Chapter 91: I, Half a Pirate King!
Threatened by Ralph with harm to her loved ones, Apis instantly turned deathly pale.
After the initial fear, what surged in the little girl's heart wasn't submission, but another emotion—defiance.
This girl, who appeared no older than seven or eight, possessed a stubbornness far beyond her years.
She didn't want the villagers to get hurt, and she absolutely refused to reveal the Sennenryu's whereabouts.
So, as Ralph dragged her toward the village, Apis employed every method she could think of.
It started with physical attacks.
"Take this!"
She picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and hurled it with all her might at the back of Ralph's head.
Ralph didn't even turn around, merely tilting his head slightly.
The stone grazed past his ear, thudded against a tree trunk ahead, and bounced back, nearly hitting Apis herself.
"Damn it!"
Apis then grabbed a thick branch from the roadside, gripping it with both hands like a sword, and swung it at Ralph's legs.
This time, Ralph didn't even bother to dodge.
The branch struck his shin squarely, and then—
Crack!
It snapped.
Apis stared blankly at the broken branch in her hand, then at Ralph's leg, where not even his pants were torn.
Gritting her teeth, she tossed the broken branch aside and darted into the bushes by the roadside.
Ralph raised an eyebrow but didn't give chase, simply waiting where he stood.
A few seconds later, rustling sounds emerged from the bushes, accompanied by Apis's hushed "shushing" noises.
She was trying to lure wild beasts to attack Ralph.
An ordinary person would have been either intimidated by the girl's ferocity or frightened by the beasts.
But Ralph was no ordinary person.
Leaning against a tree trunk, he watched the bushes with leisurely amusement.
Half a minute later, a wild boar as tall as a person charged out, lured by Apis with wild fruits.
Panting heavily, its tusks gleaming coldly, the boar fixed its crimson eyes squarely on Ralph.
"Go, go get him!"
Apis hid behind a tree, quietly cheering the boar on.
The boar scraped its hind hooves against the ground, then charged at Ralph like a small tank.
Ralph sighed.
When the boar was three meters away, he formed his hand into a blade and made a light, slicing motion.
Blood sprayed, and the boar collapsed to the ground.
Apis stared, dumbfounded.
Ralph beckoned to her. "Still want to play?"
Stomping her foot in frustration, Apis turned and continued walking ahead.
Over the next while, she tried digging a trap—only to fall into it herself;
attempted to trip Ralph with vines—only to get her own feet tangled;
and even considered using poisonous mushrooms as bait—but she had no idea which mushrooms were toxic and nearly stuffed the most brightly colored one into her own mouth before Ralph swiftly knocked it away.
This spirit of refusing to compromise in the face of threats, of persisting and never giving up… reminded Ralph of someone.
"Just like Lufia."
Watching Apis climb out of yet another self-dug trap, her face covered in dirt but still fuming, Ralph mused inwardly, "Even the way she messes up her plans is so much like Lufia."
Unfortunately, Lufia's approach worked—and she would even become the Pirate King in the future—because she wasn't just a natural-born optimist, but also the fated Pirate King, the possessor of the Nika Fruit, the Sun Goddess…
Anyone else acting like Lufia would just come off as foolish.
Even a little girl like Apis, who appeared adorably naive, was someone Ralph couldn't... bring himself to like at all.
Just as he was thinking this, a seagull descended from the sky.
It circled twice above their heads before diving down and landing steadily on Apis' shoulder.
"Coo coo coo coo coo—"
The seagull let out clear cries, tilting its head from side to side as if conveying something important.
Apis listened intently, her facial expressions shifting with the seagull's calls—
First, she relaxed, revealing a happy smile;
Then she furrowed her brows, her eyes filling with worry;
Finally, she pressed her lips together, her small hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
Seeing this, the corner of Ralph's mouth lifted slightly.
He remembered.
Apis was a user of the Hiso Hiso no Mi.
This ability allowed her to understand animals' language and communicate with them.
She had always used this power to gather information from various animals, including her communications with the Sennenryu, "Ryu."
That seagull just now must have been telling her about Ryu's condition.
For instance, Ryu hadn't been discovered by others, which made Apis happy;
But Ryu's "senile dementia" symptoms had worsened, to the point where he wasn't eating, which worried her.
What Apis didn't know was—
Ralph could understand too.
Not completely, not like Apis who could clearly comprehend every syllable's meaning.
But through the combination of his Beast Taming Skill and Observation Haki, he could sense fragmented, vague pieces of information from animals' cries, movements, or auras.
