At this point, everyone's gaze collectively turned towards Neptune and the Right Minister.
The Right Minister looked embarrassed, helplessly glancing at everyone, and began to explain,
"It's not like that... To be honest, that treasure chest didn't contain treasure, but bombs. Once opened, it would cause a violent explosion."
The Straw Hat Pirates were a bit confused; was this some unique hobby?
"Why would they set a bomb trap inside?!" Even Neptune found it a bit absurd; as king, he didn't know that the national treasure contained bombs.
The Right Minister hurriedly explained,
"Because ten years ago, the treasure chest was looted by unknown people. At that time, we thought if anyone tried to steal it again, we'd make them suffer, so we put many bombs in the box. Once opened, it would cause a violent explosion... Because I was responsible for safekeeping the key to the treasury... so..."
Orochimaru witnessed the scene, yawned boredly, and lazily said,
"Whatever, I'll take that box of bombs. I'll give it to Usopp and Franky to research later. Maybe it can become excellent strategic material. After all, the price of ammunition in the black market is ridiculously high now."
Franky and Usopp nodded in agreement. Indeed, for some unknown reason, the price of black market ammunition had skyrocketed in the past two years, and they happened to need it.
Orochimaru suddenly felt his nose itch and secretly thought,
The next stop is Punk Hazard. Doffy is probably missing him.
Seeing this, Neptune finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once the treasures were packed and supplies purchased, under everyone's farewell, the Straw Hat Pirates joyfully left Fish-Man Island, making a promise with Shirahoshi to meet again in the future.
Orochimaru looked at Queen Otohime waving enthusiastically on the shore, feeling a bit emotional. The World Conference with Queen Otohime should be very exciting... but it had nothing to do with him.
Back on the sunny, Nami stood in the center of the large bathhouse, happily rinsing her body with clouds.
Her gaze fell on Orochimaru, who was sitting on the edge of the bath, his face flushed by the rising steam.
His wings also looked a bit listless, feathers wet and drooping. He sat there, seemingly dizzy from soaking too long.
[There's an image, but you might not see it, hehe, there's a censored version in the circle.]
Seeing this, Nami couldn't help but smile.
"Orochimaru, want to cool off together... experience the technology of Weatheria?"
Orochimaru stared blankly at her cloud and nodded.
Nami directly split half of the cloud above her head and moved it over. The cool rainwater hit his body, and Orochimaru instantly felt alive again.
Nami nodded in satisfaction. He had indeed been soaking too long, as Orochimaru was already there when she arrived.
So she turned to look at Chopper by the door.
"A cool shower feels so good... Chopper... do you want to join?"
"Oh? Me? ⁰ ꈊ ⁰, I don't need to. I just wiped myself two days ago."
After speaking, Chopper stood at the door, looking up with longing at the cloud.
"Speaking of which, that cloud looks like cotton candy, it looks so delicious."
Nami chuckled, "You can't eat this."
"Is that so? So it's not sweet cotton candy," Chopper was a bit disappointed, still looking at the cloud with reluctance.
Orochimaru's thoughts, however, were entirely drawn by Chopper's phrase,
"wiped myself two days ago."
This meant... Chopper, after being soaked in seawater, hadn't bathed for at least a week.
Orochimaru got up and walked over, bent down and picked up Chopper, intending to give him a forced bath, but as he stooped, he came face to face with Brook and Sanji peeking from behind the door.
The two stared blankly at the semi-naked Orochimaru, their minds blank. Immediately after, their faces instantly flushed crimson, nosebleeds gushed uncontrollably, and then they fell straight to the ground.
Orochimaru looked at the two and nodded. It seemed he was still attractive. Doffy was indeed no good.
Orochimaru carried Chopper into the bath, held the deer tightly, and without a word, immersed Chopper in the tub.
A moment later, Nami, who was bathing, suddenly saw something unusual outside the window and ran out in a panic.
Orochimaru, however, seemed to not hear, pulling back Chopper who was trying to escape.
"Don't worry, they won't die... giving you a bath now is the important thing."
The sunny shook violently, but Orochimaru's body remained motionless, still maintaining his original posture, carefully rubbing Chopper's fur, and even taking out pet-specific, cotton candy-scented shower gel from the shop.
Under Orochimaru's meticulous care, Chopper was quickly captivated by the sweet atmosphere created by the cotton candy-scented shower gel.
He closed his eyes contentedly, fully immersed, as if gently wrapped by a cloud of happiness. His previous resistance to bathing had long vanished.
Sure enough, a moment later, the shaking of the sunny gradually stopped.
Brook's melodious violin music came from the deck. The soothing melody was like a gentle sea breeze, calming the ripples in everyone's hearts.
The whale slowly carried the sunny upwards. Everyone involuntarily looked up at the sunlight on the water from the seabed. They squinted slightly, their faces filled with a peaceful and serene expression,
as if time had stopped for this beautiful moment.
Everyone's thoughts couldn't help but drift, and scenes of their arduous training over the past two years for reunification flashed through their minds.
Luffy, under Rayleigh's guidance, repeatedly challenged his limits and honed his Haki;
Zoro, at Hawkeye's residence, sparred day and night with the baboons, perfecting his swordsmanship;
Nami, on Weatheria, delved into meteorological knowledge and navigation techniques;
Usopp, on a mysterious island, studied plants with insect teachers, continuously strengthening his shooting and invention abilities;
Sanji, on Okama Island, tempered his body and mind in harsh environments, improving his cooking and leg techniques;
Chopper, in the Torino Kingdom, diligently explored new fields of medicine, enriching his medical skills;
Robin, during her training with the Revolutionary Army, delved into the mysteries of the poneglyph, enhancing her archaeological expertise;
Franky, on Karakuri Island, used high-tech resources to modify and strengthen his body and weapons;
Brook performed everywhere, further honing his soul power and musical talent.
As for Orochimaru, he was spoiled by Doffy.
At this moment, Orochimaru also appeared on the deck, holding Chopper. The group looked at the sunlight on the water, filled with emotion, because they were about to
step into the New World, full of unknowns and challenges. A new journey of adventure was about to begin.
Looking at the gradually approaching water surface, an uncontrollable excitement and anticipation surged in everyone's hearts. They spontaneously began to count down in unison.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!"
Each number seemed to carry their aspirations and ambitions for the New World, echoing on the sunny.
As the last number fell, the sunny broke through the water, splashing up huge waves.
New World reached!
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"