vncnus Chapter 265 The Assassin's Code, The King of Assassins Makes His Move
Chapter 265 The Assassin's Code, The King of Assassins Makes His Move
Chapter 265 The Assassin's Code, The King of Assassins Makes His Move
The undercurrent is swift, turbulent, cold, and dark.
This is Zoro's entire impression of this so-called undercurrent.
The current swept them along at an astonishing speed, crashing and scrambling through narrow, winding natural rock crevices, surrounded by rough, sharp coral walls. A slight misstep could result in being slashed and bleeding.
Kojiro took the lead, his figure remarkably stable in the rapids, like a swimming fish. He would lightly tap the rock face with the object in his hand, subtly adjusting his direction to create a relatively safe passage for those behind him.
Sanji followed closely behind, his legs swinging at an astonishing frequency, using the water flow and his own strength to stabilize the bubble. His eyes were fixed on Luffy's pale face, his teeth clenched.
Chopper's small body was also bouncing around in the bubble, but all his attention was focused on the faint heartbeat coming from the stethoscope, and he was given new medicine every now and then.
"Heartbeat—too weak—the toxin's spread—seems a little slow?"
"No, it's Luffy's body that's putting up the strain—but this is taking too much to handle—"
He reported with a sob in his voice, his words broken by the sound of rushing water.
Zoro stood guard behind the medical bay, his three swords still sheathed, but his muscles were taut, like a leopard poised to pounce, ready to deal with any attack that might come from any direction.
"There's a fork in the road ahead! Left is sharp, right is gentle!"
Kojiro's voice pierced through the water, calmer than someone fleeing for their life.
"Go to the right! Luffy can't take any more jolting!" Chopper screamed.
Sanji immediately maneuvered the medical bay to veer to the right.
The space here was slightly wider, and the water flow was a bit gentler, but the light was dimmer, with only some glowing deep-sea moss providing a faint, eerie green glow that made everyone's faces look ghostly.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they could catch their breath, Kojiro suddenly stopped without warning, and at the same time, his nodachi flashed upwards like lightning!
Clang—!
The sound of metal clashing was amplified in the narrow waterway, making people's eardrums ache.
A few sparks flew, illuminating a gaunt figure on the rock wall above, almost blending into the shadows!
The figure missed its target and, like a startled gecko, used both hands and feet to bounce backward with an illogical posture and speed, instantly disappearing into the darkness around the corner.
Only a barely audible sigh remained.
"It's them! How is this possible? My Observation Haki didn't react at all!"
Zoro instantly drew his sword, Wado Ichimonji, and held it horizontally in front of him, cautiously looking around.
Kojiro held the sword-drawing stance for a moment, then slowly withdrew it, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Observation Haki can't detect their concealed presence. These assassins' specialty is stealth. Try to sense their killing intent, junior."
"This time the speed was fast, but the killing intent wasn't pure enough—it was a test, or a delaying tactic."
He quickly concluded, "It seems our path has also been taken care of."
Those assassins have clearly infiltrated this place as well.
Instead of launching a direct assault, they used the terrain and concealment advantages to harass and delay the enemy; their objective was simple.
The goal is to stall until Luffy can't hold on any longer, or until another group manages to defeat Princess Shirahoshi.
"You despicable bastard!" Sanji was furious, but he couldn't leave the medical bay.
"We can't stop!" Chopper cried out. "Luffy can't wait any longer!"
"Keep going!" Kojiro made a quick decision and led the way forward again.
"I'll clear the way, Lord Zoro. Please protect the rear and flanks."
The team struggled forward again, but the atmosphere became even more somber.
Everyone knows that the venomous snake lurking in the shadows may strike again at any moment.
This race against time and death has now been compounded by the pursuit and interception of treacherous hunters.
Compared to the cramped and perilous atmosphere of the undercurrents, the vast deep sea where Jinbe, Robin, and Shirahoshi are located presents a different scene, yet it is equally fraught with hidden dangers.
Having broken free from the complete protection of the Dragon Palace's barrier, the terrifying, ever-present water pressure of the deep sea poured down upon them.
The boundless darkness and the fear brought by the unknown creatures instantly enveloped the three of them.
Jinbe used all his strength to open a huge bubble big enough to hold three people, and kept using Fishman Karate techniques to balance the internal and external pressure, but this was extremely taxing.
Robin uses the power of the Flower Flower Fruit to grow many arms on the inner wall of the bubble, which helps stabilize the water and sense changes in the external water flow.
Brooke was unusually silent, his head bowed as if deep in thought.
The most heartbreaking thing is Shirahoshi.
Overwhelmed by immense fear, tears streamed silently down her face, mingling with the surrounding seawater.
She clung tightly to her tail, her body trembling.
But whenever she felt like she was about to completely break down, she would see her mother Otohime's gentle and firm smile, Luffy's pale face as he stood in front of his father, and the pleading and trusting eyes of the Straw Hat crew.
