Chapter 135: Enemy from the Sky? Gust-Gust Fruit!
East Blue.
A warship of the Marine 213th Branch was docked.
"He's here."
The commander of the warship, Captain 'Palu' of the 213th Branch, was a bit nervous.
The Marines had fewer than 300 branches in the East Blue, and the number 213 indicated this place was at the eastern edge of the East Blue, almost the end of the four seas.
A small figure in such a place would naturally be nervous facing a big shot from Marine Headquarters.
Especially knowing that the visitor was famous even at Headquarters and likely came to demand answers.
"That... is that Vice Admiral 'Black Judge' Roy Amos?"
Beside him, his First Mate, also holding a telescope, spoke with a trembling voice.
"Yes."
Palu also watched through his telescope. "Notify the helmsman to prepare to approach... Such a big shot coming personally, we must welcome him properly—Hm?"
In his telescope's view.
A warship from Marine Headquarters was approaching from the horizon.
Although very distant, they could see the figure standing at the bow.
The Marine coat fluttered in the wind, and on his hand was the gauntlet [Black Mane], rumored to be inherited from 'Black Arm' Zephyr.
The not-so-muscular figure was slowly bending his knees...
This confused Palu—why bend the knees?
But the next moment, he knew.
BOOM!
Even from such a distance, he heard the explosive sound from the distant sea.
He clearly saw the distant warship sink noticeably into the water, and massive ripples spread from it.
Then...
He saw the figure flying over the sea surface.
WHOOSH!
He couldn't even see the movement clearly. The next moment...
"Where?"
He heard the question right beside his ear.
He put down the telescope instinctively and saw.
A figure standing right next to him.
"!!!"
Silence fell on the warship. Everyone stared at Roy incredulously.
"EH!?!?" (xN)
A moment later, gasps erupted.
He flew over directly from that distance? And that speed... is he a human cannonball!?
"Th... this is the legendary 'Black Judge' of the New Era?"
Palu swallowed hard, then saw Roy's cold gaze.
"Where?"
Roy asked again.
This time, the danger in his voice made Palu tremble.
He reacted immediately.
"V... Vice Admiral Black Judge, it... it... it's just in the waters behind us."
He quickly led Roy to the stern.
Roy saw the items at the stern.
A broken mast, a sail, and several shattered deck planks.
The planks were black, like a cola bottle.
The mast looked like a straw.
On the sail was written:
[Roy Amos]
Needless to say—Roy recognized it immediately. It was the sail of the 'Black Loyalty'.
VMMM!
Everyone present felt an immense pressure that almost suffocated them—if it hadn't flashed by quickly, they would have fainted.
Moments later, they heard the Vice Admiral ask.
"Where did you find it?"
"Haha... over... over there..."
Palu pointed east nervously.
Then, he explained what he knew. "According to our records, Warrant Officers Hans and Farr were returning to Headquarters after detaining criminals on Bros Island. They reported stopping at nearby islands for two days to resupply..."
Roy wasn't confused about this.
Detention Unit ships often passed through branch territories and reported to get clearance.
Of course, Roy didn't need to follow this rule now—his authority allowed him free passage across the four seas.
"Resupply?"
Roy was puzzled by this detail.
He remembered the Black Loyalty wasn't short on supplies.
"Yes—we checked afterward. They bought a large amount of 'Paisa Cola' on nearby islands, saying it was a birthday gift for their superior..."
Palu looked at Roy strangely, thinking it shouldn't be for this Vice Admiral.
But out of professional ethics, he explained, "Paisa Cola is an East Blue specialty, made with unique 'Paisa Mint' and..."
"No need to explain, I know it better than you."
Roy waved his hand. "Those two idiots, picking such a time... Continue. Skip the useless details, when did they go missing!?"
"Yes!"
Palu saluted quickly. "In... in short, they reported again when leaving after resupplying. The location was nearby. But during the report, they seemed to encounter something."
He took out a recording Den Den Mushi and played it.
A voice came from the snail.
"Report, report. Detention Unit Ship DT-31, under Vice Admiral 'Black Judge' Roy—This is Temporary Commander, Strongest on the Ship, Lord Hans."
"We are at coordinates EB (43, 96), resupply complete... Gulp gulp... Haa... Returning to Headquarters soon."
Hans was unreliable as usual. Roy could even hear Farr whispering, "Hey, stop drinking, that's for the Boss. Do you want him to kill you?" and Hans replying, "I'll drink! My ability needs me to drink!".
But just then...
"Hey? Farr, look at the sky... what is that..."
"Something seems to be falling?"
"That is... All hands, prepare for battle immediately!"
Then, chaotic noises came from the other end, and the connection cut.
Silence on the warship.
"Th... that's the situation."
Palu said hoarsely. "We arrived at the scene immediately but didn't find the 'Black Loyalty', only these debris."
"We investigated; no high-bounty pirates known in the East Blue were nearby."
As he spoke, Roy walked to the mast.
He touched the fracture on the mast, looking at the three fragments below.
Piecing them together with the mast...
"Beast Claw Marks?"
