Rosinante Fishing in Troubled Waters / Unlucky

"I see..."

In response to the Sengoku, Rosinante had already made his point very clear: the time would come for the Donquixote Family to meet its end.

"Swallow Island? Our navy will be lying in ambush there beforehand. Doflamingo, that's the end of the story. Don't go near that island. Be careful!"

Sengoku's expression darkened, but he clearly understood that he needed to change his strategy.

"I already have evidence of Doflamingo's dealings with those powerful figures, and I will hand it all over to you later, so that the dark side of the North Blue can be fully exposed to the world!"

Rosinante spoke, but in his heart he felt apologetic towards Sengoku. He had already gotten the result he wanted, so all he could do was apologize to the Navy.

Who was Mr. Corazon contacting via Den Den Mushi...?

Young Luo stared blankly at Rosinante, who was talking to himself, and a bad feeling began to form in his mind.

Could Mr. Corazon be... a member of the Navy?!

Thinking of this, Trafalgar Law suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes, his whole body convulsed involuntarily, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

"Hey! Luo, what's wrong?"

Rosinante, who had been paying attention to Luo, quickly noticed Luo's condition. Before Sengoku could say anything, he hurriedly hung up the phone, picked up the collapsed Luo, and anxiously checked his physical condition.

"Hey!! Wake up! We've finally seen a glimmer of hope, you can't just collapse here!!"

Rosinante was sweating profusely with anxiety. He clearly remembered that it shouldn't have been three years yet. Rosinandi couldn't possibly give up so quickly!

Suddenly, Luo struggled to his feet, gripping Rosinante's broad hand tightly, his eyes looking earnestly at this man who, despite being a complete stranger, had devoted himself to him so deeply.

"The World Government knows perfectly well that lead and platinum are highly toxic, but for the sake of huge profits, it turns a blind eye to our problems and even spreads rumors that Amber Lead Syndrome is contagious..."

"Therefore, the murderer who killed my family and the people of White Town is the World Government!!"

"If Mr. Corazon, you are indeed an accomplice of the World Government —the Navy—then please tell me the truth..."

Corazon's face contorted with rage as he vehemently protested, "Don't talk nonsense! I'm not a Marine!!"

"... That's great..."

Upon hearing this, Luo forced a smile onto his face, which was contorted with pain.

Rosinante sighed inwardly.

If... they were to steal the Op-Op Fruit, not only would they break ties with Doflamingo, but the Navy and the World Government would likely not give up their pursuit of them either. Knowing the true value of the Op-Op Fruit, he clearly understood the crux of the matter.

Time passed quickly, and it was the third day before the transaction of the Op-Op Fruit.

Minion Island, Ghost Town, is a small island located east of Rubeck Island.

This is the temporary base of the Barrel Pirates. They are preparing for the transaction three days from now, and Captain Barluez is shouting and yelling in front of his crew.

"Hey kid, bring me a barrel of liquor!"

"Barluez," a man with a chin that looked like a buttock, shouted at a skinny boy.

"Immediately!"

The boy responded quickly, as if he would be met with a vicious beating if he hesitated even a moment longer.

"Hehe! Do you know how much money you can sell just one of these fruits for?"

With the drinks secured, Barluez took out the Op-Op Fruit he possessed and showed it off to the crew.

"The people from the World Government are absolutely insane! They're willing to pay a staggering 5 billion for something like this!"

"Wow! If we had that kind of money, why would we need to be Pirates?!"

"Hahaha! That's right, that's right..."

The surrounding crew members also shouted excitedly.

"You're really oversimplifying it... If a doctor took this, he would undoubtedly become one of the world's top 'doctors'! Historically, doctors who took it have performed 'miracle surgeries' and cured many difficult and complicated diseases."

"This is a legendary fruit, an irresistible temptation for a doctor, but..."

"This has nothing to do with us. Money is more practical! Hahahaha!"

Barluez held up the Op-Op Fruit in his hand and examined it carefully.

