Chapter 116

In the quiet forest of Fish Man island, Smoker and Maynard waited for their small boat to be coated by a fish man named Den. With there being nothing to do but to sit by, Smoker was enjoying a moment of peace for himself.

<There is nothing more dangerous in this world than to seek an ideal over reality.>

He couldn't help but recall the serious words that Sengoku said to him in the past,

<Celestial Dragons are not fond of the peace. They attained their current status through wars, and wars between people they able to prevent a build-up rebellion against them.>

Smoker gazed up at the bubble layer that prevented the entry of water outside. Though many living here may not know, he knew the sight of stars during the night, of how brilliant they are.

'What do you plan to do from here now on, Smoker? The World Government discovered the connection between you and the Revolutionary Army. Their efforts to annihilate the Revolutionary Army became vastly greater.' Smoker thought to himself, 'At this rate, the Revolutionary Army won't be able to grow as strong as it is in the canon. Simultaneously, Teach has already risen as a threat—while many restraints for Teach such as Shanks and Luffy are not stronger or older enough to fulfill their roles. In a way, I was the cause of this situation.'

However, if he were to question whether or not he regretted his decisions up until today, the answer would be "no." Smoker has seen far too many smiles of joy on people's faces. He's come far too much to start worrying about the distorted future.

'To build a better ending, isn't this why I started all this in the first place?'

Many told him that his goal is impossible to achieve, that it is akin to trying to touch a star that is untouchable. And he said to them in return, that he will make the impossible possible.

"...Smoker."

Then, Maynard spoke to him, causing Smoker to wake up from his thoughts. Maynard pointed his finger ahead,

"He's coming toward us."

Just as Maynard said, Smoker sensed a man who harbours no malicious intent walking closer to them. With a light sigh to refresh his mind, Smoker stood up and muttered,

"Red Hair."

"Haha... surprised?"

'Red Hair' Shanks, the man of many mysteries. In the canon, he was one of the 'Four Emperors' who somehow had connections with Celestial Dragons even with the identity of a pirate.

"In case you didn't know, I'm Shanks. Nice to meet ya!" Said Shanks as he held his hand out to Smoker.

"Well duh." Maynard rolled his eyes, which Shanks chuckled at.

Smoker couldn't help but crack an amused smile, "I used to be a marine in the past. What's with this hospitality?"

"Well, you don't seem like a bad guy to me!" Shanks laughed, before taking a serious turn, "...But regardless of that, I came to talk with you."

Shanks. Biologically a Celestial Dragon with the surname of 'Figarland.' In terms of status, currently a notorious pirate who leads his Red Hair pirates. In terms of history, he was an apprentice of none other than Gol D. Roger himself, the Pirate King who was considered to pose the biggest threat to the world.

In other words, he had connections with most of the behemoths in this world, and that means that he may be one of the most knowledgeable fellows in terms of the current state of the world.

Smoker narrowed his eyes, "Talk about what."

"About..." Shanks sighed as he sat on the grassy plain, before saying, "The devil fruit that we recently discovered to be in the process of being transported by CP0 agents: Gum Gum fruit (Rubber Rubber fruit)."

"Get to the point. I don't have much time."

Shanks's expression darkened, collecting his thoughts. Then, he resumed talking with a sigh,

"Let me tell you," Shanks looked at Smoker with a grimace, "About one big secret of that devil fruit, one that the World Government fears and desires simultaneously."

__________

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[Water Seven]

"What the hell," Mumbled Aramaki as his eyes twitched in annoyance.

Watching at the coast of Water Seven were Aramaki, Senor Pink, and Robin. They watched as numerous Marine Warships sailed toward the island with their cannons open and ready to fire.

"H... helwp..." Lying on the ground near them, beaten up to a pulp, was Spandam, crying relentlessly. Unfortunately, none among the trio gave attention to him.

"...This isn't good," exclaimed Robin as she stared at one particular individual at the front-most Marine Warship,

Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, one who used to be called 'Akainu' in the past.

"...Why would the Marine spend this much effort for the three of us?"

Robin felt a cold sweat on her back as she remembered what that man had done to Ohara. Her hands trembled unknowingly to her, engulfed by her trauma.

"Damn it..." Aramaki cursed, before sighing. He ran his fingers through his head to calm himself down, before talking to Senor Pink, "Yo, Pink, you mastered Geppo, right?"

Senor Pink raised an eyebrow, "Like ages ago. What else would you expect from a true man?"

Aramaki snorted, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can't care much about what you say right now." Narrowing his eyes at Sakazuki who glared at him with his arms crossed, Aramaki said,

"Get Robin and that wimp over there outta this place. Smoker-san's group sans Smoker-san is coming this way, so locate them in the middle of the ocean and change the direction. Ya hear?"

As Robin stood petrified, unable to focus on the conversation, Senor Pink frowned, confused, "What about you then?"

Aramaki grinned as he massaged his neck, "I've been itching for a proper fight for a while—"

Aramaki couldn't finish his words as at the next moment,

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

they saw the Marine Warships firing multiple rounds of cannonballs into the sky, even though there were millions of inhabitants who didn't evacuate to safety.

