Chapter 198"What's going on? Merry, can you see the pirate flag clearly?" Luffy asked loudly.Merry stood on her tiptoes, straining to see: "Hmm, it's a Red-Lipped Skull, and the skull seems to be eating pizza?""A Red-Lipped Skull eating pizza?"Luffy stroked his chin, his eyes lighting up. "Even a skull eats pizza, so maybe they're kindred spirits!"A pirate crew's flag often represents the Captain's characteristics. If a skull eats pizza, perhaps the Captain is also a big eater."It seems to be a pirate crew I've never seen before," Luffy said, looking at Vivi. "Vivi, do you know them?"Vivi walked to Luffy's side, gazed intently, and shook her head:"With just this flag, there's too little information. It's impossible to tell which pirate crew it is."There are countless pirates on this sea. Unless the flag is as iconic as those of the Straw Hat or the Four Emperors, it's difficult to identify them.Robin also stood up and walked to the ship's rail, asking calmly, "What should we do? Should we get involved?"Currently, the Marine warship is chasing the pirate ship.At sea, unless necessary, ships generally don't want to provoke the Marine, but if the other party approaches them or the situation is special, it's another matter.At this moment, the two ships also seemed to have discovered the massive and uniquely shaped thousand sunny and going merry. Their courses slightly adjusted, and they were heading straight towards them.Luffy pressed down on his Straw Hat, grinned, and said, "From the looks of it, there's no way to avoid it even if we wanted to. Prepare for battle!"It was time for a naval battle.Not a single person on the ship showed fear; instead, everyone's face was filled with eagerness.Winning consecutive battles against strong enemies had significantly boosted the Straw Hat's confidence.Their Captain was already known as the Fifth Emperor."Yohohoho! Is it finally my time to shine?"Usopp rubbed his hands together, excitedly shouting, "Let me fire a shot first! Let me try my newly formulated Usopp Special Gunpowder!""Super Idea!"Franky immediately chimed in, striking his classic pose. "The Franky Destroyer Cannon built for the thousand sunny hasn't even had a chance to be used yet! And the new darlings installed on the going merry should also be brought out to see the world!""Then let's do it!"Luffy waved his hand and said, "Let's fire a few shots to see the situation and say hello!"Usopp and Franky excitedly rushed to their respective cannon positions.Merry also raised her small hand excitedly, a flash of glazed light, and transformed back into her cold and charming maiden form, volunteering: "I'll try too! I can control the glazed attachment to make the cannonball trajectory more stable!"Glazed Cannon?Luffy said, "Okay, Vivi, please help keep an eye on Merry. Don't let her get too excited and turn the cannon barrel into glass."Vivi agreed: "Leave it to me."She agreed and walked to Merry's side.Everyone quickly took their positions, adjusting the muzzles, and an excited atmosphere of impending battle filled the ship.Luffy looked at his busy companions and the gleaming muzzles, feeling a bit itchy himself. He muttered, "Speaking of which, after sailing for so long, it seems I haven't had many opportunities to personally command a cannon.""Oh? Really?"Robin, who had walked up beside him at some point, heard his murmur and curved her lips into a mischievous smile. She said, "You're lying."Her gaze pointedly flicked to Luffy, then slowly moved away.Luffy's mouth twitched, instantly recalling the unique cannonry instruction he received last night in the Merry's dormitory.You really can't say.But this woman, Robin, was too wicked.Seeing that no one else was paying attention, he couldn't help but reach out and squeeze Robin's cool palm.Robin let him squeeze her hand, a doting smile on her face. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said, "Ah, right, I remember there's an even older cannon in the Merry's storage room that's been idle."Chapter 283: Chance Encounter with Bonney, Zephyr Not KilledLuffy's eyes instantly lit up. He turned and shouted to Nika, who was yawning, "Nika! Quick! Go get my old cannon out!"Nika let out a huge yawn, getting up groggily."Huh? Which old cannon? Why would you, a Devil Fruit user, need a cannon? A single punch from you is more powerful than any cannon."Luffy returned her a smile.Nika, however, reacted defensively.She pouted and reluctantly walked towards the Merry's storage room. "Alright, alright, stop rushing me. I'm going to drag out your family heirloom now."Soon, a rather ancient-looking cannon, even with some rust, was dragged out.It seemed to be well-maintained."Aim, everyone to your positions."Luffy jumped to a high spot, spiritedly acting as the chief commander.Nami stood by the helm, precisely directing the course and angle of the two ships, ensuring all muzzles were aimed at the bow of the two approaching ships."Fire! Fire!" Luffy commanded!In an instant, roars echoed across the sea!Usopp's special cannonball streaked out, trailing exhaust.The energy beam fired by the Franky Destroyer Cannon was dazzling.The new cannons on the Merry spewed flames!Luffy's old cannon was loaded and fired by himself, and the feeling of firing it himself was indeed good.After a round of