Crack, crack.
One of the Kuja warriors poked the white sphere with her spear. The feedback traveling up the shaft told her that the white object seemed to be some kind of metal.
Just as they were wondering what it was, the sphere suddenly softened and began to flow down like liquid wax.
As the white substance melted away, several people who looked miserable, someone even in pieces, appeared within the hemispherical shell.
"Nicely done, Galdino. Looks like we survived this time…"
Inside the sphere were Buggy and his group. While everyone else was fleeing for their lives, Buggy and Mr. 3 had taken a different approach, creating a massive wax sphere that enclosed them inside.
The density of the wax allowed them to float on the sea's surface, while its steel-like hardness protected them from most external attacks, briefly turning it into a Noah's Ark amid the apocalypse.
However, because it was spherical, the white ball was unstable. It kept drifting around and was affected by impacts, eventually tossing them onto the island like a capsule toy.
"Next we…ah!"
Buggy hadn't even finished giving orders before a sharp spear tip was pointed at his nose.
"Snake Princess, it's another group of men. How should we deal with them?"
"Wait a moment… Does anyone know them well?"
Since the Straw Hat crew that had appeared earlier was an acquaintance, Hancock did not act immediately and instead asked Mandrell's side first.
After receiving the answer that no one knew them, she finally prepared to act.
"Wait, Boa Hancock, it's me! Buggy! We were both Shichibukai before! We know each other!"
"I am not familiar with you. Love-Love Beam!"
As the pink wave of light swept across the beach, several new stone statues appeared, and Hancock turned and left.
Without comparison there would be no impression. These stone statues, once living people, reminded the accidental arrivals on the island that its master was far from friendly.
The cowardly trio instinctively huddled together. Watching living people suddenly turn into stone was genuinely terrifying.
The two Heracross were chatting about everyday matters, while Luffy faced a difficult choice. His stomach was extremely hungry, but their cook had already passed out.
Waking Sanji wouldn't be difficult, but it would be dangerous. Given Sanji's current condition, letting him wake up here would most likely only bring him harm.
Due to severe food-stealing behavior, Sanji had switched to using a refrigerator with a lock. Except for him, outsiders simply couldn't open the giant fridge storing the food. At this moment, Luffy could only try to look for outside help.
"Ahh, I'm so hungry… Uta, do you have anything to eat? I skipped two meals earlier while searching for the treasure."
Because he subconsciously believed the treasure would be endless meat, Luffy had deliberately saved room in his stomach.
With his five-meals-a-day appetite and powerful digestion, his stomach had long since become completely empty.
"I do have something, but you probably won't be interested."
Uta called over Kabu nearby and took out a lunchbox from the small bag on its back. Inside was an extremely vegetarian salad.
"This is…"
"A diet meal. I've been trying to control my figure lately. Even the you from more than ten years ago probably wouldn't be full after eating this."
Under the influence of hunger, Luffy often made irrational decisions. After a brief moment of thought, he turned his gaze toward the island's owner.
"Tra-guy, you said the owner of this place is that Pirate Empress, right?"
"Theoretically, yes. What are you planning to do?"
"Ask her for some food. Hammock, can you give me some meat? I'm really starving!"
"Impudent man! Allowing you to temporarily stay on this island is already great mercy. There is no extra food here for you. You can't even say my name correctly. Under normal circumstances, I would have already turned you into stone like those other intruders!"
Luffy never got a chance to continue speaking, because once again his companions forced him back down.
"That's enough, Luffy! Don't offend another former Shichibukai for such a ridiculous reason!"
"Yeah! The Beasts Pirates are still here too. Don't draw attention over something as trivial as your stomach!"
"What do you mean trivial? My stomach is a serious matter! We can pay, you know! Or we could just break open that fridge first."
"No way!"
The moment the word "money" was mentioned, Nami, the strongest combat force on the ship, awakened, suppressing Luffy's arrogance with extremely terrifying strength.
Looking at the white smoke rising from Nami's fist, Uta took a step back. If she remembered correctly, Tesoro had shown the same reaction when practicing advanced Armament Haki.
"Luffy, your crew is really interesting… How about I let you eat something in a dream?"
During a voyage, both food and water were vital supplies, usually managed by designated crew members on a pirate ship. This wasn't the Beasts Fruits, nor was it Uta's territory, and she also knew Luffy's appetite.
Instead of giving him the supplies from his ship, she found another solution. As long as he entered the Sing-Sing World, she could satisfy Luffy with as much food as he wanted.
