Bartolomeo grinned.
"This is my hometown. How could I just stand by and let it be destroyed for no reason?"
A transparent wall unfolded above everyone's heads, forming an indestructible shield.
The debris from the sky island ship crashed into the barrier one after another. Only a few fragments slipped through, but even then, they pierced through many houses.
"Ah, sorry, Lord Luffy, the coverage of my barrier is limited…" Bartolomeo laughed awkwardly.
Luffy shook his head and leapt onto the barrier.
Amid the wreckage scattered across the ground, many pirates groaned.
Several ferocious beasts were also roaring.
"Silence."
Luffy's eyes sharpened, and in an instant those beasts quieted, collapsing to the ground trembling.
No drug-induced frenzy could erase the primal fear of instinct.
One pirate shoved a broken mast off his body and staggered to his feet, blood running down his head.
"You… you're Straw Hat Luffy?!" he blurted in shock.
"Where's Shiki?"
Standing before the man, Luffy asked calmly.
"There can't just be a few of these. He must have an entire island full of beasts like them."
Why are the Straw Hats here?
The pirate swallowed hard.
"Lord Luffy, leave this to me. I'll make him talk."
The professional thug Bartolomeo stepped forward eagerly.
Everyone then watched as he violently pummeled the pirate captain, shouting the whole time.
---
"He spilled everything."
Bartolomeo relayed the information he had wrung out of the man.
He was one of the captains of the Golden Lion Pirates, part of the vanguard sent to ravage the East Blue.
There were fifty such vanguard units, each leading both pirates and a horde of beasts.
"This operation is only a warning. The Golden Lion intends to destroy multiple islands—he wants to make the East Blue incident headline news and announce his return!"
Bartolomeo said angrily, "Logue Town is just one of his targets."
Upon hearing this, Nami bit her lower lip and asked:
"Cocoyasi Village… is that one of his targets too?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know," Bartolomeo admitted, shaking his head.
Luffy thought for a moment before saying decisively:
"If you're worried about your hometown, go. I'll protect Logue Town myself."
Either way, Shiki would come here sooner or later, so Luffy would simply wait.
"I'm going back to Baratie!" Sanji said immediately. "Baratie is well-known across the East Blue, there's a high chance it'll be targeted."
"Then I'll head to Syrup Village!" Usopp declared with a serious face. "As a brave warrior of the sea, if I can't even protect my hometown, what kind of warrior would I be?"
"Nojiko, let's go to Cocoyasi Village," Nami told her sister.
Johnny and Yosaku also had their own homes they wanted to protect.
One by one, everyone confirmed their destinations.
Led by Sanji, each went to defend their chosen village.
Meanwhile, the Marine captain led his soldiers to evacuate civilians.
By nightfall, Logue Town was nearly deserted.
---
At a café.
The owner had already been taken to safety by the Marines, so Luffy and the others entered without hesitation.
Uta served a cup of coffee she had brewed herself to Luffy.
"Thanks."
Luffy took the cup and drank. His eyes lit up—the taste was surprisingly good.
"Hmph, good, isn't it? Back in Elegia, I made coffee for years!" Uta said proudly.
"Oh~ That's amazing," Luffy replied.
"Luffy, are we just waiting for the enemy to arrive?" Zoro asked.
"The Golden Lion can fly. You want to search the entire East Blue sky? Don't worry—he'll come sooner or later."
With that, Luffy opened the Adventure Shop and began today's custom upgrade.
His target was still Haki fruits.
After six attempts, he was lucky enough to get a gift box, gaining ten Haki fruits in total.
He ate them all immediately.
Now that his crew had a steady supply of Haki, he needed to push his own Haki to even greater heights.
[Observation Haki]: Lv.5 → Lv.6
Like Conqueror's Haki, reaching Level 6 awakened a new ability.
Mind Reading!
Now, he could read the surface thoughts of others.
Luffy looked at Uta, sitting across from him. The girl had her hands clasped under her chin, smiling as she gazed at him.
A white glow flickered in Luffy's pupils.
He read Uta's mind at that moment:
[Luffy looks so handsome. He used to just be the little boy who followed me around when we were young…]
He regretted it immediately. Best not to read that!
Extending his Haki outward, Luffy sought Robin, but when he tried to read her, he failed.
This ability couldn't be used from afar; it required close proximity.
And it would fail against someone of equal Haki strength—sometimes even against lesser opponents if their willpower resisted.
"Mind reading… There are Devil Fruits that can directly access someone's memories. Compared to that, this is nothing."
Thinking this, Luffy turned his focus back to the girl in front of him.
[Oh~ Luffy's staring at me. He really likes me, I can feel it.]
[Huh? Why did his expression get weird? Is there something on my face?]
[He's laughing? He looks so handsome when he smiles—but what's so funny, Luffy? Stop smiling!!]
Uta's face gradually flushed red. She blinked rapidly, then turned her head aside.
Luffy couldn't help but smile.
He didn't need mind reading—her feelings were obvious enough.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.
"Hm?"
Luffy picked up the coffee, stood, and walked outside.
In the setting sun, a ship-island even larger than the last was descending toward Logue Town.
Behind it floated more than a dozen suspended islands.
"Jiehahahaha! Bluejam never reported back, I was beginning to think something had happened… And look who it is—the great pirate Straw Hat Luffy!"
The figure descending from the sky had long golden hair like a lion's mane.
A ship's helm was lodged in his head. Both legs had been severed to escape prison, replaced by two swords.
Shiki hovered in the sky, glaring coldly at Luffy standing outside the café.
"I've been waiting for you, Shiki."
Luffy sipped his coffee and spoke calmly.
"Waiting for me?"
The Golden Lion raised his brows, the corners of his mouth curling as he burst into wild laughter.
"Really? I get it! You want to join forces with me? Lately, the news has been all about the Straw Hats."
"The World Government gives you far too much importance!"
After a pause, his voice dropped low.
"So? Will you come with me?"
Suddenly, Luffy shifted into Gear Fifth.
Handing the coffee cup to Uta, he flickered forward in an instant, appearing right before Shiki.
So fast!
Shiki's expression shifted.
"You… are a legend?"
Luffy's fist slammed forward.
The Golden Lion barely had time to raise an arm to block, but the force carried through so powerfully that his bones felt like they were snapping.
With a thunderous crash, he was hurled into the ground, carving out a massive crater.
Now it was Luffy standing in the air, staring down coldly at him.
"Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate are already dead. Your time has come too." Luffy declared.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."