Treasure Beneath the Buddha Statue
"Captain, that should be Duowei Island ahead. It looks like pirates have invaded." In the waters surrounding Duowei Island, three pirate ships were sailing towards the Duowei Island. The Lucky Goddess was in the middle, with the other two ships positioned on either side of the Lucky Goddess, slightly behind.
Wearing a monocular telescope, Kos smiled as he looked in the direction of the island. From here to Duowei Island, even Teach couldn't see any trace of Duowei Island, but Kos could.
One has to admire Kos's exceptional eyesight; he was born with the qualities to become a top-class shooter.
"Hmm? A whole village was massacred?" Teach released his Observation Haki, which spread directly to Duowei Island. After a quick look, he knew what had happened on the island.
"Then let's take care of them all. We can rest on the island for a bit. The supplies on the ship are running low, so let's just plunder them to replenish our supplies," Teach said calmly. There was no point in showing any mercy to such vile pirates.
Many such pirates were encountered along the way. The Great Pirate Era started by Roger made the sea more chaotic, but more importantly, it unleashed the dark side of people's hearts, who used the guise of going to sea to find treasure to kill and plunder.
In this era, the ones who suffered the most were the innocent civilians, which is why they hated Roger even more.
To reshape the world, one person's efforts are insufficient; success can only be achieved through the combined efforts of the vast majority.
More than a month has passed since they left Crody Island. During this time, they encountered Marine Vice Admiral Brom, who was pursuing them, which Teach. However, the warship was damaged by the power of the Night Pirates' cannon fire, and they successfully shook off them.
Teach didn't address their concerns; the time wasn't right. If he eliminated the Marine Vice Admiral, he would immediately attract the Navy's close attention. Although Teach was already on the Navy's radar, they didn't have the extra resources to target him.
Compared to the Great Pirate and the grand scale of the New World, the Night Pirates are insignificant.
If Brom dies, the threat posed by the Night Pirates will increase significantly. Before the Night Pirates fully mature, Teach believes they will face the future Three Admirals of the Navy, or even the Navy Garp the Hero.
Moreover, having a Marine Vice Admiral watching over them helps pass the time during a boring voyage.
On Duowei Island, in the distance, one could see the temple on the mountain collapsing with a deafening roar. The pirates had pushed it over and set it ablaze.
"Damn it, they actually destroyed our home!" Clemons gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, tears streaming down his face, staring intently at the mountaintop, at the burning flames and billowing smoke.
Clemondo couldn't resist rushing forward, but was stopped by the more composed Bonnies. "Don't rush. There will be a time for revenge. What we need to do now is survive and not let our master down or sacrifice ourselves in vain."
Bonnies said in a deep voice, his trembling fists showing his inner turmoil and pain, but he couldn't act impulsively at this moment.
"Wait a little longer. There's something our master left for us in the temple. I wonder what it is? It's under the Buddha statue." Bonnies remembered what his master had said before he left, something he had kept firmly in mind.
"Hmm." Clemons gritted his teeth and nodded.
"It's bad, Captain! Three pirate ships are approaching from the sea!" A pirate who had stayed behind on the pirate ship shouted anxiously as he ran over from afar.
"What? Which pirate is so bold as to try and steal our spoils?" Fosman angrily turned his head to look at the sea.
Three pirate ships were approaching steadily. The members of the Ghost Face Pirates received the news and stopped their search and plundering, gathering on the shore of the coastal island.
"Hey, look which pirate crew it is. If they're trying to steal our loot, then kill them," Fosman sneered.
"Let's see which pirate crew they are. If they're not well-known, we'll just rob them."
"Hey, Captain, it looks like someone's flying over in the sky." A sharp-eyed pirate looked up at the sky, noticed it, and pointed in the direction of the sky.
"How is that possible?"
"It seems to be true."
In the distant sky, two black dots are getting closer and bigger.
"Oh no, get out of the way!" Fosman's expression changed instantly. He could already see two people rapidly descending from the sky. With such terrifying impact, many people would be affected if they stayed here.
"Damn it, who is it?" The words had barely left his mouth when the surrounding pirates reacted and hurriedly scattered in all directions, knowing that being hit would be fatal.
However, they were only three seconds too late to see the two figures clearly, but they didn't have time to figure out who they were.
Boom! Boom!
Two loud bangs rang out, instantly creating two large craters on the shore, each four or five meters in diameter. The powerful force and the impact that spread outwards sent the slower pirates flying.
Dust billowed up, and two somewhat blurry figures appeared in the crater, crouching on the ground before slowly standing up.
Meanwhile, on the mountain, the temple had been destroyed. The two young monks looked at their ruined home, the place that had given them warmth over the years.
Before, we could only see them from afar, but now, looking closer, some traces of their lives still remain.
The place has been reduced to a small ruin, with signs of a search, suggesting an attempt to find valuables within the temple.
However, to the pirates' disappointment, inside the temple stood a wooden Buddha statue over two meters tall, but only half of its body was visible. The statue was originally over three meters tall, but now a section had been cut off, splitting it in two.
The Buddha statue's remains lay to one side. These pirates were quite interesting; they seemed to believe that treasure was hidden inside the statue, which infuriated the two young monks.
The three prayer cushions in front of the Buddha statue were also kicked aside, one of which was burned down. Flames are still burning sporadically around the temple, which was originally a ceilinged temple, now exposed to the elements.
Unable to extinguish the fire, they simply used the buckets of water they had previously collected from the temple to put out the surrounding flames.
"Is there some kind of mechanism beneath the Buddha statue?" Bonnies pondered, circling the Buddha statue intently, stroking his chin with one hand.
"The master didn't tell us, so let's watch me." Clemons held a wood-chopping knife in his hand, the kind they usually used for chopping wood.
