"Wow! I never imagined your ship could not only sail across the sea but actually fly too. That's amazing!"
Ever since they left that stretch of terrible weather behind, Carrot had been like a rabbit let loose in a field, dashing back and forth across the deck without a moment's rest.
"So this is the sea? It's so beautiful!"
"It is, right? The sea is vast. All kinds of strange things can happen out here."
Chopper was in a particularly good mood. Finally, someone of the same species had come aboard. He was no longer the only one.
Watching the two "kindred spirits" chat endlessly, Leno curled his lip in disdain.
He had even thought about introducing Chopper to a nice deer girl. In the end, the guy couldn't even string together a full sentence in front of her.
What a waste of all that experience. He hadn't learned a single thing from him.
While he was grumbling and mocking Chopper under his breath, Nojiko walked over and asked softly,
"Alo, are we really heading straight into BIG MOM's territory like this?"
"Yeah. We don't really have a choice."
He wrapped an arm around Nojiko's waist, rubbing his cheek lightly against hers before opening his palm. A Vivre Card lay there, slowly shifting direction.
He had gotten it from Pedro. It belonged to Pekoms.
"Sooner or later, we'll have to face her anyway."
"Haha… This time, we're going all out! I'm fired up!"
Yamato swung her Kanabo across the deck, the weapon slicing through the air with fierce momentum.
She had been looking forward to fighting one of the Four Emperors for a long time.
After taking down BIG MOM this time, only Kaido would remain. Just wait! She would surpass him one day.
Knowing this battle could be a tough one, Kuina and the others were each making their own preparations.
Even Baby 5, who had only recently boarded the ship, was busy organizing her firearms. No one knew how she assembled them so quickly.
Despite knowing they were about to face one of the Four Emperors, no one showed even the slightest trace of panic or tension.
Even the timid Chopper still had the leisure to chat. Looking at the pack on Carrot's back, he asked curiously,
"Carrot, what are you carrying?"
"Luggage and lunchboxes…"
At the mention of it, Carrot perked up. She opened her backpack and began taking things out one by one.
As she kept pulling out carrot after carrot, Chopper was left speechless.
"How much did you bring?"
"It's enough for half a day at least. The sea is huge, right?"
She had prepared very thoroughly this time. The food in her pack alone would be enough for several laps around Zou.
With a proud expression, she declared confidently,
"It should definitely be enough to reach BIG MOM's territory!"
"Ahem… um…" After listening to Carrot's mysterious confidence, Chopper froze for a moment before speaking awkwardly. "I heard from Nami that it'll take at least ten days to half a month to get there…"
"Huh?!!!" Carrot shrieked dramatically. "Ten days… half a month? Just going straight takes that long? Is it really that big?"
"..."
Chopper fell silent. That was already considered close, okay? It wasn't like everything was as small as Zou.
Glancing at the overly dramatic little rabbit, Leno shook his head helplessly and followed the direction of the Vivre Card in his hand.
At that moment, a flash of red gleamed in his eyes.
He suddenly looked up, the corner of his lips lifting slightly, a spark of delight flickering in his gaze.
"So I finally caught you…"
Before the others—who had also sensed something—could ask, Leno raised his voice in warning.
"Everyone, brace yourselves. We're ascending fast!"
High above, watching the hot air balloon being pulled along by flocks of birds, Nami leaned forward and asked in confusion,
"Idiot, who's up there? They can fly too?"
"Tch. Who else? The president of the World Economy News, Morgans."
Leno let out a scoff. That guy really knew how to survive—flying around in the sky all day long. Even the World Government couldn't do anything about him.
But now that he had run into him, he was in for a world of suffering.
Hearing Leno's words, everyone was stunned.
They hadn't expected it to be the infamous Morgans.
The "Big News" himself, the man who scattered newspapers across every corner of the world and monopolized the news industry, had actually crossed paths with them.
With a grand wave of his hand, Leno stared at the hot air balloon ahead and said excitedly,
"Bring the ship closer. Don't let him get away!"
Five minutes earlier.
Inside the hot air balloon's studio, Morgans—in his birdman form, wearing a top hat and flashy floral shorts—was in a foul mood.
He was mentally cursing BIG MOM over and over.
Enough already!
Hosting a "Tea Party" every other day was bad enough, but she didn't even allow refusals.
The gifts were one thing. The real problem was the life-threatening danger.
Every time he went, his heart pounded with fear, terrified she might suddenly go mad and take him down with her.
Now that it was time for another Tea Party, Morgans had mustered all his courage to attend.
Just as he was stewing in resentment, a lookout suddenly turned and shouted excitedly,
"Big discovery! President, there's a ship sailing below. Judging by the flag, it belongs to adventurers!"
"What?!"
Morgans leaped over in a single bound, snatching the telescope from the lookout and peering down through the viewing port.
The moment his gaze landed on Leno through the lens, he saw the man already looking up at him, a faint smile on his lips.
Morgans' heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling surged within him.
His first thought was that he had been discovered.
Without hesitation, he tossed the telescope back and barked an order,
"Accelerate immediately! Full power!"
But just as the words left his mouth, the lookout's trembling voice rang out again.
"P-President… that ship is flying toward us!"
"..."
Standing still, Morgans took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the panic in his chest before speaking again.
"...Huff. Cancel acceleration. Maintain normal cruising speed."
If he didn't run, there might still be a chance to live. Besides, he probably couldn't escape anyway.
As far as he knew, he didn't have any real grudges with the Thunder God. At most, he had embellished a few reports about him.
He wouldn't be that petty… right?
"P-President… they've caught up!"
The lookout's voice sounded like a death knell. Even the other staff members wore expressions of horror.
How unlucky could they be? Even flying in the sky, they still ran into a big shot like this.
At that moment, Morgans calmly adjusted his bow tie and walked toward the studio door.
He opened it, then burst into hearty laughter and said respectfully,
"Ya ha ha ha… what a coincidence, Lord Thunder God."
##Discount##
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