In the Accino Family's residence, Accino himself was leisurely drinking with Zoro.
"Didn't expect to find alcohol here—thanks," Zoro said.
After entering the place, he had somehow stumbled into this sauna-like room. The moment Accino saw him, he had invited him over for drinks.
Honestly, his luck was pretty good.
"Haha, don't mention it," Accino laughed. "We were supposed to be having a banquet, but my family went out. Having someone to drink with now isn't bad."
Accino grinned at Zoro, treating him like a friend rather than attacking him outright for being a pirate.
"Leaving in the middle of a banquet?" Zoro found it odd. "Did something happen?"
"Something like that."
"Need help?" Zoro smirked. "I'm pretty strong."
Since the guy had kindly offered him drinks, he didn't mind lending a hand.
Accino, wearing sunglasses, gave Zoro a strange look, completely caught off guard by the offer.
Help?
Help with what—attacking the Straw Hat Pirates?
The moment he suggested that, Zoro would definitely cut him down.
Not that he cared, but it was better to enjoy some drinks peacefully before things escalated.
When Accino stayed silent, Zoro frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's not a big deal. My family can handle it," Accino shook his head. "Let's drink."
"Fine."
Since the host insisted, Zoro didn't push further.
"Just wonder where my crewmates went," Zoro grumbled.
"Oh?"
"They disappeared too?"
"Yeah, these guys never give me a break," Zoro sighed. "I took my eyes off them for a second, and they got lost."
He exhaled deeply, looking utterly exasperated.
Accino: "..."
Zoro's dead-serious expression nearly made Accino lose his composure. Who was the one actually lost here?
They were supposed to be together, yet this guy had wandered straight into their base and was blaming his crew for getting lost. The irony was almost poetic.
'Is this guy directionally challenged or something?' Accino thought wryly.
Just then, a soldier burst in, clutching a Den Den Mushi.
"Lord Accino, trouble!!"
"Can't you see I'm entertaining a guest?" Accino glared, the temperature around him noticeably rising.
"Sellanel, this better be good."
"It's Lord Salchow on the line!"
Sellanel raised the Den Den Mushi, urging Accino to look.
"Dad, it's me!"
"Salchow?"
Accino was surprised—usually, it was his daughter who contacted him.
"Dad, it's bad! Campacino and the others were defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates!" Salchow's voice was frantic. "Arbell and Lil are missing too!"
"I think the Straw Hats have them—"
"WHAT?!"
Accino suddenly stood up, his eyes blazing with fury. "How dare those bastards do such a thing?"
"I won't let them get away with this!"
At this moment, Accino was truly enraged. The temperature around him rose sharply, filling the room with steam.
"So the ones you're talking about are us."
Zoro set down his sake cup, his expression turning serious.
He stood up and declared, "Though I appreciate the drinks... I can't let you lay a hand on my crew!"
"Who's there?"
"It's the Pirate Hunter, Zoro," Sellanel said.
"What?"
Salchow, holding the Den Den Mushi, was stunned. Wasn't this guy supposed to be with the Straw Hat Pirates? How did he end up at their home?
If that was the case, then the Straw Hat Pirates' target must be their family!
Realizing this, Salchow immediately said, "Father, the Straw Hat Pirates might be heading home right now."
"Hmph, I can already see them."
Accino glanced out the window, clearly spotting two pirate ships approaching from the distance.
"Tch. If you want to attack my crew, you'll have to get through me first!"
With that, Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji, ready to cut down this bloated balloon.
Seeing this, Sellanel rushed to the side and slammed a red button.
The next moment, a trapdoor opened beneath Zoro, swallowing him whole.
"Wha—?!"
As he fell, Zoro's face twisted in disbelief. Who the hell sets traps inside their own home?!
"Well done, Sellanel!" Accino said. "We'll deal with him later."
Right now, rescuing his children was the priority. As for the pirates' heads, they could wait.
