Chapter 88: The Armadillo People (Second Update—Please Vote for This Book)

Because of her concern and trust in Roland, Nami did not seek refuge in the safety cabin; instead, she watched the battle unfold from a hidden corner. Yet this battle completely upended her understanding of the world.

Back in the East Sea, even someone of Smoker’s caliber—a headquarters-level colonel—could be easily defeated by Roland, not to mention others. At that time, she considered Roland invincible, as every time she witnessed him fight, the battle was resolved with effortless ease.

But now, everything seemed reversed. The Roland who once dispatched opponents with ease was, in turn, easily defeated by another. Recently, following Penggleis and other navigators, she had learned much—not only about navigation, but also about the customs of the Grand Line.

Among them, she remembered most clearly one thing: those who possess Devil Fruit powers are abandoned by the sea; both Seastone and the ocean itself strip them of their abilities and drain their stamina. She hadn’t understood this at first, but Penggleis had explained simply: if a Devil Fruit user falls into the sea alone, it is essentially a death sentence.

Now, she watched as Roland was struck by that Vice Admiral, sent crashing through the railing and into the open air, and she could no longer remain in hiding. She dashed from her corner, running toward the direction where Roland had been flung.

She knew she could not help Roland in this fight, but she could at least retrieve him from the sea. Whether surrender or begging for mercy followed, no matter what price she had to pay, as long as Roland survived, she would do it.

Roland, thrown out and away, was unaware of Nami’s actions at that moment. The spiral Six Kings Cannon from Tucci had nearly caused him to lose consciousness from the pain.

Fortunately, the system finally lent its strength; just as he was about to touch the sea, it transformed him into Yudian, preventing the humiliation of falling into the water.

“Nami, hide for now. Leave the rest to me.”

Though curious why Nami was here, Roland still offered her some reassurance.

“Alright,” Nami replied, reluctantly stepping away from Roland’s side. Since he was unharmed, her presence would only become a burden.

“So she is your most precious person? In that case, I’ll let you taste the agony of losing a loved one,” Tucci said, licking his lips and charging toward Nami with a menacing grin.

This battle was waged for vengeance; whatever would satisfy him, Tucci was willing to do.

“The real fight is only beginning!”

Transformed into Yudian, Roland immediately positioned himself between Nami and Tucci. With the enhancements of the Yudian form, his statistics all broke through the sixth level, resulting in a qualitative leap.

In addition, he could now use three of Yudian’s skills from the game, each adapted to reality. Mana Burn now meant sacrificing a portion of his own stamina to drain even more from his opponent. Sacrifice appeared to be a unique ability of this form, usable so long as he had energy left.

Moreover, the flames during Sacrifice were no longer harmless green fire, but now could actually harm the opponent’s soul.

The third skill, Evasion, was Roland’s favorite; it granted him abilities akin to the Navy’s Six Powers Paper Drawing technique. The chance to evade, previously capped at thirty percent, now depended on his own reactions.

“Did you think you were the only Devil Fruit user?” Tucci sneered, activating his Devil Fruit power and transforming into a half-human, half-beast giant armadillo.

Though called an armadillo, compared to a human, only his skin had changed color, and a shell like a turtle’s carapace had appeared on his back.

“I could defeat you without transforming, but I want you to understand what despair truly means,” Tucci cackled, extending his sharp claws as he lunged at Roland.

The Zoan-type Devil Fruits were indeed the favorites of everyone in the New World; their boost to physical prowess was no small matter.

Where Tucci previously needed Shave to achieve such speed, now in armadillo form, his basic speed sufficed.

“But you must understand: not all Devil Fruits are equal,” Roland replied.

With sixth-level speed, Roland could barely keep up with Tucci, and with his Observation Haki, he was fully able to follow Tucci’s movements.

“Six Powers: Needle Gun!”

This was a one-of-a-kind technique Tucci had developed by combining the abilities of the armadillo with the Navy’s Finger Gun, using the armadillo’s long, sharp claws to attack.

Unlike ordinary Finger Gun, each air bullet from the Needle Gun was exceptionally sharp, with a precision far surpassing the standard.

Even Roland, in Yudian form, dared not take them head-on.

With the special effect of Evasion, Roland carefully dodged every air bullet, then closed in on Tucci, simultaneously activating Sacrifice and Mana Burn.

As his body ignited in ethereal green flames, Roland consumed some of his own stamina, causing Tucci to lose even more.

“What trick did you just pull?” Tucci quickly retreated as the green flames enveloped Roland, but he still felt his strength drained—his once abundant stamina mysteriously diminished.

“Take a guess,” Roland replied, deactivating Sacrifice. It was a stamina burner, and who knew how long the battle would last—he couldn’t afford to exhaust himself.

“No matter what, it’s just a little trick. Did you really think I’d be scared?” Tucci scoffed, launching another attack on Roland.

As a Vice Admiral, his status and power were not earned by reckless fighting alone.

Observing an opponent in battle, waiting for a flaw—this was his specialty.

From his recent observations, he noted that the strange flames couldn’t last indefinitely and seemed unable to leave Roland’s body.

Given that, he would simply rely on ranged attacks.

“Six Powers: Tempest Kick—Sharp Claws!”

Tucci leapt, his short armadillo legs wielding clawed strikes, sending five slashes flying at once.

Ten airborne slashes in total, forming a net that divided everything in its path.

The power was terrifying, and the speed was astonishing—so fast that even Roland, with Yudian’s sixth-level speed, had no time to dodge.

Judging by his own sixth-level speed, Tucci was clearly at seventh level, or perhaps higher.

“Two-Sword Style: Wave Slash!”

At this point, Roland had no time for hesitation, unleashing his most powerful technique.

Two ferocious giant flying slashes formed instantly, hurtling toward the net.

Yet even slashes strong enough to cleave a warship were barely adequate against that net.

The monstrous slashes lasted only a moment before being destroyed by the web.