He whispered.
"Y... Yes!"
Palu became more nervous. "We judged they were marks from some powerful beast."
"Combined with the call, we think they encountered a natural disaster—a hurricane or waterspout lifted a Sea King or beast and smashed it onto the ship... but..."
He felt his explanation was weak.
Leaving aside the probability of a hurricane lifting a Sea King exactly onto the Black Loyalty—there were no records of hurricanes or tornadoes nearby recently.
Even if it happened... where was the ship wreckage?
Just as he worried Roy would get angry at his nonsensical explanation.
"...I understand."
He heard Roy's calm voice.
Then, Palu saw Roy look up at the sky.
Next...
BOOM!
Roy leaped into the sky.
"Fl... flying!?"
"Is... is this the legendary Moonwalk of the Six Powers!?"
The Marines watched the soaring figure in awe.
But Roy had no time to care about their shock.
He flew higher and higher.
Until he pierced the clouds, wind howling around him.
Roy finally stopped ascending.
Where no one could see, he stopped pretending to use Moonwalk.
He stood in the high-altitude wind.
"It's Him..."
Roy had the answer to the disappearance of the Detention Unit soldiers and the 'Black Loyalty'.
Attacks from the sky, powerful beasts, disappearing ship.
Only one answer.
The legend of the past era, the pirate missing for nearly twenty years.
"The enemy isn't in the East Blue... his Target is the East Blue."
Roy closed his eyes.
The sky leaves no trace of birds—flying enemies are the hardest to track.
Normally, even Roy would find it hard to track him...
But...
A fruit Roy recently obtained could help him.
[Logia · Gust-Gust Fruit (Liu Liu no Mi)]
[Analyzed, Current Level LV3]
[Fruit Effect: Can transform into wind and control air currents.]
[LV3: Gain full fruit effect. Can elementalize into wind and control nearby air currents.]
[LV4: Deep-Dive Development. Increase range and intensity of air control. Can turn wind into slashes or shapes. Create powerful gales nearby. High-speed movement as wind. Requires 5 Billion Berries.]
[LV5: Fruit Awakening · Hurricane Calamity. Transform into true Calamity Wind. Physical form dissipates, raising endless gales in nearby seas. Can manifest in any nearby 'Wind' anytime. Use wind as sensory organ to sense surroundings. Create 'Tornadoes', 'Hurricanes', 'Gales' out of thin air. Consumes massive stamina continuously. Requires 12 Billion Berries for Unlock.]
Yes—recently, Roy obtained the location of Saint Anbokamu's personal vault through Yuji's interrogation.
By the way, Celestial Dragons' vaults weren't all in Mary Geoise.
Mary Geoise only had the World Government's Grand Vault and the 'Family Vaults' of the twenty families, known only to the Five Elders and Family Heads.
Ordinary Celestial Dragons often hid personal assets elsewhere.
Anbokamu hid his vault on a private island owned by the Limozif Family.
As he said, it contained 70 billion Berries and two Devil Fruits.
One of them was the one Roy used now.
The Logia controlling wind—'Gust-Gust Fruit'.
Since Roy spent nearly 40 billion Berries upgrading Hitsujii's fruits recently, he was short on funds.
He didn't plan to upgrade this fruit initially.
But now...
[15 Billion Berries Consumed]
[Gust-Gust Fruit LV3 → LV5]
Roy didn't hesitate.
Instantly, the wind around Roy intensified.
He became the 'Eye' of the endless gale.
From the howling wind, air currents from the surrounding sea were pulled and gathered toward Roy.
The sky leaves no trace.
But the wind always hides clues.
[Fruit Combo · Five Senses Enhancement].
Roy closed his eyes, his heightened senses and smell catching anomalies in the wind.
Until a certain moment...
"..."
His nose caught a special mint scent.
As a cola expert, Roy recognized it immediately—though faint, it was the smell of 'Paisa Mint'.
"Hans, you idiot... occasionally useful."
Roy muttered, looking in the direction of the scent.
WHOOSH!
The next instant, the wind howled.
His figure vanished from the spot.
"'Golden Lion' Shiki..."
Only his cold voice echoed in the wind.
(Author's Note: I don't think Dragon's fruit is a simple Logia Wind Fruit.
Because he likely ate it at God Valley.
Known prizes at God Valley include 'Azure Dragon Fruit' and 'Paw-Paw Fruit'.
Marco's Phoenix and Shamrock's Cerberus fruit likely came from there too (Whitebeard probably gave one to Marco, Garling to his son).
So I think God Valley fruits are likely Mythical Zoans or special Paramecia.
Dragon, as the Revolutionary Army leader, shouldn't have a simple Logia Wind Fruit [though it's top-tier]. In this story's setting, he likely has a Mythical Zoan.
To prevent Oda from proving me wrong later, I used 'Gust-Gust Fruit' (Liu Liu no Mi) instead of 'Wind-Wind Fruit' (Kaze Kaze no Mi). If I'm wrong, I'll say this is a lower-tier fruit obtained from the Celestial Dragon vault.)
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