[T/N] When it comes to his sword I will rotate between Ryu No Ha and Dragon's Roar, they both mean the same thing it's just that one is in Japanese and the other English.]
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"The grand auction features all kinds of rare items: valuable medicines, treasure maps, precious artifacts, ships, Adam Wood, and even Devil Fruits. There's so much to list, I can't remember it all!" Yoru thought aloud.
Treasure maps, ships, Adam Wood, Devil Fruits—these are exactly what I need right now, Clover licked his lips at the thought. The idea of a Devil Fruit alone was too tempting to pass up.
If it were just any Devil Fruit, Clover might not be interested. But he was a man with… special abilities. If he could gain a second Devil Fruit, it meant the chance to wield a second power!
By modifying his own body, Clover could bypass the traditional limit of only one Devil Fruit ability. He could use the Devil Fruits nearby, transferring his power to other fruits, giving him access to every Devil Fruit ability in the world. The possibility was irresistible.
"Huh? Is that an island up ahead?" Clover looked past Yoru, seeing a bright area on the horizon.
"That's it—Evernight, Matea Island!" Yoru stood up, excitement in her voice.
"We arrived so quickly?" Clover looked at the Eternal Pose in his hand, pointing directly at the island, and noticed that his own Log Pose was aligned with it. It turned out he'd been headed there all along…
Boom!
Just as Yoru cheered, a ship appeared on the sea, firing a cannonball toward them.
Luckily, Clover's reaction was quick. Using Future Sight, he grabbed Yoru, summoned his weapon, Ryu no Ha, and with a single swing from its scabbard, shattered the cannonball mid-air.
Then, two more large ships emerged, each with a spotlight at the bow pointed toward Clover's small boat, making them highly visible in the dark sea.
"Hahaha, Clover! You bastard! I'm not one to hold grudges, but tonight I'll make an exception. Prepare to meet your end at sea!" On the ship's bow, Sakuta sat in a wheelchair, glaring at Clover with a wicked grin.
"I spared your life, and you're choosing to challenge me?" Clover's tone darkened.
"Enough talk! I have three men here with bounties over 30 million each, and behind me is Mizuki, with a bounty of 57 million! Think you can take us all on?" Sakuta sneered, pointing at a man with short blue hair behind him, looking smug.
The other two ships had their own groups of pirates, totaling roughly four hundred men.
"Ah! That's my ship!" Yoru exclaimed, pointing to the vessel on the left, and then to a portly man on its deck. "That's the one who killed my guards and stole my ship!"
"Matea Island is your family's territory, isn't it? Don't they recognize you? Is there no royal insignia on the ship?" Clover asked Yoru.
"No… Whenever I attend the auction, I wear a mask, and the ship has no flag. My father didn't want any accidents with the Tenryūbito," Yoru explained, shaking her head.
Clover nodded in understanding. "Go hide in the cabin."
"But… that man has a bounty of 50 million. Are you sure you can handle him?" Yoru asked, worry in her voice.
"These scrubs aren't even a mouthful," Clover replied calmly.
"You're finished! Kill the men and feed them to the fish! Take the woman for me!" Sakuta shouted to his pirates, waving his hand toward Clover and Yoru.
"Oh!!" The pirates roared, their voices piercing through the quiet night.
"Get inside," Clover whispered to Yoru, giving her a gentle push toward the cabin and shutting the door.
Yoru quietly opened a small gap, peeking out at Clover.
"So noisy," Clover muttered, putting on a black mask he pulled from thin air. In the next moment, he vanished from his boat, reappearing in front of Sakuta.
It wasn't speed but raw power that propelled Clover forward, making his movement seem almost supernatural.
"Wha—?!" Sakuta's eyes widened in shock, but Mizuki reacted quickly, aiming a punch at Clover's face. Clover dodged, delivering a powerful kick to Sakuta's stomach, sending him flying into the cabin.
Turning around, Clover delivered another kick to Mizuki. Though Mizuki managed to block it, Clover's strength was overwhelming, sending Mizuki staggering back.
"Kill him!" the pirates shouted, seeing their captain defeated. They charged toward Clover at the bow of the ship.
"Move closer!" The other two captains shouted, guiding their ships together to create a unified front.
A fierce dragon roar echoed as Clover swung his blade, unleashing a powerful invisible slash. Instantly, bodies fell as if harvested—heads, and upper bodies split cleanly by the slash. Clover's single swing felled fifty men, leaving the remaining pirates shaken and hesitant.
"Captain… this guy isn't normal!" one of the pirates supporting Mizuki shouted. Sakuta, however, lay unconscious in the cabin, oblivious.
"Of course, I know…" Mizuki staggered to his feet, blood trailing from his mouth after Clover's earlier kick.
"Back off, everyone," commanded the captains of the other two ships, realizing their men were no match for Clover. Picking up their weapons, they leaped to the front of the group.
"Let me take care of him," sneered Iruka, the heavyset man who'd stolen Yoru's ship, brandishing a meteor hammer.
"Iruka, be careful! Don't damage the boss's ship!" the other captain warned.
"Hmph." Iruka scoffed, swinging his weapon toward Clover.
Clover ducked, but Iruka yanked the chain, causing the meteor hammer to swing back, hurtling toward Clover's head!