Uchiha's Summoned Beast, Empty Chests

"Who are you calling a stupid long-nose?!"

Hearing that deeply insulting "stupid long-nose," Usopp's blood instantly rushed to his head, and he angrily shouted at the sky.

"Caw caw! You, obviously!"

The black crow circling overhead let out a grating laugh.

Its humanlike eyes swept over the group before it began arrogantly calling them out one by one.

"Straw Hat monkey! Caterpie! Moldy orange! And that smiling, sinister bastard!

"This is Lord Clay's territory! You lowly creatures that only know how to crawl, get lost right now! Otherwise, don't blame Lord Clay for getting nasty!"

"Huh?!"

Veins instantly bulged on everyone's foreheads in perfect unison.

"Straw Hat... monkey?!" Luffy's fists clenched.

"Ca... Caterpie?! I'll chop it up!" Zoro put a hand on his sword hilt, his gaze terrifying.

"Moldy... orange?!" A demonic phantom seemed to rise behind Nami.

"Smiling bastard?" Victor narrowed his eyes, his smile growing even brighter.

Usopp had still been furious, but when he turned and saw the expressions on his companions' faces, as though they wanted to destroy the world, his anger instantly subsided. He swallowed.

"This bird... picked the wrong people to mess with."

At that moment, Karmon glared at the crow and said through gritted teeth:

"It's him! A few years ago, this strange bird suddenly came to this island.

"Using its ability to fly, it seized the top of the pillar and claimed the treasure I was guarding as its own!"

"So it's a thief bird."

Luffy pulled down the brim of his hat, hiding his eyes as his tone turned serious.

"Yeah. Uncle Karmon, don't worry. I'll take care of this thief and get your treasure back!"

With that, Luffy took several steps back. His arms suddenly stretched backward, grabbing the top of the towering stone pillar.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!!"

"Whoosh!"

Luffy shot into the sky like a pebble fired from a slingshot.

Clay's eyes flashed with surprise in midair. This monkey could fly too?

"Hmph! You're courting death! Take an attack from Lord Clay!!"

Clay suddenly opened his sharp beak, drew a deep breath, and let out an ear-piercing high-frequency screech at the incoming Luffy.

"Caw—!!!"

Tangible sound waves burst through the air in rippling rings.

"Ugh!"

Luffy, taking the brunt of it, felt a sharp pain in his eardrums, and his body stalled in midair.

The powerful soundwave actually blasted him back down, sending him crashing heavily into the ground.

"Ah! My ears! My ears are going deaf!!"

Everyone below covered their ears. Nami complained loudly, "That damn crow is so noisy! Its voice is awful!"

Victor looked at the smug crow in the sky, his interest growing stronger.

"This kind of attack... it can not only talk, but also unleash sonic attacks.

"Could this crow have eaten a Devil Fruit?"

If that was true, then this bird was worth a great deal.

"Hah."

Victor's leg muscles tensed. The instant Luffy landed, he caught him and absorbed the impact.

Then, without pausing in the slightest, he became a black Lightning and raced up the sheer surface of the stone pillar.

In just a few leaps, he precisely stepped on the protruding rocks and climbed to the top of the pillar in the blink of an eye.

The top of the pillar was not very spacious. Sure enough, five rust-covered treasure chests were neatly arranged there.

Beside the chests, however, was a large, messy bird's nest made of branches and feathers.

It seemed this crow had truly treated the place as its home.

"Caw?!"

Clay had been about to continue mocking them, but his eyes went wide at the sight of Victor suddenly appearing before him. His jaw nearly dropped.

"Why are you so fast?! Are you a monkey too?!"

Once it came to its senses, it immediately opened its beak wide, preparing to unleash that sonic attack again.

"Body Flicker."

Victor gave a cold smile. Naturally, he would not give it the chance to charge up.

His figure flashed, and Victor appeared directly in front of Clay. One hand clamped down on its open beak like an iron vice, forcibly interrupting the attack.

"Mmph!"

Then Victor exerted force with his arm, dragged it out of the sky, and smashed it brutally against the hard rocky ground.

"Bang!"

"Caw—!"

The blow left Clay seeing stars, every bone in its body feeling as though it had fallen apart.

"It hurts... you damned crawling insect... I'm going to..."

"Thunk!"

A sharp Kunai gleaming with cold light buried itself deep in the rock beside its head, just 0.01 centimeters away.

Clay's arrogant words instantly caught in its throat as cold sweat poured down its body.

"S-Sir! Sir, spare me!!"

Its attitude took a complete one-eighty.

"Thunk!"

Another Kunai pierced the rock beside the other side of its head, shaving off several black feathers.

Clay kicked its legs in terror, flattened itself against the ground, and trembled as it cried with teary eyes:

"Sir! I was wrong! I was really wrong! You can have this place!

"I'll get out of here right now! Please spare this bird's life! I'm still young, I don't want to die!"

Victor grabbed its neck, lifted it up, and turned its bird head toward the chests.

"Did you eat what was inside them?"

Clay did not dare lie. It nodded like a pecking chick.

"Yes, yes! Sir! A few years ago, I happened to pass through here and saw a strange-looking fruit. I was starving at the time, so I ate it...

"Sir! Please spare me! I'll never do it again!"

Just as expected.

Zoan or Paramecia?

Victor thought to himself, the smile on his face becoming increasingly "kind."

"You can live. Come with me, how about it?"

"Come with you? You mean... leave here?" Clay froze.

"That's right. Set sail with me."

Clay's little mung-bean eyes spun rapidly.

This guy wanted the great Lord Clay to be a pet?

What a joke!

