Chapter 141
[Tottoland, Whole Cake Island; July 29th, 1522]
"Perospero, what is this rumour that I've been hearing recently?"
Linlin, who was sitting on her comfortable seat with content expression on her face, asked to Perospero who stood nearby.
"The freak horse of Grimheart, who is known to be able to use that Marine technique, and... eat meat, was it?"
"M-Mama! Where did you even hear that from, rorin?!" Perospero couldn't help but gulp nervously, for he knew,
'If mama dares to add that horse onto her freak collection... it would mean war between us and the Grimheart pirates! The damage we will attain as the result...'
"Perospero!!!"
Linline shouted in annoyance as Perospero didn't answer her question, causing him to jolt up in shock.
"Y-yes, mama!" Perospero had no choice here. He can try to lie, however, it won't last forever. And once Linlin learns that he was lying... he couldn't fathom what she would do to him. Therefore,
"It... what you heard is true, mama. 'Flying' Farul, perorin, the capable member of the Grimheart pirates."
And just as Perospero feared, Linlin began to rub her hands together gleefully.
"Mamamama!" She locked her fearsome eyes onto Perospero, "Perospero! Send the Grimheart pirates an invitation to my tea party next month!"
Perospero's jaw dropped, eyes popped out, and a long strand of snot hanged from his nose. He couldn't help but retort,
"Mama! They are the Grimheart pirates! Regardless of the fact that they are the rookies, the feats that they've shown up until now—"
"PEROSPERO!!!!!" Linlin screamed all of a sudden, causing Perospero's face to turn pale, "Are you saying that I am inferior to Grimheart?!!!!"
"N-no! Of course not, mama!!"
Linlin, with furious expression, lowered her tone, "Then do as I say!!"
Perospero frantically nodded before hurriedly making his way out.
_____________
[Middle of Nowhere; July 30th, 1522]
"What a lovely weather." Rowan said with a pleasant demeanour, as he lied down on top of the wolf figurehead of Prominence and relaxed.
"""What is wrong with you?!!!"""
In response, Nojiko, Nami, and Bonney all barked in disbelief, from the deck of their respective ships.
"Look at how stormy the weather is!!!"
"Ahhhhh!! Watch out for the tide!!"
*PAZZZZ*
"Lightning!!! Lightning just struck the sea right next to my ship!!!"
Just an hour ago, Rowan, his crew, and his alliance all managed to make their way back to the surface successfully. They finally were in the New World!
However, what they were welcomed with was simply devastating... for most of them, at least.
The muggy and unpleasant weather. The stormy clouds that covered the entire sky. The extremely violent winds, the mix of rain and hail all over, the frequent lightning that exploded the area of contact, the irregular and unstable sea... no average person will be able to enjoy one's tea time in this condition…
Except for them, the Grimheart pirates. Although the problem regarding the sea wasn't an issue to Prominence that was flying up in the air, they should've been blasted apart by all the other factors that contributed to the chaotic weather. However, if looked closely,
*Boom*
a subtle sound of bounce could be seen.
All the dangers that were being inflicted on Prominence were being nullified by Rowan. Such a feat of fighting against the very climate itself seemed almost seemed impossible to achieve, however, it was a different case for Rowan. After having attained the upgrade in his ocular strength, the golden-coloured eye, in particular, he gained another simple but versatile ability: multitasking!
*Boom* *Bo-boom* *Boom* *Boooom*
Bottom-left, top-right, crow's nest, etc., Rowan was deflecting numerous sources of danger at the same time, and believe it or not, he was enjoying it.
The allied pirates on the other ships couldn't help but look at Prominence in envy, all the while their ships shook violently due to the waves.
"Captain!" From the deck below the figurehead of Prominence, Cavendish called Rowan as he threw the fishing rod to the latter, "You ready for round two?!"
Rowan caught the fishing rod with ease and inspected it with interest.
"Huh, since when was the fishing line this long?"
"Guahaha! It's yet another work of Alfred, of course!"
Rowan sat up and cracked his neck with a grin,
"Is Dan going to be dish-washing tonight, just like the last time?"
Dan, who was holding onto the similar-looking fishing rod, smirked confidently,
"Heh, you don't know how much I improved since then, captain."
*Creak*
As the door leading to the inside of Prominence opened, Alfred and Urouge made their way outside.
"Fishing in the New World... this is going to epic, sahaha!!" Urouge held his fishing rod high up in excitement. Then,
*PAZZZZ*
the lightning shot right onto Urouge's fishing rod, causing him to become electrocuted along with it.
However,
"...Sahahaha!!!"
With his hair not puffed up into an afro, Urouge simply laughed off like nothing.
""""Pfff...""""
