Chapter 227: Come And Go In Haste
Hearing that Ace had spontaneously mastered this power called Haki in his battle with the Navy Vice Admiral, Luffy’s excitement could be said to have been ignited to the extreme in that instant. As the youngest of the sworn three brothers, Luffy had never won against Ace from childhood to now, with records of over a hundred defeats still vividly remembered in his mind.
Of course, this couldn’t discourage him.
On the contrary, it made his fighting spirit even higher, looking forward to the day he catches up to Ace, looking forward to the time he truly defeats Ace.
“Rubber Jet Beast Strictness Machine Gun!”
The pain of being whipped by the iron chains didn’t make Luffy retreat a single step. On the contrary, harboring a shining wish, he mustered even greater courage to continue swinging his fists, meeting Prince Elus’s iron chain whips head-on, using his fists to personally experience what this so-called Haki was really like.
Pondering the true nature of Haki amid pain like flaying skin and cracking bones.
This courage and guts,
Made even Prince Elus involuntarily feel admiration.
Although he kept saying Luffy was the True Chosen One, this True Chosen One’s journey was not smooth sailing either. He had gone through one harsh trial after another that ordinary people rarely encounter in a lifetime, leading to that leaping improvement, growing stronger like riding a rocket.
Of course,
Some might say that if enduring pain makes you stronger, then he could do it too.
Prince Elus had no comment on this. As the opponent inflicting pain on Luffy, he knew very well how heavy his own force was. Luffy’s fists were probably already cracked bones by now. Forget swinging them—even a slight movement would bring intense pain.
Yet Luffy still maintained Gear Second state, launching fierce attacks like a storm with his highest-speed fists.
That pain—
Prince Elus thought about it and felt his teeth ache.
As expected, the protagonist is the protagonist not just because of destiny’s favor. He also put in efforts enough to earn destiny’s favor, enduring pain that ordinary people couldn’t bear, and always keeping that pure child’s heart······
“Success has no flukes.”
Prince Elus looked at the sweating Luffy and decided to give the kid a little reward.
Although this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, to be honest, Luffy, whose dream was to become Pirate King, was naturally an enemy of the World Government, not his own. This repeated villain image was all self-made by Prince Elus.
The stronger Luffy got, the more benefits it actually brought him than harm.
He mobilized a thread of the Hogyoku’s power, infused it with his own wish, conducted it along the iron chain, and at the instant of colliding with Luffy’s fist, sent this power into Luffy’s body. In a flash, it healed all the messy wounds on Luffy’s body, and even wiped out the aftereffects of using Gear Third earlier that hadn’t erupted yet.
“Huh?”
He knew his own body’s changes clearly.
Luffy noticed the changes in his body right away,
But the problem was he didn’t know the source of this change was······ No, at this time, probably only one person could do this. Not to mention there weren’t many people around here anyway—even if his partners were all here, they couldn’t do something like this. He knew that very well.
So,
After eliminating the impossible options, the only answer fell on Prince Elus, who was currently fighting him.
“Damn!!”
Luffy clicked his tongue in a very small voice.
Being pitied by an opponent like this······ really made his feelings complicated! Especially since he didn’t even know how to define Prince Elus’s identity anymore. An irreconcilable enemy? That didn’t feel right! Then, an opponent he could deal with? Or something else······
This complex relationship made Luffy’s already limited brain pulp insufficient. His head hurt for a few seconds, so he simply stopped thinking and kept swinging his fists instead.
Fighting was what he was best at.
Better to comprehend with the body than to puzzle it out with the head.
————
Ark Maxim was sinking.
Having lost Enel’s energy supply, the wind power stored in the two hundred Wind-Pressure Shells was nearly exhausted. Sinking at this point was only natural. Fortunately, the Wind-Pressure Shells were still emitting their remaining wind power, preventing the Ark from plummeting straight down quickly, instead maintaining a slow speed as it sank bit by bit.
