CHAPTER 272: [272] : A LONG-AWAITED VOYAGE! THE ALL-NEW STRAW HAT PIRATES!

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New World!

On the sea route from Wano Country to the Island of the Future, Egghead.

A lone pirate ship sailed onward.

The very wood of its construction radiated a majestic luster upon the sea, a testament to the preciousness of its materials. Even Treasure Tree Adam, hailed as the world’s strongest wood, could not compare to the quality of this vessel.

On its iconic, smiling sheep figurehead sat a figure wearing a straw hat.

And what most clearly revealed this ship’s identity was, of course, the Jolly Roger flying from its main sail—a skull wearing a signature straw hat.

A flag now known by all upon these seas.

The flag of the Straw Hat Pirates!

"Even now... to be able to sail on the Merry across the sea... it still feels like a dream,"

A beautiful woman with golden hair and an incredibly gentle aura commented, standing on the deck and gazing out at the distant ocean, a moving smile gracing her features.

"Well, Kaya, you did eat a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, which is even rarer than a Logia. Your physical strength is probably much greater than mine now," Nami replied, smiling brightly at Kaya.

Nami’s mind drifted back to their time in Syrup Village.

Back then, their pirate crew had consisted only of Luffy, Rowen, Zoro, and herself—and even she wasn’t an official member then, only truly joining after the Arlong incident was resolved.

Usopp joined after their voyage from Syrup Village.

Back then, their crew was just a fledgling, unknown group.

Only Rowen, having displayed his Conqueror’s Haki—had any sort of reputation on the seas.

As for Kaya, she couldn’t even dream of sailing the seas. Her body was so frail she couldn’t even walk for long periods, confined to her room to recuperate.

It was for this reason that Rowen had only promised to take her to sea in the future, not bringing her aboard then.

But now, Rowen and Luffy had both become Emperors.

Rowen, even more so, had become the undisputed hegemon of the era—the man who had branded the age with the name of Sky Sovereign.

Even her own bounty had soared to 600 million berries, making her a notorious pirate in her own right. Though her timid nature made her dislike the high bounty, Nami was still thrilled to be a great pirate, to be closer to Rowen.

And Kaya, having eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nine-Tailed Fox, had left her congenitally weak body far behind.

It was a thing of the past.

She now sailed the seas with them, aboard the ship she had gifted them, the newly upgraded Merry.

"Kaya’s Devil Fruit

is about to Awaken, isn’t it? Once it does, your physique will be even stronger than mine,"

Vivi added, walking over to Kaya’s side with a smile.

Unlike Nami, Vivi had met Kaya much later, but as one of Rowen’s women, she naturally displayed the ’Disposition’ befitting the woman of a King.

Vivi and Kaya got along very well.

After all, with Kaya’s incredibly gentle nature, no one could dislike her.

"It’s all thanks to Rowen’s help," Kaya said, blushing at the mention.

Hearing Kaya’s words, Vivi and Nami also blushed.

Rowen’s help... WHAT KIND OF HELP???

Of course, it was through Rowen’s unique training method.

Once one’s spiritual power was strengthened, not only did Haki improve, but the speed of mastering a Devil Fruit also became faster.

Though Kaya didn’t possess the heart of a powerhouse, for Rowen’s sake, she was training her Mythical Zoan fruit with all her might.

Combined with Rowen’s special methods, Kaya was not only reaching the pinnacle of power but also bringing her fruit to the very brink of Awakening.

And as a Mythical Zoan, though the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit’s combat abilities weren’t top-tier, once Awakened, it would grant its user immense physical power.

Disregarding actual combat strength, in terms of raw physical power, a Mythical Zoan user of the same level was definitely stronger than a Logia user of the same level.

So once Kaya’s ability Awakened, in terms of physical energy alone, she would rank among the top members of the crew.

"Mythical Zoan users really have a massive advantage. Kaya’s Armament Haki is improving so fast," Nami sighed with emotion.

With Rowen’s help, Nami, who in the original story hadn’t awakened any Haki even upon reaching Elbaf. She now had finally awakened both Observation and Armament Haki.

However, with her timid nature, Nami’s progress in Armament Haki, even with Rowen’s help, was only average.

But Observation Haki, after awakening, was more like an amplifier for a powerhouse’s manifested five senses.

And in terms of her five senses, Nami was top-tier, even among the crew.

An excellent navigator needed to observe the sea’s conditions with incredible detail. Especially a genius navigator like Nami, who possessed the unique talent to sense climate changes with her body.

This innate ability was, in itself, a special kind of sixth sense.

It was because of this unique talent that after awakening her Observation Haki, Nami’s progress was astonishingly fast.

As for Armament Haki? It wasn’t that important for her anymore.

Her current fighting style didn’t require it.

"Nami, I’m hungry~"

A cute thundercloud floated out from Nami’s Sorcery Clima-Tact, floating by her side, blinking its long-lashed eyes.

"Ara, are you awake, Hera?" Nami smiled warmly, looking at the cute thundercloud.

This was a super thundercloud elemental Homie, created after Rowen obtained Big Mom’s Soul-Soul Fruit ability. He had used a piece of his own soul, combined with his Rumble-Rumble and Revive-Revive Fruit powers, to make it.

Its power was on a completely different level from Big Mom’s Zeus.

Rowen was a user of both the Soul-Soul Fruit and the Revive-Revive Fruit. In terms of Soul power, he was supreme on these seas.

Combined with the special thundercloud created by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—the power of its lightning was on par with the full power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit itself.

Meaning, this thundercloud’s lightning attacks were undoubtedly Admiral-level.

And because it was a special Homie with a soul, it could freely manipulate its lightning attacks with fine control, just like Big Mom’s Zeus. It could even make lightning bend and curve, making its attacks incredibly unpredictable.

