"I'm terribly sorry, but Captain Kaido isn't on the island right now." Queen grinned and said, "He instructed us to wait here for you."
With that, he let out a cry, and four swarms of insects flew over, hovering in front of Vladimir before dropping four Devil Fruits.
"These are the apologies as agreed," Queen added.
Seeing this, Vladimir couldn't help but be slightly stunned. He had thought it would take some effort, but he never expected these people to be so sensible and hand over the fruits directly.
"Hahaha... I appreciate your cooperation," Vladimir chuckled. "I was planning to teach you a lesson, but since you're so understanding, we'll let bygones be bygones regarding what happened last time."
"No..." Queen snorted, "Vice Captain, I'm itching for a fight. I want to test my skills against you."
Vladimir waved his hand, unleashing a wisp of black energy that condensed into a Shadow Fiend.
As soon as it appeared, the Shadow Fiend billowed thick black smoke, collecting the four fruits into the Shadow World.
Only after doing this did he look up at Queen and say, "I advise you not to seek death. If you want to fight the Vice Captain, you'd better bring the entire Beasts Pirates with you."
The Three Disasters were powerful, their strength nearly matching that of a Marine Admiral. But even an Admiral was nothing compared to the Vice Captain of the Dream Pirates; they were on an entirely different level.
Queen knew this well enough. He didn't think he could win, but he simply wanted to see just how strong the Vice Captain really was.
"Enough talk! I've heard great things about you all!"
Queen laughed loudly and attacked immediately.
Instantly, countless locusts swarmed forth like a massive net, all descending upon Vladimir.
"You've really put me in a difficult position... Since you're being so cooperative, I don't want to kill you. But holding back is also quite a challenge."
Vladimir shook his head, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist. The next moment, his figure vanished.
"So fast!"
Queen's heart skipped a beat. Even with his insect-like compound eyes, he couldn't make out the exact movements. He could only vaguely sense that it was some kind of high-speed movement technique.
In the darkness, a flash of white sword light streaked across, its aura piercing through the swarm.
In an instant, Vladimir appeared right in front of Queen. Behind him, half of the hundred thousand locusts had been instantly killed by a single strike.
"What?!"
Queen's pupils contracted in disbelief.
His Zoan ability was quite unique, even among insect-type powers. It allowed him to lay eggs and reproduce swarms of insects.
Individually, each locust was insignificant, but in large numbers, they were capable of destroying an entire country.
Yet here, half of his hundred thousand-strong swarm had been wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Cold sweat drenched Queen's body. "What the hell! I didn't even see what happened..."
Vladimir remained calm and said, "Stand down. Tell Kaido to come see me."
"I really wish I could... but Captain Kaido isn't here..." Queen's arrogance was gone, replaced by caution and timidity.
"Seems you're not willing to leave. Fine then. Leave a few arms behind, then get out of my sight."
As soon as the words left his mouth, sword light flashed again.
Queen was terrified. He suddenly felt something missing from his right arm.
He retreated rapidly, covering a hundred meters before realizing that one of his forelimbs was flying through the air, landing somewhere far away.
"It hurts! You bastard..." Queen's face turned pale as blood gushed from the wound. "Damn it! Within ten meters, his sword speed is way faster than my reaction time!"
He knew the attack was coming, and he knew how he should dodge, but he simply wasn't fast enough. There was no way around it—it was just a pure difference in power.
Vladimir twirled his sword, flinging the blood off the blade. "I was planning to cut off your wings too, but I didn't expect you to dodge that one."
"...Captain Kaido really isn't here!" Queen gritted his teeth. "The Beasts Pirates set sail to search for more Devil Fruits. Jack and I stayed behind specifically to wait for you and hand over these four fruits."
Hearing this, Vladimir smiled lightly. "Oh, so that's it. You're preparing for an auction. I never thought the Beasts Pirates would also be interested in the Pluton blueprints."
Oh, so that's it?! I told you he wasn't here ages ago!
Queen seethed inwardly but dared not show it.
At first, he had wanted to test the Vice Captain's strength, but he was completely overwhelmed in a single exchange. There was no point in fighting anymore.
Every member of this crew was more terrifying than the last.
Ordinary members like the Shadow Fiends were already eerie enough, but they weren't great fighters, so they weren't much of a threat.
But the officers were a different story—take the Nine-Tailed Fox, for example, whose power rivaled an Admiral's.
And the Supreme Officers? They were on par with the Four Emperors themselves.
Yet the Vice Captain was even more terrifying than them! If the Vice Captain was this strong, just what kind of monster was the Emperor Vladimir?!
No wonder the Big Mom Pirates were destroyed overnight. No wonder Kaido never dared to confront the Dream Pirates head-on.
Queen felt a surge of frustration. They had come to his doorstep, and he had to hand over gifts willingly, only to end up losing an arm anyway.
The era of the Four Emperors seemed to be coming to an end. The future belonged to a new age, ruled by a single Emperor.
"Damn it... How could such a monstrous group exist?!" His mind raced. "If one Emperor dominates everything, the World Government will have even bigger problems. We don't need to fight them to the death."
With that thought, he forced a smile and said, "Vice Captain, Captain Kaido won't be back anytime soon. Please, won't you all return for now?"
"Return? We haven't settled all our accounts yet," Vladimir said calmly. "These four fruits are compensation for Kaido meddling in Whole Cake Island. Now, let's talk about you rescuing Jack."
Bullshit!
Queen cursed inwardly. These maniacs were never satisfied! They got four fruits and still wanted more! If he had known, he never would have stayed on the island!
...What do you mean ten updates a day... I type so slowly, I'm practically handicapped. Plus, my health isn't great. Sitting in front of the computer for too long gives me headaches...
...Damn it, I'm so unlucky! I should never have stayed on the island!
Queen raged silently to himself.
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"