Minion Island Incident

As the Navy turned its gaze toward the New World and the Donquixote Family kept a low profile in the North Blue, the North Blue entered a period of peace once again.

Without the Donquixote Family fanning the flames, the various kingdoms, excluding pirates and gangs, finally entered a rare stage of recuperation.

The members of the Donquixote Family, however, cared little for the changes outside. Having just been disciplined by Tsuru, they had all thrown themselves into training with such intensity that they were unable to pull themselves away, which in turn caused their strength to grow rapidly.

In the past, it was not that they hadn't trained, but their growth had been minimal. Coupled with the false glory of being invincible in the North Blue, they had never put their full effort into it; doing the bare minimum had been their greatest motivation.

The silence of the Donquixote Family did not affect the turning of the world; the world continued on just as it always had.

In the New World, pirates fought pirates, the Navy fought pirates, and pirates fought the Navy.

Everyone was fighting until their heads were bloodied, and things never settled down.

And time passed in the midst of all this fighting.

In the year 1509 of the Marine Calendar, Corazon, who had been traveling with Law in search of a doctor, received an important piece of news during a six-month quest for medical help.

On Minion Island, the former Marine Diez Barrels, now a pirate captain, was secretly trading the Op-Op Fruit with the World Government for five billion Beli.

"Law! You can be saved!" After years of living together, their relationship had long since shifted from the initial hatred to one of absolute intimacy.

Corazon had even told Law the secrets of having eaten a Devil Fruit and being able to speak, all because Law had the "D" in his name!

"No, we have to go there right now; we can't let this fruit be traded away!" Suddenly, as if realizing something, Corazon grabbed Law and set off.

"Na-na-na! Doffy, word came from the underworld a short while ago that a group of pirates has obtained the Op-Op Fruit and intends to trade it with the World Government."

"But they don't trust the World Government, so they plan to have the underworld act as an intermediary to facilitate the trade."

"Should we step in?" Trebol did not understand the true value of the Op-Op Fruit; he merely thought it was a big business deal.

After all, five billion Beli—the commission alone would be a massive sum of money.

"What! The Op-Op Fruit?"

But as a former Celestial Dragon who knew a little about the Five Elders' secret of eternal life, Doflamingo was well aware of the fruit's value.

Though confused by Doflamingo's attitude, Trebol confirmed it once more: "Yes, that's the one. The Op-Op Fruit."

"Move out!" Doflamingo didn't have time to ask for details and immediately arranged to set sail. "All family executives, come along. We are going to snatch that Op-Op Fruit back."

"Right! Doffy!"

Trebol immediately arranged for his underlings to notify the executives, while he and his men prepared supplies for the voyage.

Gray was bewildered when he was called to set sail!

Once they were on the ship and had set their sails, Doflamingo explained the reason, and Gray finally understood what was happening.

The Minion Island incident, the Op-Op Fruit, huh? Knowing the situation, Gray instantly calmed down. Because this event had little to do with him.

He had no objections to Law eating the Op-Op Fruit, and he had no intention of snatching the thing right now.

As he had said before, only after his own Devil Fruit reincarnation experiment was complete would it be time for him to take the Op-Op Fruit.

For now, he would just leave it with Law.

The group spurred their horses—or rather, the ship was pushed so hard it was practically smoking—and finally, after a frantic rush, they arrived at Minion Island.

Gray followed behind, experiencing the scene he had once seen in the animation firsthand, and he did not expose the fact that Law was hiding in the crate behind Corazon.

After Doflamingo killed Corazon and the group prepared to retreat, they were blocked by the Navy.

"We meet again, members of the Donquixote Family!" Just like in the original story, the one who arrived was Tsuru.

This was the second time their Donquixote Family had crossed paths with Tsuru.

"Old hag, you're here again!" Doflamingo, caught in the grief of having killed his own brother with his own hands, was in a foul mood. After saying that, he charged at Tsuru as if to vent his rage.

"Five-Colored Strings!" With Armament Haki applied to the strings, and after two years of diligent training, this was the moment to test their results.

"Sister Tsuru, let me handle this!" Knowing she was heading to the North Blue, Tsuru had naturally kept the previous incident in mind, so she had brought Gion along.

Clang!

Konpira, coated in Armament Haki, met Doflamingo's string attack head-on. The two collided, and the sound of metal clashing rang out across the entire island.

BOOM!

A shockwave swept across the area, and Gray and the others behind them raised their left arms to shield their eyes, preventing the blowing sand from blinding them.

The blocked vision did not stop them from seeing the battlefield; within the range of their Observation Haki, they could clearly see the situation between the two.

"Foot Kick String!"

"One-Sword Style: Iai!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two traded blows in the sky, Armament Haki clashing against Armament Haki. With Observation Haki blanketing the entire area, neither could land a blow on the other for the time being; they were simply burning through their stamina.

And this situation was the most normal thing in this world.

When two powerhouses fought, if their Armament Haki was evenly matched, the battle came down to Observation Haki, swordsmanship, physical techniques, and Devil Fruit abilities. In the end, it was just a matter of stamina consumption.

The side with faster stamina recovery and deeper reserves would be the one left standing at the end.

"Doffy has gotten stronger again!"

"Ne-ne-ne! Isn't that obvious? He is our King!"

Gray: ...

Seeing them fall into their Doffy-worshiping routine again, Gray hurriedly reminded them of their current situation: "Doffy is fighting up there, what are we supposed to do down here?"

"That's a warship led by Tsuru over there. Should we engage?"

"Should we?"

"Let's do it!"

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure!"

"Well, I have no choice then!" Since the decision was made, Gray had no choice but to follow along. After all, looking at Tsuru's expression, she didn't seem like she was going to let them off the hook either.

While Gion was pinning down Doflamingo, Tsuru had already led the Marines ashore and was walking toward them.

"In that case, let's show her the growth we've achieved over these past two years!"

"Ah~ I'm fired up!"

Finally starting a real battle once again, Gray had only one feeling in his heart: "Battle~ is exhilarating!"

"Eight-Fold Light Wheel!" Two Sky Crystal Flying Wheels floated behind him. After activating his fruit ability, it took only three seconds for the Sky Crystal Flying Wheels to accelerate until lightning covered their entire rims.

Two years ago, he had to use his full strength to achieve this level, but now, a casual spin was enough to reach it. And~ this was merely a greeting.

The two Sky Crystal Flying Wheels shot out, flying toward Tsuru with crackling electricity and immense cutting power.

"Blast!"

"Stone Giant!"

"Half-Moon Funeral!"

"Dion Fist, G!"

"Sticky Whip!"

Aside from Trebol's attack being rather disgusting, the rest of them unleashed their full power, raining various techniques down upon Tsuru.