Jewel Ice Bed

Jewel Ice Bed.

Ding, ding, ding!

A group of Treasure Thieves wrapped in thick cotton coats surrounded the ice, swinging their ice picks with all their might. The metal chisels left only fine white marks on the ice. Some of them brought over firewood and scorched the surface; flames licked at the ice layer, producing only a few wisps of white vapor. Sweat dripped from their foreheads onto the ice, instantly freezing into tiny beads.

"Heh heh heh, don't waste your effort. You lot think you're worthy of touching this old man's treasure?"

A sinister laugh descended from above, and a vast shadow abruptly enveloped the entire area.

The Treasure Thieves whirled around, but before they could make out who had come, an enormous fist wrapped in white ripples smashed toward them.

The shockwave of Hasshoken pierced through flesh and rattled their bodies from within. Their bodies were like burst water skins, their bones and organs shattered inch by inch beneath the peculiar force of the punch. One after another, they flew backward like cannonballs for hundreds of meters, tracing bloody arcs through the air before crashing heavily onto the distant ice.

After dealing with another batch of Treasure Thieves, Chinjao brushed the ice chips from his hands. His massive body, over five meters tall, stood on the ice like a small mountain.

He glanced at the treasure frozen beneath him. With an uneasy heart, he pressed his palms together, then kicked off hard with his short legs. His huge body shot skyward like a rocket.

Calling them short legs was somewhat unfair. Given his height, his legs were far longer than those of most ordinary people. They only looked comically short beside his bloated torso.

In midair, Chinjao changed direction, head down and legs up. His flattened head became wrapped in both Busoshoku Haki and the shockwave of Hasshoken, transforming his entire body into a human meteorite that hurtled toward the ice with a howling roar.

Crack, crack, crack.

Fine fissures spread across the surface of the ice for several meters before stopping. Chinjao's head was deeply embedded in the ice, but compared to the ice layer over a thousand meters thick, the damage was negligible.

He pulled his head free, sprawled across the ice, and dropped to his knees. Staring at the treasures sealed at the very bottom—so close, yet impossibly far away—he slammed his forehead into the ice again and again. Tears as large as beans rolled from his eyes and struck the surface.

"Huff, huff... I can't open it..."

"What am I supposed to do? Those are all my treasures."

"Everything I have—my supreme wealth!"

"Damn Garp! I'll never forgive you!"

Not far away, a burly young man with brown skin, thick lips, and messy short dark-brown hair wore a dark green cloak with a wavy collar. Carefully stepping over the cracks Chinjao had smashed into the ice, he approached and helped his father to his feet.

"Fa... Chief, don't be sad. One day, I'll open it for you."

Chinjao turned to look at his son, Saiwu. His white beard fluttered as he snorted, his face full of disappointment.

"With your talent? I'm afraid this old man will be dead and buried before I ever see that day."

Despite being looked down on by his own father, Saiwu did not get angry. He merely raised a thick hand, scratched the back of his head, and gave a simple-minded grin.

Brook, carrying a massive axe on her back, stood with her arms folded. Her long orange hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her beautiful face paired with her fierce build made her look more like a burly man than most men.

She looked at the father and son and let out a quiet sigh.

Her husband was good in every way—just a little too honest and simple-minded.

"Chief, this is bad! There's a fleet—"

A man in the traditional attire of the Happo Navy ran over from the distance in a panic, interrupting the brief family scene.

Before he could finish shouting, scarlet blood spikes emerged across the surface of his body.

Centered around his heart, those blood spikes spread outward, piercing through his skin. While he was still frozen in a running posture, he turned into a pool of blood, and all his Life Energy flowed out of his body at once.

Carried by inertia, his body staggered two more steps forward before rapidly shriveling. His cotton coat draped over a skeleton-like body as he collapsed limply onto the ice.

Three figures walked over from afar. The silver-haired man at the front lowered the arm he had just raised, a wisp of blood mist curling around his fingertips.

"Darling, hurry up and kill that old man! Then we'll be rich!"

Baccarat clung to his arm, and Beli symbols immediately appeared in her eyes.

Lucas's opening line, which he had only half prepared, caught in his throat. He cleared his throat and forcibly replaced the helplessness on his face with a stern expression.

"I won't waste words. I've taken a liking to the treasure here."

Chinjao froze for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed in fury. Even his white beard bobbed up and down.

"Heh heh heh! You arrogant brat! This old man has heard those words not a hundred times, but eighty! You want the treasure? Leave your life behind first!"

He shook off Saiwu's supporting arm and spread his short legs. His body, over five meters tall, burst forth with speed utterly disproportionate to its size. Like an out-of-control heavy truck, he slammed viciously toward Lucas.

TO BE CONTINUED

(PS: Some readers may be wondering why this wasn't the familiar Sai and Boo, and why Chinjao was instead given an original son and daughter-in-law.

The answer is that Sai was twenty-eight in the original work. This story takes place twenty years earlier, so the guy was only eight.

The name Saiwu was obviously made by taking one character from each of the two brothers' names. Brook is a type of herb.)