Bang… Huā Lā La!
[The Sunny] slammed heavily onto the beach, sending everyone on deck tumbling in all directions.
"Itai, Itai, Itai…"
Nami stood up, clutching her swollen forehead. She looked around, then let out a sigh of relief.
"But still… thank goodness. We finally made it through."
Who could have imagined that the seas surrounding Laugh Tale would be wrapped in such massive whirlpools? They were even more terrifying than Wano Country! If not for her guiding the way and Jinbe at the helm working in perfect coordination, [The Sunny] would have been swallowed by the maelstrom halfway through.
"So this… is Laugh Tale?"
Sanji stood up, rubbing his aching knee. After testing his balance, he gazed at the endless stretch of yellow sand before him, feeling an indescribable heaviness in his heart.
Beyond confusion… There was perhaps more disappointment.
The great secret treasure that countless people had dreamed of, "ONE PIECE", now lay before them. Each of them had imagined what the "final island," Laugh Tale, would look like.
Would it be lush and green, filled with birdsong?
Or perhaps host some heaven-shaking marvel that inspired awe?
Yet upon seeing it with their own eyes, Laugh Tale's true appearance left them undeniably disappointed.
No birdsong, only endless yellow sand. No heaven-shaking miracle, only distant, somewhat imposing ruins of broken walls.
The scorching sunlight beat down from above. Dead trees, sand dunes, ruins, everything spoke of desolation.
Thud!
Something heavy stepped onto the deck. Sanji looked at Jinbe, who was limping past him toward the bow, and called out,
"Jinbe-san, where are you going?"
Jinbe ignored him. He walked up to Luffy, who stood frozen at the prow of [The Sunny], and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.
"There's no time to waste, Straw Hat! Don't forget why we came here!"
"I…" Luffy froze for a moment, then lowered his head.
"You're right!"
But then he turned around and looked at his crew.
"A Pirate King like this… I don't accept it."
The others were startled, all eyes turning to him.
"But I still had to come… It's kind of ridiculous, isn't it? Even though I've already succeeded."
Understanding dawned on their faces. They exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Captain?"
The first to step forward was Robin. She clasped her hands together and smiled gently.
"We're just here to rescue Princess Shirahoshi. As for 'ONE PIECE', we didn't see anything like that at all."
"Robin…" Luffy lifted his head, looking at her with eyes full of emotion.
Robin's ultimate dream was to uncover the mystery of the Void Century. The answers were right here before her, yet for his sake, she was willing to abandon them.
"Normally, once a captain achieves his dream of becoming Pirate King, the pirate crew's journey comes to an end… But I haven't found ALL BLUE yet. An ending like that, I won't accept it."
"Looks like you can speak with some brain after all," Zoro corrected Sanji, then looked at Luffy and grinned.
"When I get a bit stronger, we'll go together and take back what belongs to you."
"And me! And me too!" Chopper jumped excitedly, then suddenly transformed into his furry, muscular Robust Man form.
"I'm really strong too!"
"Count me in!"
Usopp gave a thumbs-up, grinning.
"Hehehe! If you want to become Pirate King, you can't do it without the great Captain Usopp's help!"
"Super!!"
The comedy trio instantly descended into chaos, making Luffy pull his hat down over his eyes.
"Everyone… thank you!"
With Brook's support, Nami stood up and slowly walked over, taking Luffy's hand.
"There's really nothing to worry about. Whether you become Pirate King or not, it's all the same to us, Luffy."
"What matters is that we're all together, right?"
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded hard, hot tears streaming down his face.
"That's right!"
"Yohohoho! After we rescue Princess Shirahoshi, would you let me see your…"
Thunk!
"Die, you perverted skeleton! What do those two things even have to do with each other?!"
Jinbe stared blankly at the suddenly lively deck, and at Luffy, who was already laughing through his tears. After a moment, he lifted his head and gazed at the sky.
"Perhaps you were right, Soryu (Azure Dragon). Straw Hat Luffy… will never be a threat."
"Hey, Jinbe, how about you stay behind and watch the ship?" Zoro, now dressed in a hooded desert outfit, had appeared at some point. He glanced at Jinbe, who was covered in injuries, and spoke.
"Hmph, are you looking down on this old man?" Jinbe snorted unhappily and turned to look at the ruins standing tall in the distant desert.
