Igaram finally realized that if he couldn't get Takumi to come back and cooperate with the investigation, the only option left was to bring Hosu over and have them face each other directly.
While waiting for Pell, Igaram attempted to follow Takumi, though his tracking skills were riddled with flaws.
As for his injured hand, Igaram hastily wrapped it with his handkerchief while tailing Takumi.
Takumi had noticed Igaram a while ago.
He couldn't help but be amused at how bad Igaram's tracking was—worse than Zoro's, even.
At least Zoro knew to hide behind rocks or trees. But this guy? He was holding a branch in front of himself as if he actually believed it could hide him. Did he really think he was a tree?
Without thinking too much about it, Takumi used Shunpo to instantly vanish from Igaram's sight.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Igaram exclaimed in shock, dropping the branch he'd been using as cover and frantically looking around, unable to find even a trace of Takumi.
Not long after, Pell arrived, carrying a tightly bound Hosu. When he saw Igaram's handkerchief soaked in blood, Pell frowned. "I heard what happened. You should go back and get that treated. I'll handle things from here."
Igaram waved him off. "It's just a scratch. The most important thing now is to figure out what's really going on between Takumi and this guy."
Hosu, smirking, said, "Takumi and I are partners. No matter how many times you ask, that's my answer."
"Shut up!" Igaram snapped, glaring at Hosu, who seemed annoyingly calm. "If that kid were really your partner, don't you think he'd have tried to save you? Thanks to you, both I and my men got our butts kicked by him!"
Hosu just laughed. "Don't blame me for your own incompetence."
"You—!" Igaram was ready to punch him.
But Pell quickly stopped him. "Don't lose your temper, Igaram. Let's find Takumi first and confirm they're not actually connected, then we can deal with this guy. Weren't you tailing Takumi? Where is he now?"
Igaram scratched his head. "That guy… he's faster than the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad. I couldn't keep up…"
The Super Spot-Billed Ducks were Alabasta's fastest, human-speaking ducks.
Pell sighed, unsurprised. "I figured. Alright, hop on."
With that, Pell transformed into his falcon form, thanks to his Bird-Bird Fruit powers.
Igaram, still holding onto Hosu, climbed onto Pell's back.
Pell immediately took off, flying high above Alabasta, scanning the landscape for any sign of Takumi.
It only took a few minutes before Pell spotted Takumi outside the city, fighting some massive sand beasts hidden beneath the sand.
"There he is," Pell said.
Igaram peered down and couldn't believe what he saw. "That guy's really faster than the Super Spot-Billed Ducks. From where we were to where Takumi is now, it would've taken the ducks at least thirty minutes. But that kid made it in less than fifteen…"
"Wait, you're serious?" Pell asked, surprised. He'd thought Igaram was just making excuses after losing track of Takumi.
"I'm dead serious. That kid's no ordinary person. For all we know, he's an adult disguised as a child!" Igaram said earnestly.
In fact, Takumi was only seventeen before he crossed over, so technically, he wasn't an adult yet.
"Forget about that for now. Let's go talk to him," Pell said, flying toward Takumi.
Meanwhile, Takumi used Moonwalk to leap onto the head of the giant scorpion he had lured out. With a powerful punch infused with both Tekkai and Armament Haki, he slammed down on the scorpion's head.
The scorpion's entire body instantly cracked like shattered glass, and with a loud "boom," it exploded into countless pieces, scattering across the ground just as Pell and the others arrived.
"What the—?!" Igaram and Hosu's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Pell, though shocked, managed to stay more composed than Igaram.
He landed with Igaram and Hosu, then returned to his human form.
"This guy's strength is incredible," Pell said seriously. "If Takumi had really tried, you all would've been dead already."
Igaram swallowed nervously.
Hosu, snapping out of his shock, began to laugh. "Hahaha! I've known about his strength for a while now."
"Liar!" Igaram smacked Hosu on the head. "You were just as shocked as I was!"
"I was faking it," Hosu said, grinning as he called out to Takumi, "Hey, Takumi! Help me out here! I've stashed away the treasure we got from Yuba. Once I'm free, I'll split it with you, fifty-fifty!"
Takumi just stared at him silently.
Hosu was talking about the Flame-Flame Fruit.
But Takumi wasn't interested in that fruit at all.
However, this guy had the nerve to frame him!
Takumi turned to face Igaram and the others, his gaze locking onto Hosu.
Seeing the sudden intensity in Takumi's eyes, Hosu quickly added, "Okay, how about this? You take the fruit, and I'll give you half of everything I've saved over the years. How's that?"
"Not interested," Takumi replied coldly.
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Igaram asked, his brows furrowed.
Takumi ignored him.
Using Shunpo, Takumi appeared right in front of Hosu in the blink of an eye.
Before Pell and Igaram could react, Takumi had already thrown a punch at Hosu.
Hosu instantly broke free from Igaram's restraints, snapping the chains around him and ducking to dodge Takumi's attack.
"What?!" Igaram was shocked that Hosu had escaped so easily.
Hosu stepped back, smirking. "Igaram, did you really think you could capture me? I only let you catch me because I was bored. I was hoping to use this as an opportunity to get closer to Takumi, but it seems I pushed things too far. Hahaha! Takumi, you're strong, but I'm no weakling. Even if I can't beat you, you won't be able to stop me from escaping."
With that, Hosu's lower body transformed into a roaring blaze, lifting him into the air.
"You're a Devil Fruit user?!" Igaram exclaimed in shock.
Takumi pulled back his missed punch, looking up at Hosu, who was now hovering in the air.
So, this guy had eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit…
"Hahaha, bet you didn't see that coming," Hosu laughed. "I've already eaten that Devil Fruit. I may have just gotten these powers, but now, even if you want to kill me, you can't. Your attacks will just pass right through my elemental body. Killing me won't be that easy."
"This is bad…" Igaram muttered, sweat forming on his forehead.
Pell's expression darkened as well. "A Logia-type fire ability… He won't be easy to deal with. Maybe if I team up with Takumi, we can take him down. Takumi, what do you say?"
Takumi completely ignored Pell.
He used Moonwalk to leap up to Hosu.
Hosu didn't immediately flee but instead laughed triumphantly. "Kid, you've got potential. How about teaming up with me to conquer the world?"
"Enough talking," Takumi said bluntly. "From the moment you framed me, you were dead."
With that, Takumi combined Moonwalk with Shunpo, appearing directly in front of Hosu. Before Hosu could react, Takumi wrapped his hand, infused with Level Six Armament Haki, around Hosu's throat.
******
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