"Hmm, why do we encounter strange guys as soon as we set sail?"
"These don't seem to be the same as that ape guy, Roman~~~"
Luffy looked at the... gorilla ship? Or rather, the forest ship not far away and turned to ask Roman, making Roman once again marvel at the oddities of this world.
"No, it looks like it's..."
How should Roman describe this? If the ape on the salvage ship looked like a gorilla, then this one looked like... a fat fusion of a human and a monkey?
"Anyway, it's up to you."
Whether it's a gorilla or an ape, it seems like Luffy would have something in common with them... right?
...
"Hahahaha, so you're a gorilla!"
"No, no, I'm not that strong~~~"
"Decided, you'll be called 'Gorilla King'!"
"How can I accept that? At most, I'm at the level of a Seven Warlords of the Sea~~"
"No, no, you are the Gorilla King—"
"Since you insist, then the name 'Gorilla King' is mine!"
...
What is this?
Birds of a feather flock together, Monkeys of the same troop swing together... Roman gave up thinking and instinctively steered the ship, while his paper cranes stealthily flew between buildings, searching for their target.
The tall gorilla captain on the nearby giant ship scratched his chest, "In terms of strength, I should take his place... The title of Gorilla King makes my heart race. Let's put it on hold for now..."
"What does it matter? Dreams are—"
"By the way, what species are you?"
"Of course, I'm human, you idiot!"
"Hahaha, I thought you were a gorilla~~"
"Ahahaha~~"
Luffy started chatting and laughing with the other captain, making Roman habitually rub his forehead.
This kind of charisma is really hard to learn...
"Well, since you know the ape guy, you're my friends."
The captain of the deep-sea exploration ship named Gorilla took charge, "You want to visit 'Montblanc Cricket'? That's perfect, he's the leader of our Saruyama Alliance!"
"Then please lead the way, hehehe~~"
And so, the Going Merry followed the exploration ship smoothly, enjoying various fresh fruits from the orchards on the big ship. The noisy group arrived at the eastern coast of Jaya, where they saw:
"Wow, what a big castle!"
What appeared before them was a huge castle by the sea, looking grand and magnificent, but:
"Idiot... open your eyes and look carefully."
Zoro leaned against the ship's rail with his eyes closed, looking disdainful.
"Rather than a dreamer... it's more like vanity."
Sanji flicked his cigarette.
As the Going Merry docked—since the large deep-sea exploration ship couldn't get close to the shore, Luffy and his group first arrived at this...
"Ah—it's just a wooden board!"
Luffy, who had landed, looked disappointed. The 'castle' in front of them was just a huge plywood facing the sea! What they saw was just a painting on the board, and the real building was a wooden house behind the giant board.
It was like the difference between a seller's show and a buyer's show...
"By the way, why was he expelled from Jaya?" Nami asked, then quickly added.
"Roman, you're not allowed to answer!"
??
"OK, I know nothing."
Roman rolled his eyes and ignored Nami because the paper cranes he sent out finally found their target!
A ship... Can this even be called a ship?
Looking at the vessel in front of him, Roman didn't know how to react!
This is a raft, right? It must be a raft! Four large logs tied together can go to sea, Blackbeard, you really have a unique style.
Alright, although these logs are seven or eight meters in diameter and tens of meters long, which is a bit exaggerated, the logs have cannon ports at the front, back, and sides, and the ship flies a pirate flag with three skulls. This unique ship is undoubtedly Blackbeard's ship.
This is the place.
One by one, the paper cranes flew in, then unfolded into sheets of white paper and slipped under the bed, behind cabinets, into crevices, and even into the cannons...
Explosive paper, kilogram paper, yellow sand paper...
Roman used up his energy to make a bunch of these remotely controlled paper creations with Nami's help, and then sent them all into the unattended Blackbeard pirate ship, which even required Roman to personally steer the Golden Merry. But it was all worth it—
"Come on, if you dare to chase us, I'll feed you to the sharks!"
The other members of the Blackbeard Pirates aren't Devil Fruit users, so they aren't afraid of the sea, but I don't believe your 'Dark-Dark Fruit' can make you fly like other Logia types?
"Roman, what are you mumbling about?"
