The Unforgiven from Shinigami
The people who came out of the cabin were, of course, Shiraishi and Retsu Unohana.
When the Straw Hat Pirates saw the two of them, they all became wary.
It can't be said that everyone has become vigilant; for example, Luffy doesn't seem to have any awareness of what it means to be a captain.
Seeing the two of them dressed so strangely, Luffy became curious instead.
Just by seeing Shiraishi and the others' outfits, Luffy already had the urge to recruit them, or rather, he had already taken action.
"Are you two on our ship to become our partners?"
Seeing Luffy's excited expression, Nami quickly covered Luffy mouth to prevent him from saying anything more.
She could stop Luffy, but she couldn't stop Sanji.
When Sanji saw Retsu Unohana, such a beautiful woman, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
[To be honest, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to read and follow my favorite books lately. It has easy source switching, a variety of reading voice options, and works on both Android and Apple devices.]
Sanji is now standing next to Retsu Unohana.
"Miss, you must have gotten lost and joined the wrong tour group? No problem..."
Before Sanji could finish speaking, Nami kicked him away.
Nami is furious! With such an unreliable captain and cook, she's really worried about the future of their pirate crew!
However, in the next moment, Shiraishi took out an enormous gold brick from his interdimensional ring.
Nami tapped her fingernail against the gold brick, producing a crisp sound. Upon hearing this sound, Nami's expression changed, and she immediately turned her head.
Shiraishi tossed the gold brick toward Nami.
Nami, being a money-grubber, had already recognized the sound of gold. She quickly caught the gold brick, her expression changing repeatedly.
From initial wariness to current fawning, Nami's eyes seem to radiate wealth whenever she looks at Shiraishi.
"Is there anything we can help you with? The Straw Hat Pirates will do everything in our power to assist you!"
Seeing Nami's hypocritical attitude, Shiraishi also spoke up.
"We two need to head to the Grand Line, so consider this gold brick as our lodging fee. The Straw Hat Pirates have no objections, right?"
Upon hearing Shiraishi's words, Nami nodded hurriedly, afraid that these two money-makers would run away.
Sanji, who had been kicked away by Nami, sprang to his feet the moment he heard that the beautiful woman wanted to stay.
The next moment, Sanji, having somehow found a rose, stood in front of Retsu Unohana with it in his mouth.
He spoke to Retsu Unohana with deep affection.
"Beautiful lady, may I know your name?"
But at that moment, Zoro couldn't hold back any longer and kicked Sanji away.
"What kind of lecherous cook are you? They're already on the boat, and you're still acting like this!"
Sanji was kicked away, but he immediately jumped back. However, his clothes were now tattered after being hit twice.
Sanji's face contorted with rage as he roared, "Moss Head, how dare you ruin my perfect image in front of a beautiful lady? Do you want to die?"
Just as the two were about to fight, Shiraishi used his hand as a sword and slashed forward.
The next moment, a slash shot out from his hand.
The slash didn't stop at all; it grew larger and larger as it crashed down towards the sea behind the ship.
The slash unleashed two colossal waves, a sight that Zoro, aiming to become the world's greatest swordsman, witnessed with astonishment.
He just stood there dumbfounded, not even seeing Sanji's flying kick.
Usopp, who originally possessed some cleverness, turned pale and his legs trembled after seeing the slash that Shiraishi unleashed.
And so the entire Straw Hat Pirates accepted Shiraishi and his companion.
Shiraishi rarely comes to the world of One Piece, and he is eager to see its scenery.
But he still remembered why he came to this world: it was for Aizen, who had escaped to this world.
If Aizen isn't captured, it's unlikely that Shiraishi can even live a peaceful life in this world.
Aizen is far too terrifying; Shiraishi simply cannot let him go unchecked.
On the Going Merry, a few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Soon a red continent appeared on the horizon.
Nami, standing on the ship's railing, was overjoyed to see the Red Line.
"This is the beginning of the Grand Line, Reverse Mountain. Passing through here will take us to the Grand Line."
