The offensive aspect of the Poison-Poison Fruit's ability is terrifying.
However, this damage is not burst damage.
Normally, if a red-quality ability were purely offensive, with the Pig-Headed Man's strength, he might have been able to eliminate a dozen Pig-Headed Men with a single attack.
But the Poison-Poison Fruit cannot achieve this.
The damage from the Poison-Poison Fruit is formidable, but it is persistent.
This isn't necessarily a drawback, but merely a type of attack. Yet, it does present a potential hidden danger: the opponent could desperately fight back against Bai Ye before the poison fully takes effect, dragging Bai Ye down with them if they are doomed to die.
What makes the Poison-Poison Fruit so annoying and disgusting is...
Once poisoned, it's incredibly difficult to shake off, unless one possesses an antidote. Furthermore, even with an antidote, the Venomous Dragon's poison is corrosive, meaning there's no direct cure; only medicinal herbs can treat the wounds. Therefore, even with an antidote, the Poison-Poison Fruit cannot be completely countered.
Then comes the endless torment, as the poison continuously corrodes the body, inflicting damage on both the physical and mental aspects.
Secondly, Bai Ye can release poison or toxic gas from his entire body, which implies that...
Engaging in close combat with Bai Ye is suicidal. Getting too close to Bai Ye, let alone touching him, is a mistake. Even breathing the same air is an error, as the toxic gas will enter the opponent's body through respiration.
Of course, the potency of this poison is low, but even weak poison has an effect, and it will continuously worsen.
In any case, if Bai Ye were to put himself in the shoes of someone facing a user of the Poison-Poison Fruit, he would most likely choose to flee. Getting close means getting poisoned; it's too repulsive.
And what about from a distance?
Poison clouds, poison bombs, poison dragons...
A whole host of ranged attack methods.
At this point, the sound of footsteps interrupted Bai Ye's thoughts. It was Shion, walking out from the bushes.
"Don't touch me!" Bai Ye quickly dodged as Shion reached out to pat him, saying, "I'm covered in poison right now, more poisonous than your cooking."
Shion, who had intended to praise Bai Ye for a job well done, immediately let out a huff upon hearing the latter half of his statement, refusing to engage with him further.
Her cooking skills would improve sooner or later.
Meanwhile, Shion's actions served as a reminder to Bai Ye. When using the abilities of the Poison-Poison Fruit, Gengar could be released, as Gengar's beast attributes are Ghost and Poison.
Therefore, Gengar is immune to poison and can fight alongside Bai Ye. However, Goodra absolutely should not be released. Goodra is a Dragon-type beast and does not possess the Poison attribute. Moreover, that creature loves to hug, kiss, and cuddle whenever possible, and it might end up poisoning itself to death.
As Bai Ye pondered this, he made the poison on his body disappear and quickly followed Shion.
After crossing the marshy wetlands, Shion pointed to a cave covered in vines and said, "This is the entrance to the Lizardmen's nest."
Bai Ye nodded, took out Gengar's beast ball, and threw it, releasing Gengar. "Gengar, go scout!"
Gengar chirped and then submerged itself into the ground, transforming into a shadow and heading into the cave.
Kim Se is undoubtedly an excellent beast tamer. Recommending Gengar to Bai Ye was truly a valuable piece of advice. In terms of combat ability, Gengar is decent among blue-quality beasts. Furthermore, besides combat prowess, Gengar, as a dual-type Ghost and Poison beast, excels as a scout due to its Ghost attribute. This creature can not only phase through walls but also hide within shadows, making it difficult to detect.
While Gengar went ahead to scout, Bai Ye and Shion didn't stand idle. They followed into the cave but didn't move too quickly, as the situation inside was still unclear.
Moving forward...
Drip, drip, drip...
Water droplets fell from the cave ceiling, making a clear dripping sound.
Torches were placed every five meters for illumination. After walking forward for about ten meters, Bai Ye smelled the scent of blood, and soon, corpses appeared before Bai Ye and Shion.
There were the corpses of Pig-Headed Men and Lizardmen, surrounded by many broken weapons, indicating a fierce battle had taken place. The corpses were also mangled.
The group of Pig-Headed Men had clearly been killing and devouring the corpses to strengthen themselves.
Moving forward another ten meters, Bai Ye stopped and looked at Shion.
A fork in the path appeared before them, with three branching caves. There were signs of battle in front of each cave, with corpses, broken weapons, and dropped torches.
Shion spread her hands. "Don't look at me. I know where the Lizardmen live, but I've never entered their caves. At most, I've only been to the outskirts of the marshy wetlands."
Bai Ye scratched his head, feeling a bit troubled.
At this moment, Gengar suddenly emerged from the ground.
Bai Ye's eyes lit up. "How was the scouting? Did you check all three paths?"
Gengar ran to the first cave entrance, rubbed its face, miraculously transforming it into the likeness of a Pig-Headed Man, and then grabbed a torch from the ground, brandishing it forcefully.
"You can do that too?" Bai Ye exclaimed, "Super Mimicry?"
Gengar proudly waved the torch at Bai Ye, then ran to the second and third cave entrances, performing the same actions.
Bai Ye asked, "Are there Pig-Headed Men behind all three caves?"
Gengar swayed its body and nodded.
Bai Ye then asked, "What about the Lizardmen?"
As soon as Bai Ye asked, he involuntarily smacked his forehead. He had been foolish. Gengar's actions depicted Pig-Headed Men in combat. Naturally, there would be Lizardmen; who else would the Pig-Headed Men be fighting?
However...
After a moment of thought, Gengar suddenly ran to the middle cave, stretched its face to resemble a Lizardman, placed its hands on its head, and raised its fingers one by one, forming the shape of a crown.
Bai Ye was stunned for a moment, then excitedly exclaimed, "The Lizardmen's leader?"
Gengar shook its head, but pointed to its head and made the crown gesture again.
Bai Ye understood. Gengar didn't know if it was the Lizardmen's leader, but the one wearing a crown must hold a high position.
"Let's go!" Bai Ye said to Shion, "We'll go through the middle!"
Shion was bewildered, watching Gengar hopping around and completely unable to understand its meaning. However, since Bai Ye said to go through the middle, they would go through the middle.
The two followed the middle cave inward and soon heard sounds of fighting and the clang of weapons.
Bai Ye and Shion exchanged glances and quickened their pace.
Soon, at the end of the cave, an open area appeared, where a large number of Pig-Headed Men and Lizardmen were locked in a fierce battle, fighting tooth and nail.
Suddenly, Shion pointed to a few Lizardmen and said, "Those are the personal guards of the Lizardmen leader!"