Mary Geoise,
The first generation kitetsu in the hands of the blonde Gorosei was already three inches out of its sheath: "That diamond sea salt... is a designated item for the Celestial Dragons' tea party."
"What's more serious is this." The Gorosei holding the sword pulled up data, and the screen showed a curve graph of Marine recruitment rates plummeting by 40%. "Now young people are all imitating Straw Hat live-streaming the raiding of Marine Bases."
The oldest Gorosei suddenly crushed his teacup: "Let CP0 handle it." He stared coldly at the close-up of Luffy laughing on the screen. "Since the script isn't working... then rewrite the ending."
...
The next morning,
Water 7, a video attracted a lot of attention, like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.
In the video,
The sinister face of CP9 officer Spandam filled the entire screen.
He wore a spotted mask, a ferocious smile on his lips, and roared through gritted teeth at the camera: "Straw Hat! Enies Lobby will be your grave!"
As his words fell, three bloody skull emojis exploded on the screen, the crimson color seeming to drip through the screen.
The camera pulled back, revealing the CP9 elites standing behind Spandam.
Rob Lucci, who was at the forefront, still maintained his stern expression, but his hawk-like eyes burned with raging fury. Kaku, Jabra, and the others also had grim faces, emitting a chilling killing intent.
Since the novel "Pirate King" was released, CP9's covert operations and true identities had long been exposed.
They had to launch their operations early, but their plans were repeatedly thwarted, and Franky still burned the Pluton blueprints.
Whenever he recalled the various details described in the novel, Lucci couldn't help but clench his fists—those meticulously planned operations were all ruined because of the interference from these damned Straw Hat!
"This time, they must pay with blood!" Jabra licked his sharp claws, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
According to the plot in the novel, the Straw Hat Pirates' going merry needed to come to Water 7 for repairs, and besides Water 7, there were no other large ship repair yards nearby.
This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!
On the streets of Water 7, CP9 members had already openly appeared.
They no longer hid their identities, but wore unified black uniforms, their badges glinting in the sunlight.
Lucci stood on the city's tallest clock tower, overlooking the entire city, waiting for his prey to walk into the trap.
"Let's end this here, Straw Hat." Lucci murmured to himself, his cold voice filled with deep-seated hatred. The sea breeze swept across his cape, flapping loudly, playing a prelude to the coming bloody battle.
Meanwhile,
The Shichibukai Gekko Moriah also responded to the Straw Hat Crew: "My Thriller Bark is already full of traps!"
The screen suddenly cut to a scene of the zombie army training, all zombie soldiers wearing salt-proof masks. "If you dare to come, I'll make you a permanent shadow collection! Mwahahaha!"
Moriah's massive figure filled the entire screen: "Perona! Lock all the salt in the treasure vault!" His sharp fingernail traced the passage in the novel where "Brook reveals his weakness". "And have Hogback reinforce the zombies!"
Moriah's roar shattered three monitors: "Strengthen the guards on all trees! Wait—" He suddenly laughed sinisterly, "Go prepare 'that thing' that wasn't written about in the novel..."
The video then ended with the sinister scene.
When the Straw Hat's companions gathered around the deck of the going merry and saw the video they were tagged in on their phones, the air instantly froze.
Spandam's arrogant face and the three bloody skull emojis made everyone frown.
And the cold gazes of Rob Lucci, Kaku, and others standing behind him made the atmosphere even heavier.
"These guys... they still dare to provoke us?" Zoro narrowed his eyes, his hand already on his sword hilt.
"Did they forget how we defeated them at Enies Lobby?" Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone dismissive.
Usopp: "???? Uh... didn't we not defeat them yet? That was just the novel's plot."
Sanji laughed and put an arm around Usopp's shoulder: "Hahaha, what's there to be afraid of? Everything's out in the open now, even if we fight a few more times, we'll still win!"
Nami, however, was a little worried: "They dare to declare war so openly, they must be well-prepared..."
However, before she could finish, Luffy suddenly stood up and slammed his fist on the deck, shaking the entire ship.
His face was terribly grim, his eyes burning with the flames of anger.
"These bastards—!" He growled through gritted teeth, "You're not done, are you? Fine! Since they want to fight again, let's make them remember the lesson completely!"
He suddenly looked up, his gaze like a torch, and shouted in a loud voice: "If we can take them down once in the novel, we can take them down a second time! And—"
He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, "I already know my Second Gear and Third Gear! I'm stronger now than I was back then!"
"Luffy..." Robin looked at him, knowing that he was also considering her.
"Robin, everyone has the right to live! You have to live too!"
Robin: "..."
"I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy grinned widely, "How could I be scared by them? I'm going to train right now!"
Luffy leaped, jumping off the deck of the going merry and landing heavily on the beach of a nearby uninhabited island.
Without a word, he immediately assumed a fighting stance, his eyes more serious than ever.
"Second Gear...!" He let out a low cry, his legs suddenly exerting force, and began running at high speed on the beach.
At first, his movements were still a bit awkward. The moment his blood flow accelerated, his entire body's skin turned an unnatural crimson, veins clearly protruded on the surface, and the sound of his heart beating violently could even be heard through his chest.
"Ugh...!" He gritted his teeth. During his first attempt, the excessively fast blood circulation made his brain dizzy, and he almost stumbled and fell.
But he immediately steadied himself, forcing himself to adapt to this state.
"Again!"
His arms swung at high speed, his legs ran like a whirlwind, kicking up a sky full of sand and dust on the beach.
Gradually, his movements became smoother, the redness of his skin was no longer so intense, and his breathing became stable.
"Gatling!" He suddenly threw a punch, and the air, compressed to its limit, suddenly exploded, forming a visible shockwave.
The distant rock wall shattered with a roar, sending debris flying.
However, the moment he retracted his fist, his arm muscles twitched slightly—the side effects of Second Gear were still affecting his body.
"Not skilled enough yet..." Luffy shook his numb arm, but his eyes became even more determined. "Again!"
...
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