Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Because Luffy’s Dad is Too Poor
Chapter 366: Because Luffy’s Dad is Too Poor
Looking from a distance, it was an island full of tropical flair, with waves gently lapping at the shore. The island was covered with coconut trees, and large green banana leaves swayed in the wind.
And astonishingly, in the cotton-white clouds floating above the island, a giant, purple, eggshell-shaped building stood atop the white clouds.
"Could it be!"
"Th-that can’t be!"
Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp poked their heads out, their eyes wide in disbelief as they stared intently at the cloud mass.
"It’s a Sky Island!!"
The excitement in their hearts was revealed on their faces, and their eyes immediately shone with a golden light.
"The closer we get to the island, the more the air starts to warm up."
While sizing up the surroundings, Nami muttered curiously.
Behind them, the distant snowstorm showed no signs of dissipating. This abnormal climate contrast made her feel bewildered.
The Merry slowly sailed towards the island. Just then, a large number of dark shadows appeared underwater around the island, and the sea surface ’gurgled’ with bubbles.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Several waves were kicked up. Before the surprised eyes of the group, one massive body after another broke through the seawater and rose up, guarding the island, their beastly eyes staring at them.
"—Eh! Are they Sea Beasts?!"
Usopp cried out in alarm.
"Yohohoho~. It looks as if they are guarding this island."
Brook’s figure was as light as a swallow. He chuckled and jumped onto the bow rail, squatting down, his bone fingers gripping his cane sword, ready to draw it at any time.
"Wait a minute. These Sea Beasts don’t look normal."
Franky suddenly spoke, his gaze grave as he scrutinized the group of Sea Beasts before them.
Having said that, the others also noticed something was wrong.
Sea lions, sea giraffes, sea bulls, sea tanukis, etc... they had been sailing the Grand Line for more than a day or two, and these things were not strange to them.
But all of these Sea Beasts were wearing very futuristic-looking equipment, which made the group astonished.
"They look like they’re being reared in captivity."
Zoro frowned and walked over, his elbow resting on his sword hilt.
If these Sea Beasts had an owner, then it wouldn’t be good for them to rashly make a move.
Hiss~
Just then, several hissing sounds were heard at the same time.
The eyes of those Sea Beasts all glowed red, and their bodies opened up in their chests like mechanical doors, revealing several missiles.
Swish—Swish—Swish!
Without any warning, several missiles, with flames shooting from their tails, flew rapidly towards them!
Seeing this, a corner of Zoro’s mouth lifted into a cold smile:
"Since they were the ones who attacked first, then we don’t need to be polite."
With that, Zoro quickly drew Wado Ichimonji and held it in his mouth. He leaped high with his two swords in hand, his eyes hardened, and he swung his swords forcefully at the approaching missiles!
"Three Sword Style: Senhachiju Pound Ho!!"
ZING!!
Three green flying slashes converged, spinning out like a whirlwind, instantly swallowing all of those missiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The missiles exploded in mid-air. The power was so great that even Zoro’s expression couldn’t help but become serious.
The terrifying explosive impact transformed into a fierce wind. Even the entire sea surface around them rippled like a blue carpet with giant waves, and the Merry shook unceasingly.
Brook’s gaze hardened. He drew his thin sword, and a flash of cold light streaked as he shot forward like an arrow toward the Sea Beasts.
However.
His skeleton body had just broken free from the smoke and gunpowder from the explosion and arrived in front of the Sea Beasts, when a dazzling light shone on his face.
Brook was instantly stunned. Those several Sea Beasts all opened their mouths wide and aimed at him, the lasers condensing in their mouths faintly emanating a chilling energy.
"—Eh!!"
"Wait a minute! Dame, dame! Why is it lasers!"
Brook was so scared his bone jaw dropped. He hurriedly turned and ran back, his two flying-wheel legs churning out afterimages in the air.
"Run!"
"Brook!"
Luffy and the others,趴 on the railing, cried out in panic.
Swish!
With a flash of lightning, a swift figure streaked past the group and flew out.
"Goshu Akujin!!"
A wisp of azure flame leaped. A giant, pitch-black heavy shield timely appeared, blocking in front of Brook.
Boom—!!
Several laser beams shot out in a concentrated barrage, striking the shield and causing a terrifying explosion. The impact sent Brook’s body flying back onto the ship.
In the smoke and gunpowder of the explosion, Reiner crossed his arms to block the fierce wind. The giant shield in front of him had been blasted to pieces, and was now slowly recovering in the burning azure flame.
A laser... this was something Reiner would never choose to take head-on if he could avoid it. If Brook had taken so many laser beams, his old bones would have been shattered.
