Chapter 12: In Exchange for Bounty
The war of the Grandline was endless.
At the foot of the Edward Mountain Range, Locke and Barett were sitting around a bonfire. Under the heat of the flames, the two legs and flesh continued to emit sizzling sounds, and the fragrance of the meat accompanied the wind to the distance.
The bright moonlight shone, and the quiet valley looked a different flavor. "Puchi, puchi!" The sound of the match burning rang from time to time. Locke sat cross-legged in front of the fire. His eyes were calm as he looked at the dancing flames. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Woo! Hot hot!" Barett grabbed the leg meat that was being roasted and took a bite. "Hey, Locke, we're not far from Laffitte. Have you thought of how to attack? Do you still want to fight like before?" Barett asked Locke, who was beside him as he ate the leg meat.
Even though no matter how he attacked, Barett didn't care. Locke woke up from his deep thoughts when he heard Barett's question. No, Barett. Laffitte is the headquarters of the army. There are fifty thousand soldiers inside. Moreover, there are some people with good strength inside.
Although they are insignificant to us, it is not wrong to be cautious. Locke reached out and took the other roast meat above the fire. He opened his mouth and ate it. "Is that so? Well, no matter what we do, you have the final say." Hearing this, Barett shrugged his shoulders indifferently and opened his mouth to eat his leg meat again.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, there was a slight sound from the grass. "You've been hiding there for so long. Come out. You've been following us from Weiss City. If you have any goals, just come out and tell us."
Locke was not surprised. He continued eating his own roasted meat without raising his head. Hearing Locke's words, the grass swayed. Then, a man about 1.5 meters tall with a white military hat, two horns on his head, and a mouth full of sharp teeth walked out of the grass.
"Haha, I thought you hid it well. I didn't expect you to find it long ago." The man scratched the back of his head and walked to Locke with an embarrassed smile. "Speak. What is your purpose in following us?" Locke ignored the familiar words of the other person and asked calmly. Barett glanced at the other person and then completely ignored him. He ate his food.
The man did not care about Locke's light and cold emotions. After walking a meter to Locke, he directly knelt in front of him. "Thank you for saving me from Weiss City!" Locke put down the roasted meat in his hand and looked at the man. "I didn't mean to save you." You could leave Weiss City alive, but it was clear that you were lucky and did not die from my attack. "
"Hahahaha, I know. Boss Locke, you didn't mean to save me. However, this still needs to be changed. It was you who saved me from the slave soldiers. For this, I will risk my life and follow Boss Locke forever!"
After the man finished speaking, he directly slammed his head on the ground and said exceptionally sincerely. After listening to the man's words, Locke said nothing and stared at him calmly. Barett also turned to look at the man with interest.
"Hey, since you survived Locke's hands, you seem quite capable!"
"Hahaha, I am an animal-type ancient Triceratops. I activated my ability in advance when Boss Locke's attack landed."
"As an animal type ancient species, although your strength is not very good, you are more durable and stronger."
The man laughed as he explained to Barett. Barett became even more interested when he heard that the other party was also an esper. After all, he had only seen Locke and himself for so long and had never seen anything else.
"Ancient animal species? That sounds pretty good! What kind of ability is that?" As Barett, who had never left the endless war kingdom, he was undoubtedly still a bumpkin. "Haha, Boss Barett, if you want to see it, I will demonstrate it right now!"
After saying that, the man directly began to activate his ability. The body of the man who was originally kneeling on the ground quickly became more extensive. In the blink of an eye, the initially sturdy man had turned entirely into a Triceratops.
"Ow!" The man raised his head and roared. Then, he lowered his head and looked at Barett. "Hahahaha, Boss Barett, this is what my ability looks like!" Seeing the man who had suddenly turned from a human into an animal, Barett immediately shouted excitedly.
"Hey, hey! This is too amazing! It's completely different from my ability! He turned from a human into an animal! This is too incredible! Right, Locke!" Locke glanced at the excited Barett, his eyes full of undisguised contempt for Barett's bumpkin appearance.
"Alright, Barett. Your devil fruit ability is of the transcendent type, and his ability is of the animal type. Of course, it's different. There's nothing to be surprised about." Locke felt he should adequately explain the difference between the devil fruit and this bumpkin Barett.
The devil fruit is divided into the natural system, the human system, and the animal system. The three abilities are different. For example, our powers both belong to the human system, and the ability of the human system is strange. Every human ability user is challenging to deal with.
You will suffer a significant loss if you don't understand their abilities. "And his ability belongs to the animal system, but the animal system is divided into the ordinary animal system, the ancient animal system that has been extinct, and the fantasy beast species that is rarer than the natural system."
"Yes, yes, Boss Locke is right. My ability belongs to the ancient ability of the animal system. Compared with the ordinary animal system, it is stronger." When the man heard Locke's words, he quickly took over the conversation and carefully explained his ability.
"Ordinary animal types are some animals that can be seen regularly. The strength of the people who eat those devil fruits will also increase, but it won't grow much. Moreover, the potential of common animal types needs to be higher.
The ancient Triceratops fruit I ate is indeed the legendary animal type ability of the ancient era that has been extinct. Not only can they significantly increase the strength of the people who eat them, but their potential is also greater than ordinary animal types."
After listening to the man's words, Barett nodded to show he understood. "Then what about the Illusory Beast Seeds and the nature attribute?" Illusory Beast Seed, the devil fruit, transformed from the mythical beasts.
Each of them not only has a unique ability, but they also have unlimited potential. As for the nature attribute, they are all a type of ability that belongs to the natural element. "Each person who eats the devil fruit of nature is a walking disaster. Not only can they launch their attribute attacks, but they can also transform into elements.
Without special strength or knowing their weaknesses, reading the roots can not cause any harm to them." After listening to the man's words, Barett finally understood the difference between the abilities of the devil fruit.
"Hey, do you know a lot? What's your name?"
"I am Zuo Mu, a half-merman with half the blood of a merman! I came from Grandline Herla Island. Because I accidentally encountered a storm when I went sea fishing, I was arrested by traffickers and sold to this country as a soldier!"
After listening to Zuo Mu's self-introduction, Barett happily reached out to shake hands with him. "Sasaki, huh? Since you want to follow us, then follow us." After saying that, Rock grabbed a piece of barbecue from the fire and threw it directly at Sasaki.
Hearing Locke's words, Sasaki excitedly took the barbecue and returned it to his human form. Then he kowtowed Locke heavily. "Thank you for your shelter, Boss Rock! I will follow you with my life on the line!"
"Alright, we'll be partners in the future. There's no need to do that. After eating the roasted meat, go to bed early. We still have to continue on our journey tomorrow." Locke said in a light tone and then ignored him. After hearing Locke's words, Barett laughed happily and hugged Zuo Zuomu. "We'll be companions in the future! Let's destroy this damned country together! Hahahaha!"
Following Barett's words, a violent aura swept through the valley. "Hahahaha! Yes, I will do my best!" Zuo Zuomu clenched his right fist and said firmly. However, no one noticed the flash of light in Zuo Mu's eyes and the fleeting smile at the corner of his mouth.