Episode 318: Well then, how about we welcome the new era together?
〜One Piece World〜
On the Going Merry—
Sanji squatted behind Luffy, vigorously rubbing Luffy's head, his eyes filled with envy and jealousy as he said,
"Luffy, oh Luffy, how do you have such incredible luck!"
Luffy smiled and said,
"I didn't expect her to give me the key either. It seems she's on our side. Although I don't know what will happen in the future, I never thought I'd become good friends with the her!"
Luffy had a look of innocent ignorance, completely unaware of what this actually meant.
As soon as he said this, everyone on the ship fell silent.
Even Chopper was much more mature than Luffy when it came to romance. Thinking about it, the Empress's affection for Luffy was probably entirely one-sided. Luffy might not even view her as a girl at all!
Nami looked at the Empress on the screen, who was currently immersed in her own joy, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
This Empress was probably in for some bad luck. To go as far as offending the Marines for Luffy's sake—once this battle was over, her future days would likely not be peaceful.
—
『 How could Smoker possibly let Luffy walk away so easily? His body instantly turned into a cloud of smoke as he rapidly pursued Luffy.
Meanwhile, Luffy was just running forward with his head down, completely failing to notice the danger behind him.
Seeing Smoker's movement, the Empress was instantly filled with rage. In a flash, she appeared in front of Smoker and kicked out.
"Perfume Femur—!"
This kick struck Smoker's weapon. Fortunately, it hit the weapon; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable!
Smoker looked at his weapon, which had been touched by the Empress and was now petrified. His expression became highly panicked as cracks immediately appeared on the weapon, and it began to shatter.
"Marines, this mistress will not allow you to pass through here. I will ensure Luffy's safety! Whoever dares to force their way through, prepare to forfeit your life!"
Smoker's expression became extremely serious. The person in front of him was not only a Warlord of the Sea, but judging from her performance just now, her ability happened to counter his perfectly. If they continued to fight, he would likely only suffer a loss.
"Hancock, you actually dare to obstruct the Marines? Do you know what kind of price you will pay for this?"
The Empress sneered, and then a smug look appeared on her face.
"No matter what this concubine does, she will be forgiven! Because this concubine… is beautiful beyond compare!"
What an utterly irrefutable reason!
Some people are beautiful but unaware of it, whereas the Empress knew exactly how charming she was and knew precisely how to exploit it.
As soon as these words were spoken, the Marine soldiers in front of her actually nodded their heads involuntarily, agreeing with her words.
Faced with the crowd's reaction and the Empress's overwhelming confidence, Smoker was temporarily left speechless.
He did not continue to attack because the chances of winning in a clash against the Empress were slim, and it would only result in vain casualties!
He looked toward the figure still running behind the Empress, knowing in his heart that although Luffy was strong, the people guarding the headquarters ahead were also extremely troublesome characters! 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "Though she's a bit strange, she really is a very beautiful older sister." ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "I always feel like something is a bit off." ]
[ Akainu (One Piece): "This fellow…" ]
[ .....]
『 Luffy kept charging forward.
He saw Ivankov and Doflamingo facing off against each other.
The two were currently at a standstill. Ivankov did not believe what Doflamingo was saying.
"You say Kuma is dead? Then who is this person in front of us? Stop talking nonsense!"
Seeing Ivankov standing in front of Kuma, and Kuma assuming a stance ready to attack, Luffy hastily yelled out a warning, "Be careful, Iva-chan!"
Recalling the dangerous consequences of being attacked by Kuma made him incredibly tense.
He remembered back on Sabaody Archipelago, he and the Straw Hat crew had disappeared one by one just because they were touched by Kuma's palms!
However, in response to his warning, Ivankov comforted him in a gentle tone, saying, "Don't worry, it's fine. Kuma-boy, please step aside."
This made Luffy highly astonished, and he questioned, "Do you know who this is?"
"We could be considered acquaintances, but I always feel like something is not quite right!"
The lenses of his red glasses reflected the two figures in the conversation. Doflamingo, wearing a bizarre smile, said, "It seems you are all quite familiar with this Kuma. But now, he is completely different from how he used to be."
Luffy asked with a face full of confusion, "Completely different? What does that mean?"
Ivankov similarly raised his voice to explain, "Although his state is very off, he is undoubtedly still the user of the Paw-Paw Fruit. Other than the original guy, who else in this world could have such power?"
"Answer me, Kuma! It's really quite a headache that you won't say a single word!"
The corners of Doflamingo's mouth curled up as he mocked, "No matter how you talk to him, it's useless. Just a few days ago, the government's researcher, Dr. Vegapunk, finally completed the modification of his body. This individual has already become a pure weapon!" 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Haibara Ai (Detective Conan): "Body… modification?" ]
[ Tartaglia (Genshin Impact): "This really isn't a good thing, I must say." ]
[ Tartaglia (Genshin Impact): "At the very least, the 'Doctor' I know isn't any kind of good person." ]
[ Il Dottore (Genshin Impact): "….." ]
[ Accelerator (A Certain Magical Index): "Hmph, trash is just trash, only capable of creating trashy trash." ]
[ Rudol von Stroheim (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure): "As expected, no matter what world it is, they will always be interested in this kind of thing." ]
[ Hongo Takeshi (Kamen Rider): "A cyborg..." ]
[ .....]