cannon fire, it turned into a barrage.The Straw Hat's firepower was truly terrifying.However, most of the cannonballs and energy were precisely aimed at the Marine warshiprelentlessly pursuing them from behind.After all, for pirates, the Marine are their natural enemies.The pirate ship on the other side thus got a breather, taking the opportunity to widen the distance from the warship.As two stray cannonballs were about to land near the pirate ship, an anomaly occurred!A beam of light, sparkling with faint gleams, shot from the pirate ship, quickly enveloping the two cannonballs.Immediately after, to everyone's surprise, the two cannonballs, which were originally full of kinetic energy, seemed to have undergone countless years of erosion in an instant. Their shells visibly became rusty, and then they fell powerlessly into the sea, barely splashing any water."Huh?"Nami's eyes widened in surprise. "What kind of ability is that? The cannonballs just fell into the water."Vivi observed intently, her tone uncertain: "It doesn't look like they were destroyed; it's more like they instantly aged and decayed?""An ability that can age objects?"Robin pondered, "This should be some kind of Devil Fruit ability. But I haven't heard of it."This was normal; there were too many Devil Fruitabilities.Even the Gum-Gum Fruit could be the Nika Fruit.Sometimes Mythical Zoan types are more like Logia types than Logia types, and more like Paramecia types than Paramecia types.Another volley of fire, this time more accurately covering the sea in front of the Marine warship, forcing the warship to slow down and make an emergency turn, temporarily stopping its pursuit.Meanwhile, the pirate ship took the opportunity to quickly approach the thousand sunny.At the bow of the opposite ship, a figure stepped out, hands on hips, angrily shouting towards them, her voice clear but full of indignation:"Hey! Were you guys aiming at us?"It was a young girl with long pink hair, rebellious makeup, and golden rings at the corners of her eyes. She was petite but full of presence.Her crew members, who looked a bit older, quickly gathered around, chattering to persuade her:"Captain Bonney, calm down! No swearing!""Yeah, yeah, they did save our lives, after all.""If it weren't for their fire support, we really wouldn't have shaken off that persistent tail.""So we should thank them, and not be rude."Bonney had an annoyed expression, but she couldn't resist what the people who had looked after her since childhood were saying. "Thank... thank you.""No problem."Luffy looked at the Pink-Haired Girl who was thanking them, and his expression gradually became strange.The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. He quickly pulled a folded wanted poster from his pocket, unfolded it, and slapped his forehead:"I knew she looked familiar."On the wanted poster, it was indeed the Pink-Haired Girl.Jewelry Bonney, bounty of 140,000,000 Berries!"Oh oh oh, what a beauty!" Sanji next to him already had hearts in his eyes."Yohohoho, excuse me, miss,"Brook also adjusted his tie, preparing to show his gentlemanly demeanor, subconsciously saying this, then subconsciously glanced at Luffy, and then silently swallowed his words."Pirates are also enemies, aren't they?" Zoro said, his hand on his sword hilt, his eyes vigilant."Huh? Marimo, do you think such a beautiful lady is an enemy?" Sanji retorted."Ha? Do you want to fight, perverted cook?"Luffy, however, quickly reached out to stop them."No, no, no, don't start anything yet!"Luffy pointed at the wanted poster and said to his companions, "I know the Captain of the other ship."Nami's expression instantly became a bit strange. She looked Luffy up and down: "Again? Is this another one of your childhood sweethearts?"She couldn't help but think of Uta.On the opposite ship, the Bonney Pirates also seemed to recognize the Straw Hat Pirates' distinctive skull flag. Bonney hesitated for a moment, then shouted loudly towards them: "Hey! Straw Hat! Thank you, but you guys should turn around and leave quickly, don't get caught by that troublesome old man behind us!"No sooner had she spoken.Boom!As if a meteor had fallen from the sky, with a piercing whoosh, it slammed onto the center of the Bonney Pirate ship's deck at an uncatchable speed.The huge impact made the entire ship shake violently, sending wood splinters flying.As the smoke and dust slowly dispersed, a tall, muscular figure, clad in a Marine jacket of justice, gradually became clear.He had neat Purple Short Hair, a resolute face weathered by hardships, and most strikingly, a Mechanical Arm gleaming with metallic coldness!"Pirates, you are under arrest."A deep, hoarse voice, carrying undeniable authority, said, "Don't think you can escape again.""You bastard!"Bonney looked at the tall figure in front of her, her face pale with anger and urgency. "Why are you like a dog-skin plaster that can't be shaken off!""Because you are pirates."The purple-haired man's tone was calm but carried a powerful oppressive force. His Mechanical Armslowly lifted, about to strike Bonney.Just at this critical moment."Rubber, Bullet!"A fist covered in black Haki, like a cannonball, crossed the distance between the two ships and slammed hard into the side of the purple-haired man's face.Thud!A dull thud.
