143 Chapter 134
[Jinren]
The whole island seemed to be in a disaster. Various buildings collapsed, many civilians were injured, and the ground had many cracks formed all around.
"Target..." A CP0 agent with a frowning white mask and white hat stated as he gazed at the wall in the front, where...
Luffy, who was unconscious with quite gruesome injuries all over his body, was seen to be leaning onto.
"...acquired."
On the nearby site, Borodo, with his upper body severed from his lower half, was seen to be lying, dead.
"Monkey D. Luffy... he definitely isn't a mere pirate whose bounty should be 47 million." Momentarily taking his hat off, the agent placed his hand on the side of his head, which was crushed into an abnormal shape and was bleeding, due to the headbutt that he received from Luffy previously,
"That last strike of his, without a doubt... it was Conqueror's Haki, although raw and not honed."
*Swoosh*
Subsequently, the other members of CP0 made their appearances.
"Where are the other three?"
"They fell in the ocean without a ship and had severe wounds." The other agent replied, "There is no chance of survival."
The agent with the frowning white mask then noticed,
"Your hand..."
The other agent's right hand was severed from his arm.
"A trivial matter that happened simply because I let my guard down." The other agent said impassively, before taking out the Den Den Mushi from his suit, "Report in our stead, will you?
Monkey D. Luffy has successfully been obtained, with all the other members dead."
The agent with the frowning white mask nodded, "And the rest of you will get rid of all witnesses in this island. After all, we can't allow this news to enter Garp's ears."
The weather within Jinren was gloomy and cloudy.
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[Alabasta, Alubarna]
"Give me a reason why I should leave you alive." A former Baroque-Works-agent-turned-guard, Zala who used to be called Ms. Doublefinger, said coldly as she pointed her sharp fingernail at a particular individual with a long nose, Usopp.
"Well..." Usopp grinned casually as he raised his hands up, "why don't we calm down first?"
"'Long-Nose' Usopp, the former member of the Orange-Eyed pirates, wanted for 2 million Beli." Zala, ignoring Usopp's words, stated as she brought the sharp fingernail closer to Usopp's neck, "There is no place for a criminal like you in Alabasta."
"That information is wrong." Usopp replied without any hint of fear, "I simply snuck in the ship of those fools who were claiming to be the loyal henchmen of the Grimheart pirates.
Instead, I am Usopp the Sniper King, the captain of the Brave Shot pirates!"
"And I'm the Vice Captain!"
Chopper, who was standing next to Usopp's leg, stated proudly.
However, that didn't seem to have any effect on Zala, who didn't retract her fingernail.
"You are not answering my question."
"Heh, and one more." Usopp, with a hint of pride, grinned as he pointed a thumb to himself as he raised his other hand and flicked his index finger toward himself.
Then,
*Swoosh*
a knife that was lying on the table nearby, suddenly flew toward Usopp, causing Zala to jump back in surprise.
"I'm a magnet man."
Usopp said with his chin lifted up high in complacency, as his hand gripped the hilt of the knife with ease.
"And I'm a human man!"
Chopper said cutely as he mimicked Usopp's proud pose.
Zala assessed the surrounding with caution,
'The restaurant is cleared with no one but us within. The fight is not avoidable. A mere pirate with a bounty of 2 million and a raccoon without a capability to fight—'
Chopper, placing a rumble ball within his mouth, bulked up all of a sudden.
'...Never mind.'
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[In the Middle of the Sea]
"Yohohoho! And that's how I got here!" A skeleton with an afro said while clattering its teeth. This skeleton-man was none other than Brook, who recently became free after his shadow abruptly returned to him. "And that's why I'm travelling back to the Reverse Mountain, in order to meet Laboon!"
"W-who the f*** are you even?!!" Not having listened to the long story that Brook told up until now, Bellamy, the captain of the ship that was travelling toward the New World, shouted in a cold sweat.
He was currently having a mental dilemma. He thought that he was strong, that he was powerful enough to become an executive of Donquixote family. However, after having encountered Mad Treasure and Teach in Jaya, Ace and Wapol's weird ship, and now, Brook, a creepy skeleton who was actually formidable, Bellamy was starting to doubt.
The sea was vast, and Bellamy only realized this recently.
