One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

"Don't worry! We'll find a good shipwright!" Mabi shouted, hammering in a nail. She thought she still had the Proverb, which would allow Merry to sail to the next island and find the genius shipwright Frankie in Water 7. Unexpectedly, Merry mishandled the voltage, causing damage to the ship's internal parts, leaving it stranded at sea. If only they had known this would happen, they could have taken two logs from God's Island to make a canoe. Now, they could only build a makeshift sloop using the golden keel Merry had made and the others adding planks. All they needed was a place to run on the wind and rest; an armory, warehouse, and kitchen were unnecessary.

"Fufufufu! The golden ship! This enormous statue—this is what befits the identity of a genius victor!" Just as everyone was busy working on a pile of wood on the deck, a joyful and arrogant voice came from nearby!

"Fufufufu! Listen up, everyone on board! From this moment on, this ship belongs to me!" A wild shout came from below!

"Captain Fox! Captain Fox!" A group of people below cheered and shouted!

"Hehe!" The busy workers stopped what they were doing, looked up at each other, and gave each other the same friendly smile. Even the usually gentle Angelia and Chopper, who disliked fighting, had the same smile on their faces! In that instant, they understood each other's thoughts without needing to say a word!

"Let's go!" The group quickly got up and ran towards the source of the sound. Now they finally didn't need to build a ship!

"Hehe, someone's bringing a boat!" Mabi watched her companions' figures but didn't rush over with them. She trusted them to handle things and needed to put away the Proverb after they left, since leaving such a big thing on the sea would be a waste.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!" A series of rolling ball bearing sounds rang out!

Merry rolled along his round, golden lower limbs, dodging the wooden planks and parts on the ground, until he reached Maby's side. He climbed up his shoes and onto Maby's shoulder, stopping in his place. Then, he stuck a needle out of his golden body and fastened it to his clothes to keep himself from falling off. He squatted on Maby's shoulder and said forlornly.

"Dude! I'm so useless!"

"It's alright, you'll be fine once you've got control of your power! We'll make you a new body to control!" Mabi stroked its little head to comfort it, not expecting its little brother to arrive so quickly.

“Let’s go!” Mabi watched as her companion jumped down last, reached out her palm to the Proverb and put it away. Suddenly, the sea felt empty. She stepped towards the hundred-meter-long ship with a fox head next to her.

"Don't call me a forkhead! You bandits! I challenge you to a duel!" After jumping aboard, Mabi found a man with long, red nose and hair combed in a V-shape slumped on the deck, writhing in pain and complaining. Countless wounds on his body told of the miserable ordeal he had just suffered.

"Get lost! You just claimed our ship belonged to you, and now you're being robbed by us. That's not too much to ask, is it? Besides, who would want to duel with you now that you're a robber!" Mabi jumped over and saw this familiar V-shaped head, then kicked him away.

"Wow! Boss! Captain Fox, who had maintained a 920-game winning streak, has been defeated in one blow again!"

"Where did this pirate crew come from? They're so terrifying!"

"That straw hat! I know it belongs to a terrifying newly risen crew called the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Ahhh! So this is the legendary Monkey D. Luffy who defeated one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea with a bounty of 170 million Berries!"

"That's Nami over there, the terrifying witch who supposedly defeated two thousand people with a single blow! Her bounty is a whopping 89 million Berries! She's one of the few female pirates among all the pirates!"

"Another dark-haired woman, the legendary Nico Robin, who was hunted since she was eight years old and possessed the power to destroy five warships, has a bounty of 79 million Berries!"

"And there's Roronoa Zoro, the former pirate hunter who wields three swords and has the strength to kill a mad killer, with a bounty of 70 million Berries!"

"Wow! That's terrifying! Their bounties are all higher than the captain's!"

"There's also a man here who kicked the spaceship captain!"

"Should we...?"

Hearing the frenzied discussions around them, the group of pirates trapped on the deck immediately knelt down upon seeing the Straw Hat crew standing on the deck, railings, masts, and bow with an air of supreme authority.

"Gentlemen! Please accept us! If you tell us to go east, we will never go west!" Faced with a pirate crew capable of going head-to-head with the Seven Warlords of the Sea, they naturally wouldn't be stingy with their praise. Survival is the most important thing. As for themselves, they were just a few hundred people gathered from countless pirate crews, and they weren't particularly loyal. Those who were particularly loyal and shouted their opposition were now lying on the deck.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! I don't want you guys! We just want to get off the ship and go to the next island!" Luffy laughed loudly from the bow of the ship.

"Ah! We've been rejected!" The group on deck immediately prostrated themselves in despair, utterly dejected.

"Bastards! Bastards! Damn bandits! Do you dare accept my duel?!" Fox, having recovered, shouted as he looked at his crew who had all turned against him. The once-prosperous crew was now all alone.

"Slowing Ray!" Seeing Maby's desire to attack again, he flicked his finger towards her with one hand, a smug smile on his face. He was going to teach this person who had kicked him a lesson!

"I stepped into thin air!"