"Since the Buddha statue and the floor are both made of wood, we can just cut them down."
As Clemons spoke, he violently slashed the floor of the room in front of the Buddha statue, and the wooden floor shattered under his powerful force.
With a snap, the knife struck the soil. Pulling it out, the two men couldn't help but show joy on their faces. There was an empty space under the Buddha statue, indicating that the area beneath it was hollow and contained something.
The two then worked together, spending several minutes cutting through the floorboards connecting the Buddha statue to its sides, and then, with force, pushed the entire Buddha statue over.
The Buddha statue fell backward, and the two young monks instinctively put their arms in front of them and closed their eyes.
With a loud crash, the Buddha statue collapsed and smashed to the ground.
Bonnies and Clemons paid no attention to the fallen Buddha statue; their eyes were drawn to what was stored beneath it: two Devil Fruits, one silver-gray and the other flesh-colored, with wondrous patterns on their surfaces.
"These... these are the two Devil Fruit Master mentioned?" Although it sounded like a question, they were already certain in their hearts.
They were well aware of Devil Fruit; they were treasures of the sea, and although eating one would result in a weakness to water, it would also grant immense power.
"Eat them. They were left to us by our master. If we eat them, we should be able to gain the power to avenge him." Clemons said, reaching out and grabbing the flesh-colored Devil Fruit.
Seeing this, Bonnies picked up another silver-gray Devil Fruit.
Holding the Devil Fruit in their hands, they swallowed hard. "Gulp!"
They exchanged a glance. This was the first time they had ever seen something like Devil Fruit. They found it hard to believe that eating it would grant them magical powers.
"Let's eat together," Clemons said cautiously.
"Yes, together." Bonnies nodded.
"Okay, three, two, one, eat!" As soon as the words were spoken, Clemons and Bonnies closed their eyes, opened their mouths, put the Devil Fruit into their mouths, and took big bites. One bite, two bites, and the Devil Fruit were completely swallowed.
Immediately afterwards, a disgusting smell wafted over, but the two of them forced themselves to endure it and ate the entire piece of fruit.
Neither of them spoke, seemingly savoring the power they had just gained.
After a long while, Clemons opened his eyes, raised his fist, and his powerful muscles bulged instantly. "What is your ability? I feel my body brimming with power, my muscles are expanding."
"Clemons exclaimed excitedly, then looked at Bonnies and asked."
Upon hearing Clemons' voice, Bonnies opened his eyes, slightly raised his head, and raised his hands. In the blink of an eye, his fingers transformed into sharp blades.
"I ate the Cut Fruit, which transforms my entire body into sharp blades, as hard as steel." Bonnies was somewhat delighted; he could feel how hard his body was after transforming into blades.
"I ate the Muscle Fruit, which strengthened my body. All my muscles are now much stronger, and I feel like I can unleash even greater power at any moment." Clemons swung his fist into the air, revealing his white teeth.
The fact that the basic abilities of a Devil Fruit, including its name, appear in the mind after Devil Fruit it is a mysterious phenomenon, but no one can explain it.
This is also the origin of the name "Devil Fruit." Besides granting power, there are also rumors that a demon resides inside Devil Fruit.
"Now we have the power to take revenge. Let's take care of these pirates before they leave," Clemons said confidently.
After gaining immense power, the two bald boys became somewhat arrogant. With the same idea in mind, they quickly ran down the mountain together.
Down the mountain, the members of the Ghost Face Pirates watched as the two figures fully emerged from the crater.
Their eyes widened in disbelief. They recognized the two men. "Iron Wallace, and the Hunter Gari! How could it be them?"
It's hard to believe, but news of the Night Pirates' arrival in the West Blue had already spread throughout the entire West Blue. Everyone knew about it by now, and these two pirates had bounties that were more than double, almost three times, that of their captain.
Although they hadn't witnessed the two's strength firsthand, the bounty spoke for itself, and their ability to descend from the sky and the aura they exuded indicated that they were not to be trifled with.
"Since it's just the two of them, then the pirate crew that's coming here must be..." one of the pirates couldn't help but think.
The Night Pirates! The name flashed through their minds, sending a shiver down their spines.
Looking out to sea, the Night Pirates were approaching; three pirate ships were visible, and the huge banner with three skulls was clearly visible.
"Let's not waste time. Take care of them before the captain and the others arrive," Wallace said calmly.
"Hmm." Gari nodded and raised the Hunting Knife in both hands.
"W-what do you mean? We can give you any supplies you want; we looted all of these," Fosman said, a sense of foreboding and fear creeping into his heart as he overheard their conversation.
Pointing to the supplies behind him, he said, "If all else fails, we can join you."
"Hey, Captain, this is the supplies we plundered! How can we just give it away to them for nothing?" One pirate, oblivious to the difference in strength, hurriedly said. And these kinds of pirates were not few in number.
Fosman was already sweating profusely, cursing these idiots in his heart. He had witnessed the strength of a pirate with a bounty of 70 million Beli before, and he was no match for him. What's more, there were two of them now, and their aura was far more terrifying than the pirate he had seen before.
"Don't you understand? You're all in the way." Wallace sneered, and the next moment, his body disappeared from the spot. Fosman hadn't even reacted when he saw Wallace's figure appear before him. His body still hadn't processed what was happening.
Boom!
A powerful punch landed directly on him, almost bulging out of Fosman's eyes. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and with a crack, his sternum broke, and his body flew backward as if it had fallen apart.
"What?" Before the others could react, Gari also made his move, a cruel and excited smile on his face. With a violent leap, he landed directly in front of the two pirates, wielding his Hunting Knife and tearing their bodies apart, ripping their flesh and blood open, which splattered out violently.