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A cannonball exploded directly on Laboon's stomach. The recoil of the shockwave caused the Going Merry to slowly come to a stop.
"A cannon?!" Seeing what Luffy called a "good idea," Usopp was so scared his tears burst out. Zoro and Sanji also rolled their eyes. Nami held onto Lu En tightly, burying her head firmly in Lu En's back. Only then could she feel a sense of security.
"Splash!"
"How is it?! Did it stop now?!" Luffy walked out excitedly, only to see the Going Merry's sheep figurehead smashed right in front of him.
"My first-class seat!" Luffy's eyes immediately turned bloodshot.
"It didn't react to the cannon!"
"Is its reaction too slow?"
"Who cares about it, let's run now while we can!" Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji discovered that the whale wasn't moving, and immediately rejoiced, preparing to row away.
"You bastard! What did you do to my first-class seat!"
"Bang!"
Just as everyone thought they were out of danger, Luffy's rubber fist violently elongated and slammed heavily onto the whale's eye.
"!!!" Usopp, Zoro, Sanji, their tears almost burst out.
"Waaah." Nami simply collapsed onto Lu En's back, feigning death.
"Moo!" Laboon's colossal eye, having been attacked, looked towards the Going Merry.
"How about that! Bring it on!" Luffy was in a rage, rolling up his sleeves and yelling.
"Bang!"
"Why don't you shut up already!" Zoro and Usopp, with one kick, sent Luffy flying.
"Hahahaha, it's alright, it's alright, leave it to me." Lu En comforted Nami, his mouth wide in a grin.
Luffy, truly a talent.
"Moo!"
"Whoosh!" Laboon opened its massive mouth and suddenly sucked in.
"Roar! 823" A terrifying suction force pulled the Going Merry, along with a massive amount of seawater, towards its mouth.
"Ah!" Luffy, who had just been kicked by Zoro and Usopp and was off balance, was instantly sent flying.
"I can't die! Gomu Gomu!" Luffy stretched his rubber arm, grabbed one of Laboon's teeth, and then climbed inside along Laboon's huge body.
"Ah!" Nami screamed, but then, a cloud of smoke grabbed Nami.
"White Smoke Launcher!" Lu En's lower body completely transformed into smoke. Using the smoke's propulsion as power, he rushed out of Laboon's giant mouth with Nami, bursting out onto Laboon's head.
"I almost thought I was going to die." Nami slumped into Lu En's arms.
"Snap!" Laboon's mouth slammed shut.
"Lu En! Nami! Are you alright?!" Luffy saw Lu En and Nami, surprised, but then he covered his head and started yelling loudly.
"Zoro! Usopp! Sanji! You bastards! Spit out my important companion!" Luffy, his eyes red, roared at Laboon.
"Calm down, Luffy, there's more to this whale than meets the eye inside."
Lu En looked at a valve on Laboon's body, holding Nami, whose legs were still a bit shaky.
"Let's go, they're all inside." Lu En opened the valve. Inside was an artificial passageway.
"Huh? There's a passageway inside a whale?!" Nami was also stunned.
"Incredible! Did you sense it with Observation Haki, Lu En?" Hearing Lu En say this, Luffy immediately felt relieved and excitedly jumped into the passageway.
"Let's go. At the end of it, we'll find Zoro and the others." Lu En's lips curled into a smile. His Observation Haki had already picked up the presence there. That was the person Lu En was looking for.
"Good! We successfully snuck in! Listen up, MISS. Wednesday, the other side of the door is the stomach. That annoying old man is probably there. We must take him down! Everything, for the whale!" A man dressed as a prince said.
"Hmm, Mr.9, after all, this whale is very important food for our town." A woman with light blue hair, beautiful looks, and a graceful figure, holding a rocket launcher in her hand. Princess Vivi of Alabasta.
"Rumble!" Just then, the passageway shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
"Woah! I can't stop! Lu En! Help me!" Luffy, affected by Laboon's impact with the Red Line continent, couldn't maintain his balance and couldn't stop running.
"Luffy, smash open that door! Zoro and the others are right there." Lu En flew with Nami using his Smoke-Smoke Fruit, pointing at the distant door and the two figures in front of it, his lips curling.
"Found them, Vivi."
"Zoro and them? Watch me!" Luffy heard the news of his companions and simply, without a care, charged at the door with his head.
"Agh! What was that!" Vivi and Mr.9 screamed.
"White Smoke!"
"Whoosh!" A cloud of smoke grabbed Vivi. Luffy and Mr.9 violently slammed open the door leading to Laboon's stomach.