"Kehehe!!! Y-you think being a skeleton will frighten me?!" Sarquiss, a blue-haired man who is the vice captain of Bellamy pirates, shouted while sweating profusely in an attempt to hide his uneasiness.
"Oh, I apologize for my inconvenience." Brook, after seeing their reactions, simply bowed before standing up from his spot, "It seems that my presence brought you quite a shock, yohohoho! As an apology, let me entertain your ears!"
Bellamy didn't know anymore. Simply sitting down on the chair helplessly, he simply nodded in fatigue,
"...Sure."
"Now, let's start with the amazing masterpiece known as 'We Are'..."
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[Fish-Man Island]
"Weaklings." Bullet snorted, "A birdie who only relies on the regenerative ability of his fruit, a moron who only knows how to punch with his fists, and... other weaklings not even worth mentioning."
In front of Bullet, the commanders of the Phoenix pirates, along with Marco, were seen to be lying down, unconscious.
With a frown, Bullet turned back, "To think I was expecting an interesting fight... forget it. If you weren't the son of that old man Roger, I would've killed everyone here already."
'Old man Roger, by not killing your son and his friends, I no longer owe you anything.'
Bullet began to walk away,
"There won't be next time."
After all, Bullet strived to become the Pirate King, and he usually wasn't the type to leave his competitors alive.
Right after Bullet's departure, the other members of the Phoenix pirates, King Neptune's army, and Jinbe quickly rushed in to take the unconscious Phoenix pirates.
"Douglas Bullet... he truly deserves the title of Demon Heir." Jinbe said grimly as he gazed at the mountain of fish-men corpses, with Hody Jones on the top.
"Jinbe, that isn't the only problem we got right now." Neptune stated stoically, "The pirates that Hody previously kept under the shackles… their future actions may further bring troubles to the island."
"But... I can't leave this forest, king Neptune." Jinbe couldn't help but sigh, "I got a bounty of 400 million Beli on my head now."
Neptune, with conflicted eyes, looked at the sea above the dome-like layer that encased the Fish-Man Island, "And due to Whitebeard-san's claim regarding One Piece, we are getting a sudden rise in the number of pirates who are entering our home. Not good."
Additionally, the Phoenix pirates weren't in a condition to help them; they already did more than enough by having Bullet leave the island—even if it may be due to something as trivial as a boredom.
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[Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 27]
"Rowan," Nami asked with wavering eyes, "...what was that just now?"
What the spectators saw within an hour was unbelievable in their eyes. How was it possible for a single man to become so strong?
"It's just that I was more diligent in training than Kizaru." Rowan answered with a chuckle.
For the past years, Rowan explored and applied everything that he was capable of doing. The extremely honed and enhanced physical prowess. The increased fluidity of the short-ranged attacks by copying the movements of Ayan Taekwondo. The availability of long-ranged attacks by the use of propulsion through his fruit ability. Augmentation of his strength by the convergence of bounce forces. Inner destruction through the consecutive bounce forces. Temporary boost through 'Grimheart.' Additionally, the combinations of such techniques with his Haki and unique eyes.
Through the continuous pursuit of strength, Rowan managed to become someone who is well-rounded in every single aspect of the fight.
Nojiko simply shook her head as she curled her lips up, "Nami, do you know just what kind of insane training routine Rowan has gone through in Cocoyasi village?"
If she were to think that Rowan trained himself in such a way every single day, Nojiko, to some extent, could understand why Rowan was able to become as strong as he was now.
"Whew, well, that was a good exercise! Now—"
"""Exercise?!!!!"""
The Twin Cats pirates, Heart pirates, and Bonney pirates all shouted with their eyes popping out comically.
"—let's move on to the next matter."
Taking in a deep breath, Rowan placed his hands in his pocket as he began to walk off in a particular direction.
"Grimheart-ya, where are you going?" Law asked in curiosity, to which Rowan briefly turned his head back with a grin,
"Fruit-hunting."
According to what he heard from Dan the last time, the owner-less devil fruit seemed to re-emerge from a normal and already-existing fruit nearby.
Although Rowan wasn't sure, it was worth trying to search for the Glint Glint fruit. After all, a fruit that grants the power of an element as incredible as the light wasn't something that he could merely pass by—
"C-captain! Don't eat that, you are going to die!!!" One member of the Bonney pirates shrieked in disbelief all of a sudden, causing Bonney, who was stuffing her mouth with various foods while spectating the scenery at the sea, to pause eating and gaze at the food that she was holding.