"..." Sakazuki's facial expression didn't change. With a cold stare that did not contain a shred of emotion, he saw that the cannonballs didn't manage to land on the island.

The clouds of smoke arose as cannonballs hit. Then, as the clouds cleared,

"Huff... huff... are you insane...?"

the damaged and burnt trees, vines, and all sorts of plants, were found hovering above the island. They, formed by Aramaki in an instant through the use of his maximum capacity, successfully absorbed the impact of the cannonballs.

Aramaki shouted angrily, "There are people living here, unrelated to us!!! How can you call yourselves justice after doing this?!"

"If it is a sacrifice necessary to purge the evil such as yourself, I will gladly do so," Whispered Sakazuki, which didn't reach Aramaki's ears. As Aramaki glared at Sakazuki, he simply directed his hand forth.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Aramaki watched as the second round of cannonballs came flying.

"Hah...!" As Aramaki snorted in disbelief, Robin opened her mouth and said in a shaky tone,

"He... knows that you won't let them get to this island. He is using your morality against you..."

Sakazuki believed that capturing Aramaki was more important than the lives of people in Water Seven, Robin came to deduce. Furthermore, Robin estimated that he may be thinking that there is a connection between Tom and them.

"...It's our miscalculation," Whispered Robin just as Aramaki blasted forth numerous pieces of wood from his arms that struck each and every one of the cannonballs, causing them to explode midair without harming anyone.

The reason why the three of them weren't afraid of having their whereabouts leaked was because they were mingling in the crowd of innocent people. They believed that even if forces from the Marine and World Government came, they would be on a small scale to avoid harm to those who were not involved, or that they wouldn't go to an extent of willingly hurting the citizens.

However, what came instead was a blatant Buster Call that wasn't afraid to kill the commoners.

"...Bastard." Aramaki growled, before saying to Senor Pink, "Run! This may be an opportunity for them, but that doesn't mean we can give up ours!"

Senor Pink, with a grim expression, gazed at Robin who was drenched in sweat, and,

"K-KYAAAAAA!!!! W-Waittt!!!! I'm Spandwam!!!! S-Stawp firee!!!!" Spandam who was screaming at his might as fear took over him.

Senor Pink then snorted, causing Aramaki to frown questioningly. Then, Senor Pink slapped Robin on the cheek, causing her to fall to the side.

"Wake the hell up, girl!! Till when will ya be standing there stupidly?!!"

Robin, holding her cheek that stung, looked at Senor Pink who snarled at her.

"Listen." Senor Pink pointed his finger at Spandam who was cowering, "Take that guy and leave this island. Find that ship of our peops that's coming here. You know Geppo better than me anyway."

"I-I..." Robin's eyes shook, as her brain rapidly searched for the most optimal solution in this scenario. However, Senor Pink then yelled,

"GO!!"

Robin jolted up before grabbing Spandam by the back of his shirt. Though the latter was bigger than her in size, her years of training enabled her to lift him up just fine. She then began running away from the site by Geppo, which Sakazuki noticed.

"...Do you think I will allow that?"

Sakazuki's arm began bubbling in a dense magma that sprouted out instantly. Feeling the heat all the way back from the coast, Aramaki said to Senor Pink,

"Fucker... why didn't you leave as I told you?"

Senor Pink smirked as he adjusted his sunglasses, "Cuz dat's impossible."

Aramaki grinned even while sweating profusely. Subsequently, Sakazuki fired numerous clusters of dense magma into the sky,

"Meteor Volcano!"

SPLASH! Robin, gritting her teeth, barely managed to dodge the first cluster of magma. Said magma fell into the water, generating a steam that is capable of causing severe burns upon contact.

BOOOM! Dodging the second magma cluster, Robin continued to exert Geppo at her full might. Spandam, who's gone unconscious and was dangling on the third arm that she sprouted on her back, was of no concern to her at the current moment. After all, there still were many magma clusters that were coming her way—

"Resilient Wood!"

At the next moment, Aramaki's right arm turned into numerous trees that grew so tall that they covered up the space between Robin and magma clusters. Upon collision, the woods burned and cracked, but none of them fell onto Robin, allowing her to pass through safely. Meanwhile, Senor Pink was found stomping his foot on the ground, generating a crack on it.

"RAAAAA!!!" Senor Pink let out a war cry as he grabbed the crack and pulled it up. His muscles bulged up, and shockingly to many, the huge chunk of ground broke off from the rest and was now held by Senor Pink, which he threw at Sakazuki.

BOOOM!

The fist of magma shot through the chunk of ground, instantly destroying countless pieces that fell into the ocean.

"...Very well," Sakazuki stated coldly, directing eyes from Robin to Aramaki and Senor Pink, "You will be constrained first before that girl."

"Huff... huff... leave him to me," Said Aramaki to Senor Pink, "You make sure that none of those ships go after Robin or civilians behind."

"Heh! Not one of them will get past, ya hear?" Replied Senor Pink.

Then, two men dashed from their positions to the sea where Sakazuki and his marine soldiers awaited, with nothing but an intent to protect with all that they had.