Chapter 69: Hadōken!
Merchants like Link, who had transformed into salesmen, were all doing the same thing as long as they could talk.
For the civilians, those who could open their doors were allowed to; those who couldn't had their doors forcibly broken down. In short, the goods had to be sold.
As for the civilians, although initially frightened, upon seeing so many cheap goods, their panic immediately dissipated, and they started picking and choosing instead.
Because it was indeed very cheap...
Not to mention the essential medicines – those were hot commodities. As long as they were cheaper than in the stores, even by just 10%, someone would buy them.
Next were the jewels. Bought at nearly 70% or even 50% of the market price, they were widely popular among women, who were willing to spend money on them.
The men wouldn't refuse either. For them, buying these things was already a gain; reselling them later might even earn them money.
The most unpopular items, conversely, were the weapons and gunpowder.
The former was slightly better; there were always some people who liked weapons, whether for collection or self-defense, and some were bought. But the latter, basically no one touched.
Because gunpowder, apart from bullets for firearms, mostly consisted of cannonballs and the like, and even the cannons themselves...
These had been robbed by the pirates from the Marine base. Regardless of whether the civilians had brains or not, they wouldn't buy these things.
The World Government didn't prohibit ordinary weapons like swords and guns, but cannons, apart from pirates, no one would use them. Even the local gangsters wouldn't buy cannons.
However, they *did* buy weapons.
These difficult-to-handle weapons, the black market merchants turned their attention to the gangsters. The civilians wouldn't buy too many things, so everything was absorbed by the gangsters.
As for the cannons and such...
"Fire them!"
Link, after running back and forth several times, looked at the cannons placed on the wasteland, which had undergone special waterproof treatment so the storm couldn't wet the barrels, and gritted his teeth. "These were all bought with one billion Beli! They belong to me! I won't easily return them to the Marines. Fire them all, then throw the cannons into the sea!"
He had thought about returning the cannons to the Marines, perhaps gaining some goodwill. But after thinking about it, that seemed like sending evidence straight to the Marines. The risk was too great. It was better to destroy all the evidence. That way, even if they knew it was these people who did it, there was nothing they could do.
A group of subordinates pushed the cannons to the seaside, loaded the cannonballs, and pulled the fuses.
*Boom!!*
Zephyr smashed down a fist. The fist didn't even reach Sag's body but was instead punched out by Sag. Fist met fist without contact, separated by a small distance in the center, creating a shockwave and a roaring sound.
That fist, flowing like black fire, withstood Zephyr's fist!
Sag raised his head, flashing a provocative, fierce grin at Zephyr.
"Kid, good job!"
Zephyr bared his teeth, his pupils suddenly widening. Haki like a fierce wind swept onto his prosthetic limb, and he punched again.
*Bang bang bang!*
The collision of fist against fist erupted with extremely strong shockwaves that rippled through the air, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
To onlookers, their moves were very strange and terrifying. The fists clearly hadn't collided, yet the power was astonishingly great.
As the fists continued to clash, Zephyr's face suddenly flushed red, his breathing became rapid, clearly gasping for air. The level of his Haki decreased, and his movements became sluggish.
Sag found an opportunity and showed no mercy. His hands brushed past Zephyr's fists, bringing his body close. The Haki on his fists concentrated onto his knee, and he delivered a knee strike towards Zephyr's abdomen. His knee didn't even touch the abdomen before the impact bloomed.
*Bang!*
Zephyr was sent flying backward by this attack. He spun in the air, landed on the ground, opened his mouth, and spat out blood. He covered his mouth, his body trembling, seemingly enduring something. It took him a long while to recover.
He took several deep breaths forcefully, as if forcibly enduring something, before looking at Sag opposite him, who, although covered in blood, had an increasingly vigorous aura.
"Not only emission, but you also learned internal destruction?"
*Chih!*
Sag exhaled a white breath like an arrow, shaking the blood off his body. At the same time, he grimaced in pain again, but grinned fiercely, unwilling to admit defeat. "Thanks to you!"
Emission was releasing Haki outwards, forming a shockwave-like strike that could hit people without touching the body. It seemed powerful, and indeed it was.
