"Uta and Bai Hezi are so strong!" Elena said beside White Ghost as she watched the two of them ahead.
Heh—White Ghost naturally slipped an arm around Elena's slim waist. She shot him a look, but didn't struggle away.
"They've trained nonstop ever since they followed me," White Ghost said.
"First we built their foundations, then little by little they learned Haki. You have no idea how much they suffered to reach this level."
"Especially Uta—her strength combined with her Song ability… even a pirate with a 100 million bounty can die if they let their guard down."
"And Bai Hezi—anyone under ten million is basically not a problem for her now."
Elena stared toward the battlefield, still shocked.
"But they're so young… how are they already this strong?"
As she spoke, she saw it with her own eyes—Uta cut down Eldorago in one strike, and Bai Hezi's opponent didn't last long either.
White Ghost tilted his head at Elena.
"What—do you want to be like that too?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't like fighting. You can protect me."
"That's a promise," White Ghost said, tightening his arm around her.
Not long after, the battle was completely over. The five of them finished cleaning up the enemy ship as well.
"Boss!" A-Da and A-Er ran over, each holding a box.
"Boss, this is what we got!"
"You keep it," White Ghost said. "I don't lack money."
But the two loyal idiots looked dead serious.
"That won't do, Boss. You set the rule back then—one-third of the loot goes to you. Only the rest is ours," A-Da said firmly.
"Yeah, yeah!" A-Er scratched his head and grinned. "Boss, don't be polite with us!"
Clunk!
A-Da set down the chest filled with gold and jewels.
"Boss, this portion is yours—and for the group's shared use. Me, A-Er, and Arthur will split the cash."
Uta and Bai Hezi both blushed a little, but didn't argue.
Arthur and A-Er nodded too.
"…Fine." White Ghost sighed. If he didn't accept, these two wouldn't let it go.
So he stored away the gold and jewels.
Only then did A-Da and A-Er grin happily and go off to split the cash with Arthur.
Everyone watching smiled—not mocking, just genuinely warm.
Olga frowned and asked, "How did you get them to follow you?"
"I didn't 'get' them," White Ghost said casually.
"A-Da and A-Er are from Loguetown. Like me, they grew up wandering the streets. Later I joined the Marines, found them again, and brought them in with me."
Olga stared.
"I didn't think you had that kind of past."
"And what kind of past did you think I had?"
Olga crossed her arms, annoyed.
"Like… born rich, never lacking anything. Otherwise how could you be so strong?"
"If you grew up wandering, how did you even eat enough? Look at Enel and the others—after training they eat like monsters!"
White Ghost flicked her forehead.
"Ow!" Olga clutched her brow, glaring.
"I can hunt," White Ghost said. "If I can't eat, I go into the mountains and hunt. Or I fish. Or I catch Sea Kings and eat them."
"Oh…" Olga still looked annoyed.
White Ghost ignored the two-hundred-year-old in a rebellious phase and raised his hand.
Golden flames burst out.
He burned Eldorago's pirate ship to ash.
That was the rule of the sea: losers lose their ship, too.
Everyone went back to what they were doing. It was a small matter.
Worth mentioning: Brook and Gordon had arranged the tune White Ghost had casually hummed.
They were thrilled and dragged him over to listen and check what was "wrong."
But as White Ghost listened, his expression turned strange.
"…You two spent half a month on this… and you ended up arranging 'Eighteen Touches'?"
He rolled his eyes at the two quiet perverts and walked away.
Meanwhile, Jango, Señor Pink, and Urouge listened with great enthusiasm.
"A-Da, A-Er—come here," White Ghost called.
"Boss! What is it?" The two hurried over.
White Ghost pulled two Devil Fruits out of his bracelet.
"This is the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Type: Brontosaurus."
"And this is the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Type: Pteranodon."
"Choose—who eats which?"
A-Er didn't hesitate for even a second. He grabbed the Brontosaurus fruit and bit down.
"Ugh—so disgusting!" His face twisted, but he forced himself to finish.
Brook and the others also stopped their "Eighteen Touches" nonsense and ran over—two more ability users were about to join the crew.
A-Er closed his eyes after eating.
A moment later—
ROAR!
He transformed instantly.
A mighty Brontosaurus—about five meters tall and eight meters long—appeared on deck.
Its mouth was packed with dagger-like teeth, its body massive, spine ridges slightly raised.
"So cool!" Olga stared as someone who'd just eaten a fruit turned into a monster immediately.
A-Er swished his tail at Jango provocatively, and his dinosaur mouth spoke human words.
"You used to bully me because you had a Devil Fruit."
"Now the situation's reversed."
"Hehehe," Jango laughed. "You're getting cocky the moment you eat a fruit? Let Uncle Jango teach you how to use it!"
ROAR—!
Jango shifted into his own half-beast form.
Everyone hurried back.
Enel formed a platform with silver—because if they smashed the captain's ship, that would be a disaster.
Facing a four-meter-tall saber-toothed tiger, A-Er didn't hesitate. He opened his jaws and bit down.
"Hehehe!" Jango laughed, Armament coating both hands. He thrust outward—
holding the dinosaur's jaws apart with brute force.
"See, A-Er?" Jango grinned smugly. "Ancient Zoan really boosts your strength. But… that's all."
From everyone's angle, it looked like Jango was standing inside the dinosaur's mouth, arms braced wide, preventing it from closing.
"That's insane…" Enel and the others watched, wide-eyed—except Wyper, whose expression darkened.
He was the slowest-growing among the Skypiea trio.
Enel had a Devil Fruit now, but his Observation and Armament were also stronger than Wyper's.
Urouge was growing fast too—he only lacked a fruit.
White Ghost had said: if they couldn't find the Strength-Strength Fruit and that other specific one, he'd just give Urouge an Ancient Zoan.
That was why Urouge wasn't anxious. The "god" had already promised him, so he just focused on physique and Haki.
Compared to before, he was already far stronger.
"Ancient Zoans really are something," Pedro said, stroking his chin. "Even right after eating it, you get boosted across the board."
"White-bro said it before," the squirrel mink added. "Your Hunt-Hunt Fruit combined with you is basically like an Ancient Zoan too."
"Yeah. Pretty much," Pedro nodded.
Then everyone saw Jango lift the Brontosaurus and slam it down.
BOOM!
A-Er crashed onto the deck and gradually shrank back, returning to human form.
"That makes no sense!" A-Er scratched his head. "I got so much stronger—how am I still losing?"
Jango's nasty laugh drifted over.
"Hehehe. You only just ate it. You can't even use thirty percent of the power. You think you can beat me like that?"
"Ooh!" A-Er's face lit up in sudden understanding.
White Ghost turned to the other brother.
"A-Da. What about you? Not eating?"
"No!" A-Da shook his head quickly.
He was just shocked at how much stronger his brother became instantly.
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