"Your Highness, please try to sense Lord Noah's location, as well as the guardian sea kings."
Robin's voice echoed from within the dark bubbles.
"We don't need them to fight, we just need to know if we're heading in the right direction, and—are there anything unclean nearby?"
Bai Xing nodded vigorously, closed her eyes, and forced herself not to think about the darkness and pressure around her.
She immersed herself in that wonderful connection with the creatures of the sea.
At first, there was a chaotic, fear-filled cacophony.
But gradually, she caught on.
Deep below, a vast, warm yet sorrowful wave surged like a lighthouse.
Further to their lateral front and rear, several enormous, ancient, chaotic yet wary life forms were slowly gliding about.
Those were definitely ancient sea kings, and their gatherings became increasingly frequent.
They seemed to sense Neptune's approach, conveying a sense of questioning and a hint of closeness.
But at the same time, Shirahoshi also heard something else.
Some more agile, yet cold and empty noises.
They clung to them like a malignant tumor, hanging far away in the shadows behind and below them, in more than one place!
They cleverly used ocean currents and deep-sea topography to hide themselves. Their pure stillness and malice were out of place with the vibrant ocean, making Bai Xing feel a chilling cold.
"There are... there are bad things... following us... several... down below, and behind..."
""
Shirahoshi spoke tremblingly, her huge eyes staring at Jinbe with fear.
"As expected, they followed us." Jinbe's face turned ashen.
"Miss Robin, it seems your judgment was correct. We've become bait."
"They're also the vanguard," Robin analyzed calmly. "They wanted to wait until we clashed with the guardian sea kings, or until we found Noah, before making their move. But now they seem a bit impatient, following us very closely."
Her gaze sharpened slightly: "Mr. Jinbe, could you use the water pressure and ocean currents to cause them some trouble? We don't need to defeat them, just disrupt them and create distance."
Jinbe nodded, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "We can give it a try. Your Highness, please hurry!"
He abruptly changed his diving angle, no longer diving straight down, but cutting diagonally into a powerful, cold updraft!
At the same time, his arms were bulging with muscles and covered with Armament Haki. He aimed at the relatively fragile seabed rock layer they had just passed and unleashed several heavy Fishman Karate shockwaves in mid-air!
"Fishman Karate - Five Thousand Tile Straight Punch - Consecutive Strike!"
Boom boom boom—!!
The shockwave churned the seawater and precisely struck the weak points in the rock strata.
Suddenly, a large section of the seabed rock wall collapsed, and countless fragments and sediments were carried by the upwelling current, forming a vast area of turbulent and murky currents, like a smoke bomb dropped into the deep sea, severely interfering with visibility and perception.
In the shadows behind, several almost invisible, blurry figures were suddenly swept into this unexpected chaotic torrent.
They clearly hadn't expected Jinbe to pull this stunt during his high-speed descent.
For Assassins who rely on stealth and precise assassinations, such widespread environmental disruption is undoubtedly a headache.
Taking advantage of the brief chaos, Jinbe manipulated the bubble, accelerated at full speed, and rushed towards the direction where the Noah fluctuations were clearest in Shirahoshi's perception.
However, the hunters lurking in the shadows are not just a group.
Just as they had shaken off their pursuers and breathed a sigh of relief, a sudden change occurred!
From the dark abyss below, without warning, dozens of almost completely transparent beams of cold light shot out!
Upon closer inspection, what appeared to be a cold glint was actually countless needles dripping with pure poison.
These lights and shadows moved extremely fast and silently, their target not a single person, but directly piercing the bubble on which they depended for survival!
If the bubble bursts, at such a depth, they will all face deadly danger!
"Watch out!" Robin's pupils contracted sharply, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"A Hundred Flowers in Full Bloom - White Shield!"
Countless arms instantly bloomed in front of her and on the inner walls of the bubble, layer upon layer, attempting to block the thin lines. But those lines were exceptionally sharp and seemed to possess some kind of anti-magic or corrosive property; Robin's conjured arms were easily pierced through!
At this critical moment.
A strike darker than the deep sea and more ethereal than silence seemed to appear directly from the ancient concept of death, sweeping past without a sound.
There was no light, no sound, and not even a noticeable ripple in the water.
But just as those dozens of deadly beams of light were about to touch the bubbles, they snapped into several pieces and then vanished silently into the seawater as if their existence had been erased.
Along with the small, thin figure that had just begun to emerge from the darkness below, it trembled violently and then, with even greater speed than when it arrived, hastily disappeared into the deeper darkness, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.
Wang Hassan made his move.
With just a barely perceptible arc, an assassin was forced back, and the covert and insidious attack was averted.
The people inside the bubble didn't even have a clear look at what happened before the crisis was over.
Only the faint contractual connection between Brook's right hand command seal and King Hassan allowed him to vaguely sense a fleeting, soul-chilling aura of discipline.
