blogombal 36: Gold is circulating.
36: Gold is circulating.
The outer perimeter of an island with a naval base somewhere near the Red Line in the New World.
Under the moonlight, the calm sea surface suddenly rippled, and a small, gold-plated boat slowly emerged from the sea.
Although the boat was fully loaded, the gold was kept afloat by Oro, preventing it from sinking.
"Auro, weren't you going to launch a sneak attack? Why aren't you wearing a balaclava?"
Lingling's deliberately lowered voice came from inside the small boat.
"...Lingling, where did you get those...thick black stockings?"
Auro looked at the thick black cloth Lingling had put on her head and wanted to say something.
But looking into Lingling's innocent eyes, he couldn't say anything...
"Huh? What black stockings? Oh, these."
Lingling tugged at the very elastic stockings over her head.
"So this is called black stockings. Taylor gave it to me."
"She still has this? Even though she's an adult, isn't she still 11 years away from growing legs at 30?"
Oro was somewhat shocked. He couldn't believe it; the usually quiet and reserved Taylor was actually…
Lingling was about to say she didn't know either, but as the words were about to come out, a sudden thought flashed through her mind, and she grasped the key point:
"Auro, how do you know Taylor's age?"
"Because Taylor is the oldest among us, she wouldn't tell us her age, which prevented me from celebrating her birthday."
"How did you know?"
"She told me herself."
"Then why didn't she tell me?"
Oro: "..."
"Ahem, Lingling, it's about time. Let's wrap up our small talk. Do you remember our plan?"
Seeing that Auro had become serious, Lingling didn't press further, but instead nodded earnestly.
"Auro, go draw their attention, I'll go rescue them!"
"What if we can't find the person? What if we find them but can't open the door?"
Auro straightened his white suit, then took out a white mask and asked Lingling as he put it on.
"If we can't find anyone, we'll tear the ground down! If we can't open the door, we'll chop down the wall!"
"very good."
Oro was satisfied with the answer. With Lingling's strength and stamina, she could plow the entire island in a short time, so there was no worry about finding people.
As long as he can withstand the pressure, that's fine.
"But, Oro, if you're going to use gold to stop them, why wear a mask?"
"Wearing a mask is just a delaying tactic. If the Navy wants to investigate, they can report it to the World Government and reconcile accounts with CP. CP certainly doesn't want to be blamed."
"We just need to stall until we leave Mermaid Island. Besides, the Navy doesn't have my portrait yet, does they?"
"Oh, I understand!"
"Okay, let's begin. Lingling, you dive to the back of the island, and when you hear any noise, approach the naval base from behind."
"good!"
……
Oro waited for a while until the nano-gold powder swirling around his fingertips trembled slightly—Lingling was ready.
Oro raised his hand to straighten the collar of his white suit, his fingertips tracing the edge of the mask, using gold to make the mask fit more snugly against his skin.
The small boat, laden with gold, began to twist and turn, transforming into a perfect sphere, from which a chain extended to bind Oro's waist.
Then, in the next instant, it suddenly shot off towards the naval base, taking Oro with it.
The naval base is backed by a rocky cliff and faces a pier that extends into the sea. The railing is wrapped with barbed wire, and the beams of searchlights sweep across the sea. Several guards are dozing off against the railing.
Until a deafening "BOOM!"
A large crater was smashed into the dock before the guards were awakened, frantically raising their muskets: "Who goes there?! Stop!"
Oro didn't bother to respond and simply waved his hand.
A golden chain shot out, precisely entangled the guard's musket, and with a sudden tug, the entire musket was instantly shredded into scrap metal.
Seeing this, the other guards opened fire. The flowing gold enveloped Oro, and the bullets hit the gold as if they had sunk into the sea without making a sound.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The guards' shouts pierced the night sky, and instantly, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the base.
The once-dark barracks lit up, and naval soldiers in white uniforms surged out like a tide, their swords and muskets all aimed at Oro, who was dressed in a white suit.
The golden chains unfurled behind Oro, lashing out like whips at the dozen or so marines charging at the front.
More than a dozen sailors were sent flying. These ordinary sailors had never seen such a bizarre ability before, and the dock was filled with exclamations and curses.
"presumptuous!"
A furious shout came from deep within the base, and a burly middle-aged man strode out.
He wore a lieutenant general's uniform embroidered with gold seagull patterns, had broad shoulders and a strong build, and sported two thick, black mustaches. He wore black leather gloves on both hands.
"It's Lieutenant General Cheek!"
"Great! It's a lieutenant general! We're saved!"
Chick's gaze swept over the struggling soldiers on the ground, finally settling on Oro:
"Wearing a mask and acting mysteriously, is he a member of CP? Or some reckless pirate?"
Oro didn't answer, but simply turned slightly to avoid Chik's sudden punch.
Aoro's left arm was covered with a thin layer of golden armor, while his right hand conjured a golden dagger, which he lightly flicked away Chik's follow-up attack.
"Your physical skills are good, but they're not enough to stop me."
Oro spoke calmly, his feet moving with uncanny steps, always managing to precisely evade Chick's fierce attacks.
Chic's moves were wide and sweeping. His "Storm Kick" created a vacuum slash that carved a deep trench in the ground, while his "Finger Pistol" was aimed directly at Oro's vitals.
But Oro always managed to create obstacles with gold in just the right way, whether it was a low golden wall that suddenly rose from the ground or a soft golden armor wrapped around his arms.
Chik neutralized all of Chik's attacks.
As the two were locked in combat, a loud bang suddenly came from the other side of the base, accompanied by the screams of soldiers.
Auro felt a sense of relief; this was most likely Lingling's doing.
He immediately took two steps back and pressed his hands to the ground: "Golden Earth Flow Wall!"
A large amount of gold surged from the ground and instantly solidified into a pure gold wall ten meters high and two meters thick, completely separating the dock area where Oro and the navy were located from the interior of the base.
The Armament Haki covering the surface of the golden wall shimmered with a dark black light, and several Marines who tried to break through the wall were instantly thrown back, bleeding from their mouths and noses.
"Damn it!"
Chick looked at the golden wall and finally realized—the other party's target was not him at all, but the slaves in the base!
Enraged, he swung his fist at the golden wall, but the wall remained unmoved as his fist struck it.
Seeing that he couldn't break through the wall, Chick suddenly stopped, turned around, and gave a mocking smile:
"You think you're saving those mermaids? Don't waste your energy!"
He took two steps forward, raising his voice slightly, deliberately making sure the people on the other side of the golden wall could hear him as well:
"Mermaid Island has survived until now entirely thanks to me!"
"Every year I select about a hundred of the most beautiful mermaids and send them to Mary Geoise to amuse the Celestial Dragons."
"If it weren't for me, the Celestial Dragons would have already ordered the flattening of Fish-Man Island!"
He stared at Oro's white mask, his gaze growing increasingly arrogant:
"Whether they're mermaids or fish-men, kill a hundred, kill a thousand! Even kill ten thousand, and no one will care!"
"you--
"Do you like provoking others?"
The eyes beneath the Oro mask seemed to shimmer with gold, sparkling in the darkness.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
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