Nami lay on the ship’s side, looking at the forest land below that was steadily approaching, involuntarily gripping the railing tightly as various methods to avoid impact flashed through her mind.
But just as she was pondering how to land safely, the Ark moved slightly, floated up a bit, then began descending at an unnatural, steady slow speed. Yes, this was absolutely not sinking, but landing—the Ark was descending toward the ground below.
“······What kind of monster is it exactly!”
Nami muttered in a voice so small even she could barely hear it clearly.
Her little head was very smart.
She almost instantly figured out who had intervened in the Ark’s descent.
She looked at Luffy and Prince Elus still locked in fierce battle, and for some reason, much of the worry in her heart dissipated. Her intuition told her Prince Elus wouldn’t truly harm Luffy, though rationally facing that irresistible power still left her somewhat uneasy.
“Nami-san!!!”
Suddenly, a shout so familiar it couldn’t be more so drifted into her ears with the light breeze.
She looked down and saw Sanji running quickly across the land below. The flower-protecting chef Mister chased after the descending Ark, ignoring that it was about to reach the ground, leaped into the air, and dashed up along the Ark’s long oar.
“Nami-san, are you okay?”
Sanji flipped onto the deck, sliding on one knee right to Nami’s side.
“I’m fine, Luffy’s fine too. But Sanji, are your injuries okay? And everyone else, how are they? Everyone’s okay, right?” Nami looked at Sanji as a string of questions poured out.
“These minor injuries are nothing to mention. I don’t know the others’ situations. I came rushing over when I saw the Ark falling, but Nami-san, don’t worry—everyone will be fine. I’d say that directionally challenged green algae head probably got lost in the forest again, and the others went to find him.”
After a careful look to confirm Nami was fine, Sanji breathed a sigh of relief, took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled the smoke, finally relaxing.
“Nami-san, why is the Black Prince here? And that god······ why is he just lying there?”
Sanji looked up at Prince Elus trading blows back and forth with Luffy in a lively fight, then glanced at Enel lying on the deck, voicing his question.
On this question,
Nami was actually equally puzzled.
“I don’t know either. The long-eared one was taken down by Luffy. As for······ Prince Elus, he just suddenly appeared. I have no idea how he found this place, but it’s not strange either! He just feels like a monster.”
“A monster, huh!”
Sanji looked up, staring at Prince Elus’s somewhat indistinct figure, slowly nodding in agreement.
Strong to that unreasonable extent, he was indeed a genuine monster.
“Hey! Nami!!! Sanji!!!”
A shout from not far away immediately drew their attention. They saw Usopp standing on a treetop waving—this long-nosed sniper who loved telling far-fetched lies had seen the falling Ark Maxim and chased after it all the way.
“Usopp!”
Nami and Sanji were also very surprised.
Sanji’s appearance was like a signal, and the Straw Hat Pirates members gradually all gathered one after another, including the lost Zoro, who was found on the road by Robin and came together.
The partners reunited on the Ark’s deck.
After briefly recounting their respective encounters and confirming no major issues, everyone’s attention was naturally drawn to their captain in the midst of bitter battle—the Black Prince Prince Elus, a monster not entirely unfamiliar to everyone.
“Prince Elus······ What exactly is he planning? Why is he still following us?”
Robin slightly furrowed her brows.
She didn’t know what Prince Elus was planning. Was he preparing to use Luffy against the Revolutionary Army? Or against that Navy Hero? Or some other unknown purpose?
“Hey, Nami, what’s with this strange fruit?” Usopp pointed at the Float-Float Fruit on the table and asked.
“Devil Fruit?”
Robin widened her eyes.
“Why is there a Devil Fruit here?”
Sanji was also shocked.
To be honest, it wasn’t that they weren’t observant, but other matters had distracted them. They were so focused on the Prince Elus in the sky that they hadn’t noticed the Float-Float Fruit sitting right there on the table. Now that Usopp mentioned it, they suddenly noticed like a realization.
