After sending off Hogback and Gecko Moria, Yami said to Karina and the others, "Next stop, the Sabaody Archipelago—no, I can't go there."
"Eh? Why?" Nami asked instinctively.
Robin immediately understood what Yami meant and said slowly, "The Sabaody Archipelago is at the end of the first half of the Grand Line. It's the Celestial Dragons' backyard. Next door is Marine Headquarters, and above it looms the World Government's Holy Land, Mary Geoise."
"So that's it." Nami and Karina both realized.
Yami's next words made their faces change slightly. "Aokiji has reported all my information to the Fleet Admiral. If nothing unexpected happens, the Marines and the World Government will lie in ambush for me at Sabaody."
"Then we definitely can't go to the Sabaody Archipelago," Robin said gravely.
Karina suggested, "I can jump straight into the New World through the other space anyway, and the Pegasus is equipped with the external drive."
"I agree," Nami raised her hand.
Perona, meanwhile, looked completely baffled.
What was going on?
That Marine admiral wants to arrest us, and not just because we beat Lord Moria, but because there's a wanted criminal named Nico Robin?
This involves the Fleet Admiral and even the World Government?
Why would the two strongest organizations on the seas set an ambush at Sabaody?
Who are we dealing with here?
"No need to rush into the New World," Yami said. "I'll stay in the first half of the Grand Line for a while."
As casually as ever, he smiled. "I'm going to find someone. That person has the Devil Fruit I want."
"Tsk tsk. If it's a Devil Fruit Master wants, it must be a top-tier fruit."
"That person has to be a real big shot."
"The big names of this era—aside from the powerhouses at Marine Headquarters—are almost all in the strongest sea. The one Master is looking for isn't like Byrnndi World, a great figure who rampaged across the seas in the previous era, right?"
Karina and Nami had learned their lesson. They didn't ask which Devil Fruit Yami wanted and just kept guessing on their own.
Robin only smiled and said nothing.
Perona had grasped one point but wasn't sure. She gathered her courage and asked, "Um, the Devil Fruit Master wants—is it for him to eat?"
As soon as she said it, Perona wished she could dig a hole and bury herself.
What a stupid question.
Isn't it common sense that a person can only eat one Devil Fruit?
Yet Karina's next words shattered Perona's worldview.
Karina smiled and nodded. "That's right. Master is an unprecedented multi-fruit user. Besides the Logia Yami Yami no Mi, he also has the Paramecia Doa Doa no Mi, the Paramecia Gaze-Gaze Fruit, and the Paramecia More-More Fruit."
"..."
Perona's mouth fell open. She was dumbstruck and couldn't utter a word.
"Mufufufu, that's a great look. Too bad I don't have an Image Dial on me."
"Just like me back then."
Karina and Nami were satisfied with Perona's reaction.
When they first learned Yami's biggest secret, their reactions had been even worse than Perona's and had contributed many times to global warming in the pirate world.
"Boss, who is the person you're looking for?"
For once it was Robin, who usually preferred listening and spoke little, taking the lead in asking alongside Yami.
Hearing Robin's question, Karina and Nami, and even the dazed Perona, all turned their eyes to Yami.
Yami didn't hide it. "The Golden Lion, Shiki. I want the Paramecia Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, the Float-Float Fruit."
"Golden Lion?"
"That legendary pirate is actually still alive?"
Even though they knew the person Yami sought was no ordinary figure, Nami and Karina were still taken aback.
Just as everyone knows the Pirate King, everyone knows Whitebeard is scarier than a ghost.
Among the four legendary pirates of the previous era, only the Red Count—who even defeated a Fleet Admiral—was the least renowned, because he was a loner.
As for the Pirate King Roger, the Golden Lion Shiki, and Whitebeard Newgate, these three legendary pirates are names anyone living among people would inevitably know.
Before the Whitebeard Pirates became the world's strongest crew, Roger and the Golden Lion were the most famous.
The former became the Pirate King. The latter was the Pirate King's mightiest foe and the biggest backdrop to Roger's rise.
On the record, the Golden Lion was the first prisoner to break out of Impel Down, a legendary pirate in the tales.
Robin, slightly surprised, said, "That legendary pirate is hiding in the first half of the Grand Line?"
"Mm. Not only that, he's very close to Marine Headquarters."
Yami turned to look toward a certain patch of sky, the corner of his mouth lifting.
When he first left Loguetown, Yami had said, "Once I have enough strength, I'll go find that old lion at the first opportunity."
Go find him at the first opportunity, not go search for him at the first opportunity.
Which shows Yami already knew the old lion's whereabouts.
And in fact, he did.
After seizing the Paramecia Gaze-Gaze Fruit and returning to the first half of the Grand Line, Yami sought out the Golden Lion's base.
In the original work, the Straw Hat Pirates encountered the Golden Lion after defeating Gecko Moria, on their way to the Sabaody Archipelago.
Along the way they ran into sudden weather changes, and Nami's talent—enough to put professional navigator teams to shame—caught the storm-averse Golden Lion's eye.
Using the pretext of sending the Straw Hats back to the East Blue, he brought them to his base.
The Thousand Sunny hadn't flown long before it reached the sky above the Golden Lion's floating islands.
Thus, the Golden Lion's base hangs over the sea between the Florian Triangle and the Sabaody Archipelago.
When Yami used clairvoyance and x-ray sight to scan the sky, he indeed found the Golden Lion's base.
But at that time, he didn't go to hunt the Golden Lion.
He wasn't confident enough yet.
Not only is the Paramecia Fuwa Fuwa no Mi overwhelmingly powerful and a natural counter to someone who couldn't fly back then, the Golden Lion is a dual-sword grandmaster. Even without Haki and his fruit ability, he is a top-tier fighter.
That is why Yami first intended to obtain the Paramecia Bari Bari no Mi, the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, and the Paramecia Moru Moru no Mi, the More-More Fruit, before returning to hunt the Golden Lion and take the Paramecia Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Now, although Yami hasn't acquired the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, he has developed the Logia Yami Yami no Mi to a new level and has the confidence to hunt the Golden Lion.
It is time to claim the fourth strategic-level Devil Fruit.
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