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Chapter Header – Ongoing Serial: Lovesickness 32 – Cliffside – Echoes
The two younger sisters obediently admitted their mistake. Hancock didn't say anything, simply leading them onward into a valley that, in principle, only the Kuja Empress herself was qualified to know about…
The light suddenly opened up, and Boa's two younger sisters raised their hands to shield their eyes. After a moment of adjustment, they finally saw the scene inside the valley.
Right in the center of the ground rested a massive, square stone block. On its surface were densely inscribed, unfamiliar characters.
But what truly captured the sisters' attention wasn't the Poneglyph itself, but the cliff walls surrounding the valley, one entire side of the stone cliff was carved with countless vivid statues, each lifelike to the extreme…
…
"…"
Mihawk was silent, arms crossed as he leaned against the wooden wall of the cabin, quietly watching that shadowy black silhouette, and Giorno… no, Liam.
So this is how Devil Fruits can be replaced, huh…
Hawk Eyes suddenly lifted his head, gazing high into the distant sky. A few News Coo birds were trailing the ship from afar…
After a long bout of fooling around, the entire Red Hair pirate crew laughed and joked, taking turns trying out the Gold-Gold Fruit before finally returning it to Liam.
"No one wants it?" Liam asked.
Lucky Roux bit into a chicken leg and grinned. "Whether it's gold or treasure, these things…"
"Naturally, they're only worth it if we find them ourselves!" The other crew members shouted in unison, including Captain Shanks.
Shanks took a swig of sake, sat opposite Liam, put down his bottle, and smiled. "A Devil Fruit that lets you control gold… not exactly the most useless one, is it?"
Liam waved his hand, signaling B.I.B. to stow the Gold-Gold Fruit chip, his expression indifferent. "I'm not interested in money, or gold, or treasure. What use would I have for such a fruit?"
"Wha, aaat?!!"
The Red Hair crew reacted as if they'd just heard the most absurd thing in the world, eyes bulging. Several even fell backward in exaggerated pratfalls.
"You don't, like, treasure?!!!!"
Yasopp hooked an arm around Liam's neck, bellowing in his ear, "That's not okay, Liam! You're a pirate! How can a pirate not chase treasure?!"
Liam took a sip of sake and turned to ask, "Captain, do you like treasure?"
Robin, sipping black tea with a smile, replied, "I like books."
"See?" Liam turned his head back.
Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the others stumbled back several steps, faces shattered with disbelief. "There actually exists a pirate like this in the world…"
"Besides," Liam said flatly, "if I need money, well, the seas are full of pirates. I just need to pick one at random, and the problem is solved. Don't underestimate me, when it comes to cashing in bounties, I'm quite skilled at it…"
A crewman slurred in drunken confusion, "But as a pirate, how do you go to the Marines to claim another pirate's bounty?"
Beckman, cigarette between his teeth, reminded them, "Have you forgotten? His Captain's ability…"
The Red Hair crew all turned to Robin, who was calmly sipping her tea with a smile. Instantly, they remembered her other identity, once known to the world as "Kuujou Jolyne."
This woman could freely alter her appearance…
If that's the case, then could she change Liam's face too?
The lively banquet carried on across the deck, as the Red Hair pirates sailed under the starlit sea toward their next destination.
Mihawk finally set down his bottle, wiped the corner of his mouth, and slowly said, "I just remembered… that face of yours looks familiar."
"…" Behind him, Robin helped Liam up.
Not far away, Shanks was completely drunk, sprawled out among his crewmates, snoring loudly.
"Devil Child…" Mihawk muttered softly.
Liam exhaled a mouthful of sake fumes and said sincerely, "That's very rude of you, Hawk Eyes."
"…?" Mihawk was once again left speechless, but soon, Liam and Robin vanished from before his eyes.
In the moonlight, where they had been standing, the only thing left on the deck was… a Den Den Mushi.
Back inside the warm, brightly lit Den Den Mushi City fortress, Liam reeked of alcohol, but in truth, he wasn't all that drunk.
With his years of Life Return training, even if he did get drunk, he could hypnotize himself, controlling his body to remain clear-headed, or perhaps even use something like a "drunken fist" technique…
"Go take a bath," Robin said, helping him out of his alcohol-soaked clothes.
Outside, on the Red Hair ship, the crew soon noticed the little Den Den Mushi crawling about on deck and gathered around curiously.
"Huh, what's this?"
"A Den Den Mushi? But why does its shell have holes in it… whoa, there's light coming from inside!"
"Am I seeing things, or does it look like there's a house inside its belly…?"
Little Green nearly fainted on the spot from the stench of alcohol on them, its shell instantly camouflaging into the color of the deck wood, vanishing from sight as if it had become invisible in the night…
The steaming hot water poured down from the showerhead, mist curling all around. Robin tilted her head back, scrubbing her long hair, stretching her body as waves of relaxation washed over her.
Meanwhile, Liam was sprawled out in the large bath, limbs spread lazily, idly toying with a triangular chip engraved with golden spiral patterns.
The Gold-Gold Fruit…
Liam shook his head, then tossed it toward his Stand. "Hold onto it. If we ever run into someone suitable in the future… We'll deal with it then."
B.I.B. understood instantly.
Daylight broke. The fickle weather gradually calmed.
Any seasoned pirate would know what that meant. They had entered the stable climate zone surrounding an island.
"We're almost there," The navigator on the Red Hair ship reminded everyone.
Shanks stumbled out of the cabin, rubbing his messy red hair, yawning wide, only to see Liam and Robin suddenly pop into existence on deck with a pair of "BIU, BIU" sounds.
They had changed into fresh clothes, their skin clean, their appearance sharp and bright, handsome and beautiful, looking nothing at all like the scruffy pirates of the sea.
"Ohh! That's that one…" Shanks grinned, pointing at them. "The Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit), right?"
The bull-horned dragon-headed ship cut through the waves. Ahead, not far off, an island loomed into view. It wasn't especially large, but several massive trees towered over its surface…
Mihawk stood silently on the deck, the Black Blade strapped to his back.
The pirate ship docked. One by one, the Red Hair crew disembarked, gazing curiously at the strange vegetation scattered across the island, clearly, they had never been here before.
The first mate scanned the area. "An uninhabited island, huh."
The sniper's eyes lit up with interest at the unusual plant life. "Pretty interesting…"
"Indeed," Liam murmured beside Robin as they walked the beach with B.I.B. at his side. "A perfect place for a duel."
They looked out at the island's silhouette, matching it against a scene stored in Stand's memory of the manga.
"…"
Walking across the island, Shanks' lips curled into a faint smile, as though recalling something long past. He said nothing. Instead, he pinched the corners of his eyes to suppress the sudden sting welling up inside, then rested his hand on the famed blade Griffin at his waist, his gaze settling on Mihawk, who was striding into the island just ahead.
From a distance, the rest of the Red Hair crew watched quietly.
Mihawk stopped, lowering his crossed arms. Slowly, he drew the Black Blade from his back.
--------- BOOOOM!
In that instant, the sky above the small island suddenly split apart…
High above, a flock of News Coo scattered in terror, feathers nearly falling out in fright.
(End Of This Chapter)