Having defeated Blueno, Li Xiaohu sat down right where he was to regulate his breathing and recover.
The battle had yielded bountiful rewards. Not only had Li Xiaohu gained practical combat experience, but he also received rewards from the System.
"Li Xiaohu defeated CP9's Blueno, rewarded with the spell 'Vajra Bodyguard', Vajra Talisman x10."
"Paulie defeated Marine soldiers, rewarded with Rat-Child Fruit x5."
"Tilestone defeated Marine soldiers, rewarded with Hemostatic Herb x5."
"Lulu defeated Marine soldiers, rewarded with Marching Pill x1."
"Paulie, Tilestone, and Lulu defeated Giant soldiers, rewarded with the spell 'Furious Slaughter'"
"......"
Only after the battle ended did Li Xiaohu notice that the System had rewarded a dense mass of items too numerous to take in at a glance. It seemed Paulie and the others had joined the fray for quite a while now. Li Xiaohu checked on Paulie and the others' status, which was still holding up quite well. He then looked at the newly granted immortal magic rewards.
"'Furious Slaughter': uses whole-body True Qi to stimulate internal potential, increasing attack power at the expense of defensive might. 'Vajra Bodyguard': increases defense by consuming True Qi. These two skills really do complement each other."
"Too bad Paulie and the others don't have True Qi, so they can't learn them." Li Xiaohu rubbed his chin, then suddenly thought: *Wait, can you cast immortal magic on teammates once you form a party? Then it should be the same even if I'm the one who learns it.*
With that thought, Li Xiaohu took out the manuals for "Vajra Bodyguard" and "Furious Slaughter" and began learning them. Once mastered, he immediately cast the skills onto the party portraits of Paulie and the three others.
Meanwhile, back on the main island where Paulie and his companions were fighting, a sudden surge of power welled up inside them. Facing the charging Law Dogs, Tilestone swept his wooden pillar sideways and sent them flying a hundred meters away.
"What is this? Why is my strength so much greater?"
Taking advantage of Paulie's momentary distraction, a Law Dog member launched a surprise attack, thrusting a sharp blade toward Paulie's shoulder. But with a crisp "clang," the blade snapped in two.
"Trying to sneak attack me, are you? Go to hell!" Paulie whipped out his ropes and defeated the man and dog right in front of him.
The physical state of Paulie and the other two was better than ever before. They quickly connected the change to Li Xiaohu, given how many surprises—and considerable shocks—he had already given them. Although they had no idea how Li Xiaohu pulled it off, since he still had the spare energy to buff them, they must still be safe for now.
"Thanks a lot, Xiaohu. Let's keep moving forward!"
Over on Li Xiaohu's side, casting the immortal magic on the three men had drained more than half of his own True Qi. Checking Paulie and the others' status bars, he saw the buffs would last for about half an hour.
"Not bad." Li Xiaohu pulled some Royal Jelly from his pack to recover his True Qi.
Whether Lucci and the others were simply too arrogant, believing Blueno alone could handle Li Xiaohu, nobody came over. By the time Li Xiaohu finished regulating his breath, still not a soul had appeared.
Just as Li Xiaohu got to his feet, Straw Hat Luffy arrived on the rooftop: "Oh, you're already here? You're even faster than me."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the floor began to tremble, and a whirlwind burst up from below. Chopper, Zoro, and Nami flew up riding the wind. While Nami was beating up Zoro, Sogeking was successfully won over by the Giants and tossed up as well. At the same time, the floor on the other side exploded, and Sanji arrived too. With that, the entire Straw Hat Pirates crew was assembled on the courthouse roof.
The Judicial Tower, where Franky and Nico Robin were being held, was right in front of them. Feeling a premonition, Li Xiaohu looked up toward the top of the Judicial Tower. There, looking down from above, stood Kaku, Lucci, and the rest—who else could it be?
Nico Robin stood at the edge, gazing at the Straw Hat Pirates with a complex expression. Franky stood right beside her.
"Why did you come to save me? Did I ask you to? Don't act on your own accord, I don't want to live anymore!" Robin shouted.
"I don't care what you think! Even if you want to die, come back to our side first!" Luffy shouted back.
"Hahahaha, don't you understand yet?" CP9's commander-in-chief, Spandam, said. "This woman is a descendant of the demon race of Ohara; bad luck follows whoever is with her. See the Golden Den Den Mushi in my hand? Just press this button, and a Buster Call is summoned. Twenty years ago, this woman's hometown was destroyed by a Buster Call summoned just like this. That is a power capable of destroying an entire island. Can a mere pirate crew like yours hope to resist it? See that flag on Enies Lobby? It is the symbol of the one hundred and seventy allied nations of the World Government. Now you know what you're facing, right? To make an enemy of us is to make an enemy of the entire world! Now you know how insignificant you are. Hahahaha..."
