Again
The Straw Hat Pirates were all left shaken by what had happened.
That sudden singing had been truly terrifying.
Without realizing it, they had fallen into the trap. They had nearly been wiped out before even discovering where their enemy was.
So when the Merry created a barrier that blocked out the sound, they hurriedly put on earplugs as well, while Ben Tennyson transformed into Stinkfly.
Stinkfly looked like a giant fly and could fly through the sky. At a time like this, sending him out to scout the enemy was the best option.
About seven or eight minutes later, Stinkfly flew back. After Ben changed back to normal, he said, "There's no one else on the sea nearby. Could the sound have come from underwater?"
"Not necessarily. After all, if we keep going a little farther, we'll reach Loguetown, right?" Nami looked out over the surrounding waters. "That smoke guy said he was going to capture us, so they must have prepared for our arrival, right?"
"I feel like that song from earlier sounded really familiar," Luffy said awkwardly.
The reason he had fallen for it so easily was not only because he was simple-minded. The voice had also sounded very familiar to him.
"Why are you acting like this curly-browed cook?" Zoro mocked.
He said that because Sanji had previously claimed that such a beautiful voice must belong to a gorgeous woman. Now Luffy was saying that the voice sounded familiar, which made him sound like some sleazy guy trying to hit on a young girl by saying, "Hey, beautiful, you look really familiar."
"I'm serious!" Luffy raised his voice when he saw that Zoro did not believe him.
Since everyone was wearing earplugs, even though Luffy's expression was exaggerated and he looked like he was shouting, ninety percent of the sound was muffled by the time it reached their ears. His imposing attitude was completely lost.
"Whatever. No matter where the voice came from, we can't exactly turn around now, can we?" Nami had grown both skilled and bold. She stared quietly ahead. "Since we're heading for the Grand Line, we might as well keep going."
Nami was naturally rather timid. In the original story, she, Usopp, and Chopper were even known as the Cowardly Trio. But a person's courage depended on the situation.
Since the world had developed differently, everyone's personality had changed to some extent.
Usopp, for example, had originally been nothing more than a liar who told tall tales. He had also been extremely timid. But in this world, he truly possessed great abilities. And because Hollows and demons had appeared, Usopp had taken on the responsibility of protecting his village. As a result, he had become a very dependable person.
That said…
A person's nature was not easy to change. He still felt afraid when faced with certain dangers, but at least he no longer trembled in terror whenever he encountered something that was not too dangerous.
After all, protecting West Rob Village for so many years had been an incredible accomplishment, and it had involved great danger. Yet he had still done it.
Nami was the same. All her lack of confidence came from her own weakness, and all her fear came from the unknown.
In the original story, Nami was the most indispensable navigator on the ship, but she was also the weakest member in terms of strength. Her weakness was what made her feel frightened and afraid.
Now, however, she possessed tremendous power. Although she had not fully inherited Muzan Kibutsuji's strength, she had still grown much stronger than she had been when she first became a demon.
Her current strength would probably place her second among the former Twelve Kizuki. She should be weaker only than the strongest of them, Kokushibo.
With enough strength came confidence. Naturally, Nami would no longer be scared stiff at the slightest thing as she had been before.
Of course, if they were facing the Navy Headquarters right now, she would still be trembling in fear. But clearly…
A Navy branch was no longer enough to frighten her.
Smoker might be strong, but there were so many of them!
So she did not change their course.
Since they were heading for the Grand Line, they would simply charge straight ahead!
"Nami's right!" Luffy shouted excitedly. "Charge!"
At that moment, the barriers around the Merry slowly disappeared, as though they had run out of power.
The power of the Shikon Jewel shards was not limitless. Once that power was used up, they needed time to recover.
The singing seemed to work the same way. After the barrier disappeared, they could no longer hear the song.
Still, to be safe, they did not remove their earplugs.
"Great! Charge!"
Luffy planted one foot on the bow and shouted with the full authority of a captain!
The Merry immediately sped up to full speed. With the help of the two Shikon Jewel shards, it was even much faster than a warship!
However, no matter how fast the ship was, it still could not outrun sound!
The Merry was not yet capable of breaking the sound barrier!
Buzz~!
Suddenly, a strange noise rang out. The Merry, which had been racing forward at full speed, shook violently. The people who had been expressing their heroic ambitions nearly lost their balance and fell.
Ben had seen the most unusual things among them, so he immediately realized what was happening. He hurriedly shouted, "Watch out! Sonic dolphins are here!"
Sonic dolphins?!
Most of them had barely ever left the East Blue, so they had no idea what sonic dolphins were. Sanji was the exception. He had once been a member of the Vinsmoke family, which was famous throughout the North Blue and had even been recruited by the World Government as one of its affiliated nations.
He had seen sonic dolphins when he was young, but he had never been attacked by them.
Buzz, buzz, buzz…
The attacks continued one after another. The Merry, which Luffy and the others had just badly damaged, was covered in new wounds in the blink of an eye. Usopp's eyes turned red with anger, but he did not even know where the enemy was!
"Sonic dolphins are marine creatures modified with technology. They hide beneath the sea and use sound to attack. They're one of the powerful forces under the Navy Headquarters!" Sanji quickly explained. "They're extremely troublesome in the ocean because they're so agile. We have to leave this area immediately!"
"I want to get away quickly too!" Nami gripped the wheel and turned it with all her strength, but the Merry was not as fast as sound, and it was also difficult to shake off the dolphins, which were incredibly nimble in the sea.