"Help, help me!" At this moment, Mr.9, who had fallen into the ocean, floated up, screaming continuously.
"Mr.9!" Vivi shouted loudly.
"He's dead, that guy." Hearing Mr.9's loud screams, Zoro, somewhat annoyed, stopped fighting Sanji and pulled the Going Merry to the front.
"Got it, saved him!" Mr.9, who had been pulled onto the ship, gasped for breath.
"Then, are you two from Baroque Works, Mr.9? That name sounds familiar, I think I've heard it somewhere." Zoro looked at the two, revealing a beast-like grin.
"!!!" Vivi and Mr.9 were instantly startled. If the company found out they had exposed the company's information, they would be dead for sure.
"That codename, it seems to be one of the codenames for Baroque Works, right?" Lu En revealed a playful smile, looking at their reactions.
"I remember now, Baroque Works." Zoro revealed a villainous expression.
Vivi and Mr.9 both trembled all over.
"Why do you know that name?!" Mr.9 trembled all over.
"Baroque Works?" Usopp was a bit curious.
"Ah, I know it. And like Crocodile, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea under the King, Crocodile is very happy." Lu En said indifferently.
Vivi trembled all over. "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea like Crocodile? Is it possible to have such great strength?" Hearing Crocodile's name, Zoro's hand gripping his sword tightened.
"Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh! And Crocodile is strong too?" Luffy still remembered the scene when he met Crocodile back then, and exclaimed in surprise.
"No, they're not on the same level. Both are Seven Warlords of the Sea, but the gap in strength is quite immense," Lu En chuckled.
"But no matter what, they're still Seven Warlords of the Sea! However, people like that shouldn't cause us trouble just because two subordinates were beaten, right?"
With Lu En's popular science explanation, Usopp and the others knew much more about the sea than in the original story. The Seven Warlords of the Sea, Marine Headquarters, and the Four Emperors are known as the three great powers that maintain the balance of the sea!
Usopp wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "No, for that guy, as long as he knows their identity, they'll be on his hit list." Lu En looked at Vivi, who was trembling all over.
"Isn't that terrible?! What do we do?!" Usopp shouted, clutching his head.
"Idiot! That guy doesn't even know our identities!" Nami also felt a bit scared upon hearing about the Seven Warlords of the Sea. She grabbed Lu En's arm, seeking a sense of security.
"But they'll know, and they'll report to their boss, right?" Usopp pointed at Vivi and Mr.9.
"What do we do, Lu En?" Nami asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Being kind-hearted, Nami couldn't bring herself to kill someone to silence them.
"They don't need to be informed, after all, they can't even guarantee their own safety. Am I right, MISS. Wednesday, Princess Vivi of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi."
Lu En looked at Vivi, his lips curling. "Princess?!" Everyone gasped in surprise, looking at Vivi.
"Crocodile? Princess?!" And at this moment, Mr.9 was completely numb. Why, why do I not know anything?! Who exactly are you?! Vivi was biting her lip, staring fixedly at Lu En. Her biggest secret, how did this man know it?
"I was in the bounty hunter group, is it still that famous? Are you people really not professionals?" Lu En looked at Vivi and Mr.9, and sighed. He hadn't introduced himself in a long time.
"Wait, wait! That man's face, it does seem familiar!" Mr.9's forehead began to break out in cold sweat.
"Then, then, can you let me go for a bit?" Mr.9 was a bit conflicted.
"Oh?" Lu En looked at Mr.9 with interest, then immediately released his Smoke-Smoke Fruit power.
"I, I'll check." Mr.9 pulled out a bounty poster from his pocket. Although collecting bounty information was usually Mr.8's responsibility, he and MISS. Wednesday were mainly responsible for helping the small town obtain food, but Mr.9 still had some particularly famous bounties.
Soon, Mr.9 found Lu En's bounty. The moment he saw the bounty, his eyes widened instantly, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. His eyes were full of surprise. After confirming there was no mistake in the bounty amount, Mr.9 suddenly looked up at Lu En, shouting in horror.
"Bounty, one hundred million Berries!!!"
"!!!" Vivi covered her mouth, looking at Lu En in disbelief.
One hundred million Berries?! My god! Crocodile's bounty was only eighty million Berries! However, that was because he became a Warlord of the Sea, so his bounty stopped increasing that year. And after many years of currency inflation, today's Berries are not what they used to be. But one hundred million Berries was still too exaggerated! Absolutely incredible! What a grand pirate!
"Hey! What about me! Where's my bounty poster?!" Seeing Vivi and Mr.9's exaggerated reaction to Lu En's bounty, Luffy yelled enviously. Just hearing about the bounty could shock people to this extent. This was exactly what Luffy pursued!
