Chapter 1344 - 55: What the Hell Is This Thing

Chapter 1344: Chapter 55: What the Hell Is This Thing

Five large warships are moored at the port, with over a hundred navy personnel standing on the docks. These navy personnel are special—they are all women, with no men among their ranks.

Behind these hundred female marines are thousands of male navy personnel, standing straight and looking like a flock of ’excited’ roosters.

These hundred female marines are under the direct command of General Crane. Don’t underestimate them just because they are women; they are an elite troop.

"General Crane has arrived."

One female marine whispered, trying to keep her lips as still as possible.

"No talking, or the general will deal with you."

"Nah, that won’t happen. General Crane is the kindest."

"Look at that old man, yes, that’s Mr. Garp. It’s said that in his youth, he had a crush on the general."

"Really?"

"Of course. Apparently, Marshal Sengoku was a rival in love."

"After dismissal, give me all the details about this."

The female marines may appear valiant, but they also have a penchant for gossip.

"It’s said that the general is responsible for escorting a vicious criminal this time."

"That’s easy. We’ve escorted all kinds of criminals."

"What is... that thing?!"

A female marine’s expression showed some confusion, and moments later, the surrounding female marines were equally puzzled.

Puff, puff...

The sound of steam spewing echoed.

Thud, thud, thud...

It seemed like something heavy was approaching from inside the warship. The first thing that caught the female marines’ eyes was a group of male marines holding long guns, all aiming in one direction.

Soon, Su Xiao, wearing specially-made exterior armor, appeared before the marines. The marines on the island had faces full of confusion, almost uniformly thinking, "What did this guy do to require such escorting? Also, who is this?"

"Little Crane, isn’t this a bit much?"

Garp glanced at Su Xiao. Even when he was escorting Kaido, he didn’t use those steaming metals.

"Don’t mix him up with pirates; pirates couldn’t create bombs capable of sinking an island."

General Crane kept her eyes on Su Xiao, focusing on observing his expression. Ever since Su Xiao was captured, General Crane felt that something was off.

Su Xiao descended the wooden steps from the ship, arriving on the island. He looked up at the endless red stone walls and immediately realized this was the Red Soil Continent.

The first half of the Great Route is separated from the New World by the Red Soil Continent. There are two ways to get from the New World to the first half of the Great Route. One is to cross the Red Soil Continent, which is the safest and fastest route. The World Government has carved paths into the Red Soil Continent to facilitate climbing.

As for the second route, it’s Fishman Island below the Red Soil Continent. Only pirates would choose to pass through these deep waters; it’s too dangerous.

Around Su Xiao were dozens of navy personnel holding guns, and among them were about a dozen marines tightly gripping metal rods connected to the exterior armor.

"Are you planning to make me climb the Red Soil Continent wearing this thing?"

Su Xiao stopped walking.

"Keep moving!"

"Don’t stop!"

"Don’t move!"

Su Xiao looked towards the navy personnel who shouted for him not to move. That person was clearly an oddball among the navy.

The marine’s facial expression twisted, with big shots present. He couldn’t laugh; he absolutely couldn’t laugh.

"Don’t embarrass us here."

Garp shouted and gave a slap to the back of the marine’s head who called ’don’t move,’ then burst into laughter.

The marine scratched his head, but inwardly he sighed in relief because his superior, Garp, didn’t seem to mind his mistake.

"Stop dawdling and take over the prisoner."

As soon as General Crane finished speaking, those hundred female marines stepped forward, replacing the previous batch of navy personnel to escort Su Xiao.

Compared to the sweaty male navy who have been sailing for days, these female navy officers are obviously much more pleasing to the eye, and the air around Su Xiao is also much fresher.

Su Xiao’s experience improved a lot, but the hundreds of female navy officers were extremely tense. Though the sun was blazing, some of the female navy officers had cold sweat on their faces.

Hiss, hiss...

Steam spewed, and under the escort of a hundred tense-faced female navy officers, Su Xiao headed towards the Red Soil Continent.

Vice Admiral Crane glanced at Su Xiao, who seemed at ease, and then at the highly tense female soldiers, sighing helplessly.

Over ten minutes later, Su Xiao arrived below the Red Soil Continent. Hundreds of steel wire ladders descended from above, as not all parts of the red rock face were suitable for climbing.

"Climb up as quickly as you can."

Vice Admiral Crane stomped on the ground and leapt to a certain height. A muffled boom sounded under her feet, and her body continued to rise.

