Several buildings had collapsed into ruins; rubble rolled across the ground as dust and smoke filled the air.
Amidst the rubble, Allen lay battered and bloodied on a shattered stone slab, looking thoroughly wretched.
His abdomen was torn open, the flesh a mangled mess dyed in crimson blood. His twisted right arm hung limply, the muscles ruptured and oozing blood in a gruesome sight.
"Cough... cough, cough...!"
Allen coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. Propping his left hand against the stone slab behind him, he struggled to sit up and looked down at his injuries.
"Truly terrifying. Two more hits like that and I probably would have died..."
"Phew—"
Allen took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. He reached out, pressing against a nearby rock to support his body as he stood up.
Then, gritting his teeth, he wrenched his right arm, forcefully popping the dislocated joint back into place. However, he still couldn't move it; several bones inside had already been shattered.
*I wonder how Drake is doing after taking that punch,* he thought.
"Allen!"
"How are you holding up, Allen!"
At that moment, Sanji and the others ran in with panicked expressions. After a quick glance around, they spotted him.
They rushed over, unable to suppress their horror at the sight of Allen's mangled and bloodied body.
"How could this..."
Nami covered her mouth with both hands, so tense that tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Sanji hurriedly shouted toward the outside, "Hey! Where's the ship's doctor? Hurry up and get them over here!"
"Wait a minute, Sanji!"
Allen stopped him with a loud shout, pressing for answers. "What about Drake? How is he?"
"Hey! You're in this kind of state and you still want to fight?"
Sanji's voice carried a hint of anger, but seeing Allen's resolute gaze, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice,
"That guy looks pretty miserable too, probably about the same as you. But it seems they've given up on continuing the fight."
"Given up the fight?"
Allen furrowed his brows in confusion.
Sanji nodded and explained, "Someone came to inform them that the Marines have landed on the island. They didn't seem to want to fight them and are already preparing to retreat."
"Is that so..."
Allen's gaze turned thoughtful. Suddenly, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloodstained white teeth, and laughed.
"Since neither of us fell in battle, it comes down to who left the ring first. I won this fight."
"Is that really important, you idiot? If you keep fighting, you might die!"
Nami shouted angrily, her hands clenched tightly in worry.
Allen restrained his smile and gazed outside as the dust gradually settled.
Amidst the crowd, Drake, who was preparing to evacuate, stopped in his tracks. As if sensing something, he turned his head and looked over.
The two locked eyes across the distance for a couple of seconds. Allen withdrew his gaze, turned to Nami, and said calmly,
"Sorry, I cared too much about winning and losing. Let's just call it a draw this time."
Nami rolled her eyes hard and yelled at him, "Is that the point, you bastard?!"
"Well, you can't count it as my loss, right?"
"Who cares!!"
...
Soon, the rest of the crew from outside swarmed in.
Several ship doctors hurriedly ran forward to examine Allen's injuries. Looking at the shocking wounds, even they couldn't help but feel alarmed.
It was hard to imagine anyone being able to stand after suffering such severe injuries.
While the doctors were wrapping him in thick bandages, Allen turned his head to look at Sanji and said,
"Speaking of which, did you just say the Marines have landed?"
"Yeah, the town is already in chaos. With all the commotion here, the Marines will probably arrive soon."
Sanji replied, biting down on his cigarette.
Nami looked down at the Log Pose on her wrist and spoke up. "The magnetic field finished recording during the battle. We can set sail at any time."
"We finally get a vacation, and it's just one mess after another. Sigh."
Allen sighed, looking up at the sky.
However, even though the vacation was ruined and he had gotten himself covered in injuries, it wasn't entirely without gains.
From now on, the opponent for his Demon Brain's combat simulations could be switched from Arlong to Drake. Furthermore, after taking a severe beating, he had truly experienced the power of Armament Haki firsthand.
Especially during Drake's final explosive strike, Allen faintly sensed a similar energy hidden within his own body, akin to Armament Haki.
If he explored it properly during his simulated battles later, he felt there was a high chance he could draw this power out.
Just then.
"Puru puru puru."
The ringing of a Transponder Snail suddenly echoed through the area.
Everyone's gaze followed the sound, eventually landing on Sanji.
Sanji confusedly pulled the Transponder Snail from his pocket. As he picked up the receiver, the snail mimicked Sham's expression, its voice filled with excitement.
"Moshi moshi! Is this Bro Sanji? Is the captain with you?"