And because it was also infused with the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, the cloud could convert soul power into the flames of the underworld, imbuing its lightning attacks with them.

It created a terrifying lightning infused with the fire of the soul.

Its devastating power was enough to make even a powerhouse on Kizaru’s level steer clear. Paired with Nami’s exceptional Observation Haki, the power of this technique was amplified even further.

Nami absolutely adored her new thundercloud.

Not just because its power made her attack power reach the Admiral level, even a prominent one at that.

But also because this thundercloud contained a part of Rowen’s soul.

Fighting with this thundercloud, Nami felt as if she were fighting side-by-side with Rowen.

(Because this new thundercloud was female, Nami had given her a name: Hera. Like the former Zeus, named after a god from ancient Greek mythology—

In Greek mythology, Hera was the female personification of natural forces and was often accompanied by lightning, which also fit the power of this thundercloud.)

Hera the Thundercloud. Nami’s newest and greatest power.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

Nami spun her Sorcery Clima-Tact, creating several small thunderclouds.

Hera happily ate these small thunderclouds, which were wrapped in a bubble-like membrane, her face full of bliss.

"Hera is so cute," Vivi also smiled. Because Hera contained Rowen’s soul, Vivi also felt a great affinity for her.

"But if Hera gets angry, she can be very scary," Kaya smiled.

"Cough! Cough!"

As Kaya finished speaking, a violent coughing sound came from nearby.

"..." Zoro, looking at Hera, had his eye twitching, and a few fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Before, if he angered Nami, at worst he’d get a beating. Though his head would hurt, it would heal quickly.

Now, if he angered Nami...

Hera would let the one who angered Nami understand the meaning of a soul-searing lightning strike.

The pain from Hera’s attacks—a combination of soul power and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—was inflicted directly on the soul.

It was an agony that even a tough guy like Zoro could barely withstand.

(As for why he was struck by Hera? Naturally, during the voyage, after taking a comfortable nap as usual, he had said something that angered the navigator.)

"HAHAHA, SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU DAMN MOSS-HEAD!" Sanji immediately burst into laughter.

"HUHHH?? Is Mr. No. 4 allowed to speak now?" Zoro glanced at Sanji.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY??"

Sanji instantly flared up. Wreathed in Haki, he launched a frantic barrage of kicks at Zoro.

"Hmph! It’s tough being a superior," Zoro taunted, parrying with his swords.

"Shishishishi! Go! Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy turned his head to cheer on the commotion.

Chopper and Usopp also cheered for Zoro and Sanji.

"ALL OF YOU, BE QUIET! DON’T WAKE ROWEN UP!"

CRACKLE! BOOM!

Nami’s entire body seemed to burn with angry flames.

Hera stopped eating her thundercloud bubbles, revealing an incredibly villainous expression. The white, fluffy cloud instantly transformed into a terrifying black thundercloud.

Countless bolts of violent lightning crackled around her, with streams of soul energy swirling in her vicinity.

"C-Conqueror’s Haki??"

Seeing the enraged Nami, Jinbe, who was at the helm, broke out in a cold sweat. For a moment, he even thought Nami possessed super-strong Conqueror’s Haki.

"S-SORRY..."

After being disciplined by Hera, Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp lay on the ground, apologizing miserably.

(Though Luffy’s Nika rubber body was immune to lightning attacks, he was not immune to Hera’s soul attacks.)

"Hahaha, your daily life is really interesting, Luffy," Ace said, walking over with a plate of meat. He casually waved it under Luffy’s nose.

Luffy’s nose twitched, and like a hungry dog pouncing on food, he devoured all the meat.

"DELICIOUS!" Luffy’s eyes sparkled.

"Sailing with you all, I’ve come to realize just how much trouble my little brother causes you. MY APOLOGIES," Ace said, bowing to everyone.

"Not at all, not at all."

Faced with such a polite Ace, the crew waved their hands dismissively.

They still found it unbelievable that the polite Ace was Luffy’s brother, even if they were sworn brothers.

"Shishishi, isn’t it fun sailing with them?" Luffy laughed happily. Though it was because he followed Rowen, Ace was ultimately on his ship, sailing with him.

Suddenly—

"Mmm!!!"

At this moment, a sound that was clearly someone waking up and stretching came from nearby.

A figure lying on the deck rubbed his eyes and slowly stood up.

"Sleeping on the deck of the Merry is still the most comfortable," Rowen said, stretching his neck with a smile.

"Rowen, you’re awake? Honestly, they still woke you up!!" Nami glared at Luffy and the others, making them shiver.

On the Merry, Nami was invincible. If you angered her, you could be thrown into a cage.

When they left Wano, Luffy, who had become an Emperor, had chosen a dangerous route and was promptly beaten up by Nami and locked in a cage to repent...

"Rowen, you’re the Strongest Emperor—yet you just sleep on the deck," Usopp said with a smile.

"What Strongest Emperor? Sailing with you bastards is the most fun, HAHAHAHA!" Rowen laughed heartily.

Everyone also laughed.

"My love~ I’ve made some afternoon tea and cakes," Hancock, her beautiful eyes in the shape of hearts, walked over with a plate of cakes.

"Mm, thank you for the trouble, Hancock,"

Looking at the plate of cakes—the man with a bounty of 6,058,000,000 Beri, Rowen, broke out in a cold sweat...

"Hahaha, only Hancock’s cakes can make Rowen sweat! Kaido and Big Mom working together couldn’t even do that!"

Jinbe laughed heartily.

Everyone also smiled.

"It’s snowing," Nami suddenly said.

The crew looked up.

The sea, which had been sunny and beautiful just a moment before, in the next second, began to be hit by a blizzard.

The unique climate of Egghead.

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