"Uncle, be careful!"
Luffy and Zoro rushed to the roadside where a frail man had collapsed from his thin, sickly-looking horse.
"Thank you… kind people," the man wheezed, lying flat on his back. His breathing was ragged as he coughed into his hand. "Forgive me… cough, cough… I'm only twenty-eight years old… cough…"
Nami raised an eyebrow. "Twenty-eight? You look way older than that."
"I was born frail," the man replied with a trembling smile, coughing so hard that specks of blood splattered onto the ground. His hands shook as he held out a basket filled with shiny red apples. "Please, take one as thanks."
Zoro frowned, refusing flatly. "I don't eat food from strangers. You should go find a doctor instead."
"Ah! Apples!" Luffy's eyes lit up. Before Nami or Zoro could stop him, he grabbed one and chomped it down. "Thanks, old man!"
"Wait!"
Nami and Zoro shouted together, too late.
Luffy blinked innocently. "What's wrong? I already swallowed it."
Both his crewmates felt a chill run down their spines. In this world, a stranger's gift was never safe. It could be drugged—or worse, poisoned.
Suddenly—BOOM!
An explosion tore through a nearby restaurant, flames spilling into the street.
"What happened?!" terrified citizens cried out.
Shaken survivors revealed the truth. "Someone… someone accepted apples from a sickly man. When they ate them after dinner… they exploded! All five were killed instantly!"
Nami paled, spinning toward Luffy. "Apples? Explosion?!" She seized him by the neck and shook violently. "Spit it out! Spit it out right now!"
Luffy gagged, his face turning purple. "N-Nami… you're strangling me… I already swallowed it…"
Zoro's hand rested on his sword hilt, his cold eyes locking on the pale man atop the trembling horse. "You bastard. Do you have a death wish?"
But the man only smiled through his coughing fits. "Relax. Your friend is fine. Cough… cough…"
Zoro narrowed his gaze but slowly eased his blade back into its sheath. "Then explain yourself."
"If he had drawn the exploding apple," the man said with a weak chuckle, "he'd have been blown apart instantly. But… fate favored him. Straw Hat, your luck is truly remarkable."
The stranger's identity became clear. He was none other than Doc Q, the "God of Death" and doctor of the Blackbeard Pirates—riding his equally frail horse, Stronger. Doc Q believed in fate above all else, testing people with cruel games to measure destiny.
Luffy only laughed, tipping his straw hat. "So you're saying I'm lucky, huh? Thanks for the compliment! Ahahaha!"
"Get lost," Zoro growled, his voice like ice.
Doc Q tugged lightly on Stronger's reins. The horse clopped forward slowly, its legs trembling as if ready to collapse. As he passed, Doc Q glanced back with a rasping laugh. "Cough, cough… I have a feeling our paths will cross again."
Of course, he already knew the truth. This was Straw Hat Luffy, wanted for 30 million Berries. And his Captain, Teach, was searching for another pirate—The Plunderer, Shirogai Yamikuro—whose bounty had recently shaken the seas. Fate itself seemed to have gathered them all on this island.
Doc Q intended to find Teach and share what he'd discovered.
…
"This town is way too dangerous," Nami muttered, her eyes scanning every shadow.
"Nami, don't worry so much!" Luffy stretched his arms behind his head, grinning as the sea breeze brushed his face.
Nami's temper boiled. "Don't worry?! You nearly got blown to pieces! Does nothing ever get through that thick skull of yours?!"
Luffy only laughed, scratching his head. "Stuff like that happens all the time."
"Idiot Captain!" Nami fumed, puffing her cheeks.
Before she could scold him further, a thunderous roar echoed from the rooftops.
"ROOOAR!"
"W-What now?!" Nami squeaked, hiding behind Luffy and Zoro.
They looked up to see a towering purple-haired man in a wrestler's mask flexing atop a building. His muscles bulged as he raised his arms, shouting proudly, "Wehahaha! Behold the might of the Champion!"
The crowd below murmured uneasily.
"He's not even wanted by the Marines, but plenty have suffered at his hands."
"No one knows where he came from. All he does is pick fights. Calls himself some 'fighting champion'…"
Zoro and Luffy exchanged a glance. Their grins sharpened in unison.
"Champion?" they said together, excitement burning in their voices.
Nami slapped her forehead. "Oh no. Not this again. You two are pirates, not wrestlers!"
The man was none other than Jesus Burgess, the helmsman of the Blackbeard Pirates, famed for his brute strength and obsession with fighting strong opponents.
…
Nami sighed, exhausted by her crewmates' antics. "With chaos everywhere, how are we supposed to find information on Sky Island? It'd be better to head back to the ship and wait for Shirogai. He can use his ability to help us."
The trio turned a corner, passing through an archway into a quieter street. The sudden peace was jarring after the lawless noise of Mock Town.
"Ohh!" Nami's eyes sparkled at the sight of a beautiful sea-view house. "It's so quiet here… almost too good to be true."
Zoro nodded. "Looks decent. Maybe it's a restaurant."
Luffy grinned, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starving!"
Just then, an urgent voice called out. "Wait! Please, don't go in!"
…
Far away, on an island encased in ice, a thick mist was beginning to fade. In the clearing sunlight, rows of frozen Marines stood locked in deathly poses.
Crack… crack…
Suddenly, nine of the icy figures shattered, spraying shards of ice and blood onto the ground. The Marines trapped inside collapsed in spasms, their eyes rolling back as they convulsed. Within moments, they lay still.
Their bodies were whole. Their fatal wounds were not external—
But internal.
Their brains had exploded from within.
The silent, frozen island grew even more ominous.
---
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