On the empty main street of Loguetown, two figures cloaked in long robes strolled through the rain, their wide hoods concealing their faces in an aura of profound mystery.
"Pirates, huh? Heh, that's not a bad path!" the taller of the mysterious pair muttered to himself.
At that, the slimmer figure beside him let out a disdainful snort and said in a low voice, "Tch, with the way he is, he thinks he can become the Pirate King? What a load of hot air. That hat's totally wasted on him." Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale's song, utterly pleasing to the ear. But judging by her tone, she seemed to harbor a deep grudge against Luffy's straw hat.
"Hey, hey, is he really your biological son? How come he doesn't look anything like you? Huh? Actually, you don't look much like your old man either. Is this some kind of racial trait of your D clan or what? …"
The mysterious woman's thoughts began to wander, her words gradually veering off into the absurd. The taller figure didn't respond, simply continuing to walk silently through the rain—likely long accustomed to her chatterbox tendencies.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating half the heavens. In that flash, a red tattoo on the left cheek of the taller mysterious figure gleamed for an instant before vanishing.
Near the harbor, Luffy and Sanji were sprinting through the downpour. Suddenly, a sleek, badass motorcycle appeared on the street ahead, parked beside a tall man with white hair who stood defiant in the storm, exuding the aura of a one-man army holding the line against ten thousand.
Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke, fixing his gaze on the two. "So you've come, Straw Hat Luffy," he said coldly.
Looking up at the electric serpents writhing in the sky, Sherlock's figure slowly materialized on the otherwise deserted street. He glanced back to confirm no Marines were in pursuit, letting out a long sigh of relief. But then a searing pain flared up in his back, making him grimace.
Sherlock had taken a solid hit from Smoker's jitte right to the back—it felt like his organs had shifted. On top of that, prolonged use of his Devil Fruit ability was incredibly draining. Even with physical conditioning far beyond the average person, he was starting to feel utterly spent.
"This massive storm… and now internal injuries on top of it. Things are looking pretty dicey," Sherlock muttered, pushing up his glasses. Just then, the sound of an argument drifted from ahead.
"Don't you dare imitate her, you fake woman!"
"Actually, the one you're talking about is the fake!"
"What kind of nonsense is this woman spouting?!"
"Sounds like a man and a woman… a couple fighting?" Sherlock extended his hand. With a thought, a transparent mirror materialized above his palm.
—Shadow-Transmitting Mirror: capable of viewing distant scenes.
Moments later, ripples spread across the mirror's surface, revealing the far-off spectacle.
To his surprise, Sherlock recognized both parties in the quarrel: the klutzy female Marine who could trip on flat ground, and the green-haired swordsman with the inspection glasses. The two were going at it hammer and tongs amid the raging storm, while a group of bewildered Marines stood at a distance.
"Marines, huh? Better go around." Time was precious. Sherlock pulled his hood tighter and dashed toward another road.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy roared, his fists raining down on Smoker like a tempest. The onslaught was thunderous, but utterly ineffective.
"You're worth 30 million berries?!" Smoker turned into smoke, enveloping Luffy. A massive hand clamped down on the straw-hatted head.
"Argh, damn it!" No matter how Luffy thrashed or punched and kicked, he couldn't break free from the White Hunter's grip.
"White Blow!" Smoker shot into the sky with the captive Luffy, then slammed him mercilessly into the ground. Luffy grunted, his face mashed against the pavement as Smoker pinned his head down.
Smoker sat atop Luffy and said coolly, "Hmph, your luck's run out, Straw Hat kid!" He reached back for the jitte strapped to his back, intent on executing the Straw Hat pirate right there.
But a powerful hand clamped down on the jitte's handle.
"Not necessarily!" a deep voice rang out.
Smoker looked up. At that moment, another electric serpent slashed across the sky, clearly illuminating the newcomer's stern face and red tattoo.
Smoker's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Watching Sanji locked in fierce combat with the Marines on the shore, Nami was beside herself with worry. The waters were riddled with reefs, and the storm was ferocious—there was no way to dock the ship.
"Damn it, there are too many Marines. I'll cover Sanji!" With that, Usopp leaped into the churning sea, shedding his usual cowardly demeanor.
After Usopp left, Nami was alone struggling to control the entire ship in the storm. She bit her lip, her beautiful eyes filled with anxiety as she silently prayed, Everyone, please be safe!
When Sherlock, enduring his injuries, finally reached the seaside, this was the scene that greeted him.
The sky still poured rain, thunder rumbling incessantly. Far out, a goat-headed sailing ship was battling the raging waves. A long-nosed guy was flailing in the water, firing a slingshot toward the shore. On the beach, Sanji—in his black suit—was locked in combat with a swarm of Marines, his kicks whipping like the wind, elegant and fluid. But the endless waves of enemies kept him pinned.
