Chapter 383: The Rubber Fallacy!
New World · Coast of an Unnamed Island
Just as the live broadcast of the execution plaza at Marineford began, on the coast of a deserted island on the other side of the world, a completely ridiculous "battle" was unfolding.
Fierce winds swept up sand and dust while waves continuously crashed against the rocky shore.
On the beach, a group of ugly-looking pirates lay sprawled haphazardly, limbs twitching and mouths groaning as if they had just been swept away by a hurricane.
Their captain—a short, pink-haired teenager—was still gritting his teeth, forcing his bruised and battered body up.
Blood mixed with sweat slid down his cheeks. He staggered, raising his small, weak fist. His throat was raspy and torn, yet he continued to roar:
"Hard work... can defeat anything!!!"
"GOMU GOMU NO... PISTOL!!!"
Smack!
His arm stretched out like rubber. The soft, powerless fist struck Roy's steel-like abdominal muscles, and the rebounding force instantly sent Koby flying backward.
Thud!
He crashed into a sandpit spread-eagle, a nosebleed flowing freely as tears and blood mixed into a mess on his face.
Roy pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. His face was a picture of absolute speechlessness, disgust, and pure confusion.
The clowns before him, calling themselves the "Hardwork Pirates," were the exact same "troublemakers" who had been chased mercilessly by Smoker for months ever since setting sail from the East Blue, ending up in this wretched state.
And their captain was none other than... Koby.
Hey, hey, hey... Roy couldn't help but curse inwardly, veins throbbing at his temples.
Nika... no matter how desperate you are, you wouldn't stoop so low as to pick this kind of trash as your vessel, would you?!!
He stared at the desperately pathetic, short figure, sighing secretly. No wonder I never heard any rumors of the so-called 'Deserter King' in the East Blue... He was deliberately avoiding me? Heh...
Originally, Roy had planned to head straight to Onigashima, but midway, he received a Den Den Mushi call from Staff Officer Tsuru: intelligence indicated that the Rubber-Rubber Fruit user had been spotted on this unnamed island.
Initially, Roy had merely sneered, but when the name "Hardwork Pirates" appeared in the report, he was completely stunned.
No way...
Seeing this scene with his own eyes, his absurd premonition was entirely confirmed: it really was this brat, Koby!
Koby struggled to climb back up again. His face was bruised and swollen, his teeth chattering, yet he shouted with red eyes: "Don't you dare laugh at my dream!!!"
"I will definitely become the Pirate King!!!"
In the next second, a tsunami-like oppressive weight suddenly descended!
Roy walked forward slowly, his footsteps falling heavily on the sandy beach. Every step sounded like a drumbeat, making Koby's heart race wildly.
A colossal wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted, instantly plunging the entire coastline into a deathly silence!
Koby's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Snot and tears flowed simultaneously as his body felt like it was crushed under a massive, invisible boulder. He fell to his knees with a heavy thud.
His pants were instantly soaked through, a pungent smell spreading across the sand.
He propped himself up desperately with both hands, his teeth chattering, but his throat could only squeeze out broken syllables: "I... I..."
Roy lowered his eyes, his cold shadow completely engulfing Koby. Koby's fists were clenched, his whole body trembling.
But in the face of such Haki, he didn't even have the courage to lift his head.
Roy's eyelid twitched, the corner of his mouth spasming before he finally let out a helpless sigh.
"You've got to be kidding me... this is it? I thought Zoans had a will of their own and chose their users???"
In the distance, a skeleton sporting an afro lay perfectly still on the sand, pretending to be unconscious.
But he couldn't hold it in any longer. Brook covered his eye sockets with his hands and let out an agonizing, despairing howl:
"Aiyayayaya!! This is so humiliating!! Yohohoho!!! Why on earth did I have to set sail with these guys?!!!"
His voice echoed across the desolate coastline, sounding exceptionally pitiful.
In his heart, Brook was crying an ocean of tears (if he still had tear ducts, that is): If I knew it was going to be like this, I might as well have just rotted away in the Florian Triangle!!!
[One Piece-Style Flashback: Half a Month Ago]
Brook couldn't endure the endless loneliness any longer. Coupled with a slight curiosity about this ridiculously stupid group, he had secretly sneaked into Gecko Moria's territory.