But Nami still had another option. Since the enemy was underwater, Luffy obviously could not attack. Ben had also just transformed once, so he could not help for the time being.
Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp were not very good at fighting in seawater either.
That left only…
"Lightning Strike!"
Nami stretched out her palm. The sky above them darkened, and a thick pillar of lightning suddenly crashed down into the sea near the Merry.
Several more bolts of lightning followed, as though the Thunder God had unleashed his fury.
Then she used her Blood Demon Art!
The lightning swallowed the surrounding waters. Under such a fierce attack, the sharp dolphin cries that had been ringing out nonstop finally disappeared.
But before Nami could even catch her breath, the sounds began again!
"What?!"
Nami was shocked. She had not expected her Blood Demon Art to have so little effect!
"These sonic dolphins have been specially modified. They aren't ordinary dolphins." Sanji's expression darkened. "It looks like the Navy set up this trap around here long ago. If we stay out at sea, we'll only end up dead. For now, it looks like our only choice is to head for Loguetown and take shelter there."
"I can't believe we're being chased away by a bunch of dolphins!" Usopp said helplessly.
"Out of the way! One-Sword Style: Bird of Hell!"
Zoro drew his sword as well. The black blade Dark Moon left its sheath, and a cutting wave spread outward from his rapid slash. The crescent-shaped wave shot from the ship into the sea, slicing open part of the water, but it failed to inflict any meaningful damage.
"That's only natural. These dolphins have extremely sharp senses. They can attack with sound, and they can also use sound to dodge." Ben explained as well. "I'm interested in every unusual life-form in the world, and sonic dolphins are no exception."
These sonic dolphins were weapons produced in the shipyard of an Allied Forces base vehicle. After being produced, they were modified again.
Monster cells, demon cells, and Super Soldier Serum were used to upgrade them, and they were ranked according to their level.
The modifications were not limited to pirates. Many weapons and even human bodies were altered as well. Once the process had become systematic, the World Government divided these modified beings into different levels.
One modification made a Level-One creature. Two modifications made a Level-Two creature. Three modifications made a Level-Three creature.
A single modification meant that the subject had been altered with only one of the available treatments, such as monster cells, demon cells, or Super Soldier Serum. Most of these subjects were human.
A rational life-form like a human could usually undergo no more than two experiments. Very few people could survive three.
Mindless life-forms were much easier to modify. Most of them could undergo all three modifications, and the sonic dolphins were Level-Three life-forms that had received all three.
Of course, modifications cost resources. Monster cells and demon cells were produced in very limited quantities, while making Super Soldier Serum required a large amount of raw material. That was why there were not many Level-Three life-forms.
These Level-Three dolphins were the East Blue's ultimate weapon. Smoker had applied for them in advance, which was why they had been specially sent here.
The Navy Headquarters possessed even more powerful marine life-forms, but a monster of that level was obviously beyond the authority of a branch in one of the four seas to request.
That was why even Nami's lightning had failed to kill them. Their ability to heal themselves at the cellular level was incredibly powerful.
Seeing that even Zoro could do nothing about the dolphins, Nami could only say, "It looks like heading for Loguetown is our only option."
The Merry was in critical condition. Under the dolphins' attacks, they could do nothing but flee in panic.
They were extremely thankful that they had fused the Shikon Jewel shards into the Merry. Otherwise, wouldn't they have died before even getting started?
They had not even reached the Grand Line, and their ship would already have been sunk, sending them to a watery grave.
The thought left everyone looking grim.
Before they had even left the East Blue, the Navy had already taught them a lesson.
Although this was not as overwhelming as their battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, it was even more dangerous. The slightest mistake would mean the destruction of their ship and the deaths of everyone aboard.
"Great! For the sake of the Merry, we have to collect more Shikon Jewel shards!" Luffy declared, adding another goal to their journey.
Everyone rolled their eyes at him. If Shikon Jewel shards were that easy to collect, they would have already been gathered by great pirates on the level of the Four Emperors. Why would there be any left for him?
But they did not say this aloud. It was not the right time. The Merry was still under attack, and they had to reach Loguetown before the ship was sunk, dock it, and let the Shikon Jewel shards slowly repair it.
"Luffy!"
They had not said anything, but a beautiful girl's voice came from Loguetown, which was drawing closer and closer.
"?"
Everyone on the ship froze and instinctively looked at Luffy. Sanji was the first to stick his neck out and look ahead. When he saw a beautiful woman with red-and-white hair waving at them, hearts appeared in his eyes.
The others looked over as well, but they were not nearly as embarrassing as Sanji. Their expressions became serious because the girl was wearing a Navy uniform. They could not see the word "Justice" on her back, but her Navy coat billowed in the sea wind.
"Luffy!" the girl shouted again.
Luffy leaned forward and, when he saw the girl, was overjoyed. Before he could say anything, Sanji approached him with an unfriendly look.
"Luffy, why does this beautiful girl know your name?!"
Luffy answered in a completely matter-of-fact tone, "Because we grew up together."
"Grew… grew up together?!"
Everyone was curious when they heard Luffy. Why was Luffy's childhood friend a member of the Navy?
Before they could ask, Luffy stretched out his arm. Using its elastic power, he launched himself forward and flew straight to Uta.
The two of them embraced. Uta could not help asking,
"Luffy, you really went out to sea and became a pirate?"
Luffy then said something even more shocking.
"Yeah! Uta, come join us!"
Uta pushed Luffy away and shook her head as she looked at Zoro and the others climbing down from the ship.
"No. And I'm going to arrest all of you."
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