One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

"Straw Hat brats! You've really given me a headache these past six months! You've made the entire New World a complete mess." Akainu strode heavily out of the Marine ranks, his face glowing with magma as he glared fiercely at Maple and the others.

"What is it?" Mabi calmly stepped forward and spoke. As soon as she finished speaking, the previously empty space around them solidified and surged towards the other party. At the same time, the Armament Haki of all the Straw Hat crew members behind them burst forth, and the Armament Haki that seemed to be tangible linked the auras of all the Straw Hat Pirates present together to form an indestructible fortress, all looking towards the Navy and pressing down on them.

The neatly repaired stone slabs on the ground made a cracking sound, and cracks appeared in front of Maggie and spread towards Akainu, causing Akainu, whose face was full of anger, to be enraged and his whole body to burn with flames.

"Iai! Demon Slash!" With a cold snort, a bald old man dressed in a gray-white haori appeared in front of Akainu, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He raised his head and coldly looked at Mabi and the others. A deep, dark demonic aura burst forth from the Kitetsu in his hand. The Armament Haki that was originally aimed at Akainu was ruthlessly slashed into the sky, instantly clearing the entire sky. The sharp wind spread around, making his clothes flutter and rustle as they broke through the air.

"Conqueror's Haki! Everyone awakens Conqueror's Haki!"

"No, it's top-tier Armament Haki! It's separated Armament Haki!"

As the discussion arose, countless people looked at the Straw Hat crew standing at the main entrance of the arena with a hint of apprehension in their eyes. How could a mere group of young people, barely twenty years old, have managed to injure a veteran king using Armament Haki?

"Hey, hey, hey! I didn't send you here to fight. If you want to fight, there will be plenty of fights later." Shanks, holding a rapier, lazily walked out of a tent at the back, a powerful aura of dominance piercing between the two sides.

"Shanks, twenty-three years! I've finally met you with my crew." Luffy burst into laughter upon seeing the familiar figure and charged forward, clutching his straw hat tightly as he stood before Shanks.

"Put it away." Seeing this, Mabi smiled and waved to her companions, signaling them to put away the Armament Haki that they had honed through countless battles.

"Now is not the time to make a move. We don't know what they've been through, but each of them possesses strength comparable to a naval admiral." An old man in a black suit, with a bushy white beard, white curly hair, and a flat cap, reached out to stop his companion.

"Huh? Then I'll lose face." Akainu's face was full of anger, white sulfurous odor emanating from his nostrils, his fists clenched, and his sharp eyes staring straight in Mabi's direction.

"We'll talk about everything later. This is our only chance to stand up. If we fail, you, as the Fleet Admiral, will have to kneel before him forever." Kong stood beside Akainu with his arms crossed and said in a deep voice, "Okay."

"That bastard!" Upon hearing his superior mention that existence, Akainu's face twitched again in anger, as if he wanted to explode again, but he ultimately restrained himself.

"Haha! Luffy, you've been quite a handful all these years. Come and let me meet your crew." Shanks released Luffy's shoulder and enthusiastically pulled him to Maple and the others.

"Great! I've gotten this far thanks to their support all these years. I'll definitely become the Pirate King this time!" Luffy said with a grin.

"This is Mabi, our actor who also serves as the first mate."

"Zoro, a three-sword style swordsman."

"Sanji, our chef."

"Pureen, Sanji's wife."

"Anne, Sanji Pudding's child."

"Nami the Navigator".

"Usopp the Sniper".

"Kalina guards the crew."

"Abis Translation Kit"

"Robin the archaeologist."

"Mia, the waitress."

"White Tiger Jack's reserve food."

"Dr. Chopper."

"Nurse Angelia."

"Frankie Shipwright".

"Jinbe, the helmsman."

"Brook Musician".

"The Merry Ship Spirit".

"Little Eight Sailor".

