chapter 80

Another day had passed, a day that I spent sparring with Wilson and Laffite, trying to hammer them with Haki until they hopefully awaken it.

At first, it was just one-on-one spars, but they would always quickly end when I used Haki, so we began sparring two against one, with Wilson and Laffite teaming up to fight me.

To say that fighting both of them was difficult would be an understatement. In the first place, Wilson was always as strong as I am before I awakened Haki, and Laffite wasn't that far off himself.

To add to the difficulty of the spars, my two friends even tried their new techniques on me, and let me tell you, being on the receiving end of Laffite's technique was not pleasant, Haki or not.

Being hammered by Wilson's gorilla form after all the secretive training he had been doing was not pleasant, either. Still, Haki gave me an enormous advantage, and even though I struggled quite a bit while fighting them, I still ended up winning.

Unfortunately, that small amount of training wasn't enough to awaken their hardening Haki as it was not a real fight, regardless of the fact that we didn't hold back, but that was fine on its own. Wilson and Laffite were nothing if not resilient and determined, after all.

Byron and Elly, on the other hand, went back to the deserted island after we came back from our meeting with Chinjao to do more training.

They returned at night time looking even more exhausted and injured than they were yesterday. Their wounds, however, were still nothing serious, so I welcomed them back without saying anything.

Kozue left for the city, saying that she heard some information about an item that could have originated from Wano country and she needed to investigate it. Kozue returned by nighttime as well, and when I asked her about her investigation, the greenhead told me that she found nothing for now, so she would resume gathering info tomorrow.

Bob quickly returned to his usual fun-hating, unproductive self, hanging around on the deck and doing nothing until it was time to cook. But I digress.

It was finally time to meet with Bob's old friend, and I was making my way there along with Bob himself. The meeting place was the same place I fought Kozue in, and we're supposed to be there at midnight.

"Is all of this really necessary? Meeting so secretively in the middle of the night, I mean," I asked with a sigh while walking beside Bob. "Your friend even went out of his way to meet us in the place I fought with Kozue," I added with a bemused expression.

"Morley seems to think so," Bob replied while shrugging his shoulders. "They probably chose this place, trying to impress you or something by showing you what they can do," he explained in a leisurely tone.

"Is that so? Well, I'm not impressed," I remarked sardonically with a scowl. "We're here, so where is your friend?" I asked, shaking my head to shake off my annoyance.

Suddenly, my senses flared, causing me to hastily turn around, unseating Satori as I do and using its blade to stop a claw-like, Haki-coated hand, merely five inches away from my face.

"Your old friend doesn't look that old, and he doesn't look particularly friendly either, Bob," I say with a smirk, holding my ground and taking a second to take in my attacker's appearance.

He wore a long black jacket with a buckle on the left sleeve, a blue shirt and vest, a frilled cravat, and a simple belt holding a pair of loose light-blue pants with black boots.

His face can be called good looking with pronounced facial symmetry and a scar over his left eye, with blonde hair that was covered by a large black top hat with a pair of blue goggles wrapped around it.

"This isn't the person we're supposed to meet," Bob replied with a frown as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You don't say," I remarked, putting strength into my arm and pushing my blade forward, sending my attacker sliding backward.

"Morley is a little shy around new people, so I'm here to meet you in his place," the blonde-haired attacker said in a cheerful tone. "My name is Sabo. It's very nice to meet you," he introduced himself with a smile, bowing his politely as he did.

"Sorry about attacking you so suddenly, I've been training for a long time, so I couldn't help myself since I heard Morley say that you're strong," Sabo added with a smile as he raised his head, looking at me in the eye.

"Well, Sabo, you have my attention, so tell me why you've brought me here in the middle of the night," I replied with a scowl, clearly not in the mood for pleasantries.

"I'm here to inform you that you are in danger and help you escape that danger if necessary," Sabo stated, still smiling politely.

"And what am I in danger of exactly?" I asked with an amused smile as I lit a cigarette.

"Some people in the world government are interested in the technology used to make that left arm of yours," the blonde replied while pointing at my left prosthetic arm. "There have been sightings of cp9 agents in Kano country, and we have reasons to believe that they are after you," he added, his smile disappearing, replaced by a grave expression.

"I already know about the SSG and some celestial dragon's interest in me," I replied with a shrug. "And I've already dealt with the cp9 agents in Kano country, so I do not want or need any help," I added with a bored expression.

"Now, I'm sure that's not the reason you've brought me here because Morley or whatever his name is could have said this to Bob without dragging me here," I remarked as I crossed my arms in front of my chest, causing Sabo to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "So why don't you get to the point?" I added with a frown.

"So be it. You've probably realized it by now, but you're already a wanted man in all but name," the blonde explained with a grave tone of voice. "So I'm here to offer you a spot in the revolutionary army," he added.

"We can hide and protect you from the world government, and all we ask is that you lend us a hand in helping those in the same situation you're in," Sabo concluded, his grave expression disappearing, replaced by an honest smile.

"I don't need to be protected or hidden, so I'll pass," I replied while shrugging my shoulders, causing the blonde to frown.

"Even if you can protect yourself, there are people out there who can't do the same. Don't you wish to help them?" Sabo asked, his brows scrunched together in a frown.

"I know nothing of such people, so why would I go out of my way to help them?" I replied while shrugging my shoulders.

"As a victim of world nobles' oppression, then you should understand their struggle. Isn't that enough reason to help them?" the blonde asked, genuinely confused by my indifferent attitude.

"I don't understand at all," I replied in an indifferent tone, spitting my cigarette on the ground and stomping it. "Wha-" Sabo tried to say something, but I promptly cut him off before he could finish the first word.

"The struggles of weaklings who only know how to get fucked without fighting back. I don't understand such things at all," I replied, my tone still indifferent and bored.

"I'm a victim, you say?" I remarked with an amused chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "Does this look like the face of a victim?" I asked with an amused smirk on my face.

"If there is to be a victim in this situation, then it will be whoever dared to think he can put a collar on my neck," I stated, my smirk becoming more pronounced and maniacal as I spoke. "Because I'll find them someday and make them wish they weren't born," I added, my smirk fading, replaced by an icy expression.

"We're done, here. Let's go, Bob," I stated, promptly turning around and leaving.