"Treasure! Treasure! Treasure!"
Luffy and his crew cheered around a newly recovered barrel adorned with a flag.
Kai, standing to the side, couldn't help but twitch his mouth at the sight.
The issue was with the first five words on the flag: "Poseidon's Royal Treasure."
Kai knew what it was, but the situation felt a bit ridiculous. It seemed like the plot was getting a bit twisted.
Yes, this was something Moria used in the Florian Triangle to locate prey.
In theory, Moria wouldn't just be wandering aimlessly, so... were they the ones wandering now?
Had they ended up in the Florian Triangle?
How did they go from the sky island to this place?
But it didn't really matter. His strength gave him confidence!
No matter what, bring it on, he could handle whatever came!
"It's not treasure inside, just some wine and dry food!" Nami said calmly as she opened the barrel.
"How did you know that before you opened it?" Luffy asked, baffled.
"Didn't you see it says Poseidon's Royal Treasure? That's called a flowing bottle!"
"It's something people offer to the gods to pray for smooth sailing! 'Royal Treasure' means it's an offering to the gods!"
"Tsk~ It's not treasure!" Luffy shuddered, his earlier excitement evaporating as he looked at the barrel.
"Was our effort wasted?" Usopp asked, dejected.
"Not necessarily. At least the food inside is edible. And they say that wine that's been through the waves is especially tasty!"
Nami said playfully, looking at everyone.
"Yes!" Robin agreed.
"But according to tradition, after eating, we need to put new offerings in and let it drift on the sea!"
"Really? Well then, let's do it!" Luffy said with a grin, turning to Zoro.
"Zoro, don't you love wine? Let's pray to the gods and then enjoy it together!"
"I don't know how to pray. Besides, didn't you just beat up a God?" Zoro snorted dismissively.
Seeing Zoro's lack of enthusiasm, Luffy wasn't deterred. He clasped his hands in prayer and muttered:
"God, please let me enjoy this fine wine dedicated to you! I'll become a new god and lead the world…"
"Ah!"
In the middle of his recitation, Luffy realized something was off and sheepishly smiled at everyone.
"Sorry, I'm improvising!"
Everyone: ...
After Luffy's rather ambitious prayer, the ceremony was officially over.
Luffy rubbed his hands eagerly and began to untie the rope on the barrel.
As soon as he opened the lid, a violent explosion erupted from the barrel, sending Luffy flying.
A stream of red light shot into the sky and exploded at a high altitude, turning the sky a deep red.
The crew watched in stunned silence. Chopper, curious, asked, "The wine turned into light and flew away?"
Robin shook her head, her expression serious. "It's a flare bomb!"
"If it's just a prank, fine. But if not... we might be in trouble!"
"Trouble?" Zoro's face darkened with a sinister grin.
"I'm eager to see who dares to mess with us!"
"If they dare to come, we'll hack them to pieces! It's that simple!" Sanji added calmly, puffing on his cigarette.
Both Zoro and Sanji were frustrated. Their strength had increased recently, but they hadn't had a chance to test it out.
They were looking for strong opponents to get a good fight. They wanted challenges, but not someone as ridiculously strong as Kai—otherwise, it wouldn't be any fun!
"Hahaha... Zoro, Sanji, you guys are so intense. If we have enemies, just knock them out. Why go straight to killing?" Luffy said with a laugh.
"You guys are too bloodthirsty!" Luffy sighed, shaking his head at Zoro and Sanji.
???
Zoro and Sanji exchanged puzzled looks and then turned to Kai.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me?" Kai asked, confused.
"Luffy wasn't like this before. Since you've been around, he's become less talkative!" Sanji said, a bit too calmly.
Kai: ???
"I think you two need a good beating, don't you?" Kai said with a frown.
Luffy's behavior had nothing to do with Kai. He'd never taught Luffy the art of talking!
Zoro and Sanji sure knew how to deflect blame!
At that moment, Nami suddenly noticed the changes in the air pressure and spoke urgently:
"Forget about this for now; a storm is approaching! Everyone, get ready! Head northwest!"
As soon as Nami finished, the crew sprang into action.
Even though the sky was clear now, they had unshakable trust in Nami. If she said a storm was coming, then it was.
Minutes later, the storm arrived as predicted. But since they were prepared, they quickly reached the edge of the storm and safely exited the area.
However, something puzzled everyone.
"Why is the sky so dark? Is there another storm?" Zoro wondered, looking at the ominous sky.
"No, it's just this area," Kai said casually. He looked at the crew.
"This place is called the Florian Triangle. Have you heard of it?"
"Florian Triangle?" Robin looked horrified.
Nami turned to Robin.
"Robin, you know about it?"
"Yes! I know a bit!" Robin nodded.
"It's a place known as the Florian Triangle. It's said that hundreds of ships disappear here every year!"
"What?!!"
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.