INIIDF-Chapter 43 Poisoned

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Huff, Huff, Huff...

Liam sparred with 「B.I.B.」 on the deck while wielding a staff.

In the eyes of the pirates, this was the little devil who could detonate hearts, and now, he is using another eerie technique to turn wood into a staff and seemingly acting neurotic...

Thud!

Liam hit a pirate on the head with the staff and waved his finger, "Come on! Fight me!"

Shanks watched from the sidelines.

The ten-year-old boy wielded a wooden staff made with his Devil Fruit ability. Even though he was facing a bunch of riffraff, he managed to hold his own in the fight.

"Growth with double efficiency... quite skillful indeed," Shanks rubbed his chin stubble as he muttered to himself.

The pirates were confused. What was going on?

This little devil, even without using that heart-shattering technique, was so formidable!

Was he even human?

A pirate was sent flying by Liam's staff and rolled to Shanks' feet.

"Oh, by the way," Shanks asked, looking down, "Does anyone on your ship know how to get to 'Musexin Island'?"

A dirty, smelly pirate with a swollen forehead scratched by a lump asked in confusion, "Muse what island?"

"Musexin Island," Shanks repeated.

"What Xin Island?" The pirate with a swollen forehead looked confused.

"Muse..." Shanks sighed helplessly at his ignorance. "Forget it, you'd better go get beaten up!"

"Alright!" The pirate fled quickly.

Although the demonic little devil with his evil temper was terrifying, this red-haired guy was obviously more frightening!

With just one look, he could almost make someone wet themselves!

They would be left with stiff limbs, foaming at the mouth... compared to this terrifying experience, the pirates would rather be beaten with wooden sticks.

Liam wasn't sure if training with these mediocre pirates would improve his efficiency.

But compared to hiding in a rented house on South Island, it was definitely more refreshing!

After all, he and "B.I.B." were two peas in a pod. Even when they sparred with water pipes, they couldn't pick a winner.

Now, with these mediocre pirates as a backdrop, Liam suddenly realized that his skills had... improved a bit!

At least, chasing and beating ordinary adult pirates with a staff wouldn't be a problem for him.

That kind of fighting power...

Liam estimated that it wasn't too far off from the skills of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, the "Pipe Brothers Trio" of their youth.

Of course, when "B.I.B." was unleashed, even if the youthful Ace, Sabo, and Luffy joined these pirates on this ship, it wouldn't be enough to handle them.

Thud!

The wooden staff flew out of Liam's hand.

Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh... the staff spun quickly in the air.

A few pirates with bruises on their faces looked up or glanced at Liam, who seemed a bit distracted.

Among them, a gleam of ferocity flashed in one pirate's eyes!

Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, 

The staff landed behind him, caught by a hand decorated with invisible blue flame patterns. Just as he was about to lift his foot, a ruthless blow was aimed at the back of his head.

**BAM!**

All the pirates stared in stunned silence, their jaws practically dropped to the deck, as they watched the wooden staff that had just struck one of their comrades in the back of the head seem to move of its own accord.

The staff clattered to the floor and rolled to a halt at the feet of another group of pirates, who recoiled in fear as if it were a poisonous snake.

The hollow staff returned to its original form as a block of wood.

"B.I.B." placed the wooden block in front of the pirate who had been hit. Liam strolled over, sat down on the block, and pressed his foot against the pirate's hand.

"Hey, I'm hungry. How about you make me something to eat?" Liam said with a grin.

The pirate, still dazed and now kneeling in front of Liam, clenched his teeth and replied, "Y-yes..."

Liam laughed heartily and patted the pirate on the back of the head. "You wouldn't poison me, would you? That would be really bad! Hahaha..."

"N-no way...!" The pirate stammered, feeling terrified.

The other pirates swallowed hard, thinking that this boy... this terrifying child really did seem like a madman.

---

The pirate with a large lump on the back of his head stumbled into the kitchen. He began to pull out various ingredients and a sinister look crossed his face as he considered poisoning the food. But fear quickly overcame him and he broke into a cold sweat.

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be handed over to the Marines..."

As he worked, the dark, ghostly form of "B.I.B." watched him silently, its eyes glowing white.

---

The borrowed pirate ship continued to sail across the sea.

At a somewhat clean and orderly kitchen table, the dark armor of 『B.I.B.』 phased through the wooden walls, extracted the Pipe-Pipe Fruit chip from Liam's body, and returned to its original form.

"Ahh..."

Liam gritted his teeth, craned his neck, and shivered before collapsing onto the table with a loud thud.

The sound startled the pirates outside, who thought something terrible had happened again.

"You know..."

Shanks observed Liam, who had adjusted to his extreme fatigue and was now devouring the food on the table with gusto. "You said you could use this ghost ability to get twice the training effect... But the body's 'limit of endurance' is also a kind of self-protection mechanism. Pushing yourself to double your potential like that... It's impressive that you survived and thrived."

"Mm-hmm," Liam mumbled through his stuffed cheeks.

After an intense training session, he was starving and his mouth didn't stop for a moment.

Shanks took a sip of the soup, swirling his spoon thoughtfully. "I think you might have a natural talent for this!"

"I think so too!" Liam managed to say between bites.

"Boruroruro!" A green Den Den Mushi on the table munched happily on a plate of potato soup and breadcrumbs.

As he ate, Liam asked, "So, Shanks, is this 'Musexin Island' the place you're going?"

Shanks nodded. "Yes. But it seems that no one on this ship knows much about navigation... Maybe the navigator was one of those you took out."

He joked.

"There aren't any decent charts on this ship either, just rough hand-drawn sketches... Anyway, let's just get to the nearest island and figure it out from there. I took about half a year off from my crew..." Shanks mused. "That should be enough, right?"

"Your crew would wait half a year for their captain to return?" Liam continued to devour his food. "They must really like you..."

"Haha, they're my crew!" Shanks said proudly. "Although I bet they're having a great time finding entertainment on their own... Before I left, I heard they even got a Den Den Mushi from the Pleasure District..."

"Pleasure District?" Liam's ears perked up at the mention.

Just then, a commotion erupted from the deck.

"There's a ship! A big, fancy one!"

"And it smells like women... Damn, I've been at sea for half a year, finally, I can smell a woman's scent!"

"What's that flag... It's not a skull and crossbones flag... Looks like flowers? And... Is that a road?"

"Haha, a ship full of women! We're in luck!!"

---

Hearing the noise, Liam and Shanks stepped out to see the pirates on deck coming alive with excitement.

Ahead of them, a large, ornate ship sailed toward them, its sails painted with intricate designs of flowers and a winding street.

"That's the Pleasure District flag," Shanks chuckled, glancing at Liam. "But it's probably too early for you."

Liam watched in fascination as the large, decorated ship approached, wondering what new adventures awaited them next.

...