A gallant Kuja female warrior raised a transponder snail megaphone and shouted, her crisp and sharp voice piercing the sea breeze and reaching the ears of everyone on the "merchant ship."
"Don't fire! Don't fire, we surrender! We're stopping right now!"
On the opposite "merchant ship," Mate's second-in-command, an effeminate man, hurriedly raised a white flag and pleaded for mercy, his voice carrying a deliberate tone of panic.
The "merchant ship" slowly furled its sails, its speed gradually decreasing until it stopped on the sea surface.
The Kuja Pirates' ship quickly approached. When the two ships were side-by-side, the agile Nine Snake Island Female Warriors leaped nimbly over the gunwales and landed on the deck.
Gloriosa stepped forward, her aura imposing, as she barked at the group of men who were cowering with their heads down, looking like ordinary merchants:
"If you know what's good for you, hand over your treasures! We only want money, not lives!"
"Wait, Gloriosa, something's not right." At this moment, Shakky suddenly sensed something was off and quickly pulled Gloriosa back, whispering a warning in her ear.
This ship was completely different from the merchant ships they had robbed in the past. The people on this ship seemed far too robust—they didn't look like merchants at all! Even the guy who looked very frail from a distance had clearly visible muscle lines on his face.
Keeping his head down and concealing his face with a wide hat, Barnett let out a low chuckle:
"Heh heh heh, been found out? What a vigilant woman~"
Gloriosa frowned: "Hm?"
Barnett suddenly looked up, his black robe falling away to reveal his sinister true face:
"Treasures? We don't have many treasures here... however, we do have a bunch of vicious pirates! Do it!"
Almost at the same time, the "panicked" merchant ship sailors tore off their outer garments, revealing sophisticated weapons and greedy expressions, instantly surrounding the Kuja warriors who had boarded.
Gloriosa's pupils shrank as she instantly recognized the identities of the three men before her, and her heart sank:
"'Sea-Splitter' Barnett! 'Scorpion' Mate! And 'Warhammer' Mondo! It's you! What are you doing disguised as merchants?!"
Barnett's greedy gaze swept over Gloriosa and Shakky behind her, and he laughed loudly:
"What for? Isn't it obvious? Your esteemed Empress, and the beautiful Miss Shakky... the world's number one and number two beauties. What do you think we went to all this trouble for? Hahahaha!"
The pirates behind him also burst into a fit of laughter, their lewd gazes scanning the two peerless beauties without concealment.
Gloriosa's face went pale, but she immediately suppressed her fear and shouted:
"Damn it! It's a trap! Kuja Pirates, fight with everything you've got! Shakky!"
"Understood!" Shakky instantly stubbed out her cigarette, her eyes becoming incredibly sharp... Calm Belt, deserted island.
Beside a giant monster skeleton, a thin curl of smoke rose slowly.
Charlotte Linlin looked up at the midday sun, swallowed the last piece of fragrant roasted meat in her hand, and licked the corner of her mouth with satisfaction.
"It's time... time to go."
She glanced at an indescribable "mosaic" in a pit beside the campfire and shook her head regretfully:
"What a waste of half of the good ingredients."
Dragon Wings unfolded from her back, and she took flight with a flap, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Not long after Charlotte Linlin left, a large, scarred ship that had been ravaged several times by Sea Kings lurched onto the shore on the other side of the deserted island.
"Damn it! Roger! Look at what a lousy idea you had! Crossing the Calm Belt?! If it weren't for the oro jackson that Mr. Tom built being sturdy enough, we'd have all been fed to the Sea Kings long ago!"
Jabba was fuming, roaring at Roger.
Roger, wearing his straw hat, was picking his nose while laughing heartlessly:
"Don't be so grumpy, Jabba! Think about it, doesn't Shakky come from Daughter Island?"
"Since we can't find the Kuja Pirates, isn't it easier to just go straight to Amazon Lily?"
"Look, didn't we successfully cross 'half' of the Calm Belt!"
"You call this success?! The ship is falling apart! The log pose is broken too! Where on earth are we right now?!"
Doringer, a Devil Fruit user, was almost breaking down—if the ship sank, he wouldn't even have a chance to swim for his life!
"Don't worry! With me here, I'll never let anything happen to you!" Roger suddenly looked righteous, patting his chest as he promised.
"Captain~~ you're so good!" Several Crew members were instantly moved to tears.
"If we really run into danger, isn't Sunbell here! He can definitely swim you back to Sabaody!" Roger added immediately.
"You bastard Captain! Give me back my emotions!!" Doringer roared as he lunged at Roger, only to have his head easily held down by the other's hand.
"Rayleigh, what are you looking at?" Jabba noticed Rayleigh staring deep into the island and couldn't help but ask.
"Over there... something seemed to fly away just now." Rayleigh had caught a glimpse of a huge figure soaring away as they landed.
"There's... definitely'something' over there." Roger also stopped smiling, rarely showing a solemn expression.
"Oh? What did you find?" Jabba leaned in curiously.
Roger closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then his eyes lit up, and he announced loudly:
"It's something super delicious! The scent of top-tier roasted meat that I've never smelled before!"
Without another word, he rushed out excitedly.
"Hey!!!" All the Crew members collectively face-planted... A moment later, Roger stood by the campfire that was still emitting wisps of smoke, looking disappointed:
"It smells so good... but where's the food? Why is it all gone?"
"Hmm, what's this?" Roger looked at the indescribable object in front of him and pondered:
"Could this be the delicacy?"
His foodie intuition told him that the mosaic-like mass in front of him was definitely food!
Rayleigh crouched down and touched the still-warm charcoal: "Someone was indeed here not long ago."
Sensing something, Jabba closed his eyes, his nostrils flared slightly with a look of intoxication, then he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted excitedly:
"And... this person is definitely a great beauty!"
A vein popped on Rayleigh's temple: "...You lecherous Kozouppa!"
But he also knew that Jabba's intuition about women was always ridiculously accurate! Appearing at this time and place... could it be her?
"Wait! Captain! Don't touch that thing! No matter how you look at it, it's not food! It's all mushy and emitting weird smoke! The ground is being corroded! It's definitely poisonous!!"
Sharp-eyed Doringer suddenly screamed.
But it was too late. Roger had already used his index finger, coated in Armament Haki, to swipe a bit and put it in his mouth.
"Rayleigh! Jabba! It's bad! The Captain collapsed! His face turned green! Oh, it's turning red! Now it's purple!!"
"Oh no! The Captain seems to have stopped breathing! Let's hurry up and divide the Captain's inheritance and disband!"
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