Chapter Twenty-Seven: Locke the Blood Ghost-Eu, Kizaru, só entrei no grupo de bate-papo depois de me tornar invencível(Biscoitos de arroz com vinho tinto)

"Oh? You mean Blood Ghost Locke? That Paramecia-type Blood-Blood Fruit user?"

Sandersonia paused for a moment before realizing who Borsalino was referring to.

"The Blood-Blood Fruit?"

Borsalino, who had only asked out of casual curiosity, looked somewhat surprised. While a bounty of tens of millions of berries was technically enough to be considered a great pirate, he still remembered the previous user of the Blood-Blood Fruit—or perhaps one from even earlier—whose strength had left a profound impression on him back when he was still a newcomer. Had it not been for the overpowered nature of the Glint-Glint Fruit, it was questionable whether the Navy would even have an Admiral Kizaru today.

Thinking about a power that had once been used by an "old friend," the fact that the current user was such a weakling nearly made him laugh out loud.

"Yes, it’s a quite troublesome fruit ability. If we hadn't been equipped with Seastone weapons, we might not have managed to capture him." Marigold tried to defend her sisters for their lax guard; otherwise, while Lord Borsalino might not punish them, Hancock would certainly not be so lenient.

"Haha, take me to see the guy. He is, after all, an 'old friend'." Borsalino suddenly became interested in meeting Blood Ghost Locke.

Back in the day, he had been quite envious of that Blood-Blood Fruit user's ability—the mere acquisition of a drop of an enemy's blood allowed one to curse them and inflict constant, draining damage. Had Borsalino not been a Logia-type user himself, he might very well have fallen at that person's hands. Unfortunately, after defeating that user, the Devil Fruit had not reappeared in the nearest fruit. Since missing that chance, Borsalino had never heard rumors of that fruit again, and he never expected it to end up in the hands of such a weakling.

Blood Ghost Locke was a pirate "native" to the Grand Line, and because of that, he knew quite a bit about the "legal pirates" known as the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Yet, Locke could never have imagined that he would one day fall into the hands of the Warlords! Although the one who captured him wasn't the legendary Pirate Empress herself, the Kuja warriors were truly brutal. The two hundred subordinates he had painstakingly recruited were routed by a few dozen warrior guards in a single encounter. If that were the only issue, it would be one thing, but Locke had managed to survive under the nose of the Navy to become a great pirate with an 80-million-berry bounty, and he didn't rely solely on his subordinates to make a living.

Among the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, few could stand against Hancock's two sisters, but Blood Ghost Locke happened to be one of them. However, Marigold and Sandersonia had no interest in "fair play" and engaged him in a two-on-one fight. Even so, Locke could have found an opportunity to escape if that were all. But his subordinates were too useless. Before he could find a chance to flee, they were completely wiped out, leaving their captain, Locke, surrounded by the warrior guards.

"Damn those Kuja Pirates, damn that Empress! I'll settle the score with those wretched hags sooner or later!" Locke panted heavily, hiding deep within the warehouse. When he realized he had no chance to escape, he had consciously reduced his resistance to conserve strength. Events proved his intuition correct. When Sandersonia realized that even with the two of them working together it was difficult to take Locke down, she simply ordered the warrior guards to join in. No matter how strong Locke was, he could not withstand the combined assault of Hancock's two sisters and dozens of warrior guards, eventually suffering the humiliation of becoming a prisoner of the Kuja Pirates.

Just as Locke, severely wounded and locked in a cell, could find no way to escape, the guards' vigilance inexplicably slackened. Seizing the opportunity, Locke not only broke out of his cell but also used the power of the Blood-Blood Fruit to absorb blood and fully recover from his injuries. Locke once felt he was about to make his escape, only to be chased into ruin by swarms of Kuja warriors. Hundreds of women who had mastered Armament Haki swarmed him, and at that moment, Locke understood what true despair was. Had the Blood-Blood Fruit not possessed top-tier survival abilities, he would have been dead long ago.

"Damn it! The absorbed blood has reached its limit; any more in such a short time will trigger a rejection reaction!" While the hags hadn't found him yet, Locke hurriedly checked his condition, only to reach a grim conclusion.

Just as Locke sank into despair, the warehouse door slowly creaked open, and a figure, unnaturally tall, appeared in the doorway.

"Let me see if he's hiding here..."

Watching the man walk into the warehouse, with the shadows of those wretched hags appearing behind him, Locke couldn't help but feel a desperate urge to fight to the death. Even if he were to die, he would drag a few of those hags down with him. Wait, why did that person's voice sound like a man's...

Transforming into a puddle of blood and lunging from the shadows, Locke didn't even have time to see what his target looked like before a large foot wearing a sandal landed on his face.

*Thud!*

The Locke who had been lunging forward a second ago was sent flying like a human cannonball, shattering the sturdy wall of the warehouse in the blink of an eye. The harbor warehouse had been built with the function of a small fortress in mind; should enemies attack, the Kuja warriors could use it to hold the harbor. It was easy to imagine how thick the walls were. Yet, after taking a kick from Borsalino, Locke had smashed a massive hole through the wall with unstoppable force.

*Crash, crash, crash...*

Shattering obstacles like a cannonball, Locke finally came to a stop after dragging a trench dozens of meters long into the ground. It was only because the Blood-Blood Fruit’s survival ability was incredibly strong that he hadn't been killed instantly; even a Zoan-type user wouldn't have been able to withstand that kick. Even so, Locke, with a footprint branded onto his face, fell into a dying state. Even the previous barrage of arrows from the Kuja warriors hadn't caused him as much damage as that single kick.

"Oh my, it seems I used a bit too much force..."

In his dying state, Locke seemed to hear a voice. Perhaps because he no longer needed to waste energy thinking about how to escape, he was now absolutely certain he was hearing a man's voice.

How ironic... He had been captured by the legendary Amazon Lily, the Island of Women, only to die at the hands of a man. The strike just now was too exaggerated; the opponent hadn't even coated himself in Armament Haki, wasn't even being serious, and had merely kicked out subconsciously because he didn't want him to get too close.

"Hhh..."

Locke seemed to want to say something, but unfortunately, his entire face had been caved in by the kick. Forget speaking—even making a sound was an impossible feat.