The not-so-tall figure before them was Uholisia's father, Chichilisia of the Second Treasure Navy—the 12th pillar—who had been on his way to the port to see his daughter off.
He'd arrived just in time to see someone swinging a blade at his precious girl. In a panic, he flashed in front of her, Armament Haki coating his fist as he punched straight at the incoming slash.
But in the next instant Chichilisia's face changed. His fist couldn't even get close to the blade. The slash's pressure forced his strike back, a scarlet sphere of energy swelling between fist and edge, trembling violently.
In less than a heartbeat, the scarlet sphere expanded, swallowing Chichilisia whole.
"Boom!" "Rrrr-umble!"
The ground shattered, and scarlet electric arcs exploded, shooting straight into the sky. The surrounding crowd that had fallen was instantly thrown up and then swept away.
Chichilisia's body twisted; the blade light bored straight through him and hurled him like a cannon shot, rippling the air in concentric waves as he vanished toward the horizon.
Leno sheathed his sword and stood there, nodding in satisfaction at the slash's power.
When the dust finally settled, he returned to the others without sparing another glance at the people from before.
Kuina and the rest stared at him, eyes full of awe.
"Awesome! No matter how many times I see it, it's still insane! Leno, you're amazing!" Chopper hopped excitedly at his side.
"Mhm, mhm," Nami and the others nodded in rapid agreement. The scene was just too overwhelming—look at the sky; even the clouds had been torn apart by the shockwave.
And the surroundings… it looked like a disaster zone. Miserable didn't begin to cover it.
Kuina's eyes were full of longing. She then tightened her grip on her sword. 'I can definitely reach this level too.'
After secretly encouraging herself, Kuina said, "Let's get out of here quickly. Such a big commotion will definitely attract people to investigate soon."
The group then quickly left the area.
Not long after, several figures rushed in. The moment they saw the devastation, their expressions turned grim.
"What kind of monsters fought here?" Sai felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his cheek.
"Hurry—see if anyone's still breathing!"
"P-please… help… help my father!" Half-buried in rubble, Uholisia spotted the newcomers and cried out.
Her father had taken that terrifying slash for her; she didn't even know if he was alive. She couldn't care less about her own wounds.
"It's Uholisia!"
"What happened here? Who did this to you?"
Sai flashed to her side, eyes bloodshot, killing intent flaring. Seeing her face smeared with blood yet still begging for help twisted his gut.
Never mind that she was his fiancée—even if she weren't—anyone who dared do this to the Second Treasure Navy, comrades of the Happo fleet, would answer to him.
"Boo! Get people on rescue—now! And inform my grandfather. I want to know, fast, who dared spill blood in the Flower Country."
With Uholisia slipping into unconsciousness, Sai snapped orders and launched the search.
—
Leno and his group had planned to find a new place to stroll around, but their plan was rejected by Robin. The reason was that the group would likely be wanted by the Flower Country very soon.
She explained that each contingent of the Happo Navy had its own family power base—some underworld, some official. Inside the Flower Country, nothing spread faster than their news: they truly walked on both sides of the line.
They might feud internally, but outwardly they were united.
Now that these foreign newcomers had thrashed the Second Treasure Navy—and given that members of the Happo fleet were hailed as national "heroes"—it wouldn't take long before wanted sketches of them papered every wall. Forget shopping; just walking the street would bring challengers by the dozen. They weren't afraid… but what a hassle. They couldn't exactly kill everyone.
With no better choice, they lifted the ship into the sky and looked down over the nation from above.
Seizing her chance, Nami tugged Robin over to ask about the location of the "Jeweled Ice Bed," and then they banked straight toward it.
"Such a mood-killer," Carmen grumbled from the rail, staring at the rows of eateries sliding by beneath them. "I was ready to really dive into the local cuisine, and then that happens for no reason."
"There was no helping it," Nojiko sighed. "Who could've guessed we'd get attacked out of nowhere?"
Nami, meanwhile, didn't seem bothered at all—she was buzzing as she quizzed Robin about the 'ice continent' up ahead.
The others couldn't help but laugh at the way she'd check the pointer, then the heading, then the horizon—eyes shining with barely contained impatience.
Just like a kid waiting for a present—equal parts eager and nervous.
"Nami looks so cool when she's focused!" Chopper said, admiring her smooth, practiced motions.
"Yeah—if her eyes weren't shaped like Berries right now," Leno said dryly.
"Hmph~."
"Pfft—" Nojiko couldn't hold back a snort, watching Leno solemnly discuss Nami's 'different kind of focus' with Chopper.
"Hey, you jerks— do you think I'm deaf? My profession is navigator. Treasure is just my hobby!"
"I search for treasure to satisfy a personal passion. Everyone's allowed a special interest or two—do you really have to harp on mine?"
Hearing that idiot Leno teasing her, Nami retorted, somewhat exasperated.
"Uh, Nami, I think you got your profession and hobby mixed up."
"Aaagh! You bastard—go die!" Nami pounced, claws out.
Robin and the others watched their playful scuffle with soft smiles. This warm, happy life—wasn't it what they'd all wished for?
After what felt like an "endless" few hours of flight, Nami's delighted shout rang out—they'd reached the icy land.
"Whoa, that's wild! The whole continent is a single giant block of ice! How did that even form?" Chopper gaped.
"How it was formed is unknown. We only know that the ice here is different from other places. It's particularly hard and not easily broken," Robin explained to everyone, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the "ice block" below.
"We're here, so let's head down. And someone clearly can't wait," Leno said, side-eyeing Nami.
"Mm? People, in the distance."
"Judging by their clothes, they're from the Happo Navy," Robin added after a glance.
Nami hurried over to Leno, worried. "Leno—what do we do? Why are people here?"
"This is where the Happo Navy stores their treasure. People being here is normal."
"Eh?! Then… then…"
"Relax. We'll just put them to sleep. Won't slow our 'treasure retrieval' one bit."
Seeing Nami on the verge of tears, Leno relented and soothed her quickly.
T/n:
If you like the novel so far, please leave me a 5-star review
I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a Review—Power Stones
patreon.com/Hard_Worker +50 chapters