Franky had been lost in thought lately, constantly focusing on the Pacifistas . While not everyone in the crew was technically-minded, the visible changes in Franky—his increasing strength—made it clear that his research on the cyborgs was yielding significant results. As his partners, the crew naturally thought of Franky when they dealt with the captured models.
"Then why don't we just take them? We have the coating bubbles, anyway," Marie suggested, chewing on a biscuit.
"Indeed," Robin agreed with Marie, "they won't be too heavy to carry inside the bubbles".
With that settled, there was no more discussion. Robin, Nami, and Marie quickly stuffed two paralyzed Pacifistas into large coating bubbles and then pulled the connecting rope to leave the area.
They decided to leave Sentomaru there. It wasn't that they couldn't defeat him, but Robin and the others knew that Sentomaru was genuinely tough; trying to capture him would be a waste of effort. Fortunately, Sentomaru was a bit like Luffy—his mind could sometimes be single-track. He hadn't yet learned Conqueror's Haki, so Marie was able to easily trick him. Of course, Sentomaru was also a determined person and would likely break free from Marie's trick soon.
But by then, Robin, Nami, and Marie would be long gone!
However, Sentomaru turned out to be even more single-minded than the girls had anticipated; he remained trapped for a surprisingly long time. Finally, a member of the CP organization woke up and wiped out the black patterns on the ground that had held him. Only then did Sentomaru recover.
He had actually been fooled by three girls from the Straw Hat crew. They had not only stolen two Pacifistas but had also left while he watched. What an utter disgrace! Sentomaru, a proud man, could not tolerate this insult.
So, he chased after them without a second thought. But after a long pursuit, he couldn't find any sign of Robin or the others and gave up in defeat. He pulled out his Transponder Snail and called Admiral Kizaru.
At that moment, Kizaru was in a difficult position. He had been chasing Zoro and his group, only to coincidentally run right into Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats. As soon as Luffy saw his crewmates being pursued by the Admiral, he immediately jumped out and blocked Kizaru. Seeing this, Zoro and the others let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Phew! That was dangerous!" Little 3 exclaimed, relieved to have survived. "If we had met up with Luffy any later, I think Kizaru might have kicked us to death!"
"Tell me about it. The Marine Admiral is truly a monster!" Jango said, his face etched with exhaustion.
"He scared the heart right out of my head, though I don't actually have a heart, yohohohoho!" Brook cheerfully added, joining the conversation.
Zoro and Sanji couldn't help but roll their eyes at their crewmates' antics. The three of them were clearly tired, yet they still had the energy to joke around. This proved that the group hadn't been seriously injured during the chase. Chopper carefully checked everyone and confirmed that they were fine, which was a great relief.
Kizaru stared at Luffy and said, "Straw Hat Boy, I heard you killed a Celestial Dragon. Do you realize you've committed a severe crime?"
But Luffy responded angrily, "That guy deserved it! The scumbag actually wanted to take my partner and turn her into something to be dissected. I punched him in a fit of rage. I didn't think he'd be so weak that his head would actually explode!"
Kizaru was speechless upon hearing this. The Celestial Dragons who frequently came to the Sabaody Archipelago for entertainment were essentially weaklings. If one delivered a solid punch, it was impossible to avoid their heads blowing up.
"Did you even use Observation Haki?" Kizaru wondered. "You could use Observation Haki to judge how weak they were, and then adjust your strength when you hit them?"
Kizaru truly wanted to grab Luffy's ear and lecture him. However, since the Celestial Dragon was already dead, he couldn't really say anything now. The only thing he could do was fight Straw Hat Luffy, then go back and report that he had been injured. After all, the opponent was one of the Five Emperors of the sea, leading a group considered the equivalent of a Double Emperor crew.
"It's settled! I'll just do it that way!" Kizaru made up his mind.
But then, he suddenly spotted a familiar old man among the Straw Hat Crew.
Kizaru immediately found a much better excuse.
"Oh, my. Isn't that Silvers Rayleigh, the Right-Hand Man of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger?" Kizaru asked. "The Straw Hats are really well-protected; they're even connected to the Vice-Captain of the Pirate King. It looks like I can't arrest you today. I need to save my life to report this matter to the Fleet Admiral!"
With that, he retreated a considerable distance to a large tree.
Luffy couldn't help but tilt his head, confused about what Kizaru was thinking. The man who had just been yelling about capturing and killing them suddenly backed off. What did this mean?
But Luffy quickly put the thought aside. His crewmates were fine, and Kizaru had decided to leave on his own, so there was no need to worry about it.
At that moment, Kizaru received a call from Sentomaru.
"Moshi Moshi, this is Kizaru. Sentomaru, how did things go on your end?"
"Grandpa, I failed here. Those three women were too sly. Not only did they trick me, but they also stole PX-9 and PX-10. Now I have no idea where they went."
"Hmm, the Straw Hats are truly frightening! I also ran into Silvers Rayleigh here. Luckily, I was quick to run, or I might have been left behind by them myself."
"What? Silvers Rayleigh, the Right-Hand Man of the Pirate King, appeared?! Grandpa, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but the situation has far exceeded our expectations. Sentomaru, you should first safely escort the Celestial Dragons who are still alive, and then send someone to collect the bodies of the dead Celestial Dragons. Now, I will personally go and report the matter of Silvers Rayleigh's appearance and let Fleet Admiral Sengoku decide what to do!"
Kizaru used Rayleigh as a convenient excuse to withdraw. He knew he couldn't defeat the Straw Hats alone. Why put in the effort when he wasn't getting overtime pay? Rayleigh's appearance was perfectly timed. Facing such a legend, it was only natural for Kizaru to choose to retreat by himself.
After hanging up the Transponder Snail, Kizaru took one last look at Luffy and Rayleigh, then vanished in a shower of light particles.
Seeing Kizaru leave, Luffy lost interest in continuing their casual outing, so he decided they should meet up with Carl.
"Alright! Let's go to the Ripp-Off Bar on the Thirteenth Tree and find Teacher Carl!" Luffy announced loudly.
"Hey! Luffy, it's the Blackmail Bar!" Usopp and Chopper couldn't help but complain.
Rayleigh was surprised. He hadn't expected these young pirates to choose a shady bar for their meeting place. What a coincidence, as he was heading the same way!
Also, the Lightning Swordsman Carl?
Rayleigh was very curious about Carl. He didn't know where this person had come from, but it was obvious that the Straw Hats had grown so incredibly strong because of Carl's training. Therefore, he truly wanted to see what kind of person this Carl was.
"Uncle Rayleigh, come with us, too," Luffy invited.
"Haha, what a coincidence," Rayleigh replied with a smile, "I happen to live in the Blackmail Bar on Tree Thirteen".
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