The Blue Eyed pirates strode through the depths of the island while alternating stories to cheer up the dense mood lingering in the atmosphere. The island was small, yet it was captivating and brimming with life.
The crew plunged through the forest and emerged into the vast city shimmering with lots of bystanders, stores lined in a vertical order while the streets were filled with lots of chatter lingering in the atmosphere.
"Didn't expect the city to be shimmering with life." Vane snorted.
"How low do you think of others? Well, it's a busy city filled with hardworking inhabitants."
"It'll be weird if someone or the navy should disturb these innocent lives—"
Boom!!
A cloud of smoke detonated on the distant horizon, compelling the Blue-Eyed Pirates to recoil in astonishment as they perceived a resonant voice emanating from that precise direction.
"What was that?"
"Let's check it out."
The unknown smoke compelled the people to get startled and gawk in awe, glaring at the vast smoke that polluted the atmosphere from a distance.
"Should it be a good idea for us to scout it out?" Jake said.
"It might be the marines engaging some pirates." Ryuken chimed in.
"A pirate illuminating havoc on a broad day light? Whoever he is, he's absolutely crazy!"
Gojo leaped upwards and dashed at the peak of the buildings built on the city. His crewmates could only sigh, trailing behind their captain on the ground.
The strange voice denoted once more compelling the advancing pirates to be curious.
"Food!!!"
"Food?"
The pirates sprang towards the direction the voice emanated from while their thoughts couldn't channel the speculation.
"Do you think someone is dying because of food?" Jake murmured.
"I don't get it at all. Don't you think we should conceal our identities? The marines might flush themselves into this vicinity."
"There's absolutely no bounds to conceal our uniqueness," Vane shrugged, "the people of this country or island haven't recognised we are wanted pirates."
"Then we'll have to lay low and wait for the Log Pose to reset fully, right?" Ryuken asked his navigator.
Jake ignited a cigarette and slid it between his lips. "Absolutely." He snapped his fingers with a wide smirk plastered on his face.
After a couple minutes of sprinting, Gojo, the captain, caught a firm glimpse of smoke emanating from a local shop in a busy district. "There it is, guys. Let's find out what's happening."
"Hold on." Vane bit his lips as they glanced at their captain hopping into the air without a distinguished stratagem to conceal himself.
"That fool!" Ryuken shrugged, halting in his tracks while gritting his teeth violently. The townsfolk organised themselves in the vicinity stirred by an unknown individual as they caught a fleeting glimpse of a silhouette through the shadow that loomed above their heads.
The townsfolk were utterly stunned and amazed as they tilted their heads above to glance at the unknown figure falling from above.
The crowd erupted in awe as they caught a better glimpse of the unknown snow-white figure, who executed a front flip mid-air before crashing into the floor in a stance reminiscent of Spider-Man—one knee planted firmly on the ground while the other leg was raised aloft.
The dust hovered in the air for a couple of seconds before dissipating, the townsfolk were startled instantaneously and jolted backwards as Gojo rose from the ground.
His crew couldn't halt his strategy any longer since he'd caused a scene and acquired the scrutiny of the townsfolk towards himself. Silence loomed across the air for a brief second as the townsfolk gently declined themselves from the scenario.
Gojo gawked, materializing that the townsfolk would applaud him for his super heroic entrance.
"Heh?"
Gojo felt as though he were on the verge of a heart attack when the realization struck him: despite his elegant physique and undeniably handsome features, the townsfolk had not afforded him even the slightest measure of genuine immersion.
Not a single soul seemed captivated by his presence, nor did they acknowledge the refined aura he had so carefully cultivated. His posture, his attire, his very demeanor—all of it appeared to go utterly unnoticed, as if he were nothing more than a common passerby rather than the striking figure he knew himself to be.
The weight of their indifference pressed upon his chest, each dismissive glance compounding the shock that surged through his veins. How could they remain so impervious to his charm, so unmoved by the meticulous construction of his outward persona?
The question gnawed at him, relentless and bitter, while the town carried on around him in blissful ignorance, leaving Gojo stranded in a sea of quiet, devastating neglect.
His crew chuckled at the scenario unfolding and plunged forward to their captain who was engrossed in a dense mood.
