A few minutes later, aboard the Thousand Sunny.
The Straw Hat Pirates stood on the deck before the cabin — some curious, some wary, some frightened, and others calm — each wearing a different expression.
Facing them stood Chiyo, Kakuzu, and the others, all with uniformly blank faces. Deidara raised his right hand, palm facing up. Three meters above the deck, the massive clay dragon exploded with a loud boom, filling the air with white smoke. A palm-sized clay dragon fell from the sky and landed neatly in Deidara's open hand.
"Whoa! Amazing!!!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with stars.
A Devil Fruit user?
Zoro, Robin, and the others thought a little deeper — no, they knew that the blond young man had to be one.
"Of course! I, the great Deidara, am very amazing, hmm!"
Hearing Luffy's admiration, Deidara flipped his bangs smugly and boasted.
"Hey, hey! Can you make other things too?" Luffy ran right up to him, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
"Of course! I can make all sorts of things, hmm!" Deidara said proudly, his chin held high.
"Can you make a bunny?" Luffy asked.
Deidara didn't answer. Instead, he stuffed a bit of explosive clay into the mouth on his palm and began to chew.
"Eh?! You've got a mouth on your hand too?! That's so cool!" Luffy's eyes shone with admiration.
After all, having an extra mouth meant being able to eat more — and faster — than anyone else. What could possibly make a foodie more envious than that?
Still ignoring Luffy, Deidara continued chewing for a moment before channeling chakra into the clay.
"RUA!"
The mouth on his palm spat out the clay, and Deidara formed a seal with his fingers.
Boom!
White smoke billowed up, and from it hopped out a crudely shaped little clay rabbit, landing softly on the deck and bouncing happily around Deidara's feet.
"Amazing!!!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all cried out, eyes sparkling as they stared at the rabbit.
"Can you make more?"
Finding himself finally appreciated, Deidara was in high spirits. Indulging his new fans, he crafted several clay spiders and birds to play with Luffy and the others.
"Those three idiots…" Zoro muttered, rubbing his forehead helplessly.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu's sharp eyes swept over the Straw Hats, trying to identify their leader. Finding it hard to tell, he finally focused on the calm-looking woman.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask about this place."
In the past, Kakuzu would never have spoken so politely. His words would've been, 'Tell me everything you know about this place,' followed by a decision — to kill or not to kill — depending on his mood.
Even so, that one sentence revealed a crucial detail — they, too, were outsiders.
"This is the ghost island known as Thriller Bark," Robin replied calmly.
Kakuzu waited for more, but when she stayed silent, he asked cautiously, "And… anything else?"
"That's all I know," Robin said truthfully.
"Then, do you know about Gecko Moria?" Kakuzu asked again.
"One of the Seven Warlords," Robin replied, as concise as ever.
This time, Kakuzu didn't wait as long. As soon as she fell silent again, he asked, "That's it?"
Robin nodded slightly, then, to confirm her suspicion, asked, "Why are you asking about Gecko Moria?"
"The owner of Thriller Bark is Gecko Moria," Kakuzu answered without hesitation. He wasn't sure if this woman truly didn't know more or was simply pretending.
Unfortunately, attacking non-targets would cost points — and if she were a Marine, interrogation would've been far simpler.
"The Warlord Gecko Moria!!!" Nami screamed.
Zoro and Sanji's expressions turned grim.
Robin mused aloud, "Then Moria's ability must be related to shadows. He can steal others' shadows — and those who lose theirs cannot stand in sunlight."
The natural enemy of the Nara Clan.
Hearing this, Kakuzu couldn't help but think the same thing — as did Chiyo and the other experienced shinobi.
"Thank you for the information," Kakuzu said, giving a small nod before turning to Deidara. "Enough playing around. It's time for the mission, Deidara."
"Eh—?" Luffy's tone stretched long. "You're leaving already?"
"This place is dangerous. You'd best leave early," Kakuzu said.
Considering that these people had just shared intel — and that they might get caught up in the coming battle, costing him points — Kakuzu decided, for once, to offer a rare warning.
By now, Deidara had already recalled his clay creatures — the birds, spiders, and rabbit — and was preparing his transport.
"C2 — Dragon!"
A massive clay dragon took shape. As Kakuzu and the others leapt onto its back and prepared for takeoff, a shout stopped them.
"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Luffy declared, then turned toward Sanji. "Sanji — adventure lunchboxes!"
"Luffy!" Nami dashed in front of him, clutching his shirt collar in panic. "Didn't you hear what we just said?! This is a Warlord's territory! We need to get out of here!"
"No! I'm going on an adventure!" Luffy refused flatly.
"I advise you to leave now. Don't gamble your life — or my money," Kakuzu said sternly.
"No! I'm really strong!" Luffy insisted, staring stubbornly at Kakuzu.
Beside them, Chiyo's eyes flicked thoughtfully, and she stepped in to smooth things over.
"Kakuzu-san, there's no need to get angry. You can test his strength — or have someone else do it."
As she finished, she silently mouthed, 'free labor.' Kakuzu caught her lips clearly, and his attitude shifted instantly.
"If you can defeat Hidan, I'll allow you to come with us," Kakuzu said, deciding to send out the most durable — and least valuable — member of their group.
Us?
Nami froze, speechless. How can he just change his mind like that?!
"Bring it on!" Luffy took a fighting stance, his face deadly serious.
Hidan, scythe and retractable spear confiscated by Kakuzu, walked over with a sour look.
"Hey, brat, I'll tell y—"
"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"
Before Hidan could finish, Luffy's fist slammed into his face, spinning him a full three hundred and sixty degrees before he crashed to the ground and rolled a few more meters.
"Ow! That hurts!" Hidan groaned, clutching his nose.
"I won!" Luffy said, looking confidently at Kakuzu.
No, that was a sneak attack… that doesn't count! several people thought, dumbfounded.
"That didn't count," Kakuzu said calmly. "I'll be your opponent." He formed a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A puff of smoke appeared, and another Kakuzu stepped out, landing in front of Luffy.
"Whoa! That's awesome! What's that?" Luffy's eyes sparkled again.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu — a ninjutsu that creates tangible duplicates," the clone explained.
"Ninjutsu? So you're a ninja?"
"Yes. I'm a shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Rain — Kakuzu."
Luffy grinned wide.
"Then… be my crewmate!"
The request came out of nowhere.
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
patreon.com/SuperTL
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
" Accelerator in Marvel "
" Marvel +18: My Travel Frog Steals Across the Multiverse! "
" DC Universe: Starting Off Controlling Batman "
" Marvel Starting from Gwen Spider-Man "
" Marvel: Invading the Multiverse, Wanda and Gwen Are Shocked "
" Just Arrived in Marvel, System Awakens Silver Superman "
" Marvel: I Took Over Iron Man's Team "
many more are available 47+
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)