One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

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"Whitebeard!" The golden lion hovered in the sky, gazing sadly at the frozen figure. His Observation Haki revealed no trace of life; there was only a frozen corpse.

One of our enemies and friends has died again!

"Is it over? Why did Im make a move?" Sengoku, who was watching the war end, also remained silent, puzzled by Im's actions.

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"Boss!" Lach Rue jumped off the ship and landed on the small, remaining island, which was only a few dozen square meters in size. He looked up at the figure with a heavy expression and shouted, then turned around to make way for the people behind him.

As the group slowly disembarked, everything vanished from their sight and hearing, and everyone now knew the origin of the ice crystal statue that stood on the edge of the island, beside the abyss.

Despite their best efforts to catch up, they were still too late!

"Put his body away!" she said calmly, gazing at the icy red-haired figure before her.

A legend ultimately perished on the battlefield!

Shanks! What are you doing?!

Sengoku, who was still in the sky, had already seen the ship that had suddenly appeared from afar. Ignoring the threat from Shiki beside him, he quickly stepped into the air and headed towards Whitebeard's location.

"Sengoku, stop this nonsense. You've already achieved your goal! Continuing to fight after the war is over will only have worse consequences!" The red-haired man said, supporting his long sword as he watched the figure getting closer.

"..." The Warring States period gazed at the entire sea in silence!

Whitebeard's death was a victory for the Navy, but the price of that victory was far beyond what he could bear!

The headquarters, which had remained unconquered for centuries, was transformed into an abyss!

Did the brutal deaths of soldiers and the collapse of top-tier combat power truly signify victory?

Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and the Air Admiral were seriously injured and fell into the sea. Garp was seriously injured, and Zephyr's physical strength had reached its peak. Now, only he himself was left in the entire Navy with the ability to fight.

However, the pirates, Shiki and Shanks, still maintained their fighting strength. Thinking of this, Sengoku looked at the remaining Marines on the distant iceberg and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whitebeard is dead! The war is over!"

The deep voice, carrying a powerful Armament Haki, instantly spread throughout the entire square and rolled into the distance.

"Dad!" A wail erupted from the ship upon hearing this. The entire Whitebeard Pirates were devastated, their worst fears had come true.

"Is Whitebeard alright? We've finally won!" The Marines, having regained their spirits and prepared to fight again, also collapsed, their momentum gone. The world of top-tier combat power was completely beyond their reach, but for the honor of the Marines, they had no regrets even in death.

"Sengoku! Give me some face, and I'll handle Whitebeard's affairs after his death!"

"You're leaving this to Shanks to handle? Then take it." Sengoku said in a deep voice, and quickly left, leaving all of this to him forever.

Clang! Clang! Two crisp metallic sounds rang out, followed by the golden lion's sorrowful voice.

"Has Whitebeard left?"

Shanks did not answer the request, but said, "Golden Lion, please do me a favor."

"A waterspout! A lion's coffin!"

The golden lion did not answer. It crouched down and gently placed its palm on the hard stone slab on the ground. The slab shattered and turned into dust, swirling around its white beard. As the dust drifted by, a giant stone coffin made of earth and stone stood tall between heaven and earth.

"Let's go! Take him back for burial!"

The stone coffin floated in the air, and the golden lion's mournful voice rang out.

"I'll see my old friend off!"

Just then, a noisy sound rang out, and a metal submarine painted yellow emerged from the sea, topped with a blue fishman. Transparent water whips bound him, rendering him unable to move the ice block he was holding.

"Damn Shichibukai Jinbe! Let go of my brother!"

Chapter 210 The Underworld! (Part 5)

"Is it finally over?" Several ships were floating on the sea further away. Upon hearing Sengoku's pronouncement, all the pirates on board breathed a sigh of relief.

The start of this war, which was enough to affect the entire world, made them inevitably feel the killing intent of the entire era, and the change of power was often accompanied by the birth of a sea of ​​blood.

"Whoosh! I'm afraid Whitebeard's territory will soon turn into a sea of ​​blood." The swirling smoke revealed a man in a suit standing on the ship's railing, gazing at the distant world.

