"Another invader has arrived!" The news spread like a storm throughout the country in no time.
The nation, which had just suffered an invasion a few days ago, was in turmoil. Although the Duke had already mobilized the army, all citizens with combat abilities took action on their own. The Mokomo Dukedom didn't have a large population, but it was essentially an army of all citizens. Adult Minks generally possessed combat ability, with their strong physiques and the ability to generate static electricity, allowing even those without combat training to display impressive strength.
So, when the giant snails came out of the forest, they were met with a large crowd of people.
"Oh! There are quite a few people!" Bege stood on his tiptoes, looking at the scene before him. Standing on the snail's head gave him a height advantage, and he could clearly see the town and the group of warriors blocking the way.
But, they looked really strange. They had human bodies with the features of various animals. They looked like the Human-Beast form of Zoan users, but more beast-like. Was this the Mink Tribe?
"Looks like they want a good fight!" Teach chuckled.
"With them?" Doflamingo laughed sinisterly. "I remember some of my friends in Mary Geoise kept these kinds of things as pets."
Mary Geoise ? Dorry and Brogy couldn't help but look at him. What did he mean? Was he from Mary Geoise ? This kid couldn't be a Celestial Dragon, could he?
"Humans!!" The Duke Inuarashi, a ram who was a head taller than the other Minks, stepped forward. He held a sword and looked at the giant snails with hostile eyes. "What is your purpose here?!"
The Mink Tribe was not an exclusive race. On the contrary, if outsiders came with good intentions, they would be warmly welcomed. However, these guys in front of them were clearly not here with good intentions!
"You should feel honored, Minks." Dylan's voice rang out. "Our Boss, the world's greatest pirate, Lord Roa, wants your strength, so he has made an exception and allowed you to join our Calamity Company."
"Roa? Calamity Company?" Duke Inuarashi looked bewildered. He had never heard of them. The country was too isolated, and even News Coo birds found it hard to reach it.
Of course, not knowing who Roa and the Calamity Company were didn't stop Inuarashi from understanding the meaning of Dylan's words. These guys were here to conquer the Mokomo Dukedom! Upon this realization, the Duke's rage surged.
But before he could speak, the black bear next to him, wrapped in bandages, angrily cursed. "Arrogant humans! We're not interested in your damn boss or your damn company! Get out of here!"
But...
"…!" Bullet's eyes flashed menacingly.
A wave of overwhelming Haki surged forward, crushing the Minks in front of them like a giant wave.
He said the one thing you should never say in front of Bullet, Teach thought with a sigh.
"Hahahaha! It's my turn!" Loki laughed.
His equally fierce Conqueror's Haki surged out, mixing with Bullet's and instantly engulfing the Mink warriors. The combined force of their Haki was so powerful that it physically damaged the ground. Under this force, the Mink warriors fell down one after another, foaming at the mouth. Less than half of them were still standing, and a large portion of those were trembling and barely able to fight.
Conqueror's Haki... I want that too, Teach thought with a hint of envy.
Meanwhile, Bege nudged the leg of Doflamingo beside him with his elbow and asked curiously, "Doffy, you have Conqueror's Haki too, right? Why aren't you using it?"
Doflamingo's face froze. His meager Conqueror's Haki was no different from a gentle breeze in front of Bullet and Loki. Still, he glared at Bege. Ever since Teach joined their little group, this guy had become a bit too cocky!
"This! Conqueror's Haki?!" Duke Inuarashi recognized it and was even more shocked.
This level of Conqueror's Haki! And there were two of them! What kind of people were they...?
His shock ended there. A dark shadow flickered forward.
"Waaaah!"
The bear's round face was instantly caved in with a sickening crack. The bear's rotund body flew out like a cannonball, knocking over the Minks in its path and clearing a path straight through.
"That's what happens when you offend the Boss," Bullet said coldly, his voice devoid of emotion, as he stood where the black bear once was.
"Bill!" Duke Inuarashi looked back in horror. Bill was instantly defeated again?
He didn't have time to think further. A hand made of steel grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
"You have no other choice!" Bullet's tone was hard. "The Boss said he wants your strength, and you must give it to him."
"Duke!!" The Minks who were still able to fight were terrified. They instinctively shot forward, trying to rescue their leader.
But...
"Hahahaha! It's my turn!" Loki laughed, raising his morning star. On the massive morning star, a few fine black bolts of lightning were visible.
"Elbaf's Lance!! Hakoku!!"
The air instantly shattered from the morning star's force, letting out a pained shriek. At the same time, a massive white light column shot out, instantly piercing through the Mink warrior formation and sending everyone in its path flying.
