Chapter 39 Hahahaha, I did it!
In the center of Cocoa West Village.
The setting sun cast its last brilliant orange-red hue upon this hardworking land.
"Hahaha..."
"The banquet is starting—!!!"
With Luffy's shout, the entire village of Cocoyasi seemed to respond to the command, instantly immersing itself in an atmosphere of joy.
The villagers sang and danced around the bonfire, celebrating the freedom they had longed for for many years.
The aroma of wine and grilled fish mingled with the sea breeze, and laughter dispelled the gloom that once shrouded Cocoa West Village.
Noki sat high beside Nami, but her gaze went beyond the flickering firelight and toward the direction of the Dragon Empire.
A hint of doubt flickered in her eyes, and she couldn't help but ask Nami, who was sipping her fruit wine beside her:
"Nami, what are your friends doing?"
"The banquet is so lively, why not invite them over to celebrate together?"
"My friend?"
"You mean...V?"
Nami paused slightly as she raised her glass, and after a moment of silence, she answered:
I advise you not to do that.
Her voice was soft, yet it carried an unspoken admonition:
"V is enjoying himself right now and doesn't want anyone to bother him."
"Don't worry about it."
"As for what he's doing?"
Hehe~
Nami smiled slightly, her expressionless face:
"It's best if you never find out about this."
If Nojiko knew that V was dismembering fish-men and had even cut his own arm...
Who knows what kind of associations she might make?
During the day, I can spend half a day asking all sorts of questions about my robotic arm.
To avoid disturbing others, Nami chose to keep the truth hidden.
"Tch, so mysterious."
Nojiko stared intently at Nami.
But a few seconds later, she chuckled:
"but..."
"You seem to be really enjoying your life right now."
"Me?" Nami stared wide-eyed and pointed to the tip of her nose.
"I enjoy my life now!?"
"Is there?"
She glanced up at Luffy and Usopp, who were dancing naked, Zoro, who was drunk and holding a Wado Ichimonji, pouring out his heart, and Sanji, who was surrounded by a group of girls, laughing so hard that snot was coming out of his nose, and showing off his fancy cooking skills...
And V, who is tirelessly dissecting the corpses of fishmen in the Dragon Empire.
Nami suddenly shivered.
Perhaps we should skip this kind of enjoyment?
...
...
After a night of celebration, Cocoa West Village fell into a peaceful slumber.
The embers of the campfire emitted wisps of smoke, and the sounds of last night's celebrations were replaced by the gentle caress of the waves.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the faint light illuminated the dilapidated outline of the Dragon Empire.
Just then, a naval warship silently docked at the pier next to the ruins of the Evil Dragon Empire.
The deck was lowered, and a group of naval soldiers marched down the gangway in neat formation.
The leader was a short man with a pointed snout, rat-like whiskers, and darting eyes—Captain of the 16th Naval Division, Rat.
He wore an ill-fitting military uniform, a sly and greedy smile playing on his lips.
"Tsk tsk tsk..." He looked at the ruins of Dragon Paradise and rubbed his hands together. "I never thought... that arrogant guy, Ah Long, would fall overnight."
"This wasn't done by me or my men. That Shichibukai has no right to blame me later."
In fact, the atrocities committed by the Arlong Pirates were no secret within the East Blue Navy.
However, all the naval officers in the East Blue knew perfectly well that behind Arlong stood one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe.
It was precisely because Arlong occupied the East Blue that Jinbe was willing to serve the Navy as a Shichibukai.
For the Navy's top brass, exchanging the Konomiya Islands, consisting of a mere twenty-odd villages, for a world-class combatant of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to be stationed there was undoubtedly an extremely worthwhile deal.
As for what will happen to the Konomi Islands under the rule of the fishmen...
But who would care?
Colonel Rat twitched his nose, looking around like a hyena that had smelled carrion.
A naval soldier stepped forward and reported: "Colonel, there are numerous signs of battle at the scene, as well as...fishman blood."
The mouse's eyes lit up: "Bloodstains? The corpse? Ah Long's treasure?"
