Chapter 441 – Mysterious Shichibukai 02.

    [Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]

    Third Person POV

    New Word.

    ...

    ...

    At the end, they were accompanied by the Shichibukai, who led them to a part of the island where the man had left his ship. Luffy asked him to let them use his vessel to continue their journey.

    "What an ugly ship!" Lucy stopped in front of it and exclaimed, staring at the overly extravagant thing.

    The ship was made of gold and adorned with precious stones. The worst part was that it had the head of a World Noble, even wearing an astronaut''s helmet, entirely crafted in the aesthetic of the Tenryuubito. Yet, there were attempts to poorly disguise it, and anyone with two brain cells could see through the pathetic attempt. The man had placed a hat over the Tenryuubito''s head, sunglasses over the astronaut''s helmet, and a scarf around its neck in a weak effort to conceal the identity.

    Luffy stared at it, his mouth slightly open, unable to believe what he was seeing. ''Can this guy really be so dumb and shameless at the same time? Couldn''t he have just taken another ship and left this one behind...?'' Luffy thought, observing the design that blatantly revealed who the owner was.

    The man seemed displeased by Lucy''s comment, unwilling to accept anyone daring to insult his ship—something he considered a masterpiece among the Tenryuubito, enough to make his peers envious.

    "How dare you speak about my ship like that, you damn... Hm?!" He couldn''t even finish his sentence because Luffy suddenly looked at him, releasing an immense pressure.

    "What did you just say?" Luffy asked sharply, his piercing gaze stopping the man in his tracks and making his eyes widen. This Holy Knight, even as one of the seven most powerful, possessing strength equivalent to an Admiral, knew it wasn''t enough to confront the man in front of him. Besides, he had an urgent mission.

    ''Damn it, focus on the mission,'' he murmured internally, feeling nervous. His lips began trembling, but he forced a smile, as if slapping his own Tenryuubito pride.

    "Forgive me if my ship doesn''t please you, Miss Lucy," he said, each word sounding like a knife stabbing his heart. Speaking to someone so beneath him was humiliating.

    "Oh, no problem, dude. You''re really kind," Lucy said with an enthusiastic smile. "Anyway, I still think this ship is horrible, a baka-ship," she added, keeping her smile as if she hadn''t just insulted him.

    The Shichibukai debated internally whether or not he should kill the girl, but with Luffy there, he knew he had to tread carefully. ''Remember the mission, remember the mission,'' he repeated to himself, forcing another smile to mask his frustration.

    Luffy observed the entire exchange and simply sighed. "Let''s go. Anyway, are we continuing on your ship or not? I''m getting a bit tired of flying," Luffy said, feigning nonchalance.

    The man quickly nodded. "Of course, let''s proceed." And so, everyone boarded the bizarre ship.

    "Where''s the kitchen?" Lucy asked immediately.

    The Shichibukai, feeling immense nervousness at the thought of someone "inferior" touching his precious ship, hesitated once again, but under Luffy''s sharp gaze, he quickly gestured with his hand. "It''s right over there, Miss Lucy. Please, make yourself at home," he murmured, trying to sound amiable.

    Lucy darted off, already starving, without even asking her brother for her bag of meat, preferring to grab things quickly from the kitchen.

    "Well, let''s get started," Luffy said seriously, turning to the man. "You sought me out to join my crew. But tell me, exactly, why do you want to abandon the government and join me—a criminal wanted across the world and, as far as I know, the most wanted man alive right now?" Luffy asked, maintaining a firm tone and staring at him with sharp eyes.

    "Lord Luffy, I am a great admirer of your work over the past years," the man began, forcing a smile that barely concealed his tension. "I follow each of your feats. I would very much like to be recruited and follow you," he continued, but the lack of sincerity in his words was evident even to someone who didn''t use observation haki.

    "I already have a fan club in my fleet. I don''t need another one. Tell me the real reason you want to join my crew. Don''t give me this foolish talk," Luffy said in a not-so-friendly tone, staring him down. He wanted to test how far the man would go.

    The Shichibukai looked at him, a little concerned, but eventually nodded. "I''d like to expose myself to the World Government," he replied, lying once again.

    Luffy raised an eyebrow, wondering what excuse the man would come up with now, and continued. "Tell me more about that," he said, as the man seemed to debate with himself about what to say.

    Inside, the Shichibukai thought: ''I want to join your crew to steal information and pass it on to my superiors before we destroy all of you. I also plan to kill you and your sister, you damned inferior beings who dare to challenge us Shichibukai! The true gods of this world!'' If he had been honest, that''s what he would have said. Instead, he swallowed hard and kept speaking in a much more polite tone to mask his true intentions, scratching his hands as if in submission.

    "About that... I''m just a bit surprised," he tried to compose himself. "Are you sure about this, Luffy?" he asked, ignoring Lucy since getting angry at her now would be pointless, no matter how much she was devouring what he considered precious.

    "Well, I know some interesting things. If you pass the test, I might even tell you," Luffy said in a casual tone.

    The man quickly nodded. "Of course, Lord Luffy! I am at your service," he replied, forcing a friendly smile, even as veins of rage subtly appeared on his forehead while watching Lucy return to the fridge to consume whatever was left.

    Luffy wanted to laugh at the situation. He found it all incredibly amusing, so long as the man didn''t cross the line by trying to attack his sister. They had plenty of fun as they continued along the route, so Luffy quickly sped up the ship. He wanted to reach Zephyr, the "Black Fist," as soon as possible.

    Luffy had a problem. He knew that, at this moment, something grand was being plotted—something capable of creating massive chaos in the New World and potentially causing the planet''s destruction if left unchecked. If Zephyr succeeded, there was no one currently in a position to stop it. The timeline had already been disrupted since Luffy''s interference during the Marineford War.

    That was why Luffy had to act on his own, steering away from the fleet headed to Wano. After all, even as a pirate, the New World was now his home, and he wouldn''t allow it to be destroyed.

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