Chapter 80: Sabaody Archipelago!
[Sabaody Archipelago - Grove 9 - Civilian Port Area]
Sabaody Archipelago. A wondrous anomaly of nature located at the very foot of the Red Line.
Sunlight pierced through the massive, interwoven canopy of the Yarukiman Mangroves, casting dappled shadows on the ground below. The light refracted through countless resin bubbles that floated up from the roots, painting the air with rainbows. It was a place that usually bustled with the noise of commerce, tourism, and the underlying hum of piracy.
However, today, the clamor of Grove 9 was swallowed by a sudden, massive shadow that eclipsed the sun.
A gigantic ship, far beyond ordinary imagination, slowly docked. It moved like a floating mountain range, displacing the water with a low, vibrating hum that shook the wooden piers.
"Gulp..."
On the street, a pirate with a flashy coat, who was just loudly boasting about his measly 10-million-berry bounty, stopped mid-sentence. He subconsciously swallowed his saliva, his throat clicking audibly in the silence. He forgot his boast. He forgot his drink.
He simply stared blankly up at the silhouette that towered over the buildings.
Inside a tavern next to the dock, the previously noisy atmosphere instantly froze. The clinking of glasses stopped. The laughter died.
"Hey... did you see that?"
A bounty hunter with a scarred face, sitting in a dark corner, lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. His tone carried an uncontrollable tremor, the kind that comes from a primal recognition of danger.
His companion across from him stared intently out the window, his knuckles turning white from gripping his wooden mug too tightly.
"I saw it... What the hell is that? A ship? You must be joking. It's... it's the size of a fortress."
"It's not a joke!" The scarred man's expression was extremely serious. He reached into his vest and pulled out a crumpled newspaper. He smoothed it out on the table with shaking hands.
"Look at this! The news that shook the entire sea a few days ago. The ones who turned Enies Lobby into a crater."
He pointed a callous finger at the headline.
['Wing of Disaster' Ulquiorra Cifer]
[Leading the Giant Warrior Pirates]
His companion's gaze fell upon the indifferent, pale face on the newspaper's front page. Then, his eyes drifted down to the string of zeros below the name.
[Bounty: 1,000,000,000 (1 Billion) Berries]
"Hiss—"
A chorus of sharp intakes of breath echoed through the tavern as other patrons leaned in to look.
"One... one billion?!"
"He's not the only one," the scarred man whispered, moving his finger to another corner of the page. "See the two Giants behind him on that huge ship? 'Blue Ogre' Dorry and 'Red Ogre' Brogy. Their bounties have both skyrocketed to 800 million each!"
He did the mental math, his face paling.
"The combined bounty of just these three men... totals 2.6 billion Berries. If you could take them down, you could buy a small kingdom. You could live like a Tenryuubito!"
"Take them down? Ha! A good deal?" His companion let out a dry, self-mocking laugh. He downed the cheap rum in his cup in one gulp to steady his nerves.
"Stop dreaming. Admiral Akainu was defeated by him head-on! That pale guy put a hole in a Logia Admiral! If we rushed up there, we wouldn't even be enough to pick his teeth. We'd be dead before we drew our swords."
"If I had that kind of strength," the companion muttered, staring at his empty glass, "would I still need to be a bounty hunter in this dump?"
Outside the tavern, the streets had completely erupted into silent chaos.
THOOM! THOOM!
The ground shook rhythmically.
When the two Giants, who looked like they had stepped out of a Norse myth, descended from the ship carrying weapons the size of buildings, every step they took cracked the pavement. The sheer physical intimidation made the legs of countless self-proclaimed fierce pirates turn to jelly.
"J-Joking, right... That's the 800-million-berry monsters?"
"If we ended up against them... how are we supposed to fight? They could step on us by accident!" A newcomer pirate's voice was tearful, his bravado vanishing instantly.
"Idiot! Look at the person in front of them!" An old, veteran pirate grabbed the rookie's head, forcing him to look. "That's the real threat!"