"The key is Blackbeard, the man who sparked the entire war in a short time, and who took the opportunity to subdue the great pirates imprisoned in Impel Down, greatly increasing his strength." The man with a smile appeared below as he flapped his wings.

"Ah bah bah bah! How does he compare to that guy in the Straw Hat crew? I'm sure everyone remembers his appearance, how he beat up a Celestial Dragon and fought Kizaru to give his crew a chance to escape." Strange music rang out with an odd tone, reaching everyone's ears.

"The Straw Hat Pirates!"

"The Mad Pirates!"

"A bunch of lunatics who dare to beat up Celestial Dragons and Marine Admirals!"

Mentioning that being who caused everyone so much pain before, no one can help but grit their teeth! They roamed the seas with impunity, doing so many things that even the greatest pirates wouldn't dare to do. They were truly a bunch of lawless bastards and lunatics.

"I have to say the Straw Hat Pirates are bastards with the strength to step onto the world stage. It was their vice-captain who forced us to show ourselves and become participants in beating up the Celestial Dragons." Captain Warren reminded them, raising his rough, seastone hand to place on the seastone.

"Those bastards! Even if they're crazy, we have to find them. They're the ones who caused all this trouble, and they have to pay the price!" With tears streaming down her face, Joelle Bonney gazed at the distant world and wept bitterly.

"No matter what, Straw Hat Luffy's chances of survival are not zero. Is he a newcomer who can survive this battle? And what does this card representing destruction mean? It appears again and again without any change!" Straw floats on the surface as its owner places black cards on them, pondering the prophecy they bring.

"Hahaha! Is it over? Look at Blackbeard, he's no pushover. Whitebeard's death has broken the balance between the Four Emperors! And there's this Straw Hat Pirates, this bunch of lunatics. This world is truly unpredictable! This is just the beginning of a new era!" Laughter echoed from below as metal objects flew through the air.

"Amitabha!"

"They're all a bunch of lunatics!" The captains cursed inwardly upon hearing the maniacal laughter. As rising stars, each of them had their own pride and was unwilling to admit that the other was the strongest!

Except for that group of lunatics called Straw Hats!

···

"Looks like we won! But where is this place?"

When Mabi regained consciousness, she looked at the vast, gray sky and earth in front of her with doubt. Even when she was unconscious and waking up, she would not be floating in the sky without any support like this.

"Screw you!" Just as Maby was confused, a long leg appeared without warning and kicked Maby hard in the waist.

"Who is it!"

While in flight, Mabi forcefully twisted her body to face backward and observe the target of the attack.

"I stepped into thin air!"

The footsteps moved instantly, but instead of creating a fulcrum through air compression as before, Mabi felt as if she were kicking cotton. The emptiness caused the strength she had gathered to dissipate instantly, leaving her feeling weak and extremely uncomfortable.

Her body continued to fly backward without stopping, and the lack of leverage made it even more difficult for Mabi to control the space and gain any foothold.

"It's your grandpa!" A wild, unrestrained laugh and curse rang out from the other party, and his figure moved forward at a speed several times faster than Maby's.

"You damned salted fish, it's all your fault that I'm stuck in this underworld, just a floating soul. I'll kill you!"

"Get lost!" Mabi roared, raising her leg and sweeping it horizontally, forming a crescent moon shape like a sharp crescent blade, intending to cut her opponent down.

"Haha! You newly awakened salted fish can't beat me at all!" The other party suddenly stopped and laughed wildly as he barely avoided Mabi's sweeping attack.

He veered again, accelerated into the sky, and appeared directly above Maby at the same speed. A wicked smile appeared on his face as his flight path abruptly changed direction. He clenched his fists and placed them at his waist, charging from the sky towards Maby's body, who was unable to change direction.

"Die!"

“You too!” Maby said coldly.

The unimpeded flight left Mabi wondering where she was, and despite flying for so long, she didn't feel any sluggishness at all!

In such a place without any support, it is impossible to stop the body from attacking. The opponent can accelerate and bend, and with undisguised killing intent, one can only counterattack the moment the opponent makes contact. At that time, the two are relatively stationary and their speeds are comparable.

Facing the opponent's increasingly large fist, the left hand forms a claw shape to gather power, while the leg bends.

