New One Piece Book Released Guys Check it Out :- One Piece : Cursed Crew
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When Rayleigh arrived on the seabed, he was shocked to find that Fish-Man Island had completely vanished. With no way to pass through, the only option for pirates to reach the New World now was to coat their ships and drill under the Red Line. From there, they would have to rely on the three-directional Log Pose of the New World to navigate their submarine journey.
Hearing this news, Sanji and the fish-man navigator, Naga Long, were completely stunned.
"What do you mean?" Naga Long demanded, his voice filled with panic. "I only left home for a few years... How can my home be gone?"
"My dream! My dream of seeing mermaids is shattered!" Sanji cried out in despair. "Looks like I'll just have to make Naga Long cross-dress..."
"What the hell is going on?! Where did my gigantic Fish-Man Island go?" Naga Long pressed Rayleigh, who only shook his head helplessly.
"I'm not exactly sure myself," Rayleigh sighed. "You're a fish-man, you should know better than I do."
"Don't you have a Vivre Card for a friend from Fish-Man Island?" someone else asked.
"No, I don't," Naga Long admitted. "I secretly ran away from Fish-Man Island because of a dream I had. I was so afraid of being caught by slave traders at Sabaody Archipelago, and I didn't know my way around the sea, so I just ended up swimming all the way to the East Blue."
"I see... Then there's really nothing we can do," Rayleigh said.
Naga Long's mind was filled with memories of his family and friends. "Could... could Fish-Man Island have been wiped out?" he asked blankly.
"Probably not," Rayleigh replied calmly. "The population of Fish-Man Island is huge. If they all died, their blood would have stained the sea near Sabaody Archipelago red, and I haven't seen anything like that in all this time."
Rayleigh's theory somewhat comforted Naga Long, but Chopper trembled with fear. "Hey, hey! Don't say such terrifying things in such a calm voice!"
"Sorry, sorry," Rayleigh chuckled.
Devastated by the news, Sanji and Naga Long huddled together in a corner, staring off into space. The others continued to chat with Rayleigh as they walked from Shakky's Rip-Off Bar all the way to the twelfth island.
The group was still laughing and talking, discussing where they should go next, when a Pacifista suddenly blocked their path. Luffy stared with wide, curious eyes at the figure in front of him. "Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you blocking our way?"
"Get back, Luffy!" Usopp shouted in alarm, immediately recognizing the figure. "That's Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
Usopp enjoyed reading the newspapers and was familiar with the most powerful people in the world. Bartholomew Kuma was definitely one of them.
"What?!" Luffy was startled and quickly backed up to his crew. "This guy... he's on the same level as 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk?"
Due to Hikaru's interference, the crew's journey had been significantly altered. Crocodile had been killed early on, so they never had a confrontation with him. Because they didn't have Haki yet, they were only ever chased by Smoker.
As for Gecko Moria, he had lost Hogback, which severely hampered his ability to create a zombie army. After listening to the Tone Dial Perona had left for him, Moria was now wandering the world, trying to find a more reliable way to get stronger so he could get revenge on Hikaru and Kaido, who had killed his companions and taken his plunder. This meant Luffy also never had the chance to meet Moria.
The world's natural corrective force gave them new adventures, but it was hard to say whether the Straw Hats were weaker or stronger now.
They had lost Franky, Brook, Nami, and Robin from the original timeline, but had gained the shipwright Dorry and the navigator Naga Long.
In terms of numbers, they were definitely at a disadvantage. They had only met 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk among the Warlords, so they assumed all of them had the same level of combat power.
The Pacifista's gaze locked onto Luffy, who had the highest bounty. "Monkey D. Luffy, bounty 250,000,000 Berries! Target confirmed, eliminate!"
The Pacifista took off his glove and began charging a laser beam at the crew. (Under Hikaru's influence, Luffy's bounty had been weakened.)
"Hey, what are you trying to do?" Luffy asked, but the Pacifista gave no answer.
A golden flash of light burst forth as the laser beam fully charged, shooting toward the crew with a loud whoosh.
Boom!
The Pacifista's charge time was too slow, and everyone easily dodged the beam without a scratch. When the smoke cleared, Luffy and Chopper's eyes were filled with excitement and envy. "Awesome!" they shouted. "Is that the legendary laser?!"
The power of the attack made everyone feel a little relieved. As long as he wasn't as monstrous as Mihawk, they felt they could handle him.
"If that's all he's got, looks like we don't have to run!" Zoro chuckled, drawing his three swords and getting into a fighting stance on Luffy's left.
"Then let's finish him off quickly!" Sanji said, exhaling a smoke ring and raising his leg high, taking a position on Luffy's right. "We still need to find a hidden place to lie low!"
Steam rose from Luffy's body as he activated his Second Gear form. "Then let's go all out!" he said seriously.
The humiliation came quickly. The Pacifista's next laser beam forced Usopp, Dorry, and Chopper to flee in disarray, only finding refuge under a small house. They finally let out a sigh of relief. Naga Long grappled with the Pacifista, using his large fish-man body, while Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji attacked furiously from the side with their fists, swords, and kicks.
But even at the maximum frequency of their attacks, they could only barely push the Pacifista back. They couldn't cause any real damage. There was nothing they could do; their destructive power was still too low.
Hikaru arrived above them and looked down at their disheveled state. He found it hard to imagine that Luffy would grow strong enough to defeat someone like Doflamingo in just two short years. The most absurd part was that Luffy's strength would increase even faster in the two years after that from taking a few hits from Kaido in Wano Country.
The reason Hikaru chose to wait was because he had spotted Rayleigh in the distance. The old man had seemingly said goodbye to the Straw Hats, but he had actually been secretly following them, intending to protect them.
If Hikaru were to attack the crew, it was clear that Rayleigh wouldn't just stand by and watch. After all, the Straw Hat on Luffy's head belonged to Roger. Just as Shanks would sacrifice an arm to protect Luffy, Rayleigh would probably sacrifice a leg to "place his bet."
Rayleigh didn't have a Devil Fruit, and Hikaru was too lazy to get entangled with these remnants of the old era. All he had to do now was wait for the real Kuma to arrive, let the pitiful Bonney see him, and temporarily satisfy her longing.