It was the noble "Ruler of the Skies." How could it submit to a human who only knew how to crawl!

But the human before it was too strong. A wise man did not fight when the odds were against him... it would agree for now, then find a chance to slip away once they were at sea!

With that thought, Clay immediately put on a fawning expression.

"Caw caw! Yes, sir! It is Clay's honor to follow a powerful man like you!"

[ Ding! A special creature has expressed its willingness to submit. ]

[ Congratulations, host. You have obtained an exclusive summoned beast, no exchange required: Echo Crow. ]

[ Reward: 500 Ninja Way Points. ]

Victor released his hand in satisfaction.

"Huff, huff..." Clay immediately collapsed onto the ground, gasping violently. It felt as though it had just walked through the gates of hell.

At that moment, a rubber arm stretched upward, and Luffy finally climbed up as well.

"Huff... Victor, I'm here! Huh? Is the fight over already?"

Luffy stared blankly at the crow lying on the ground.

"What do you mean, the fight is over? You Straw Hat monkey! Want to fight?!"

The moment Clay saw Luffy, its arrogant air instantly returned.

"Ah, what an ugly crow." Luffy picked his nose and gave his honest assessment.

"Caw caw?!! Who are you calling ugly?!!"

Clay instantly flew into a rage, flapping its wings as it lunged at Luffy's Straw Hat.

"Luffy."

Ignoring the stupid bird, Victor walked over to the five treasure chests and opened them one by one.

They were completely empty.

He sighed, handed the five empty chests to Luffy, and said softly:

"The chests are empty."

Luffy paused, casually flinging away the charging Clay.

He took the light chests and looked into Victor's eyes in silence for several seconds.

"The chests are empty... then Uncle Karmon..."

Luffy murmured under his breath, then raised his head and gave Victor a radiant smile.

"Then let's 'steal' them! Hehehe!"

Seeing that familiar smile, Victor curled his lips as well.

The two walked to the edge of the pillar.

Luffy drew a deep breath and shouted with all his strength at the green chest uncle waiting expectantly below:

"Uncle Karmon!! Your treasure belongs to us now!!"

"If you want it, come take it yourselves! Wahahaha!!"

Below.

The expectant group instantly turned to stone.

"Huh?! Luffy!! What nonsense are you talking about?!" Nami shouted in disbelief. "That's what Uncle Karmon guarded for twenty years!!"

"Exactly! That's too cruel, Luffy!" Usopp also accused indignantly.

However, Karmon was not angry like the others.

He raised his head and looked at the Straw Hat youth atop the pillar, whose eyes were so clear.

Naturally, he did not believe someone with such a pure dream would do something so faithless.

If it was not for selfishly taking the treasure, then there could only be one answer...

Karmon's body began to tremble. Two streams of hot tears rolled down his weathered face.

"Straw Hat Kid... you're a good person!"

"Even though... even though I had considered that possibility over the past twenty years, I never dared think about it.

"I could only desperately deceive myself into believing there had to be treasure there, just to keep myself alive..."

"Straw Hat Kid! It was empty inside, wasn't it?! Sob, sob..."

As he spoke, the old pirate who had held on for twenty years finally let down all his defenses and wept like a child.

At the top of the pillar.

"Huh? Was I found out?"

Luffy scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Looks like I'm not suited to playing the bad guy."

"Let's go down, Luffy."

Victor patted his shoulder, his gaze gentle.

The scene shifted.

By then, the sun was setting, and the sea had been dyed a brilliant red.

At the shore.

"Uncle, are you really staying here? You're not coming with us?"

Luffy sat on the ship's railing and asked Karmon on the shore.

Karmon wiped away his tears, a smile more relaxed than ever appearing on his face.

"Yes, Straw Hat Kid. Although there's no treasure anymore, I've discovered that I have other, more important things to protect."

He turned to look at the rare beasts gathered around him, his gaze tender.

"I've waited with these guys for twenty years. We've long become family. I can't leave them behind."

"After learning there was no treasure, I was a little disappointed, but for the first time, I felt truly free.

"That heavy shackle is gone. From now on, I can live the life I want."

Hearing this, everyone aboard the ship smiled.

"Hahaha! Is that so? What a shame! I was going to invite you to join us!" Luffy said with a laugh.

"These rare beasts are the most important treasure?"

Victor stood nearby and nodded gently.

Perhaps for him, this was the best ending.

"Say, this Usopp... no, this crow is kind of fat."

Standing beside Victor, Nami curiously reached out and stroked Clay, who was obediently perched on Victor's shoulder.

"Coo, caw! What did you say?! You moldy orange-head! I'm not fat—I'm burly! Burly!"

Though Clay did not dare move, his beak was still as tough as ever as he shouted at Nami. "Believe it or not, I'll peck you..."

"Hm?" Victor tilted his head and cast him a glance.

"Caw... I mean, this fat really does need to be trimmed down!" Clay instantly caved.

"Hahahaha!"

Watching the shameless bird that bullied the weak and feared the strong, everyone burst into cheerful laughter.

The Going Merry slowly set sail.

"Goodbye, Uncle Karmon!!"

Luffy stood at the stern, waving his arms with all his strength.

On shore, Karmon watched the sailing ship gradually drift away, and tears once again streamed down his face.

"Goodbye, pirates! Goodbye, Straw Hat Kid!"

"Carry my dreams onward! You'll definitely find it! That legendary One Piece!!"

"Do your best!! Straw Hat Kid!!"

Beneath the setting sun, the cries of that old man and young boy, one aboard a ship and one on the shore, seemed to become the most moving melody upon this sea.