Compared to Little Garden, the distance between Banaro Island and Alabasta was much greater.
Yet the Blue-Eyed White Dragon's flight speed far surpassed that of the Baroque Gustaph's sailing speed. This time, it still took only half a day for the White Dragon to reach the waters near Banaro Island.
From high above, the island was dotted with enormous but scattered Banana Rocks, towering stone pillars jutting into the sky.
As the Blue-Eyed White Dragon gradually descended, Robin reached out to stroke its scales, her admiration genuine.
"What an enviable ability… I've heard there are only five flying abilities in the world."
"False. Don't believe that."
Storm replied offhandedly.
"Your [Flower-Flower Fruit] has potential. With proper development, you could fly—or at least glide. There's a 'Plant Man' who can fly by sprouting flowers from his head."
Robin's eyes instantly brightened.
"Really?"
"At least I think so." Storm glanced at her, then molded a small "propeller" from clay and handed it to her.
"Honestly, I find it stranger that you've developed the [Flower-Flower Fruit] into an 'Arm-Arm Fruit'..."
Robin took the clay propeller, twirling it in her fingers as she deftly sidestepped the topic of "Arm-Arm Fruit." Instead, she looked toward the nearby Banaro Island.
"Boss, what's our next move?"
The intel Sand Crocodile had provided about the Lizard King surfaced in Storm's mind.
One of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, Lizard King Hanafuda, an [Ancient Zoan Tyrannosaurus Fruit] user—cold-blooded and brutal.
With formidable physique, mastery in swordsmanship, and an obsession for collecting Zoan-type Devil Fruits, especially the "Ancient Zoan" varieties.
Honestly?
Storm couldn't shake the feeling that this "Tyrannosaurus" didn't belong in Paradise, playing king as a Warlord.
Whether it was his strength, his Devil Fruit, or even his personality and preferences…
Hanafuda seemed tailor-made for the Beast Pirates! It wouldn't surprise Storm one bit if this "Tyrannosaurus" ended up as one of the Beast Pirates' top executives.
And speaking of which…
Among the "Three Disasters" of the Beast Pirates, one member clearly stood out like a sore thumb.
Flame Disaster King, a [Pteranodon Fruit] user; Plague Disaster Queen, a [Brachiosaurus Fruit] user; and Drought Disaster Jack… a [Mammoth Fruit] user? A mammoth lumped together with a pteranodon and a brachiosaurus felt as jarring as its tusks—
Way too obvious!
"Let's go straight to him."
Storm guided the Blue-Eyed White Dragon in a wide circle around Banaro Island. His [Observation Haki] swept across the entire land, quickly locking onto the strongest presence there.
Slightly stronger than Sand Crocodile…
"Found him!"
The White Dragon soared over the island's sole town. Storm instructed Robin to stay airborne before leaping off, plummeting straight toward the settlement below.
Extreme-altitude, no-parachute bungee jump!
The wind howled past Storm's robes as the ground rushed up to meet him.
With a thunderous "boom,"
Storm plummeted straight into the central square of Banaaro Island's town.
The once-solid ground instantly turned into soft clay beneath him.
Falling from such a height, Storm crashed into the clayified earth like a meteor, carving out a deep crater.
White clay surged into the sky, resembling a towering wave that cast a shadow over nearly the entire town.
"This new 'boss'..."
Robin, seated atop the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, watched the scene below and couldn't help but sigh, resting her forehead in her hand.
"Has a completely different style compared to Sand Crocodile..."
The residents of Banaaro Island naturally noticed the sudden, violent disturbance.
One by one, figures emerged from the town's houses and alleyways, gathering like swarming ants.
They tried to converge on the central square, but waves of clay blocked their path.
In the end, they could only climb onto nearby rooftops to catch a glimpse of the scene unfolding in the town center.
"The ground has turned white..."
"It's soft, like clay..."
"What on earth is happening here?"
Just then, the appearance of a single figure silenced the crowd.
The newcomer was a towering figure, gripping a massive scythe with a mechanical glove, its end connected to a terrifying spiked metal ball.
While everyone else instinctively avoided the clay-covered ground,
this man strode across the clayified earth as if it were nothing.
The Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Lizard King Hanafuda, had arrived!
Hanafuda reached the town center and glanced up at the Blue-Eyed White Dragon in the sky.
"White Dragon?"
From beneath his peculiar dark hood, a low, raspy voice emerged.
"Are you the 'White Dragon' from the news, the one who took down that Sand Crocodile?"
As one of the Royal Seven Warlords, Hanafuda always kept tabs on his fellow warlords.
That morning, he had read the newspaper report about "Sand Crocodile's crushing defeat."
At the time, Hanafuda had wondered if this "White Dragon" might be some kind of Zoan-type Devil Fruit user...
If they were truly an unknown Ancient Zoan—or even a Mythical Zoan—
Hanafuda had even considered recruiting them on behalf of a certain powerful figure.
But never in his wildest dreams did he expect that before he could seek out the "White Dragon,"
the "White Dragon" would appear before him of their own accord!
Judging by the ability, though, this didn't seem like a Zoan-type Devil Fruit power at all.
Instead, it resembled a Paramecia-type ability, like Doflamingo's...
The clay earth rippled like a wave.
Storm's figure emerged before the crowd.
He scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the bizarre assortment of individuals before him.