"Uh! Where is everyone?!" After he launched the attack and found no one there, he looked around and saw a giant foot appear in front of him again.

"Bang!" Without warning, Meibi prevented him from using that disgusting ability again! He was once again in intimate contact with the wooden board, his entire body embedded in it, unable to extricate himself.

"Challenge? What challenge?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion, looking at the captain of the ship who had been knocked away again. But thinking of the next goal, he immediately forgot his previous doubts and stood at the bow of the ship, shouting.

"Friends! Let's set off! We're going to find a new shipwright!"

"Haha! Boss, how do you think I am?" Immediately, the shipwright on the ship came up and fawned over him, hoping that this powerful pirate crew would come to him!

"Navigator! Navigator! Set sail quickly! Get the leaders to the next island!" Some of the fearful people were eager to send them back to other islands!

The entire deck was in chaos, with Fox's crew making a scene everywhere, and Fox, who was lying on the ground, being dragged away!

"Whoosh! Straw Hat crew, you guys really made me look for you! Thanks to you, I got a few months of vacation!" A lazy, nonchalant voice came from below, and crystal-clear ice crystals emerged from the railing and slowly spread across the deck, causing the Fox crew members who were moving around to retreat far away!

Chapter 100 Aokiji

"Tap! Tap! Tap!" The hard leather boots struck the cold ice crystals with a crisp sound! A towering figure slowly walked up from the ship's side below and appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Huh! Coming up from the sea! How cool!" Hearing the voice calling his pirate crew, Luffy stretched his head and looked up. He saw a line of ice crystals that stretched straight to the sky. His eyes immediately lit up and he stared intently at the man in front of him.

"Oh dear! You're really giving me a headache! Destroying a royal city! Kidnapping a princess! And now you're robbing a pirate crew!" The man who came up looked at the group of people who only appeared in the documents and slapped his head in exasperation.

When Mabi saw Aokiji appear, she immediately felt something was wrong and moved quickly. Just then, she saw Robin's legs buckling and her body trembling as if she was about to fall.

"Stand still!" Mabi stepped forward, putting an arm around her and leaning her strong body against her for support.

"Mabi!" Seeing the man's trembling voice as he held her to keep her from collapsing, Mabi felt her limp, trembling body instinctively curl up for protection the moment she met Robin's gaze! Like a pitiful, helpless stray cat!

"Don't worry, everything will pass!" Looking into those weak eyes, Mabi sighed inwardly. As a girl, she had been wandering for twenty years without a place of peace, and now her greatest childhood fear had come knocking.

"Hey! Mia! Why are you going limp too!" A glance revealed that Mia's body was also about to collapse, so Robin dragged the immobile Robin over.

"He! He! Mabi is here to capture me!" Mia lay in Mabi's arms, feeling his strong support. She looked up and saw a familiar figure, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face. As a princess of a country, she naturally knew the identity and existence of someone like Aokiji. The moment she saw him appear, various factors flashed through Mia's mind, and she immediately guessed that it was a Celestial Dragon who had sent a Marine admiral to capture her.

"Don't worry, we're here! We won't let anyone take you away!" Mabi comforted her, putting her arm around her thin shoulders. With a calmer heart and a steady gaze, she looked at him and communicated with Neilko to prepare for the maximum output of his spatial abilities.

"Oh my! Princess Mia, it seems you're doing well, not like what I imagined! And Nico Robin, that little girl from back then, has grown into a young lady!" Aokiji looked up at the targets he was looking for and couldn't help but admire them when he saw that they were doing well. Then, he let out a soft exclamation when he saw the man holding the two of them.

"Hey! Who's this guy? He's so wary of me the moment we meet!"

“Mr. Aokiji, you are the Navy’s top combatant. I’m sure anyone would react the same way I would!” Maggie replied calmly, then called out to Chopper, handed them over to him, and slowly stepped forward to stand at the front.

"Huh! A Marine Admiral! What's he doing here! Shouldn't he be capturing a great pirate in the New World?" Upon hearing Maggie's voice, the entire crew froze. As pirates who roam the seas, how could they not be familiar with the Marine's power structure?

"Whoosh!" Upon hearing this, the hundreds of pirates from the Fox Pirates retreated like a tide, disappearing from the deck and entering the cabin, leaving only the Straw Hat Pirates on the deck.

"Damn it! What did you do to them?!" Luffy yelled at Robin and Mia, who had fainted in Chopper's arms, while his companions drew their weapons to guard against the suddenly appearing figure.

"Hey guys! I'm not a bad person! I need to talk to you about something! By the way, what is it? This happened a few months ago!" Aokiji shook his head and analyzed the question he wanted to ask.

"Looking for trouble?" Everyone looked wary, a string of question marks appearing on their faces. What could a naval admiral possibly want with pirates?

"Whoosh!" Aokiji slammed his right fist against his left palm, remembering his previous mission.

"I've completely forgotten about the mission! Does anyone know where Harrison Wycliffe is? He's my target! I couldn't find him and then saw the newspapers about your rampage, so I had no choice but to follow you guys who were last at the scene to find out what happened! After all, he's a dangerous person!"

