To act without planning, that's the pirate way.
They decided to get a ship and a hearty meal.
Luffy and Nami immediately turned their small boat and headed south towards the town.
But fate had other plans:
Surprises always come suddenly; no life is ever completely calm.
After turning, the small boat had been sailing for a while when a pirate ship, dozens of times larger than theirs, appeared.
The pirate flag bore a skull in the shape of an owl's head, with vertical yellow pupils like a cat's.
The ship was entirely black, with a black cat figurehead—it was none other than the Black Cat Pirates' "Hundred Plans" Kuro's ship!
Baiyun felt puzzled; they shouldn't have encountered the Black Cat Pirates here. It seemed some things had indeed changed because of him.
"What a huge ship."
"If only we could get a ship like that."
Luffy exclaimed.
But the guys on the other side weren't good people.
"These two pathetic little boats dare to sail alongside us? Hehehe."
"Besides, our movements must be kept secret. It wouldn't be good if we upset the Captain."
"Fire!"
Jango, the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates, immediately gave the order. The cannons aimed at Baiyun and Luffy, firing with a bang, sparks flying as two cannonballs hurtled towards them.
Neither Luffy nor Baiyun were afraid of cannonballs.
With a step and a jump, Luffy inflated his body into a balloon and bounced the cannonball back.
That's how it should have been.
Luffy successfully bounced his back, but Baiyun... "Huh?!"
"Damn it!!! You just had to reach the time limit at this exact moment!!"
The cannonball hit Baiyun, and it should have bounced back, but Baiyun suddenly felt his body lose all power, and his rubber body returned to normal.
The Copy-Copy Fruit had a time limit for each copy; it wasn't so overpowered that he'd permanently possess the ability once copied.
As luck would have it, at the exact moment the cannonball struck him, Baiyun's ability expired.
Was he unlucky? Extremely unlucky.
But the tiny bit of luck within that misfortune was that the cannonball didn't explode; it was a dud. However, the immense impact sent Baiyun flying.
He remained a tiny speck in Luffy's vision before finally splashing into the sea with a thud.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Baiyun!!!"
This situation left Luffy, Zoro, and Nami a little stunned.
Once they realized what happened, the three immediately started shouting. Luffy even grabbed the oars and furiously rowed towards where Baiyun had disappeared.
Meanwhile, the crew of the Black Cat Pirates were laughing themselves silly on the deck, mocking Baiyun for trying to catch a cannonball with his body.
They had forgotten about Luffy bouncing the cannonball back into the air where it exploded... As for Baiyun, he plunged into the sea with a splash.
But he was also very close to the coast of Usopp's hometown.
The debilitating feeling of the seawater slowly made Baiyun lose his struggle. Just as he was about to sink completely, the small white snake on his wrist crawled down. Though tiny, it bit onto Baiyun's hair and began swimming towards the shore.
And under the covering seawater, Baiyun gradually lost consciousness... "Baiyun!!!"
Back to Luffy and the others, Luffy desperately rowed, propelling Nami's small boat forward at high speed.
But even when they reached the shore, there was no sign of Baiyun.
"Could it be, could it be that Baiyun already..."
Tears welled up in Luffy's eyes, thinking Baiyun had already sunk to the bottom of the sea.
He turned to jump into the sea, but Zoro immediately pulled him back.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed!!!"
"But Baiyun..."
"That's... Baiyun's hair tie!!"
Just as Luffy's tears were about to fall, Nami spotted a blue hair tie on the shore, not far from them.
It was the one Baiyun used to tie his ponytail.
Luffy instantly moved over and picked up the hair tie.
"Yes! This is Baiyun's!!"
"Ace gave it to him!!"
"It looks like he's already in town, hahaha."
Seeing the hair tie, Luffy immediately started laughing again.
"Baiyun must have drifted to shore and been rescued by someone."
"Or he went to the town by himself first."
"Let's go into town and ask around."
Nami and Zoro also walked over, looking at the hair tie, Nami made a reasonable guess.
Luffy nodded in agreement, putting the hair tie into his pants.
"Let's ask someone."
"There are people right over there."
Zoro's gaze immediately shifted.
On the cliff over there were members of the "Usopp Pirates."
"Captain Usopp" and his "crew," three little kids: Onion, Carrot, and Pepper.
"Ah!!! We've been spotted!!!"
Usopp instantly panicked when Zoro noticed him. He was about to turn and run, but the three kids ran even faster than him.
Seeing Luffy and the others approaching, Usopp had no choice but to brace himself and meet them... And what about our "Invincible Lucky Star," Baiyun?
Although he was blown away by the cannonball, he was now lying on a soft, large bed.
Though he was still unconscious.
In his unconscious state, Baiyun's awareness drifted to a vast, white space.
After ten years, the system's voice had reappeared.
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
Get access to 50+ advanced chapters.
Membership starts at just $6.
Your support makes a world of difference and helps me write more!
Thank you for reading!