Chapter 216: Golden Cloud from Overseas!
Grand Line, Little Garden.
The island named 'Little Garden' was not little at all.
On the contrary—this island was a huge island retaining prehistoric landscapes and ecological environments even today.
All species on the island looked ridiculously huge, like gigantic dinosaurs, two extremely huge Sea King corpses in the center of the island, and...
"GABABABABABA!"
"GEGYAGYAGYAGYA!"
Those two resounding laughs like thunder.
The owners of the laughter were two giants huge as mountains.
"I see—there's a living skeleton guiding you?"
One giant wore a masked helmet, had a long beard, with a huge sword placed beside him.
"Tell us more, Usopp, tell us more about things overseas before my next duel with Dorry."
The other giant was somewhat chubby, with a big beard, wearing a horned helmet, a huge axe placed beside him.
Around them, there were shocking battle traces.
Peaks flattened, huge forests uprooted, deep pits and marks of swords and axes seen everywhere.
Those were traces of their battles.
They were 'Blue Ogre' Dorry and 'Red Ogre' Brogy—two captains of the 'Giant Warrior Pirates' that once shook the sea.
And now, they were talking to rare guests on this island.
A group of little pirates, tiny compared to them.
That was the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Okay, Master Brogy!"
Hearing Brogy's words, Usopp nodded smiling.
"After all, you have been fighting here for a hundred and two years."
As a man yearning to be a warrior of the sea, seeing these two giants' bravery and their fighting spirit, he already regarded them as role models.
Staying on this island to fight for promise and warrior's honor—this bravery and spirit was what he pursued.
Now, since the role model wanted him to say more, he naturally had no objection.
"It was the skeleton we met at Whiskey Peak the day before yesterday, named Brook."
"He said he would join us, catching up later. He also gave us newspapers from recent times—just right, we haven't finished reading them, might as well tell you the newspaper content..."
Speaking, he started rummaging rustlingly.
"Yeah, Brook is super interesting, yet couldn't board immediately—truly regrettable, nom!"
Beside Usopp, Luffy gorging on roasted dinosaur meat felt regrettable about this too.
Aside, Nami clutched her head, sighing helplessly. "If talking about regret, at least eat slower, right?"
Luffy: "?"
"It's okay—if that guy truly wants to board, he should catch up soon."
Zoro leaned aside, squinting and saying casually. "And speaking of which, is the alcohol on the ship really finished? Not a drop left?"
"Can't help it, didn't replenish alcohol at Whiskey Peak after all."
Nami said smiling.
As words reached here, Usopp finally found the newspaper gifted by Brook the day before yesterday from the box—since sailing from Whiskey Peak to Little Garden took less than a day, they arrived after a sleep, so hadn't read the newspaper yet.
"Let me see, hmm, Royal Warlord seats vacant, and subsequent personnel analysis, hmm... I'm not familiar with this either, change one."
"Hmm... Germa Kingdom confirmed destroyed, body of missing great pirate 'Buckingham Stussy' found near kingdom ruins, World Economic News Paper precious footage leaked, destroyer of the kingdom is a new member of 'The Zodiac'... New member of The Zodiac!?"
Usopp widened his eyes, voice raising instantly.
"The Zodiac!?" (x2)
Dorry and Brogy looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.
Clearly—as people dueling on the island for over a hundred years, they were among the few on today's sea who hadn't heard the name 'The Zodiac'.
"That's an organization where monsters gather, executives inside are guys more monstrous than Warlords, Masters don't know Warlords either, right?"
Usopp said solemnly. "Anyway, guys in The Zodiac are terrifyingly strong..."
"Usopp!"
Before he finished, a voice from behind interrupted him.
"Hm!?"
Usopp turned around.
Then he saw Sanji, originally smoking and humming while roasting meat, had thrown the huge barbecue sauce brush on the ground.
His face was shocked to the extreme, looking at Usopp with gloomy eyes now. "You said just now... Germa?"
"Y-yeah, that World Government allied nation Germa Kingdom was destroyed by 'The Zodiac', said to be a guy named 'Toratora' (Tiger)—wh... what's wrong?"
Usopp was somewhat stunned.
As far as he knew, among many 'Big Events' done by The Zodiac, this didn't count as something worth remembering at all.
But now, Sanji snatched the newspaper from his hand.
He smoked tremblingly, seeing the content clearly.
In the newspaper, the country almost a nightmare of his childhood had become ruins.
On the ruins, several figures he was familiar with and hated had slumped to the ground.
Besides that, on that battlefield, only two figures seemed alive.
A figure wearing a tiger mask, and...
"Reiju..."
Sanji recognized the sister who saved him.
But what made him anxious was—he read all contents of this report carefully, but didn't see the result about Reiju.
So, Sanji clenched his teeth.
"Sanji, what happened?"
Nami looked over concernedly now.
"No, nothing."
Sanji clutched the newspaper tightly, whispering.
"You don't look like nothing at all..."
Nami naturally wasn't assured hearing this.
But just then...
"Eh?"
Luffy, originally stuffing dinosaur meat into his mouth and looking at Sanji puzzledly, seemed to sense something, turning his head abruptly.
Not just him.
"Hm?" (x2)
Now, Dorry, Brogy, and Zoro seemed to sense something too, turning to look into the distance.
"Eh? What happened again?"
Usopp was naturally confused, but looked in their direction too, instinctively taking his slingshot and putting on goggles.
Then...
Clatter!
The slingshot in Usopp's hand fell to the ground.
"Th... th... that..."
His voice trembled instantly. "No, impossible, right? How could it be so coincidental..."
In his goggle view, he could clearly see now.
In the distant sky, something was flying over.
It was a golden cloud.
Behind that golden cloud trailed flowing colorful clouds, like rocket smoke, or like a myth.
Now, pushed by that tail flame.
It was cutting through the sky toward Little Garden at an exaggerated speed, raising huge waves on the sea below.
And this wasn't the key.
The key point was—two figures stood on that cloud now.
"Yohohohoho... Captain Luffy, I caught up!"
The iconic laughter from one person was enough to explain his identity.
"Brook!"
Hearing that voice, Luffy raised his hand immediately, showing a surprised and cheerful expression.
"Oh? Who is that beside you? Your friend?"
"Yohohoho, sort of—he is a colleague of my benefactor, brought me here specially this time!"
"I see!"
But clearly.
Except Luffy.
Others present couldn't sit by calmly watching their conversation now.
Because...
Now, there was indeed a person beside Brook.
It was a thin man sitting casually on the cloud, tossing away a finished peach pit casually.
But the key was...
On that man's face, he wore a Sea Beast Mask.
It was a... Monkey Mask.
☆☆☆
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