"Crack!" As Mabi sped along, she felt as if the other's arm was made of the hardest material. Her hand, which was strong enough to crush steel, slid forward along the other's arm and rushed toward her body. Her slightly curled long leg kicked toward the other's waist like a long whip.

At the same time, the arm twists and pulls, forcing the opponent's arm to pass under the armpit, while the right fist is clenched and extended towards the neck, and the hard elbow is instantly swept towards the opponent's head.

"Still the same old deadbeat! This isn't the real world for you to play around in!" The other party ignored Mabi's attack and laughed, his body dissipating, leaving only Mabi bewildered in the air.

"Enough! You two, stop messing around!" A furious shout came from the sky, and two figures, one tall and one short, descended from the sky. One of them pointed at the speeding Mabi with one hand, and she instantly stopped in her tracks.

"Boring!" The previously vanished figure uttered a dissatisfied sound and solidified back into a physical form.

“Teacher? Whitebeard!” Mabi, hovering in the air, stared at the two familiar figures with an incredulous expression.

"It's us!" the two people on the other end nodded and smiled.

"How is this possible? How can you two be so young!" Mabi exclaimed upon seeing their youthful appearance. The white-bearded young man looked somewhat familiar, but this was the first time she had ever seen her teacher.

“Mabi, I know you have a lot of questions! But we don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point and I’ll tell you everything!” Gallup waved his hand, signaling Mabi to stop asking questions.

"This is the underworld, the place your companion Brook returned to after he died. Your arrival here means that you, including us, have died and appeared in this world of the dead."

"Dead! Does that mean Kaya and her old man's crew will never see each other again?!" As someone who understands pirates, Maggie naturally knows about Brook's Devil Fruit, which is comparable to immortality! It can revive the dead, giving them a second life!

“You still have a chance to get out. Don’t forget why we’re called the Yellow Springs Sword Sect!” Gallup said hurriedly when he saw his disciple’s sad expression.

"What opportunity!" Mabi shouted urgently. Not everyone is willing to give up the chance to live.

The fifth watch is over!

Chapter 211 Slaying the Yellow Springs! Return!

"Mabi, calm down! If you want to find a chance to get out, you first need to understand your current soul state. The pure way of using the soul is completely different from how the body operates. You must understand how to use it before you can seize that fleeting opportunity to leave here," Gallup reminded him, seeing his apprentice's anxious expression.

"Huff! Huff! Soul body!" Mabi breathed a sigh of relief in her haste. She had already entered the Yellow Springs, a place completely different from the real world, so there was no way to be impatient.

The only recourse is to seek help from one's teacher, who has entered the Underworld once before. After all, he entered and came out again back then, and when asked, he always said that the time was not yet up. Presumably, he can answer now.

"Kurarara! Kid, in this world, the only thing you can use is your soul form. You can try using Observation Haki, since Observation Haki is emitted from the soul and is the only thing that can be brought in and used." The white-bearded man, with his long golden hair and crescent-shaped beard, smiled and reminded him.

"Thank you, old man with the white beard!" Mabi nodded in response, looking at her gray arm.

A soul? Like Nielco, it's ethereal and without substance. I was only able to capture his body because of the spiritual power of the Salt Fish Fruit.

With a slight shift of mind, the entire arm vanished into nothingness, yet it remained in the sense of being. With another slight shift of mind, it reassembled. Placing the other hand on it, one could immediately feel the change in the arm's softness. It could shift between nothingness and solidity, and could also solidify into something as hard as steel or as soft as cloth. The entire body was at one's mercy.

There was also the faint soul power that permeated and surrounded his body. With the slightest thought, it felt as if it could be condensed into earth for him to tread upon, and it could also be controlled to solidify and imprison everything. It seemed that Whitebeard had used this method to stop him before.

"Weakling! Hurry up! I've been awake for ages, and you're still asleep, you weakling. If you keep dawdling, your body will be burned, and your lover can go cry with a knife in his arms." The soul sitting cross-legged in the void next to her saw the change in Mabi's arm and mocked her without any politeness. A face appeared on her face, exactly like Mabi's.

"A second personality?" Looking at the face that was exactly the same as hers and the arrogant tone, Mabi suddenly remembered something and became puzzled.