Rowan, Dan, Cavendish, and surprisingly, Alfred as well, all held back their laughter comically.
On the side, the females of the crew, Carina, Carmen, and Robin, were having a relaxing time as they sat by the table on the deck and sipped on their respective teas.
Farul seemed to be sleeping peacefully on the side, completely unaware of the chaotic weather,
"Right!! Turn the ship by the right; the big tide is incoming!!"
"F***!! Are they actually fishing right here, right now?!!"
while the Heart pirates, Twin Cats pirates, and Bonney pirates were struggling to survive.
_____________
[A day after]
"Huge storm incoming!! Turn to the left by 40 degrees! Ride the water current to swiftly get out from its way!!!"
"Room! Takt!"
"Ahhh!!!"
The sail continued on. Just as the previous day, the allied pirates were busy trying to survive... except for the Grimheart pirates.
"Day 2 in the New World. The weather is nice. Having fun on our way to Risky Red. Would've been faster by ourselves, but it is what it is. The others don't seem to be enjoying it as we do. Strange."
Dan was busy writing down in his journal as he muttered the context.
"This fish... poisonous. The other one... poisonous. That one... poisonous... f***!!" Carmen was cursing as she inspected the pile of fish that the guys of the crew caught on the day before.
"So according to what Marco said, Kaidou is a drunkard who loves to fight. His fruit is overpowered too, apparently." On the other hand, Rowan was chatting with Alfred and Farul, "Therefore, after we defeat him, let's give his fruit to Prominence."
"Neigh~!!!"
"Oh, you want one as well, Farul?" Rowan placed his hand on his chin, "Hmm..."
"We already thought about this matter, captain Rowan." Alfred said as he adjusted his monocle, "Do you recall Law's explanations? Among Doflamingo's henchmen, I grew interested in one particular fruit named Hobby Hobby fruit. Being able to turn people into toys, ohoho..."
Alfred's eyes flashed dangerously, causing Robin to turn pale as her mind replayed what she went through in the past.
"Neigh!!"
Rowan shifted his attention to Farul and raised his eyebrow, "And you want a cool Zoan-type fruit?"
"Neigh~!!"
Nearby, Carina, Cavendish, Robin, and Urouge were seen to be playing... a poker.
"Guahaha! Take my two pair!!"
"Hehe, it's my win—full house."
"W-whatt?!!!"
Of course, Carina was the one who was dominating the game though.
"Thanks for your precious money, Cave~!"
The scenery of Prominence seemed to be in an entirely different world on its own.
_____________
[Risky Red, 6 days after; August 6th, 1522]
"We... we are alive." Nojiko, with dark bags under her eyes, sighed in relief.
Law groaned as he placed his hand on his forehead.
Bonney seemed to be asleep on her ship.
In contrast, the Grimheart pirates were lively and full of excitement.
"So this is Risky Red. Cool."
Dan exclaimed as he inspected the view with the use of binocular.
Indeed, Risky Red was a peculiar island. In contrast to its fearsome name, it was surrounded by the blue sky and white pleasant-looking clouds, and was covered with palm trees and many other plants that added to the aesthetic of the island.
"Our first island in the New World..." Urouge commented with a grin.
The four ships belonging to the alliance advanced onto the island. With the weather finally having calmed down, all they could think was to anchor the ships on the island and recuperate—
*BANG*
—until a gunshot was heard.
*Boom*
Rowan, without any effort, deflected a bullet that was aimed at his head.
"S***, what's going on?!!" Having heard the noise, Bonney woke up from her slumber and looked to her left and right in caution.
*BOOMBOOMBOOM*
Subsequently, the series of cannonballs flew toward the alliance from the island.
"Leave them to me."
Dan jumped up from the deck with his hands encased by the Armament Haki. Then, he caught each and every cannonball with his hands and threw them back to the island,
*BOOOOOM*
Causing the particular section of the island to be bombarded by its own bombs.
"...They dared to attack captain." Now, without a hint of playfulness in his face, Cavendish stated in a cold tone. Unsheathing his sword, he turned to Rowan for approval.
"Bohaha!" However, Rowan simply laughed it off and waved his hand down, signalling Cavendish to calm down, "It's just a bullet. No need to be angry for something as trivial as that, Cave—"
*Boom*
Then, another bullet was shot toward Rowan, which he deflected once more.
"...Cavendish."
Cavendish spun his sword around as his body began to glow,
"Got it, captain."
"Bring one back. We need information."
before flashing to the island in less than a millisecond.
*BOOM*
Then, the island flashed in bright yellow light over and over, as the noises from Cavendish's rampage blasted out over and over.
