13 Conclusion #13

Pinning Nyoka against a tree, I called on every ounce of strength within me as I pushed the spear forward, hoping to break through my opponent's thick scales.

The gang boss hissed and wreathed in pain as he gripped the spear's shaft, trying to pry it off his stomach as its sharp tip went deeper and deeper into his abdomen, drawing blood.

Eventually, he raised his hands high, joining them together before bringing them down on the spear and breaking it in half, much to my frustration as I lost balance and almost fell face first to the ground.

Naturally, Nyoka noticed my predicament and was swift to capitalize on it as he raised his left and swiped at my head with an open palm full of sharp claws.

Unable to dodge because of my awkward posture, I could only twist my body to avoid being hit on the back of the head or the neck as I raised my hands to shield my face.

The attack hit, instantly shredding through the flesh of my arms and breaking my left wrist. The force pushed me harshly into the ground and the impact dizzied me and forced the air out of my lungs, almost making me lose consiousness.

Still, even with my consciousness, I could only grunt in pain as I watched Nyoka open his mouth, getting ready to shower me with his green venom. I was ony saved by Killer's sudden interfernece as he lunge at Nyoka, driving his crescent blade into the snake man's wounded abdomen.

The gang boss didn't relent even with Killer's blade in his gut as he sent him flying away with a punch and turned his attention back to me, hatefully glaring at me with his cold reptilian eyes.

Before he could finish me off, Heat jumped at him, gripping his shoulders and breathing a fireball straight into his face, followed by Wire, who punched Nyoka's face with his massive fists.

Even with such a violent assault, Nyoka persisted as he kept his eyes glued to me and opened his mouth, the only thing stopping him from showering me his green poison being Kid as the redhead suddenly gripped his chin from behind and pulled.

Taking advantage of the situation, I instantly picked up my broken spear and drove the tip straight into Nyoka's soft throat, gritting my teeth through the pain as I pushed it with my injured arm.

Nyoka's struggled even more violently as he realized his impending doom, but we managed to keep him in place somehow when Killer rejoined the fight and helped us pin him to the tree.

It took five minutes of the four of us throwing everything we had at the gang boss for him to stop moving, his body going limp as he breathed his last, and his body reverted to its original human form.

"I fucking told you something was off, you dense fuck..." I said, giving Kid a dirty look as I fell on the ground, nursing my broken arm. "What about the others...?" I asked as I looked around and saw nothing but the corpses of Nyoka's men, prompting me to heave a sigh of relief.

"We made quick work of them..." Killer replied as he stood over me and helped me to my feet. "You did well by keeping Nyoka busy..." He added as he calmly walked toward the gang boss' corpse and harshly yanked his blade out of his abdomen.

"Not quick enough, I'd say..." I said with a grunt of pain as I pointed to my broken arm, limply hanging on my side. "Fuck, this is gonna take some time to heal..." I added, feeling the urge to kick something.

"Stop complaining. We won, didn't we?" Kid cheerfully said with a laugh as he stood beside me, looking down at Nyoka's corpse. "By the way... was I seeing things, or did this bastard turn into a snake...?" He added, sounding genuinely confused.

"It's a devil fruit power..." I replied, rolling my eyes at the redhead. "They are rare fruits that give anyone who eats them weird powers but take away their ability to swim," I added with a shrug.

"Well, whatever... we won and only at the small price of Rick's arm. Today was a good day..." Kid jokingly said, instantly dropping the subject as he slapped me on the back, to which I gave in to my urge and kicked him in the shin, causing him to scream in pain.

"Fuck off..."

...

Several days later

I couldn't help but grin in bliss, the redheaded prostitute's voluptuous body still fresh in my head as I exited the brothel.

It's been three days since we killed Nyoka, and life has never been so good. Naturally, we raided the Grog Box bar once we left the forest alongside every hideout the gang boss had and looted everything they hadn't nailed down.

Unlike Kid and the other brats, I didn't care much for the contraband or weapons Nyoka's gang had accumulated and went straight for the money instead, taking back the 500 thousand the bastard took from me.

We only found 800 thousand Beris within Nyoak's safe at the bar, and the others agreed to let me have it since I didn't care about the other goods, which were barely worth 150 thousand.

It was more of a bonus than anything else since I had to do most of the heavy lifting during the battle, and I didn't think twice before accepting the money as I still had every intention of getting the fuck out of Four Clover Island.

Now I only needed to wait for my broken wrist to heal before leaving, and even that wouldn't take more than another week. Such an injury would typically take six to twelve heals to mend, but The Method was paying dividends already.

According to the booklet, once I mastered The Method, even a hole in my heart would heal within moments, but that's for the future. I'll settle for what I have right now.

'Now to finish that conversation with Old Dean...' I mused, smiling and humming a tune as I made for the shark Kennel bar.

...

"Hmm...?" Old Dean intoned as he heard the bar's door and turned to see Cedric walk through it. "Yer still alive, kiddo. Color me impressed," He said with a smile as he gestured to the stool beside him.

"Barely..." Cedric said with a chuckle as he raised his broken arm, hanging off his neck on a piece of cloth. "So you knew about Nyoka's plan...?" He asked as he sat beside the old pirate.

"That I did," Old Dean said with a pleasant smile. "Not much what goes on in this town goes without Old Dean knowin' about it," He added, his smile turning into a smug grin.

"So what brings ye to me this fine day?" He asked as he resumed drinking.

"Well, I wanted to thank you. We would have all been long dead if you didn't interfere..." Cedric said as he briefly lowered his head in gratitude, much to the old pirate's amusement.

"Oh? So ye no longer think I'm tryin' to snatch yer soul or something?" Old Dean said as he gave Cedric the side after inhaling his drink, unbothered to hide his skepticism.

"Nope. I still think you're up to something, old timer," Cedric replied with a shrug. "It's just that I'll soon be leaving the island, and I don't want to be in your debt for the rest of my life," He added, his tone turning serious.

"Whatever it is you want, now is the time to ask before I leave," Cedric said as he reached over the counter and snatched a bottle of whisky, much to the bartender's amusement.

"Cause chances are, I'll never come back," He concluded, flashing the bartended a smile before sliding a hundred Beri note over the table, causing the latter to smile and resume cleaning the shot glass in his hand.

"I don't want nothin' from ye, kiddo..." Old Dean calmly said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I do have something for ye before ye go..." He added as he got out of his seat, lazily stretching his arms.

"It's a little souvenir I got from Paradise back in me piratin' days," The old pirate added as he headed for the back of the bar. "Wait a minute, will ye?" He continued as he went up the stairs, much to Cedric's confusion.

He quickly returned, carrying a small black wooden box, which he placed on the bar before sitting down. "Ye know what a devil fruit is, kiddo?" He asked as he opened the container's cover, revealing the strange fruit inside.

The strange fruit looked like a clustered set of silver spheres with a yellow vine wrapped around them up to the stem, resembling a weird cluster of grapes. Each sphere had a small jagged offshoot akin to a bolt of lightning protruding from it.

"This here thing is called the Jiki-Jiki fruit. Supposedly any man what eats it becomes a magnet human, whatever that hogwash means..."