Sharinggan

After seeing that nothing was happening for the moment, Xi Yan went to play with Chopper. The little guy was quite happy to play with him too.

Chatting before the battle was a decent way to pass the time.

"Hey, guys!" Zanbai ran down and said, "We found a detached Sea Train car up ahead. It's blocking the tracks."

"Is it Sanji?!"

Luffy's eyes immediately lit up. Did that mean Sanji had already rescued Robin?

"Not sure." Zanbai shook his head. "But we can definitely see silhouettes inside."

"We'll know if we go take a look." Xi Yan walked over to a window. "Even if Sanji isn't there, we can get information about him from the others."

With his Sharinggan, getting information out of people's mouths was not difficult.

"I'll come too," Luffy said.

"No need. I can go by myself."

"No, I'm coming too!"

Xi Yan helplessly watched Luffy follow him out and pointed into the distance. "It's so far away. How are you planning to get there?"

He could run across the water at top speed, but Luffy could not.

"Heh, leave it to me."

Luffy grinned and jogged over to the front of the train, stretching out both hands to grab the ends of Rocket Man.

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

Seeing this, Xi Yan's pupils shrank. "Don't tell me you're planning to..."

"Hahaha, let's go together, Xi Yan!"

Without giving Xi Yan a chance to object, Luffy released his grip with both hands and shot forward!

"Bastard, I can run by myself!"

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

"You still don't understand Luffy." Zoro smirked gleefully.

He had experienced this treatment more times than he could count.

When things were dangerous, Luffy was extremely reliable. But when things were safe, Luffy was the greatest threat of all.

"Duang~"

With a dull thud, Xi Yan slammed headfirst into the distant train car.

From that sound alone, it was clearly a good head.

"Luffy... I'm going to kill you sooner or later..."

"Hahahaha, a safe landing."

"Hm?"

"I'm very sorry..."

Looking at the long blade placed against his neck, Luffy apologized without hesitation.

"Hmph. If my body weren't tough, that hit could have killed me," Xi Yan said irritably.

Most Ninja were glass cannons, after all. People like him were a minority.

"But you're fine..." Luffy muttered quietly.

Xi Yan rolled his eyes at Luffy and could not be bothered wasting words on this single-celled idiot.

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

"Pirates! They're pirates!!"

"Quick, shoot them! Kill them!!"

"These guys are trying to catch the train ahead, right? We absolutely can't let them get through!"

"Get them!"

What answered them, however, was a pair of black eyes with three rotating tomoe!

"What a pain."

"Everyone, look at me!"

After Xi Yan's round of "friendly" conversation, the group immediately became obedient.

They had no choice. The ones who had refused to cooperate were still lying on the ground, and from their expressions, they had clearly suffered a terrifying fright.

But whether they were dead or merely unconscious, no one knew. Nor did anyone dare approach to check.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done this from the start?" Xi Yan said.

"Xi Yan, what did you do?" Luffy stared at Xi Yan in astonishment. "Why did so many people suddenly fall down?"

Not only that, but before they collapsed, they had looked as if they had seen something horrifying.

"Nothing much. I just let them see something nice," Xi Yan said calmly.

Using Illusion was the most effective method. It could make all these people behave at once.

"Okay."

Luffy scratched his head. He had no idea how Xi Yan had done it, but... the problem was solved, wasn't it?

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

"Sanji is... who?" one person asked cautiously.

"Hm?"

"Boss, we really don't know."

That single "Hm?" from Xi Yan nearly scared the man into wetting himself.

There was no helping it. This man was far too terrifying. With just one look, only a few people on their side were still standing.

When he saw those Blood Eye just now, he had thought he had arrived in hell.

"Forget it. I'll look for him myself." Luffy stopped paying attention to them and ran ahead to search for Sanji.

"Hey, Sanji, are you there?!"

"Sanji!"

"I came to find you!"

Xi Yan pointed at one of them. "You. Come here."

"Boss, don't kill me..." the man in a suit said in terror.

"If I wanted to do it, would I still give you a chance to speak?" Xi Yan said. "Cut the crap and get over here."

"Yes, Boss..."

The man in a suit trembled as he walked toward Xi Yan, his lips turning pale.

It was only a few meters, yet it felt so long that the man in a suit felt as though he had lived an entire lifetime.

This scene amused Xi Yan somewhat. Was he really that afraid of him?

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

The man in a suit said nothing, merely glancing at his unconscious companions.

His expression seemed to say: Boss, those 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 intercept Rocket Man?

But that did not seem right either. From what Chopper had said earlier, not many people knew they had left Water Seven aboard Rocket Man.

And those people could not possibly have told the enemy their secret. Besides... the enemy might not even believe that anyone could cross the Gods of Water.

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

"If I tell you, will you spare me?"

"You do not have the right to choose," Xi Yan said flatly.

"Then..." The man in a suit pursed his lips, as if considering whether to tell Xi Yan the information.

If speaking meant death anyway, he felt he might as well keep quiet.

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

"You'll 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, the light immediately vanished from his own, as though he had become a puppet.

"Is Sanji here?"

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

"So that's how it is..." Xi Yan frowned. "Then how did you end up like this?"

"Someone lured us into the last car of the Sea Train, then disconnected the cars. That's how we were thrown off."

"I see."

Hmm, that sounded like something Sanji would do. That guy's mind was far from ordinary.

In other words, Sanji was still aboard the Sea Train ahead.

The others watched Xi Yan uncertainly, unable to understand why the man in a suit was answering every question. It was as if... he had been controlled!

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

Combined with what had happened earlier, the fear in everyone's eyes grew even stronger.