Hunt’s On

"Why are you slamming your head on the wall? Are you an idiot?" 

Jessie looked at Luffy and bit his lips until they started bleeding. 

"Yeah, I'm an idiot." 

He spoke as if whispering. 

"I see. Well, people say I'm one too, so we have that in common." 

Luffy entered the station. 

"That's not true, Luffy. You're a genius." 

Hancock followed behind him. 

"I mean, you were able to locate the enemy." 

Jessie and the others' eyes widened. 

"What do you mean by that, Hancock?!" 

Caria frantically asked. 

"We were able to find the enemy or at least one of them thanks to Luffy. We just fought them too." 

"Yeah, but they got away." 

Luffy added. 

"You saw and fought the enemy?! We fought them but we were ambushed!" 

"You fought them too? Then it's definitely more than one." 

Hancock looked around with a bit of confusion. 

"Where's Luka?" 

Luffy asked the question on his mind. Everyone's faces soured. 

"The enemy kidnaped him." 

Jessie answered. 

"What? Why?" 

"We don't know. Everything happened so fast." 

"Maybe you can find them, Luffy?" 

Hancock asked Luffy. 

"If I hear the whispers again, maybe." 

"Whispers? What are you talking about?" 

Astrid asked. 

"Luffy is able to hear whispers that can help him locate the enemy even if they move from body to body." 

"What? How?" 

"What do you mean move from body to body?" 

Frantz clapped and drew everyone's attention. 

"First, let's calm down and share the information we've gathered and then formulate a plan together. We also need to treat the wounds we received today." 

He looked at everyone and smiled. 

"Let's refresh and regroup." 

The group left the town and made their way to the Karros ranch. On their way out, they witnessed the townspeople tearing each other apart and causing mass destruction. They tried to stop the fights they came across, but it only fanned the flames. 

"You goddamn traitors! Give me back my family who died because of you!" 

Such words were thrown at them. 

"You fools! The Supreme Five did nothing wrong! They're as much the victim as us!" 

Such words were used to defend them. The two sides' desire to kill or defend them would only grow stronger when they confronted them. As such, they left the town and went to the secluded Karros ranch. 

"...." 

They stood before a makeshift grave with a sheriff star on it. After a moment of silence, they left and sat on the shore. Those injured were patching themselves up. 

"So, you guys met the enemy too?" 

Frantz started the conversation. Hancock nodded. 

"It took the form of multiple children but its strength and speed was the real deal." 

"The one we fought was incredibly strong too. Even when all five of us attacked together we weren't able to stop them." 

"It used the Six Powers as well." 

Caria disinfected the hole in her chest with some alcohol. She groaned a bit and looked at Hancock. 

"Did the one you fight also use the Six Powers?" 

Hancock nodded. 

"It didn't seem to feel pain either. No matter how much we beat it to a pulp, it was unfazed. The only time it was troubled is when we figured out how to track its movements." 

Astrid looked at Luffy as he stitched close his wounds. 

"Why can you hear it?" 

"Don't know. I just can." 

"What about now? Can you hear it?" 

"Nope." 

"Then what about when we were going through the town?" 

Luffy shook his head. 

"Then could they have gone into hiding after realizing we can track it?" 

Frantz mumbled. 

"They may have hidden themselves, but now we're certain they have something to do with people sharing a presence." 

Hancock's eyes narrowed. 

"We may have to kill everyone who shares a presence to draw them out." 

"That plan is too extreme. At least for now." 

"We don't have many options though. At this rate, everybody here will die. Who says they won't come after us again once they take out everybody else on the island?" 

"Hancock is making sense....However, can we kill so many people? These are people we grew up with and knew for most of our lives." 

Caria spoke with no energy. 

"Forget all that." 

Jessie spoke up. 

"What about Luka? We need to rescue him." 

"I don't get the reason for kidnapping him. If their goal is to destroy the island, why take him instead of killing all of you?" 

Hancock mumbled. 

