"Raise the sails! Set off!"
At Luffy's command, the Going Merry slowly pulled up its anchor.
The white sails billowed in the sea breeze as the ship's bow sliced through the calm water, following the wide river that flowed out of Little Garden and heading toward the open sea.
The towering ferns and ancient trees that covered the sky along the riverbanks gradually drifted backward.
Ronan stood at the stern, gazing at the island that had changed their fate.
"The Indestructible Vajra Body is complete, and we've only just stepped onto the threshold of Haki."
He tightened his grip on the ebony staff in his hand, feeling the surging power flowing through his body.
"Alabasta… Crocodile. The current Straw Hat Pirates will probably give you quite the surprise."
However, just as the Going Merry was about to exit the river and enter the deep sea—
The previously calm water suddenly rippled violently, and an unsettling tremor rose from beneath the ship.
"What's going on?" Nami's expression changed as she gripped the railing tightly. "An earthquake?"
"No…" Ronan turned around, his gaze passing over the bow and settling on the dark, ominous stretch of sea ahead. A faint smirk curled on his lips.
"It's the island's final farewell gift… and the first test of our training."
A massive shadow rose rapidly beneath the water, as if an entire island were lifting itself from the depths.
An overwhelming sense of pressure descended upon the Going Merry.
"W-what is that?" Usopp clung desperately to the mast, his teeth chattering. "A whirlpool? Or some kind of current?!"
"BOOOOM—!!!"
A thunderous explosion shattered the silence of the sea.
Tens of thousands of tons of seawater were blasted into the sky before crashing down like torrential rain.
Before everyone's horrified eyes, an "island" rose out of the ocean.
No.
It wasn't an island.
It was a gigantic, despair-inducing fish head.
The goldfish was so enormous that it completely shattered the limits of human imagination.
Just the portion of its head above the water towered higher than the tallest mountain on Little Garden. Its rotating eyes resembled two bottomless, lifeless lakes, gleaming with greed and cruelty.
The "Island-Eater" — the Giant Goldfish.
It opened a gaping mouth large enough to swallow an entire fleet. Rows of razor-sharp teeth, each like jagged mountain peaks, gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Its enormous shadow instantly engulfed the Going Merry, turning day into night.
"S-so big!!"
Luffy stared upward, his eyes nearly popping out.
"If we made sashimi out of that, we could eat for a whole year!"
"Idiot! Is this the time to think about food?!"
Usopp collapsed onto the deck, tears and snot streaming down his face as his legs went weak.
"Luffy! Do something! We're going to get eaten! This is definitely the end for us!"
"So this is the legendary monster that can devour islands…"
Vivi looked at the ever-approaching abyssal mouth in despair, her peacock chain hanging limply from her hand.
"In front of a disaster-level monster like this… humans are just too small…"
Ronan gazed at the colossal beast that blocked out the sky and thought to himself:
"So it came, just like in the original story. Back then, Dorry and Brogy repaid their debt by using their combined attack—Hakoku—to kill this monster and clear the way for the Straw Hats."
"But now… if we want to survive, we'll have to rely on ourselves."
"Although…"
Ronan tightened his grip on the ebony staff, feeling the inner energy within his body surge like a raging sea. A wild, confident grin appeared on his face.
"With the strength we have now… do we really need anyone else's help?"
"Luffy," Ronan called out in a low voice.
"Yeah, I know!"
Luffy stepped forward and stood at the very front of the figurehead.
Facing a monster that would terrify any ordinary person, there wasn't a trace of fear on his face. Instead, fierce battle spirit burned in his eyes.
He turned toward his three companions behind him and shouted:
"Ronan! Zoro! Sanji! Time to test the results of our training!"
"Right." Ronan lifted his ebony staff, his posture straight as a pine tree as an invisible aura gathered around him.
"Hmph. Just what I wanted."
Zoro tied his bandana around his head and slowly drew Wado Ichimonji. A savage, confident grin spread across his face.
"I've been needing a tough enough whetstone for my blade."
"For a post-meal workout, this thing's a bit oversized."
Sanji elegantly adjusted his tie before stomping down hard. His right leg began to glow faintly red.
"But it's perfect for testing a new move."
Nami watched the four lunatics who looked excited in the face of certain doom and stomped her foot in panic.
"What are you idiots talking about?! Stop joking around and think of a way to escape! We're about to be eaten!"
"We can't escape, Nami."
Luffy spoke with his back to her, his voice unusually calm.
"With something that size, there's no time to turn the ship."
"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Nami shouted, on the verge of losing it.
"Charge through."
Luffy pointed straight at the enormous fish mouth that looked like the gates of hell.
"We go full speed ahead! Leave the rest to us!"
"C-charge through?" Nami froze.
She looked at the four figures standing before her like immovable mountains.
Luffy's overwhelming presence.
Zoro's razor-sharp edge.
Sanji's blazing intensity.
Ronan's deep, unfathomable calm.
In that moment, an inexplicable sense of safety filled her heart.
"…Alright."
Nami took a deep breath, and her eyes instantly hardened with determination.
She was the navigator of this pirate crew.
She had to trust her captain and fighters.
"If that's what you're saying… then we're going straight through!!"
Nami shouted her command.
"Going Merry! Full speed ahead! Target—the goldfish's throat!!"
"W-WHAT?! Are you serious?!" Usopp and Vivi clung to each other, screaming.
With the wind filling its sails, the Going Merry shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging straight into the dark abyss without hesitation.
Just one second before the giant goldfish could swallow the ship—
Luffy moved.
"Everyone! Attack with everything you've got!!"
Luffy bent his knees slightly, taking a stance similar to a sumo wrestler preparing to strike. Then he inhaled deeply.
"Gear Second — Vajra Giant Mode!!"
With that roar, the power of his Indestructible Vajra Body surged to its peak. His rubber cells began to rapidly split and expand under the stimulation of his inner energy and boiling blood.
"BOOM—"
Visible white steam erupted from his body.
Before Nami and Vivi's disbelieving eyes, Luffy's body rapidly expanded.
Three meters… four meters… five meters…
Until he reached six meters tall.
Standing at the bow, he transformed into a towering giant—his entire body crimson red, muscles bulging like coiled steel cables.
It was the pure embodiment of raw physical power, radiating suffocating heat and pressure.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
The giant Luffy pulled both arms back, and jet-black Armament Haki instantly coated his entire arms.
"GIANT… ROCKET CANNON!!!"
To Read60+ AHEAD advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146