BANG!
The sharp crack of a high-caliber rifle echoed across the water.
A bullet shot through the air at an astonishing speed, piercing straight into Franky's chest with a sickening thud.
The sudden, unprovoked attack left everyone stunned, the celebratory air from moments before instantly replaced by a thick, suffocating tension.
"Da… damn it," Franky grunted, stumbling back a step.
Despite the excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay standing.
His massive body swayed unsteadily—clearly, the wound was severe.
Even so, he instinctively clutched his chest and muttered in pained relief.
"Thank the SUPER heavens I'm a full-body cyborg… or that shot would've been the end of me!"
The Straw Hat Pirates immediately gathered around him, their eyes darting with fury toward the source of the gunfire.
From the shore, five imposing figures were slowly approaching.
One of them, a man with an unnaturally long rifle, calmly lowered his weapon—clearly the shooter.
Another was slumped over a half-dead horse, his own sickly aura making him look like he wasn't far from death himself.
The remaining three grinned menacingly as they strode forward, their shadows stretching long in the afternoon sun.
Luffy's face, which had been confused and angry moments before, now hardened into a mask of pure, cold rage.
"Who the hell are you?!" he shouted, his voice low and dangerous.
"ZEHAHAHAHAHA!" The man at the center of the group, a massive, barrel-chested individual with a gap-toothed grin, laughed boisterously.
"Monkey D. Luffy! It's a real pleasure to meet ya. Let me introduce myself—I'm Marshall D. Teach. But you can call me Blackbeard! I'm the man who's gonna capture you!"
Pointing at the men behind him with a theatrical flourish, he added.
"And these fine gentlemen are my crewmates."
A cold, ambitious glint flashed in Teach's eyes as he stared straight at Luffy, his voice laced with a fanatical madness.
"Didn't plan on coming after a small fry like you at first, But it turns out Ace is your brother! Zehahahaha! Can you believe it? The heavens are truly on my side!"
He seemed to spiral into a frenzy, laughing wildly as he threw his hands up to the sky.
"Fate brought us together, Straw Hat! This is destiny! The gods themselves want me to capture you and use your bounty to become a Shichibukai!"
The air around them seemed to freeze.
The Straw Hat Pirates exchanged uneasy glances, unsure how to react to this sudden, insane turn of events.
Zoro's hand tightened on the hilts of his three swords, his eyes narrowed to a slit.
Sanji stepped protectively in front of Nami, his leg already tensed to strike.
And hiding in the shadows of a nearby building, his heart pounding in his chest, Usopp trembled in fear.
The Going Merry had burned, and his pride had driven him from his friends, but he had been secretly keeping an eye on them, hoping, praying for a chance to rejoin the crew… and now this.
"Hmph! I don't care who you are," Luffy said, his voice quiet but unwavering as he clenched his fists.
"If you mess with my friends, I'll make you regret it!"
Hearing the word "friends," Franky who's still clutching his chest, was so moved he nearly cried.
"Hah! Big talk for such a little man!" Teach sneered. "But none of you are getting away from here today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take action.
Instantly, the tense atmosphere shattered, and the battle erupted.
...
In every corner of the world, a piece of news was spreading like wildfire.
From the bustling cities of the Four Blues to the most remote islands of the Grand Line, whether they were pirates, marines, or ordinary civilians, everyone was captivated by a single, shocking revelation.
The Supernovas, in their chaotic race for money, had made sure the word spread.
An unprecedented deal was on the table.
For just three billion Berries, one could purchase the power of any Devil Fruit.
And if one was willing to pay a staggering ten billion, they could become a Dual-Fruit Ability user.
The moment this news broke, it sent shockwaves across the entire sea.
For countless people, becoming a Devil Fruit user was a dream they longed to fulfill.
Now, such an opportunity had actually appeared.
People began frantically scrambling for funds.
Merchants sold their businesses, nobles emptied their treasuries, and pirates began a new, frantic era of plunder, all hoping to seize this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The news was made all the more believable by the recent Battle of Marineford.
Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors, had his bounty skyrocket to seven billion, effectively becoming the new, unofficial Pirate King in the eyes of the public.
And the reason for his overwhelming power was now common knowledge: he had demonstrated the unparalleled might of wielding three Devil Fruits.
This fact made everyone even more convinced that possessing multiple abilities was the key to invincibility.
For a time, the entire ocean was plunged into an unprecedented turmoil, a global gold rush for power.
****
Sabaody Archipelago.
The sea was littered with the wreckage of smoldering ships, the air thick with the distinct scent of gunpowder.
"Please, spare us! We'll give you all our money! Just let us live!"
On the deck of a crippled pirate ship, several terrified crew members knelt, raising their meager savings in trembling hands, hoping to trade their pitiful wealth for a sliver of mercy.
"KEHAHAHAHA! How annoying!" Eustass Kid stood on the deck of his own warship, a cold, cruel smirk on his lips.
He raised a massive cannon made of scrap metal, and without hesitation, aimed it at the helpless vessel.
With a deafening BOOM, the cannonball struck its target dead-on, instantly reducing it to a blazing inferno.
"Hmph. Killing you doesn't change the fact that your money is mine now," Kid said coldly before waving his hand.
A group of his subordinates immediately rushed toward the wreckage, efficiently scavenging the scattered valuables.
Killer stood to the side, observing everything.
He glanced at his captain with a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
"Kid... is it really believable that ten billion Belly can make someone a Dual-Fruit Ability user?" The question had clearly been weighing on him.
"Even if it's fake," Kid smirked, his eyes gleaming with a cunning, cynical light.
"It has to be real now."
He knew that in this world where the strong prey on the weak, power was everything.
Then, he continued to explain his plan.
"We've already spread this news to every corner of the world, Killer. Soon, everyone who has ever craved power will know that the Whitebeard Pirates are selling Devil Fruits."
His grin widened, becoming truly maniacal.
"If what they claim isn't true, then we won't even have to lift a finger. All the other pirates who bankrupted themselves for this chance, all the greedy kings and ambitious warlords… they will all unite against them out of pure rage and disappointment. By then, even someone as powerful as Whitebeard won't be able to withstand the pressure from the entire world."
Killer stared at his captain, a new sense of awe dawning in his eyes.
He had used the world's own greed as a weapon, creating a situation where the Whitebeard Pirates would lose, no matter what they did.
This wasn't just brute force.
This was true, terrifying cunning.
-----------------------------
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