As Luffy introduced them one by one, everyone nodded in acknowledgment. Having lived together for eleven years and heard countless stories of Luffy's mentorship, they were finally meeting him in person—the legendary only remaining veteran Sea Emperor.

"Thank you all for taking care of Luffy. This brat has always been mischievous since he was little." Shanks reached out and ruffled Luffy's messy hair, smiling kindly at Mavis and the others.

Seeing Shanks' caring voice, everyone exchanged smiles and spoke.

"It's alright, it's alright! As a crew member, you should be tolerant of everything the captain does. If he disobeys, just give him a beating."

"Hey! I'm your captain!" Luffy was immediately dissatisfied and became furious upon hearing his crewmate's explanation.

All that met him was a string of cold laughs from the crowd.

"hehe!"

Shanks released Luffy's head and pleaded:

"Alright, Luffy!"

"We need to borrow your archaeologist; the last piece of the historical text is inside, and we need Miss Robin's help to decipher it."

Robin listened to his request, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

“No problem, I want Maggie to come with me.” After saying that, Robin glanced at the Five Elders and remained silent.

Looking into Robin's gaze, Shanks immediately understood that she was referring to the disaster that had occurred in Ohara, and said in a deep voice:

"Fine, anyone who dares to lay a hand on you is our enemy."

"Thank you, I will translate it as soon as possible!"

"Sora, MOM, Ace, Dragon, Zephyr, and Mihawk, let's go in together." With Robin's consent, Shanks called out to the group at the same time.

"Shanks brat, this should have happened a long time ago. Twenty-five years ago, that bastard Roger stole my rubbings, and you even kept the last piece, preventing it from ever being released. This has kept me from ever becoming the Pirate King. Now, I'm entering Laugh Tale with so many people. The title of number one is gone, and there's no point in me going back in." MOM said with dissatisfaction, but still strode out of his fat body toward the tent at the back, while the others set off together.

"You gluttonous brat, you actually threw an old man like me into the sea a few months ago. I still can't forgive you." MOM said in a deep voice as he pushed past Kong's frail body.

"Here you go, this is a chocolate pastry made by Pudding using ingredients from the small world. It's a food that doesn't exist in the main world." Facing MOM's dissatisfaction, Maggie casually took out a chocolate wrapped in a square piece of tin foil and handed it to her. As Pudding's foodie mother, she still needed to give her some face. She would be polite first, but if she dared to lay a hand on her, she would give her another beating.

"A small world? You actually went into that place. No wonder your aura changed so quickly. But it's lucky that you came out alive. Many of the dead people who came out were old people." MOM said with a strange expression, even abandoning his previous complaints, and casually opened the foil and stuffed the chocolate into his mouth.

The people behind were even more moved. The existence of the small world was only recorded as a dangerous place. The flow of time inside was different from that of the outside world. People from the future or ancient people who had reappeared after decades or hundreds of years would often appear.

"It's so delicious! I feel the same joy I had when my first child came into my life. My daughter, Pudding, is getting better and better at cooking." MOM savored the silky sweetness in her mouth, her face beaming with delight.

That was something Pudding made to celebrate the birth of her child. Sanji went through half the world to gather the materials to make this.

“You gluttonous brat, that clone you made using cloning techniques married my daughter half a month ago, so you’re my child now too.” As he said this, MOM’s aged face was filled with a smile, and he reached out his thick hand to pat Mabi’s shoulder.

That idiot bastard!

Mabi's lips twitched. She had asked Germa 666 to clone her body with her own cells in order to separate that soul. She had taken the soul of that three-second man and left it behind when it was still immature. She never expected that he would be so bored as to marry MOM's daughter.

"We're here!" Robin, who was beside Maggie, called out softly, took Maggie's arm, left MOM, and walked to the giant red Poneglyph. A permanent pointer pressed down on a sea chart, which stood peacefully on a log.

No one present made a sound, allowing Robin to quietly translate the text.

"Can we get there?" This was the question on everyone's mind.

