People screamed and ran through the streets as they stared at the giant whale towering above the entire city, finally understanding the pirates intentions.
"Run away… look at that hat, the whale is a pirate too!"
All kinds of curses echoed through the streets as people desperately fled from the eastern side of the island just like the announcement had warned.
But then some idiot aboard a nearby Marine ship fired a cannon at Laboon.
BOOOOM!!
The attack barely tickled the colossal whale, but it was enough to make it angry, he slammed straight into the ship and buried the entire vessel in the sea.
Some brave fools still tried to organize resistance, rushing toward the shore with weapons and cannons, but Bon Clay intercepted them before they could even get close.
"Kyaaaah~! Violence against my friend is forbidden!!"
His strange martial arts allowed him to dodge attacks while twirling and dancing across the battlefield in a bizarre performance.
The island descended even deeper into chaos.
Yet amidst all of it, Nojiko moved through the shadows with the frightened Jojo following behind her toward the treasury of the holiday island, whose location the group had discovered during their three-day stay.
It was located nearly a hundred meters beneath the island, protected so heavily that ordinary pirates would never be able to reach it unscathed, the path filled with elite guards, deadly traps, and a maze-like structure designed to trap intruders until reinforcements arrived.
But after locating it, Leo had simply created a separate tunnel leading directly into the vault itself.
The island possessed no real military force capable of stopping something like Laboon, and because the authorities were desperately trying to stop the pirates attempting to steal the tree through unknown means, many guards had already been relocated from the treasury toward the central tree.
Then for a few brief seconds… an invisible tremor spread throughout the island.
Everyone froze in place as the true horror began.
The massive dead Holiday Tree standing at the center of the island suddenly moved as if it had come alive.
No… that wasn't quite right.
The entire mountain beneath the tree was moving alongside it, together with every structure attached to it.
The earth split apart in its wake as the enormous landmass slowly dragged itself forward, the people witnessing the impossible sight could barely believe their eyes.
Inside the tree, Leo was sweating heavily while forcing the gigantic mountain to move, his enhanced physique allowed him to accomplish something monstrous like this but it was a temporary boost.
Thousands of roots burst upward from beneath the mountain like gigantic serpents, tearing through the earth as the mountain detached itself from the center and slowly advanced toward the shore.
The island's greatest tourist attraction was now dragging itself across the land toward the waiting Laboon.
Leo had originally thought everything would go exactly according to the plan, after all, the island guards had looked more decorative than threatening during the past few days, but it seemed at least a few competent people still existed among them.
Inside the control chamber, Leo sensed another presence approaching through the corridor destroying every trap and obstacle he had created.
Soon light footsteps echoed through the corridors before a thin middle-aged man wearing a dark pirate coat stepped out breathing heavily, his right hand pressed against the wall.
"You are just a brat…" the man muttered.
The moment his fingers brushed against the concrete wall, the entire wall suddenly changed, turning into paper.
Not normal paper either, but thick pale sheets layered over one another like folded parchment as the surrounding walls rapidly bent and twisted inward toward Leo from every direction.
The man possessed the Paper-Paper Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allowed him to temporarily convert anything he touched into paper.
Normally the ability wasn't considered powerful in direct combat, but inside a gigantic structure like this, the fruit became absurdly dangerous.
Entire sections of the chamber folded inward like giant origami traps while countless sharpened paper blades burst from the walls and shot toward Leo at terrifying speed.
Unfortunately for him… his opponent was Leo.
"You don't read newspapers, do you? You can turn things into paper… but I can manipulate everything."
(A/N: The Paper-Paper fruit is not awakened... it requires direct touch and its effect is temporary)
Before the attacks could even reach him, massive roots exploded upward from beneath the floor and tore straight through the paper constructs.
SHRRRAAAK!!
The corridor violently shook as the roots ripped apart layer after layer of folded paper until piercing and pinning his body on the wall.
"You—"
"Shave"
Leo vanished from his spot.
The next second he appeared directly in front of the man and slammed a Haki infused fist into his stomach with his enhanced monstrous strength.
BAAM!!
The old man's body folded around the punch as blood sprayed from his mouth before he smashed through the walls of the giant tree and was blasted out from the moving tree like a small speck of trash.
"…Stop annoying me." Leo wiped sweat from his forehead while breathing heavily. "I'm already moving a damn mountain here."
Finally, after tearing apart half the island in its path, the gigantic moving mountain reached the shore.
Half the mountain soon split apart before tilting toward Laboon's open mouth and disappearing straight into the giant whale's stomach just like that.
"It swallowed the entire thing!!"
"This island isn't safe anymore… run as far away as you can!"
The citizens watching from afar could only stare in complete shock.
"BWAAH!!" Laboon's booming roar echoed from across the sea. "I am full!"
Leo simply sighed before jumping down onto the deck together with Bon Clay and soon afterward the giant whale disappeared beneath the ocean.
Inside Laboon existed an enormous ecosystem of its own created years ago by Crocus, filled with artificial sunlight and shallow lake connected through tunnels large enough to store entire islands, and it was there that the giant tree now floated peacefully.
The trio consisting of Leo, Bon Clay and Laboon were all ready to assist Nojiko and Jojo to fend of the trouble but the moment they reached the location… they froze.
"…What happened here?"
More than fifteen guards were lying scattered across the ground writhing in pain with gunshot wounds across their bodies while blood stained the ground around them.
Nearby, Jojo was hurriedly securing the three treasure crates while nervously glancing around and standing in the center of the mess was Nojiko.
Smoke slowly rose from the barrel of the sleek silver revolver in her hand.
"Captain Leo… I think I've found my calling." She spoke mischievously.
Apparently the guards had followed the tunnel after discovering traces of movement, only to walk directly into the hidden chamber where Nojiko and Jojo were stealing the treasure.
Unfortunately for them, normal humans with preparation and good weapons were still dangerous.
Especially when the battlefield was a narrow enclosed tunnel with almost nowhere to dodge.
The group quickly loaded the remaining treasure onto the deck before Laboon carried them far away from the island beneath the cover of the sea.
That evening, everyone rested near the bonfire while discussing the chaos they had caused across the island.
Bon Clay kept reenacting civilians screaming while Jojo exaggerated how "terrifying" Nojiko had looked shooting people.
Then suddenly Laboon began having a serious conversation with a nearby Banana Crocodile Turtle that had somehow wandered close to its head.
"Bwahaha!" (So you sank two pirate ships last month?) Laboon spoke impressed.
"Gururururu!" (No my master did!) The turtle corrected.
(A/N: I don't know how turtles sound...)
"Is he making friends again?" Leo muttered hearing the conversation between two sea creatures.
But before anyone could reply, a calm feminine voice echoed through the deck.
"My my… what an interesting pirate crew you have found Mr. 2." Everyone immediately turned toward the source of voice.
A tall elegant woman with long black hair stepped forward wearing a purple cowboy hat and a fitted dark purple outfit, staring at them amusingly with her calm blue eyes and faint smile.
Nico Robin, or rather… Miss All Sunday has infiltrated Conqueror's pirates.