Holding Princess Vivi, who was fast asleep, in a bridal carry—a true bridal carry in every sense of the word—Sherlock walked down the sand dune beside the roof.
The girl's body was very light and soft, feeling quite nice to hold. The virgin fragrance, resembling lilies, made Sherlock subconsciously savor it for a moment. Then he blinked, looking slightly awkward.
Actually, the Warlock is quite easily embarrassed. (Laughs)
Arriving outside the room where the Straw Hats were temporarily staying, Sherlock had just pushed open the door when he saw several white, unidentified objects flying toward him with a gust of wind.
—Mirror Reflection!
Ripples appeared in the air, and the white objects returned along their original paths at the exact same speed. Immediately following this were several screams as a few idiots collapsed in response.
"Don't play pillow fights this late at night," Sherlock said helplessly to Luffy and the others who had fallen to the floor, as he gently placed Vivi onto the bed.
It was already late at night, but Sherlock didn't feel sleepy in the slightest. So, he left the room again and walked outside.
"The weakness of a Logia... what is the weakness of sand? Intelligence is still too scarce," Sherlock thought silently to himself as he walked aimlessly.
Everything else had been planned out; the only problem now was how to confront and defeat Crocodile, a Logia user, head-on.
As he walked, Sherlock arrived in front of a large pit. He discovered that the uncle named Toto was still digging with all his might. His hunched back appeared quite conspicuous under the moonlight.
"Oh, you haven't slept yet, Mr. Glasses." Hearing footsteps, Toto turned around and smiled kindly at Sherlock.
"I am truly sorry. I was too agitated during the day," Toto bowed his head apologetically. "You are all doing this for Princess Vivi's sake. She is so lucky to have met such kind people like you!"
Sherlock smiled and waved his hand. "It's fine. As companions, this is what we should do."
Saying this, Sherlock subconsciously glanced at the white bandages wrapped around his left arm and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"Also, Uncle, it's so late. Why don't you go rest?"
"Hehe, because I have to prove it to my idiot son." Uncle Toto raised the spear in his hand. Since his last shovel had snapped when he hit Luffy, he had to use this as a substitute. This somewhat rusty spear was likely a weapon left behind when the Rebel Army evacuated.
"I want to prove to them that Yuba will not lose to the sand!" As he said this, Uncle Toto's wrinkled old face was filled with determination. His pair of cloudy old eyes shone like two burning candles, exceptionally dazzling in the dark night.
That light was named—Hope!
Perhaps touched by the old man's words, the corners of Sherlock's mouth curled into a slight smile.
"Let me help you, Uncle." After speaking, Sherlock glanced at the spear in Toto's hand, and a feeling of déjà vu suddenly rose in his heart.
(Come to think of it, didn't I also obtain a spear back on Little Garden?)
—Mirror Image Entity!
Whoosh. A blood-red mirror image of a spear, about two meters long, appeared out of thin air beside Sherlock. The shaft of this blood-red spear was covered in patterns resembling ghostly talismans, and the sharp tip was like a short sword, emitting waves of ferocious, baleful energy.
—Mirror Fusion!
After his training on the Going Merry these past few days, Sherlock had mastered Mirror Fusion to perfection. Now, his speed in performing Mirror Fusion was more than a notch faster than it had been on Drum Island.
Twofold.
Threefold.
Fourfold.
Fivefold!
As the number of fusions increased, the aura emitting from the blood-red spear climbed steadily. By the end, the spear's original form could no longer be seen clearly; it had turned into a beam of blood-red light surging with baleful energy, surrounded by a faint black mist. The oppressive aura made even the fine grains of sand on the ground jump uneasily.
As the spear floated up and down, sounds like muffled thunder resonated from the air, showing just how massive the energy contained within this weapon was!
"Th—This is..." Uncle Toto hurriedly crawled out of the sand pit. He subconsciously looked at the weapon of mass destruction emitting an extremely ominous aura and felt as if his heart were being gripped by invisible hands. The sensation that he might die in the next second made the old man's withered body tremble uneasily.