The entire Straw Hat Pirates became lively and bustling.
But there was one person who wasn't very interested, namely Sanji.
Because he discovered that Retsu Unohana was already married, and her husband was Shiraishi.
This significant discovery left Sanji feeling helpless; despite his lustful nature, he would never show excessive fervor towards married women.
Of course, he obtained this fact at a terrible price.
Retsu Unohana, faced with this persistent pest, simply drew her sword Bankai.
In that instant, Sanji felt as if his entire body had been pierced by a thousand swords. Even the beautiful woman in front of him Retsu Unohana, seemed to have turned into a monster with half of her body being a skeleton. Then he lost consciousness.
But when he woke up on the deck, Sanji found that he was completely unharmed, as if the real pain had never existed.
Then, Sanji came to the extremely cruel truth that was about to happen to him.
Of all the people who have benefited the most in these past few days, Zoro is the one who has gained the most.
After all, Shiraishi and Retsu Unohana are arguably the most formidable swordsmen in the world of One Piece.
A few casual words of advice were enough to greatly benefit Zoro, who had not yet reached the level of cutting through the void.
Of course, Zoro spent most of his time following Shiraishi around seeking guidance, Retsu Unohana had been there before as well.
But after only seeking guidance once, Zoro never dared to go again.
Because Retsu Unohana's teaching method is to first kill someone half to death, then heal them, and then continue killing them.
After seeking advice once, Zoro never went back.
Although he was incredibly passionate about swordsmanship, he was not a masochist.
Finding the Shiraishi Cult is not the same as seeking a cult; why bother experiencing the feeling of death?
Luffy has been in an extremely excited state for the past few days, eager to recruit Shiraishi and the other two as their partners.
But all of them were rejected.
Soon, the Red Line appeared in front of the Going Merry.
Nami also stood beside Shiraishi and said with a reluctant expression.
"Brother Shiraishi, are we going to part ways once we reach the Grand Line?"
Of all the people who have spent these past few days together, Nami is the one who is most reluctant to part ways.
After all, gold was nothing to Shiraishi. The thought of such a wealthy man leaving her Nami feel like her heart was bleeding.
We'll see!
Shiraishi murmured to himself, gazing silently at the distant Red Line, seemingly trying to find traces of Aizen through it.
Hearing Nami's question, Luffy looked quite dejected, after all, he hadn't managed to get these two people onto his ship for so many days.
The thought of losing two crew members after reaching the Grand Line made Luffy anything but happy.
The Going Merry sailed up the Reverse Mountain along the ocean current, then plunged down.
Retsu Unohana frowned, as if sensing something, and gripped her Zanpakuto, looking very alert.
At this moment, in the sea lane ahead of the Going Merry, a huge black figure was shrouded in white clouds.
Breaking through the clouds and mist, a giant whale completely blocked the seaway.
The easily frightened Usopp, upon seeing such a massive whale, burst into tears and snot, his legs trembling uncontrollably, screaming, "I'm doomed! How could I encounter such a huge Sea Kings?"
Even Nami looked serious, trying to steer the Going Merry to avoid it.
Only Luffy, upon seeing the enormous whale, jumped up in excitement.
"Such a huge whale, that's so cool!"
The moment Shiraishi saw the whale, memories flooded back into his mind.
Looking at the enormous whale, Laboon, which was as large as a mountain.
Shiraishi was also quite moved, after all, such a huge creature was rare in the Shinigami world, but it was commonplace in the pirate world.
When Retsu Unohana saw the whale blocking her way, she was about to draw her Zanpakuto when Shiraishi stopped her.
"No need to intervene, everything will be fine."
The whale Laboon drew closer and closer, and as it approached the vicinity of the Going Merry, it opened its Kog'Maw.
Usopp was so scared that he rolled around on the ground until he rolled next to Zoro, who was training.
He was knocked unconscious by Zoro's punch.
"Brother Shiraishi, aren't you going to make a move?"
