Fist Bone: Heaven-Falling Meteor!

While the G-2 Branch held an emergency meeting, the other powers across the seas also turned their attention to the auction a week away.

The Grand Line, Paradise, the waters near Thriller Bark.

A five-meter-tall giant stood aboard a large ship with a Tyrannosaurus figurehead, beating out the flames still clinging to his clothes as he stared fixedly at a ship sailing away in the distance.

Hanafuda was in a heavy mood. By now, he had spent a long time hunting Fire Fist Ace.

At first, he could easily defeat Fire Fist Ace, but as time passed, Fire Fist Ace grew stronger at a visible rate. Now, he could even hurt Hanafuda.

Hanafuda couldn't help worrying whether he would still be able to defeat Fire Fist Ace the next time they met... or whether Fire Fist Ace would defeat him!

"Purururu-purururu-"

The Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang. Hanafuda answered it, and Kaido's voice came from the other end. "Worororo, my brother, I've got good news for you!"

Hearing his big brother Kaido's voice, Hanafuda finally felt some of the weight lift from his heart. "Oh, big brother Kaido, what good news?"

"A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit is going up for auction on the Gran Tesoro in a week! My good brother, go snatch that fruit for me. I want it!"

"A Mythical Zoan!" Hanafuda was somewhat shocked, but he agreed without hesitation. "Don't worry, big brother Kaido. That fruit can only belong to our Beasts Pirates!"

Just as Rayleigh firmly believed in Roger, Hanafuda firmly believed that his big brother Kaido could become the Pirate King!

So he would stake his life on completing the task Kaido had given him!

A week later, an incomparably massive ship, the Gran Tesoro, was anchored on the sea not far from the coast of the Alabasta Kingdom.

The Gran Tesoro was ten kilometers long. Rather than a ship, it was more like a city floating on the ocean.

The Gran Tesoro was the world's largest entertainment venue and an independent country recognized by the World Government.

And all of this relied on the unparalleled wealth of the Gran Tesoro's owner, Gild Tesoro.

It was said that this ship alone controlled twenty percent of the world's Beli!

The Orange was a long way from the Gran Tesoro, cruising around it.

At such a distance, even a giant warship would have been reduced to a tiny speck, yet the Gran Tesoro still filled most of Nami's field of vision. Its glittering golden light made her eyes shine.

When Nami came to her senses, she immediately trotted over to Ivan, wrapped her arms around his arm, and shook it.

"Hey, Ivan, let's go have a look around the Gran Tesoro too. It's the world's biggest entertainment venue! Wouldn't it be such a shame not to see it?"

Ivan shook his head and refused. "No. We have to protect Saint Rosward today. The Gran Tesoro will be anchored in these waters for a week, so we can look around tomorrow."

Nami pouted, her face full of displeasure. She folded her arms and muttered,

"Why protect those awful Celestial Dragons? We'd be better off taking the chance to look around the Gran Tesoro! Ivan, you've changed. I remember you didn't like the Celestial Dragons!"

Ivan smiled but didn't answer.

He hadn't changed. Before, he had only talked about it, but this time he intended to take action himself!

By now, the original body should have infiltrated the Gran Tesoro, right?

There were three ways to enter the Gran Tesoro: landing by airship, entering via the pier, or arriving by boat.

But Ivan chose none of them. He chose a fourth way!

Whenever the Gran Tesoro anchored, it put on a song and dance performance before officially opening for business to liven up the atmosphere.

Judging by the sounds ahead, the performance had already begun.

Ivan was a little behind, but he didn't care. Still taking his time, he walked across the river water mixed with gold dust and entered the Gran Tesoro at a leisurely pace through the tunnel meant for boats.

His objective was clear, and the opening performance wasn't part of it.

Since the Gran Tesoro had just opened for business, boats passed through the tunnel from time to time.

Ivan's unusual act of walking on the water drew quite a few people's attention.

Of course, in their eyes, his ability to walk on water meant he was a Devil Fruit User.

Devil Fruit Users were quite intimidating in the first half of the Grand Line. Most boats steered clear of Ivan, not daring to approach for fear of angering him.

Of course, there was never any shortage of reckless men among pirates. A heavily bearded man spotted Ivan and said irritably,

"Damn it, that guy can walk on water? I won't let anyone show off more than me. Aim the cannons at him and fire! I want him dead!"

Beside him stood a short dwarf, who said timidly, "But boss, that guy can walk on water. He's probably a Devil Fruit User. Do we really want to provoke him?"

The bearded man suddenly reached out, seized the dwarf by the head, and lifted him in front of his face. "Damn it," he said with a vicious grin, "don't make me say it twice!"

The dwarf was terrified. He immediately ordered the men to set up cannon after cannon and aim them at Ivan.

Quite a few people witnessed the scene, naturally including plenty of pirates.

Unlike the people aboard the merchant ships, these pirates showed no fear at all. Instead, they began egging him on.

"Go on, beardy! Kill him! If you can't kill him, I'll look down on you!"

"That's right! He's just a Devil Fruit User. Aren't you one too?"

Their words made the bearded man throw back his head and laugh. He liked being the center of attention. "Boys, fire!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A continuous barrage thundered out. More than a dozen cannonballs struck the water around Ivan, sending torrents surging outward and sweeping everything nearby into the sea.

Seeing this, the bearded man nodded in satisfaction. "Hahaha! As a Devil Fruit User, that guy's bound to drown after falling into the sea, even if the cannonballs didn't blow him to death!"

But then he heard his dwarf first mate say in a trembling voice, "Boss, up... up there!"

"What's up there?" The bearded man looked up and saw the man in the fox mask from before plummeting from the sky like a meteor.

His fist was wreathed in black light as he shouted,

"Fist Bone: Heaven-Falling Meteor!"

The figure crashed down with immense force, like a meteor from beyond the heavens striking a great river.

The bearded man directly beneath Ivan didn't even have time to scream before his body shattered piece by piece under the immense force.

The dwarf pirate and the henchmen beside him were like foam swept up in a gale, instantly reduced to a spray of blood.

With a tremendous crash, the entire pirate ship was torn into a storm of splintered wood, which scattered across the rippling golden waterway along with shredded flesh and blood.

The force churned the rushing river, suddenly raising towering waves dozens of meters high. They roared toward the surrounding pirate ships, scaring the pirates who had been jeering out of their wits.

In an instant, the clamorous golden waterway fell deathly silent.

When Ivan's figure hovered above the waterway once more, not a single pirate dared step forward to provoke him. They didn't even dare breathe too loudly.

After an unknown amount of time, a great pirate with a bounty of 120 million Beli suddenly cried out in terror,

"Aaah! I remember now! He's that most wicked criminal, the pirate Supernova Fox!"