"Look, Tanuki! That island up ahead—isn't that the one you were supposed to meet someone on?"
Luffy leaned over the railing, eyes sparkling as he stared at the island emerging in the distance.
"I can smell the scent of adventure in the air!"
"That's the one! Thanks for bringing me here, nukiki!"
Pato beamed as he hopped up to the ship's edge, gazing ahead with bright eyes.
"We're finally here!"
"Pato, even though our time together was short, this is where our journey ends," Brook said warmly.
Usopp and Nami teased Pato playfully, reminding him who reeled him in from the sea and who stopped the crew from cooking and eating him…
"Chopper..." Sanji walked over to the visibly reluctant reindeer doctor and gently patted his head.
"Come on, time to say goodbye to your little brother."
"I'm not a tanuki!!" Chopper snapped, flustered.
Franky and Robin chuckled, while Zoro silently mulled over Luffy's words about "the scent of adventure…"
"Saving a tanuki every now and then isn't too bad."
"But Zoro-san, it's not like we pull a tanuki out of the sea every day…" Merry chimed in, evidently influenced by the Straw Hats' chaos.
Similar in size to Chopper and Pato, and dressed up just a bit, even Merry could pass for a tanuki…
The Straw Hat Pirates made landfall on an island town called Sleeping Ancient Town. A large portion of the town sprawled across the island's outer rim, with many buildings built directly over the sea.
The island's center featured dense forests and rolling hills, with structures resembling ancient ruins slumbering deep within the woods.
But before the crew could decide where to explore, violent explosions echoed from the island's heart.
Luffy's eyes lit up. With a shout, he leapt onto a rooftop and launched himself into the air.
"Whoa! There's explosions over there! Tons of smoke... and ice?! Awesome!"
"Huh? Is that fire too? Lightning?! What kind of island is this?!"
The rest of the crew exchanged worried looks—except for Zoro and Robin, who remained unreadable.
"As expected… when Luffy says he smells adventure, it's never simple."
"Ice, fire, lightning, smoke... this smells like danger. What if there's a monster?!"
"Aaahh! A monster?! So scary… let's just leave!"
"Ara ara… or maybe Logia-types are fighting~"
"…"
Everyone stared in horror at Robin, who simply smiled behind a raised hand.
"Robin~ don't scare us like that! All those Logia users are Marines!"
"And Warlords! All of them terrifyingly strong! If they're really here, we need to get out of here—fast!"
"Hehehe… I'll go check it out!"
Grinning, Luffy adjusted his straw hat and bounced off the roof, flinging himself toward the chaos.
"This is gonna be fun! Hurry up, guys!"
"…"
The crew sighed in perfect unison.
Nami took command. "Merry, you stay and guard the Sunny. Everyone else—move out!"
"…"
Pato blinked at them in confusion. "That's… it?"
"The captain's already charged ahead. Of course we have to follow him," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.
"Pato, go meet up with whoever you're supposed to. We've got to back up our idiot captain."
"Okay! Thanks for bringing me here!"
"Ugh… I think I've caught a disease… the 'can't-set-foot-on-island' kind…"
"Yeah yeah, we know. If you don't move, we're leaving you behind!"
"Wait! Wait for me! It's the 'can't-be-alone' disease, actually!!"
Usopp scrambled after the others, tripping over himself as he ran.
Crack—!
Blinding bolts of lightning rained from the sky, turning the land into something resembling a second Raijin Island.
"I am… the invincible god!"
"Five Hundred Million Volts: Super Raijin!"
"Enel" roared as he transformed into his blinding Raijin form, launching a devastating barrage of electricity at Smoker and Kuzan.
"Cheap knockoff or not… this is still a pain," Kuzan muttered, raising his hand. Icy air surged forth, freezing the colossal "Raijin" solid. Even the environment around them turned into a frozen wasteland.
"Ice Age!"
As steam rose off his breath, Smoker brandished his massive White Dragon Lance, coated in Armament Haki, and drove it deep into the ice:
"White: Super Cloudburst!"
BOOM—!
The Cloudburst—a dense cluster of Haki-infused smoke particles—erupted with staggering force, blowing the frozen "Enel" into icy shards.
As the smoke cleared, Smoker exhaled deeply, watching the impostor dissipate.
"Hasn't Admiral Borsalino arrived yet? Redfield's clearly stalling… but what the hell is he up to?"
"We need more time… Borsalino's as fast as they come, but even he has to find this island first."
Kuzan frowned. What was Redfield planning?
"Mirror Flame!"
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
BOOM—shhhh…
Fire and ice collided violently, filling the air with searing steam.
"Tch… so now he's cloned Ace too?" Smoker growled.
"Desert Spada!"
Shing—!
Before he could finish, a massive sand blade burst from behind and cleaved him in half!
"Crocodile…"
Smoker's body dissipated into thick smoke, reconstituting a moment later.
"These fakes… don't seem to use Haki?"
If Redfield's illusions were based on Smoker's memories, none of them had displayed any sign of Armament Haki so far.
"So... they're fakes after all?"
"Smoker… it's been a long time," "Crocodile" said, stroking his golden hook, his voice dark and venomous.
"I still remember the humiliation of my defeat at your hands."
"Whitebeard's gone now… so I'll just use you to relieve some of that frustration."
"Idiot. I took you down once. I can do it again. You're not even the real Crocodile—this fake doesn't deserve to challenge me."
Smoker scoffed and took a long drag of his cigar. He glanced at the young man nearby, flames roaring from his fists, clad in a Justice cloak.
"If I don't knock you out when this is over, you're dead."
"Ahaha… Vice Admiral Smoker, I'm honored. But maybe leave Sensei out of this, yeah?"
"'Ace'" feigned mock fear. "It'd be really hard to punch this version of me~"
"Then I'll just blow this copy to pieces—huh?"
Smoker turned sharply as Kuzan grimaced.
"Ara ara… they really showed up at the worst possible time."
"Ace!"
"Admiral Kuzan?! And Vice Admiral Smoker! That's… that's Crocodile! From Marineford!"
The Straw Hats arrived—only to freeze at the sight of chaos.
A Marine Admiral and Vice Admiral, facing down a Marine Ensign and a former Warlord?!
"Ace! What's going on?! Aren't you a Marine?! Don't tell me… you've decided to become a pirate after all?!"
Luffy's jaw practically hit the ground.
The crew rushed forward to hold him back.
"Idiot! You didn't see the Admiral?! That's an Admiral! Think of Kizaru!"
"Ara ara… you lot. This has nothing to do with you. If you don't want to die, get lost."
Kuzan's breath turned the air cold.
"For the record… those two over there? Just fakes."
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
"Fire Fist!"
"Gomu Gomu no—Elephant Gun!"
BOOM—!
"Straw Hat! You trying to die?!"
Smoker bellowed as Luffy landed right between the fake "Ace" and Kuzan, fists swinging.
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TL/N: Sleeping Ancient Town... might be original to this fic.
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Note: This fanfic has been completely translated and is available on my Patreon.