"I’ll handle this! Franky, take the ship and break through!"
Reiner turned his head and shouted.
"Got it!"
Franky replied loudly and jumped to the helm, activating the cola-compression power unit.
"Hold on tight, everyone! We’re about to fly!"
A corner of Franky’s mouth lifted as he watched the pressure gauge needle gradually move to its maximum.
After everyone had grabbed onto a fixed object, Franky decisively pressed the button. The cannon muzzle exposed at the stern instantly spewed out the compressed gas converted from cola!
"Coup de—! Burst!!"
Boom!!
The huge impact from the stern blasted a giant deep pit in the sea’s surface. As the seawater rushed back into that deep pit, the Merry broke through the clouds and flew into the high sky!
The group of intercepting Sea Beasts raised their heads, watching the ship that had turned into a flying ship pass over their heads. They were all so shocked their eyes popped out.
Inside one of the Sea Beasts, in a modified control room, sat a girl with short, bright orange hair. She wore a purple leather jacket over a pink yoga suit.
"Oho—! It can actually fly? Not bad."
Lilith looked at the scene on the screen with great interest.
"Lilith, stop the attack. Can you hear me, Lilith?"
Suddenly, a steady male voice came from the communicator in her ear. Lilith covered the futuristic-looking headset with her hand, dissatisfied:
"What is it, Shaka? Don’t tell me you’re going to lecture me again. I’m doing this for our research funds."
"Let’s put that topic aside for now. They are the Five Emperors’ Straw Hat crew. Didn’t you notice the flag on their ship?"
The voice continued from the headset, saying lightly:
"The man in front of you now is the one called the world’s strongest, Black Snake Reiner. Don’t fight him. The main body wants to see Straw Hat."
"Eh?!"
Lilith looked at Reiner on the screen and cried out in surprise. She replied:
"Fine. Their crew has already landed on the island. Should I take him up directly?"
"Mm. I’ll go and meet them. You bring the other party to the research layer. See you later."
"Got it. See you later."
Lilith nodded in response, hung up the communication, opened the hatch, and walked out.
Reiner held his battle-axe, which was wrapped in a ball of white energy, and was just about to strike, when he saw the lasers condensing in the mouths of those Sea Beasts gradually dim. A woman walked out of an opened hatch on a Sea Beast’s body.
"Hey! Stop! Ceasefire, ceasefire!"
Lilith raised her hand and waved, shouting at him.
Seeing this, Reiner stopped his movements and dismissed his battle-axe and the falcon under his feet.
A clone of Vegapunk?
Reiner vaguely recognized the other’s identity. He just hadn’t expected the other to be hiding inside. He had almost blasted her with an axe.
"Isn’t welcoming guests with lasers a bit too enthusiastic?"
Reiner jumped to the other’s position and, stepping on the Sea Beast’s head, he looked down at Lilith.
"Hahaha! A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I thought you were pirates who had mistakenly wandered in. After all, plundering pirates isn’t against the law."
Lilith laughed heartily and scratched the back of her head, showing no apology for what had just happened. She then smiled and said:
"Let me introduce myself. I am Vegapunk 02. Just call me Lilith."
On the other side.
"The Merry is in your hands, Zoro! We’re off!"
After jumping to the ground, Luffy turned his head and shouted at the ship, his tone full of impatience and excitement for adventure.
"Here, your pirate bentos."
Sanji, a cigarette in his mouth, casually tossed out several packed bentos.
Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Uta caught the packages and tied them to their backs.
"Let’s go!"
Leaving Zoro and Brook to guard the ship, the rest of the group entered the forest at the edge and walked towards the center of the island, with Luffy leading the way.
"That idiot is really carefree."
Zoro sighed helplessly.
"We were just attacked by those modified Sea Beasts the moment we got close to the island. The people on this island are most likely enemies, not friends."
"To be shouting about going on an adventure in such a situation... he really has no sense of caution at all."
Zoro muttered to himself, walked to the main mast, untied the swords from his waist, and placed them at his side. He sat down cross-legged, leaned back, and closed his eyes.
The sound of snoring gradually grew louder.
"..."
Brook looked at Zoro in silence.
You have some nerve to talk about vigilance.
As expected, they’re still a bunch of young people, too inexperienced. The job of guarding the Merry should be left to him.
Brook went to the table by the ship’s cabin stairs and sat down.
"Hah~"
He took a sip of his black tea and put down the cup. Brook leaned back comfortably in his chair, and his hat slid down, covering his face.
The sound of snoring gradually grew louder.
"Is that a whale?! Luffy! Look! A whale is flying in the sky!"
"Whoa—! And a giant robot!"
Chopper and Luffy looked up, their eyes shining with golden light, extremely excited.
