Nami paused intentionally, watching her Straw Hat crew's curious expressions before continuing, "But with this, we can complete magnetic storage on any island in less than a day!"
"What?!" Usopp exclaimed, jumping up dramatically. "That's practically cheating!"
Sanji took a deep drag from his cigarette. "Doesn't that mean... we can skip those boring islands and head straight for..."
"Exactly!" Nami snapped her fingers. "We can choose where to stop, greatly shortening our travel time!"
Ron chuckled softly, reaching out to ruffle Nami's hair. "Special products are indeed all high-quality."
Just then,
Usopp, in the crow's nest, suddenly shouted, "Island ahead!"
Everyone rushed to the bow, only to see a peculiarly shaped small island gradually emerging on the distant horizon. As they drew closer, the most striking feature was a huge banner hanging at the island's entrance, with vibrant red letters proclaiming:
"Warm Welcome to All Pirates!"
Luffy excitedly danced around, "Wow! The people here are so enthusiastic! There must be endless feasts!"
Zoro, however, frowned. "Something's off... This is too deliberate."
A hint of amusement flickered in Ron's eyes. "Interesting... Looks like our first stop won't be boring."
Nami also sensed that something was amiss. "Everyone, be careful," she whispered, "There might be a trick here..."
But Luffy had already stretched his arm to grab the ship's railing, impatiently shouting, "Who cares! Let's go see first! As long as there's meat to eat!"
....
When the Going Merry docked at Whiskey Peak's harbor, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the island. Dozens of brightly dressed residents, waving colorful flags, surged forward, their faces beaming with exaggerated smiles.
"Welcome, welcome!"
"Distinguished guests from afar!"
"You must join our welcome feast!"
Luffy excitedly craned his neck, looking around, drooling. "Meat! I smell meat!"
Ron surveyed these "hospitable" residents, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. He turned to his crew and said, "Go on and eat your fill, but..." He deliberately emphasized, "Be moderate."
Then he looked at Nami. "I'll accompany Nami to dig for treasure. We'll meet up with you after we're done."
Upon hearing the words "dig for treasure," everyone except Luffy shivered in unison. Usopp's face instantly turned pale. "A-again with the treasure hunt?!"
He recalled his previous two experiences of digging up ghosts, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably. Although he had dug up good things like the weather map, the probability of digging up ghosts was still not to be underestimated.
Zoro had little interest in treasure hunting. "I choose to drink."
Sanji lit a new cigarette and shook his head. "I'll go see if any ladies in the kitchen need help~"
Even Luffy, who was usually enthusiastic about treasure, shook his head, as if he had given up on adventurous activities like treasure hunting, just staring eagerly in the direction of the banquet hall.
Nami put her hands on her hips, glaring at her good-for-nothing crew. "Hey! What kind of attitude is that!" She huffily shook the treasure map in her hand. "This time, we might dig up real treasure!"
Ron chuckled softly, patting Nami's shoulder. "Let's go. Let them enjoy the feast." He meaningfully glanced around. "If we delay any longer, the 'show' will begin."
Luffy and his group cheered as they rushed towards the banquet hall, quickly surrounded by the enthusiastic residents. Ron and Nami, meanwhile, quietly left the crowd and headed towards the treasure location marked on their map.
They noticed a few figures silently trailing behind them.
The leader was a man wearing a cowboy hat. He lowered his voice and said to his companions, "Follow those two... Treasure hunt? Hmph, if there's really treasure... then let's act early!"
He licked his lips, a greedy glint in his eyes. "We can't let a fat fish like this get away!"
Another masked man sneered, "Boss is brilliant! Once they dig up something good, we'll... hehehe."
The cowboy-hatted man made a throat-slitting gesture, and the group chuckled silently, continuing to follow Ron and Nami, using the shadows of the buildings as cover.
At this moment, Ron, walking ahead, suddenly turned his head slightly and whispered to Nami, "There are six 'little mice' following us." A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. "Want to play with them?"
Nami shook her head. "No rush, no rush... The treasure hunt is most important. If it's something bad again, we'll just give it to them."
"As you wish."
The two exchanged a smile, deliberately quickening their pace towards the most secluded graveyard on Whiskey Peak. The trackers behind them had no idea what terrifying thing they were following.
....
In the waters of the Grand Line,
An admiral was lazily riding his old bicycle, the sea breeze ruffling his fluffy curly hair.
He had just received an urgent communication from Fleet Headquarters, requesting him to immediately investigate the special abilities of "Cat Burglar" Nami and the truth behind the reappearance of Roger's phantom.
"What a hassle..." The admiral yawned, pulling out a nautical chart from his pocket. "Let me see... After the Straw Hat crew crosses Reverse Mountain, their first stop should be..." His finger landed on Whiskey Peak. "It's here."
He leisurely adjusted his direction. The moment his bicycle tires touched the sea surface, a thick layer of ice crystals immediately spread out, forming a straight path of ice on the water.
The admiral thus leisurely cycled in the middle of the sea, leaving a long trail of ice behind him.
"To be able to make Roger's phantom reappear..." He thoughtfully stroked his chin. "If such an ability truly exists, it's indeed dangerous."
Just as he thought this mission might be somewhat interesting,
Suddenly,
The bicycle beneath him glowed with dazzling golden light without any warning!
"Hm?" The admiral rarely showed a surprised expression. Before he could react, the entire bicycle began to tremble violently, as if being pulled by some invisible force, trying to fly into the sky.
"Hey, hey... What a joke, the bicycle is flying?!" The admiral hurriedly gripped the handlebars tightly with both hands, but the bicycle had already taken him into the air!
The ice path on the sea surface rapidly melted as it lost its ability to maintain, and the admiral was thus carried into the sky by his bicycle. He tried to activate his devil fruit ability, but found he couldn't control this sudden flight at all.
"What in the world... is going on..." The admiral's sunglasses reflected the blinding golden light, and his usually lazy face showed a rare hint of panic.
Just as he was about to fly into the clouds, the bicycle suddenly flashed with golden light, and both man and bike disappeared into thin air!
The sea surface below returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. Only a few pieces of still-melting ice proved that an Admiral had once passed through here...
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