The offensive aspect of the Poison-Poison Fruit's ability is terrifying.
However, this damage isn't explosive in nature.
Normally, with a red-quality ability, if it were purely offensive, someone with the strength of Pighead would likely be able to annihilate a dozen Pigheads with a single attack.
But the Poison-Poison Fruit cannot achieve this.
While its damage is fearsome, it is a continuous form of harm.
This isn't necessarily a flaw, but rather a type of attack. It does present some hidden dangers; the opponent could choose to fight Bai Ye to the death before the poison fully takes effect. Since they're going to die anyway, they might as well drag Bai Ye down with them.
What makes the Poison-Poison Fruit so troublesome and disgusting is…
Once you're tainted by poison, it's incredibly difficult to shake off, unless you possess an antidote. Furthermore, even with an antidote, the Poison Dragon's poison is corrosive and has no direct counter; only wound medicine can treat the damage. Therefore, even with an antidote, it cannot fully negate the Poison-Poison Fruit's effects.
Then there is the endless torment, as the poison continuously erodes the body, inflicting damage not only physically but also mentally.
Secondly, Bai Ye can release poison liquid or gas from his entire body, which implies…
Engaging Bai Ye in close combat is akin to seeking death. If one gets too close to Bai Ye, not to mention touching him, even breathing the same air as him is a mistake, as the poisonous gas will enter the body through the air.
Of course, this level of poison is weak, but even weak poison has an effect and will continuously worsen.
If Bai Ye were to put himself in the shoes of someone facing an individual with the Poison-Poison Fruit, he would most likely choose to flee immediately. Getting close would mean getting poisoned, which is utterly repulsive.
And what if one kept their distance?
Poison clouds, poison bullets, poison dragons…
A whole host of long-range attack options.
At this moment, the sound of footsteps interrupted Bai Ye's thoughts. Ziyuan emerged from the bushes.
"Don't touch me!" Bai Ye quickly dodged as Ziyuan reached out to pat him, saying, "I'm covered in poison right now, more poisonous than your cooking."
Ziyuan, who had intended to praise Bai Ye for his excellent work, immediately let out a huff upon hearing the latter half of his statement and decided to ignore him.
Her culinary skills would improve eventually.
Meanwhile, Ziyuan's actions gave Bai Ye an idea. When using the Poison-Poison Fruit's abilities, he could release Gengar, as Gengar's beast-taming attribute is Ghost and Poison.
Therefore, Gengar is immune to poison and can fight alongside Bai Ye. However, he absolutely must not release Goodra. Goodra is a Dragon-type beast, not Poison-type, and it constantly loves to nuzzle, hug, and embrace. He might end up poisoning himself to death.
As Bai Ye pondered this, he made the poison on his body disappear and quickly followed Ziyuan.
After traversing the wetlands and swamps, Ziyuan pointed to a cave entrance adorned with vines and said, "This is the entrance to the Lizardmen's lair."
Bai Ye nodded, took out Gengar's beast-taming sphere, and tossed it, releasing Gengar. "Gengar, go scout ahead!"
Gengar let out a soft cry, then sank into the ground, transforming into a shadow and heading into the cave.
Jin Sha was undoubtedly an excellent beast tamer. Recommending Gengar to Bai Ye was a truly excellent suggestion. In terms of combat ability, Gengar was quite good among blue-quality beasts. Moreover, beyond combat, Gengar, as a dual-type Ghost and Poison beast, had a Ghost attribute that made it an excellent scout. This creature could not only phase through walls but also hide within shadows, making it very difficult to detect.
While Gengar went ahead to scout, Bai Ye and Ziyuan did not idle. They followed into the cave but did not move too quickly, as the situation inside was still unclear.
Moving forward…
Drip, drip, drip…
Water droplets fell from the cave ceiling, creating clear sounds.
Approximately every five meters, there were two torches for illumination. After walking forward for about ten meters, Bai Ye caught the scent of blood, and soon, corpses appeared before Bai Ye and Ziyuan.
There were the bodies of Pigheads and Lizardmen, with many broken weapons scattered around, indicating a fierce struggle. The corpses were all mangled.
It was clear that the group of Pigheads had been killing and then devouring the bodies to strengthen themselves.
Continuing forward for another ten meters, Bai Ye stopped and looked at Ziyuan.
A fork in the path appeared before them, with three branching caves. There were traces of battle in front of each cave: corpses, broken weapons, and torches dropped on the ground.
Ziyuan spread her hands. "Don't look at me. I know where the Lizardmen live, but I've never been inside their caves. At most, I've only been to the outskirts of the wetlands and swamps."
Bai Ye scratched his head, feeling somewhat 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, and magically transformed its face into that of a Pighead. Then, it grabbed a torch from the ground and waved it vigorously.
"You have that talent too?" Bai Ye exclaimed. "Super Sentai Mimicry?"
Gengar proudly waved the torch at Bai Ye, then went to the second and third cave entrances and performed the same actions.
Bai Ye asked, "Are there Pigheads behind all three caves?"
Gengar swayed its body and nodded its head.
Bai Ye then asked, "What about the Lizardmen?"
As soon as Bai Ye asked, he couldn't help but slap his forehead. He was being idiotic. Gengar's actions depicted Pigheads fighting, so naturally, there had to be Lizardmen, or who would the Pigheads be fighting?
However…
After thinking for a moment, Gengar suddenly ran to the middle cave, stretched its face into the shape of a Lizardman, then placed its hands on its head and raised its fingers one by one, forming the shape of a crown.
Bai Ye was momentarily stunned, 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 given that the figure wore a crown, its status was likely very high.
"Let's go!" Bai Ye said to Ziyuan. "We'll go through the middle one!"
Ziyuan was completely confused, watching Gengar frolic there and unable to understand its meaning at all. But since Bai Ye said to go through the middle, they would go through the middle.
The two followed the middle cave inward. Soon, the sounds of fighting could be heard, along with the clanging of weapons.
Bai Ye and Ziyuan exchanged glances, then quickened their pace.
Soon, at the end of the cave, an open area appeared, where a large number of Pigheads and Lizardmen were engaged in fierce combat, locked in a desperate struggle.
Suddenly, Ziyuan pointed to several Lizardmen and said, "They are the Lizardmen leader's personal guards!"