Just as Akainu was about to suffocate, Hui pulled him out of the seawater once again.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
His body convulsed involuntarily as he coughed violently, feeling an overwhelming discomfort.
However, just as he barely managed to catch his breath, Hui shoved him back into the seawater.
Again and again, this cruel cycle repeated multiple times until Akainu was left completely drained and powerless.
"You can't hold on any longer? How disappointing."
Hui's voice was calm as he spoke, before directly extending his senses into Akainu's mindscape.
After retrieving the information he sought and leaving behind a Flying Thunder God seal etched into Akainu's mental world with his spiritual power, Hui nodded in satisfaction.
He looked at Akainu, who was now floating weakly on the water's surface, and chuckled inwardly.
This guy… did he really think he could fool me?
Despite appearing utterly exhausted, Akainu was actually still in relatively good condition.
After all, he was a Vice Admiral-level powerhouse, a "monster" of the Marines with unshakable willpower, there was no way he would be defeated so easily.
His weakened state was merely an act, a desperate attempt to buy himself a chance to survive.
Such a childish thought.
Unfortunately for him, Hui possessed Mind-Reading Divine Ability and could clearly see through his thoughts.
But since Akainu had no knowledge of Hui's abilities, his ploy was understandable.
"How pitiful… You look just like a dead dog."
Hui's voice carried a mocking tone.
Then, he turned away, walking leisurely across the ocean's surface, allowing Akainu's body to slowly sink into the water.
He had no intention of killing Akainu, because he had just marked him as a beacon.
With the Flying Thunder God seal imprinted using his spiritual power, as long as Hui remained on this planet, he could sense Akainu's location at all times and teleport to him instantly.
As for his reason for doing this?
Perhaps it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, or maybe just a whim.
Since he was already leaving a seal, why not place it on someone as significant as Akainu, someone with great influence in the future?
And with that, Hui departed.
…
Meanwhile, deep beneath the seawater, Akainu's eyes suddenly opened.
His body remained paralyzed, completely devoid of strength.
But his willpower remained unbroken.
He forced himself to stay conscious, using his sheer determination to cling to life.
He could only hope that the Marines stationed at the fortress would arrive in time, find him, and rescue him.
Even though the chances were slim, he had no other choice.
Whether he lived or died now depended on luck.
And it seemed luck was on his side.
Akainu was eventually rescued and quickly transported to Marine Headquarters.
However, although he was saved, he fell into a deep coma, and his body functions had entered a near-death state.
This frightened Fleet Admiral Kong, who immediately summoned the best doctors and even sought out special Devil Fruit users in an attempt to save Akainu.
…
Ten days later, Akainu finally regained consciousness.
And soon after, information about Hui spread like wildfire.
One day later—
A bounty poster for the "Mysterious Evil Man" was rapidly circulated worldwide.
The bounty poster depicted a handsome young man, a portrait sketched based on Akainu's description.
Beneath the mysterious man's image, a jaw-dropping number was printed:
900,000,000 Berries!
Nine hundred million!
It was a bounty of the current era.
Because of this, the moment the poster was issued, it caused a global sensation.
"Mysterious Evil Man???"
People stared at Hui's bounty poster, puzzled by the fact that his name was missing.
"This guy single-handedly wiped out an entire Marine fleet… and even stole a Celestial Dragon's treasure?! What kind of lunatic is he?!"
A pirate muttered as he looked at the altered version of the information released.
Somewhere in the Grand Line, aboard a pirate ship, a group of people stared at the new bounty poster, smirking.
"A man like this is only worth 900 million? The Marines are underestimating him."
Rayleigh spoke, his tone full of mockery toward the Marines.
"Hahahahaha! That's because this guy hasn't yet displayed a power that truly shakes the world. Just wait, it won't be long before his bounty rises to 1.5 billion, 2 billion, or even 3 billion!"
Roger laughed as he spoke, his voice carrying a deep sense of recollection.
His impression of Hui was unforgettable, perhaps for the rest of his life.
"Yeah… this guy's strength is terrifying."
Rayleigh and the others nodded in agreement.
Then, they began speculating on what kind of earth-shattering events Hui would cause in the future. The atmosphere on the ship became lively as they continued their discussions.
However, on another ship, the mood was completely different.
A tense silence filled the air, no one knew what to say.
After all, the man on the bounty poster was someone they technically had a grudge against.
Though, to be fair, it wasn't that deep of a hatred. Hui had only killed one of the Whitebeard Pirates' snipers, and even then, it was after the sniper tried to assassinate him first.
The death of a single crew member was nothing unusual in the life of a pirate crew.
The real reason for their silence was that Whitebeard had suffered a crushing defeat in that battle.
"Gurararara… That guy is definitely going to cause chaos across the world."
Whitebeard was the first to break the silence.
Only then did the crew start to react.
"Yeah… the Marines are going to have a real headache from now on!"
"He even dared to target the Celestial Dragons' treasures… What's next? Will he just kill a Celestial Dragon outright?"
"Who knows? I think he might."
Once Whitebeard spoke, the entire Whitebeard Pirates crew livened up, engaging in excited discussions about Hui.
As two of the only pirate crews to have personally witnessed Hui's power, both Roger's crew and Whitebeard's crew were keeping a close eye on him.
Hearing news about him now, how could they stay calm?
And it wasn't just these two legendary crews.
The entire world was in an uproar.
However, the ones most unsettled were neither the pirates nor the common folk—
It was Marine Headquarters and the World Government.
Because only they knew the full extent of what Hui had done.
Publicly massacring Celestial Dragons.
That alone was enough to throw the entire World Government into turmoil.
Not to mention the horrifying power Hui had displayed.
Based on current intelligence, he could instantly kill a Vice Admiral-level swordsman and even crush a Marine "monster" like Akainu without giving him a chance to fight back.
With such power, he was at least at the level of an Admiral, if not beyond.
But it wasn't just his strength that terrified them, it was also his abilities.
So far, his known powers included:
Flight
Unparalleled swordsmanship
Immunity to seawater's weakening effects
The ability to control Sea Kings
Even the power to manipulate the sea itself!
These abilities were unheard of, far beyond anything the World Government had ever encountered.
And to make things worse, this man was reckless and unrestrained, someone who didn't even hesitate to slaughter Celestial Dragons.
How could the World Government and the Marines possibly remain calm knowing that such a person existed?
At the same time, they were at a complete loss.
Because they had no way of dealing with him.
This man was too mysterious.
They didn't even know his real name, nor did they fully understand his abilities.
How were they supposed to handle him?
Who could they even send after him?
The only one strong enough was Garp.
But Garp was currently chasing after Roger and had no time to hunt down this mysterious threat.
Left with no alternative, the World Government was forced to mobilize their hidden elite forces, forming multiple strike teams to hunt down Hui worldwide.
Because a man who posed a direct threat to the Celestial Dragons was a threat to the World Government itself.
…
While the world boiled with chaos over Hui's actions, he himself remained completely unbothered.
At this moment, he was on a remote, uninhabited island, patiently waiting for his energy to recover.
Soon.
He estimated that, at most, in a month, his spiritual power would be fully restored.
Originally, he had considered taking some time to explore this world.
But he quickly realized he couldn't just relax and enjoy himself here.
Because he knew that somewhere, far away in another world,
A certain woman was waiting for him.
Waiting for him to return.
Waiting for him to marry her.
So—
He wasn't going anywhere.
He would wait here, restore his strength, and then—
Return to the Sage Shinobi World.
Because he had a wedding to attend.
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