“Yes, it shows the direction of the last island. As long as you navigate according to the four pointers at a specific angle, you can draw the destination,” Robin nodded.

"That's good. Take this nautical chart and the permanent compass to that island and give them to your navigators. You will lead the team." Shanks then changed the subject, glanced around, and said in a deep voice.

"As I have already mentioned, this is the closest place to Laugh Tale. If you want to leave now, it is still possible. Once you leave this island, you must follow the main force. Those who are evacuated will be dealt with immediately."

"Understood. It's all or nothing. Naval power has been handed over, so let us old bones do our best to contribute what we have left," Kong nodded.

"Then assemble the fleet and set sail!"

"Shanks, what happened..." Luffy was confused and wanted to speak, but was then pulled back by Maple.

"We'll talk about it later. We'll ask again once we're out at sea."

"okay."

As the group stepped out of the tent, the representatives of the various factions, who had been chatting amongst themselves, stopped talking and looked over, seeking the final answer.

"The destination is set, let's set sail!"

There was no objection, nor any voice of agreement. Everyone walked solemnly toward the port, where thousands of ships were docked, waiting to set sail.

"Luffy, I noticed there's a child on your ship. Leave her on the island; someone will take care of her. We'll come back for her when we return," Shanks said, looking at Anne who was standing next to Pudding.

Shanks's advice seemed to directly anger a certain blue-haired man with a red nose and clown makeup, whose body suddenly separated and flew over to grab Shanks by the collar, full of rage.

"Red-haired bastard! He actually wouldn't let the kids land! No wonder I caught a cold out of nowhere. Crocus said it's not good to sail when you have a cold. When did that make any sense? That bastard dared to lie to me! I'll smash his lighthouse when I get back!"

"Oh! That's the medicine I gave you. It's just to simulate a severe cold. You'll be fine after a few days of rest," Rayleigh, with his white hair and a drunken expression, poked his head out and replied with a smile.

"Uncle Rayleigh!" Luffy exclaimed at the same time.

"Wow, Luffy has gotten a lot stronger in just six months. Now even I am no match for him."

"Haha! We've been separated by ten years, I've long surpassed you." Luffy laughed heartily after receiving the praise.

Seeing Luffy's hearty laughter, Rayleigh looked at the Straw Hat crew with a smile.

"Haha! Straw Hat brats, I'll ask you one more time: are you really willing to give your lives for your captain again, just like you did two years ago?"

"What do you guys think?" Mabi turned to her companions and smiled.

"Are you discriminating against us, you bastard?"

"Of course!"

Upon hearing Mabi's question, a barrage of disdainful glares was directed at her.

"You guys are still the same mischievous straw hat brats you were two years ago!" Rayleigh chuckled to himself, grabbing Buggy's braid and pulling him along despite Buggy's antics.

"Settle the little girl down and let's go together. I'll need you to lead the way later. You'll soon find out why those who set foot on Laugh Tale are called the Pirate King, and only the Pirate King can enter Laugh Tale."

"And Maggie, your whole background is in there!"

Chapter 284 The Destroyed Holy Land and the Straw Hat!

"What? The Holy Land has been destroyed!"

As soon as Sabo finished speaking, an uproar erupted on the deck of the Sunny, with faces full of disbelief. That was the office of the World Government, which had led the operation of the entire world for eight hundred years, and they hadn't heard a single word from it.

“I remember we were trapped in the small world for ten years, and only ten days have passed in the real world. How could something so big happen?” Maggie was equally incredulous.

The person named Im, who lives in the Holy Land, has the power to move forward, stop, and go backward in time. He is hidden in the cracks of time, making him difficult for anyone to harm. How could he possibly be destroyed?

“Ten days ago, we used Hades to contact Uranus. With his approval, we used Hades's cannons in conjunction with explosive rocks to bombard the entire Holy Land, turning it into ruins. The mysterious person who has controlled the world for over eight hundred years is also being hunted down by Uranus, and there has been no news of him since,” Sabo explained.