Chapter 61: The Cicada Part 1
“I’ll take this thing!”
BIG MOM pointed at the huge red cubic stone in front of her and unhesitatingly claimed it for herself, which surprised the three people nearby somewhat.
“Are you sure you only want this Poneglyph? Linlin, do you know something?”
Shiki narrowed his eyes. He knew that Rocks had deliberately collected these Poneglyphs back then, especially this one in front of them, which looked extremely special as a Red Poneglyph.
“I don’t know what it’s for! And who said I only want this stone? I also want a share of the treasures here!
Hearing Shiki’s doubt, BIG MOM felt no guilt at all and instead insisted on getting a cut.
“Don’t even think about it!”
“Either you take this stone and don’t touch a single coin of the treasures here, or this stone belongs to me!”
Shiki’s attitude was also very firm. He wanted to see just how much BIG MOM valued this stone!
“Shiki, you don’t need to probe me. I’ll tell you straight, I don’t know what this thing is for right now.
But I know that guy Rocks valued this stone highly, so it must be a treasure!
The junk here might not catch my eye, but as agreed before, I must get my share!”
BIG MOM directly exposed Shiki’s intentions and remained uncompromising, refusing to yield an inch.
Unlike John, who only cared about treasures, Rocks liked to plunder treasures recklessly, but he actually valued more practical things.
Like Devil Fruits, famous swords, and such.
For him, who believed in martial prowess above all, as long as he had enough power, he could have as many treasures as he wanted, and the things he valued were definitely not comparable to gold or gems.
“Besides, this thing was originally found in the Totland Sea Area, and that sea area is now mine, so it should naturally return to its rightful owner!”
At this point, the Sea Queen was no longer reasoning logically at all and was clearly determined to have this Poneglyph.
“Roar…!”
A low and dangerous sound came from Shiki’s throat, and anyone could hear the suppressed anger in it.
His line of sight shifted back and forth between BIG MOM and the Poneglyph, but seeing BIG MOM’s determined expression, he ultimately chose to endure.
After all, he was not in perfect condition right now.
“Hahahaha~ Since you want it so much, Linlin, you can have this thing.”
The atmosphere suddenly relaxed.
『Whatever, I already know it’s with her now. Worst case, I’ll snatch it back later.』 Shiki calculated in his mind.
His personality was like that—though he sometimes endured, he always chose the most domineering way to solve problems in the end.
He didn’t even think to ask for a rubbing right now.
Hearing Shiki’s concession, BIG MOM nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the other two.
“Kaido, Wang Zhi, what about you? Want to fight me for it too?”
“I have no interest in any history! Hurry up and divide the treasures, I still want to check out other places.”
For Kaido, whose goal had already been achieved, he actually wanted to hurry back and check his new territory now.
“I don’t care either. I’m more concerned about when you’ll leave my island!” Wang Zhi had no interest in arguing with BIG MOM over this thing of unknown use.
“Your island?” Shiki looked over upon hearing this.
“That’s right, this island belongs to me from now on.”
With that, Wang Zhi glanced at BIG MOM and Kaido nearby.
Noticing the other’s line of sight, Shiki finally understood.
“So this is the condition you offered to pull him in, Linlin. You’re quite generous!”
To be honest, Shiki had no interest in Hachinosu Island. It was too far from his main base and surrounded by several factions, making any action troublesome.
As a man who dominated the sea from the sky, a fixed territory on the sea held little meaning for him. If he wanted one, he could just float a few over from the Four Seas.
“Mama~ Mama~ It’s just one island anyway.”
BIG MOM waved her hand nonchalantly. For her, who already effectively owned all the islands in the Totland Sea Area, this pirate island that was almost unsalvageable junk truly didn’t matter much.
“Don’t worry, Wang Zhi. Let us clean up on the island for a few more days to help you look for any leftover treasures…”
Hearing the other’s sanctimonious shameless words, Wang Zhi snorted in dissatisfaction.
“Tch! Three days at most.”
“Deal.”
……
“Huff… cough… cough cough!”
At a considerable distance from Hachinosu Island, a small boat painted blue-gray was floating on the sea surface, its unique camouflage blending it almost seamlessly with the sea.
The surface of the small boat was coated with a fine coating, and two pirates emitting a burnt smell were sprawled on it, gasping for breath in a wretched state.
“Woo hoo~ That, that was close, Captain. Almost got blown to bits. But that wouldn’t be bad either, haha!”
Rolling over, one pirate with an exaggerated exploding hairstyle said with slight excitement.
This person was Babu, an executive of the John Pirates, who had detonated the Explosive Rock not long ago.
As for the remaining pirate, it was naturally John. He looked even more wretched at the moment, with burn marks all over his body and hair, and a large bloodstain on his chest.
“Fuhihihihi~ But we succeeded, didn’t we? I knew you could do it, Babu.”
“It was my first time teleporting this far. I thought I’d drop straight into the sea.
If that happened, we’d really be done for, hahaha!”
Babu, a Superhuman Teleportation Fruit user, could cross space for long-distance instant movement and could also teleport with others.
This was John’s backup plan. After realizing he couldn’t defeat Shiki, he decisively used the Explosive Rock to hit the enemy hard, then used the explosion for cover along with his subordinate’s teleportation ability to fake death and escape.
At the same time, relying on the explosion’s power comparable to an Ancient Weapon, he massively eliminated the opponent’s men left on the island, weakening their forces and buying time for subsequent escape or revenge.
As for his own men on the island?
They were just a rabble greedy for his treasures anyway. John wouldn’t feel a thing no matter how many died.
『Too bad that guy Shiki blocked it in the end—what a troublesome ability! Not sure if he guessed I’m still alive…
Whatever, even if he knows, it doesn’t matter. In this vast sea, finding me again? Heh~』
Having figured this out, John put on his signature flippant smile again and rolled over to ease his injured chest.
“Boss, are we going to recover those shipped-out treasures and make a comeback now?”
Babu, having recovered, asked with a hint of subtle expectation and impatience in his tone.
“Oh? Babu, do you want to go get my treasures right now?”
John, lying on his back, suddenly dropped his smile and just stared at Babu.
Even in his unprecedentedly wretched state, those eyes were still sharply piercing, making it hard to meet them.
Before contacting Silver Axe and Wang Zhi, John had secretly transferred the island’s treasures in batches. What remained were just some worthless heavy stones he wasn’t interested in.
He had originally planned to leave nothing, but during the last transfer, someone tailed him, and a ship full of treasures sank to the seabed, which pained him so much he didn’t dare continue shipping.
So only the bit of untransferred treasure that Shiki and the others saw remained.
Ah, and that Poneglyph used as the floor…
“N-No, of course not, Boss. Your treasures are yours to arrange, of course.”
John’s gaze instantly cooled Babu’s head, which had been heated by the near-death thrill moments ago.
He knew very well that when it came to treasures, let alone a mere executive like himself, even his own son wouldn’t get mercy from John.
That near-obsessive greed for treasures was the essence of John as a pirate.
“Fuhihihihi, don’t be so tense~ You’re my benefactor now, how could I mistreat you?”
Hearing the response, John resumed his grinning face and casually painted a big pie even he didn’t believe.
“So, Boss, where are we going now?”
Babu breathed a silent sigh of relief and wisely dropped the topic.
“Let’s dive first and go straight through… Hmm?! Wait!
“A ship is coming!”
……
