After st. freya had sailed a safe distance away, a cracked, venomous curse came from the now-elderly Smyke aboard the other ship:
'...Just wait! I will have my revenge! I'll sell every last one of you... to the Pleasure Quarter...'
Boom!
A peal of thunder rang out.
His curses stopped cold; he stared in despair as a bolt of black lightning appeared from nowhere!
'No! Don't—!'
The jet-black flash, like a verdict from the underworld, struck Smyke's despair-twisted face and swallowed him whole in an instant.
Charlotte Linlin had deliberately waited until st. freya was far away before acting; she didn't want the still-impressionable Gölz to witness such a brutal scene.
She was protecting Gölz, keeping the girl's hands from being stained with too much blood too soon. That was why she'd let her take only part of the pirates' lifespans instead of draining them dry.
Of course, Gölz—hardened by her own cruel past—had probably already guessed the pirates' ultimate fate.
Back aboard, Charlotte Linlin asked by habit
'Any Devil Fruits among the spoils this time?'
Lilith shook her head regretfully. 'None, Captain Linlin. We searched thoroughly—there really aren't any.'
Charlotte Linlin sighed in frustration.
'Are Devil Fruits really that hard to find?'
Other transmigrators robbed a random pirate ship and came away with three or five, often including a Logia; she'd crushed more than a dozen crews and hadn't seen so much as a peel. Plenty of fruit users, though.
Gloriosa hopped to her shoulder and explained
'Linlin, the Devil Fruit is called the Sea's Secret Treasure for a reason. Most people never even see one in their entire lives.
Anyone who spends real time at sea—unless completely cut off—recognizes one on sight.
There's no truly "worthless" fruit; even the most ridiculous power can be developed into something incredible by the right person.
The moment a fruit appears, it's eaten—either by the finder or a trusted comrade. They don't sit around gathering dust.
Only the Celestial Dragons treat them as curiosities, and even that's rare.'
Charlotte Linlin had to admit it made sense.
In the original story, Luffy's crew sailed for ages and never once "found" a wild Devil Fruit.
Kaido and Charlotte Linlin themselves had located only about ten in decades.
The fruits that actually changed hands on-screen were the liberation-symbol Nika fruit, Ace's inherited Mera Mera no Mi, and the world-shaking Ope-Ope no Mi—each carrying a unique destiny.
Ownerless
wild" Devil Fruits are consumed the instant they're discovered.
That is the true reality of the Sea's Secret Treasure.
'Captain Linlin! Land ho!' From the crow's-nest came another delighted shout.
'Already?'
Charlotte Linlin brightened and looked ahead; on the horizon the green outline of a large, flourishing island grew clear.
'Wow! A human kingdom! First time in such a "tiny" country—I'm going to explore every inch of it!'
Ripley shaded her eyes with both hands, craning for a better view.
Having left Elbaf for the first time, she brimmed with curiosity about the unknown world.
'Yes, we've arrived.'
Navigator Vina checked her chart, voice tinged with mixed feelings.
'This is the nation famed for its coliseum, the largest arena in the world, an Affiliated Nation under the World Government, protected by the Marines—known as the Land of Love and Passion: Dressrosa!'
When she said 'protected by the Marines', Vina's jaw clenched.
The true source of her life's tragedy wasn't pirates, who plagued most of the sea, but the very Navy that claimed justice.
Seeing the pain and hatred roiling in Vina's eyes, Charlotte Linlin sighed inwardly. She crouched and gently tapped the Navigator's shoulder.
On these seas, not every pirate is a villain, and not every justice-cloaked Marine is clean.
That bitter truth was something Vina and the others would have to digest for themselves.
And if they couldn't, well—she, their Captain, would make other Marines taste the bitter fruit of their comrades' crimes.
'I'm all right. Thank you, Captain.'
Vina drew a long breath, blinked hard, and forced her emotions down, regaining her usual cool competence.
'Mm.'
Charlotte Linlin straightened and ordered
'Douse the flag! Ready to make port—we'll rest and resupply here for a while!'
'Woohoo!'
The Heavenly Punishment Pirates burst into cheers; after so long at sea, solid ground and foreign sights were exactly what they needed.
'Eh? Ehh?'
First-time sailor Ripley cried out in confusion, pointing at the black skull-and-crossbones being slowly lowered.
'Why take down our flag? Isn't it our pride and symbol? Lowering it feels... insulting.'
Charlotte Linlin looked at the earnest, almost defiant girl in surprise.
'When have you ever seen pirates swagger into a country's town with their flag still flying?'
'Books say they do! And the Rocks Pirates didn't lower theirs when they came to Elbaf!' Ripley protested.
'That's because Rocks knew your king.'
Charlotte Linlin was momentarily speechless; she jabbed a thumb at Dressrosa's rapidly approaching harbor.
'Sailing into a kingdom flying a pirate flag isn't "showing identity"—it's an open declaration of war. They'll think we're here to pillage and burn, and they'll muster every defense they have to stop us.
We're not here to loot, only to sight-see. Hoisting that flag will just bring trouble.'
She met Ripley's puzzled gaze and explained patiently
'Ripley, to most people pirates are criminals. Raise that flag in town and folk will flee in terror.
Every country that survives in the New World has serious defenses—at least someone strong enough to face a hundred-million-berry bounty. We don't need pointless fights.'
'Sometimes what's written in books isn't the whole truth; you'll have to figure that out for yourself,' Charlotte Linlin finished meaningfully.
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