But this was a *skill* of Haki, not some level of comprehension. It was different from Haki itself, which needed personal comprehension. Haki *skills* did not.
For Sag, who understood the concept of Haki and was proficient in it, as long as it was a skill, it couldn't escape his eyes.
In Hokuto Shinken, there was a move called 'Hokuto Suieishin' (North Star Water Shadow Heart), which could copy others' moves.
Essentially, it relied on extremely profound martial arts attainment to analyze techniques. Coincidentally, this was Sag's most proficient move. He had practiced 'Hokuto Suieishin' down to his very marrow. As long as it was a technique he had encountered, no matter how difficult, for him, it was only a matter of time.
When Zephyr first used emission and internal destruction, it caught him off guard. But after suffering two blows, he immediately understood the technique of emission and used it.
But he certainly wasn't gaining the upper hand; instead, he still had disadvantages.
Hardening, Coating, Emission, Destruction – these four skills could be used in combination. This old guy added internal destruction while using emission. When blocking the emission impact head-on, he simply couldn't stop the destructive impact that seeped into his body.
If he hadn't used the Turning Dragon Breathing Technique, he feared he would have been lying down already.
It was only after being hit several times that he cracked the technique of internal destruction, finally causing damage to Zephyr.
Before that, he only knew emission.
Even so, it was because Zephyr's body had a problem, revealing an opening, that he managed to hit him. Otherwise, with that Haki strength... he would have been helpless.
Zephyr was also gazing at Sag, becoming more astonished the more he looked. Initially, just the emission was enough to surprise him. But in the subsequent battle, after just a few punches, he immediately grasped internal destruction.
Zephyr didn't know if the monsters out on the Grand Line could compare to Sag in terms of this monstrous aptitude, but he knew...
"I absolutely cannot let you enter the sea!"
*Boom!*
Zephyr swung his left arm. Haki flowed rapidly like the wind, wrapping around his hand like a hurricane. As his left arm swung, it actually created a roaring sound in the air.
The wind-like airflow even wrapped around Zephyr's entire body, making his purple hair flutter upwards and causing the cloak behind him to flap.
*Ka!*
The ground beneath his feet cracked at that instant, sinking into a crater, the gravel trembling and rising.
The amount of Haki, coating his entire body, was beyond imagination!
The old guy was using his full strength!
Zephyr slowly spoke, "Kid, this old man admits you are uniquely strong in martial arts. But precisely because of this, if I cannot arrest you this time, I don't know how much effort it will take next time, and how much destruction will be caused. Before you have fully grown, this old man will arrest you!!"
He couldn't continue tangling with this kid. Using full strength like this, although his body would suffer more, right now, catching this kid was the most important thing!
*Boom!*
Zephyr's figure flashed into a phantom, just about to charge forward. But just then, a black impact quickly struck towards him, making him subconsciously stop his steps and punch the impact away.
He frowned, looking somewhat incredulously at Sag swinging his palm, thick doubt appearing in his eyes.
*Emission? But why is the force wrong...*
Sag's expanded body rapidly shrank like a deflating ball, returning to his normal size. He exhaled a turbid breath and smiled at Zephyr, "I won't let you get close again."
That level of Haki, if he came into contact with it, he definitely couldn't withstand it.
However, avoiding contact wasn't impossible.
Hokuto Shinken had *Tōki* (Fighting Spirit) moves. But in this world, *Tōki* was Haki. Sag, having just mastered Haki, only knew close combat and couldn't use certain moves yet. But now that he knew emission, things were different.
The sealed techniques within Hokuto Shinken could now be used.
Its attack technique was called 'Hokuto Gōshōha'! (North Star Hard Palm Wave)!
Or perhaps, called 'Kamehameha'. (Turtle School Shockwave)
Or even...
*Boom!*
Sag spread his five fingers. Black flowing fire flew from his palm, like an activated cannonball, rapidly launching forward.
"Hadōken!" (Wave Motion Fist)!
●●●
● 24 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
● https://www.patreon.com/c/Devmaya
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)