"Lord Accino, what should we do?"
"Send out the Ferocious Penguins. Wipe out their underlings," Accino ordered.
"Father... the Ferocious Penguins might not make it..." Salchow said hesitantly.
He stared at the countless Ferocious Penguins floating lifelessly on the water's surface, unease creeping into his heart. What kind of power could slaughter these underwater beasts?
"What do you mean?"
"They're already dead."
"Dead?!" Accino couldn't believe it. "All of them?"
He knew exactly how vicious those creatures were underwater.
Their family had relied on them to drive countless pirates into the Icy Sea Route for execution. And now Salchow was telling him they were all gone?
"Yes... dead."
Accino: "..."
For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
After a pause, Accino finally spoke. "Fine. Understood. Get back here immediately."
"Yes, Father."
Once the Den Den Mushi call ended, Accino turned to Sellanel. "Sellanel, mobilize all the family's soldiers. We're going to crush them."
"Understood!"
After watching Sellanel leave, Accino glared at the Thousand Sunny in the distance. "You dare touch my children? I'll make you regret it."
This time, he would personally exterminate these reckless pirates who didn't know their place!
"So this is the Acchino Home, huh?" Usopp remarked. "What a... unique design."
What were these bounty hunter families thinking, building such a strange structure in the middle of all this ice?
"Your family's taste is quite unique, huh," Meiser remarked, glancing at Arbell.
"No choice. My father likes it this way."
"I think it's pretty fun, hahahaha!" Luffy laughed heartily.
Clearly, he didn't see anything wrong with the bizarre building—in fact, he thought they had great taste.
"Can you let me go now?" Arbell asked.
Her hands were still bound, naturally to prevent her from causing trouble.
"No way," Nami shook her head. "The fight isn't over yet. How could we let you go?"
Though they wouldn't harm her, that didn't mean they'd release her to stir up trouble.
Arbell sighed at this but said nothing more.
"Hey, look! Someone's coming out of that house!"
"Really? It's... a fat balloon?" Luffy gaped in astonishment.
Staring at the round figure in shorts in the distance, Luffy was completely stunned.
"Who's that guy?"
"That's my father."
"So it's him..."
"Ah, you've arrived, Straw Hat Boy..." Accino said, eyeing Luffy. "My children have been quite indebted to your hospitality."
After speaking, he glanced at Arbell and Lil, relieved to see both daughters unharmed.
"They attacked us, so we fought back," Luffy said. "Fat Balloon, why did you steal other people's pirate flags?"
"Because I like them, of course!"
Accino spread his arms wide, as if embracing the sky. "These flags symbolizing the pirate spirit are my favorite collectibles."
"After all... this is the glory of bounty hunters~"
"Hahahaha!"
"And... once they lose their flags, pirates might just fall apart. Don't you think that's amusing?"
As he spoke, Accino swept his gaze over the Phoenix Pirates, who had followed the Straw Hat Pirates onto the icy plain, and smirked mockingly. "Like them, for example."
He remembered all too clearly how pitifully they had begged for their lives—what a fine spectacle that had been.
"You bastard..."
Kair's expression darkened instantly. This was just rubbing salt in their wounds.
"Captain..."
"Even if the captain won't act, we can't let these guys off!"
"Right, let's get ready to fight!"
Every member of the Phoenix Pirates except Puzzle glared fiercely, ready to strike at any moment.
"Everyone..."
Puzzle clenched his fists, wrestling internally. Could they really rise again?
Vigaro... can I still do this?
"Hmph, just a bunch of rabble," Accino sneered.
"I really hate guys like you," Luffy said, adjusting his hat. "Guess I'll knock you flying first."
This jerk was trampling all over the pride of pirates, and that made Luffy furious.
"You can try!"
"Then let's go! Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Without hesitation, Luffy threw a punch, holding nothing back!
But facing Luffy's attack, Accino just watched calmly without even moving a muscle, which left everyone puzzled about his intentions.