Seeing this, Zoro shrugged and shot Chopper a helpless look.
"Let's set off, everyone!"
Not long after, Luffy sat cross-legged atop Chopper, who had transformed into his jumping form, and raised his fist high.
…
Buru buru… Buru buru…
"Fleet Admiral, the Straw Hat crew has successfully arrived at Laugh Tale!"
On the battleship, Akainu picked up the Den Den Mushi, Dante's voice coming through clearly.
Luffy, who had untied the knot in his heart with his companions' help and was excitedly setting out on a new adventure, had no idea that every one of their movements was already being watched by the Assassination Force led by Dante.
Traveling light, nothing was faster than aircraft.
"Understood. Continue surveillance. Don't alert them."
After saying that, Akainu fastened his gas mask again and stepped out of the cabin.
He looked up at the Sea King in the distance, which had already moved away from the virus coverage zone and was pitifully swimming along with its poisoned body, and sighed.
"If I'd known it would come to this, why do it in the first place?"
Then his expression turned cold as he issued another order.
"Chase it and keep firing. Drive her back here!"
No matter how many grievances you may have, the countless lives lost to the tsunami must be paid for by someone!
…
Boom!!
The heavy halberd crashed down. The pitch-black Yamata no Orochi screamed in pain as one of its heads was sent flying.
However, Rowen's true target wasn't it. With Imu's true body possessing the Dark-Dark Fruit, which could erase any injury, and with Yamata no Orochi's special pseudo-immortality, requiring all eight heads to be severed, killing it was the last option.
Taking advantage of Yamata no Orochi's gigantic body blocking the line of sight, Rowen stepped back with his left foot, his entire form flickering as he vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was already behind the Dream Fruit shadow!
Because they feared accidentally injuring Yamata no Orochi, the others' attacks paused for a split second, but no one expected that this hesitation would give Rowen his opening. His sense of timing made Im see him in a new light.
"Fall back!"
Imu decisively ordered the Dream Fruit shadow to retreat. With their minds linked, the process was instantaneous, swift and fluid.
At the same time, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit shadow suddenly swung its fist, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the atmosphere and surged straight toward Rowen.
Boom!!
The shockwave hit Rowen directly, blasting him downward right alongside the Dream Fruit shadow, smashing into the ocean and creating a massive crater.
However, when Im noticed the "Rowen" within the tremors shattering into countless lightning serpents, his pupils shrank.
"Damn it, it's a clone!"
Rowen's lightning clone had long since surpassed the realm of mere illusion. Wrapped in identical lightning, even Im couldn't tell real from fake.
To him, the explosion of a mere clone wasn't frightening. What was truly terrifying was…
Where was Rowen's real body?!
Who was his true target?!
"You seem to have exposed a very obvious weakness, Lord Imu." The voice came from behind him, causing his sense of danger skyrocketed.
Im spun around and threw a punch, but hit nothing.
"That is, although you can use Devil Fruit abilities without limit, you don't seem to possess the original owners' powerful combat instincts…"
"…Instead, it's you who's controlling their attacks."
"Eight hundred years of living in comfort have made you forget how to fight, haven't they?"
Hearing this, Im abruptly turned his head toward the Dream Fruit clone.
"Damn it!"
Because their thoughts were linked, the Dream Fruit clone continued retreating according to the earlier command. But not far ahead, a jet-black thunder halberd suddenly blocked its path.
"And you also lack what they had, those monstrous physiques forged through decades of relentless training and tempering."
"This flaw is especially obvious in these black shadows!"
Rowen's upper body emerged from the void. His elementalized form continuously outlined itself, like a relief sculpture growing out of a wall.
Because he had dispersed his body into countless bolts of lightning, Im had been unable to locate him. Naturally, in such a completely elementalized state, Rowen posed no threat at all.
But that was before. Now…
Holding the thunder halberd, Rowen maintained a posture with only his upper body manifested and swung down heavily.
Shh…!!!
A brutal force tore through the Dream Fruit clone, splitting it cleanly in two from forehead to crotch.
But at that moment…
"Heh!"
Imu wasn't angry, instead, he laughed. His ferocious face was filled with killing intent.
"You fell for it, Soryu (Azure Dragon)!"
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395