"I don't know but we need to find him." 

"Then, what about this?" 

Hancock pointed at Jessie. 

"You fly around carrying Luffy and he will listen for the whispers. Once we find their base, we go on the counter." 

"That's a great idea!" 

Jessie's eyes lit up. He transformed into a giant hummingbird." 

"Alright, let's do this!" 

"Wait, right now?! Without coming up with a plan?!" 

Caria shouted at Jessie. 

"Jessie, catch." 

Frantz threw a small Snail Transponder and Jessie caught it. 

"Once you find anything, just say the word and then do as you like. We'll catch up after." 

Jessie nodded. Luffy leaped onto his back and he floated off the ground. 

"See you guys soon!" 

He flew off with lightning speed. 

"If you drop Luffy, I'm gonna make soup out of you!" 

Hancock shouted. 

"Alright." 

Frantz took off his shirt and revealed his bloody bandages. 

"Let's patch ourselves up before the big battle." 

"Frantz, the doctor said if you fought like you did before, you might die from your wounds." 

Caria spoke with a concerned tone. Frantz smiled. 

"Don't worry, I won't overdo it." 

Frantz turned away and threw his shirt to the ground. His smile faded as he undid the bandages around him. 

(I'm responsible for everything, so I need to take responsibility by any means necessary.) 

Hancock glanced at him and then at Caria who still looked concerned. She sighed. 

"I think I can see were this is going." 

Somewhere, on the island. 

"....Ugh." 

Luka opened his eyes with a groan. He found himself staring at a metal ceiling. 

"Where the hell..." 

He sat up. 

"Yo." 

He spotted a child in a pink dress sitting on a chair in front of him. 

"?!" 

He sprung to his feet. 

"Who the hell are you?!" 

Luka looked ready to fight. 

"I'm just a cute little girl." 

The child smiled at him. 

"Like hell you are!" 

Spikes grew out of his body. 

"Tell me who you are now!" 

"Hm?" 

The child frowned and their shoulder dropped. 

"Was my little girl act not convincing? This body lived as a genuine little girl though. Maybe I didn't connect with the personality well enough." 

(What the hell is this thing talking about?) 

That's right. The child before Luka seemed nothing like a person to him. It felt as if he was in the presence of a powerful and malicious entity. 

"Well, whatever." 

The child stood up. Luka fired silver spikes at it without hesitation. The child vanished just before the spikes hit it. 

"Hm..." 

It reappeared at his side. He formed a blade and slashed at it. 

"200 Lives Return." 

The child mumbled before catching Luka's slash. 

"?!" 

Luka's eyes widened. The child slapped him and he was sent crashing into a wall. 

"Cough! Cough!" 

Luka coughed and started gasping for air as he got on all fours. 

"I heard the current you was weaker than before, but I didn't think it was this weak." 

The child walked towards him. Luka fired hot mercury at the child. It evaded with simple movements. 

"The mind is a marvelous thing. It can make us believe we're stronger than we are..." 

The child popped up in front of Luka. It kicked him under his chin and laid him out on the ground. 

"It can also do the opposite." 

The child stooped down and picked up Luka's head by his hair. 

"The current you is a disgrace if this is all you can do. You were a lot stronger when we last met." 

"What are you talking about? We never-" 

A memory flashed in Luka's mind. It was a memory of him standing in a sea of flames with countless bodies impaled by silver spikes. 

"...What the?" 

"Hm? Is it being undone already?" 

The child smiled. 

"Stop messing around, El Nino." 

A voice echoed in the room. The child released Luka's hair. 

"My bad, my bad. Please don't erase me." 

The child stepped back while smiling. The sounds of footsteps reached Luka's ears. He looked around for the source but couldn't find anyone. He blinked and a pair of boots appeared before him. He looked up and his eyes widened. 

"You're...." 

Countless scenes started flashing in his mind. The entity looked down on him with a cold gaze. 

"It's time to play your role, Luka."