Shirahoshi huddled up in fear, and Robin's face also turned pale, but a knowing glint flashed in her eyes.
Jinbe let out a heavy sigh of relief and nodded almost imperceptibly at the shadow in a certain direction.
"Keep going!" he whispered, feeling a little more at ease.
With that patriarch secretly protecting them, at least the princess and Robin's safety was more assured.
But Luffy's side—
He shook his head, suppressing his worries, and focused his mind on manipulating the bubble, cutting through the waves in the dark depths of the sea towards the entrance of the Abyss of Promise.
The undercurrents have finally come to an end.
A deep rumble, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, came from ahead, and the water flow became even more turbulent, carrying an ancient and desolate aura.
Kojiro was the first to rush out of a narrow, downward-sloping passage, and suddenly the view opened up before him, leaving him stunned by what he saw.
This place feels like the root of an underwater mountain range, an incredibly vast spherical space.
The center of the space was not solid ground, but a pitch-black abyss opening that was probably thousands of meters in diameter!
The edges of the cave entrance are adorned with ancient corals and crystals that shimmer with an eerie phosphorescence, resembling the teeth of a giant beast.
From that abyss emanated a terrifyingly vast energy fluctuation, the very aura of Noah's slumber.
What's even more chilling is that several enormous shadows can be vaguely seen slowly moving in the seawater around the abyss entrance.
Its outline resembles a moving mountain range, and every slight movement of its fins stirs up a powerful undercurrent.
The exit they were at was located on the upper side of the rock wall of this spherical space, quite a vertical distance from the abyss entrance, with open seawater in between.
"Is this... the entrance to the Abyss of Promises?"
Sanji pushed the medical pod out and was also stunned by the scene before him.
Zoro, Chopper, and Roger, whose body was almost translucent, rushed out one after another.
"—Noah—is right below—" Chopper's simple detector, invented by Franky, emitted a faint directional signal, pointing towards the abyss.
But how do we get down there?
Should we just swim there?
Not to mention the ancient sea kings that are eyeing him covetously, Luffy's current condition is simply not able to withstand any impact or acceleration he might encounter while crossing this open water.
Just when everyone was at a loss, they heard the sound of rapidly approaching water turbulence coming from the direction of the underground passage behind them!
"Pursuers!" Zoro turned around instantly, unleashing three swords at once, assuming the starting stance of Onigami.
Kojiro slowly pulled out the dried food, his eyes coldly fixed on the entrance to the passage: "This time—I'm afraid it's not a test."
Sure enough, the next moment, three figures shot out from the passage like ghosts, blocking them at the edge of the rock wall in a triangular formation!
The person on the left has a hunched back, dark blue fingernails, and empty eyes.
The person on the right wore a slightly different white mask, his figure was elusive, and he was playing with several throwing knives in his hand.
The person in the middle was shrouded in a wide black robe, his aura was the most obscure, and he had no obvious weapon in his hand.
"Don't take another step forward," the black-robed man in the middle said in a hoarse, broken voice.
"Leave now and you may have a chance to live, or—watch him—be utterly annihilated—as you die."
"Stop joking around!" Zoro roared, charging forward first.
"Three-Sword Style: Black Rope Tornado!"
The violent slash stirred up the seawater, turning it into a whirlpool like a black dragon, which rushed straight towards the three of them!
Sanji activated his attack almost simultaneously, his legs blurring into afterimages: "Diable Jambe - Finishing Touch!"
The target was Blue Claw Hassan on the left.
Kojiro met Hassan's throwing knife from his right with a swift, mysterious arc, striking first and aiming for Hassan's throat.
A battle suddenly erupted at the edge of the abyss entrance!
Rippling water, flashing swords, and splattering venom!
Amidst the clamor of the battle, Luffy's heartbeat sounded increasingly jarring and faint.
Chopper anxiously watched the battle from the back, while also looking down into the abyss and around him.
"The other route—why haven't we arrived yet?!"
In another part of the deep sea, within the Jinbe bubble struggling to break through the last section of the complex trench terrain, Shirahoshi suddenly trembled, her enormous eyes revealing extreme terror and a strange tremor.
"There's a fight going on down there! Lots of bad guys!"
"And—Lord Noah—he—in his dream—it seems a shadow appeared—calling—but—those bad people—are near Lord Noah!"
Her words were incoherent, but the message she conveyed made Jinbe and Robin feel utterly hopeless.
The assassins have indeed split up.
One part went to intercept Zoro and his crew and destroy Luffy, while the other part—actually—attempted to directly dive into the abyss, which was detrimental to the sleeping Noah himself.
They still want to seize control of the sage's power first.
"Faster! Faster!" Jinbe's eyes were bloodshot as he pushed the power of Fishman Karate to its limit. The bubble surged towards the final entrance like a deep-sea torpedo.
Time is running out —