Question: Is there anything more tragic than your "parachute" failing while plummeting from the sky?
Answer: When your landing site happens to be a heavily guarded Marine fortress, and you just happen to be a "vicious" pirate currently making major headlines!
It has to be said—the Straw Hat crew's luck was truly abysmal this time. It was so bad that even a certain scheming blond Major General couldn't believe any pirate could be this unfortunate.
But even so, the instigator of this accident remained remarkably calm in the face of this highly unfavorable situation. It was hard to tell if he simply had a resilient mindset or if he was just completely heartless...
"Whoa, it's huge! Just where exactly is this place?"
On the coast of the Navarone base, a black-haired boy wearing a straw hat stood boldly at the entrance to the fortress. Shading his eyes with his hand, Luffy gazed toward the inner sea where the Going Merry had initially landed and muttered to himself:
"We were in such a rush to escape earlier that everyone got separated. I wonder where they all are now."
"Maybe... I should go look for them?"
However, the moment that thought popped into Luffy's head...
Grumble—!
The "temple of the stomach" of this dimwitted captain loyally expressed his most honest thoughts at that moment.
"Ah... I'm hungry..."
The expression on Luffy's face instantly became listless. He rubbed his belly and looked around.
"Alright, it's settled! My primary goal is to fill my stomach!"
With that, the impulsive troublemaker dove headfirst into the Marine fortress without a second thought...
On the shore, behind a massive jagged rock, a green-haired swordsman with three blades tucked into his waist was scratching his head with a look of pure confusion.
"Let me think... I should have been sleeping, and then suddenly it felt like someone kicked me hard in the head, and I woke up."
At this, the image of a certain love-struck cook's signature curly eyebrows flashed through Zoro's mind, and his face darkened.
(That bastard... I'm going to cut him one of these days!)
"And can someone tell me why, after waking up, I've appeared inside a Marine base?" The Three-Sword Style swordsman lightly stroked his chin.
At this moment, he actually felt a bit of empathy for the "crap out of luck" feeling Sherlock had described when he'd entered Laboon's stomach while asleep, or when he'd woken up on Skypiea.
Even with a mental fortitude as iron-clad as Zoro's, this sudden and drastic change in surroundings was a lot to take in.
"But having said that, this Marine base is a bit too big, isn't it?"
Poking half his head out cautiously, Zoro watched the searchlights sweeping across the distant cliffs. His brow furrowed, and then he uttered a sincere sentiment that left one speechless:
"Those guys better not get themselves lost..."
"Luffy, you bastard! If anything happens to Nami-san or Robin-chan in this Marine base, I'm going to kick you to death!"
Hiding behind a large tree, Sanji muttered to himself with a worried expression.
The blonde cook was feeling quite restless and desperately wanted to light a cigarette to soothe his nerves with some nicotine. However, a small squad of Marine soldiers was patrolling not far from the woods. Fearing that a glowing cigarette butt would give away his position in the night, the world-class smoker was forced to temporarily suppress his addiction.
(No, I can't stay hidden here by myself. I have to sneak into this Marine base before dawn!)
(Nami-san~~ Robin-chan~~ Please wait just a moment. Your heroic knight is coming right—)
Thinking this, the love-struck curly-brow took a deep breath and began to creep stealthily toward the patrolling Marines.
Elsewhere, amidst a dense patch of grass by the shore, a certain long-nosed man was holding a pair of binoculars, observing the movements in the distance.
Although the night was pitch black, Usopp—relying on his exceptional sniper's vision and the faint lights from the surrounding warships—could clearly see the situation in the inner sea.
(Thank goodness, the Merry is still safe!)
The thing Usopp feared most hadn't happened; the Marines hadn't been so heartless as to destroy the Straw Hats' somewhat worn-out little ship. This caused the long-nosed man to heave a quiet sigh of relief.
(But now, the Merry has been impounded by the Marines here...)
Surrounded by several Marine warships, the Going Merry gradually vanished from Usopp's line of sight. He lowered his binoculars and thought for a moment, deducing that the ship was being taken toward the fortress's shipyard.
(Luffy, Zoro, Sherlock... none of them are here. Dammit, am I the only one left?) Usopp's fists clenched tight, and his legs trembled uncontrollably with anxiety.
The guy was clearly scared to death, but when he thought of that little ship with its cute sheep head waiting for everyone to continue their voyage, the sniper's eyes instantly turned sharp.
"Wait for me, Merry!"
With a burst of resolve, Usopp confirmed his general direction and cautiously crept out of the grass.
On the shore, several Marines carrying standard-issue flintlock rifles were conducting their routine night patrol.
"By the way, do you guys know what just happened?" a young Marine soldier whispered to his comrades.
Marine A: "I'm not sure. The alarm rang for a bit and then stopped."
Marine B thought for a moment before whispering, "Could it be another 'combat drill'? But speaking of which, we've been having so many drills at Navarone lately that my ears are practically growing callouses from the alarm."
"Sigh, it can't be helped. Who told our fortress to go and lock up a 'dangerous person' like that recently?" Marine C said with a look of helplessness.
"Yeah, yeah..." Several Marine soldiers nodded in unison.
Cough, cough. One wondered how these soldiers would react if they knew the truth behind this "combat drill."
"I actually overheard some of the officers talking earlier," Marine D suddenly blurted out. "They said that tonight, an unmanned 'ghost ship' suddenly appeared in our G-8 fortress."
"A ghost ship?!" The soldiers were greatly surprised and began to discuss it in hushed tones.
However, these young Marines didn't notice that while they were chatting, several ears growing out of the shadows behind them were silently eavesdropping on every word they said...
Nearby, a graceful and beautiful figure was hidden behind the trunk of a towering tree, perfectly blending into the surrounding shadows.
"G-8? Is this the Navarone fortress, known as the 'Iron Wall' of the Marines? How very unfortunate..."
Lowering her arms from their crossed position over her chest, Robin deactivated her Hana Hana no Mi ability. A strange light flickered in her deep blue eyes.
"But from the sound of it, the Marines here think the Merry is a ghost ship? I wonder what their commander is plotting."
"And... who could this 'dangerous person' locked up here be?"
Robin fell into deep thought, her long fingers tapping rhythmically against her smooth cheek.
Perhaps it was a woman's intuition, but this intellectual beauty felt a vague premonition that the so-called "dangerous person" was closely related to her.
"Sigh... I suppose this kind of problem is best left to him to handle."
With a soft sigh, Robin looked up at the bright moon. Under its silver glow, she felt her lingering anxiety slowly begin to calm.
"Tell me, what should we do now? Sherlock."
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