From beginning to end, Tobio's grandfather had never told the Straw Hat Pirates anything about Woonan. So William suggested that they check out the nearby islands. They needed to replenish their supplies anyway. If William's guess was correct, Golden Island should be on one of the nearby islands. Judging by the nautical chart Nami had provided, there weren't many islands in the area. He was certain that one of them was likely the so-called Golden Island where Woonan's treasure was buried. As for whether there was actually any gold on Golden Island, that remained unknown.
"Look, that ship seems really familiar!" As the Golden Merry approached an island, Zoro pointed at a pirate ship docked by the shore.
"Looks like our luck isn't bad!" William couldn't be certain that the island before them was Golden Island, but Eldoraggo had Woonan's treasure map. Whether this was Golden Island or not, the final outcome would be the same: defeat Eldoraggo and his crew.
"Could this be the legendary Golden Island?" Nami asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Who knows? But we'd better get back the treasure they stole first." William wasn't sure whether Golden Island truly had gold, but the treasure aboard Eldoraggo's ship was very real.
"I suddenly caught a disease that makes me unable to go ashore!" The moment Usopp thought of Eldoraggo's strange and terrifying attack, fear rose in his heart.
"Who are you people?" The pirates left behind on Eldoraggo's ship spotted another pirate ship approaching and immediately prepared for battle. They were even ready to fire a signal flare to alert Eldoraggo and the others who had gone ashore.
"Geppo! Rankyaku!" Although the Golden Merry was still some distance from the enemy ship, cannon fire would definitely alert the enemies on the island. William took the lead, using Geppo to rush over before taking out the enemy gunners with Rankyaku.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!" As Luffy launched himself onto the enemy ship with Gum-Gum Rocket, two unlucky pirates were sent flying by the impact. The pirates standing on the deck were about to face William and Luffy together. Ordinary men like them were no match for the pair.
"Special Attack: Gunpowder Star!" Usopp, watching from the Golden Merry, noticed that one pirate was trying to fire a signal flare to notify his companions on the island. This was when Usopp, the sniper, truly proved his worth.
"Nami, hurry and bring the ship over. At this rate, there won't be anyone left for me to cut down!" Zoro shouted anxiously. With William and Luffy's combat ability, the dozens of men aboard the enemy ship were no match for them at all.
Besides, Usopp was still on their ship, taking shots at the enemies with his slingshot whenever he felt like it. At this rate, how could even half an enemy be left?
"Quit nagging!" Nami naturally wanted to get close to the enemy ship as quickly as possible. She had her eyes firmly fixed on the treasure aboard it.
"Usopp, take out fewer of them!" Seeing that Usopp had already taken down quite a few enemies without even boarding the ship, Zoro cursed irritably.
"We can't let them alert their companions on the island!" Usopp wasn't about to listen to Zoro. The thought of Eldoraggo's terror still frightened him. He had to take out every enemy preparing to fire a signal flare, or Eldoraggo would return to help them. His plan was simple: deal with the enemy ship, take all the treasure, and run away. But he seemed to have underestimated everyone else's ambitions.
"So fast! You didn't leave even one for me?" Before the Golden Merry had fully drawn alongside the enemy ship, Zoro impatiently jumped over, only to find that all the enemies had already been taken out.
"Zoro, don't worry about these small fry." William comforted him. "If they weren't lying, one of the guys on the island is a pretty good swordsman."
"A swordsman?" Zoro became excited like a hunter who had found his prey. Compared to cutting down small fry, he would much rather cross blades with an expert.
"Also, I suspect their captain is a Sound-Sound Fruit user, so be careful." William had to remind everyone of this. The Laser Cannon fired by the Sound-Sound Fruit was no joke. They had already seen it once before.
To keep the treasure she had worked so hard to obtain from disappearing again, Nami reluctantly let William hold onto it for her. William's ability was special. Unless someone killed him or he willingly took it out, no one in the world could steal the treasure from inside his body.
"Captain, according to the treasure map, the gold should be buried underground here. But it'll take some time to dig it up!" After studying the treasure map for a while, one of the smarter-looking subordinates spoke.
"It'll only take ten seconds!" In Eldoraggo's eyes, rather than letting his men dig slowly, it was faster to do it himself. That was his beloved gold. Not a moment could be wasted.
"The captain's going to use that devil power! Hide!" The instant the men saw Eldoraggo's stance, they scrambled away in panic. Getting caught within the Laser Cannon's attack range would cost them their lives.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying destructive force blasted a huge crater into the ground. Naturally, the deafening sound nearly ruptured his subordinates' eardrums.
"Too damn loud, you stinking lion! My ears are practically deaf!" The Straw Hat Pirates appeared behind Eldoraggo as a group, with Luffy in particular cursing in annoyance. His reason for insulting Eldoraggo was simply that the Laser Cannon had been too loud, as though he had forgotten why they had come looking for Eldoraggo in the first place.
"Who are you people? How dare you call me a lion?" Interrupted in the middle of his work, Eldoraggo turned around in a foul mood and curiously sized up the unfamiliar young men and women before him.
"Sorry, I was wrong. So you're actually a cat?" Nobody knew whether Luffy did it on purpose, but he actually apologized to the other man. What followed, however, was absolutely infuriating and practically begged for hatred.
"Are you looking to die?"
"Hey, Woonan, are you here?" Luffy directly ignored Eldoraggo's words. His behavior wasn't funny to Eldoraggo in the slightest; instead, he saw it as an insult.
"Haha, are you an idiot? Woonan died long ago!"
"Who knows whether he's dead or not? Since my captain wants to find Woonan, leave behind Woonan's treasure map too!"
"Goras, take care of them! Five gold coins!" Eldoraggo said to the swordsman beside him, who had the appearance and attire of an Indian.
"Sure!" The Indian man's interest was immediately piqued upon hearing there was a reward of five gold coins. He drew a huge blade from his back and swept his gaze across every member of the Straw Hat Pirates, seemingly considering which target to deal with first.
"This guy looks pretty strong! Looks like he's mine!" Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji from his waist and clenched it between his teeth. From the aura emanating from the Indian man, he could tell that his opponent was no weaker than himself. It had been a long time since he had encountered a swordsman of this caliber. Zoro became serious, and his blood began to boil with excitement.
"Could that Three-Sword Style user be the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?" Eldoraggo's subordinates cried out in horror when they saw Zoro wielding three swords.
"Who cares who he is? If he's using swords, he's no match for Goras. Goras, five gold coins for every slash you land, and five gold coins if you kill him!" Upon hearing that he was the famous Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro of the East Blue, Eldoraggo realized he might have underestimated these people and immediately raised the price. However, he still didn't believe the renowned East Blue Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro could defeat Goras, much less the others.
Clang! Goras's massive blade slashed at Zoro. Though Zoro blocked it with all his strength, he was still forced to retreat step by step.
"Zoro!" Usopp cried out in panic. In his eyes, Zoro was an extremely "terrifying" swordsman. Seeing him fall behind on the very first exchange was unbelievable and frightening.
"Don't worry, Zoro won't lose." William placed a hand on Usopp's shoulder. Though the Indian man named Goras seemed no weaker than Zoro, Goras lacked Zoro's ambition as a swordsman. And a swordsman who drew his blade only for payment was not worthy of being Zoro's opponent.
"Captain Eldoraggo, let us help you deal with these people!" Eldoraggo's subordinates shouted eagerly.
Before you continue