After an unknown period of drifting, Luffy had already fainted from hunger.
Until…
*Thump—*
The sound of wood hitting wood echoed. Luffy groggily opened his eyes, then passed out again, faintly hearing the voices of people outside:
"Big brother! It's a barrel of sake!!!"
"It's not even opened yet!"
"John, help me pull it up…"
He lost consciousness completely.
When he woke up, it was already noon the next day. He didn't wake up naturally but was jolted awake by the aroma of food…
"Meat!!!"
"It's meat!!!!"
He flung off the covers and, with his nose acting like a navigator dog, charged onto the deck, following the scent.
He directly snatched the meat from the hands of the three people on deck who were about to eat it, taking huge bites, chewing the bones to bits and swallowing them whole.
After gulping down several pieces of thigh meat, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Ah—"
"I've revived!!!"
He grinned at the three men:
"Thank you for saving me."
Watching Luffy operate with them with such fluidity, the three men’s faces turned ashen:
"No…"
"It's nothing…"
"Helping someone who's shipwrecked is the least we could do…"
Luffy continued to grin as he said:
"My name is Luffy."
"I'm a pirate!"
"What about you guys?"
The moment Luffy declared himself a pirate, the atmosphere on the ship turned awkward.
The green-haired man who seemed to be the leader’s face immediately turned cold:
"Tch…"
"To think we saved a piece of trash from the sea…"
He stood up, placing his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist:
"Fine, I'll send you on your way now."
Luffy tilted his head, a little confused:
"Huh?"
*Swish—*
A flash of sword light streaked by.
The green-haired man's pupils constricted. The killing blow aimed at his neck…
Luffy, who was crouching on the ground, pressed a hand to his straw hat and looked up, a little angry:
"Hey!"
"What are you doing!"
"That's dangerous!!!"
The green-haired swordsman snapped back to reality, letting out a cold snort:
"To think I missed…"
"No wonder you became a pirate, you’ve got some skill after all…"
*Swish—*
Another flash of sword light.
It was even faster this time, as he slashed down at the crouching Luffy.
Luffy, however, stood up in a one-legged stance to dodge, clutching his straw hat, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead:
"Hey!"
"What do you want, green-hair!"
"If you keep this up, I'm going to get angry!"
The green-haired swordsman’s veins bulged upon hearing Luffy’s nickname for him. He drew another sword and attacked Luffy.
*Bang bang bang—*
Their figures flickered and clashed on the deck.
The other two, who looked like underlings, had already retreated to a distance, drawing their weapons, ready to provide backup at any moment.
Suddenly.
A gust of wind blew Luffy’s straw hat off his head, and he let out a yelp:
"My hat!"
His arm suddenly stretched out to catch the hat.
The green-haired swordsman’s eyes narrowed. A Devil Fruit user…
He shifted the blade, aiming for Luffy's extended arm.
But this time, Luffy didn't dodge. He endured the slash and grabbed his hat, pulling it back.
The green-haired man looked surprised. Luffy, having retrieved his hat, wiped the sweat from his brow:
"That was close. This hat was given to me by Shanks."
"It would be terrible if it fell into the sea."
After all, he couldn't swim…
Upon hearing Shanks' name, everyone on the ship, including the green-haired man and his companions, froze.
The green-haired man pointed his weapon at Luffy, but didn't attack. His expression was grave as he questioned:
"Are you saying… Shanks?"
"The one from the Red-Haired Pirates?"
Luffy put on his straw hat and looked up, a hint of pleasant surprise in his voice:
"Yeah."
"You know Shanks too?"
The green-haired man looked at the idiot in front of him, his lips twitching. How could someone like him know a legendary figure like that…
He slowly lowered his weapon and looked at the straw-hatted kid.
"If there's only one Red-Haired Pirates in this sea, then it must be him…"
"The World's Greatest Swordsman, Red-Haired Shanks…"
He stared intently at Luffy, lost in thought.
The swordsman with green hair was named Zoro. His goal was to become the World's Greatest Swordsman…
Unlike in the original story.
Years ago, the man most likely to challenge for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, had died at the hands of then-Vice Admiral "Blue Demon" Barrett.
Only years later did a universally acknowledged strongest swordsman re-emerge.
In the original story, the World's Greatest Swordsman, originally Dracule Mihawk, had become Shanks the Emperor, who, despite his missing arm, had risen to become one of the Four Emperors and dominated the New World with his swordsmanship.
Zoro's target had also shifted from Mihawk to Shanks. Ever since he set sail, he had been hunting pirates to hone his swordsmanship.
His purpose was to advance to the New World and challenge that World's Greatest Swordsman…
------------
New World, Egghead Island.
Inside the secret research facility above the clouds.
Vegapunk led Sakazuki and Carol through the cultivation rooms.
In the center of rows of steel pillars were nutrient fluid cultivation tanks.
Each tank contained a person, sleeping peacefully. There were infant versions of Mihawk or Hancock, and even versions of Jinbe and Crocodile…
Unlike the original Pacifistas, which were merely modified corpses, or the simple clones known as Seraphim,
The Seraphim in these tanks all had the black wings of Kaido’s subordinate King, and flames emanated from their backs…
These were all the latest models of Seraphim, created by integrating the newest breakthroughs in technology.
As they reached the end of the cultivation room, stood several of the original modified corpses.