After passing through the forest, the group finally arrived in the city. One by one, futuristic-looking skyscrapers towered, a dazzling sight.
Schools of fish swimming in the air, space monsters and giant robots weaving through the city... it made them exclaim in amazement again and again.
Walking on the futuristic streets, Luffy and the others were like country bumpkins in the city, touching and playing with everything they saw.
"Automated Cooking Machine?"
Chopper’s footsteps went ’pitter-patter’ as he came to a machine the size of a house and stopped, looking up at the words and the pictures of various delicious foods on it.
Luffy bent over from the side, brought his head over, and rubbed his chin, thinking.
"Emmm, how do you use this?"
He randomly pressed the buttons on the automated cooking machine that had pictures of food on them. Seeing no reaction, Luffy kicked it twice.
Bang! Bang!
Those two kicks carried some emotion. The automated cooking machine shook a few times, and then, with a clattering sound, a plate fell out of the pickup port.
Immediately after, rice, pieces of meat, and curry sauce also tumbled out, accompanied by a bottle of lemon sparkling water.
"—Oh! There it is."
Luffy’s eyes lit up. He picked up the beef curry rice and started to eat.
"Oh? A bit interesting."
Seeing this, Sanji couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. He came to the side and looked at it, discovering a coin slot, and was instantly speechless.
"Hey, you guy, dining and dashing again."
"Eh? Isn’t it free? I kicked it twice, and it came out on its own."
Luffy’s face was unconcerned. With a gulp, he swallowed the entire plate of rice.
"So you’re not just dining and dashing, you’re also suspected of destroying other people’s property, right?"
Sanji’s tone was not good. He tossed a few coins into the coin slot and then tried pressing a button.
After another clattering sound, a portion of fried chicken and cola fell out of the pickup port.
Sanji tried a bite, savored it carefully, and opened his eyes. He commented:
"It’s alright. It can’t compare to the taste of a chef’s careful cooking, but it’s not bad. The key is that the food is freshly made. I thought it was prepared in advance and just stored."
"Freshly made? Is there a chef living inside?"
Chopper looked at the machine curiously.
"Probably not."
Sanji sized it up and guessed:
"This big guy is quite convenient. It covers almost all kinds of food from all over the world. To build it so big... they probably have to store a lot of ingredients inside."
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and looked behind him.
"This automated cooking machine is pretty good, isn’t it? Unfortunately, due to a severe lack of funds and manpower, it cannot be mass-produced."
A man in a dark blue windbreaker, wearing a motorcycle helmet, with a well-proportioned, futuristic-looking body, walked over.
"I am Vegapunk 01. Just call me Shaka. I am here to pick you up, Straw Hat crew."
"You know us?"
Nami looked at the newcomer, her brow furrowed, a little bewildered. Suddenly, she reacted to something, and her eyes widened in shock.
"Wait a minute! Did I hear that right!"
"Did you say you’re Vegapunk?!!"
Not just Nami, but hearing this name, everyone except Luffy and Uta had looks of disbelief.
Franky was even more full of admiration.
"Really?! The genius scientist who is 500 years ahead of the world! I’m your fan, Vegapunk!"
"At your hometown, the Karakuri Island research institute! I saw the technological achievements you left behind there! You are truly SUPER amazing!"
Franky clenched his fists, his tone gradually becoming excited.
"So many, so many inventions that could bring great convenience to life, but they are collecting dust there because of a lack of funds and current human technology to realize them! It’s so regrettable it makes me want to cry!"
"Is that so, Cyborg Franky? I didn’t expect that the inventions abandoned by the World Government would be recognized by a pirate like you."
Shaka’s tone was gratified as he looked over.
On this path, he had met and befriended many partners. Basically, all of them were focused on how to create more powerful weapons, how to use technology to become stronger. Very few people paid attention to these inventions that were purely for the convenience of humanity.
Judge was like that, and so were Caesar and Queen.
Shaka put his hands in his coat pockets and said lightly:
"Strictly speaking, I am one of Vegapunk’s satellites. I possess a part of his will."
"As for whether an artificial person with the same will as the main body can be considered the main body... the outside world probably doesn’t have a unified answer for now."
"In any case, Vegapunk himself also wants to see you now. Or rather, to see you, Monkey D. Luffy."
With that, Shaka turned to look at Luffy.
Luffy’s face was puzzled as he pointed at himself.
"Me? You know me?"
"No. But I know your father, Monkey D. Dragon. Back then, at his invitation, I almost joined the Revolutionary Army. Unfortunately..."
Shaka shook his head and explained:
"Your dad... they’re just too poor."
(End of Chapter)
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