"No, no, no!"
A Tao stepped forward, quickly stopping Gan·Foll from going to fight the guy named Shura.
"Old man, if you're going to fight at your age, what are we young folks for!"
"You just watch from the side. As for this guy."
He then released Gan·Foll and turned to look at Shura in the sky, a smirk playing on his lips, his pupils turning into orange-yellow cat eyes.
"Heh heh!! Leave it to me."
"Mm!"
Gan·Foll tilted his head to look at A Tao, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Another strong one."
At this moment, he felt that the aura radiating from A Tao was even more dangerous than Ahua he had just seen.
"Don't worry! Old man, just watch quietly. Since we promised to help you solve your troubles, how could we let you make a move!"
Kong Tai stepped forward, patted Gan·Foll on the shoulder, and then turned to A Tao with a smile, "Can you kill him in one blow?"
Only he and Gu Yina here knew about A Tao's hidden abilities, and he figured it would surely surprise everyone when he revealed them later.
"Don't worry! This guy, one blow is enough."
"Hm! What are you guys muttering about? Don't think I can't hear you, talking about defeating me in one blow, you truly don't know your limits!"
Just then, Shura's furious voice came from above.
Who did these people think he was?
Who was he?
He was the Heavenly Knight "Shura"!
"I originally intended to deal with this old man and then deal with you. But since you're all so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!"
Saying this, Shura raised the spear in his hand, and it was unclear what he did.
He saw the spear in his hand quickly turn red, as if it were about to ignite, and completely transform into an orange-red spear.
And from the spear in his hand, the distorted air showed how dangerous it was.
But no matter how dangerous it was, it couldn't compare to the dangerous aura emanating from A Tao at this moment.
He saw that, at some point, A Tao's appearance had changed drastically.
He now had long yellow fur growing on the backs of his hands and feet, and even his black hair had turned yellow. His face was covered in yellow fur, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed.
"It's you..."
Shura raised his spear and was about to order the strange bird beneath him to charge at A Tao, but the moment his gaze met A Tao's orange-yellow pupils...
Instantly, he felt the surrounding space change.
He felt as if he had returned to his childhood, back to the times when he was bullied in Bika.
Outside, Shura raised his spear, his entire body seemed lost in a trance, frozen in place. Even the strange bird beneath him couldn't escape A Tao's special ability, and it stopped in place, its eyes glazed over.
However, while they were lost in a trance, A Tao was not!
He stared at Shura, who was frozen in mid-air, bent his legs, and then pushed off forcefully.
*Bang—!*
The ground instantly caved in, forming a large pit.
Under the force of this push, A Tao's body shot towards the sky like a fired bullet.
*Whoosh—!*
His body, visible only as a yellow streak of light, instantly appeared before Shura.
He looked at Shura coldly, a mocking smile on his lips, and moved his right hand to his left, gripping the hilt of the ornate greatsword that hung at his left waist.
*Zing—!*
Without hesitation, he drew Kyouka Suigetsu.
With a flash of steel, from left to right, from bottom to top, the sharp blade instantly sliced across the neck of the strange bird and the neck of Shura on its back.
"Urk..."
Only then did the sharp pain hit, and Shura finally woke up.
However, waking up only allowed him to feel death; it offered him no hope of survival.
His glazed-over eyes regained their light, and he looked at A Tao in front of him, trying to open his mouth. Although his mouth opened, what came out was not sound, but blood.
"How can this be?"
"How can he be so strong?"
This was his last thought, and then darkness enveloped him. The light in his eyes instantly disappeared, and his head separated from his body. Spouting blood, he, along with the strange bird that suffered the same fate, fell towards the ground.
With a "thud," they landed in the dirt below, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A Tao glanced down below, then performed a sword flourish with his right hand.
*Clink!*
The sword was sheathed.
Then, he pushed off with his legs in mid-air, and with a "whoosh," he reappeared in his original position.
"One sword, mission accomplished."
After landing, A Tao immediately turned to look at Kong Tai, his head held high, a look of arrogance on his face.
"Haha!!"
Kong Tai laughed heartily, raised his hand, and gave A Tao a thumbs-up. "Cool!"
"Naturally."
A Tao withdrew his gaze, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag, looking like a master contemplating the loneliness of power.
This left those who didn't know about his abilities in awe.
Ahua and A Luo, however, were not so reserved. They walked up directly, grabbed A Tao's arms on either side, looked at him, and asked in unison, "Tell us, when did you learn such a powerful move? Was Kong Tai helping you just now?"
"Exactly, exactly! Otherwise, how could that guy and his bird have suddenly frozen in place?"
"Heh heh!!"
A Tao glanced at Ahua and A Luo, pouted, and let out a cold laugh, exhaling a plume of smoke, his eyes full of arrogance.
"You, who are you trying to impress?"
"Do you want another beating?"
Ahua and A Luo said, hugging A Tao even tighter.
"Alright, alright, let go! We still have the old man here, you guys will make a fool of yourselves!"
Kong Tai quickly intervened, stopping the three from continuing their roughhousing. If no one stopped them, these three would really start fighting.
"Haha! It's alright, young friends, you all have such good camaraderie!"
This was the second time Gan·Foll had said this about Ahua and the other two.
This made Ahua and the others feel a little embarrassed.
They exchanged glances, let go, and returned to their usual demeanor.
Ahua lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and adjusted his glasses. A sharp glint flickered in his pupils behind the frames.
He glanced at A Tao, then looked at Kong Tai, and said, "Firstly, A Tao's ability certainly wasn't due to Kong Tai helping him; I know that much."
He then looked at A Tao again, "Secondly, this ability certainly wouldn't have existed before he obtained a Devil Fruit. We who grew up with this guy know his abilities better than anyone."
"So, combining this guy's Devil Fruit ability, there's only one truth."
At this moment, Ahua seemed possessed by Conan, full of the brilliance of wisdom.
"And what is that truth?"
A Luo glanced at Ahua and asked cooperatively, "What is the truth?"
"That is, this guy's Devil Fruit, like ours, also has special abilities."
"Uh..."
The people around them were speechless.
"I thought you knew something!"
A Luo pouted. "Do I need you to tell me? Who doesn't know that!"
"Alright, stop guessing."
Just then, Kong Tai smiled and explained to everyone, "You all know that A Tao's eyes can turn into orange-yellow cat pupils, right?"
"That is A Tao's special ability. Through his cat pupils, he can make anyone who makes eye contact with him fall into an illusion. This is also why he named his sword 'Kyouka Suigetsu'."
"Illusion?"
Now everyone understood why Shura had frozen in mid-air.
Such an ability was hard to guard against. Sometimes it was very powerful, but other times it seemed useless.
However, regardless, as long as others didn't know about it, A Tao's ability was a very strong trump card.
Everyone looked at A Tao, a hint of awe in their eyes, and more importantly, happiness.
Feeling the gazes of everyone, A Tao held his head even higher, fearing that this guy would one day develop the same personality as Empress Boa Hancock.