Falling Calamity, Protecting Everything
"Wow, it's huge!"
The giant ship 'Noah,' which occupies half an island, is, in Roman's opinion, almost as big as the transport ship 'Marine Battleship Justice' in the United Fleet he created.
Of course, the 'Marine Battleship Justice' is not normally this big; it only appears as an island when World expands it with his abilities when needed.
This makes maintenance and upkeep dozens or even hundreds of times simpler!
Unlike the long, flat, cargo-dedicated 'Marine Battleship Justice', the 'Noah' above seems to have been built for transporting people and living quarters, so it looks densely packed with floors and appears very bulky.
"Such a giant ship could easily transport hundreds of thousands of people at a time, right?"
If comfort and living standards were disregarded, and the ship were packed full, it could carry over a million people. —Truly worthy of being the legendary ship of Joy Boy's former Mermaid Princess, the 'First Aquaman'.
"Seeing how calm you are, I don't know what to say."
Nami tossed her long, wavy orange hair. The reason? It was just a joke Roman had casually made in a past life, "When your hair reaches your waist, will you marry me?" — the speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.
"My woman's intuition tells me that you deliberately Luffy the lead!"
"What do you mean 'deliberately'?" Roman rolled his eyes. "This is Luffy's promise to the Mermaid Princess. If I rushed in to help Luffy, he wouldn't be happy at all. Besides..."
"Don't worry, it's just a giant ship. It's not like I don't have a way to get rid of it."
The pages of the book flutter!
Although Golden Lion has returned to Impel Down to serve his sentence, given his physique, he could probably hold out for another decade or so. Therefore, Roman can still use the 'Float-Float Fruit ability' he obtained from him without worry.
While Vander Decken IX's Targ Targ Fruit- thrown 'Noah' only moved slowly, Roman's mediocre abilities, though not enough to float a group of islands in the sky like Golden Lion, could easily levitate a mere giant ship. That's why Roman could calmly watch the show.
"Hmm, after I get the 'target pages'... never mind, I'm not planning to switch to being a 'courier' anyway."
Moreover, the Grand Line is full of storms and waves, and the straightforward transport capability of the Targ Targ Fruit is only suitable for calm Four Seas.
"Okay, as long as you're confident."
"Bubble Master - Shampoo Bubble!"
A giant bubble Luffy, giving him space to breathe even underwater. However:
"Hahaha, in this place where you're surrounded by seawater on all sides, humans can't even breathe."
"How could one possibly become the king of the sea?"
Facing Hody Jones, who thought he was 'good again,' Luffy, protected by bubbles, flapped his wings Luffy turned around.
"I don't need to be good at everything—"
"All I need is to beat you to a pulp!"
Even in the sea, after being tortured by Roman's 'Seastone handcuffs' and later trained in Haki by Rayleigh, Luffy is no longer the simple Devil Fruit user who turns into noodles the moment he touches seawater! Instead:
"Gum-Gum Eagle Gun!"
Pfft!
A fist coated in Armament Haki slammed through the bubbles and landed hard on Hody Jones' stomach! As a result, a large bulge appeared on his back, and a mouthful of blood gushed out, spreading into the seawater.
How could this be? This ability user is still so strong in the sea...
"Hello,"
Compared to the incredible Hody Jones, Luffy also frowned.
"You're incredibly resilient! I've even used Armament Haki."
Brush--!
As Luffy assumed a punching stance again, Hody Jones, whose courage had been shattered, suddenly swam backward at lightning speed! And he had finally found Luffy's 'weakness':
"Hahaha, you lowly human! With your laughable speed..."
"Roman, can't you go any faster?"
In response to Luffy's words, Roman's helpless voice came from the wings behind him.
"These are wings, not fins. This isn't my specialty—"
"Straw Hat! Get on my back!"
A burly male mermaid with long, wavy blue hair swam swiftly from the side; he was Hoshigaki, the brother of the Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi.
"Thank you. Are you alright?"
Luffy unceremoniously sat on Hoshigaki's back, so that he could catch up with Hody Jones even in the sea.
"Don't worry, now is not the time to cry out in pain!"
On the other side,
"I'm sorry, Mr. Deakin!"
The Fish-Man princess, tears streaming down her face, uttered words that pierced the heart.
"You're really not my type!"
?!
"Aaaaaah, my broken heart! — I'm going to kill you!"
Ten years ago, Vander Decken IX's right hand touched Shirahoshi, and ever since then, to maintain this 'record,' he has never washed his hands! Therefore, anything he throws will always be aimed at Shirahoshi, even any weapon thrown randomly! Like the throwing knives now—
Ding ding ding!
But just as the throwing knives were about to strike Shirahoshi, two figures flashed by Vice Admiral deflected them all with a metallic clang.
"We will never allow you to hurt our sister!"
"How could Shirahoshi possibly marry a scumbag like you?"
They are the other two princes of Fish-Man Island: Hoshigaki and Fukaboshi. — In fact, they are quite strong, capable of easily killing Sea Beast tens or hundreds of meters long, and their strength in the ocean is at least in the tens of millions.