Just like how he could "hear" the Sea King's thought of "wanting to swat him away" back in the Calm Belt.
And now, he could also "hear" the information this seagull was conveying.
Though incomplete, intermittent, and scattered.
It was enough.
Combined with Ralph's original knowledge that Ryu's hiding place in the story was roughly in a cave somewhere on Warship Island.
Now, with the more specific information provided by the seagull, he could basically pinpoint that cave's location.
Ralph found it somewhat amusing.
He had been wondering how he would "act" upon reaching the village—threatening Apis' relatives, intimidating her into revealing Ryu's whereabouts.
Unexpectedly, he obtained it without any effort.
Furthermore...
This "ability to hear animals' voices," if developed further, held great potential.
Legend had it that the Pirate King Roger could "hear the voices of all things."
That ability either came from him eating the same "Hiso Hiso no Mi" as Apis, or it was the manifestation of Roger developing his Observation Haki to its extreme.
Hearing all things, understanding all things, resonating with all things.
And now, through the combination of his Beast Taming Skill and Observation Haki, Ralph had achieved "hearing animals' voices.
Being able to hear animals' voices... at least half of the Pirate King's talent.
Could this be considered... one step closer to the goal of becoming the "man worthy of the Pirate King"?
The corner of Ralph's mouth unconsciously lifted.
Just then, Apis and the seagull's "conversation" ended.
The seagull flapped its wings and flew away.
Apis stood still, her face filled with worry.
She turned her head and noticed Ralph watching her. She quickly composed her expression, putting on a stern face again, pretending to be "absolutely unyielding."
The two continued walking forward.
A few minutes later, the outline of the village appeared at the edge of their vision.
Apis slowed her pace.
She bit her lip, her eyes darting between the village and Ralph.
She was hesitating.
Should she cry for help and rally the villagers against this villain?
But... could they really defeat him?
He was the "Great Pirate" who had hijacked three warships!
Images of villagers lying in pools of blood flashed through Apis' mind.
Her body trembled slightly.
But just then, she noticed Ralph changing direction.
Instead of continuing toward the village, he turned onto a small mountain path.
"Huh?"
Apis froze, then instinctively cried out in alarm, "Why are you going into the mountains? Ryu isn't in the mountains!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
It was as obvious as proclaiming "I didn't steal the money."
Ralph stopped and turned back, looking at her with an amused smile.
Apis' face flushed bright red.
Frustrated and angry, she felt like a fool for revealing the secret so easily.
Rage clouded her judgment.
She suddenly lunged forward and bit Ralph's hand.
Ralph: "...Ah... ouch!"
He could have instantly activated Armament Haki for defense.
Had he not done so, Apis would have likely broken several teeth.
But he didn't.
For one thing, his enhanced body possessed far greater skin and muscle resilience than ordinary people, so the bite didn't hurt much.
And for another...
He glanced at Apis.
The little girl had her eyes tightly shut, biting with such force that her entire face was scrunched up.
Somehow, it was... kind of cute.
Ralph sighed inwardly.
Then, he began his performance.
"Ah—!"
He let out an exaggerated cry of pain, shaking Apis off forcefully.
Cradling his hand, he blew heavily on the bitten spot, his expression pained as he stomped his foot.
Apis stumbled back two steps from the shake. After steadying herself, she stared at Ralph's "agonized" expression, momentarily stunned before a triumphant look spread across her face.
"Hmph!"
She lifted her small chin,
"See what happens! I'm telling you, I'll never let you capture Ryu!"
With that, she turned and ran, darting into the dense forest like a startled deer, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Ralph stood still, watching the direction she had disappeared.
A few seconds later, the "pain" vanished from his face.
Replacing it was a sly smile.
"If someone tricked Lufia like this..."
Ralph murmured to himself, "I'd definitely be angry."
He glanced at the nearly faded tooth marks on the back of his hand.
"But using this trick on a kid..."
He chuckled, "It's actually pretty fun."
He started walking, unhurriedly entering the dense forest, heading in the direction Apis had fled.
"Perfect."
Ralph spoke in a voice only he could hear,
"Originally, I only knew the general area. But now... I have a guide."
Apis would definitely go to Ryu.
Either to check on Ryu's safety or to try to relocate him.
By following her, he could find that cave.
Plan accomplished.
While Ralph was "teasing" Apis in the mountains of Warship Island, out on the open sea, news about him was spreading at an astonishing speed.
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