"I, let me see. Found it, Straw Hat Boy, Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty, 45 million Berries."
With Lu En's one hundred million Berries already on display, even though 45 million Berries was not a low bounty in this sea, Mr.9's reaction was still flat, and his tone even a little strange. After all, with the shock of a hundred million Berries already setting the precedent, 45 million Berries felt quite a bit less.
"…Damn it! What's with your tone! 45 million Berries is already very high, okay?!" Mr.9's reaction immediately made Luffy yell out. Compared to Lu En's treatment, this was too much of a difference!
"Damn it! Is there any way to increase my bounty?!" Luffy clenched his fists. The grand pirate demeanor that Lu En showed, just from his bounty alone, shocked others. Luffy wanted that.
"That's right! Defeating powerful pirates can increase your bounty!" Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up. This expression immediately made Zoro feel something bad. Back when the pirate crew only consisted of him and Lu En, Luffy had this very expression when he learned he could get a bounty for defeating Buggy.
"Lu En, if we defeat Crocodile, how much bounty can I get?!" Luffy looked at Lu En, panting heavily.
"Breaking a hundred million is certain." Lu En looked at Luffy and smiled.
"Breaking a hundred million! Breaking a hundred million..." Luffy's mind was fixated only on the words "one hundred million."
"Woohoo! Let's go defeat Crocodile!" Luffy rolled up his sleeves, shouting loudly, his eyes turning green. Luffy desperately wanted to be like Lu En, to have a bounty exceeding one hundred million, and become a grand pirate!
"Idiot!"
Usopp and Sanji immediately cursed loudly. To go fight a Warlord for bounty, are you crazy?! Zoro, covering his forehead, looked utterly helpless. He knew it!
"Lu En, quickly talk some sense into Luffy. This guy is going to do something stupid again." Nami looked at Lu En, but quickly noticed something was wrong with Lu En.
"No, I also want to go fight Crocodile." An astonishing Haki flashed in Lu En's eyes.
"Huh?!" Nami and the others were instantly surprised.
"But it's not for bounty. Crocodile has something I need." Can you lend me a hand, everyone? Lu En looked at everyone, saying seriously. Lu En would not use Luffy as a shield. To Nami, to his companions, Lu En was sincere.
"Hmph, of course! Just a mere Warlord of the Sea!" Zoro revealed a beast-like grin. Lu En had helped him too much. Now, it was finally time for him to contribute to Lu En. Moreover, if he was afraid of facing a Warlord of the Sea, how could he challenge Mihawk again?!
"Whoosh! Let me join too!" Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, revealing a smile. In terms of cooking, Lu En was his confidant. And it was also because of Lu En and the others that he could embark on this journey to pursue his dream at this moment. If Lu En had something to do, Sanji would not stand idly by!
"Finally! It's my turn, the brave warrior of the sea, the legendary Captain Usopp's time to act!" Usopp's legs trembled a bit, but his tone was firm and fearless. Lu En was the first man to acknowledge him as a brave warrior of the sea. If he didn't fight with his life on the line now, Usopp would look down on himself.
"I, I'll cheer you on too!" Nami looked at Lu En and shouted loudly.
"Don't worry, I have a plan to deal with Crocodile." Lu En looked at Nami and smiled. Crocodile's performance in the original story, plus the feedback from the strongest Terminology System, allowed Lu En to essentially draw one conclusion: that now, after having suffered a similar defeat to Whitebeard and Moria facing Kaido,
although he wasn't as completely demoralized as Moria, Crocodile also placed all his hopes on external objects, the three great Ancient Weapons, on "Pluton." This caused his spiritual power to be on the verge of collapse, making his Haki difficult to use.
If that's the case, then as a Logia type facing Crocodile, Lu En was basically invincible. This was also why Lu En wanted to obtain the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. Logia versus Logia: as long as there wasn't an absolute counter, and in the absence of Haki, it was essentially impossible to determine a winner. But with his own Haki, Crocodile was nothing to fear!
"You guys treat us differently! You immediately agreed to what Lu En said!" Luffy shouted loudly.
"Lu En has serious business. How is he like you?" Zoro said exasperatedly. To go to war with a Warlord for bounty? Just thinking about it is gross.
"But as long as we can defeat a Warlord of the Sea to increase my bounty, it's fine! And it can help Lu En, heh heh heh!" Luffy's mentality changed particularly quickly. He shouted loudly.
"What in the world is wrong with these guys?!" Vivi, who was ignored on the side, was completely numb at this moment.
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