Sanji said this in the kitchen; after spending a few days together, they had become quite familiar with each other.
Retsu Unohana was quite satisfied with Sanji, her easy-going subordinate, especially his cooking skills. At least in Soul Society, there was no one as dedicated to cooking as Sanji.
"No need to intervene, we'll be fine."
Upon hearing Shiraishi's calm opening remarks, everyone on the ship fell silent.
Once inside the whale's mouth, all light disappeared, and everyone felt as if darkness had fallen.
But soon, a bright light appeared in front of the Going Merry.
The surrounding environment gradually brightened.
The Going Merry continued its journey forward.
Luffy entered the whale's belly without feeling panicked; instead, he leaned excitedly against the ship's railing.
"An adventure inside a whale's belly, how exciting!"
Upon hearing Luffy's words, Usopp, who had been hiding on the ground with his hands covering his head and his eyes closed in fear, slowly opened his eyes.
Just then, holding binoculars and looking at Nami in front of him, he spoke up in great surprise.
There's actually a small island up ahead.
In Nami's eyes, she also saw that there was actually a small house built on that island.
Luffy hearing Nami's words, Luffy immediately jumped up, leaping onto the sail and looking in the direction Nami had just been looking.
"There really is a small island! Let's head there!"
On that small island, a middle-aged man with a strong physique and a beard, who was reading a newspaper, was sitting in a sun lounger.
The middle-aged man seemed to sense something, sat up from his sun lounger, and looked in the direction of the Going Merry.
The middle-aged man muttered to himself.
" Laboon has swallowed another person up."
However, after only glancing at it, the man lowered his head again and continued reading his newspaper.
After seeing the entire island, everyone on the Going Merry was quite amazed.
I never imagined that a house could actually be built on such a small island, especially inside the belly of a whale.
The Going Merry came to a stop a few dozen meters ahead.
On the island, there was a sun lounger with an older man sitting on it reading a newspaper.
When Usopp saw the older man and noticed his hairstyle, he burst out laughing.
"This uncle has a flower on his head!"
As soon as Usopp said that, the middle-aged man stared at him with an extremely sharp gaze.
An aura instantly locked onto them.
The Straw Hat Pirates felt as if they were being watched by a ferocious beast, a chill running down their spines.
"You people better get out of here right now. You're not welcome here. If you don't leave, people will die."
Hearing this sentence, accompanied by eyes as fierce as a tiger.
The entire Straw Hat Pirates began to panic.
Of the entire ship, only Shiraishi and his companion remained calm.
The moment Shiraishi saw the big tree, his memories were triggered again. The distinctive hairstyle reminded him that this was Crocus, the doctor of the Pirate King Roger.
Meanwhile, Retsu Unohana frowned slightly. This guy seemed to be much stronger than Luffy.
She was mentally prepared to protect these energetic young people should anything happen.
But the next moment Usopp yelled at Crocus.
"Old man, who do you think will die?! We're pirates, we have cannons on our ship, don't try to scare us!"
Crocus didn't even look up, simply uttering a few words.
"I!"
Upon hearing this, the entire Straw Hat Pirates relaxed.
Startled, Sanji was the first to yell.
"So you were talking about yourself, old man!"
The Going Merry drew closer and closer, but gradually changed course, intending to find an exit from elsewhere.
Just as the ship passed the island, Shiraishi saw Crocus's hand reach for the newspaper, and a familiar figure appeared.
Sōsuke Aizen!
Retsu Unohana also saw the photo, and her eyes sharpened.
The next moment, the two of them jumped off the boat and onto the small island.
Crocus saw the two men leap over, but he didn't stand up, remaining like an old man who had seen through the illusions of the world. "What brings you two here?"
Shiraishi said to Crocus, "Sir, would you be willing to let us see the newspaper you're holding?"
Retsu Unohana's eyes were also fixed on the newspaper in Crocus's hand.
Her hand was already Zanpakuto; if Crocus refused, Retsu Unohana would simply draw her sword and snatch it.