Having finished all this, Kilo closed his eyes to regulate his disordered internal breath.
The wind screen created by the Breath of Gale during battle could block blood, dust, and other debris from his body.
Thus, from outward appearances alone, it didn't look like Kilo had just fought a life-and-death battle against a crowd; instead, he looked exceptionally neat, as if he had just taken a stroll.
Opening his eyes again, his breathing rhythm was now as steady as one, maintaining a regular Pattern.
This breathing technique from the Demon Slayer World could greatly improve cardiopulmonary function through special breathing methods, allowing the blood to obtain a large amount of oxygen in a short time, thereby strengthening physical abilities such as strength, speed, and reaction.
If one could maintain the breathing technique for a long time, their physical fitness would be tempered, and their physique would gradually grow stronger.
When Kilo used Deduction to obtain the Breath of Gale, the proficiency panel restored and strengthened his relatively weak physique.
Clear and distinct muscle lines were visible; beads of sweat slid down from the corners of his forehead, dripping from the young man's handsome face.
His face was slightly flushed, not only because he had inhaled a bit of the poisonous fragrance released by Honei but also because the previous battle had consumed a great deal of physical strength.
To settle the matter once and for all, he used the powerful Sunflower Thrust from Sun Breathing when killing Honei to ensure nothing went wrong.
Facing the siege of four people, Kilo appeared relaxed and elegant. Relying on the high-speed movement brought by the astral winds, he could easily divide the battlefield and kill his opponents individually.
However, maintaining a hurricane of this level was actually quite a burden for the current Kilo.
Not to mention he had to divide his attention to fight the four of them. If several of the enemies hadn't lost their will to fight to the death and focused solely on escaping—essentially fighting for themselves in the end and giving him the chance to defeat them one by one—the outcome of the battle might have been uncertain.
After all, there were three Devil Fruit users among them, making them definitely troublesome enemies.
If they had worked together with one heart, even if they couldn't defeat Kilo, one or two of them escaping wouldn't have been a problem.
But there are no "ifs"; hesitating in battle doomed them to their demise.
Kilo strode into the conference hall and casually finished off Fushawen, who was still unconscious, with a single slash.
[Killed a pirate with a 20-million-level bounty, Points +8]
Looking down at this rare dual-wielding swordsman, Kilo felt a bit emotional.
This man not only arrogantly challenged him to a duel alone but also provided him with high-quality weapons.
What a good man!
Surveying the conference hall, Kilo found that the young man in the suit and gold-rimmed glasses from earlier had disappeared, and a dark secret door passage had appeared behind the wall of the conference hall.
Many obvious drag marks extended from the conference hall into the secret passage; it seemed that many things had been moved temporarily.
By interrogating a guarding waiter, Kilo learned that this was a stronghold of the Thorn Merchant Guild.
The young man named Kiki managed the Thorn Merchant Guild and was engaged in the slave trade, being the largest slave trader in the West Blue.
Now, seeing that things were going south, Kiki had obviously escaped through the back door reserved in the conference hall.
Looking at the dark passage full of unknowns, Kilo did not intend to give chase.
Setting aside whether he could catch up with Kiki, who had been gone for an unknown amount of time, if there were traps or ambushes in the passage, it would be difficult for him to deal with them in such a narrow space.
He didn't like being passive or under someone else's control.
However, he had already remembered Kiki's appearance. There would surely be a time to meet him again in the future, and it wouldn't be too late to kill him then.
Kilo had no intention of showing mercy to the scum who traded slaves.
Looking around, Kilo found a massive, dark safe in the messy conference room.
It seemed that because he left in a hurry, Kiki didn't take this safe with him.
His eyes lighting up, Kilo walked quickly to the safe, but for a moment, he was at a loss.
It should be known that in the Pirate World, a swordsman who can cut steel with a blade can already be called a Swordmaster.
The material of this safe was clearly much harder than ordinary iron.
Obviously, Kilo was not yet enough to be called a Swordmaster and could not cut open this safe.