"Yeah, he's right next to me. What's wrong?"
"We have news, Captain! The Devil Fruit we commissioned the black market merchant to find—a seller just contacted the ship's Transponder Snail!"
The voice on the other end of the Transponder Snail switched to Buchi's. Hearing this, a hint of interest immediately appeared on Allen's face.
"What did they say?"
"He said he wants to sell two Zoan-type fruits for 400 million Berries each. He told us to contact him to arrange a trading location if we want them."
"Four hundred million Berries... Did he specify what fruits they are?" Allen asked.
The Transponder Snail's expression turned hesitant, looking troubled as it spoke.
"Well... we asked, but he said he doesn't know either. He can only guarantee that they are Zoan-type fruits, but he refused to disclose anything else."
"He doesn't know?"
Allen furrowed his brows slightly. That sounded far too contradictory.
If the seller had checked the encyclopedia, they should know exactly what Devil Fruits they were.
If they hadn't checked the encyclopedia, how could they guarantee they were Zoan types?
"Forget it, let's head back to the ship first. I'll contact him later," Allen said, dismissing his doubts.
*Click.*
Ending the call, Allen stood up and tried to move around again, but his right arm was still practically immobile.
As the old saying goes, severe bone and muscle injuries take a day or two to heal. He figured he would just eat more meat, eggs, and milk later to stock up on calcium.
Soon, the group cleaned up the battlefield, gathered the wounded, and left the area.
On the clock tower at the edge of the plaza, a man wearing an orange cowboy hat stood atop the spire, his black cape fluttering in the wind.
"A spectacular battle. A Supernova seed, and a potential rookie from the East Blue who got his bounty around the same time as Luffy..."
Ace held a few wanted posters in his hand, his gaze looking down at the plaza with great interest.
"If they manage to successfully enter the New World, I should recruit them under Pops' banner."
...
Not long after Allen's group left, a large number of Marines rushed hurriedly through the streets.
"To think they'd wreck the plaza like this. What a bunch of reckless fools."
Hina stepped forward, lightly biting down on a cigarette. She took off her gloves and brushed back her flowing pink hair, her white Justice coat swaying in the wind.
Behind her, Ironfist Fullbody and the newly enlisted Jango followed, their eyes turning into hearts as they swayed their bodies fluidly.
Looking at the devastated plaza before her, Hina muttered in a dissatisfied tone,
"It's rare for me to get a vacation, yet I still have to clean up this kind of mess. Hina is very angry about this. I recall you two have had contact with the Demon Lion Pirates before, right?"
"Yes, Captain Hina!"
Jango snapped to attention and leaned in with an eager, fawning expression.
"I don't know their captain, but their officers, the Nyaban Brothers, used to be my subordinates."
"Those two bastards. I just asked them to guard the ship, and they ended up getting kidnapped along with it."
Speaking of this, Jango's expression turned indignant.
"They made me wait on the coast for a whole day! A whole day! I was almost killed by Kuro, those two bastards!"
"Is that so? If you meet them, do you think you can successfully convince them to defect?"
Hina glanced back at him.
"Defect? Well, about that..."
Jango couldn't help but stroke his chin in thought before saying,
"Combined with my hypnotism, it shouldn't be a problem."
Hearing this, Hina looked thoughtful.
At that moment, a subordinate ran up holding a Transponder Snail. With hearts in his eyes, he saluted and reported,
"Reporting to Captain Hina! A warship under Captain Smoker is contacting you."
"Smoker?"
*Click.*
Hina paused in confusion before answering the call, immediately speaking in a complaining tone.
"What do you want, Smoker? Don't tell me you've stirred up trouble again. Hina doesn't want to clean up your messes anymore."
The Transponder Snail's eyes twitched twice, veins popping on its forehead, before it spoke in a deep voice.
"I heard you were in the area. I've received intel that there might be a major incident in Alabasta. Come over here."
"Hina won't..."
*Click.*
Before Hina could finish her sentence, the other end of the Transponder Snail hung up directly.
"That bastard Smoker, he does this every time...!"
Hina bit down on the cigarette in her mouth, her fists trembling as she turned away in a huff.
"Hina's vacation is ruined again. Let's go, we're heading to Alabasta!"
"Yes, Captain Hina!" they shouted in unison.
Power Stones, reviews, and comments— really helps a lot
Want to read ahead? Get access to 50+ extra chapters on my Patreon:
👉 patreon.com/Aragai_Sama