"Ow, ow, ow, ow..."
Pushing aside the rocks pinning him down, Franky crawled out, clutching his head. "They really are a bunch who love to go crazy."
The Straw Hat Pirates were one thing, but why was Kokoro like this too? Wasn't she afraid something might go wrong?
She was already so old. If something really happened, how was he supposed to explain it to that bastard Iceberg?
"Ahahaha, we made it to our destination safely."
Kokoro got off the train with Kimone and her pet, looking completely uninjured.
"Aren't you afraid something could happen?" Franky roared, his shark mouth wide open. "And you even brought Kimone along! Is this how you act as a grandmother?"
Franky was absolutely furious. He had never seen anything this ridiculous.
"Hahaha, but nothing happened, did it?" Kokoro said. "We only got a little nosebleed."
"A nosebleed..."
Franky's mouth twitched. After such a serious collision, they had only suffered a nosebleed. It seemed those three were no ordinary people either.
"Thank you, Xi Yan," Nico Robin said.
Protected in Xi Yan's arms, Nico Robin had not been hurt. She had merely been shaken up by Rocket Man.
"It's nothing," Xi Yan said. "Can you walk?"
"Hmm."
"Then I'll put you down."
After saying that, Xi Yan set Nico Robin on the ground. Only after confirming that she was fine did he turn to look toward Rocket Man.
By then, Luffy had already crawled out of the rubble and was shouting for Nami and the others to stop slacking off and get up to work.
"Bastard!"
"Do you think we're Rubber Men too?!" Several people roared as they knocked away the rocks above their heads.
Luffy was a pure Rubber Man and had no fear of blunt impacts, but they were different. They were only flesh and blood—doing something like that could kill them!!
"But nothing happened, right?" Luffy said as he picked his nose.
"Crack~"
Nami felt something inside her snap. The next moment, she grasped the ultimate technique for dealing with her crewmates: Shave!
In almost the blink of an eye, Nami rushed to Luffy's side and punched him squarely on the head!
"Duang~"
The blow was so powerful that it smashed Luffy's head straight into the pile of rocks.
"S-Sorry..."
"Hmph. Do it again, and I'll hit you again," Nami said with a cold snort.
"Bastard, you gave Robin a princess carry just now, didn't you?!" Sanji rushed up to Xi Yan.
"Yeah. So?"
"Damn it, I... I'm so jealous..."
Xi Yan: ...
Watching Sanji, who seemed like he had switched into an entirely different style, Xi Yan's mouth twitched. Was something wrong with this guy's brain?
"Has he always been this absurd?" Franky asked.
"Mm... Mm-hmm."
Nami thought about it, then nodded solemnly.
"Your pirate crew is really... kind of complicated," Franky said.
Why did he feel like every single one of them was more absurd than the last?
Xi Yan looked at Franky in confusion. How did this guy have the nerve to say that?
A pervert who loved running through the streets in nothing but briefs had the gall to call them complicated?
"Hey, Luffy, where are you going?!" Zoro grabbed Luffy, who was trying to leave, afraid that the guy would disappear again if he looked away for even a moment.
"Don't stop me! I'm going to punch that pigeon-raising guy into the air!"
"I know, but we should at least make a battle plan."
"Just let him go," Xi Yan said. "A battle plan... do you really expect him to remember one?"
"Don't forget what happened before we entered the Great Gate."
Luffy was famous for never following plans, yet every time, what he wanted to do turned out to be the most correct choice. That was rather ridiculous.
Just like now. He wanted to go beat up that pigeon-raising guy.
"Xi Yan's right." Sanji, back to normal, lit a cigarette. "No matter what, you can't stop Luffy from wanting to beat that guy up. Besides, he might have one of the keys on him, so just let him go."
Sanji did not believe the other side would definitely have left all the keys with the six people who stayed behind. What if one was on that guy?
Perhaps the odds were low, but Sanji was unwilling to gamble.
Zoro fell silent for a moment, then released Luffy and let him charge off by himself.
"Sanji's right," Xi Yan said. "Besides... if he doesn't defeat that guy, Luffy won't be able to let it go."
For a strong person, what mattered most was not merely strength, but also spirit!
Having experienced real war, Xi Yan understood that very clearly.
"Now, let's talk about the Buster Call," Sanji said.
"I told you, I'll handle the Buster Call."
"I know you'll handle the Buster Call, but that isn't our only problem right now." Sanji's expression turned serious. "Franky said that if they set out from Navy Headquarters, they could get here even faster."
"That means we don't have much time left..."
Seeing Xi Yan about to say something, Sanji raised a hand. "Listen to me first."
"You should remember what that idiot who activated the Buster Call said."
"Which line?" Usopp asked.
The other guy had said so many things. How was he supposed to know which one Sanji meant?
"You mean... Admiral Aokiji?" Xi Yan said.
He roughly understood what Sanji meant, while Nico Robin's body shuddered the moment she heard that name.
The Buster Call had left a profound impact on Nico Robin, but Admiral Aokiji had affected her just as deeply.
"Yes, Admiral Aokiji!"
"That guy..."
Zoro's expression also turned grave. When they had first encountered that Marine Admiral, they had faced the risk of their entire crew being wiped out!
If Luffy had not been clever enough at the time to challenge him in that way, they would probably have died long ago.
No... it should be said that this Marine Admiral might not have intended to kill them all. Otherwise, as a Marine, he had no reason to follow the rules between pirates.
But what about this time?
Were they supposed to gamble on what he was thinking again?
Entrusting their lives and deaths to an enemy was an extremely foolish thing. Zoro did not want to do that.
"I think I get it now..." Usopp said in horror. "Could it be that we'll have to face a Marine Admiral again this time?!"
"Again?"
Chopper, who seemed to understand as well, looked at Usopp in surprise. "Sniper King, you've encountered a Marine Admiral too?"
"Ahahaha, of course I have. I once..."
"That's amazing!"
Listening to Usopp and Chopper's exchange, the tense atmosphere eased considerably.
"I didn't expect you to have encountered a monster like that before," Franky said admiringly.
Aokiji, one of Navy Headquarters' Greatest Battle Powers. Being able to survive an encounter with such a monster meant they were quite capable.
"It's not that we'll definitely have to face that guy," Sanji said. "But if Xi Yan blocks or even crushes the Buster Call, there's no guarantee the Marines won't send further reinforcements. It isn't impossible that a Marine Admiral might appear!"
"So we have to move fast!"
While speaking, Sanji glanced at the stairs in the distance. "That guy was right. We really don't have much time left."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Zoro said. "Split up, take down those CP9 as quickly as possible, and take the keys back!"
After saying that, Zoro paused, then shouted, "Everyone!"
"Win even if you have to die, got it?!"
"Yeah!"
Before you continue