"Who is Harrison Wycliffe?!" Luffy was full of questions. When he lost, Luffy never remembered their names; he just blew them away.

“It’s that doctor who conducted human experiments!” Maggie replied from the side.

"It's that bastard!" Luffy gritted his teeth upon hearing the familiar scene; he had witnessed the dismembered limbs scattered underground.

"Kurara! It seems you really know he exists! Then please tell me where he is! That way I can give your grandfather an explanation!" A hint of satisfaction appeared on Aokiji's lazy face. Finally, he didn't have to run back to clock in and sleep anymore.

"Grandpa!" Upon hearing Aokiji's address, Luffy trembled and broke out in a cold sweat!

"Luffy, what's wrong with you? You're trembling all over!"

"nothing!"

"..." Seeing this, Mabi was speechless!

Luffy! Just how much influence did your grandfather have on you? You tremble just hearing his name.

“You know how dangerous he was; we burned him on the spot!” Mabi replied, not daring to relax her guard at all.

"Kurara! Oh, I see! Then forget it!" Hearing Mabi's explanation, she nodded in agreement. Apart from destroying the evidence, there really wasn't any other reason for him to disappear without a trace.

"Standing up is too tiring! Let's sit down and talk about your business!" Aokiji, feeling tired of looking down, sat cross-legged on the ground and replied to the Straw Hat Pirates who were staring in their direction, but none of the Straw Hat Pirates let down their guard.

"Nicole Robin!" Aokiji rested his chin on his knee and stared at Robin, who lay limply in Chopper's arms.

"We've been after you since you were eight! You've used your sharp mind to infiltrate various organizations, and once betrayed, you'd run away! Then, when you were taken in, you'd flatter and exploit them before betraying them again! This time, you chose one of these guys! Betray them again, send them to their deaths, and then go off alone to find the next organization! You survived in the underworld by relying on this ability to change sides, which led to the complete annihilation of all the previous organizations without exception!" The icy, chilling voice unhesitatingly exposed Nico Robin's most painful wounds!

"Whoever you are! What you said really makes me angry!" Sanji stomped up in his shoes.

"Hey! Don't do anything reckless!" Usopp stepped forward and shouted to stop him.

"Damn it! Shut up!" Upon hearing this, Luffy flew into a rage, swinging his fist and charging forward, but was stopped by Maggie's outstretched arm.

"Mabi!" she cried out as she saw the arm appear in front of her.

Maple took the Merry off her shoulder, pinned it to Luffy's shirt, patted it off, walked up to him, blocked his view of Robin, stared directly into his eyes, and spoke in a cold voice!

"Mr. Aokiji, is that it? I suppose some things are not as clear as they seem! Times have changed. Now that we've taken her in as our partner, we'll naturally accept everything about her!"

"Kulala! What an arrogant young man! Even if you are few in number and young, judging from your deeds and the speed at which you have grown during this period, even I, who often deals with villains, feel that your future is unimaginable! So!"

"You all stay here now!"

Chapter 101 Rubber Spiral Thunder Rocket Launcher

"Sever the Void!"

"Oh dear! Flying Slash is the only way to keep you alive!" Aokiji shouted as his half-body flew through the air, looking at his shattered lower body.

Luffy didn't give his body a break while he was flying through the air. He immediately activated Gear Second, and his compressed legs slammed heavily onto the deck, sending countless wood chips flying! His body instantly appeared in the air!

"Rubber telescopic air cannon!"

"Frozen Moment!" The body, which was flying through the air, blurred in advance to avoid Luffy's air cannon. An arm appeared next to Luffy and gently pressed on the arm that had not yet retracted! Instantly, an ice crystal spread across Luffy's arm!

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The icy, bone-chilling blood rushing into Luffy's brain instantly gave him a tremendous shock! His body involuntarily fell backward!

"Take off! Salted Fish Barrier!" Mabi appeared beside Luffy with a swift movement, unleashing an invisible barrier that separated the two worlds, pulling the falling Luffy onto her back! A chilling aura was forming ahead!

"Iron Cloud Tiger Blade!" Four circular white iron cloud blades shot out from Jack's tiger claws, spinning rapidly and flying through the opponent's elemental body!

"Devil's Barbecue!" Sanji strode through the barrier, kicking out flames from his feet, but then an arm appeared and pressed down on his burning calf. The flames instantly extinguished, and his entire lower limb shimmered with ice crystals! His body went limp as he plummeted into the azure sea below.

"Luffy, pull him back!" Maggie stared at Aokiji and said coldly.

"One Hundred and Eight Troublesome Phoenixes!"

"Chirp!" A phoenix formed from countless blades of energy, carrying endless wind pressure, spiraled upwards and crashed into the body of the blue pheasant in the air! Instantly, countless ice crystals flew everywhere, sparkling and shimmering in the sunlight!

"Did it work?" Luffy asked, tossing Sanji back onto Maple's back.