Cover Serial: The Heart Pirates, Part 14 - "Whether you stay or come aboard with us is up to you."
Behind them came the girl's heart-wrenching sobs. Law smoked in silence without a word, while Corazon stood with one foot on the gunwale of the small boat, looking back at the tearful girl.
"I'm not going to ask you to come with us. Whether you board this ship or not… every once in a while, you need to make your own decisions!"
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The spirit medium grandmother was surprised to see the two Warlords of the Sea return, but Jolyne Cujoh's next words shocked her even more.
"You're trying to defeat that king, the user with some kind of Zoan ability that turns him into a black dragon, right?"
Ayū froze in astonishment as well.
"That's right," the old woman replied. "He ate the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Black Dragon… But you're Warlords of the Sea. You work for the World Government, so why would you want to fight him?"
Robin glanced at Liam, who stood nearby with his arms folded. Seeing that he had no intention of explaining, she thought for a moment before answering, "Because his mustache is ugly."
Question marks practically floated above the heads of both Ayū and the old woman.
"You seem to know quite a lot," Robin continued. "The Humble Bamboo Alliance that opposes the Black Dragon, the descendants of Burial Flower Valley, and those assassins…"
Her gaze moved between the two of them.
"Could you tell us about them? If I'm not mistaken, you were once part of the resistance against the Black Dragon too."
The spirit medium grandmother fell silent.
Ayū lowered her head, pursing her lips tightly. Then she suddenly blurted out, "Ever since I was born, they've always told me…"
"Ayū!" the old woman barked.
"Grandma, I don't think they're bad people…" Ayū raised her head, looking at Liam and Robin with red, tear-filled eyes. "I don't want to be the last surviving descendant of some royal family. I just want to live with you… Even if we sometimes don't have enough to eat…"
Her frail body began to tremble. Terror filled her face as she clutched her head.
"There's no need to be so nervous," Liam said suddenly. "She already told you, Granny. We're not bad people."
The old woman slowly unclenched her fists and pulled the trembling Ayū into her arms, gently stroking her thin back.
"Ayū used to be optimistic, strong, and cheerful," she said with a heavy sigh. "Then, one day when she was four, she accidentally ate a Devil Fruit that felt more like a curse. The 'nightmares' terrified her…"
Her eyes filled with pain and guilt. She deeply regretted telling the girl those heavy truths when she was so young. Combined with the cruel twist of fate that followed, it had nearly destroyed the child.
Just then, a ghostly wind swept through the straw hut.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of phantoms suddenly materialized. Mountains of white bones surrounded them. Ravens pecked at rotting corpses, while dead bodies lay scattered across vast burial grounds…
The visions were so lifelike they seemed tangible. The corpses had died in terrifying ways, the white bones radiated a deathly chill, and the rotting chunks of flesh silently bore witness to a dreadful past.
Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the apparitions vanished soundlessly, leaving the hut returning to normal.
Robin remained visibly shaken.
'Was this the terrifying illusion that had frightened Ayū so badly?'
A cheerful, energetic four-year-old girl had been haunted by nightmares like these wherever she went. Just imagining what she had endured was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
"So…"
Robin crouched down and gently patted the trembling girl's head.
"You pretend to be foolish because you don't want those people to discover your real identity. And when you stare out at the sea, it's because you want to escape from this place, from the bloodline forced upon you and from those 'nightmares.' Is that right?"
Ayū lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.
"I'm just a selfish coward," she muttered. "You can laugh at me now…"
"Yeah, it is pretty laughable," Liam chimed in from across the room.
The spirit medium grandmother narrowed her eyes at him.
Ayū's head sank even lower. Robin sighed softly and gently cupped the girl's cheeks.
As Ayū looked away through tear-filled eyes, Robin winked, raising one finger to her lips with a secret smile.
"I used to be a selfish coward too, and now I'm his favorite person… Shh. Let him finish."
Ayū looked up at Giorno.
Liam stuck out his tongue and mocked, "What 'nightmares'? You just never learned how to control your Phantom-Phantom Fruit. Calling them nightmares makes it sound way more impressive than it actually is. Tch!"
Ayū looked a little hurt, but mostly confused.
"The Phantom-Phantom Fruit?"
She knew the nightmares tormenting her had started after she accidentally ate a strange fruit, but she had never known what it actually was. Terrified of the ability, she had never dared face it directly, instinctively suppressing her power rather than displaying it.
Although Kano Country wasn't completely isolated from the outside world, Devil Fruits were still legendary treasures of the sea, not something common. The spirit medium grandmother had never seen a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia either, so she understood little about A'Yu's power. Since the girl was terrified of the phantoms, the old woman could hardly force her to summon them just to investigate. As a result, years had passed without Ayū ever developing her powers or understanding what they could do.