Unfortunately, he encountered Hody Jones, who had a bounty of $190 million and was also on drugs, and was beaten so badly that he was powerless to fight back.
"Father said this giant ship must not be damaged—it is the hope of our Fish-Man Island. When the 'Promised Time' comes, it will carry all of us to live under the sun!"
"Little sister, swim upwards! Don't worry, we'll protect you!"
"Damn it!"
With Prince Hoshigaki as his 'mount,' Luffy, whose speed in the sea was greatly improved, once again chased after Hody Jones, leaving the latter gritting his teeth in frustration but helpless!
If it weren't for the advantage of being in the sea, he would be completely outmatched by Luffy. Even now, with the speed boost from his drugs, he can't keep dodging; this kind of attrition is pointless.
On Fish-Man Island below, the so-called 'New Fish-Man Pirates' have already suffered a crushing defeat, with even the few officers struggling to hold on against the Straw Hat crew, making it seem as if the Straw Hat crew were the real villains.
This was Jinbe Roman were openly 'slacking off,' Nami was protecting Roman.
"Sea Drum!"
As Hody Jones punched the sea, high-frequency vibrations of seawater surged towards Luffy and Hoshigaki! While it wouldn't seriously injure Luffy, it could at least hinder the injured Fish-Man Island prince Hoshigaki. Then:
"Hey, where is this guy going?"
Without hesitation, Hody Jones turned and darted away! And his target was none other than:
On the deck of the giant ship 'Noah', which is slowly rising to catch up with Shirahoshi.
Tread!
As Hody Jones passed through the giant bubble encasing Noah's deck, the four-legged Vander Decken IX also saw this 'collaborator' of his own.
"Hehehe~~"
"How about that? Pretty awesome, buddy?!"
"I've successfully threatened Shirahoshi. What about Neptune? Did you take him out?"
In response to Vander Decken IX's words, Hody Jones, who had approached, silently took a trident from the nearby deck. Then:
Puff!!
In a flash, before Vander Decken IX could react, the trident pierced his body.
"If you die,"
Hody Jones grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, and uttered cold words.
"What will happen to this ship, my dear~ partner~!"
"You--!!"
In fact, the two's 'cooperation' was always driven by their own ulterior motives, and now it's time for them to turn on each other without hesitation! However, compared to Vander Decken IX, who relies on his Devil Fruit ability, Hody Jones is clearly stronger.
Pfft~~
What do you mean by that?
"Hahaha, you betrayed me first! When 'Noah' covered the sky above Fish-Man Island, I thought I was doomed. But:"
Hody Jones, who had defeated Vander Decken IX in just two moves, burst into laughter.
"Thinking about it carefully, this plan isn't bad. As long as we destroy Fish-Man Island, those lowly humans will be doomed! — Just kill you, and your powers will be removed!!"
Thump,
As Vander Decken IX fell onto the deck, the giant ship 'Noah' abruptly stopped rising and began to fall freely under the influence of gravity.
"What happened? Hody Jones killed Vander Decken IX?"
"Internal strife?!"
"Next, all we need to do is take down Shirahoshi!"
Hody Jones, emboldened by his speed, suddenly pursued Shirahoshi. He believed that if he could kill this useless, crybaby, cowardly, and terrifying mermaid, the entire ocean would be his.
"Rubber-Snake Gun!"
A long, winding arm suddenly swept across the sea! Not only was it incredibly fast, but as it swam, the entire arm vibrated with a strange force field.
This force field Luffy's arm to push aside the seawater in front of him, rendering the seawater's resistance ineffective, and his speed once again soared to an unbelievable level!
Puff!
The five fingers, like snakes' kisses, dug deep into Hody Jones' chest muscles, tearing off a large chunk of flesh with a single forceful pull! But Luffy frowned in displeasure.
"No, the power in the sea has decreased significantly."
Otherwise, I would have killed him with that grab!
"Hmph, you damned, lowly humans!" Hody Jones, clutching his wounded chest, shouted defiantly as he abruptly stepped back, "This is the ocean! Once 'Noah' falls and smashes Fish-Man Island to pieces, you, Shirahoshi, your companions, and Fish-Man Island will all be destroyed!!"
"No... I will protect them all!"
Luffy squatted earnestly on Hoshigaki's back, "These past two years of training have all been for this!"
··········
"To be the King of the Pirates, you have to be stronger and greedier than anyone else. — Freedom, crew, friends, dreams... King of the Pirates have to want everything and strive for it."
"And what about you?"
Nami placed "The Art of the Thief" behind her back with her hands behind her back.
"Aren't you greedy too? Our dreams, world peace... you're clearly even more 'greedy' than Luffy."
"Me? I am—"
Roman looked up at the battle overhead and suddenly laughed.
"That's right, I'm greedier than anyone else!"
"Partners, friends, family, friendship, fame, status, dreams... I want the Straw Hat crew to stand at the top of the world, laughing all the way! Everything—"
I want them all!
Because:
I am just a time traveler;
A time traveler who wants to grasp everything.
P. S.: Double monthly passes! One pass counts as two, buy one get one free! Don't miss out!
Just kidding, I'm just asking for a vote.