Following the old pirate's gaze, everyone saw a slender man slowly walking down the gangplank ahead of the two towering giants.
He wore a white uniform with black trim. His skin was chalk-white. His face was stern, marked by green tear tracks. Compared to the behemoths behind him, his body seemed so tiny, so fragile.
However, when people's eyes met his emotionless emerald gaze...
A chill, far greater than what they felt facing the Giants, shot straight from their tailbones to the tops of their heads. It was the feeling of staring into a void. A feeling that their lives were insignificant.
"That... that is 'Wing of Disaster' Ulquiorra... the Billion-Berry Man!"
"His first bounty... reached one billion? Doesn't that make him a 'Supernova' of this generation?"
"Supernova?"
The person next to him scoffed, looking at the rookie like he was an idiot.
"You call this kind of monster a Supernova?" His mouth twitched. "Are you kidding me?! What Supernova gets a first bounty of one billion? What Supernova can beat down a Marine Admiral? The balance of the sea is about to be completely overturned by these monsters!"
As the crowd parted in fear, Ulquiorra walked silently through Grove 9, the crowd parting like the Red Sea before him.
[Grove 13 - The Lawless Zone Coast]
While Grove 9 was in a panic, a different kind of arrival was happening at Grove 13.
This area was known as the Lawless Zone. Buildings were dilapidated, slave traders lurked in alleys, and the air smelled of danger.
Into this grim setting, a gleaming miracle of steel arrived.
The massive steel battleship "Pola" slowly sailed toward the shore. It cut through the dark waters, its engines humming with advanced technology. It didn't creak like wood; it groaned like a living beast of iron.
"Wow...! Is this Sabaody Archipelago?"
As soon as the ship steadied against the massive mangrove roots, Nami was the first to rush to the ship's steel rail. Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the iridescent bubbles floating around them.
"What a massive tree! I only read about it in books..." Nami marveled. "The Sabaody Archipelago isn't land; it's a massive mangrove forest growing out of the ocean floor! And these bubbles... they are made of resin!"
Rem also poked her blue-haired head out, pointing at the white number painted on the huge root near the shore.
"Look, Suzaku-kun! It says 13 there. So this must be Island Number Thirteen!"
Suzaku walked to the railing, his black coat fluttering in the breeze. He looked at the number and nodded thoughtfully.
"Grove 13... The Lawless Zone. Excellent."
He turned to his crew.
"Let's go. Ulquiorra and the Giants should have arrived already at the rendezvous point. It's time for us to go ashore."
Hearing the words "go ashore," Nami's ears perked up. Her eyes lit up with the dangerous gleam of a shopaholic with unlimited funds.
"Yay! Finally!"
She pumped her fist in the air.
"Time for shopping! Real shopping! Not just supplies!"
She turned around and grabbed Rem and Ram's hands, dragging them toward the gangway.
"We have to shop until we drop this time! Ram wasn't here the last time we went shopping in Loguetown, and Rem was busy guarding the ship. This time, I need to take you both around! We need cute clothes! Summer dresses! Swimsuits!"
Hearing this, expressions of genuine anticipation appeared on the faces of Rem and Ram. They were maids, yes, but they were also girls who had spent weeks either fighting or sailing.
Even Albedo, who was usually uninterested in anything besides Suzaku's body and well-being, had a flicker of eagerness flash in her beautiful golden eyes. New clothes meant new ways to please Lord Suzaku.
Seeing the identical look of anticipation in the three women's eyes, Suzaku smiled helplessly.
"Sure enough," he muttered. "No matter the world, the word 'shopping' has the same lethal effect on women."
Suzaku pointed to the armored vault on the ship where Enel's gold was kept.
"Go ahead, Nami. Take some gold bars. As many as you can carry. Have fun."
"I love you, Captain!" Nami blew him a kiss and sprinted toward the vault.