Robin took the visor from B.I.B. and pulled up its memory of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Scrolling to the Paramecia section, she quickly located the entry for the Phantom-Phantom Fruit.
Still crouching, she placed her hands on Ayū's thin shoulders. The girl couldn't see the visor covering Robin's face, so she simply looked into her eyes and listened.
"The Phantom-Phantom Fruit is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Its user can recreate people, creatures, and objects from the past as phantoms. However, there are certain restrictions. Some users must touch an image of whatever they wish to manifest, while others only need to have seen it before.
"One thing remains constant: the manifested phantoms cannot last long, nor can the user control them. They behave exactly as their original selves did. But since phantoms are just illusions, they can't cause any real physical damage."
The encyclopedia entry was brief, so Robin translated it into simpler terms as she read, making sure Ayū could follow.
Robin removed the visor, and it floated back to B.I.B., clicking seamlessly into place.
"It sounds a lot like the ability of an 'Ancient Scholar', summoning projections from the gaps of history…" the armor calmly remarked to its master.
That was an ability from the novel 'Lord of the Mysteries'.
Liam shook his head. "Those projections can actually fight, but you can't talk to them. This ability seems to be the exact opposite, it can summon terrifying things all over the place, but they have zero combat power."
In truth, the Phantom-Phantom Fruit belonged to the green-haired songstress from the movie 'Stampede'. But since Liam had arrived in this world too early, he had never seen that film, and B.I.B. naturally had no record of it.
Ayū stared blankly after listening to Robin. She looked down at her hands.
"Then those corpses…"
"You must have visited a place like that once," Robin explained, stroking her head. "Something there traumatized you and caused your powers to go out of control, recreating what you saw as phantoms. Just like when your fear caused you to manifest the phantom of the Black Dragon…"
That had happened shortly after Liam and Robin arrived in Kano Country. After they casually helped Sienna deal with the Blue Armored Dragon Banner Army, the terrified Ayū had released the phantom of a black dragon from her body.
"Give it a try. You should be able to create phantoms intentionally now. Once you learn to use your power freely, there'll be nothing left to fear," Robin said gently.
Long ago, she too had believed her Flower-Flower Fruit was a curse, that she really was a monster, just as the other children had called her. Part of her early interest in history had come from wanting to be closer to Professor Clover and the scholars, the only people who treated her kindly. But she had also wanted to find out if she truly was a monster.
Later, Saul had told her it was simply a Devil Fruit ability. That was all it was. There was no reason to hate it.
Ayū hesitated, but under Robin's encouraging gaze, she took a deep breath. After several attempts, she finally managed to summon a phantom on purpose.
"ROOOAARRR!"
A lifelike black dragon twisted through the tiny straw hut. It was far too enormous to fit inside, but because it was merely an illusion, it passed harmlessly through the walls without damaging them.
The Black Dragon roared as it circled overhead, its massive dark-gold eyes cold and indifferent.
Ayū fought down her fear, clutching Robin's sleeve tightly. Looking up at the terrifying beast, she murmured, "I've never actually seen the Black Dragon… I only saw the king from really far away…"
Robin and Liam studied the phantom.
It really did function exactly as the encyclopedia described. The phantoms created by the Phantom-Phantom Fruit couldn't be controlled by the user, they were merely projections of the original subjects, behaving however the original had behaved.
The Black Dragon writhed through the hut, letting out a long roar before opening its jaws and unleashing a raging torrent of water.
..................
"ROOOAARRR!"
In Water City, the capital, the citizens suddenly heard a furious dragon's roar echoing from the distance.
Countless people in the streets raised their heads toward the mountains beyond the inner capital. There, the towering shadow of a black dragon soared into the sky.
"It's the king…"
"His Majesty the Black Dragon…"
"The king is furious…"
Many citizens dropped to their knees, bowing heads to the ground in prayer.
...
At the Eight Treasures Navy's stronghold near Water City, the sailors practicing Hasshoken froze at the distant roar and turned to look.
Sai was sparring with old man Chinjao. Ever since Chinjao's drill-shaped head had been restored, his fighting spirit burned brighter than ever, and he had taken to using Sai as a convenient punching bag under the excuse of "training his beloved grandson."
Hearing the faint roar, Chinjao and Sai both stopped and stared at the horizon.
"That came from Water City, didn't it?" Sai asked, rubbing his bruised face.
"The Black Dragon is angry?" Chinjao murmured in surprise. "How is that possible?"
With the Black Dragon's strength, he wouldn't bat an eye at a few assassins from the Humble Bamboo Alliance. What could possibly enrage him like this?
What on earth had happened?