It has a red heart shape and a spiral pattern similar to other Devil Fruit. It's hard to imagine that such a thing is worth 5 billion Beli.

Keep in mind that even the Pirate King Roger's bounty was only 5.5648 billion Beli!

However, Barluez clearly only had a superficial understanding of the Op-Op Fruit's abilities and was completely unaware of Op-Op Fruit true value. This also shows how perfectly the World Government concealed the true power of the Op-Op Fruit!

The Barrel Pirates are still naively immersed in the dream of acquiring 5 billion in wealth, completely unaware that more than one force has their eyes on them. Neither Doflamingo nor the World Government clearly intends to allow the Barrel Pirates to safely complete the transaction of the Op-Op Fruit.

Unbeknownst to all three parties, Rosinante, along with Law, had already quietly approached the vicinity of the Barrel Pirates.

At this point, Minion Island had become the center of a turbulent undercurrent, Barrel Pirates were undoubtedly lambs to the slaughter...

Chapter 169 Rosinante, Fishing in Troubled Waters

Minion Island, Ghost Town.

Not far from the Barrel Pirates' temporary base, a building that looked like a warehouse was suddenly hit by a Rocket Launcher, and the once intact warehouse was instantly torn to pieces.

However, strangely, the massive explosion did not cause any disturbance, as if it existed in a different dimension from the rest of Ghost Town, and naturally did not attract the attention of the Barrel Pirates immediately.

A moment later, a crew member who had come out to use the restroom suddenly exclaimed, "Captain!!! There was a huge explosion in the outer cabin without our knowledge!!"

"What?! What did you say?"

"How could this happen?! An explosion occurred right under our noses and we didn't even make a sound!?"

"What about the things in the warehouse?"

Upon hearing this, the Pirates, who had been happily drinking, suddenly began to shout and yell. That place held all the wealth they had amassed through years of burning, killing, and looting!

Even though they were about to receive 5 billion Beli, they still felt a pang of regret, since they hadn't even received the 5 billion yet, while these treasures truly belonged to their savings.

"Is there an intruder?"

"Hurry and put out the fire! Every little bit helps!"

Barluez also looked anxious, but he still gripped the Op-Op Fruit tightly in his hand.

However, what none of the Pirates present noticed was that a figure dressed in a black haori had quietly slipped into the room.

"..."

Suddenly, the once bright room abruptly darkened, and the light bulbs on the ceiling fell silently. Only scattered shards of glass belatedly fell on Barluez and the others.

"Huh?!? Are there shards of glass broken and lying on the ground?!"

One of the Pirates suddenly touched a shard of glass on his neck and exclaimed in surprise.

Bang!

Just as Barluez was curiously trying to investigate, he suddenly felt a heavy fist land on his face. His mind went blank, and then his hand went empty— the Devil Fruit he had been clutching had vanished!

All of this happened so suddenly and so quietly that the entire Barrel Pirates didn't even have time to react, and their dreams of becoming millionaires were shattered in an instant!

"What happened?!"

"Turn on the lights!"

The shadowy figure disappeared, and everything seemed to return to normal. A series of chaotic footsteps echoed, along with the angry shouts of Pirates...

"The Op-Op Fruit is missing!!? Go get it! That's a 5 billion dollar deal!!!"

On the other side.

Having successfully snatched the Op-Op Fruit, Rosinante, filled with excitement, rushed towards Rosinante's hiding place.

"Mr. Corazon...?!"

Weakened by Amber Lead Syndrome, Luo breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Rosinante gradually run towards him; he had thought he would never see Rosinante again.

"Look, this is the hope that can cure your Amber Lead Syndrome — the Op-Op Fruit!!"

Rosinante looked excited, holding the Op-Op Fruit high in his hand, a childlike, innocent smile on his face.

Although he and Luo Fei were not related by blood, his innate kindness led him to decide to help Luo cure his Amber Lead Syndrome, thus forging an indelible bond with the boy!

