"Brothers, let's head to Jaya Island!" Luffy declared with enthusiasm.
"To Jaya!" echoed the ape with equal excitement.
"By the way, do you have a ship's doctor on board? It seems everyone on our ship is feeling a bit off!" Luffy asked.
"Ship doctor? Yes, indeed!" Luffy pointed to Chopper. "This is our ship's doctor."
Everyone's gaze shifted to Chopper, who felt a rush of anxiety under the scrutiny but tried to steady himself.
"What's troubling you? What are your symptoms?" Chopper inquired.
The ape, appearing somewhat defeated, sighed, "I'm not ashamed to admit it. Our crew has seen a ship flying in the sky and people soaring through the air. It's rather unsettling."
"That's the ship up there!" the ape pointed at the floating vessel.
After hearing this, Kai and the crew fell into contemplative silence.
Seeing Chopper's hesitant response, the ape grew anxious. "Doctor, is my condition serious? Just tell me straight."
The ape, though outwardly composed, betrayed his anxiety with his trembling frame.
After a moment, Sanji took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "Is this what you meant by people flying in the sky?"
Sanji demonstrated Moonwalk, stepping lightly on air.
The ape, shocked, could barely respond. His face darkened with realization.
"So that ship in the sky?"
"Yes, we've done the same!" Luffy confirmed cheerfully.
The ape's frustration boiled over. "You didn't know that the sunken ships in this area belong to the Ape Pirates?"
"You dare to search up there? That's audacious!"
"But it hasn't sunk yet?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
"Enough chatter!" the ape shouted. "Everything that falls from the sky belongs to us, understand?"
"You'd better hand over whatever you found, or else..."
Before the ape could finish, a wanted poster fluttered from Luffy's body. Luffy casually tucked it away, feigning innocence.
"What was that? Or else what?"
Luffy's innocent expression only served to further unnerve the ape.
The ape swallowed hard. "Or else... I'll send you to Jaya Island immediately!"
"Don't you want to reach Sky Island? Haha... let's set sail!"
With that, the ape hurriedly retreated into the cabin.
Kai and the others exchanged glances. Kai looked at Luffy with admiration. "That's some sharp thinking!"
A short while later, Kai and the crew arrived at Jaya Island without encountering any obstacles or giant figures from the original story.
The ape pointed to Jaya and said, "This is Mock Town. Our boss is across the way. Do you want to grab anything in town first?"
"No, we'll go straight to your boss!" Nami declined.
"I'm heading into town!" Kai said, and before anyone could react, he vanished and sped towards Mock Town.
"What's going on with Kai?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
"Just now, Kai had a hint of murderous intent. For him to mention murder, it must be an enemy or something serious," Zoro said gravely.
Everyone's expressions darkened. Luffy declared, "Let's not visit the ape's boss first. We need to check out Mock Town!"
"Agreed!"
[Ding, check-in to Gaya Island successful. Conqueror's Haki upgraded to Intermediate Level!]
Kai arrived at Magic Valley Town and immediately activated his advanced Kenbunshoku Haki. He soon located his target, a sneer forming on his lips.
In the town, a frail-looking man, weakly mounted on a horse, meandered through the streets.
"I'm so weak, I feel like I'm going to die~" he lamented.
"Then you go to hell!" a voice suddenly declared. The man was startled and sat upright, still appearing ill. A dark stick and a man's voice followed.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The stick struck him with tremendous force, shattering his internal organs and sending him crashing through buildings and out of town before coming to a halt.
The commotion drew the town's attention.
"One down!" Kai said calmly, waiting for the rest to show up.
With such a disturbance, the targets Kai sought would surely appear. He preferred to confront them all at once rather than search individually.
Indeed, the man Kai had just eliminated was Poison Q of the Blackbeard Pirates. Kai harbored a deep loathing for Blackbeard, not just for his ruthless actions but also for the personal grudge of attacking the Empress.
(•́へ•́╬)!!!