『 Immediately after, Doflamingo continued speaking.
"And he didn't just participate in the modification; he actively volunteered his own body to be the test subject!"
"Starting from his arms, all the way to his feet, all the changes were carried out while he was fully conscious!"
Hearing these words, Ivankov was consumed by rage.
Perhaps others didn't know the inside story, but as a pirate and a member of the Revolutionary Army, how could Kuma have willingly accepted such a body modification?
"Absolute nonsense! Kuma hated the government more than anyone!"
While Ivankov was explaining, Kuma had already targeted him.
However, he had not launched an attack just yet.
Doflamingo turned around to leave the scene, believing Kuma alone was enough to handle all the challenges here.
As he walked, he said, "No matter how angry you are at me, it won't change the facts. As for what kind of deal Kuma made with the government, I don't know."
"Let me tell you another secret. A few days ago, he still retained his own consciousness, but now he is just a mindless monster working for the Marines!"
"His current codename is Pacifista PX-0. Feel free to fight him with all you've got!"
At this moment, Kuma was gathering a massive amount of energy, causing even the surrounding air to distort and deform. Seeing that the situation was bad, Ivankov hastily pushed Luffy away as a beam of light flashed right past the space between them.
WHOOSH—!
A massive explosion echoed in the distance.
Where the red light flashed, it was as if a mountain-like block of ice had melted into paper and dissipated.
Witnessing this scene, Doflamingo showed a smug look and said, "Yes, just like that."
Ivankov, who had originally intended to approach Kuma and try to talk to him to explain the truth, suddenly found that the giant's towering figure had vanished in an instant.
Just as he was feeling bewildered, he heard bursts of panicked cries not far away. Turning his head, he saw that Kuma had actually appeared on the other side.
Kuma removed his glove. This familiar action had once caused countless enemies to vanish into thin air.
"Everyone, be extremely careful! Do not touch that thing!"
The pirates who received the warning immediately raised their vigilance.
Just as they prepared themselves to face the impending attack, they heard Kuma slowly utter three words—'Pad Ho.'
A dazzling ball of energy gradually formed in his palm. He had previously easily destroyed the giant Little Oars Jr. with this, so one could well imagine how strong its destructive power was.
Sure enough, this move was equally terrifying in power, easily repelling all the pirates and penetrating the bodies of several of them, causing fatal injuries.
Realizing the situation was extremely critical, Ivankov immediately stepped forward to block him and shouted, "FACE SPECTRUM—!"
In an instant, it was as if multiple clones appeared. Although the faces were extremely horrifying, the effect was quite good. Even Naruto, who was usually tough, couldn't help but gag in disgust!
"This is not a blow in the ordinary sense…"
"But a mental-level offensive similar to a charm technique!"
However, none of this mattered to Kuma. In his eyes, Ivankov was merely a target that needed to be eliminated.
Kuma, standing still, turned his head left and right, seemingly very confused as to why so many identical targets had appeared…
Ivankov's giant head occupied the entire screen. This scene was practically a visual disaster, emitting a bizarre impact that made everyone in front of the screen find it somewhat hard to bear!
"GALAXY WINK—!"
Countless clones winked in unison, and the winks struck Kuma's body simultaneously. Accompanied by continuous loud rumblings, this former Warlord of the Sea was finally injured!
However…
Despite being sent flying and ultimately crashing heavily into a distant iceberg, there was not a single trace of pain on his expression.
As if nothing had happened, he stood back up. Though he looked a bit disheveled, his gaze remained locked onto Ivankov.
"How dare you lay a hand on my angel-like boys! I will absolutely not let you off easily!"
"Take my kick!"
Although Ivankov's appearance was not very imposing, his combat power was extremely shocking!
His body, which seemed much smaller than Bartholomew Kuma's, was actually able to violently kick Kuma away with a single strike.
On the battlefield, everyone was stunned.
On the pirates' side—
"Truly powerful!"
"As expected of Lord Ivankov!"
Meanwhile, the Marines were filled with terror. Could it be that even the incredibly strong Kuma couldn't stop them?
Ivankov had a serious face.
He knew that the pirates here wouldn't be of any help in this fight and might instead get caught in the crossfire.
He directed the crowd to go aid Luffy, while he would deal with Kuma alone.
Although they were once comrades in the Revolutionary Army, now he could only treat him as an enemy!
"Thank you, Iva-chan!"
Luffy ran off into the distance.
At this moment, several Marines stood on the ice, their faces full of confusion.
They had been pursuing a small squad of pirates who were sneakily heading toward Marine Headquarters, but they had been easily discovered.