"That's right. I shouldn't be alive. Following you will only lead you into danger. Whether it was Aokiji before or CP9 now, endless danger follows me. Even if you rescue me now, you'll regret it later. Rather than being abandoned by you and dying a lonely death, let me die right here!"
"I know who Robin's enemy is now," Luffy said. "Sogeking, shoot that flag down."
"Understood," said the masked, long-nosed man. "Witness the power of my new weapon, Kabuto! Firebird Star!"
A burning bird soared straight through the flag on the roof of the Judicial Tower, and the banner was instantly swallowed by flames.
"Are you insane?! You're declaring war on the whole world! You won't live to see another day!"
"That suits me just fine!" Luffy roared. "Robin, say it! You want to live! Leave the rest to us!"
Li Xiaohu was somewhat shaken. Just for a single companion, the Straw Hat Pirates had directly declared war on the World Government. Because of this, regardless of whether Nico Robin was with them or not, they had made themselves targets for relentless pursuit.
Nico Robin burst into tears, her will to survive stronger than it had ever been: "I... I want to live! Take me out to sea with you!"
Meanwhile, Franky was deeply moved by the bonds of the Straw Hat Pirates. He pulled out the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton, which had been hidden inside his cyborg body, and vomited up a burst of fire right in front of Spandam to burn them away: "Nico Robin, do you know how the blueprints we guarded for generations came to be? Because you have the ability to awaken the Ancient Weapons, we had to have a weapon capable of rivaling them in case they were exploited by villains. That's the Pluton blueprint we protected. But I'm betting you'll be rescued by the Straw Hat Pirates, so these blueprints no longer need to exist."
Furious, Spandam shoved Franky off the Judicial Tower. Using his Sword-Flying Technique, Li Xiaohu caught Franky in mid-air. Seeing that the Ancient Weapon blueprints were gone, Spandam's only thought was to get Robin to Marine headquarters as quickly as possible to trade for a promotion. He ordered CP9 to intercept the Straw Hat Pirates inside the Judicial Tower and left with Robin.
Seeing that Robin was about to be taken away while the bridge between the courthouse and the Judicial Tower had not yet fully lowered, the Straw Hat Pirates grew frantic. Right then, Granny Kokoro drove the Rocketman crashing out of the courthouse, having Luffy and the others board it to smash directly into the Judicial Tower.
Li Xiaohu had already saved Franky, but Franky refused to leave alone; he wanted to stay and help the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Are you sure? Mr. Iceburg is very worried about your safety."
"The thing Franky values most is loyalty and righteousness. Go back and tell Iceburg not to worry about me. I'm definitely going to make it back alive."
Li Xiaohu sighed. Having heard of the destructive power of a Buster Call, even he couldn't guarantee he'd escape unscathed. Where did these people get such confidence? Fortunately, there was still time; perhaps with a swift victory, things wouldn't turn out too badly.
"I'll help out too, then."
"Quest received: Rescue Nico Robin. Time limit: 2 hours; Reward: 'Miao Border Sorcery'."
Inside the Judicial Tower, the Straw Hat Pirates encountered their first CP9 member—a man who looked like an owl.
"Chapapa! Nico Robin isn't here; she was taken by the commander to the Gates of Justice, and Lucci went with them. Nico Robin is wearing Seastone handcuffs, and the keys are in the hands of the five of us CP9 members. You can only get the keys by defeating us. But which key is the real one? Chapapa!" The owl bounced along the wall and ran off as he spoke.
After a brief discussion, the Straw Hat Pirates decided to let Luffy chase after Robin, while the rest searched the Judicial Tower for the CP9 members to get the keys.
Circling the Judicial Tower once, Li Xiaohu quickly found the room where Kaku was waiting. Seeing Kaku sitting in a chair waiting for him, Li Xiaohu smashed straight through the window.
"Kaku, we meet again."
"Oh? Li Xiaohu, are you here to defeat me? I advise you not to throw your life away. Having worked together for two years, I know your abilities quite well."
"Is that so? Come to think of it, I don't know a single thing about you."
"Then, are you prepared to run?"
"Cut the crap. Let's go."
Kaku stood up and picked up the two swords at his side. "I won't hold back this time."