Chapter 37: Submerged Infiltration

"Invincible, you say?"

"Fufufu, that's not an easy goal."

While Diamante might have been somewhat puzzled, Doflamingo understood the meaning behind Rosinante's words. As for the others:

"Good ambition! It's a pity such spirit isn't used for the righteous path."

Colonel Anderson, who had switched to a new pipe, walked up behind Rosinante and the others. As Diamante turned slightly, his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

"Who said I'm not using it for the righteous path?"

Rosinante also turned around, looking up at the tall Marine Colonel behind them.

"Mr. Anderson, when you speak, evidence is key. Do I have any criminal record in Spadamarooz? Right now—"

Pointing towards the warship closely tailing them, Rosinante countered:

"Is attacking us with that warship also for 'justice'?"

"I don't think so,"

Before the burly Colonel could reply, Rosinante preemptively gave his own answer.

"They're just after the bounty set by the Jeter family."

"And is the Jeter family considered 'just'?"

Facing Rosinante's second counter-question, the towering Marine Colonel was left speechless.

He was well aware of the various "deals" the Jeter family engaged in behind the scenes, wasn't he?

Illegal labor, forcing women into prostitution, slave trading, and even organ trafficking... One could say that the "big bucks" of the Jeter family's Thompson were permeated with blood and filth from every pore.

"You brat, do you know what reality is, what society is—"

"I do,"

Romand waved his hand, interrupting Colonel Anderson.

"You were sent by the Marines to Spadamarooz, you've been ostracized by local powers, and you can't do much alone. I understand."

Anderson was from the "Marines," assigned to the Gear Number ship for both "training" and "supervision." Naturally, he faced exclusion, even though he possessed considerable strength. He could only turn a blind eye to many things, despite his capabilities.

No matter how strong someone is, they still need to eat and have families.

"But we can!"

Standing at the ship's railing, Rosinante turned back.

"We can take down the Jeter family, we can make Spadamarooz a place where most people can live and work in peace! And you, Mr. Anderson, what would you do?"

After speaking, Rosinante nodded towards Doflamingo. If they didn't do something, the Gear Number ship might not fare well against the warship behind them.

"Doflamingo, I leave this to you."

Swoosh,

Leaping from the Gear Number ship, Rosinante plummeted towards the boundless sea.

Splash,

Just as he was about to touch the forbidden territory of a Devil Fruit user—the seawater—a sky-blue viscous liquid suddenly gushed forth from the ocean, blooming like petals, and swallowed Rosinante whole.

"...What would I do?"

The scarred, tough-looking Marine Colonel muttered to himself, then sighed.

In this world, there were far too many "unjust" things, and from the Marines' perspective, they couldn't take action.

Like Thompson, who posed as a "factory owner," the Spadamarooz Town Mayor collaborating with the Jeter family, the Rafael royal family allowing all this to happen... and the Celestial Dragons!

In the face of the world's privileged, what good was it to just be "able to fight"?

Beneath the sea, vast stretches of sky-blue mucus undulated silently, sliding forward without a sound, tracing a large circle and diving towards the warship in the distance.

"Sticky·Jellyfish"

Taking advantage of the Gear Number and Flat Tower diverting the attention of the enemy warship, Rosinante used Torreboru's ability creation to prepare for covert infiltration.

"Hey, Torreboru."

Inside the void formed by the mucus, Rosinante patted the soft creations around him.

"Can't you swim a bit faster? This speed is dragging, isn't it?"

If it weren't for Torreboru's slow creation speed, why would Rosinante have needed to show off his aerial acrobatics against the Gear Number ship?

"Hey hey hey, it's good enough that we can sneak past quietly."

From within the mucus, a head with small round sunglasses emerged, suddenly sticking close to Rosinante's face. The dripping mucus from its nose almost landed on Rosinante.

"Why don't you swim there yourself?"

"Unfortunately, like me, you're also a Devil Fruit user, a land duck~~"

"You're getting too close—"

Although Rosinante knew that Torreboru's "nose mucus" was a product of his ability, he instinctively moved away from the creature's face.

"I'm getting close on purpose. What about it? What about it~~"

···

What's this?

When they weren't familiar with each other, the four members of the group still maintained a certain level of "restraint."

After fighting side by side, their true colors emerged, and Torreboru's nose mucus antics made Rosinante rub his temples in exasperation.

"Be careful, don't let the enemy notice."

"Hey hey hey, don't worry, I can disguise the mucus as my body, just like disguising it as seawater!"

"Fine, give it to me—"

Devil Fruit ability creations weren't affected by seawater; seawater merely suppressed the physical stamina of Devil Fruit users and didn't affect their abilities.

For instance, Mr. 3 could use a wax boat and wax submarine, Charlotte Linlin could bestow a "soul" to a ship using her ability, not to mention the Ryou of Shiroshi freezing the sea, or the Golden Lion suspending the "ocean" itself.

If seawater suppressed Devil Fruit creations, the Marines would just arm everyone with water pistols and easily neutralize Devil Fruit users, right?

Though Torreboru's mucus was weak against fire, it wasn't bothered by water.

Within the cavities formed by abundant mucus, enough air was stored for Rosinante and Torreboru's consumption. In this way, the two quietly submerged beneath the sea's surface, heading towards the pursuing "Lever Number" ship. It didn't take long for them to reach the hull of the enemy ship.