To avoid trouble, Sherlock quickly activated his invisibility. As he scanned the area for a usable boat, a ferocious gust of wind suddenly erupted, sweeping through all of Loguetown. In an instant, sand and stones flew, thunder and rain seemed to freeze—only the wild, untamed wind howled through every street in town.
"What the hell?!" Sherlock cried out in shock.
The wind was so violent that it lifted Sherlock clean off his feet. He spun through the air and crashed hard into a nearby pillar, stars exploding before his eyes. He nearly blacked out. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he instinctively wrapped his arms around the pillar.
The ferocious gale raged for what felt like an eternity before finally dying down. The downpour resumed as if nothing had happened.
Luffy struggled to his feet. "What just happened?" He touched his straw hat and looked around, only to see the ground littered with debris from collapsed houses. Zoro and Sanji were sprawled beside him, and even Usopp—who'd been in the sea—had been hurled ashore by the wind.
"Hey! Luffy!" Nami's anxious shout carried from afar. Sanji glanced at the wind direction and yelled to Luffy, "Hurry up and go—the ship's drifting away!"
"Got it! Gum-Gum…" Luffy dashed to a nearby pillar, grabbed it firmly, then stretched his arms out. Chanting under his breath, he flashed a brilliant grin at the three in the distance.
"Hey! Luffy."
"Wait!"
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
At the same moment.
When the wind finally stopped, Sherlock released the pillar. Rubbing his aching forehead, he slowly walked forward. Already suffering from internal injuries, the ordeal left him dizzy and disoriented—he didn't even realize he was still invisible.
"Rocket!" a familiar roar erupted behind him, followed by several piercing screams. The source of the noise was rapidly closing in…
A chill ran down Sherlock's spine as a powerful sense of crisis surged within him. Unfortunately, his dulled reactions meant he'd barely begun to dodge when a tremendous force struck him square in the back.
His back took another brutal hit, adding insult to injury. The world spun into darkness. Unable to hold on any longer, Sherlock passed out cold, his figure gradually becoming visible again.
"This guy definitely gets a kick out of using people as slingshot ammo!" Zoro, Sanji, and the others roared inwardly as they soared through the air, completely oblivious to the fact that their victim count had inexplicably increased by one.
The five of them traced a beautiful arc through the sky before landing safely on the Going Merry's sail. Everyone touched down without a scratch. Well, probably.
Nami hurried over. Seeing Luffy and the others bouncing around full of life, she nearly burst into joyful tears.
"Everyone…" She started to speak, but then spotted a motionless figure in black lying on the deck. She couldn't help but cry out, "Hey, who's this guy?!"
Smoker stood on the shore, the street behind him a wreckage-strewn mess from the gale. He watched the ship flying the Straw Hat pirate flag sail farther away, frustration burning in his chest.
"Why did you do that, Dracule?!" Smoker demanded of the man on the rooftop.
Dragon's lips curved into a faint smile. "What reason is there to stop a man from chasing the sea?"
"…"
Smoker was speechless. Ignoring Dragon, he barked orders to the Marines behind him: "Prepare to set sail. We're going after the Straw Hat kid and that sorcerer."
"We're heading to the Grand Line!"
One of the Marines, seeing Smoker intent on leaving Loguetown, spoke up: "But Colonel Smoker, this island is under your jurisdiction. If the higher-ups ask, what do we say?"
"Don't tell me what to do! Don't point fingers at me! Just say it like that."
"I'm going too!" Tashigi gripped her beloved sword Shigure, her expression a mix of fury and resolve. "I can't forgive Roronoa. I'll capture him with my own hands!"
At another harbor in Loguetown, a pirate crew quietly set sail—the Buggy Pirates, who'd luckily escaped with their lives.
"This is our chance," clown Buggy said, his massive red nose gleaming as he stared at the thundercloud-choked sky and ordered his crew: "We're heading back to that nostalgic Grand Line."
Elsewhere, atop Loguetown's lighthouse, the mysterious woman accompanying Dragon stood proudly at the very top, utterly unfazed by the electric serpents dancing overhead. She gazed silently at the Going Merry fading into the distance.
"Sherlock…"
The woman murmured as if in a dream. Then she flicked back her hood, revealing a head of fantastically beautiful silver hair. An invisible protective barrier seemed to form around her—storm and rain vanished the moment they came within a meter of her body.
Her cascading silver locks flowed in the wind beneath the pitch-black clouds, shimmering with a soft glow like the Milky Way descending to earth—breathtakingly beautiful.
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