Sharinggan

Seeing nothing urgent for the moment, Xi Yan went over to mess with Chopper, and the little guy was more than happy to play along.

Chatting before a fight was as good a way as any to kill time.

"Hey, big bros!" Zanbai ran down and said, "There's a detached Sea Train car up ahead, blocking the tracks."

"Is it Sanji?!"

Luffy's eyes lit up instantly—did this mean Sanji had already brought Robin back?

"Not sure." Zanbai shook his head. "But I can see figures inside."

"Let's go check it out." Xi Yan walked over to a window and said, "Even if Sanji's not there, we can get info on him from someone else."

With his Sharinggan, getting information out of people's mouths wasn't hard for him.

"I'll come too." Luffy said.

"No need, I'll go alone."

"No way, I'm going too!"

Xi Yan looked helplessly at Luffy, who had followed him out, and pointed into the distance. "How are you gonna cross that distance?"

He himself could sprint across the water at top speed, but Luffy couldn't.

"Heh, leave it to me."

Luffy grinned, jogged to the front of the train, and stretched his arms out to grab both ends of the Rocket Man.

Then, as naturally as anything, Luffy wrapped one leg around Xi Yan's waist.

Seeing this, Xi Yan's pupils shrank. "You're not planning to..."

"Let's go together, Xi Yan!"

Without giving Xi Yan a chance to argue, Luffy let go of his hands and shot forward like a bullet!

"Damn it, I can run on my own!"

Xi Yan's furious voice echoed through the air, leaving the Franky Family behind completely dumbfounded.

"You still don't get Luffy, do you." Zoro said with schadenfreude.

He'd been through this treatment more times than he could count.

When things were dangerous, Luffy was rock-solid reliable. But when things were safe, Luffy was the biggest threat.

"Duang~"

A dull thud rang out as Xi Yan's head slammed into the distant train car.

The sound alone told you it was a good, solid head.

"Luffy... I'm gonna kill you one day..."

"Hahaha, safe landing!"

"Hmm?"

"I'm really sorry..."

Looking at the longsword pressed against his neck, Luffy apologized without hesitation.

"Hmph, if I weren't tough, that would've killed me." Xi Yan said irritably.

Most shinobi were glass cannons, after all—he was one of the exceptions.

"But you're fine..." Luffy muttered under his breath.

Xi Yan shot Luffy a glare and couldn't be bothered to argue with the single-celled idiot.

Glancing at the crowd staring at them in shock, Xi Yan put on a friendly smile and said, "I'd like to ask you something."

"Pirates, they're pirates!!"

"Quick, shoot, kill them!!"

"They're after the train ahead, aren't they? We can't let them through!"

"Get them all!"

But what answered them was a pair of black pupils spinning with three tomoe!

"What a pain."

"Everyone, look at me!"

After a round of 'friendly' conversation from Xi Yan, this group immediately settled down.

No choice—the ones who didn't were still lying on the ground, their expressions showing they'd been through some terrifying shock.

Whether they were dead or just unconscious, no one knew, and no one dared to check.

"Would've been easier if you'd done this from the start." Xi Yan said.

"Xi Yan, what did you do?" Luffy stared wide-eyed. "How'd they all drop at once?"

Not only that, but before those people lay down, it was as if they had seen something terrifying.

"It's nothing, just let them see something nice." Xi Yan said calmly.

Using Illusion was the most effective method, letting him subdue all these guys in one go.

"Alright."

Luffy scratched his head. Though he didn't know how Xi Yan had done it... the problem was solved, wasn't it?

"Hey, have you guys seen Sanji?" Luffy asked.

"Sanji is... who?" one person ventured.

"Hmm?"

"Big brother, we really don't know."

That single "Hmm" from Xi Yan nearly scared the piss out of them.

No help for it—this guy was too terrifying. With just one look, barely anyone among them could stay standing.

When he saw that Blood Eye earlier, he thought he'd arrived in hell.

"Forget it, I'll find him myself." Luffy stopped bothering with them and ran ahead on his own to look for Sanji.

"Hey, Sanji, are you in there!"

"Sanji!"

"I'm coming for you!"

Meanwhile, Xi Yan pointed at one of the men and said, "You. Come here."

"Big brother, don't kill me..." the Man in a Suit said in terror.

"If I wanted to Do It, would I give you a chance to speak?" Xi Yan said. "Less nonsense, get over here now."

"Yes, big brother..."

The Man in a Suit shuffled over to Xi Yan, his lips turning pale.

Though it was only a few meters, it felt as long as a lifetime to him.

This Scene amused Xi Yan. Was this guy that afraid of him?

"Relax. As long as you behave, I won't kill you."

The Man in a Suit said nothing, only glanced at his unconscious companions.

His expression seemed to say: Big brother, your words aren't very convincing.

"Tell me, why are you here?" Xi Yan asked. "What exactly happened?"

Xi Yan was curious. Could they have been left behind to stop the Rocket Man?

But that didn't seem right either. From what Chopper had said earlier, not many people knew they were leaving Water Seven on the Rocket Man.

And those people wouldn't betray their side's secrets to the enemy. Besides... crossing the Gods of Water like that—the enemy probably wouldn't even believe it.

Xi Yan still remembered how terrifying the tsunami they'd seen earlier was.

"If I tell you, will you not kill me?"

"You don't have the right to choose." Xi Yan said flatly.

"Then..." The Man in a Suit bit his lip, as if weighing whether to tell Xi Yan the information.

If speaking meant death anyway, he figured he'd better keep quiet.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself." Xi Yan said.

"Do it yourself?"

The Man in a Suit looked at Xi Yan in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

But when he saw the Sharinggan in Xi Yan's eyes, his own eyes instantly lost their light, as if he'd become a puppet.

"Is Sanji here?"

"I don't know who Sanji is, but only our people are here."

"Is that so..." Xi Yan frowned. "Then how did you end up like this?"

"Someone lured us to the last car of the Sea Train, then disconnected the coupling between cars. That's how we got left behind."

"I see."

Hmm. That sounded like something Sanji would do—that guy's brain was no ordinary thing.

Meaning Sanji was still on the Sea Train ahead.

The others watched Xi Yan with uneasy uncertainty, wondering why the Man in a Suit was answering every question, as if... he'd been controlled!

"So scary... Is he a Devil Fruit User?!"

Combined with what had just happened, the fear in their eyes only deepened.