It was a fruit, or to be more specific, a fruit-turned-devil-fruit.
"...*Munch*... Huh." Bonney muttered before throwing the devil fruit to Rowan, "Guess you found it now."
"Ah, you are giving it to me?" Rowan stated in delight as he caught the fruit.
'…To attain this fruit just like this… life surely is unpredictable.'
It had a shape of a star and was yellow in colour. Its edges were twinkling in a mesmerizing way; Rowan didn't even have to look into the encyclopedia to understand that this fruit was indeed the Glint Glint fruit.
"In return," Bonney said while burping, "allow us to join your alliance."
Rowan raised his eyebrow in surprise, but shrugged eventually, "Sure, why not?"
Law, watching the scene, sighed in relief.
'Good choice you made there, Jewelry Bonney.'
Bonney turned back to her crew, where they were staring at her with lingering sadness.
"What?" Bonney simply exclaimed as she took a bite off of the bread in her hand, "Do you really think that eating that fruit will make you as strong as Kizaru? Besides, Grimheart is the one who defeated Kizaru. It belonged to him. What did all of you expect me to do here?"
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[A Week After]
"How did it turn out like this?" Rowan couldn't help but mutter.
In front of him, there lied Law and his Heart pirates, Nojiko, Nami, and their Twin Cats pirates, Bonney and her Bonney pirates who wished protection against the World Government, and...
"C-c-c-check it out!"
Scratchmen Apoo's On Air pirates.
In contrast to what he initially believed, Apoo and his crew weren't someone with much ambition. They sailed for the purpose of satiating their musical needs through festivals and parties, while gaining artistic ideas and insights through their journey in the sea.
"If I join an alliance as big as this, there definitely will be lots of parties, oh yeah!" Apoo rapped in delight, "Apapapa, this is going to be f-f-f-fun!"
"Ugh, my ears..." Bonney, who was standing quite close to Apoo, covered her ears in pain, "Shut up already, you Keyboard-teeth!!!"
"Apapa!" Apoo simply laughed boisterously, "I don't listen to the weaklings!!"
"Huh?!! What did you say?!!" Bonney gritted her teeth with a tickmark as she lashed out against Apoo comically.
As for the ship of the Twin Cats pirates, they ended up taking the owner-less ship, Bloody Mary, which previously belonged to Davy Jeanne. That pirate crew seemed to have stacked up an incredible amount of wealth within; Rowan and the Twin Cats pirates split them in 2 to 1 ratio, with Rowan being 2.
"I forever pledge my loyalty to you, king Bob!!" Nami bowed on the ground with absolute joy that day, upon gaining one-third of Jeanne's wealth. After all, by logic, all of them belonged to Rowan.
"Well, can't leave you and your crew penniless, can I?" This was Rowan's reply back then.
And now, back to the present,
"I hope Carina loosens up after seeing this." Rowan looked back and gazed at the pile of treasures behind him.
The last time he was separated from them, he was imprisoned in the Impel Down. After having gone through so much without them once more, he knew that Carina must've been worried.
Law, with a raised eyebrow, questioned Rowan, "Your crew should be here soon, right?"
Rowan simply pointed his finger at the distant sky,
"They're here."
Then, a gigantic frame of Prominence revealed herself from the horizon, much to the other crews' shock, with the exclusion of Nami.
"ROOOWWWWAAAANNNNNN!!!!!!!!" From the Prominence above, an angry scream could be heard all the way, earning a sweatdrop from Rowan.
"Well..." Rowan said sheepishly as the captains of the other crews turned to him questioningly, "That's Carina."
Prominence, upon having arrived right above the port at the Grove 27, descended to the surface of the water swiftly.
*ZOOM*
"Rowan, do you know how much we've been worried—oh?" Carina, teleporting from the deck of the Prominence to the position right in front of Rowan, froze upon sighting the pile of treasures behind him.
"Sorry for worrying you again." Rowan chuckled before gazing at the back, "So I hope this makes up for it."
"Hehe... hehehehe..." Carina began to laugh as she stared at the treasures with sparkling eyes, before to Rowan's surprise, giving him an abrupt kiss on the cheek.
"Love you, captain!"
Rowan chuckled, "You call me captain only at moments like this, don't you?"