It wasn't that his technique was insufficient, but simply that his physique couldn't support this action.
This required great strength, as well as comprehending the Breath of All Things, learning the Iron-Cutting Secret, and becoming a regional Swordmaster.
Swordmasters possess terrifying strength and are very rare; one can hardly be found in the four seas where powerful experts are scarce.
Among the Swordmasters in the four seas, Kilo only remembered one who had retired to Shimotsuki Village, Genzo.
Looking at the huge safe in front of him with some worry, Kilo suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He turned back and picked up The Wolf's severed arm, using the sharp claws as a tool to hack at the safe.
Bang!
A loud sound of metal clashing rang out. Seeing three deep claw marks appear on the safe, Kilo's eyes lit up.
It's working!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After swinging an unknown number of times, Kilo tossed the severed arm aside. The safe in front of him had been split in half.
A large amount of Berries cash fluttered out, unexpectedly spilling all over the floor.
Overjoyed, Kilo casually found a backpack in the conference hall and stuffed handfuls of Berries into it.
When he was halfway through packing, his fingers paused, and he picked out a bill that felt distinctly different.
Carefully observing this Berry note, Kilo's fingers rubbed it quickly.
Scritch!
The Berry note was actually divided into three parts during the rubbing, with a thin document sandwiched between two notes.
Frowning, Kilo checked the contents of the document.
"Person in charge of the second batch of slave transport in the year 1500: Commodore Kuka of the 72nd Marine Branch in the West Blue.
Handover time: July 2nd to July 4th, Sea Calendar Year 1500.
Departure time: July 7th, Sea Calendar Year 1500."
After confirming the information was correct, Kilo's eyes turned cold, and he tore the document to shreds with his hands.
Marines... Marines again!!!
He remembered the newspaper saying that today was July 4th.
In other words, the slaves he had just rescued were only a part of them.
More slaves had already been sent to the 72nd Marine Branch by Kiki.
Phew...
Kilo lowered his gaze, staring at the ground.
His mood was inexplicably complicated.
He actually didn't need to take risks to save these slaves who had nothing to do with him.
He only needed to stay away from the Marines' sight with Robin and give himself some time to grow; in time, he would surely become a powerhouse on the sea.
But...
He couldn't do such a thing.
He couldn't stand by and ignore lives that could have been saved.
As a former swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps, he didn't want to give up on any innocent life.
Even if these people had no connection to him, even if he would face great risks because of it.
But a swordsman's pride would not allow him to back down. Only by doing his best could his heart be at peace and free of guilt.
With a determined look and having prepared himself mentally, Kilo began to clean up the aftermath and organize the gains from this operation.
The bounties of the five pirates totaled 103 million!
However, he obviously couldn't collect the bounties for these people.
In the Pirate World, collecting a bounty requires bringing the target in alive or providing conclusive evidence and handing them over to the Marines.
And the most crucial point is that the Marines need to verify the identity of the person collecting the bounty to prevent pirates from claiming it.
As a survivor of Ohara, Kilo obviously couldn't go to the Marines to verify his identity.
He had no doubt that once he revealed his identity to the Marines, this organization under the World Government would likely threaten him.
He couldn't count on the pirates' bounties, but from the safe alone this time, he took a full 80 million Berries!
To think, this was only a small part that Kiki didn't have time to take away!
Taking a sharp breath, the huge sum of money he carried gave Kilo a sense of unreality.
Just this morning he had been penniless, and now he was sitting on 80 million Berries!
However, the greatest harvest this time was not these Berries, but the large amount of points obtained!
His consciousness sank into his mind, and prominent numbers appeared on the panel.
[proficiency panel]
[Name: Kilo]
[Age: 12 years old]
[Current Skills: Pattern (Beginner), Sun Breathing (Consummate), Breath of Gale (Proficient), Thunder Breathing (Mastery), Water Breathing (Competent), Flame Breathing (Competent)...]
[Current Points: 61]
[Upgrade] [Deduction]