Under the commander's instructions, this Marine squad came to search. However, shortly after spotting the pirates' figures, following an explosion, those people vanished without a trace.
"How strange!"
"Was this place always like this before?"
"This is the edge of the battlefield, surrounded by Mr. Aokiji's ice. How could those guys disappear right under our noses?"
The crowd searched around. When one Marine touched the iceberg behind him, he suddenly found that this iceberg was not only not cold, but actually carried a bit of warmth!
"There's something fishy here!"
In an instant, all the nearby Marines gathered around.
Hiding here was precisely a group of pirates discussing tactics.
As for the specific plan, there were only two points in total: First, Captain Buggy is invincible under heaven; second, Buggy is a genius. In reality, nothing had actually been decided.
But there was one point Buggy was very clear on—he did not want Luffy to take all the spotlight. Thus, he directly pulled back the tent curtain, intending to head in Luffy's direction.
As soon as the tent opened, these pirates instantly froze.
Here…
It actually was…
Surrounding them was a ring of Marines, all standing in tight formation, ready to fire at any moment.
The two sides stared at each other for a few seconds. Buggy moved swiftly, and everyone immediately charged, attempting to break through the encirclement.
"Captain Buggy's world-shaking great battle begins now!"
"I will shock the entire world, so you guys act according to plan and don't mess up!"
On the other side—
Crocodile looked around and found that the crowd had mostly dispersed, with only a few people still holding him down. Meanwhile, Whitebeard stood alone on the deck. If he wanted to do something, this was probably the best opportunity.
However, his neck was currently held at knifepoint, looking completely under control. How could he possibly still have the mind to attack Whitebeard?
Yet, in the next instant, his body turned into flowing sand, slipping through the palms of the two pirates. Immediately after, he gave each of them a punch, directly stripping them of their combat capability.
"Oh no! Crocodile has escaped!"
Hearing the news, the pirates immediately swarmed in this direction.
Escape? This word was practically a joke to Crocodile.
He swung a fist, whipping up a massive storm around the rushing pirates. This whirlwind carried fine sand and pirates, spinning continuously, and then violently slammed them onto the ground.
Even if these guys didn't faint, they were already left dizzy and lightheaded by this move!
"No one can stand in my way!" Crocodile roared, and then closed in on Whitebeard.
Whitebeard clearly noticed the movement here. He glanced at Crocodile, his gaze filled with contempt.
"This fellow is really making quite a fuss, as if he fears the world might be at peace."
Clearly, Whitebeard didn't care about this at all, treating it like watching a child throw a tantrum.
Just as expected, right when Crocodile was about to attack, another figure suddenly appeared in front of him. That person's body was as hard as steel, crashing straight over, instantly causing Crocodile to spit out blood.
This person's eyes burned with murderous intent, unlike that rubber kid who had held back.
This collision sent Crocodile flying back dozens of meters. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he muttered with a face full of surprise, "To think such a massive body could still move so fast. As expected of a division commander under Whitebeard!"
Seeing this, Jozu was prepared to launch another attack, but suddenly found an extra figure on his back.
Doflamingo was currently standing on the shoulder of Jozu, who had turned into a diamond. Everyone felt a surge of worry—last time, this guy had silently severed Oars's leg.
What did he want to do this time?
At this moment, half of Jozu's body had petrified into a protective shield, while the other half still had an opening.
However, Doflamingo did not greet Jozu. Instead, he looked down at Crocodile on the ground and sneered, "Isn't this one of the Warlords? Failed in your attempt to assassinate Whitebeard? And got yourself injured? May I ask, what does the taste of this boiling blood feel like?"
What blatant mockery!
Crocodile was consumed by rage and retorted, "Shut your mouth, mind your own business!"
"Tsk, tsk, you can't even speak clearly. How about we cooperate?" Doflamingo continued to provoke.
Crocodile revealed a sliver of a smile. At this moment, blood was still dripping down his face—a wound left by Diamond Jozu's punch just now.
He knew very well that as long as a powerhouse like Jozu was by Whitebeard's side, it would be extremely difficult for him to challenge Whitebeard head-on, let alone eliminate him!
But to join forces with someone else? Especially to cooperate with this Doflamingo?
His lips curled with disdain.
This freak is also worthy of fighting alongside me!
"You want to ally with me?"
"Yes, think about it. The era of old-fashioned pirates like Whitebeard holding power has passed. The future sea will not belong to any weaklings or old men. In this era of continuous chaos, power is the root of everything!"
"So, do you want to board the train of the new era?"
Doflamingo understood that what the new era weeded out was not just Whitebeard, but also all the imprints of the old era—the Four Emperors, the Marines, and even the Warlords!
"What do you think? This suggestion is pretty good, right? Although you no longer hold that title, you are still viewed as a member of the Warlords!"
Jozu didn't dare to move at all at this moment. He constantly felt as if Doflamingo's hand was like a blade resting against his neck. This guy was truly too terrifying. What if he failed to react in time? 』
『 .....』