"Hehe, I like calling you Rowan more."
"Yo, captain!" From the deck of Prominence, Dan waved his hand, "What's with all these people around?"
Carmen made a slight smile on her face, "Did you really do all those that the newspaper told, captain?"
"Why, have you ever seen Morgans telling lies—oh, right." Rowan snapped his finger in realization, before grabbing the box nearby, "Hey Cavendish, catch."
"Guahaha, they must be my fans! Hello, hello there as well, ah, yes, calm down and come one by one—huh? What is this, captain?" Cavendish, who was smiling haughtily, expressed his confusion upon catching the box that Rowan threw toward him.
"A present for you."
Rowan thought about it for a week. Who should be the one to get this Glint Glint fruit? There were three candidates: Cavendish, Alfred, and Farul, for he believed that a Logia-type fruit wasn't what Prominence was in need of.
And among those three,
Alfred wasn't necessarily the type to engage the fight head-on. He tended to rely on his creative inventions. Farul wasn't really a combatant of the ship. Therefore, Cavendish was naturally the best candidate for the fruit.
"For me? Ah, I didn't know that you were my fan either, captain! Of course, how can I refuse? I will take it gladly—" Cavendish, who opened the box, widened his eyes upon sighting a devil fruit within.
"Why? What is it?" Dan, out of curiosity, attempted to peer into the box, only to see Cavendish hurriedly gulping down the whole fruit.
"...Devil fruit?" Robin, from the back, muttered with surprised eyes.
"Ho, it seems so, mademoiselle Robin." Alfred nodded with an interest, before humming, "A fruit for master Cavendish... I was wondering when he was going to get it after seeing how most of our crew had one."
"Neigh!!!" Farul huffed.
"And of course, Farul," Alfred smiled gently as he rubbed Farul's head, "We will be getting them as well. Hoho, I think I would want something akin to Bird Bird fruit, model: Crow. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"Neigh~!!!"
"Oh, you want a Paramecia-type? Logia-type is too boring?"
As Alfred and Farul engaged themselves in a conversation of their own,
"Sahaha! I wonder what fruit it is!" Urouge laughed in a lively manner.
"Hm..." Dan rubbed his chin, "There's no way that captain would give a worthless fruit to one of us. What can it be..."
Then, in front of everyone,
"Guahahaha!!! Praise me, mortals!!!" Cavendish, who was in T-pose, began to shine in bright white light.
""GLINT GLINT FRUIT?!!!!"" Carmen and Dan shouted in disbelief.
Urouge's grin twitched. In comparison to the devil fruits of all the others in Grimheart pirates, his Pain Pain fruit... just seemed underwhelming.
'It hurts...' Urouge wanted to know how it felt to turn into an element and travel freely.
"He's going to be a speed demon." Robin commented with a light smile, "He was already fast, but now, he's eaten the fastest fruit in the world."
"So this is the Grimheart pirates." From the side, Law muttered in a cold sweat, "Each and every single member of this crew is capable on their own. Perhaps... defeating Kaidou really is possible—"
However, Law's thought was cut short, as,
"Woohoo, Pirate Prince got an extremely strong devil fruit!!!" Apoo shouted out loud all of a sudden, "This calls for a party!!!"
"""Yeahhh!!!"""
The members of the On Air pirates all cheered in joy.
Urouge, who seemed depressed, instantly perked up with a grin, "Someone knows very well. I'm impressed."
"Flash! Flash! Flash!!!"
Meanwhile, Cavendish was seen to be wildly flashing from place to place with bright light having enveloped his body, causing many to close their eyes in dizziness.
"Hmph, flame is better." Carmen snorted.
"Nope, lightning is still the best." Dan retorted in pride.
"Three-hundred, three-hundred and ten, three-hundred and twenty..." Carina was busy counting the approximate values that the pile of treasures held.
"A party right before entering the New World..." Rowan smiled in excitement, "Why not?"
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You may have been a little shocked with what happened to the Straw Hats.
Honestly, I was debating if I should give them a plot armour... but decided against it.
Someone like Gaban interrupting all of a sudden... nah, that was just too coincidental.
Luffy awakening his fruit... nah, he doesn't even have gear 2 right now.
Apart from this, I will have to announce that there will be no chapter on Saturday. Have a great day!
