"Joy Boy!"
The giant elephant's roar was long and deep.
Inside Luffy's mind, he heard its voice once again.
"You've finally arrived!"
[Stop yelling. My head already hurts.]
Immediately, a wave of thought was sent out, speaking directly to the giant elephant.
After receiving the command, the giant elephant stopped howling for the first time.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Luffy noticed a red figure appearing to the left side of the giant elephant, on the surface of the sea, shrouded in thick mist.
It was a man wearing a red combat bodysuit, with a white cape marked with the number "1".
Vinsmoke Ichiji shot out of the dense fog like a streak of fire and punched the elephant's leg.
His fist released intense flames, leaving a blackened, scorched mark on the side of the elephant's front leg.
Although his attack was powerful, the elephant's enormous size made it look like a child's play.
The giant elephant seemed as if it had merely been bitten by a mosquito.
Despite feeling sharp pain, the elephant did not howl. Joy Boy had ordered it to stop screaming—and it obeyed.
It also did not retaliate.
Ichiji showed no expression. He swung his fist again, flames blazing.
Just as the punch was about to land once more, a figure appeared beside him in a flash and grabbed his wrist.
Ichiji halted and looked at him coldly.
"Straw Hat…"
Luffy tightened his grip on the wrist and smiled.
"That elephant is my friend. What are you planning to do to him, Vinsmoke Ichiji?"
The blazing red battle suit and the curly eyebrows were almost identical in style to Sanji's.
With such a distinctive appearance, he was instantly recognizable.
Ichiji tried to pull his hand free, but the opponent's strength was unbelievable.
"Ichiji! Stop!"
Suddenly, another person flew out of the thick fog.
Luffy glanced sideways.
A woman was also wearing a combat uniform, with the number "0" written on her thighs beneath a pink miniskirt that revealed her chest and navel.
She wore a butterfly-wing-shaped cape and white-and-pink boots.
Vinsmoke Reiju.
Sanji's older sister.
Luffy released Ichiji's wrist.
Ichiji immediately retreated and stood shoulder to shoulder with Reiju.
Both of them had the ability to fly through the air using their battle suits.
Reiju let out a sigh of relief and said:
"Monkey D. Luffy… it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Are you happy?" Luffy raised an eyebrow and asked.
What a strange question.
Reiju was momentarily stunned, then replied:
"If you're asking how happy I am, then naturally, I'm very happy."
"I traveled thousands of kilometers from the North Blue to the New World just for your sake. But I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Then you're far too happy. You casually attacked this elephant. Be grateful it didn't fight back—otherwise, you'd already be dead."
"I'm sorry, it was a misunderstanding. We have a large ship, and it's difficult to avoid such a massive elephant."
Reiju explained quickly. The person in front of her was one of the Yonko—she didn't want to provoke unnecessary hostility.
"My name is Vinsmoke Reiju, and this is my younger brother, Vinsmoke Ichiji."
As she spoke, behind her, the Germa Kingdom—a maritime nation formed by dozens of ships—slowly emerged from the dense fog.
"I know you. You're Sanji's sister and brother… No, he probably still considers you his sister, but that other one likely doesn't acknowledge him."
Luffy raised his right hand and casually waved it downward.
The next moment, Fish-Man Island descended from the sky.
Reiju and Ichiji looked up simultaneously, and Reiju's mouth fell open in shock as she saw the magnificent island floating overhead.
A floating platform extended from the island, with many people standing on it.
"Luffy, is this the giant elephant you were looking for? It's way too big,"
Zoro said in surprise.
Luffy replied:
"Sanji, your sister is here."
"Huh? Sanji's sister?" Chopper said in astonishment.
Upon hearing the word "sister," Sanji's expression changed.
When he saw Reiju and Ichiji in their combat uniforms, his face darkened immediately.
Memories of his childhood suddenly surfaced.
"I don't know them," Sanji lit a cigarette and said lightly.
"Sanji!"
At that moment, Vinsmoke Judge stepped forward with a stern expression in front of the Germa Kingdom's castle.
Behind him were two more princes.
Vinsmoke Niji and Vinsmoke Yonji.
One was Sanji's older brother, and the other his younger brother.
Seeing this, Luffy threw a punch to the side and said:
"Since Sanji says he doesn't know you, then get out of here."
Boom!
The atmosphere shattered, and a massive wave suddenly rose from the sea, surging toward the Germa Kingdom.
The raging sea forced the nation backward, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished into the mist.
As soon as Ichiji moved, he immediately returned to the kingdom to block the waves.
"Sanji…"
Reiju looked at her younger brother from afar and said with a faint smile:
"I'm relieved to see that you're doing well."
With one last glance, she turned and left as well.
Everyone looked at Sanji at the same time.
Franky said in surprise:
"That's Germa 66, a famous family from the North Blue! Sanji, you're from Germa? That's insane."
Seeing everyone's curiosity, Sanji exhaled a ring of smoke and explained:
"That's all in the past. I have nothing to do with them anymore."
"Except for my older sister, Reiju, I don't feel any affection for the others."
"Isn't your sister nice to you?"
Luffy teased.
"She came all the way from the North Blue just to see you. Why don't you go talk to her?"
Hearing that, Sanji's face twitched.
"Luffy, don't even think about getting too involved with her!!"
He was a lecherous man himself—he understood this all too well.
He definitely didn't want to end up calling Luffy "brother-in-law."
"Hahahaha, who do you think I am?"
Luffy laughed and said, "Come on, let's head to the back of this giant elephant. There's a kingdom back there."
He manipulated the floating platform and moved toward the rear of the giant elephant.
The appearance of Germa was just a brief episode. Since Sanji didn't want to talk about it, no one asked further.
"This elephant is really huge. I never imagined animals like this existed in the world!"
"They say it's lived for thousands of years. It kept calling me Joy Boy, and that gave me a headache,"
Luffy said, shaking his head helplessly.
"Huh? You can talk to it?"
Brook asked in shock.
Usopp hurriedly asked, "Chopper, what was it saying?"
"I… I don't understand."
Chopper blinked blankly and said:
"Luffy, can you understand animals?"
"I can."
Hearing that, Chopper was deeply shaken.
He had always had the special ability to "talk to animals" as an interpreter, yet now he couldn't even hear what an elephant was saying.
"Hahaha, don't worry. Look at Shirahoshi—she can communicate with the Sea Kings. Compared to that, what's so strange about you not being able to?"
Luffy laughed.
Thinking about it that way, Chopper felt much better.
"Yeah… um… this giant elephant must be confused too."
Everyone rolled their eyes in unison.
Chopper was far too easy to fool.
(End of Chapter)