Gurgle,

Below the "Lever Number," seawater surged abruptly, rising as if alive, climbing up the ship's hull.

As the mucus continued to ascend, a figure was silently pushed up onto the deck.

Smack,

"Everyone, look over here—"

?

Sailors on the deck cleaning gun barrels and loading cannonballs, as well as officers on the "Lever Number" engrossed in observing the battle, all turned their heads collectively at the sound.

On the deck crouched a blond boy.

"I've come to end the war."

Boom, boom, boom,

With sunglasses on, the figure opened his hand, and several round metal cylinders rolled onto the deck, creating a sense of unease among the sailors and officers!

"Charge!"

"Take him down—"

Faced with this bizarre situation, with no time to ponder who this person was or what he intended, many sailors instinctively rushed towards the blond boy, wielding their knives and guns.

Next second: Boom!

A blinding light burst forth,

The entire deck became a blinding sea of white!

Sound,

A deafening roar,

Soundwaves that ordinary people couldn't endure swept out in circles!

Even with sunglasses on and eyes closed, Rosinante felt his vision flash. He was jolted backward, and if the mucus surging up from below hadn't caught him, he might have been sent flying by his own explosion.

"Torreboru—"

While Rosinante shouted, a large amount of mucus shot out from behind him, rapidly spreading across the entire deck. It glued the fallen sailors to the deck and extended its sticky appendages towards the remaining few "experts."

Splat,

The military officer's knife cleaved through the mucus appendage, but as the mucus continued to spread, the struggling officers and sailors were ultimately subdued by Torreboru's mucus.

"Hey hey hey, struggling against my abilities is meaningless," Torreboru chortled, within the mucus.

Held up by the mucus, Torreboru appeared at the ship's side, declaring himself as an "invincible archvillain," which caused Rosinante to roll his eyes in secret.

The mucus ability, in the eyes of those unfamiliar with it, was incredibly powerful.

However, once its weakness was exposed, it became an easy target to be swiftly eliminated.

Nevertheless, it was still quite formidable for large-scale crowd control and immobilization. After all, Torreboru was already 17 years old, and his mastery of his Devil Fruit ability had progressed quite well.

Smack,

Jumping down from the ship's side, Rosinante bypassed numerous sailors who were stuck to the deck like insects on flypaper. He headed toward Captain Ferid of the Lever Number, who was ensnared in a mass of mucus, wearing a captain's coat and a triangular hat.

"Good day, Captain Ferid."

Rosinante nodded at his opponent with a "friendly" gesture.

"The battle is over. Please surrender. Let's talk about the future—like this:"

Approaching the captain named Ferid, Rosinante smiled slightly.

"Shall we join forces to deal with the Jeidei family?"

???

------------

On the sea near Spidamyrus, three heavily damaged ships were slowly returning.

At the same time, a message was conveyed via Den Den Mushi to the Jeidei family's warship, the "Money Number."

"Yes, we have captured the people you requested."

In the splendid captain's quarters, "Big Banknote" Thompson held a Den Den Mushi, while "Floral Necktie" Paul stood by, holding the snail.

On the other end of the line was Captain Ferid of the Lever Number.

And Captain Lopez of the Gear Number!

"Yes, I... cough cough, we have captured the person you requested, Mr. Thompson."

A cough accompanied a slightly guilty tone. Indeed, it was the captain of the Gear Number ship, the one with the little mustache who had flattered him at the mayor's party.

"It doesn't matter who caught them; I won't deduct a single berry from your reward."

Thompson's tone turned from magnanimous to ominous.

"But if you dare to cross me, I will make you regret ever setting foot in this world!"

"Hmph,"

"No, no, no, how could we~~"

The relatively stern Captain Ferid of the Lever Number gave a dissatisfied snort, while Captain Lopez of the Gear Number continued to flatter:

"We will return to Spidamyrus now, and Mr. Thompson will soon see those who offended you—"

"Very well,"

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, "Big Banknote" Thompson contentedly patted the ring of brown curls beneath his bald head.

A bunch of hoodlums, challenging him? Did they have that kind of strength?

"This is the power of money!"

------------

PS: Regarding Den Den Mushi, there are many types:

Child Den Den Mushi doesn't mimic the form of the communicator and might not even mimic the voice. It appeared in the "Little Garden" arc when Sanji pretended to talk to Mr. 3 and Crocodile. This is the type used in this text.

That's right, initially, Den Den Mushi couldn't mimic people. To explain, this kind of Den Den Mushi is cheaper and helps hide the caller's identity;

Communication Den Den Mushi, the larger and healthier they are, the stronger the signal. With special parts, they can even send faxes. During conversations, they can flawlessly mimic the speaker's expressions and tone of voice. Strong individuals in the New World use this type.

Then there are "Black Den Den Mushi" for eavesdropping, "White Den Den Mushi" to prevent eavesdropping, the "Golden Den Den Mushi" for issuing Buster Calls, and the "Silver Den Den Mushi" for receiving Buster Call orders on Marine Vice-Admirals' ships.

In short, Den Den Mushi are like cell phones, with a wide variety.

The New World has "smartphones," but the Four Blues still use "feature phones."

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(End of this chapter)