The shock and excitement brought about by the reassessment of combat strength lasted for several days among the Straw Hat Pirates. Everyone clearly felt their own transformation and were filled with stronger confidence and anticipation for future adventures. Under the control of Nami and Jinbe, the Thousand Sunny sailed steadily in the latter half of the Grand Line.
On this day, the sky was clear and the sea breeze was gentle. Luffy was having a (one-sided) chaotic fishing competition with Usopp and Chopper, Zoro was polishing his beloved sword on the deck, Sanji was preparing afternoon tea in the kitchen, Franky and Brook were debugging the newly installed " Harmonious Resonance " system Unit-01, Robin was reading an ancient book under a parasol, Ace was taking a nap on the mast.
Allen sat at the bow of the ship, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was constantly familiarizing himself with his enhanced power. At the same time, a wisp of his vast perception still lingered, wary of the faint "noise" deep within the starry sky.
Suddenly, a strange buzzing sound came from the sky. It was neither a bird nor an airplane, but a delicately designed drone, resembling a giant mechanical hummingbird, swooping down toward the Thousand Sunny and hovering in front of the bow.
A beam of light was projected from below the drone, forming the image of a virtual host dressed in a gorgeous gown and sporting an exaggerated smile.
"Congratulations! Lucky sea travelers!" the virtual host announced in a highly enthusiastic tone, "You have won the coveted invitation to participate in this year's ' New World Totto Land Exposition' —or simply ' Expo '!"
" The Expo?" Nami's attention was drawn, and she stepped out of the cabin.
Luffy stopped fooling around and curiously craned his neck to look at the virtual image.
"That's right!" the host continued enthusiastically, "This is a grand event meticulously crafted by the ' King of Festivities,' Lord Buena Festa, bringing together the most advanced technology, culture, cuisine, and martial arts from the New World and even the entire world! The location is the dream island, ' Delta Island '! At that time, extraordinary individuals and powerful forces from all corners of the world will gather together!"
The virtual images began to display a dazzling array of scenes: towering futuristic buildings, bizarre creatures and robots, a dazzling array of goods, and a lively competition...
"There, you can taste delicious food from all over the world!"
"You can witness incredible technological achievements!"
"You can enjoy the most spectacular song and dance performances!"
"Furthermore—you can challenge the strongest warriors from around the world in the ' Multitude Arena ' and win unparalleled glory and huge prizes! Even... you might have the chance to obtain a legendary treasure from Festa's personal collection!"
"Wow--!!!" Luffy's eyes instantly transformed into the shapes of Beli and meat. "This sounds super fun! Lots of delicious food and fun activities! And we can even fight!"
Usopp and Chopper were also drawn to the lively scene, temporarily forgetting the danger.
Franky was very interested in the technology on display. "A super~ expo!"
Brook is looking forward to new performance opportunities.
Sanji, on the other hand, saw hope in the delicious food and beautiful women from all over the world.
Zoro is somewhat interested in challenging strong opponents.
Robin thought this might be a good opportunity to gather intelligence.
Ace also thought it would be good to join in the fun.
Nami, however, astutely grasped the key point. "A huge prize? A legendary treasure?" Her eyes also turned into Beli symbols. "This Expo sounds like it'll make you rich!"
The virtual host concluded, "The invitation includes navigation information. We look forward to witnessing your brilliance on Delta Island! May the revelry be with you!" With that, the image disappeared, the drone dropped a metal cylinder, and then ascended away.
Nami picked up the cylinder, inside which was an exquisite electronic invitation and a permanent Log Pose pointing to " Delta Island ".
"So? Are you going?" Nami waved the pointer in her hand and looked at Luffy.
"Of course I'm going!" Luffy raised his arm without hesitation. "It's decided! Next stop, the Expo!"
"Oh!!!" Usopp and Chopper echoed excitedly.
Allen accepted the invitation and sensed the energy imprint and the direction of the pointer on it. The direction of Delta Island seemed to coincide with some kind of... massive gathering of life energy and complex technological artifact fluctuations. He frowned slightly; such a large-scale event hosted by an unknown figure often meant enormous trouble and turmoil.
"I'm afraid this won't be just a simple celebration," Allen calmly cautioned.
"Trouble is what makes things interesting!" Luffy laughed carelessly.
Ace patted Allen on the shoulder. "Don't worry, cousin, we're pretty strong now! Let's go test our skills!"
Seeing the high spirits of the group, Allen stopped trying to dissuade them. He knew that adventure was the Straw Hat Pirates's destiny.
"Alright," Nami installed the new Log Pose on the dashboard, "Target, Delta Island! Full speed ahead!"
Under her command, the Thousand Sunny turned its bow around and sailed towards the "carnival" that was destined to be anything but peaceful!