Even though his body wouldn't actually be replenished, at least his mind wouldn't feel hungry.
"Can you really get full in a dream?"
Before Uta could answer Luffy, another figure appeared on the island. This time, however, it didn't trigger any new conflict.
"Sister Olga? You finally made it here. You're not hurt, are you? Are you tired?"
Hancock's attitude flipped 180 degrees in an instant as she hurried to Olga's side, asking question after question, worried that something might have happened to her.
"Relax, relax. Nothing happened. Governor-General Kaido is having a great time playing with them right now. It'll probably take two or three days. We can take a good rest during this time. Are the island's hot springs still here?"
"About that… they're gone."
"That's really a pity."
Kaido had moved the entire island away, and without the underground magma heating it, the hot springs naturally disappeared. The island's rivers now relied on underground caverns for circulation. If too much time passed, drying up would only be a matter of time.
"Um, Miss Olga… how is Shanks?"
"Shanks? Don't worry. He can handle it. Governor-General Kaido is there too, he can tell right from wrong… probably."
By the end of her sentence, Olga herself sounded less confident. After all, Kaido wasn't exactly someone reliable in that regard.
The aura of battle on the island told Olga that those three monsters were still perfectly fine.
"Why are you all just standing around here? Go find somewhere to rest. You could even hold a banquet. Things over there won't be finished anytime soon."
"I understand, Sister Olga."
Half an hour later, something appeared that made even someone as simple-minded as Luffy jealous.
Just a few dozen meters away from him, a huge amount of food had been gathered together, clearly preparing for a banquet.
"A banquet! I want to join too! I want to join too!"
Luffy rolled around on the ground in a full tantrum, trying to get his crewmates to agree with him. Unfortunately, the Straw Hats had long since developed immunity to this sort of thing.
"Is that a circus you hired?"
"No. It's just that their captain happens to know Miss Uta, so they were allowed to stay here."
"I see… Wait, is that a Heracross? The people on that ship really have some skills."
"Boss Olga, that group was reported by Bat-Man two years ago. They were also somewhat involved in the chaos at Whole Cake Island."
Mandrell briefly introduced the Straw Hat crew's situation from the side, since Olga herself didn't really pay attention to rookies like them.
"I see. Hey! Stop shouting and come over here. It's just a meal!"
"Thank you! You're such a good person!"
After receiving the invitation, Luffy's limit of patience instantly shattered, and he began frantically stuffing himself with food. Halfway through, he even started performing his own brand of performance art as payment for the meal.
For Luffy, as long as you give him meat, he'll automatically consider you a good person.
But the others didn't see it that way.
"Is she really a good person?"
"A good person? That's one of the Three…no, the Four Calamities, and the initial core member of Kaido's crew, Olga the Phantom.
According to the information I've gathered, the destruction she's caused is the smallest, but her personality might be the worst…"
Law sat to the side with little appetite, watching Luffy with slight concern. Uta shared a similar worry, though what she was worried about was Shanks's situation.
Until nightfall, the battle showed no signs of stopping. But Kuja was destined to be lively tonight. As starlight spread across the beach, another figure approached from the distant sea.
The Kuja warriors responsible for keeping watch failed to detect this person at all, allowing them to walk straight into the island's resting area.
"Girls shouldn't stay up late all the time."
"Shanks?!"
The last person to arrive at Kuja was Shanks. After a full day of intense fighting, his somewhat laid-back attitude had gradually made Bullet and Kaido lose interest in him. When night finally fell, he seized the right opportunity and successfully withdrew from the battlefield.
After escaping, he followed the direction Olga had retreated earlier and eventually found his way to Kuja.
"You're not hurt anywhere, right?"
Uta carefully examined Shanks's condition, much like how Hancock had been concerned about Olga earlier,though the emotions behind it were different.
"I'm fine. It hasn't even been a full day. The warm-up just ended. If it kept going, those two lunatics might have started something serious."
Stretching his arm a bit, Shanks roughly measured Uta's height.
"Sure enough, you've grown taller. You've grown up too… Wait, I've got a call."
Shanks had just begun to say something when a faint vibration suddenly came from the inner pocket of his coat.
"I'll be right back. Wait here."
Shanks's figure disappeared into the night once more. Dark clouds covered the bright moon, making the remaining starlight seem dim. Waves crashed against the shore, and the sounds of insects could be heard from the jungle.
"Hello."
"It's me."
"I know it's you. No one else would call this number. What do you want?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi was none other than one of the Five Elders—the Warrior God of Science and Defense, Jaygarcia Saturn.
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