"Are these guys so difficult to deal with?"
Gaban was a little depressed. He had easily dealt with those shadows before, which made him mistakenly believe that these things were just decorations and did not pose a threat to them. They were not worth worrying about at all.
But now, after listening to Larson's story, he realized that he might have been wrong.
"I can't say it's difficult to deal with, but we have to curb the development speed of those things. Otherwise, when we reach the depths of the forest, they may become a major threat to us."
These black shadows are not scary; they are very weak. Basically, Larson and the others can easily deal with them with just a move of their fingers.
But no one can be sure whether these things will be enhanced in strength after reaching the fourth level or if they will turn into some strange species again.
This is something that is very possible. Don't forget, these shadows also changed from those who came back from the dead, so it seems reasonable to expect them to change again.
What Larson has to worry about now is not the current shadow but the shadow that may be strengthened after entering the fourth level.
Whitebeard suddenly said, "I feel like, Larson, you are a little to worried."
Everyone was a little surprised when they heard Whitebeard's words. They had seen what Whitebeard was like along the way. Basically, he unconditionally agreed with whatever Larson said. However, this time, he actually put forward a different opinion.
Larson was also a little surprised. " do you have any other opinions?"
Whitebeard smiled. "I don't know if my opinion is right, but everyone has felt it along the way. No matter how resurrected and strengthened those people are, they are just rubbish.
Instead of wasting our minds on this garbage now, we might as well go deep into the forest as soon as possible."
Larson was a little helpless. He understood what Whitebeard meant. In Whitebeard's view, those who were killed by wild beasts and resurrected had already been strengthened, but their strength was still so weak.
From then on, until now, they turned into black shadows, but they were still easily dealt with. Generally speaking, changing from a human to a black shadow did not improve their strength significantly.
From this point of view, even if they continue to change in the future, there is nothing to be afraid of; it's just that they might need to use a bit more force when the sword falls.
What Whitebeard said was not unreasonable, but it was obvious that his words conflicted with what Gaban had said before. They both meant the same thing, and neither of them paid attention to the black shadows.
You can't say that it's wrong for them to do this, because from their perspective, these things are garbage; their strength is so apparent that it's hard for them to even pretend otherwise.
But from a long-term and overall perspective, this is a very big problem.
Larson is a very stable person. He will not leave any hidden dangers for himself before doing something.
For example, in film and television works, a villain kills a person but intentionally leaves behind that person's child or does not know that the person has a child, and then decades later, that child comes for revenge. This kind of thing, in Larson's view, is something he absolutely will not allow to happen to him.
Now they have only walked the third floor of the island and have not really reached the core area of the island, let alone the deepest part.
After that, there is the fourth floor, and after the fourth floor, there is the fifth floor. No one knows how many floors there are.
Who can guarantee that these things, which are still so rubbish now, will not become threats to them after repeatedly going through these layers of transformation?
Larson is not afraid that these things will hurt them. Although he is very cautious, he is not a fool. He is still very clear about their strength.
He is just afraid that once these things become stronger and their numbers grow sufficiently, they may add many variables to their originally smooth journey.
You must know that it is still unclear what caused the change on Yerug Island. The ability to change the Neptune species, as well as the shells walking around the world—these things seem to suggest that there is an invisible force behind it all, like a big hand pushing events.
So Larson wants to completely eliminate those black shadows before they become stronger and their numbers grow to a terrifying level. This will not only reduce unnecessary trouble in the future but also secretly disrupt the shadows' big plan.
Because, looking at the entire Yerug Island, Larson could feel a very deliberate feeling about it.
The changes are happening layer by layer, and each layer is getting stronger, just like what terrible changes can happen when you reach the last layer. Larson has seen this scene too many times in movies and TV series.
Larson explained his thoughts: "You want them to keep getting stronger, but we won't play by your rules. Even if we can't completely eliminate them, we still have to keep reducing their numbers.
In this case, even if they do become stronger later, without the quantitative support, they'll still be garbage."
Whitebeard and the others did not say anything after hearing this. Whitebeard had no other purpose in saying what he just said; he merely expressed his thoughts. In his heart, he has always supported Larson, and this hasn't changed.
However, after hearing Larson's explanation, Rayleigh discovered another problem: "If we keep focusing on those things and killing them, won't this slow us down? Could it allow others to get ahead of us?"
Larson responded, "I've already thought about that. We don't need to go out of our way to find them. We just need to try our best to explore on both sides as we move forward. Just like the scene that happened earlier—if others engage with those things, they'll inevitably make a noise, and we can rush over to eliminate them then."
"This is a good approach."
Without further discussion, everyone set off again.
The bonfire was extinguished, the torches were relit, and the team continued deeper into the forest.
As they advanced, the team explored both sides as Larson instructed, and the result was just as he expected. During their exploration, they encountered five pirate groups that were under attack by black shadows. Except for one group that arrived too late, resulting in all members being killed and turned into shadows, the rest were saved by Larson and his crew, with none of the shadows escaping. They were all eliminated.
After one battle, Rayleigh looked at the black substance on the sword and said with a wry smile, "That's a lot of kills. I feel like I'm getting used to the smell now."