Laboon, I'll Take You to Brook

[Ding!]

[Chained Main Quest Completed: Crew Completion Plan VI: Repel the First Enemy]

[Quest Reward: Complete Wind Chi]

Ye Zhuo landed on the ice.

He strode toward Aokiji Kuzan as the Wind Demon Aura swiftly merged into his body.

[Side Quest Activated: Laboon and Brook. Take Laboon to the Florian Triangle to find Brook. Countdown: 24 hours]

[Quest Reward: Shadowkhan: Night Bat]

This quest had a countdown!

The main quest of finding crew members had finally come to an end.

Ye Zhuo let out a satisfied breath.

But fresh tension followed immediately after.

An ice spear flew past him at that very instant.

"Not interested in fighting anymore."

Ye Zhuo glanced at Aokiji.

What he needed to do now was take Laboon to the Florian Triangle.

"You kept testing our limits. How could this battle end just because you said so?"

Aokiji exhaled a breath of frost. With his hands tucked in his pockets, he had no intention of letting things end here.

"Is that so? Then keep fighting."

Ye Zhuo snapped his fingers.

"Boys, get them!"

The Shadowkhan appeared.

They blanketed the ice in overwhelming numbers.

Ninja Shadowkhan were fast and carried many weapons. They were decent at everything, but none of their abilities had been developed to the extreme.

Samurai Shadowkhan had high attack and sturdy defense, but their agility was poor, and their ranged combat was practically nonexistent.

Blade Shadowkhan were fast, agile, and strong attackers, but their defense was weak.

Once the new side quest was unlocked, he could obtain the Night Bat Shadowkhan.

Just from the name, he knew it would make up for Ye Zhuo's lack of aerial combat power.

The endless Shadowkhan surrounded Aokiji. No matter how many he froze, even more would appear.

And the frozen ones would quickly return to the Shadow Empire before coming back again.

"Let's go, little sister Tashigi."

Ye Zhuo grabbed Tashigi with one hand, kicked off the railing, and leaped back onto the Demon King.

"Let go of me! You evil pirate!"

Tashigi struggled desperately.

"I was ready to part ways peacefully, but you refused. You even sent a warship after me."

Ye Zhuo turned toward Twin Cape.

"Crocus, I know where the person Laboon has been waiting for is. I'll take it to him!"

"Don't you dare fool this old man."

Crocus raised his harpoon and shouted.

"Laboon! Come with me to find Brook! He from the Rumbar Pirates is waiting for you there!"

At the mention of Brook's name—

Laboon's huge eyes narrowed. Its body dove into the sea and followed behind the Demon King.

Its massive body was many times larger than the treasure ship Demon King, comparable to a small island.

"I'll heal your wounds."

Ye Zhuo placed one hand on Laboon's head.

The Horse Talisman rapidly healed it, completely restoring the injuries it had suffered from ramming its head against the Red Line.

"Just how many abilities has this kid copied?"

Crocus also believed the newspaper's claim that Ye Zhuo was a copy human who had eaten the Copy-Copy Fruit.

When he saw Ye Zhuo heal Laboon, he mistook it for another Devil Fruit ability.

"You underestimate the name of an Admiral too much!"

Aokiji took the opportunity to attack, appearing to Ye Zhuo's left.

"Oh? Then you underestimate my strength as well!"

Ye Zhuo turned his head and extended his left hand.

Having just obtained the Wind Demon Aura, he also wanted to test its power.

Boom!

A storm erupted from his palm, instantly devastating every obstacle before him.

In just a single breath—

Aokiji could no longer hold it back. In the midst of it all—

Ye Zhuo suddenly appeared beside him.

After a brief touch—

"Damn... cluck cluck cluck!"

Before he could finish speaking—

Aokiji began flapping his wings.

The next moment, as he flew over the heads of the Shadowkhan, he had truly turned into a rooster with blue feathers.

Whoosh!

Countless Shadowkhan were frozen and vanished.

"The Monkey Talisman really is the most useful."

Ye Zhuo walked toward the cabin in satisfaction.

"Set sail. Our next destination is the Florian Triangle!"

"Understood, Captain!"

After battle after battle, the crew had long since become deeply impressed by Ye Zhuo.

Laboon followed behind them as they continued sailing.

Even traveling day and night for twenty-four hours would not be enough to reach the Florian Triangle.

Unless Ye Zhuo used the Rabbit Talisman!

"Laboon, catch!"

A massive rein was thrown into Laboon's mouth, and it swam ahead.

Ye Zhuo used the Rabbit Talisman to accelerate Laboon.

Whoosh!

The entire ship sped across the sea as though it were flying.

They only stopped briefly midway through the journey to adjust their course.

The Empress, Kalifa, and Vivi had a large number of Eternal Poses.

Otherwise, they would have wasted far more time.

Tashigi sat at the stern, hugging her sword in despair.

Only because she was also affected by the Rabbit Talisman could she remain in a normal state aboard the ship.

This was precisely what made the Twelve Talismans concept-level artifacts.

They were even more powerful than the originals.

The era of the Marines carrying out justice on the seas is completely over. Colonel Smoker, Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Aokiji—they all lost!

They lost to a Demon King. Then what was the point of everything I had upheld before?

Tashigi shed unwilling tears.

In her eyes, Ye Zhuo attacked at the slightest disagreement. He was simply temperamental and unpredictable.

She could not understand his motives for doing anything at all.

"Are you upset?"

Vivi pressed both hands against the wall and appeared beside Tashigi at some unknown time.

Tashigi was curled into a ball, drowning in despair.

"You were kidnapped by him too, weren't you, Princess Vivi?"

"No. I actually came willingly."

Vivi wiped away her tears.

"People can never understand what he does, but I think I should seriously tell you why Robin and I boarded this ship."

They had mentioned it before, but they had only said that Ye Zhuo had used force.

Now, as the truth of the past was revealed—

Tashigi recalled everything that had happened in Cocoyasi Village.

"By the way, is Colonel Smoker still alive?"

"I don't know. Even Vice Admiral Garp's fate is unknown."

Instead, Vivi's words gave Tashigi a trace of hope.

She asked, "Princess Vivi, why did you join the Demon King Pirates?"

"After the Captain resolved the hidden danger in my kingdom, Crocodile, he gave us a source of water."

"Besides wanting to prove myself, I also wanted to repay this kindness."

"Three years! After that, I'll definitely leave the ship!"

Vivi clenched her tiny fists.

"Is that so? Nami said she wanted to draw nautical charts of the whole world, but that Demon King Ye Zhuo made her an electrician!"

Tashigi said with a laugh that was more tears than amusement.

"The important thing is what kind of person you want to become!"

"Haven't you realized that only by following this guy can you come into contact with more unknown sides of the world?"

Vivi's words made Tashigi's eyes light up.

"I'll become stronger until the day I can take revenge!"

"If Smoker and the others are really dead!"

"Then I'll make their names resound across the seas!"

"I'll surpass Demon King Ye Zhuo!"

"Surpass me? Are you still dreaming?"

Ye Zhuo's single sentence left Tashigi ashen-faced.

The Demon King was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.

Before the countdown ended—

After adjusting their direction several times—

The Demon King Pirates successfully arrived in the pitch-black Florian Triangle!

"Let me scan the area with Observation Haki!"

Ye Zhuo stepped forward, his Ultra-Long Distance instantly covering the surroundings like radar as he began searching for Brook.