"That's your payback for not strategizing but instead, you charged into the crowd like a perverted cheapskate." Ryuken smirked, a wide grin plastered on his lips as he teased his captain.
"Isn't that a bit too harsh?" Gojo hummed, snapping himself away from the dense mood engulfing him not quite long.
The crew glared at the restaurant, now lying in ruins—its windows shattered, shards of glass glistening across the floor, the entrance completely busted, and the wooden framework grievously splintered. Moreover, through the gaping front entrance, one could clearly see straight to the back of the building, as though some vehicle—or force—had violently crashed straight through it.
"What kind of accident occurred here?" Vane muttered, glaring at the ruined restaurant.
"Since we're here, why don't we head inside? I'm starving."
"Let's go."
The four pirates wandered into the ruined restaurant and stood at the entrance, glaring at the unknown figure sitting on a wooden recliner, a yellow hat crowned on his head as he slammed the fork and spoon in his grasps in a sync.
"Food, food."
The latter exclaimed, swaying his legs sideways.
Gojo and his crew gawked at the scene for a brief moment and contemplated for a minute while glaring at the straw hat the latter was wearing.
'That straw hat looks familiar.' Vane and Gojo pondered before realization dawned on them.
"Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy?"
"Monkey D. Luffy, huh?"
Ryuken unsheathed his sword while Jake extracted his reloaded pistol from his waist. "A pirate?"
"Yeah," Vane hopped backwards, crouching down into a battle stance, contemplating to engage the Rookie who was engrossed in his food.
Luffy clutched his straw hat firmly and leapt backward. Meanwhile, the owner of the restaurant stood frozen, struck with bewilderment and alarm, his hands faltering as they released their grip on the bowl of food. The bowl of food Luffy had ordered a while ago slipped from his trembling fingers and collided violently with the floor, the impact compelling its contents to burst outward and splatter across the entire room in a chaotic mess of broth and scattered ingredients.
"P-P-Pirates?" The owner of the restaurant trembled in fear and crashed into the floor, realizing the pirates are about to wreak havoc in his restaurant and probably caused a mess in town.
"Who the hell are you?" Luffy cracked his knuckles, glaring straight at Gojo who remained familiar to him.
"It's been a while, brat. Or should I say, it's nice to meet you?" Gojo smirked, signaling his crewmates not to engage with the rookie… yet.
Luffy broke his battle stance, a wide grin plastered on his face. "You bastard, you were the pirate who sent me crashing into the surface."
"So? What're you going to do about it?" Gojo extracted both hands from his pockets, "it's still going to produce the exact result since you're way too weak."
Veins bulged Luffy's neck as he charged forward at a decent speed and struck Gojo with his fist. The impact propelled the dust to hover mid-air and compelled the restaurant to reduce to ruins.
The dust around Gojo dissipated in a blur compelling Luffy to be stunned by the scenario he'd just witnessed, provoking him to skate backwards to keep his distance.
"I thought I'd struck you." Luffy muttered.
"I could testify you'll be draining your potency because all your attacks are futile towards me." Gojo chuckled, "why? Because you're… weak!"
"Gear second!"
Luffy slammed his fist against the ground compelling his body to emanate a cloud of burning steam that permeated the whole restaurant.
"What the hell did he just do? How'd his body emanate steam?" Ryuken swallowed hard, gritting his teeth as he glared at Luffy who'd just revealed the powers of his devil fruit. Trying to step in to protect his captain, he failed to realize when he was sent flying outside the restaurant at a decent speed as blood gushed out from his mouth.
"Luffy!!"
He recognized whose voice it was that yelled his name from the far distance causing him to halt his assault from engaging the pirates who stood before him.
"Zoro, huh? Thank goodness they're here." Luffy uttered in a low tone, not shifting his burning gaze from his prey standing a mere metres away from him.
At that meantime, Jake caught a glimpse of a figure dashing towards them with three swords strapped beside his waist. Zoro realized the situation at hand and quickly unsheathed two of his swords to parry the bullets Jake shot at him.
"Two swords style. Flying blade."
Zoro muttered to himself, swinging his swords with fierce precision through the air, he unleashed a devastating slash, one forged entirely from compressed wind, and propelled it with tremendous force directly toward the pirates who'd ambushed their captain.
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