Not long ago, aboard the Sunny, a group of people were staring at a rubbing of the Poneglyph in front of them.
"Tra-guy, is this the Road Poneglyph that leads to the final island? What does it even mean?"
The text and symbols, resembling incomprehensible scribbles, gave the Straw Hats a headache. On their past journeys, they had seen a few Poneglyphs before, but without Nico Robin on the ship, no one had ever collected any information from them.
Even though they had learned from Law that reaching Laugh Tale required the Road Poneglyphs, they still couldn't read them.
Being able to obtain a complete Road Poneglyph and escape unscathed was already something to thank the heavens for. The last one who had secretly taken a rubbing of Big Mom's Road Poneglyph and gotten away safely was Roger, the Pirate King himself.
The only difference was that Roger could borrow a translator. Luffy couldn't find one now.
Not to mention Luffy, even Law couldn't make heads or tails of what was written on the Road Poneglyph.
"I don't know. I only know this is essential information for getting there, but I don't know how to translate it either. I've heard that once members of the Three-Eye Tribe awaken, they can understand the true meaning of the text. Maybe your cook knows something."
Law had gathered far more information than the Straw Hats and knew just a little more, barely enough to offer some views with actual substance.
"Of course, that's just speculation. Big Mom wouldn't give you that kind of information.
Speaking of Poneglyphs, they're something the World Government has always tried to conceal. According to some intelligence I've gathered over the years, the destruction of the holy land of knowledge Ohara back then was related to this."
Law was in the middle of continuing his lecture, but when he turned around, only a single beetle was still listening to him.
The rest had already embodied their habit of listening to only half of what was said and had gathered behind Sanji.
At this moment, Sanji himself seemed to have come down with a very special case of lovesickness, leaning over the railing and gazing toward the direction of Whole Cake Island.
Pudding hadn't taken away this part of his memories. Although he had still chosen to continue sailing with his companions, it meant that everything that had happened over the past few days remained vivid in his mind, impossible to forget.
He didn't even pay attention to the noisy sounds behind him. After all, there was never a shortage of people who lived for amusement on this ship.
"Sanji-kun, Sanji-kun, what are you thinking about?"
"Pudding-chan?! No, wait—Bon Kurei! Get serious!"
During their time on Whole Cake Island, Bon Kurei had encountered quite a few faces, which allowed his Clone-Clone Fruit to store even more memories. The only problem was that he couldn't transform his clothes along with his body.
When someone is love-obsessed, their intelligence temporarily drops.
But when it concerns their love interest, that intelligence can also temporarily increase.
The current Sanji's ability to distinguish outfits was on par with Brock's. He wouldn't mistake such an obvious difference.
With a slap of his hand across his face, Bon Kurei reverted to his original appearance.
"Can't be helped, you were ignoring us. That expression you had just now was way too memorable."
As he spoke, Bon Kurei transformed into Sanji again, doing his best to imitate his expression, pulling Sanji back into the Straw Hat's usual vibe.
"How would I know about something like that?! But is Pudding-chan's ability really that amazing? That's incredible. By the way, you can turn into Pudding's appearance. Can't you imitate her ability too?"
"Unfortunately, my ability can only imitate appearances. I can't obtain the other person's racial abilities. If you really want to talk about it, that tanuki beside Red Count should be able to do it.
The portraits he draws seem to possess more comprehensive abilities. I remember that Bon-chan is quite close with him."
Devil Fruit abilities have their limits. No matter how much you develop the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, its effects can't compare to the Ton-Ton Fruit.
Take someone like Corazon's Calm-Calm Fruit, for example. Its ability is merely soundproofing, preventing sound from being transmitted by creating sound-insulating barriers. It doesn't erase vibrations altogether. That's simply not something the Calm-Calm Fruit can do.
At present, Bon Kurei's Clone-Clone Fruit ability only allows him to imitate appearances. Perhaps if it were developed to the level of awakening, it might bring some changes, but for now, it's merely a Devil Fruit that can only alter outward form, unable even to copy clothing.
"Actually, there's no need to go through all that trouble. Wano Country has a Poneglyph, and the text engraved on it is the inherited script of the Kozuki family. Our young lord should be able to translate those words."
Kin'emon took the opportunity to interject. They hadn't forgotten their own young lord; it was just that, judging by the Straw Hats sailing route, who knew when they would finally reach Wano Country. So Kin'emon tried to give them a little push.
But even if he hadn't said anything, Wano Country was a path Luffy was bound to take. The reason was simple: he wanted to become the Pirate King.
To become the Pirate King, one must go to Laugh Tale and complete the voyage. To reach Laugh Tale, one must find the Road Poneglyphs, and Kaido possessed one of them.
The goal wouldn't change; only the process and methods would. Compared to Kin'emon, who was single-mindedly focused on saving his lord, Law was far calmer.
After all, Law's goal wasn't to become the Pirate King, but revenge. He had no intention of charging headlong to his death without preparation.
"Straw Hat-ya, I have to remind you, what kind of monster Big Mom is, you've already seen for yourself. Kaido will only be even more terrifying.
Besides that, there's also his daughter, the Oni Princess on that island, the former Marine Admiral Kuzan, and a vice-captain who's even more of a monster than a monster.
A coincidence like today won't happen a second time. If something goes wrong there, then it's truly over."