“Ah! Right, this is······”
Nami slapped her forehead and told her companions what she had seen and heard before.
The inexperienced Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper didn’t think there was anything impressive about Prince Elus’s series of manipulations. They just eyed the Devil Fruit curiously, but always remembering it was Prince Elus’s, no one touched it casually.
In comparison,
The more worldly Sanji and Robin realized right away just how terrifying Prince Elus was!
If what Nami said was true, the Black Prince had the ability to seize others’ Devil Fruits, and seemed able to eat multiple Devil Fruits······ What kind of monster was this? It completely exceeded the limits of their imagination.
If not for Nami’s reliable credibility,
They would really suspect this was some prank hoax.
“Mastered multiple Devil Fruit powers? That would explain it then—so many varied abilities······ Couldn’t be done with a single Devil Fruit. The Black Prince lives up to his name.”
Robin rubbed her brow, vaguely guessing Prince Elus’s purpose for coming to Skypiea.
“Sanji, do you think Prince Elus came for that god’s Devil Fruit?”
“······Very possible! A Logia Devil Fruit. If it’s the right one, it should be the Rumble-Rumble Fruit······ If it’s this Devil Fruit, it’s definitely worth a special trip to Skypiea. Speaking of which, he was the first to tell Luffy about Skypiea intelligence, right?”
With this discussion,
They became even more convinced Prince Elus was here for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
As for why he was suddenly fighting Luffy now······ Since Luffy had been fighting Prince Elus for so long and was still alive, it seemed Prince Elus had no intention of harming him. Though it still made them uneasy—this kind of monster was best avoided from as far away as possible.
At this time,
Luffy and Prince Elus’s battle had new developments.
In the cycle of his hand bones cracking from repeated iron chain whips and then healing, Luffy finally touched the realm of Armament Haki, and under Prince Elus’s violent lashing, he steadily stood in this realm, able to skillfully wield Armament Haki’s power.
“Alright! That’s enough.”
Prince Elus suddenly yanked back his hand.
All the iron chains retracted, his body turning to lightning as he flashed through the air, piercing through the dense fist shadows. The next instant, he appeared on the deck. “Yo, so many people! Miss Robin, long time no see! Still as beautiful as ever!”
“Prince Elus.”
Robin smiled, her attitude politely distant.
“I wonder what business brings you to Skypiea?”
“No big deal! I came for this long-eared guy. Miss Robin, rest assured—though I’m a Seven Warlords, I’m actually not your enemy. Believe me, I may dislike pirates, but I’m not to the point of killing on sight just for a Skull Flag!”
Prince Elus walked to the table, picked up the Float-Float Fruit, and tucked it into his sleeve.
He waved his hand to open an Air Door, sending back the refrigerator, table, chairs, and such. For the consumed red wine and apples, he placed several large gold coins. Skypiea’s currency wasn’t Beli, but gold was a symbol of wealth anywhere—a true hard currency.
“Everyone, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
True to his word, Prince Elus left immediately, flicking out a chain to wrap around the unlucky Enel, opened an Air Door and stepped in. The next second, another Air Door opened, instantly arriving four thousand kilometers away—the current limit distance of the Gaze-Gaze Fruit. After several more doors, he reached the Thriller Bark sea area.
Moria’s territory.
After leaving Alabasta, Prince Elus had come here to continue rooming with Moria, sharing this world’s largest Thriller Bark.
“Your Highness, you’re back.”
Seeing Prince Elus emerge from the Air Door, Fran greeted him calmly.
“Yeah, got what I wanted. Thought about bringing back some gold, but decided against it. Not like we’re short on that bit of money anyway.”
“So you brought back a long-eared guy with an auntie’s hair instead?”
“Hand this guy to Farrug, let him arrange some training. Decent talent—proper training and he’ll be some combat power later.”
