Chapter 9 Shanks Takes Action!

Despite Rocks' ugly expression, Linlin chose to abandon the battlefield after seeing the Meatball Fruit.

She was incredibly fast and was about to catch Ivan. In the blink of an eye, Kael suddenly raised his pitch-black right hand and pointed it at Ivan. A black vortex appeared in his palm.

"Universal Pull!"

Buzz!

A powerful gravitational force was unleashed from the dark vortex. Ivan and the Meatball Fruit in his hand were sucked toward Kael at high speed. Linlin saw Ivan disappear from in front of her eyes and was stunned.

The burly men in the distance also reacted differently when they saw this scene. Rocks gave Kael an incredible look and focused on the dark vortex in his hand.

"That kid just now?! That ability… Could it be!?"

Even Devil Shanks was shocked not by the Dark Fruit's power, but by Kael's face.

"Who is that kid?"

Everyone had their own thoughts.

After a moment of confusion, Linlin turned around and looked at Kael with a playful gaze, saying softly:

"I didn't expect someone as young as you to have an ability...

It seems you've got a good one.

Fine, you're handsome, but you stole my prey.

Hand over the fruit obediently.

How about following me in the future?"

At this point, Linlin was not yet fat she was still extremely attractive and beautiful. Even her voice carried a seductive tone.

Still, in Kael's mind was the image of the drooling, bloated, crazy old woman, and he couldn't help but shudder.

Linlin sensed Kael's fear. She laughed and slowly walked toward the "frightened" Kael.

Just when Linlin thought the Meatball Fruit was hers, Kael grabbed Ivan's arm and squeezed hard. Ivan screamed in pain.

Kael seized the chance, snatched the Meatball Fruit, and was about to shove it into Ivan's mouth but he still underestimated Linlin's speed.

In one breath, Linlin dashed in front of Kael, and poor Ivan was kicked like a ball by her.

She crouched down, pinched Kael's thin-looking arm between her fingers, and said in a nasty tone:

"Little ghost, you're not very honest, are you… huh?!"

Linlin's face suddenly changed, and she abruptly raised her arm. As soon as she completed the motion, a black figure holding a sword appeared and slashed Linlin's arm.

"Clang!"

The attacker was none other than Shanks. After cutting her arm, he immediately pulled back and stared coldly at Linlin.

Linlin pulled her arm back and deactivated her ability. On her pale skin, a distinct red mark could be seen. Despite her terrifying defense, she felt a dull pain in her arm.

Frowning, she hadn't expected the leader of the God Knights to leave the main battlefield and come settle things with her. This made her very uneasy, and she thought to herself:

"So even the Celestial Dragons value this Meatball Fruit… In that case, I need to take it along with the Azure Dragon Fruit!"

The message from Ginny had clearly mentioned both the Meatball and Azure Dragon Fruits. Before coming, Linlin had seen the Devil Fruit's picture. Her main reason for coming to God Valley was to obtain the Azure Dragon Fruit.

She already had the Soul Fruit, of course she used it to tempt the reluctant Kaido into submission.

Linlin had never truly submitted to Rocks. She had long planned to leave the Rocks Pirates and act alone. She also wanted to bind Kaido with the Azure Dragon Fruit and force him to follow her "in the future."

Originally, she only wanted to use the Meatball Fruit as a substitute, but Shanks' attack made her focus on it even more.

But Shanks didn't care about the so-called Meatball Fruit at all. He turned his head to the Kael whom Linlin had ignored and stared for a moment at Kael's exposed chest.

Upon seeing the scars on Kael's chest, Shanks' eyes lit up and he asked:

"Hey, what's your name?"

Kael was stunned for a moment. Of course, he recognized Shanks the leader of the God Knights, the most elite of the Celestial Dragons, and a terrifyingly powerful man.

Why would someone like him show interest in a kid like Kael?

Was it because of the Dark Fruit ability he just displayed?

"My name is Kael."

Hearing Kael's name, Shanks' body trembled slightly, and he eagerly asked:

"Your full name?"

Kael froze. Shanks seemed to recognize him or rather, his predecessor. But Kael didn't remember anything about his past, so he honestly replied:

"I don't remember what happened before. I only know my name is Kael."

Kael's words felt more genuine than gold.

Shanks nodded thoughtfully and murmured:

"Lost your memory? You remember your name, but not your surname..."

Seeing this, Kael asked shyly,

"Do you know me? Can you tell me my full name?"

The two of them were having a conversation while Linlin had been completely sidelined. Veins popped on her forehead, and she shouted in fury:

"Enough! Do you think you can just ignore me!? What do you take me for!?"

She grabbed the Meatball Fruit tightly, lifted her feet, and began to leave.

Just as Kael thought the Meatball Fruit was about to be taken, Shanks moved again.

He raised his sword and swung it, unleashing a blast of sword energy crackling with red and black lightning that shot directly at Linlin.

Linlin didn't dare to raise her brows and was forced to cross her arms in front of her chest to block the slash. The Meatball Fruit slipped from her hands and rolled to Kael's feet.

Ivan had already been kicked meters away by Linlin. Kael jumped up, and with a sharp kick, sent the Meatball Fruit flying toward the bear and shouted:

"Bear! Eat the Meatball Fruit now!"

The bear and Ginny were still dazed. Kael's shout snapped them out of it. The bear no longer hesitated. He opened his mouth wide and lunged at the flying Meatball Fruit.

His mouth was much bigger than Kael's, and he swallowed the Meatball Fruit whole. Soon after, a pair of cute meat pads appeared in the bear's palms.