"Yeah, I know. That's why we should figure out how to retreat before going in."
As soon as those words were spoken, the Sunny suddenly fell silent. Apart from the sound of waves slapping against the hull, the only thing left was Zoro's snoring.
There was no other reason; it was just too abnormal. No matter how you looked at it, those words shouldn't have come out of Luffy's mouth. Many people were so shocked they couldn't hold onto what they had in their hands. Usopp's slingshot, Chopper's cotton candy, and other items all fell to the deck without anyone noticing.
The most eye-catching of all were the black canister and armband that slipped from Sanji's hands.
"That's… Germa's transformation device! Sanji, transform for us! Let us see what your mecha looks like! Is it a gorilla? Or an antelope or something? Hurry up and use it!"
Stars sparkling in his eyes, Luffy completely forgot what he had just said, which finally let everyone on the ship breathe a sigh of relief. Chopper abandoned the idea of checking Luffy's brain, and Hercules also walked back toward the ship's storage.
Looks like those pickaxes still needed maintenance. Throwing them away too early wouldn't be appropriate. After that, Kin'emon was forgotten altogether, and Sanji once again became the center of attention, being urged to show off his combat suit.
Law didn't state his opinion, but he, too, stared at Sanji with keen interest. He was also a manga fan and had a bit of an obsession with transformations.
"I refuse! Don't even think about it! I'm not using that thing! If you like it so much, you can take it and play with it yourselves!"
[You win. I won't appear before you again, and I won't bother anyone connected to you.]
[Do your best, Sanji. Don't let me see you again too soon.]
Those were the final words of Judge and Sora. Thinking of them, Sanji felt even more resistant toward Germa's technology and tossed it aside.
And that gave Chopper and the others their chance. Who wouldn't want to be a Kamen Rider, even if they couldn't actually use the device without Germa bloodline? It didn't stop them from striking poses anyway.
"According to the comic, No. 3 should be Germa's Stealth Black, with the ability of invisibility. Black Leg-ya, you really don't want to give it a try?"
Law's last shred of dignity wouldn't allow him to step forward and imitate them himself. He could only restrain the urge to comment on how completely unstandardized Chopper and the others' poses were. At the same time, he genuinely wanted to see a real transformation, so his gaze once again returned to Sanji, the rightful owner.
"Yeah, Sanji, this thing is SUPER awesome. Just use it and let me study it a bit."
Franky, standing to the side, also became interested for technical reasons and tried to persuade Sanji to transform. To be honest, the word "invisibility" alone had already tempted Sanji, but after shaking his head, he forced himself to overcome that desire and flatly refused them. Still, his eyes began to drift toward the combat suit's transformation device from time to time.
To be frank, Kin'emon's heart was filled with despair. During their time sailing together, he had come to realize one thing clearly. Kaido was terrifying.
Most people on the seas wouldn't even dare think of challenging Kaido, let alone offending him. Being able to run into a group this easy to talk into things was already no small feat, yet their goals were completely different from his own.
While things were getting somewhat chaotic below, Zoro was still fast asleep up on the lookout tower. His usual sleep time was from four in the morning to seven, and he handled most of the night watch duties himself.
Because he always slept so late, he would use the daytime to catch up on sleep whenever there was nothing to do.
It was at this moment that a rift suddenly opened in front of him, and a sharp blade swung out from within.
Zoro, who had been asleep just moments before, jolted awake and rolled sideways. When he stood up again, his weapons were already in his hands.
"Who's there?!"
A tall figure was now standing before him, offering no answer to Zoro's question.
Under the moonlight, Zoro could only see two eyes glowing like will-o'-the-wisps. A seamless purple helmet concealed the person's face, with only a few strands of hair visible from the sides.
"A woman?"
The curves in front of him made the person's gender obvious. Before Zoro could figure out why a woman had suddenly attacked him, the second wave of attacks had already arrived.
A sharp blade grazed his forehead, sending several strands of hair falling with the surge of sword energy.
"Two Sword Style • Rhino Rampage!"
Seeing that the opponent was serious, Zoro didn't waste any words. He set his twin blades into a horn-like stance and slashed forward.
The lookout tower on the Sunny was fairly spacious. It was ormally large enough for Zoro to use as a gym, where he could swing massive dumbbells at will, but as an arena for a swordsman's duel, it felt incredibly cramped.
Yet even in such a narrow space, Zoro's slash missed.
"Two Sword Style • Nigiri!"
Using both swords, he spun and slashed to the side. In an extremely short period, Zoro changed his technique, spinning around to block his blind spot.
His swords clashed against that purple longsword. For some reason, Zoro felt as though his opponent was smiling.
Using the force of the clash, Zoro pulled back to create some distance, then lifted his twin blades upward, slashing twice from below in a reverse grip.
"Two Sword Style • Nigiri • Tower Climb!"
As he swung his blades, Zoro leapt into the air, then used the force of his descent to slash twice more.
"Two Sword Style • Nigiri • Tower Climb Return!"
Crack!
Zoro's twin blades were caught. The opponent then twisted both arms slightly to the side, and guided by that force, Zoro's arms were pulled into a tilt, his weapons crossing into an X shape.
It wasn't that he couldn't overpower it; he simply hadn't resisted much. He had only ever seen this style of swordplay used by one person.
"Kuina?!"
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