Sherlock frowned slightly. Ever since he ate the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, Sherlock could project a mirror image completely opposite in form to any object he stored in the mirror space.
The mirror image could not only be controlled freely and resized but could also undergo fusion to increase the weapon's power exponentially, becoming a terrifying existence that transcended mortal limits.
This was the Warlock's proudest ability to date. He had created mirror images of many things, such as muskets, bullets, knight's swords, high-explosive shells, blankets, and so on.
But this time, after projecting the mirror image of this spear, Sherlock felt an indescribable sense of dissonance. It was as if the floating blood-red spear had a will of its own, and this strange feeling became even stronger after the Mirror Fusion.
(But I just feel that controlling this spear is much easier than controlling the mirror images of other weapons...)
Shaking his head, Sherlock stopped thinking about it. He gently raised his hand, and with a thought, the spear radiating supreme ferocity immediately flew into mid-air. The tip pointed downward, its blood-red light pulsing erratically.
(Gathering and compressing are no problem. Now for the final step... Eruption!)
"Let me dig a well for you right here!" With that, Sherlock forcefully swung his raised hand down.
"God-Slaying Spear! Gungnir!"
The blood-red spear immediately bloomed with countless dazzling red rays. From a distance, it looked like a blood-red sun hanging in the endless night sky, illuminating the surrounding sandy ground in a deep crimson. Immediately after, this sun turned into a bolt of blood-red lightning, crashing ruthlessly toward the ground with exaggerated momentum.
In that instant, it seemed as if the endless dark night was split in two by a beam of blood-red light!
Uncle Toto subconsciously closed his eyes and shielded his face with his hands. After a moment, the suffocating pressure disappeared, but the violent explosion he expected did not ring out. Confused, he opened his eyes.
Then, the old man froze.
On the sandy ground, a massive deep pit with a diameter of about seven or eight meters had appeared abruptly. It was abrupt because the edges of the pit were far too smooth; it felt as if it had been forcibly pierced by an incredibly large steel needle.
The final step of Mirror Fusion—Eruption—was to release that inexplicable, massive energy all at once. Looking at it now, this move already possessed the style of Elbaf's mightiest spear—Hakoku (Sovereignty).
"Nice power, but unfortunately, the consumption is still too high. If I hadn't used that thing..." Sherlock pushed up his glasses, looking a bit weary. He needed to overcome his weakness of lacking stamina for prolonged battles as soon as possible.
Gurgle... Gurgle... The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder from the deep pit.
"Th—This... could it be..." The sound of flowing water, sounding like music from heaven, immediately pulled Uncle Toto out of his daze. He stumbled as he ran toward the deep pit.
Splosh! A clear spring suddenly sprayed out from the deep pit. The surging water instantly filled the pit and flowed outward, soaking the surrounding sand.
The birth of this water well seemed to bring new vitality and new hope to this city that had long lost its life.
Uncle Toto knelt on the sand in ecstasy, gulping down the hard-won water in large mouthfuls.
"This city is still alive! This country is also still alive! You idiot son, why did you..." As the withered old man spoke, he couldn't help but start crying. "I knew it—Yuba will not lose to the sand!"
Sherlock watched Uncle Toto's excitement and smiled knowingly. Then, he noticed the sand on the ground solidifying after being soaked by water. The eyes behind his lenses gradually lit up with a strange brilliance, and he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.
"That's right. This country will not lose to 'sand'!" Pushing his glasses up gently, Sherlock echoed the sentiment, his words carrying a double meaning.
Due to the intervention of World Government agents and the Marines, the Sand Crocodile was forced to order his subordinate Billions to hide the weapons and ammunition—which should have been provided to the Rebel Army long ago—in warehouses in three small port cities on the west bank of the Sandora River.
However, since Crocodile decided to initiate the final plan, these weapons and equipment, which had been sealed away for a long time, finally saw the light of day again. They were moved onto huge transport ships by porters who were unaware of the truth.
They were to be transported to the port of Nanohana, becoming the "heaven-sent opportunity" in the eyes of the Rebel Army and the final catalyst prompting them to attack Alubarna.
