One Piece: Honey Badger Speedruns the World

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

In that instant, Goss maintained that cool pose of "I'm going to do something big," but he was frozen in place as if he had been petrified.

His eyes widened little by little until they were about to pop out of their sockets, his mouth opened uncontrollably into an "O" shape, and his chin almost hit his feet.

Mia, standing next to her, also looked dazed, and the nautical notebook in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

The two siblings looked at each other, and both saw a big question mark in each other's eyes.

"that……"

Mia blinked her big eyes, pointed towards the forest, then pointed to her bewildered brother, and asked timidly, "Brother... you've learned to create clones?"

"Divide my ass!!"

Goss finally realized what was happening, and even forgetting to lower his voice, roared towards the forest: "I'm standing right here, I haven't moved an inch!! Who the hell went into the restricted area?!"

Goss grabbed his hair, completely bewildered. He had considered the possibility of encountering Smoker tonight, the possibility of encountering Vergo, and had even prepared for a bloody battle with Bucky.

But he never expected that before he even left the house, he would soon be unable to leave!

"That's Goss!!"

"Don't let him get away! Knights, charge!!"

boom--!!

Without any further ado, a massive black shadow descended from the sky, as if to crush the earth.

As the smoke cleared, the cat viper boss's fleshy face was revealed, the pipe in his mouth crushed in his teeth.

"Meow!! You brat! I've been wanting to punch your face for ages!!"

The cat viper roared, its massive tail whistling through the air as it swept across like a battering ram.

Goss's pupils contracted sharply, and he didn't have time to explain. His chest jolted violently, as if an engine had overloaded, and a surge of violent electricity burst forth from his body.

Sizzle—Bang!

The hands, crackling with lightning, collided violently with the tail.

But the difference in strength was too great! This blow was like a kitten crashing into a big truck.

"Puwa!"

Goss was as if he had been hit by a cannonball, breaking two thick mangrove roots in succession before finally embedding himself deeply into a rock.

Gravel rained down, hitting his signature crew cut of silver hair.

"Pfft cough..." Gos pulled his head out of the rubble, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted.

"That fat cat...is it going through menopause?! It's attacking without even asking what happened!"

Before he could spit out the bark stuck between his teeth, the tree canopy above his head suddenly burst open!

"Found you! Traitor!!"

Clang—!

Sparks exploded like fireworks at the tip of his nose! Pedro descended from the sky, using the momentum of his fall to press his longsword firmly against Goss's crossed lightning claws.

Boom—Zzzzzzz!

The instant the blade made contact with the claws, blinding blue-white plasma erupted in all directions like a runaway fountain!

The air was filled with a pungent smell!

"Well……"

Pedro's wrist, which was closest to the knife, was instantly scorched black by the violent electric current, curling and emitting wisps of smoke! His brows were furrowed, clearly enduring the numbing sensation brought on by the electric current.

But then, the raging electric currents that had been wreaking havoc, even troubling Pedro, suddenly seemed to be drawn to something by a powerful magnet—

call out--!!

All the blue and white electric arcs suddenly reversed!

They were like living creatures, rushing back into Goss's pores and being completely absorbed by Goss in the blink of an eye!

*Sizzle...* The last spark disappeared.

Goss's arm didn't have a single scorch mark; on the contrary, because he had absorbed the lightning, his fur stood up even more shiny and bristled.

"Pedro!!"

Goss's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at his former older brother.

"Are you crazy? You won't even listen to a word I say?!"

Pedro looked like a demon at that moment. His leopard eyes, which were always hidden in the shadows, were wide open, the veins on his forehead bulged like earthworms, and his saliva almost sprayed into Goss's mouth.

"Shut up!! Who else on patrol could have injured Carrot besides you! Was it the badly wounded Mordy? I'm ashamed of you! Die!!"

His shout made the leaves on the surrounding trees tremble.

At an extremely close distance, with their faces almost touching, only they could see each other's pupils—

Goss stared intently into Pedro's eyes, trying to find even a trace of past affection, or even the slightest hesitation.

but.

Those leopard eyes held only coldness, unfamiliarity, and undisguised killing intent.

That was the look in his eyes when he saw a "stain that must be removed".

"Since you show no remorse... then die here!!"

Pedro roared, giving Goss no chance to think. He twisted his wrist and the long sword, with a piercing whistling sound, slid down along Goss's claws and slashed fiercely towards his neck!

"Are you serious, Pedro!!!"

Goss's last shred of hope was shattered, and a chilling feeling of being abandoned by the whole world shot straight to the top of his head. With all his might, he rolled to the side in a disheveled state.

Whoosh—Boom!

The icy sword energy flew past Goss's scalp, neatly severing a few strands of white hair, which then drifted into the air.

The blade slammed into the giant rock behind where Goss had just stood, instantly cleaving the hard granite like tofu, sending fragments flying everywhere!

"Tch! Is it off-center...?"

Pedro pulled the knife from the stone, spat with a grim expression, and said with a terrifyingly sinister look, "Consider yourself lucky, you slippery brat."

Goss lay on the ground, staring at the bottomless knife wound, then glanced at the expressionless Pedro, and felt a chill run through his body.

This guy really wants to chop my head off!

In that instant, Goss's brain raced like it was being electrocuted, and the series of incongruities he had just felt instantly connected:

Something's not right... This is definitely a damn misunderstanding! Someone's deliberately framing me!

Even a calm person like Pedro has been tempted to kill, and even the leader of the Cat Viper gang just now personally took action... The entire Knights of Fame, no, the entire Zou now believes I am a traitor!

Goss gritted his teeth, his claws digging deep into the soil.

No one will listen to explanations now! This kind of anger cannot be quelled by "explanations"!

Since that's the case... staying to prove one's innocence is a dead end.

That leaves only one option.

Although I was very unhappy about running away with the blame on my shoulders, if I lost my life, I would lose everything!

We must leave Zou!

As long as you survive and reach sea, you'll have opportunities later, whether it's clearing your name or settling scores with that bastard. If you die, you'll truly be left with the blame!

"……asshole!"

The confusion in Goss's eyes vanished instantly.

"Zou, then don't blame me for leaving without saying goodbye."