Over on Luffy's side, after seeing Orochimaru disappear, Luffy, as expected, lost his mind in anger and attacked Kuma.
He had heard Orochimaru talk about Kuma, but Luffy had been unconscious at the time and didn't know what Kuma looked like, nor did he understand the meaning of being'sent flying.' After all, for Luffy, such discussions were merely about participation.
But if he couldn't win, he just couldn't win... With Kizaru's arrival, everyone felt even more despair.
The group finally realized that against an Admiral and a proper Shichibukai, they didn't even have a chance to fight back. They also understood why Orochimaru had been so anxious... This feeling of powerlessness was pure despair... Luffy looked at Zoro lying at Kizaru's feet, and he finally admitted that Orochimaru was right... Even giving their all wasn't enough... Finally, he let out a powerless cry.
"Everyone... run... run with all your might! Survive! We're not strong enough right now... Listen to Orochimaru..."
The fleeing Straw Hat received a chance to catch their breath due to Rayleigh's arrival... As expected... Kuma intervened again... Luffy watched his Companions disappear one by one before his eyes and finally remembered Orochimaru's words.
If it weren't for Kuma, they wouldn't even be able to escape. Looking at Kuma in front of him, Luffy cried in despair... "Why... What's wrong with me... I can't even save a single Companion/Crewmate..."
Rayleigh attracted Kizaru's attention. Kuma looked at the crying Luffy in front of him and squatted down.
"Don't cry... That child would be sad if he knew. He should have told you all, it's all right... Go on your journey... You all are still too early."
Kuma's paw-padded hand patted Luffy.
With this, the entire Straw Hat disappeared from Sabaody Archipelago... Their fate unknown.
Time accelerated, and Orochimaru on the other side had already arrived at Loguetown.
Orochimaru emerged from the bubble, looking at his dirty clothes, frowning uncomfortably. He urgently needed a bathhouse... Suddenly, an excited voice came from behind him.
"O-O-O-Orochimaru-senpai!!!!"
Orochimaru turned his head at the sound, only to see a green pompadour, holding a newspaper, wearing a yellow striped suit with a yellow fur collar. It was a punk looking at Orochimaru with an excited expression.
Orochimaru frowned at the person, walked over, pinched his chin, and rotated his face from side to side to examine him... Pointed teeth, nose ring, striped tattoos near his eyes.
Never seen him before... But why did he feel an itch in his hands? Orochimaru, following his heart, slapped the person's face. Instantly, he felt a wave of satisfaction, as if he had chugged a large glass of ice-cold cola.
Bartolomeo covered his right cheek with his right hand, supporting his right wrist with his left hand (referencing the 'Mama, love me again' meme).
He looked on the verge of tears, incredibly wronged.
"Senpai... Why did you slap me?"
Orochimaru looked at his palm, his mouth twitching... Why did a phrase suddenly appear in his mind?
"Why are they all One Piece fans! But he gets to meet the real person!"
The 10% of the Blue Star person he had fused with was truly incurably ill. What kind of things were in the depths of his soul? This situation had happened several times already, hadn't it?
This was only one-tenth of the resentment, and it was already so deep... Orochimaru felt that the Blue Star person must have been a great unlucky soul.
Orochimaru coughed, looking somewhat embarrassed at Bartolomeo. He had just explored his memory and found that this should be a fervent fan of the Straw Hat... Harmless, even loyal.
He looked at his palm, intending to gloss over it.
"It's nothing... This is a show of love."
Bartolomeo's eyes lit up at his words.
"Then, Orochimaru-senpai, can you love me again!"
"Uh... what's... what's your name...?" Orochimaru's mouth twitched, almost losing control of his expression, and quickly skipped the topic.
Bartolomeo suddenly realized he hadn't introduced himself.
"Oh, oh, oh... Orochimaru-senpai! I'm Bartolomeo! Just call me Barto!
I'm a fan of the Straw Hat Pirates! I greatly admire Luffy-senpai and all the other senpais!
I collect all the newspapers and bounty poster of the senpais!
If... if possible! Please give me an autograph..."
Bartolomeo bowed 90 degrees, holding up Orochimaru's first bounty poster... This time, it was Orochimaru's eye that twitched. Why did this scene look so familiar?
Orochimaru took out a brush from his system space, quickly signed his name, and tossed it over.
"Is there a place where I can take a bath?"
Bartolomeo, having received the autograph, joyfully hugged the bounty poster.
Then, looking at Orochimaru's clothes, he slapped his head. How could he be so thoughtless? As a fervent fan of the Straw Hat, how could he forget that Orochimaru-senpai loved cleanliness the most? He had let him wear dirty clothes and talk to him for so long.
"Orochimaru-senpai, please come with me. There's a hot spring inn here that my subordinate opened."
Orochimaru sprawled in the hot spring, eyes comfortably narrowed... Indeed, after a battle, one should relax... He took the place of the waiter, Bartolomeo, changed into a new set of clothes, knocked on the door, and after getting permission,
knelt by the hot spring and handed Orochimaru iced milk. According to interviews in the gossip section, the clean-loving Orochimaru-senpai was quite troubled by his height, so his favorite drink was nutritious milk.
Orochimaru contentedly chugged the milk, feeling the fatigue in his body being healed.
Bartolomeo, with a towel wrapped around his hand, had a completely innocent expression (• ‿ •), as if he were just a hot spring employee.
"Senpai... Do you need a back-scrubbing service?"
As a qualified fan, having impure thoughts about one's idol in front of them was impolite.
"No, thank you, but I could use a hair wash."
Orochimaru was not accustomed to letting unfamiliar people scrub his back. Previously on the ship, Chopper, Zoro, and Usopp took turns.
Brook and Sanji, those two "perverts," were kept far away by Nami, as they had a history of misbehavior and were already forbidden from bathing with Orochimaru.
Franky was more unique; he usually soaked in cola. His distinctive "perversion" was completely different from the others.
Bartolomeo, seeing Orochimaru deep in thought, was very considerate. He put a petal-shaped anti-eye-irritation shampoo cap on Orochimaru.
He very carefully first massaged Orochimaru's scalp with a comb. After his hair was smooth and soft, he gently rubbed it with shampoo, avoiding excessive foam.
Orochimaru enjoyed the hair-washing service, thinking about his grave-digging plans for later. With Bartolomeo, this fervent fan, he wouldn't have to do it himself... And as a native of Loguetown with a considerable number of subordinates, he should easily find Roger's tomb. It would be another day of slacking off.
However, before fully performing Edo Tensei, he still needed to experiment to see if other things could be used to attach souls.
After all, that was Ace's irresponsible father. Before performing a complete Edo Tensei, he still needed to symbolically obtain the person's consent.
If live sacrifices were still required, then he would have to consider the problem of kidnapping... But Orochimaru felt it probably wouldn't come to that.
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