"Could it have something to do with those two…?" Tian stood on the roof of the stronghold's tallest building, gazing toward Water City. "Giorno and Jolyne Cujoh… Or are there still members of the Humble Bamboo Alliance alive?"
...
"Remnants of the Demon Alliance! Your treacherous ambitions still haven't died!"
The black Divine Dragon writhed through the clouds above Water City, releasing another furious roar.
Below, countless citizens prostrated themselves throughout the capital's streets, worshipping their king like a god.
The black dragon's head emerged from the thick clouds, staring down at the densely packed ants below as rage blazed in its heart.
..................
"Did you hear that?"
The Headless Monster suddenly spoke as they ran.
They had been moving at full speed, deep within a desolate mountain range.
Sienna paused and glanced back. Only then did she notice a pair of delicate ears had sprouted inside the hollows above the Headless Monster's collarbones.
Kento looked back, or rather, his headless body turned around, and slowed his pace. A ventriloquized voice echoed from beneath his clothes.
"It sounded like a dragon's roar…"
"A dragon's roar?"
Sienna turned back around and kept moving.
"Sounds like he's throwing a tantrum."
Despite her words, there was no satisfaction in her tone, only a deep, lingering sorrow.
Kento followed her, puzzled by her reaction.
"You'll understand soon," Sienna said softly. "We'll tell you everything."
She led Kento across the mountains, stopping before the entrance of a hidden cave concealed by thick vines.
"We're here. This is the way in."
Sienna pushed aside the vines and slipped inside.
Since they were almost there, Robin didn't press for answers. She controlled Kento remotely, making him follow Sienna into the dark passage.
The tunnel sloped deeper and deeper underground, the ambient light fading quickly. Walking ahead, Sienna pulled out a fire striker and lit a small flame, barely illuminating the rocky path.
Kento strode silently behind her while Robin carefully memorized the route.
The cave didn't follow a straight line. They passed several forks along the way, and each time, Sienna navigated the tunnels without hesitation, though Robin couldn't spot any visible markings on the stone walls.
Controlling Kento remotely through her devil fruit powers, Robin could clearly tell they weren't just moving forward, they were descending deep underground.
They were easily over a hundred meters below the surface now, and several kilometers from the entrance.
As Robin analyzed their location, the ears sprouted on Kento's collarbone picked up Sienna's voice.
"We're here."
Kento straightened his posture, and the eyes Robin had grown on his chest looked into a brighter underground cavern.
Several candles burned along the damp stone walls, casting flickering light across the space.
From the depths of the cavern came the heavy clatter of chains and a woman's hoarse, furious cursing.
"You damned mute! Are you deaf too?! Let me go!"
"Sienna! Ryudo! You heartless bastards! How dare you do this to me?! How could you do this to your own family?!"
Her voice was raspy; she had clearly been screaming for a long time.
...
Sienna trembled slightly before walking deeper into the cavern, Kento following close behind.
"Big Sister…" Sienna called out with a bitter, painful smile.
Kento turned toward the stone wall at the back of the cavern. A middle-aged woman was bound to a thick stone pillar with heavy chains.
Standing before her was the short, mute old thief Robin had met earlier.
The old man had his head lowered dejectedly under the woman's tirade, but hearing Sienna's voice, he whipped his head up.
Seeing that she had actually returned, his cloudy eyes flooded with tears. He began making muffled, desperate sounds, gesturing frantically with his hands.
The chained woman had wildly disheveled hair. Spotting Sienna, she immediately scanned the darkness behind her, ignoring the Headless Monster as if searching for someone else.
"Where's Ryudo?!" she demanded hoarsely.
"Big Sister…" Sienna said, her voice cracking. "You know this was the only way."
Kōren thrashed against the pillar, making the heavy chains rattle violently.
"You're going to leave me alive while the two of you run off to die?! You bastards! Both of you are bastards, just like that bastard from back then!"
Tears spilled down Sienna's face.
"If the two of us die, so be it. But you can't die, Big Sister. You raised Ryudo and me. You were our sister and our mother. How could we let you sacrifice yourself?
"Besides… you're the strongest among us, and the last true successor of the Humble Bamboo Alliance. Keeping you alive is the only way to preserve the alliance's final hope…"
"Idiots! You utter bastards!"
Kōren wept as she cursed. Sienna rushed forward, and the two women clung to each other, sobbing.
Kento suddenly spoke, interrupting the scene.
"Kōren, sworn sister of Lily. That's you, isn't it? How much do you know about what happened to Lily before she left Kano Country?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Kōren froze against the pillar, and the mute old man beside her began trembling as if struck by lightning.
Pure rage flared in Kōren's eyes. She looked ready to hurl herself at the Headless Monster and tear him apart with her teeth.
"Who gave you permission to speak that woman's name in front of me?!"
(End of Chapter)
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