"Oh! Not bad!" Loki nodded in satisfaction. Roa had taught him this move. It was very effective!
Before the Minks could recover from Loki's attack, King drew his sword. A scorching flame shot into the sky, transforming into a several-hundred-meter-long fire dragon that hovered and looked ready to strike. The Minks, covered in fur, were most afraid of fire, and at that moment, terror finally appeared on their faces.
But it wasn't over yet.
Bullet's body began to expand. In the blink of an eye, a one-hundred-meter-tall mercury giant stood there. Holding the country's ruler in one hand, Bullet looked down at the terrified Minks, his voice as loud as thunder.
"Surrender, or be annihilated. What is your decision?"
Duke Inuarashi's body trembled violently.
Monsters! What kind of monsters were these people?! Each of them had the power to destroy the entire Mokomo Dukedom!
But it still wasn't over.
Dylan, holding a man, said, "If you're still not convinced, why don't you listen to what this guy has to say."
The man held by Dylan's neck, the former Shogun of Wano Country, Kozuki Sukiyaki, had a complicated expression.
"Surrender, Minks. My name is Kozuki Sukiyaki. It is said that our ancestors had a deep friendship. So, surrender. You can't fight these people, and neither can we. If you continue fighting, your entire country will be destroyed."
"Kozuki?" Inuarashi strained to look down in a daze. In the legends passed down through generations of Minks, the Kozuki Clan was a tribe with a close relationship to their ancestors.
Had they also been defeated by these people?
Dylan suddenly remembered something the Boss often said. A smile appeared on his face. "You wouldn't want this man to be killed and your country destroyed, would you?"
Behind him, Kozuki Toki, who was usually the most isolated and rarely spoke to anyone, looked miserable. The last survivor of the Kozuki Clan had become a sword maker for Roa, working tirelessly to produce weapons for the Calamity Company. And now, he was also dragging this group of innocent people into hell!
Soon, the call reached the Roger Pirates.
"Oh, good!" Roa's face was beaming. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."
"I'll be done here soon. You guys head back to Egghead Island and continue with the renovation. I'll meet you there."
"Yes, Boss."
After getting their response, Roa hung up.
"Why are you smiling so much?" Roger, holding his daughter, stood to the side with a suspicious look.
"Nothing, I just got news that my pet subordinates have been captured." Roa said, his tone light and easy. It was great to have some furries.
"Pets?" Roger raised an eyebrow. Given how this bastard Roa operated, the "pets" he mentioned were definitely not simple.
"Is the coating not finished yet?" Roa's words interrupted Roger's thoughts. He turned back, looking at the towering red wall that reached the sky. "I can't wait."
This was the backside of Reverse Mountain, the true end of the New World. The last time Roa came back from the Paradise, he simply flipped over from here.
"Soon. Do you doubt Rayleigh's skills?" Roger also looked up at the Red Line, his voice full of anticipation. "Soon, we will reach the final island!"
Then, he glanced at Roa again. What was this kid plotting? He couldn't guess. Listening to the Voice of All Things wasn't mind reading.
"Eee-yah!" At that moment, the baby Robin in Roger's arms reached out her hands, as if wanting to grab the distant wall, blowing bubbles from her mouth.
"How cute." Roa's eyes curved into a smile. "Can't I hold her? Don't look at me like that. I'm very good with children. Big Brother Kaido's daughter loves playing with me."
"Don't even think about it!" Roger refused flatly. How could he let his cute daughter get close to such a dangerous person!
"Well, that's a shame." Roa sighed regretfully.
There's always tomorrow.
Then...
"It's done! The coating is complete! We can set sail!!" A cheer came from the deck nearby.
"Finally, we can go?" Roa stretched contentedly.
To reach the final island, they had to travel underwater. The entrance was in the depths of the sea, so the ship had to be coated first.
In any case, they were about to uncover the world's ultimate secret!
Shortly after, in a dark underwater channel, the Roger Pirates' ship sped forward with the current. It was so fast that the walls of the channel illuminated by the ship's lights were a blur.
Roa stood at the bow, feeling a sense of wonder. The channel was slanted upward. It was just like the one on Reverse Mountain, with a strong current pushing the water upward.
"It's too fast! What if we crash!?" Buggy screamed, clutching Rayleigh's leg. It was terrifying to ride a roller coaster in the deep sea!
"Don't worry, Buggy, we've reached the end!" Rayleigh laughed.