As soon as Luffy's fist neared Accino's body, he yelped in pain from the burning sensation.
"Hot! So hot!"
"Hot?" Sanji questioned, "Why would it be hot?"
"This guy must be a Devil Fruit Ability User," Meiser said with his Sharingan eyes fixed intently on Accino's body. "Just now, his body turned red as if it had suddenly been heated up."
A Devil Fruit Ability User who could control temperature?
"Correct! I am the Boil-Boil Man who ate the Boil-Boil Fruit!" Accino declared proudly. "Anything I touch will melt!"
To demonstrate, Accino considerately picked up a nearby parasol. A terrifying burst of heat instantly melted the object.
Meiser: "..."
The enemy's intel was gathered way too easily—Meiser didn't even know what to say.
"Darn it, so it's high heat," Luffy said, clutching his fist. "No wonder it was so hot."
"Not only that, but I can also do this!"
Accino raised his hands, and his body began sliding bit by bit across the ice, picking up speed.
"By heating the soles of my feet with the Boil-Boil Fruit's power, the steam generated allows me to move freely on the ice, just like this!"
"Eeek~"
With precise control of his ability, Accino glided effortlessly across the ice, occasionally performing odd maneuvers.
This spectacle made Luffy's eyes light up.
"So cool!"
Thus, under the watchful eyes of the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy ran to a nearby ice bridge and used the downward slope to start sliding freely across the ice, as if competing with Accino.
The two of them raced back and forth on the ice, neither willing to yield.
Finally, they came to a stop, exchanging looks of mutual admiration.
"I need to reevaluate the power of the Boil-Boil Fruit now!"
"Hmph, as expected of a pirate with a 420 million Berries bounty," Accino grinned. "You're quite impressive."
"Where exactly is this impressive?!" Nami groaned. "Are you two children?!"
"This looks so fun!" Merry cheered. "Chopper, let's join them!"
Nami: "..."
This was definitely something only kids would enjoy!
"Hmph, playtime's over. Now I'll get serious," Accino suddenly said, his smile vanishing. "Straw Hat brat, this time I'll personally claim your heads!"
"You won't succeed."
"We'll see about that!"
As he spoke, numerous soldiers emerged from the Acchino Home building, armed and advancing toward them.
"Straw Hat, leave these guys to us!" Puzzle shouted.
"Huh?"
Luffy glanced back and nodded with a smile. "Got it."
"Captain!"
Gino looked at Puzzle excitedly—had he finally regained his spirit?
"Sorry for worrying you all. Let's fight side by side again."
"Whoo!"
"Just a bunch of defeated losers, still barking like dogs here." Accino sneered, "Sellanel, don't let them disturb me while I deal with the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Yes!"
Sellanel shouted in a low voice, "Come, follow me and kill them!"
"Yes!"
"Straw Hat Boy, seems like you're missing one of your crew members," Accino said, looking at Luffy.
"Missing one...?"
"It's Zoro, you idiot!"
"Exactly, the Pirate Hunter," Accino grinned viciously. "That guy is currently locked up in my prison. If you want to save him, you'll have to give it your all."
"At the very least... you'll have to entertain me!"
"BOOM!!"
The temperature around Accino suddenly skyrocketed, the terrifying heat distorting the air and even causing the surrounding ice to show signs of melting.
"Hmph, I'll knock you flying."
Luffy said while searching for something to help him withstand the heat.
"Such terrifying heat... Your dad seems pretty strong," Merry remarked.
"Yeah."
"My dad is really strong," Lil nodded.
She wanted to warn Merry to be careful, but the words died in her throat.
Though Merry was her friend... the other one was also her father.
"Luffy." Meiser suddenly appeared beside Luffy and said, "Want to experience a bit of Ninjutsu?"
"Really?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.
"I can't let you freely control Ninjutsu, but... I can let you experience it for a bit."
"Please, Meiser!!"
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!