Whitebeard Jr., modified into a weapon, Boa Hancock, and a modified Mihawk who had integrated the Transparent-Transparent Fruit, were all here.
Sakazuki’s gaze, however, was fixed on a cultivation tank filled with purple nutrient fluid:
"How much longer?"
Inside was the Seraphim of Whitebeard Jr. Due to his extremely strong physique, only one had been cloned.
The purple nutrient fluid was a highly toxic substance, prepared and added according to his physical condition and after experimental trials with the spore bomb of a Devil Fruit, allowing him to absorb it slowly to maximize the capabilities of the Mushi Mushi no Mi.
Vegapunk looked at the readings on the cultivation tank:
"It will take about another six months for the accumulated poisonous spores in his body to reach their maximum effect."
Sakazuki nodded, looking at the cultivation tank with a hint of coldness:
"Then in six months, we'll send Kaido a grand gift…"
Through accelerated cloning and fusion, as well as the toxic substance added to the cultivation fluid for absorption.
The poisonous spore bomb, which originally took ten years to accumulate and release once, was now accumulating at an extremely rapid rate, and its power was several times greater than the original version capable of poisoning an entire island.
After inhaling the poisonous spores, one could die within three seconds. If loaded into high-explosive missiles and detonated over an island, it could spread throughout the entire island within thirty seconds, killing all living creatures on it…
This weapon was originally intended for Whole Cake Island, but with the shift in the war, the Navy had such a significant advantage that it was no longer suitable for deployment there.
However, Kaido had disrupted Sakazuki’s pincer attack plan.
Coupled with his reckless actions, the Navy had lost a large number of soldiers and warships, and an island had been destroyed.
The Red-Haired Shanks' kin were gone, Charlotte Linlin's dream was gone, and now it was Kaido's turn…
His forces, cultivated for years…
Were about to be destroyed…
------------
New World, Frontline of the Wano Country theater.
Due to the continuous arrival of reinforcements from Kaido's side, the two encircling fleets were forced to retreat and defend…
Within Vice Admiral Tsuru's fleet.
In the sky, something resembling a mecha slowly descended.
A little girl jumped out from the mecha's abdomen.
Then the mecha began to transform.
*Ka-ka—*
It transformed into a tall woman. It was Baby-5, who had been rescued by Vice Admiral Tsuru years ago.
And the little girl was Sugar, an ability user of the Hobby Hobby Fruit.
Seeing the two return, the female soldiers on the ship greeted them enthusiastically.
Ever since Baby-5 was taken away by Enel on a whim and taught for a period of time,
The Baby-5 who returned, in her transformed weapon form, was simply omnipotent, capable of anything…
The Baby-5 who could originally only transform into swords, guns, and cannons could now transform into various single-soldier weapons, and even the mecha from just now…
With Egghead Island’s technology, the mecha was only limited by energy. Without a solution to its power source and endurance issues, mass production was impossible.
But Baby-5, as a Devil Fruit user, solved the problem perfectly; she only needed to expend stamina.
No one could resist the allure of mechas and flight, which resulted in Baby-5 being incessantly busy for a long time…
It wasn't until Vice Admiral Tsuru ordered a halt to this phenomenon that things calmed down.
Although the two were much stronger than in the original story, it was of little consequence due to their limited talent…
They then entered the ship’s cabin, preparing to eat.
Sugar had a lollipop in her mouth and was holding a toy Stegosaurus.
She casually placed the Stegosaurus toy on the table, intending to crush it later.
Their current mission was to use the mecha's high maneuverability and Sugar's incredibly potent Hobby Hobby Fruit ability to…
Ambusher the unsuspecting or weaker armored combatants of the pirate side.
Transform them into toys, bring them back, and put them into a crusher to be ground into pieces, thereby canceling the ability…
If any unfortunate pirate had their head not completely crushed, leaving an eye or mouth visible, they would feel endless terror or hear a piercing scream…
And then die…
The scene was extremely gruesome…
This was also the terrifying aspect of the Hobby Hobby Fruit, because once touched and transformed into a toy…
All memories of that person who had been transformed into a toy would vanish from the minds of everyone who knew them in the world.
After being ambushed, no one would come to their rescue because no one would remember that such a person even existed…
Only when Sugar deactivated her ability would they realize…
------------
New World, Kibigashima.
One of Kaido’s central strongholds.
Kaido, who had been bandaging his wounds in Wano Country, was now here.
Beside him were King and Queen, along with all executives of the Tobiroppo and above. Kaido had summoned everyone for a meeting earlier.
However, as everyone gathered, Kaido’s brows furrowed. He scanned the crowd, feeling that something was amiss.
The subordinates below didn't know what was wrong with their boss and were somewhat fearful.
Kaido scanned the crowd, feeling as if he had forgotten something but couldn't recall it, a nameless frustration welling up in his heart…
His gaze swept over the crowd again, then he abruptly turned back and looked towards the Flying Six direction.
*Boom—*
Overpowering Conqueror's Haki erupted, making everyone tremble. Kaido’s face was dark, and his voice was filled with killing intent:
"Flying Six, step forward."
The trembling few didn't know how they had angered their boss, but they dared not act presumptuously and obediently stepped forward.
Kaido looked at the few who stepped forward with a dark expression. He counted them and confirmed he hadn't miscounted, his voice cold:
"Flying Six…"
"Why are there only five?"
Everyone looked at each other, bewildered. Wasn’t the Flying Six always five? What was wrong with their boss?