"No, we didn't see any bodies, and the treasure vault was empty, as if it had been emptied out."
"What?!" The rat's face changed, and it shrieked, "Who did this?! Ah Long has amassed a huge fortune over the years! Search! Turn the entire ruins upside down and find it!"
The sailors immediately dispersed and began searching through the ruins.
Suddenly, a suppressed, almost distorted, maniacal laugh came from the depths of the ruins of the Dragon Empire.
V suddenly appeared in the center of the ruins of the Evil Dragon Empire. Even though he looked a little tired, he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
"Hahaha...I did it!"
"I finally did it!"
"Luffy, Zoro... Oh, right, they all went to a banquet."
V's laughter abruptly stopped, and he muttered a complaint:
"These guys really have no sense of loyalty whatsoever."
"Not one of them stayed with me."
Although this was a banquet invitation that V personally declined.
At that time, he was already so engrossed in exploring the mysteries of the fish-man's body that he couldn't extricate himself.
Where would they find the energy to attend any celebratory banquets?
After spending nearly a day, he finally obtained everything he wanted from the bodies of hundreds of fish-man pirates.
"I have to share this good news with someone," V muttered to himself.
Returning home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night.
Having successfully solved the problem of Devil Fruit users' fear of the sea, his desire to show off was now overflowing.
However, at that moment, a group of naval soldiers suddenly surrounded them.
"Halt! Who are you!?"
"Huh? The Navy?"
V was slightly taken aback.
Only then did they notice the group of uninvited guests.
But the next second, the corners of his mouth suddenly turned up.
"You've come at the perfect time! I was just looking for someone to test my results!"
"Results!?"
Colonel Mouse pushed past the soldiers and stepped forward, his small eyes darting around as he sized up V.
He instinctively felt that something was wrong with the person in front of him, but greed overcame his vigilance:
"Results? What results?"
"What are you doing in these ruins? Did you hide Ah Long's treasure here?!"
"Treasure?" V chuckled and spread his hands. "That kind of thing means nothing to me."
"However... if you insist on saying it, it should be my partner who took the treasure."
"What!? You have accomplices!?" Colonel Rat was stunned, then his eyes were instantly filled with greed.
"Take me to your accomplices!"
"Otherwise, don't blame my men for being blind with their guns!"
"Oh, really?"
V's prosthetic eye swept over the navy personnel present, a frivolous and playful smile playing on his lips.
"Then let's see..." His voice suddenly turned cold, "whose 'subordinates' are stronger!"
"Time to stretch my muscles!"
"Buggy the Clown!"
V raised his left hand and made a light swirl in the air.
Whoosh!
A ripple in space spread out like water.
"Yay! Hahaha!!!"
A burst of extremely arrogant laughter erupted from the spatial ripples!
Suddenly, a figure burst out from the void and landed steadily in front of V!
That figure—
Almost no skin or flesh was exposed on his entire body!
At first glance, the first thing you see is its mechanical structure, making it look like a man-made robot.
Dark red energy patterns flowed at the joints of its limbs and torso;
Half of his face was covered by a pair of tactical goggles that covered half of his face, and a scarlet light flashed beneath the lenses;
His face was painted with clown camouflage, but his comical red nose was still eye-catching.
It is equipped with two sets of foldable mechanical wings on its back. The surface of the wing membrane has a streamlined pattern like a fish fin and a faint wet sheen when unfolded.
"I didn't expect it to be my turn to perform so soon."
"Is this group of marines the enemy, V?"
Bucky moved his brand-new alloy arm, his knuckles making a soft, mechanical "click-clack" sound.
At this moment, his original resistance to V and the cybernetic modifications had long since vanished.
Bucky felt a terrifying power surging within him, far surpassing anything he had ever experienced before...
What do you mean by working for three years?
What kind of indenture?
If V can really make him keep getting stronger, so what if he works for someone else his whole life!?
He now fully believes that V can make him stronger and stronger until he surpasses Shanks.
If that's the case, why is he even resisting?!
You can gain power by giving your body.
To this, Buggy had only two words to say:
Oh my god, it smells so good!!!
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End of this chapter...