Kizaru approached Su Xiao, grabbed his arm, and then partially turned into an element. With a whoosh, he transformed into a beam of light, shooting straight into the sky.

In just a few minutes, Su Xiao reached the top of the Red Soil Continent. Before he could take in the scene above, something flickered in front of his eyes.

About ten minutes later, Su Xiao reached the other end of the Red Soil Continent. Kizaru’s travel speed is definitely among the top in the navy.

In less than half an hour, Su Xiao was on an island on the other side of the Red Soil Continent, which was also a navy branch.

Soon after, Garp and Vice Admiral Crane arrived. The three surrounded Su Xiao, and after waiting for about an hour, the female navy officers finally arrived.

The navy’s efficiency was commendable, fortunately, Bubu Wang’s speed wasn’t slow either. It mixed in with those female navy officers, successfully passing through the inspection on the Red Soil Continent above.

Under the escort of over a hundred female navy officers, Su Xiao boarded a warship and was imprisoned again in a cell. This cell wasn’t much different from the previous one, except for a rather strong smell of blood.

The warship sailed on the sea. When they reached the first half of the Great Route, the navy noticeably relaxed. The New World was the pirates’ domain, whereas here was the navy’s territory.

Having removed his exterior armor, Su Xiao sat in the cell. A few minutes ago, Bubu Wang conveyed good news: Kizaru had left, and the only ones left escorting him were Vice Admiral Crane and Garp.

As it turns out, the three were not specifically sent to the New World to capture Su Xiao, but were on another mission that failed. Then, the three turned their target towards Dressrosa.

At present, the warship was too close to the Red Soil Continent, so Su Xiao was not yet ready to execute his breakout plan.

A dozen minutes after the warship had been sailing, Su Xiao took a deep breath in the cell. The flow of his blood and his heartbeat returned to normal, and a strong sense of hunger surged within him.

Su Xiao’s subtle movements in the cell immediately caught Crane’s attention.

"Save your strength. I don’t want to drag you off the ship."

Vice Admiral Crane stood up, staring intently at Su Xiao. In the past few days, Su Xiao could sit in the cell for an entire day without moving.

Su Xiao paid no heed to Vice Admiral Crane as he focused his attention, soon sensing ten alchemy bombs. These alchemy bombs had been affixed to the bottom of the warship, the surface gradually turning red-hot.

Boom, boom, boom...

The entire warship shook violently. Simultaneously, a light blue energy shield wall appeared in front of Su Xiao. Dragon Slash appeared in his hand, and he tossed Dragon Slash into his mouth.

Su Xiao bit down on the handle of Dragon Slash, his jaw muscles prominent, and the blade rested on the chains between the sea-stone handcuffs. With force, he pulled down.

With a crisp ’ding’, all seven sea-stone chains were severed. The legendary level of Dragon Slash was indeed this sharp.

Freeing his arms, Su Xiao gripped Dragon Slash with one hand. As the blade flashed, the shackles on his feet and the chains on his body were all severed.

Plumes of soap bubbles surged into the cell as Vice Admiral Crane stared in disbelief.

Su Xiao completely ignored Vice Admiral Crane, delivering several slashes to the metal wall behind him.

The long knife pierced through the metal wall, also releasing several blade auras that directly sliced towards the wooden boards inside the ship.

How could the ship possibly withstand the blade auras? Several irregularly shaped wooden boards splintered off, and with a crash, seawater flooded the cabin.

Vice Admiral Crane clenched her fists. Not only had the sea-stone metal rails failed to imprison him, but they also separated her as a Devil Fruit User who couldn’t touch the sea-stone. As for opening the cell door, from when Su Xiao took out Dragon Slash to sever the ship, it took less than 2 seconds altogether. This wasn’t an accidental escape; it was a long-planned action.

Vice Admiral Crane finally realized why Su Xiao often used the handcuffs to hit the ground. He was using the transmission of sound waves to judge the internal structure of the ship.

The sea water flooding into the cabin had already reached Su Xiao’s knees. He dispelled the energy shield wall and a large amount of sea water rushed towards Vice Admiral Crane.

"Thank you for your escort."

Su Xiao smiled at Vice Admiral Crane, pushing through the surging seawater to slip out of the ship.

In the seawater, Su Xiao slashed with Dragon Slash along his arm, slicing off the sea-stone shackles one by one, watching them sink to the seabed.

After taking out submersion equipment, Su Xiao tilted his body and dove into the sea. He arrived in the first half of the Great Route, and according to his calculations, it wasn’t far from the Shapodi Archipelago.