Chapter 547 - 387

Chapter 388: The Pirate King... is Freedom!The sunny, steadily held aloft by an elephant trunk like a divine arm, began its journey above the clouds.This was an unprecedented, almost unimaginable voyage."SUPER!!!"Franky was almost pressed against the elephant's trunk skin, holding a magnifying glass in one hand and various self-made instruments in the other, his exclamations never stopping."The resilience of this skin! The control of these muscle fibers! It's a living treasure! GOAT!""Old elephant, when we get there, can I collect a small skin sample from you? Just a tiny bit!""Hey! You perverted cyborg! Stay away from the old elephant!!!"Yamato hit Franky on the forehead with her Spiked Club.Then, like a curious child, she leaned over the ship's railing, watching the sea below grow smaller and smaller, finally becoming a blue dot, shouting with excitement."Wow!!! We're flying! Is this what Oden's diary meant about entering Zou from the ground? This is amazing!!!"Usopp and Chopper, having recovered from their initial fear, were now like her, leaning over the other side of the railing, experiencing a skyward journey they'd never had before, their mouths wide enough to fit an egg.Zoro, meanwhile, leaned against the main mast with his arms crossed and eyes closed, but his constantly twitching eyelids & the upward curve of his lips betrayed the joy blooming in his heart.Trafalgar Law and Robin stood at the stern, calmly observing everything, occasionally exchanging glances, both seeing the anticipation for clues to the Void Century in each other's eyes.Amidst all this excitement and liveliness, only one person's state was completely different.Luffy.He was unusually quiet, sitting cross-legged on the sunny's lion head, not joking around with his companions, just resting his chin in his hands, lost in thought.In his mind, scenes were flashing by like a movie, and voices echoed one after another.Shanks of the Red Hair Pirates, smiling as he handed him the straw hat, said, "You brat, you're just like I was back then."Admiral Aokiji, when he let him go on the uninhabited island, remarked, "You and your grandfather Garp are cut from the same cloth."His brother, Sabo, said emotionally upon their reunion in Dressrosa, "As expected of Mr. Dragon's son."Pirate King Roger's first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King, saw Roger's shadow in him when he taught him on the Sabaody Archipelago.And just now, the giant elephant that had lived for eight hundred years recognized him as the legendary Joy Boy.Why?Luffy's brows furrowed tightly.Why does everyone say I'm like someone else?Roger, Garp, Dragon, Joy Boy..."Seriously! I am me!!!"He ruffled his hair in annoyance.But the moment that thought surfaced, he suddenly smiled.It was a brilliant smile, like the sun, as if everything had suddenly clicked into place.He understood.The resemblance wasn't because of looks, nor because of bloodline.The resemblance was simply because all of them pursued the same thing—Freedom!Pirate King Roger was once the freest person on these vast seas.Grandpa Garp, in his own way, upheld the freedom belonging to the Marines.Dad Dragon is fighting to make the whole world free.And Joy Boy from eight hundred years ago was the very embodiment of freedom!They are them, and I am me.I inherit their will, but the path I walk is unique!"I will not become anyone else!""I am Monkey D. Luffy!""Pirate King is not an inherited title, nor is it destiny!""The Pirate King is the freest person on these vast seas!!!""-That's me!!!!"Boom!!!The moment Luffy cried out this in his heart, completely establishing his own path of freedom, the system notification sound, which had been silent for so long in his mind, rang out like a raging mountain torrent![Ding! Congratulations, host, for reaching a new realm in your understanding of free will!][Ding! Gum-Gum Fruit nika Form is resonating with the host's soul with unprecedented depth~~~][Ding! The final fruit development restriction has been completely lifted based on the host's will!][Ding! Fruit development +1.128%!]An indescribable warm current surged from the deepest part of his heart throughout his entire body!Luffy felt that his body, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities were all integrated by a higher-level will at this moment!Not only had he grown stronger, but more importantly, he felt he had never been so free!It felt like he could do anything he wanted!He subconsciously opened the system panel, and saw the number representing his Devil Fruit ability wildly fluctuating before settling steadily at—[Fruit Development: 94.977%]"Hehe~~~"Luffy grinned, his smile brighter than the sun in the sky.Just then, the elephant's trunk reached its peak.It pierced through the thick clouds and gently placed the sunny into a massive lake, like an inland sea.This was the entrance to Zou—the Fire Rain Port."Woah!!! We're here!"Seeing the fantastical city built in the ancient forest in the distance, Luffy could no longer hold back. He leaped from the lion's head and shouted,"I'm going ahead!"And jumped directly towards the city!"Wait, you idiot Captain!"Zoro sighed helplessly and could only follow him to cover his rear."Wow! This looks like fun!"Yamato, fearing no chaos, cheered and jumped down with her Spiked Club."You three idiots!!!"Usopp let out a desperate cry. o(╥﹏╥)oWatching the three main fighters disappear instantly, the remaining crew members on deck exchanged glances."Well then, the rest of us need a safe way to land," Robin said with a smile."A safe and cool way to land?"Franky chugged a cola, patted his chest, and struck his signature SUPER pose,"Leave it to me! It's time to show off the sunny's hidden, SUPER Jump Mode!!!"He ran to the control panel and confidently pressed one of the red buttons.He had intended to make a cool, short-distance jump, landing the sunny precisely at the edge of the forest.But he clearly overestimated his familiarity with this newly modified system.With a loud 'creak', four huge springs shot out from the sunny's hull!The next second."Boom-!!!"The sunny, like a stone launched by a catapult, arced through the air in an incredibly exaggerated, ridiculously high trajectory, accompanied by Usopp's sky-piercing scream, and slammed violently into the deepest part of the forest!"It's... it's over!!! Power output miscalculation!" Franky's sunglasses were askew."You idiot cyborg!!!"At this critical moment, Law, who had been silent, finally made his move."ROOM."A massive blue hemispherical domain instantly expanded, completely enveloping the dense forest beneath the sunny."Takt."Law flicked his finger.Countless thick trees seemed to come alive, their branches growing and intertwining at an astonishing speed, weaving a giant, sturdy green net along the sunny's descent path!At the same time, Franky urgently activated the backup magnetic levitation cushions at the bottom of the ship!Rumble-!!!Amidst a violent, earth-shattering tremor and the'snap' of countless breaking trees, the sunnyfinally made a super-disheveled crash landing deep in the forest, carving out a huge crater.The enormous sound, like thunder out of a clear sky, instantly startled the Guardians of this ancient kingdom."Intruders!!!"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!Dozens of agile figures moved through the forest like phantoms, quickly surrounding the crash site.Leading them were two fierce-looking female warriors.One was Wanda, a Canine Mink Tribe member with a long sword and swift movements, and the other was Carrot, a Lagomorph Mink Tribe member with long ears and incredible jumping ability.They were members of Duke Inuarashi's elite Sharpshooters.When they arrived at the scene with a squad of fully armed Mink Tribe Guardians, they saw a crashed ship they had never seen before, with a strange design, and several unfamiliar 'humans' with varying expressions disembarking from it.They didn't know who these people were or where they came from.But such a hardcore intrusion, like a meteor impact, immediately put them on the highest level of alert."Crackling~~~"Faint currents began to flicker through the fur of every Mink Tribe warrior—their unique ability, electro.The Guardians instantly fanned out, surrounding the sunny's wreckage and Law, Robin, Franky, and Usopp who had come off the ship.Wanda's hand rested on her sword hilt, her cold gaze sweeping over the group, her voice devoid of emotion."Who are you?""Why have you intruded upon our country, Zou