"Nothing," Roman, having arranged the 'backdoor', parked the Going Merry. Sanji had already furled the sails, and Robin had helped a lot. As for the others—
"Excuse me,"
Luffy pushed open the door and barged in.
"Do you live alone in this deserted place?".
Zoro looked around, seemingly looking for a good place to sleep. His daily routine was either intense training or catching up on sleep whenever he could, making Roman envious.
"Chopper, I heard there's gold here, start digging!"
This was Nami, who had heard there was gold on Jaya Island.
"Huh? Can you just dig it up?"
Chopper, in reindeer form, asked while digging.
In short, relying on them was unrealistic. Fortunately, Sanji (who hadn't encountered any women) and Robin (who hadn't seen any artifacts) were more reliable...
"What's this picture book?"
Usopp picked up a book from the table.
"The Tale of the Great Liar Norland..."
"Hey, is this your ancestor?"
Faced with Luffy's question, Usopp slammed the table!
"What do you mean by that?? This is a famous story from the North Blue, how could it be—"
"My ancestor!"
??
Bang!
A man, bare-chested and wearing only swim trunks, suddenly leaped out of the nearby sea.
"Who are you? Trespassing on my territory!—Are you all here for the 'gold'?"
"Gold!"
In an instant, Nami's eyes sparkled with gold, causing the diamond-faced man to attack with a hostile look. "I knew it, die!"
Bang!
Sanji, who was closest, reflexively kicked out, but he immediately paid for his carelessness!—This man was actually a skilled fighter.
In the exchange of blows, Sanji was surprisingly at a disadvantage!
Hmm, around 40 million in strength...
Roman, rubbing his chin, instinctively began to estimate the man's strength. Just as the gorilla captain, who had come over in a small boat, shouted, "Stop, don't fight anymore," the diamond-faced man suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed! Sanji, stunned for a moment, immediately jumped back!
"He fell on his own, it has nothing to do with me~~~"
"You all have to testify for me!"
"Someone help him up..."
...
"Chopper, go take a look." Roman pointed at the diamond-faced uncle who looked like he was faking an injury. In such situations, it's best to have a professional handle it.
——————
"Don't crowd around—"
"Open the windows,"
"Make the towel colder..."
Soon, under Chopper's emergency care, the uncle who was moved into the nearby house stabilized.
"This is decompression sickness,"
Chopper, unlike Roman who only treats external injuries, quickly analyzed the cause of the diamond-faced uncle's sudden collapse.
"Decompression sickness occurs when returning rapidly from high-pressure deep water to normal atmospheric pressure. The nitrogen dissolved in body fluids rapidly forms bubbles due to the pressure change, causing embolism. This gas embolism is the reason the uncle fainted..."
"In short, it's a very strange phenomenon."
Luffy calmly (and foolishly) summarized for Chopper.
...
"Alright, who will go tell the gorilla outside," Roman pointed to the lawn outside the room where the gorilla captain was crying. — His size was too big to enter the house.
"Their boss is fine."
"I'll go," Usopp turned and walked out.
"However, with this uncle's physique..." Chopper hesitated after examining him.
"If it weren't for long-term intense diving, he shouldn't have decompression sickness..."
This is a 'master' with a 40 million bounty! On Earth, he would instantly break all Olympic records, smashing stones on his chest and having people stand on his fists would be nothing...
"Didn't he say it before?"
Roman raised the picture book in his hand, the cover showing a simple-looking man about to be executed.
"He is a descendant of the adventurer Montblanc Noland from 400 years ago, and this place is the 'City of Gold' with vast amounts of gold from Noland's story."
"So, the reason for his crazy diving is obvious—"
Trying to find vast amounts of gold in the sea to wash away his ancestor's centuries-old shame...
"Nonsense!"
The diamond-faced man, who had woken up at some point, removed the towel from his forehead and slowly sat up.
"Wash away that guy's shame?"
"Whether that guy was a liar or a true adventurer, what does it have to do with me!"
"But because of that guy, my childhood was a mess!"
"When I sailed here one day, I understood—"
The uncle, who had just woken up, got out of bed. Although his steps were still shaky, his face showed a determined look.
"This is a duel between me and 'him'!"
——————
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