"Six wings…?"
Pell stared up in shock at Shirogai, completely bewildered. "Could it be… Shirogai-san is also a Devil Fruit user who ate the Bird-Bird Fruit?"
Luffy laughed and leapt into the air. "Hehe! Shirogai's got the Talent-Talent Fruit! He can copy any Devil Fruit ability he's seen!"
Pell's eyes widened. "He can learn any Devil Fruit power… just by seeing it?! That's a God-level ability… no wonder he's so powerful!"
Luffy nodded eagerly, puffing up with pride as if he were the one being praised. "Of course! Shirogai's way stronger than Crocodile!"
Shirogai vanished.
The next moment, he reappeared right in front of them without a sound.
Pell blinked, stunned. "Shirogai-san's speed… it's probably double or triple mine. Even in my full beast form, I've never moved that fast."
Shirogai gave him a casual smile. "That's because you haven't awakened your Devil Fruit yet. Once you do, you'll tap into that speed too."
Pell's eyes widened again. "Awaken…?"
"Your body and spirit match your fruit well," Shirogai said. "You're close. You just need a trigger."
Pell's expression shifted as realization dawned.
"So that's what I've been sensing... There's always felt like something more, buried deep—but no matter how much I train, I can't reach it."
After a pause, Pell stood straight. "We need to move! Even flying, it'll take four hours to reach Alubarna!"
"No rush," Shirogai replied. "Take that bag of meat and leave this place first. It's about to get dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Pell blinked.
Shirogai turned to Luffy, smiling. "Luffy. Want to learn how to hit Crocodile's real body?"
Luffy's eyes lit up. "You bet I do!"
"Then I'll teach you."
With that, Shirogai's body shattered into a swirl of golden sand, encircling Luffy like a living storm.
Pell took a step back, jaw falling open. "The Sand-Sand Fruit?! That's Crocodile's Devil Fruit ability!"
It hit him instantly.
Luffy was telling the truth—Shirogai really could learn any ability he'd seen.
Terrified, Pell turned into his falcon form, grabbed the half-eaten bag of meat, and launched into the air, escaping the growing sandstorm behind him.
---
Back on the ground, Luffy waved his hands through the swirling sand, shouting:
"This is it! This is the sand that bastard turns into—I couldn't hit him at all!"
From within the storm, Shirogai's voice echoed calmly. "Luffy, remember when I taught Zoro and Sanji about Armament Haki and Observation Haki?"
Luffy nodded, eyes serious—then paused and tilted his head. "Is that the thing with 'bread coating,' 'spicy core,' and 'inner sauce explosion'?"
...
Even Shirogai paused in silence.
Then he let out a sharp laugh and barked, "You glutton! That's Armament Haki! It can harden, bind, project, and destroy internally!"
Suddenly, Luffy was yanked off the ground.
Shirogai's form re-emerged from the swirling sand, his hand gripping Luffy's throat.
"Listen, Luffy," he said quietly, "Armament Haki is essential for strong fighters. Without it, you'll never land a hit on someone like Crocodile. I haven't taught you because I knew you needed to reach this point yourself."
Luffy blinked. "So… I can learn it?"
Shirogai smirked. "You can. But you're the kind who only learns when you're pushed to your limits. You won't understand strength until you hate being weak."
"Huh?" Luffy scratched his head. "Hating being weak?"
---
[Whisper-Whisper Fruit – Modified Fourth Form: Mind Weaver]
A monstrous spider-like entity materialized inside Luffy's mind—a half-human illusionist weaving threads of deception.
It began embedding false memories into Luffy's subconscious:
One by one, he saw his friends fall—powerless to stop it.
---
Usopp and Nami were sucked dry by Crocodile's touch, crumbling into mummified husks.
"Luffy… help… me…"
Their voices died with the wind as they hit the sand like discarded corpses.
Sanji and Zoro charged next, their blades slicing through nothing. Crocodile grinned and crushed them with ease—two more bodies dropped into the desert.
"No… NO!"
Crocodile laughed cruelly and turned on Vivi, Chopper, and Karoo.
Shirogai tried to protect them, but Crocodile's sneak attack skewered him through the chest with a spear of sand.
Shirogai's lifeless body fell into the dune, swallowed by the storm.
Vivi, Chopper, and Karoo followed, screaming as their lives were drained and their bodies turned to dust.
---
"Usopp! Nami! Zoro! Sanji! Shirogai! Vivi! Chopper! Karoo!"
Luffy staggered, eyes wide with grief and fury. He gritted his teeth, blood trickling down his lip.
And then he snapped.
The illusion faded.
Before him stood Crocodile—or rather, Shirogai in Crocodile's form, smirking with menace.
"Gahahahaha! Straw Hat, they're all gone. You're the last one left."
Luffy's breath trembled. "My friends… they're all gone… and I couldn't protect a single one…"
He clenched his fists, rage overtaking him.
"I'll kill you for what you did to them!"
---
Far away, Pell glanced back at the roiling sandstorm and heard a faint cry.
"...Avenge them?"
BOOM!
An explosion of sand erupted from the ground, creating four spiraling cyclones that touched the sky.
---
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Luffy's fists turned to blurs, hammering the air.
"Gum-Gum Axe!"
"Gum-Gum Storm!"
"Gum-Gum Revenge Rain!"
The storm shook with each blow, but it wasn't enough.
Luffy dropped to his knees, sobbing.
"Why?! Why couldn't I save anyone?! Why am I so damn weak?!"
The answer echoed in his mind—soft but firm.
"Armament Haki…"
His trembling hands curled into fists again. "I should be able to use it… I need to use it…"
Shirogai's voice whispered within the storm. "Then awaken it. The feeling of loss, the pain of weakness—let it become the trigger."
Luffy's eyes flared with new resolve.
"I swear…. I'll never lose again!"
---
Read ahead of WN on patreon.com/Zphyr_