Only, due to the intervention of a certain glasses-wearing man, this catalyst no longer existed.
Tolba Port.
Watching the transport ships slowly sailing out of the port, Zoro, hiding behind a sand dune on the shore, asked the long-nose beside him, "Hey, Usopp, is the time bomb you made actually reliable? If it doesn't explode soon, I'm going up there myself."
After speaking, the green-haired swordsman tightened the three sharp swords at his waist, his eyes shining with a chilling cold light like unsheathed blades.
"Don't be impatient, Zoro." Usopp looked at a pocket watch he had gotten from somewhere, speaking with a calm face, "Trust in the inventions of the great Captain Usopp! By my calculation, there are less than 30 seconds left until the explosion..."
BOOM!!!! A thunderous noise rang out. The huge transport ship that had already left the port suddenly exploded. A massive fireball instantly ignited on the Sandora River, and the violent shockwave sent debris from the ship flying far into the distance.
The green-haired swordsman recovered his senses and looked at the long-nose beside him, who was already scared silly. He raised an eyebrow. "That was your 30 seconds?"
"Did I say 30?" Usopp laughed sheepishly. "I meant to say 3..."
Wato Port.
On a huge transport ship, a rubber idiot was engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a large group of Baroque Works minions.
No, it would be more accurate to say he was mowing down grass in a Musou game.
"Gum-Gum—Gatling!"
A wave of small fry screamed as they were sent flying.
"Gum-Gum—Spiral Bullet!"
Another wave of small fry screamed as they were sent flying.
"Gum-Gum—Axe!"
The moron captain stretched his leg forcefully straight up. Then, under the effect of massive elasticity, his foot, clad in a flip-flop, smashed ruthlessly onto the deck of the transport ship with astonishing force.
Creak~
The keel of the transport ship let out a sound of being overwhelmed. Subsequently, the entire ship snapped in two from the middle, sinking into the Sandora River along with a full load of equipment.
"Honestly, Luffy is so impatient. I still wanted to test the power of my new weapon." Caressing the Clima-Tact tied at her waist, Nami stood on the roof of a building in Wato Port. Watching the transport ship slowly sinking in the distance, she shook her head with extreme helplessness.
"Nami! Save me! I'm a hammer!"* Luffy's panicked shouting suddenly came from the distance.
"That idiot..." The navigator rolled her eyes and face-palmed.
(Translator's Note: "Hammer" is a term used in One Piece for those who lose their ability to swim due to Devil Fruits.)
Solatas Port.
"With this, as long as their leader isn't brain-dead, the Rebel Army, sorely lacking in weapons and equipment, won't attack proactively." Lighting a cigarette, Sanji comforted the blue-haired girl beside him. "Everything happening now is going according to Sherlock's plan. Your country will definitely be fine, Vivi!"
Watching the huge transport ship slowly sinking into the wide river, Vivi nodded gently. Her face still full of worry, she said, "But this way, according to what Mr. Glasses said, Mr. 0 will very likely..."
"Also, were Luffy and Mr. Bushido successful on their ends? And Mr. Glasses, who went deep into the enemy's lair... I'm worried..."
The blue-haired girl, who loved to worry excessively, began to fret about everything again.
"Don't worry, Vivi. Sherlock is very strong. He could punch such a big hole in the sandy ground!" Chopper, transformed into his tall Heavy Point, smiled honestly at Princess Vivi and comforted her:
"Besides, before we landed on Alabasta, I gave him a [Secret Weapon]."
Although Chopper was comforting Vivi, the little reindeer, who was not good at hiding his emotions, displayed all his inner thoughts on his face. When he mentioned that [Secret Weapon], Chopper's expression actually became filled with worry.
It was as if that object carried some sort of taboo.
Exchanging a glance with Princess Vivi, the curly-browed cook stubbed out his cigarette and asked the little reindeer slowly, his tone filled with a rare seriousness.
"Chopper, that [Secret Weapon]... what exactly is it?"
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