Next, he turned to Ram. The pink-haired maid stood straighter now, sparks of blue electricity occasionally dancing along her dress—a sign of her new Logia nature.
"Ram," Suzaku instructed seriously. "You are responsible for watching over them. This island is dangerous. Slave traders, Celestial Dragons... you know the drill."
He leaned in. "Especially Albedo. If she sees anyone or any shop she dislikes, or if someone is rude... make sure you restrain her before she nukes the island."
"Yes, Lord Suzaku!" Ram nodded knowingly, her red eyes calm and reliable. "I will ensure no unnecessary genocides occur."
"But, Lord Suzaku..." Albedo looked at him with reluctance, biting her lip. "Aren't you coming with us? I prefer to stay by your side. The stores are full of inferior goods anyway."
Suzaku looked at her gently, reaching out to pat her head.
"This is also part of the mission, Albedo. Ensure their safety. And while you're at it... buy some things you like. Relax. You've worked hard."
"Yes! Lord Suzaku!"
Hearing that it was a "mission" from the Supreme Being, Albedo immediately straightened her posture. Her reluctance vanished, replaced by fanatic dedication.
"I will execute this shopping mission with maximum efficiency!"
Suzaku chuckled. He looked up at the empty bridge of the ship.
"Pola."
"Yes, Commander?" Pola's voice rang out from the speakers, clear and pleasant.
"Retreat to the outer sea first. Dive if you have to. Wait for our signal. A steel ship this big attracts too much attention in the Lawless Zone."
"Understood, Commander! The reliable Pola is always at your command! I'll be waiting in the deep!"
The gangway retracted. The heavy cruiser slowly pulled away from the shore, its engines humming as it vanished into the mist of the vast ocean.
Suzaku stood on the root of Grove 13.
He watched Nami, like a cheerful fawn carrying a bag of gold, pulling Rem, Ram, and Albedo—who wore a serious "for the mission" expression—toward the nearby commercial district. They quickly blended into the crowd of tourists and pirates.
With Albedo present (a tank), plus the now formidable Logia Ram and Gravity-user Rem, he had absolutely no need to worry about their safety. If anything, he worried for the safety of the slave traders.
"Now then..."
Suzaku turned. He walked alone, strolling in the opposite direction from the commercial street. He headed deeper into the Lawless Zone, where the shadows were longer and the people were quieter.
The air here was permeated with tension and danger.
Pirates, bounty hunters, and kidnappers lurked in the alleyways. They cast glances full of scrutiny and ill will at the lone, handsome young man walking with such confidence.
Fresh meat? one bounty hunter thought, reaching for a knife.
But then, they saw his face. They remembered the wanted poster.
Wait... isn't that...?
The blood drained from their faces. The pirates and bounty hunters seemed to recognize him instantly. They didn't attack; they vanished. Doors slammed shut. Windows were bolted. The streets cleared in a flash.
Suzaku paid no attention to the fleeing rats. He observed everything around him with interest. The bubbling resin, the worn-out buildings, the smell of cheap alcohol and despair.
Finally, a rather unique sign caught his eye. It was hanging over a building that looked strangely cozy amidst the dilapidation.
[Shakky's Rip-Off Bar]
Seeing this name, a playful curve appeared at the corner of Suzaku's mouth.
"Rip-Off... that's certainly direct," he muttered softly.
A figure appeared in his mind. A woman with short black hair, a cigarette always in hand, and an aura of danger masked by charm.
"As expected of the peerless Empress who once dominated the seas," Suzaku thought. "Even after retiring, she remains so distinctive. To name her bar that... she dares anyone to complain."
He thought about the legend associated with this place. The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh. And his partner, Shakuyaku.
"The great pirates of the past were truly overwhelmingly impressive. To survive Garp's pursuit and settle down here... impressive."
He walked up to the wooden door, which looked quite old but sturdy.
Ding-a-ling.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of the wind chime, he reached out and pushed the door open.
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