*BOOMBOOMBOOM*
"...Bounty hunters?" Carina, as she leaned onto the rail, muttered with suppressed fury, which stemmed from the fact that Rowan was blatantly targetted.
"All kinds." Robin replied with keen eyes, "Bounty hunters, marines, pirates... all of them are within the sight."
Alfred nodded, "It's due to the newly risen Fleet Admiral, Akainu. He made a bold move of relocating the Marineford to the new world. And among the first three islands, Raijin is too harsh. Mystoria is Kaidou's. Seizing the Risky Red seems to be Akainu's plan."
Dan, landing back on the deck, clicked his tongue in annoyance, "He didn't learn from the last time, did he?"
"But something definitely is wrong there." Rowan spoke up with his eyes locked onto the island, "The island is definitely bigger. So why is it that all of them are clustered at that particular shore and fighting among themselves? It's as if they are afraid of something."
Then, Cavendish swiftly made his way back onto the Prominence, holding one disarmed marine soldier with his right hand.
"Done, captain."
Rowan leaned down to face the marine soldier, whose eyes widened upon realizing who Rowan was.
"G-Grimheart...!"
Rowan asked Cavendish, "Was this the one?"
Cavendish shook his head, "That one has already died by my hands."
Turning back to the marine soldier, Rowan stated impassively,
"Tell me the situation in the Risky Red. If you comply, you will be freed."
The marine soldier seemed to be hesitating to speak. But eventually, after gulping in fear as he looked to his left and right, he opened his mouth,
"A month ago, 'Demon Heir' Douglas Bullet completely wiped out the existing forces within the Risky Red. Seizing the chance, the marines, bounty hunters, and pirates... we all gathered here. Then, around a week ago, all of a sudden," The marine soldier said fearfully as he sweated profusely, "'Red Hair' Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, and his crew... they made their appearance here, and took over the opposite side of the island! When we saw your ships reaching the island, we thought that they were our backups..."
"Red Hair... I see." Rowan said lazily while raising the marine soldier up by the back of his attire, before,
"Just as I promised, you are free to go."
*Splash*
throwing the soldier away to the sea.
"Well guys, you heard that." Rowan, now facing his crew and the other allied crews, pointed his thumb toward the island, "One of the Four—Three... well, Four including me—Emperors is in that island currently."
Law, Nojiko, Nami, and Bonney, who had some time to take a breather, nodded seriously.
"What should we do then, Rowan?" Carina asked.
"Anchor the ships, unless you want to go back to that stormy weather." Rowan voiced out as his black-coloured eyes slowly morphed into golden-colour, "They will be coming to us, but I don't sense any malicious intent."
_____________
"Shanks." Beckman spoke up with a cigarette on his mouth.
"Heh, you are a genius as always, Beckman. Seriously, how did you manage to predict which island they will choose?" Shanks chuckled as he stood up from ground that he was sitting on, "Anyway, here it is. The long-awaited Grimheart."
"Tch..." From their back, Yasopp frowned in displeasure before handing the stack of Beli to Lucky Roo, who grinned while snatching the money off of Yasopp's hand.
"What did I tell ya, Yasopp?" Lucky Roo said in mockery before taking a bite off of a huge chunk of cooked meat that he was holding.
"Trafalgar Law, whom I heard to bear hatred against Doflamingo, is allied with Grimheart. You know what this means, Shanks." Beckman said knowingly, "Grimheart's target isn't you."
"Kaidou." Shanks muttered the name with a smirk, before ordering to his crew, "Alright, boys! Move out! It's time to greet the newbies who just arrived the New World!"
"""Yeah!!!"""
"Y-yeah!" Although out of sync, Rockstar too pumped his fist up. Someone was trying real hard to fit in.
_____________
[New Marineford]
*BAM*
"...What?!!" Sakazuki shouted in shock as he broke his table accidentally, "Two Emperors, Grimheart and Red Hair, are meeting in Risky Red?!!!"
Sakazuki began to wonder why he desired for the seat of Fleet Admiral. The Five Elders pestered him from the above, those pirates kept stressing him from out there, and the Marine was weaker than ever.
"Ha... you heard that, Tokikake. Or should I call you Chaton now?"
"Haha! Either works!" The friendly-looking middle to old-aged man with wrinkles on his face chuckled, "But I sometimes do wish that I had a cooler alias like you. Chaton, meaning Brown Pig... I still wonder why I was given such a name!"
"It's not the time to talk about your name, Tokikake." Sakazuki said sternly, "Head to the Risky Red immediately and monitor the situation. Do stay far away though. Although Red Hair tend to be reserved in most of the cases, Grimheart is an entirely different case. Borsalino... do remember that he died by that wretched pirate's hands."
"Hai hai~ leave it to me, Sakazuki!"