As soon as he finished speaking, the ship shot out of the narrow channel and into a wide body of water. It was still very dark, but everyone was getting excited.
"Are we there? Are we finally there?"
"Is this it? The final island?"
"Surface!" Roger shouted with a laugh.
The giant ship began to surface.
And it was then that...
"Wait! What's that!" Olvia noticed a large fish swimming gracefully in the water outside the coated bubble.
"That's a Cream Salmon. It's said that its meat is as delicate as cream, a very expensive fish! But they're only found in the West Blue!"
"Now that you mention it," Roger said, pointing to another fish in a different direction. "Isn't that the Knight Marlin? A 'swordsman of the sea,' they're very aggressive—hey, don't just lunge at me! Go back!"
He released his Conqueror's Haki for an instant, and the five-meter-long fish with a one-meter-long sword on its head fled in terror.
"Could it be?" Rayleigh exclaimed softly. "Is this body of water the legendary All Blue?"
All Blue, the meeting place of all the fish in the world, a chef's paradise!
"The channels leading here aren't just the one we came through, are they?" Roa said casually. "Since there are entrances from all four seas and even Paradise, it's only natural that all the fish in the world would gather here."
Joy Boy was very considerate. Fearing that future generations would struggle, he had arranged six entrances. However, finding these six entrances was not an easy task.
"All Blue? Hahaha! So it really exists!" Roger laughed. "But let's put that aside for now! Let's go see the legendary Great Treasure!"
Soon, the ship surfaced in the body of water. Using the ship's lights, everyone realized they were inside a giant cave. They could see the ceiling, but the edges of the cave were out of sight.
"Only a space this big could be dug out from inside the Red Line, right?" Jabba looked up, clicking his tongue in amazement. It was big enough to hide a small country.
"So, is that the legendary final island?" Rayleigh pointed forward.
Under the dim lights, a massive island gradually emerged from the darkness.
"Wahahaahaha! What are we waiting for! Let's go ashore! Brothers! The final destination is finally here!"
"Oh!!!" Cheers filled the massive space almost instantly.
Then, as they got closer to the island...
"Hey! Am I seeing things? Why is that island all golden?"
"It shouldn't be an illusion. I see it too..."
"Could it be... no way? Is this the legendary Great Treasure!!"
The people on the deck grew excited. As they got closer, they could clearly see it with the light. The edges of the not-so-large island were gleaming with gold!
"A mountain of gold?" Jabba was dumbfounded. "Are those mountains of gold?"
The edges of the island were surrounded by small mountains. Now that they were closer, they could see that they were indeed mountains made of gold, silver, and other treasures.
"Wahahaahaha! As expected of the legendary Great Treasure that contains all the wealth, power, and might!" Roger laughed. "We're rich!"
"This is... amazing!!" Buggy's face was flushed with excitement. He couldn't wait to jump into the mountains of gold.
Roa's lips curved into a smile. Joy Boy was generous. Judge had a source of funding for his future research.
But, Joy Boy, you're not a very honest person. Didn't you say you were the sun god who brings laughter?
"With all this treasure just piled on the shore, I'm even more excited to see what's on the island!" Roger's eyes were burning with anticipation.
Next to him, Olvia unconsciously grabbed his hand. The moment to uncover all the secrets was now!
"What are we waiting for? Let's go ashore," Roa said with a smile.
"Hey! I'm the captain! Don't you dare give orders for me!"
Regardless, the ship finally landed on this first and final island.
A moment later, in a dim room...
"...And that's it." Olvia's chest was rising and falling rapidly, but her expression was a little strange. "Then, Joy Boy said to entrust everything to the next generation."
There was an eerie silence in the room.
Then...
"Wahahaahaha!" Roger laughed out loud, tears streaming down his face.
It wasn't just him. Everyone in the Roger Pirates was laughing.
"Did something like that really happen?" Rayleigh said, still laughing.
"Joy Boy, what a ridiculous man!" Jabba chimed in.
"It's a shame I wasn't born in the same era as Joy Boy!" Roger laughed brightly. "I really want to have a banquet with him!"
"In that case..." he paused.
"Since everyone is so happy, let's call this island Laugh Tale."
"Hey! Roa!" Roger glared at Roa. "How did you know what I was going to say! No, those were my words! Take them back!"
"First come, first serve," Roa laughed loudly.
This is so fun. Joy Boy, you really had a good hand and played it terribly.
But, since you entertained me, I'll forgive you for now.
But, with that said, it's impossible to take down Imu right now. I still need to develop.
Hmm.
Roa looked at the still-laughing Roger.
Roger, it's time for your performance.