After a few days—
Luffy had been diligently updating the Adventure Shop every single day. Without using the [Custom Update] function, after many days of patience, he finally discovered a new batch of Devil Fruits.
[Pocket Fruit]: Upon consumption, the user gains the ability to open a personal storage space. The size of this space begins as a one-meter cube. Repeated use increases its capacity.
[Price: 5,000 Adventure Coins.]
Five thousand coins—no discounts, no bonuses.
It wasn't exactly the fruit he'd been hoping for, but it looked incredibly practical. So, without hesitation, Luffy bought it on the spot.
A crystal-like fruit materialized in his hand. The moment he took a bite, new power flowed through him.
As if he'd possessed the ability all along, he instinctively knew how to use it.
He slid his index finger lightly through the air—space itself seemed to tear open in front of him.
After probing it with his hand, Luffy confirmed that the little pocket dimension was indeed a cubic meter in size.
It was like having a portable treasure chest that could appear anywhere.
He immediately stored the hearts he had been keeping with him inside it.
This way, Big Mom would never escape his control again.
There were eleven hearts in total.
One belonged to Big Mom, six to the Charlotte Family, and four to CP9 agents.
He carefully labeled each one with a tag, writing their names neatly.
Of course, as a precaution, he placed a false name on Big Mom's heart—just in case.
A bit excessive, perhaps, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
Once he finished organizing everything, Luffy stood up and headed for the music room.
Uta was seated at the piano, playing a light melody, pausing now and then to jot down notes on a piece of paper.
"Luffy~ Give me some inspiration~!"
As soon as she noticed him enter, Uta sprang up, grabbed his arm, and pleaded in an adorably dramatic tone.
"Even if you say that... I have no idea how to help," Luffy replied helplessly.
Composing music wasn't exactly his area of expertise.
"Ugh, how boring! Everyone's just training all day—nothing fun ever happens!" Uta pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"Oh! Luffy, let's go on an adventure! I'm tired of being stuck on this island!"
"And where do you want to go?"
Luffy had originally been planning to deliver some invitations, but the moment he heard her suggestion, he changed his mind immediately.
Delivering invitations could wait—spending time with Uta was far more important.
"Anywhere's fine, as long as I'm with you!" she said cheerfully.
"Then let's start at the entrance to the New World," Luffy replied with a grin.
"I came looking for you the moment I entered the New World. So how about we start another grand adventure—from the very beginning?"
"Alright, let's go!" Uta exclaimed excitedly.
She couldn't stand staying there a second longer.
There was no inspiration for songwriting; Nami and the others trained all day—it wasn't much different from before.
It was time for a new adventure!
"Go tell Nami and the others to gather at the port."
"Okay~!"
Uta ran off, full of energy.
Luffy remained where he was, thoughtful for a moment.
He was planning a trip to Punk Hazard.
That place had a certain something—a memory of an artificial Devil Fruit created by Vegapunk, using Kaido's genetic material.
A fruit that allowed its user to transform into a dragon like Kaido himself.
It wasn't that Luffy craved the power—it just didn't sit right with him to leave something that valuable in the hands of that brat, Momonosuke.
---xXx---
"Captain, I'll be away for a while. I need to look into something."
"Doflamingo?"
"Yes," Law nodded. "Don't worry—I won't act recklessly."
"You're free to do whatever you want. No need to report to me. Act as you see fit," Luffy replied casually.
"Thanks."
Law gave a faint smile and left immediately.
Later, Gekko Moria came to find him as well.
"Captain, I need more zombies! There aren't any pirates around here, so I'll go hunt for some shadows and corpses!"
"Do whatever you like—just don't let the Marines catch you."
There weren't many Marine bases in the New World—only a few well-known ones. Compared to the hundreds scattered across Paradise and the Four Seas, they were almost insignificant.
---xXx---
Elegia Port.
Law's Polar Tang had already vanished into the sea, just like Moria's Thriller Bark.
Jinbei had also been sent by Luffy on a mission to find a Poneglyph and wouldn't return until the day of the wedding.
At that moment, only three ships remained docked at the port—
the Sunny, the Merry, and the Ark.
Nami and the others were already on board.
"Let's go, Luffy~!" Uta shouted from the shore, waving excitedly.
Luffy turned to Gordon and Bartolomeo.
"I'm heading out with them for a while. If anything important happens, contact me through the Den Den Mushi."
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Bartolomeo thumped his chest proudly.
"Please take care of Uta, Straw Hat Luffy," Gordon said with a nod.
"Bye-bye!"
Luffy waved, then leapt onto the ship.
Moments later, the Sunny and the Merry set sail.
They traveled through a space-time tunnel, instantly returning to the waters near the entrance of the New World—a journey that would normally take more than twenty days.
Nami glanced at her Log Pose.
"Luffy… We stayed in Elegia too long. The Log Pose's magnetic field has completely reset!"
The three arrows now pointed toward entirely different islands than before.
"We're not heading to any of those," Luffy said with a grin. "We're going to the Phantom Island."
"Phantom Island?" Vivi asked, eyes wide.
"Is it like the Florian Triangle?" Kaya added nervously.
"Not that kind of creepy place," Luffy explained. "It's an island without magnetic fields. If we keep sailing around here, we'll find it eventually."
"Ohhh Let's go, Phantom Island!" Uta cheered.
Robin, reading a book nearby, smiled softly.
"You really are full of energy, Uta."
Everyone loved the lively young singer.
"Hey! Then I'll sing something for everyone!"
Uta cleared her throat—and without caring whether anyone wanted to listen or not, she started to sing.
Luffy sat on the Sunny's figurehead, shouting over to the Merry:
"Usopp! You've got great observation skills—keep an eye on the sea!"
"Got it!"
Night had already fallen when they finally spotted an island.
"Luffy! I see land! Could it be the Punk Hazard you were talking about?" Usopp shouted.
Luffy immediately adjusted both ships, descending through the clouds.
But Punk Hazard was no longer a land of fire and ice.
Now, it was covered entirely in snow.
As the Sunny entered the blizzard, visibility dropped sharply—
Then, suddenly, Chopper and Usopp's screams rang out from the Merry:
"Aaaah! A snow girl! A yokai!!"
(End of Chapter)