After some time, everyone gathered back in the underground base. Bucky couldn't help but marvel as they walked through the vast, hidden city. "I still find it unbelievable... a whole damn city is underground, and no one knows about it," he said, chuckling as they moved through the empty streets and concealed passageways.
Max smirked at Bucky's amazement. "Well, some things are meant to stay hidden. Just like old secrets," Max added with a cryptic tone.
"Yeah? Like what?" Bucky asked, intrigued.
Max stopped and turned to face Bucky. "Captain America is still alive too."
Bucky froze mid-step. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice suddenly serious, a mix of hope and disbelief flickering in his eyes.
Max leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. "After the war, he was buried in ice. He kept the nuclear explosion from going off. They found him recently—defrosted, you could say. He even came after me because I destroyed one of HYDRA's bases. Poor guy had no clue it wasn't a SHIELD base."
Bucky's expression softened as he stared at Max. "How... how is he?" There was a mixture of longing and concern in his voice.
"Same as always," Max replied with a shrug. "Still all about that justice thing. You know, fighting for what's right."
Bucky couldn't help but smile, though there was a touch of sadness in it. "Some people can't change, no matter what."
Max nodded, understanding the weight behind those words. "Yeah, some don't. But you have, and that's what matters now."
Bucky nodded as he moved to the training ground along with Max, there he found everyone waiting for them.
"and they say we girls take time?" Gwen said playfully as Max rolled his eyes in response.
"Anyway, since you're all ready, let's go," Max said with a grin. "The world we're heading to is called One Piece, and there, the title that everyone covets is 'Pirate King.'"
"So, we're going to a world full of criminals?" Yulia asked, her brow furrowed.
Max shook his head. "Not exactly. In that world, there are mainly two professions: Marines and Pirates. Most Pirates are considered bad, yeah, but a lot of them are just caught up in circumstances. The real issue is the World Government. They promote piracy so that people cry out for their protection, and in return, they impose heavy taxes."
"So, the real bad guys are the World Government? And what are we going to do there?" Gwen asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Simple," Max replied, smirking. "We're going pirating. I'm not interested in becoming the Marines' dogs, enforcing the World Government's will. Second, we'll kill the World Government."
The group exchanged glances, surprised but intrigued. Harry was the first to speak up. "Sounds good to me."
Flash nodded as well, clearly on board with the plan. "Yeah, let's do this."
Max's expression turned serious. "You should all be ready to kill, though. This won't be peaceful. Hesitation will get you killed. Lumia, that goes for you too."
Lumia nodded solemnly. "I know. I won't hesitate."
"Neither will we," Peter added confidently, and the others echoed his sentiment.
Max raised an eyebrow. "We'll see."
Bucky, standing to the side, shook his head slightly in response, a mix of amusement and resignation on his face. "This is gonna be one hell of a ride," he muttered under his breath.
With everything set, the group braced themselves for the journey ahead, knowing that the world of One Piece held dangers far beyond anything they'd experienced before.
"Stand near me" Max said as he took out the world Ticket and tore it, while thinking of One Piece world.
A magical circle appeared under them, as they all soon vanished from here.
***
When Max opened his eyes, he found himself and the others standing in the middle of a vast desert. The scorching sun blazed down on them, casting long shadows in the golden sand.
"Where is this?" Gwen asked, squinting against the sunlight as she looked around.
"We're in a desert," Flash said, shielding his eyes as he scanned the endless horizon.
"We can all see that, genius," MJ shot back, clearly unamused as she adjusted her backpack and looked around for any signs of civilization.
Suddenly, Harry pointed toward the distance, his eyes wide. "Hey! What's that?"
The group turned their heads in the direction Harry was pointing. In the far distance, they could see something moving—getting closer. As the figure grew larger, it became clearer: a massive crab, about the size of a small house, scuttling toward them at an alarming speed.
"What the hell is that thing?" Bucky asked, preparing himself instinctively for a fight.
Max, however, smirked, seemingly unfazed. "Welcome to the One Piece world," he said, stepping forward. "Looks like we've got company." He cracked his knuckles, ready for whatever was about to come next.
As they came closer, Max's eyes widened as he saw the protagonist group—the Straw Hat Pirates—riding on a giant crab, rushing past without sparing them a glance.
"That was one hell of a crab," Harry said, staring after them, still in awe.
Max nodded as he looked back at the group. "So, we're at this point in time..."
'The timeline where Luffy is in Alabasta, getting ready to fight Crocodile,' Max thought. 'Crocodile wants to take over Alabasta to find an Ancient Weapon, which doesn't even exist here.'
'So, if it's at this point of time, I can surely see white beard now and even have his pirate group to myself' Max thought as he began to plan.
"Let's go after it; they might lead us to a city," Max suggested, as Harry frowned and said, "Walk in this sun?"
"Who said anything about walking?" Max smirked before using his shadow-summoning ability to conjure several rideable creatures—Nightmare Horses, massive black steeds with blue flame manes and hooves.
They can even run on water" Max said patting one.
"Let's ride," Max said, hopping onto one with Gwen, while Rize took another with Lumia. Bucky and Yulia mounted one as well, and they all began chasing after the giant crab.
"But what about us?" Harry asked, staring at the two remaining Nightmare Horses.
"I don't know how to ride a horse," he admitted. Peter, MJ, and Flash exchanged glances.
"Great, none of us knows how," Harry grumbled, just as Peter spoke up, "But I can control them."
Peter led the way, and they all hopped on the remaining horses—Harry and Flash sharing one, and Peter riding with MJ. At first, the ride was wobbly, but Peter quickly adjusted, and soon they were racing smoothly to catch up with the others.
****
Do check out my original : Strongest Extra Survival, while waiting for New chap
***
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