"Mr. Corazon, I'm so glad you're safe and sound. I saw the burning house and the gunshots in the distance, and I thought something had happened to you."

It was clearly the gunfire from the Barrel Pirates Pirates after Rosinante's retreat that led Law to misunderstand.

"Hey! This isn't the time to talk about that. We've already obtained the Op-Op Fruit that can save your life!!!"

"Is it true? Can a terminal illness like mine really be cured by just one fruit? I still find it hard to believe..."

Luo's eyes were already somewhat glazed over; the torment from the onset of his illness had left him with little strength even to speak.

"Don't talk nonsense, taking this will definitely cure your Amber Lead Syndrome!!!"

As Rosinante spoke urgently, he stuffed the Op-Op Fruit in his hand into the mouth of the sickly Rosinandi.

"Mmm... mmm..."

"What are you doing... mmm..."

"Hurry up, swallow it all like that!"

Although it's rumored that even eating a small portion of the fruit would grant one the power of Devil Fruit, Rosinante didn't dare risk Law's life to verify this rumor. Therefore, he could only demand that Law eat the entire fruit. In a life-or-death situation, one doesn't need to consider irrelevant things like how delicious it is.

"Phew~"

Luo swallowed the entire fruit with difficulty. Although it tasted much worse than he had imagined, he still ate it as Rosinante had instructed.

Thump!

Suddenly, just as Luo completely swallowed the Op-Op Fruit, Rosinante could no longer support his battered body and collapsed to the ground, but his face showed an extremely gratified expression.

"Great, now you can heal yourself, but... you can't escape Doflamingo's grasp with Op-Op Fruit, you still need..."

As Rosinante spoke, his hands trembled as he reached into his pocket.

"Stop talking, Mr. Corazon!! You're covered in blood!!!"

Looking at the shocking wounds exposed on Rosinante's body, Luo couldn't help but burst into tears.

Although Rosinante managed to steal the Op-Op Fruit without serious injury, he was still hit by stray bullets fired by the Barrel Pirates Pirates his final escape attempt, barely managing to stay upright and avoid collapsing halfway through.

"Don't cry, Law. Listen carefully. I'm asking you a favor. Give this to the Navy. They're on the West Blue of this island. Remember... you must hand it over to them personally!!"

Rosinante handed Ro the intelligence document he had taken from his pocket. He knew that he no longer had any way to help Ro escape the island safely; only by leaving Ro alone could he have any hope of survival.

However, given Law's stubborn nature, he certainly wouldn't abandon him to live alone. Therefore, he could only entrust Law with delivering the intelligence documents that he originally intended to give to Sengoku himself to the Navy, believing that the Navy would definitely rescue Law from Doflamingo.

"Okay!! I promise you, Mr. Corazon, I will definitely find the Navy to rescue you!!!"

Luo practically shouted those words with a sob in his voice.

Rosinante smiled slightly upon hearing this. He knew that as long as Rosinante successfully confronted the Marines, he would definitely survive today, because the Marine who had been pursuing Doflamingo was the famous Vice Admiral Tsuru!

After giving Rosinante some basic first aid to stop the bleeding, Rosinandi ran in the direction Rosinante had indicated.

Soon, a strange navy man carrying a bamboo pole on his back appeared before Law...

Chapter 170 Bad Luck

"Hey! Here, take this, phew..."

Luo walked straight up to the navy man carrying bamboo and handed him the intelligence document, which still held the warmth of Rosinante's body.

"Um?"

This navy officer was none other than Vergo, who had asked Atlas for leave to return to the North Blue. He had come to this island to await orders from Doflamingo, but unexpectedly, a child suddenly appeared and handed him something.

"Ah...!! So it's an intelligence document."

Vergo was initially startled, but quickly regained his composure. He then crouched down, and once he was at eye level with Luo, he asked calmly, "Someone asked you to run an errand, right?"

"... Can I trust you?"

"Of course! I'm a 'Justice' navy officer!"

Vergo gripped the intelligence document in his hand and spoke with an air of righteousness.