There, he learned that the "Hardwork Pirates" had been effortlessly captured by Moria.
However, because they were simply too weak—so weak they didn't even qualify to have their shadows used for the Zombie Army—Moria casually tossed them into a cell and completely ignored them.
Brook's curiosity was piqued, and he secretly approached the crew, only to be so shocked his jawbone nearly dropped off:
These people had actually set sail from Twin Cape and had met Laboon!!
The giant whale crying before the lighthouse, that obsession of waiting for half a century, made Brook's heart tremble fiercely.
And so, he made a choice that he still considered "possibly the second dumbest decision" of his life:
He joined them.
As long as I can see Laboon again... even if I have to follow a bunch of idiots, I'll accept it...
That had been his inner thought at the time.
But now—
Brook looked at Koby, who had been knocked face-first into the sand by Roy's shockwave, and then at the crew whining and crying for their mothers after simply being hit by Roy's aura.
His entire skeleton stiffened, his skull making a sharp clack sound, nearly falling apart. "Yohohoho... Laboon..."
"It seems... you're going to have to wait a little longer..."
Along with his bitter murmurs, the depths of his hollow eye sockets seemed to reflect the image of the lonely whale looking up at the sea.
Desolate, ridiculous, yet carrying a trace of unyielding obsession.
Roy looked down at Koby before him—snot and tears streaming, pants thoroughly soiled. Any so-called "dreams" and dignity were utterly non-existent in this moment.
He furrowed his brow, his eyes filled with disappointment and weariness. "Tch... this is it? Nika, are you blind?"
Before his voice even faded, his Conqueror's Haki erupted once again!
"BOOM—!!!"
The shockwave swept across the beach, and the world seemed to freeze for an instant.
Koby's pupils dilated. His body reacted as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer. Before he could even scream, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into the sand, dead to the world.
Roy retracted his Haki and turned to walk toward the skeleton "playing dead" in the sand nearby.
Brook's nonexistent heart tightened, his bones rattling like castanets. Oh no! Did he... did he realize I'm playing dead?!!
The next second, a freezing voice dropped from above him: "Stop pretending, Brook."
CLACK—!!!
Brook's joints jolted so violently he nearly fell apart. He sprang up instantly, dropping to his knees and clapping his hands together in prayer. His voice trembled like a snapping string:
"I-I've long heard the great name of Vice Admiral Roy! This humble one truly hasn't done anything wrong! I beg you to show mercy and spare my life! Yohohoho...!"
Roy stared at him, frowning slightly. "Actually, I'm quite curious... With your personality, how did you end up on the ship of such an idiot?"
Brook froze for a moment, scratching his jawbone with a skeletal finger and laughing awkwardly. "Uh... it's a long story, actually—"
"Nevermind."
Roy raised a hand, cutting him off directly, his voice cold and hard. "I'm not interested in hearing it."
"Do something for me. Once it's done, you are free to leave, and you can go to Twin Cape."
Brook's heart gave a violent lurch.
Twin Cape?! Laboon?!
Instantly, his empty eye sockets seemed to ignite with fiery light. With no time to wonder how Roy knew about this, he shouted in pure ecstasy, "Please give the order!!!"
Roy cast a casual glance and pointed at Koby, who was unconscious on the beach. "I will teleport you both near Punk Hazard. You are to hand him over to Vegapunk."
"Once the mission is complete, you are free."
Brook opened his mouth, just about to nod, when he saw Roy slowly raise his right hand.
"VROOM—"
A dark vortex that seemed capable of swallowing all creation suddenly materialized in his palm!
The pitch-black vortex distorted the air, like an abyss opening its maw, slowly devouring even the light itself!
That power pierced straight through bone and directly threatened the soul!
Brook was instantly terrified to the extreme, his scream cutting through the sound of the waves. "Ehhh—!! Wh-What is that?!"
"Why do I feel the aura of 'Death'?! I've clearly already died once!!!"
His entire skeleton rattled so hard it almost fell to pieces. He threw himself flat on the ground with a heavy thump, screaming frantically: "I will complete the mission!! I swear it!!!"
Roy's gaze was freezing. He slowly lowered his hand. "Good."
He lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap.
In an instant, the spatial vortex swallowed Brook and Koby. Their silhouettes twisted in the air before vanishing without a trace!
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