining points.
He was still 1500 points short of a Blue Gacha draw.
Curiosity won over patience.
He pressed the button for a ten draw Green Gacha.
Items appeared rapidly before his eyes.
Military Rations Pill x1
Minor Recovery Potion x1
Tohsaka Rin's Panties x1
Jotaro Kujo's Underwear x1
Dragon Tiger Leopard Magazine x1
KFC Three Piece Set x1
Fine Longsword x1
Chamber Pot used by Emperor Taizong of Tang x1
Stone touched by Wuzex1
Hwarang do Martial Arts Inheritance x1
Aether stared silently.
The rations pill, recovery potion, and longsword were acceptable.
The KFC set even brought back mories of Earth.
But the rest of the items left him speechless.
The chamber pot.
The stone.
And two pieces of underwear.
Forty percent of the Green Gacha pool was apparently pure trash.
Without hesitation he discarded several useless items.
Only the useful ones remained.
After organizing his inventory, Aether jumped onto a mangrove branch dozens of ters high.
His gaze shifted toward the road below.
A slave transport convoy had just arrived.
Their destination was one of the slave auction houses deeper within the island.
The Sabaody Archipelago contained more than a dozen such auction houses.
Most of them were secretly controlled by powerful underground figures.
Today's target belonged to one of the Six Kings of the Underworld.
The Loan Shark King Feld.
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