Bang... Bang!
At the same time, the call was hung up, and a sudden explosion erupted from the villa. Amidst the roaring flames, a figure agile as a monkey reached out an arm, grabbing onto a rocky outcrop to pull themselves away from the center of the fire.
Huā Lā La!
A torrent of water cascaded down, creating a spectacular scene where water and fire intertwined in the valley.
"That's... Straw Hat and Koby. They really have started fighting." Rowen grinned, looking towards the villa.
"I don't mean to criticize your way of life, but the existence of pirates is utterly meaningless! Since this power has fallen into my hands, I will make it a partner of Justice, Luffy-san!"
Shuā!
As the words fell, a nimble figure shot up from the explosion, propelled by the shockwave created by the flames. Koby's speed at this moment was frighteningly fast.
"Geppo!"
"And then... concentrate your will, infuse the power of the flames into your fist... Don't think about controlling the Devil Fruit ability, but rather integrate it into yourself. I am the flame; the flame is me..."
Ejecting next to Luffy, Koby suddenly opened his closed eyes and shouted.
"Military Wrist Extreme Fist: Red Lotus Armor-piercing Bullet!"
The explosive flames illuminated the world in a bright red hue, as fire continuously gathered on Koby's arm, resembling a blooming hellfire red lotus.
"Are you kidding me?!" Luffy landed nimbly, pulling his hands back: "Ace's power is not meant for you to use for this kind of thing!"
'Third Gear!'
Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), Hardening!
His arm swelled like a balloon. Since air was injected into the bones, the volume expanded dramatically without appearing weak; instead, it became overwhelmingly powerful.
A thick layer of Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) wrapped around his hand, resembling two massive steel lead balls, the power evident.
"The meaning of a pirate's existence, the meaning of a dream, is not for a crybaby like you to deny, Koby!!"
Rubber... Grizzly Bear Pistol!
Bang...
Bang!
This was a battle of beliefs, but the troublesome part was that regardless of who won or lost, neither of them would acknowledge the other's ideology due to a momentary failure.
"Compared to Roger and Garp, in some ways, they are more suited to Aokiji and Akainu... Tch, being young is great!" Rowen let out a vague sigh, looking down.
As the flood surged in the valley, the soldiers had already retreated into the villa. Now that the villa was being blown apart by the two's fight, Rowen could easily see them.
"I have a mission for you all..."
"Find Moria for me; I want to tear him apart with my own hands!!"
Deep within the villa, buried inside the mountain, even Rowen's Heavenly Network could not fully glimpse the situation through the thick rock layers.
Below, although they didn't know what was happening, the soldiers could sense the strong killing intent in Rowen's tone, causing them to shiver in unison and respond loudly.
"Yes, Admiral!"
...
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die! Look at the mess you all have made; this is a disaster!!" Moria shouted in a panic, his expression frantic.
There was no way not to panic; anyone facing the Celestial Dragon, that monster, would tremble in fear. Now that he had hung up on him... he would definitely be killed, right?
He would definitely be killed!
"Shut up! Who cares if you die, you bastard? Just hand over Robin-chan's shadow!" Sanji said sternly. Before he fainted, he had seen Robin's shadow being cut off by Moria, which was why he had chased after him.
However, his seemingly problem-free response intentionally avoided the most important question...
...The one who hung up the Den Den Mushi was Usopp from their Straw Hat crew!!
Moria turned around, looking at him in disbelief, with a face full of disdain: "It was clearly your people who hung up the call; why should I die?"
"How shameless!"
"Of course! We are pirates! Pirates do things like this." Sanji turned his head away, refusing to meet Moria's gaze.
"You Asshole!!" Moria was in complete despair. Should he explain the situation?
That would definitely be useless! Just now, he had been boasting, then said it wasn't him; the Celestial Dragon would definitely not believe that! Since that was the case...
"Then let's die together, asshole pirate!" Moria, in a fit of desperation, pulled out a suspicious button from behind him.
"Don't think that I only have the Zombie Army as a backup! I learned a lesson from my last failure; the more I make my base impregnable, the more likely it is for unexpected events to happen and for others to benefit from it... Companions are not trustworthy; the only one I can trust is myself!"
Sanji: "What do you mean?"
"And let's blow this island to the sky, assholes!" Moria pressed the button hard.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
Suddenly, the entire villa and the main base inside the mountain began to flash red alarm lights, accompanied by what seemed to be a recorded artificial alarm voice.
"Beep, Beep, Beep... The safety defense system has been activated. This base will self-destruct in three minutes. Please, personnel who have not evacuated, take out paper and pen, write your last words, and seal them in the most secure box you can find..."
"Because in just three minutes, you will definitely not escape the explosion range."
At this point, the mechanical girl's voice suddenly turned gloomy and wicked.
"If you still have not taken any action after hearing this... then congratulations! All escape exits of the base have been sealed! You are completely trapped!"
"Hey, what kind of safety defense system is this? It's for suicide, right? Also... why does a base have a self-destruct mechanism? Is this the Marine G-10 branch?!"
There were too many points to criticize, and Sanji momentarily didn't know what to say.
At the same time, it revealed another terrifying clue: why did they know that G-10 had a self-destruct mechanism?
Moria looked confused, holding the button in a daze: "No, this is different from what the documents said. Wasn't it supposed to be ten minutes?"
"What? Didn't you make this yourself?"
"No, I found it, including this base."
Sanji and Usopp: "..."
After two seconds of silence, the two suddenly rushed up to Moria, punching and kicking him: "Don't mess with things you found! Didn't your family teach you anything, asshole?!"
(╬￣皿￣)!
At that moment, the alarm suddenly spoke in a very human-like manner.
"It's all because you're too useless, Moria."
"Huh? Is there someone else here?"
"No, we are communicating with you through the image Den Den Mushi... You have truly disappointed us, Moria."
"I thought that with that special corpse and your Shadow-Shadow Fruit, you could cause quite a bit of trouble for the Marines and the government, but it turns out... It's just like this."
"I finally understand why you couldn't handle someone like Law... and you still want to take revenge on Kaido? Go to sleep, fool!"
"Asshole, it was you guys who left this base!" Moria pushed Sanji and Usopp away, angrily looking around: "Come out if you have the guts! You've been watching all along, right?"
"We already said we are communicating with you through Den Den Mushi. How can you not understand human language?"
The voice sighed slightly, sounding somewhat helpless: "But garbage can be divided into combustible and non-combustible waste. Although I have no expectations, being able to cause some trouble for that monster counts as recycling."
"Nani?!!"
"Hey, kid, you talk too much."
At that moment, the voice changed to that of another middle-aged man, casually complaining.
"Orrick Sama, he's bullying me!" The girl's voice immediately sounded aggrieved.
"Oh, then just hit him. You're not really a little kid."
"Tch, forget it. This lady will not hold a grudge against a small person."
The bizarre conversation continued, and then the voice cleared its throat and continued.
"Ah... where was I? Oh right... cough cough, rest in peace, Moria! In your next life, remember not to be so foolish. Bye-bye."
With that, the voice stopped, and as the call ended, the Underground passage fell into an eerie silence.
Gē Zhī... Gē Zhī...
Moria gritted his teeth, making a "Gē Zhī" sound, his eyes bulging out in rage: "You all look down on me!"
Hoo...
Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke, raising an eyebrow: "Now, I think we can temporarily join forces, right, Moria?"
(End of this chapter)
You can read ahead up to 90 chapters on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
PS-"For every 100 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-0)! (Resets Every Week on Monday)"