"Tch! So it really is a 'pirate island,' huh?"
According to the intelligence Crocodile had provided, the Lizard King's methods were... traditional, to say the least.
In simple terms,
he was fond of burning, killing, looting, and pillaging.
Naturally, the subordinates the Lizard King recruited were all scum pirates who committed every atrocity imaginable.
This type of old-school pirate made up the vast majority of the pirate world.
As for those "playing-pretend pirates"... they were the real outliers.
No matter how you looked at it.
Storm had no interest in recruiting these "finished trash" who reveled in arson, murder, and plunder.
As for that little lizard...
Storm glanced at Hanafuda, his mind stirring.
Waves of clay surged forward at his will, assaulting the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Hanafuda frowned, bending his knees slightly before leaping high into the air to evade the encroaching clay.
Yet the white clay continued its relentless advance.
One after another, clay arms sprouted from it, reaching out from all directions to grasp the Lizard King.
Hanafuda swung his massive scythe, sending sharp slashes flying toward the clay hands.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!—
The soft, ordinary clay couldn't withstand such cuts.
Hanafuda sliced through the incoming clay arms as effortlessly as chopping vegetables.
"So you're not a 'dragon' after all!"
Hanafuda landed heavily on the ground, the terrifying metal-spiked ball at his feet leaving a shallow crater.
"Then die!"
Hanafuda was about to charge forward and cut down the presumptuous "White Dragon" that had delivered itself to him.
But just then, an unexpected change occurred.
The white clay gathered in the town's central square seemed to be under some mysterious force's control.
Endless white clay converged, instantly forming a colossal white Buddha statue that towered between heaven and earth.
Most astonishingly, behind this giant white Buddha grew countless, innumerable clay arms!
The surrounding pirates gaped in shock at the sudden appearance of this super-sized Buddha.
"A Buddha..."
"How is this possible..."
"Did the Fleet Admiral come?"
The sheer enormity of the statue brought unparalleled pressure.
Even Hanafuda felt a faint sense of awe rising within him.
But Storm wouldn't give him much time to be stunned.
Seated cross-legged atop the clay Buddha's head, Storm manipulated the countless clay arms behind him, launching a furious assault on the Lizard King below.
Awakening Clay-Clay Fruit: True Several Thousand Hands!
The seven-star [Clay-Clay Fruit] unleashed its full power. Every swing of the clay arms created violent gusts, the overwhelming barrage leaving the Lizard King with nowhere to hide.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—
Deafening explosions rang out continuously.
Hanafuda desperately raised his massive scythe in defense, hoping its sturdiness could withstand the clay onslaught.
But the clay arms were too thick—their attack range far exceeded what a single scythe could block! Hanafuda held his weapon before him.
The only result was both him and his weapon being pounded deep into the earth by the clay arms!
At this critical moment.
Hanafuda hesitated no longer, decisively activating his Devil Fruit power.
[Zoan Type: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Tyrannosaurus Rex Form]! Hanafuda didn't fully transform into his beast form but opted for the more agile "hybrid form"! Relying on the formidable physique granted by the Ancient Zoan.
Hanafuda stubbornly endured the clay arms' violent strikes, trying to escape the [Clay-Clay Fruit]'s attack range.
But Storm had already assimilated the entire town into clay.
Hanafuda had nowhere left to escape! Given the man's tenacious will to survive, Storm decided to get slightly more serious.
He unleashed his Armament Haki, wrapping it around the clay fist of his massive arm.
This was the technique he had envisioned earlier—
Awakening·Clay·Armament·True Thousand Hands!
BOOM—
With Armament Haki reinforcing it, the already devastating clay fist gained another level of destructive power.
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar—
The Lizard King was down for good.
[Diamond Trophy: Lizard King Hanafuda]
[Trophy Rating: ★★★★★★]
The other pirates on Banaro Island watched as Hanafuda was effortlessly crushed by the "White Dragon."
Without a shred of loyalty, they immediately turned tail and fled.
Storm had no intention of chasing down these small fries himself.
Instead, he unleashed a "Giant Wave Clay", sweeping across the island in a massive surge.
Every single pirate on Banaro Island was swallowed by the clay—not a single one escaped.
Only after purging all living threats from the island did Storm finally guide the Blue-Eyed White Dragon to land.
"Time to get to work, Robin."
Storm waved his hand, summoning a squad of vaguely humanoid Clay Little Giants, then issued orders to his new subordinate.
"Go clean up and inventory the Lizard King's assets. Focus on Devil Fruits."
'So cute…'
Robin glanced at the abstractly shaped clay figures around her, an involuntary thought flashing through her mind.
But outwardly, she responded professionally.
"Yes, Boss."
With the clay squad in tow, Robin headed straight for Lizard King Hanafuda's stronghold.
However, it wasn't long before she returned with a grim expression, carrying something in her hands.
A black pirate flag.
Eight crossed bones framed a grotesque, horned skull at its center.
"Boss, I have some bad news…"
Robin held up the flag, her tone grave.
"I found this in Hanafuda's treasure vault…
"The flag of the Beast Pirates!"
"The Beast Pirates' flag?"
Storm repeated Robin's words, his expression turning odd as he glanced at the still-unconscious Lizard King beside him.
"So you're saying this little lizard might be…
"A spy for the Beast Pirates?"
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