Chapter 233: A Return to Sabaody, the Supernovas of the East Blue!
"A Celestial Dragon."
Morgans's smile froze on his face.
...A moment later, the sound of panicked gasping, a chair crashing to the floor, and a door slamming shut came through the Transponder Snail.
"Hello?" Shane said after a long silence.
"Ah... hello? Can you hear me, Lord Shane?" a muffled voice came through a burst of static. "The signal is bad... I can't hear you... Are you still there...? How strange..."
Click.
The line went dead.
Shane looked at the snail, chuckled, and set it down. He wasn't surprised. He just leaned back in his chair and waited.
...
In the office of the World Economic Journal, a sweat-drenched Morgans was pacing frantically. What is that guy thinking?! Asking for the location of a Celestial Dragon... and saying he's going to "take care of them"?! He's a madman! A complete and utter madman!
But... 'Emperor of the Sea Takes Revenge on Celestial Dragon?' Just the thought of that headline made him tremble with excitement. A story like that... would break every record in history, even the one set by Roger's execution. Was it worth the risk...? He stopped in front of his bookshelf, his eyes falling on an old, worn quill pen, the first one he had ever owned. What are you hesitating for, you old fool? he thought, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face. So what if I become an accomplice to deicide? A true journalist, a true businessman, is never afraid of making a scene!
He was a madman, too. Otherwise, he never would have dived into that book world, where he'd been knocked unconscious for six days. Besides... he had his own opinions about the Celestial Dragons. With a maniacal laugh, he pulled out two special Transponder Snails, one large, and one small and pure white. He connected them with a special cable, creating a secure, untraceable line. He took a deep breath, and dialed...
...
Purupurupuru~
Faster than I expected, Shane thought, picking up the receiver.
"This call is on a top-level encrypted line," a raspy, unfamiliar voice said. "Don't ask who I am. I can't answer. But I can give you the information you want. Most of the 'adults' rarely leave their estates on the mountain. But a few of the younger ones have developed a taste for travel. Two of them like to visit the north. The others... they enjoy visiting a certain grove, where they can always find things to their liking. Their movements are predictable. The next opportunity... will be in about forty days..."
Forty days... a month and a half. That was perfect. It would give him time to consolidate his new territories and master his new abilities. A storm was coming. And before a storm, there is always a calm.
Sabaody Archipelago.
A month and a half passed. It was now mid-April, the transition from spring to summer. The giant mangrove trees dripped with resin, which formed into bubbles that floated up into the sky and popped.
"Hey, you guys, look over there! What is that thing?!" an old, drunk ship coater yelled, pointing at the water.
Splash!
A bright yellow submarine surfaced next to the pier.
"Is that... a pirate ship?"
The hatch opened, and a young man in a spotted cap, carrying a long sword, stepped onto the dock.
"Captain, so this is Sabaody Archipelago? It's huge!" a white polar bear said, looking around with wide, curious eyes.
"Waaaah! The white bear can talk!" the coaters screamed in terror.
"I'm sorry," Bepo said, hanging his head.
"Stop apologizing to everyone!" Law snapped, then turned to the coaters with a glare. "If you laugh at my nakama again, I'll cut you to pieces!"
The old coater, however, was staring at him, a look of recognition on his face. "Hey, you're him, aren't you! The captain of the Heart Pirates! One of the Eleven Supernovas, with a bounty of 200 million!"
"Supernova?" Law frowned. "What's that?"
"Hey, kid, you really don't know you're one of this year's Supernovas?"
In Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, the former Empress of Amazon Lily was looking with amusement at the green-haired young man sitting at her counter. "121,000,000 Belly. The captain of the Two Swords Pirates, Roronoa Zoro?"
"I told you, I don't know, old lady," Zoro said, downing his glass of ale. "I'm the captain, cook, navigator, and shipwright of the Two Swords Adventurers. I'm too busy to read the newspaper!"
"All by yourself?" Shakky was genuinely surprised. "A swordsman who knows nothing but fighting... managed to sail the entire Grand Line alone?"
"The end of Paradise?" Zoro's eyes went wide. "Wait, this is the end of Paradise?!"
"You're a little slow, aren't you?"
"How was I supposed to know, old lady?! I was trying to get to Water 7 to fix my ship, but I got lost, and when I woke up, I was here!"
You got lost... and ended up here? Shakky's eye twitched.
"Damn it, what am I going to do now?" Zoro groaned. "My ship is a wreck. How am I supposed to get to the New World...?"
"There are plenty of shipyards on this island," she said, lighting a cigarette. "But are you sure you want to go to the New World? It's a whole different level from Paradise. Even a Supernova can die a miserable death there."
"Of course I'm going!" Zoro's eyes burned with determination. "I made a promise to a girl! We're going to follow in Big Brother Shane's footsteps and compete for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman! I can't stop here!"
"Big Brother Shane..." Shakky's eyes narrowed. "You know him?"
"Yeah, since I was a kid. It's been over a year, but with everything that's happened... it feels like forever..." He stood up. "Well, I'm off to find a shipyard. Thanks for the info, you kind old lady." He tossed a few coins on the counter. "I just had two drinks. That should cover it."
"No problem," she said with a puff of smoke. "Two glasses of 70-year-aged Romanee-Conti. That'll be fifty million Belly. Thank you for your business."
"?" Zoro froze. "How much???"
"Fifty million," she said with a sweet smile. "It's a 70-year vintage, little brother. It's a bit pricey."
"Are you kidding me?!" he slammed his hand on the counter, his face red. "That was just cheap booze! I saw you pull it from under the counter!"
"Oh, you saw that, did you?~" she said, feigning surprise. "Well, consider it a fee for calling me an old lady."
This woman... this is a rip-off! Wait... Shakky's Rip-Off Bar... so that's what it means!
Just as he was about to draw his swords, the saloon doors flew open.
"Barkeep! Ten plates of meat! No, twenty! And make it fast!" a freckle-faced young man burst in, his eyes wild with hunger. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! I haven't eaten in three days!"
"Hey, kid," Shakky said, annoyed. "This is a bar, not a restaurant. The diner is next door."
"I know, but the owner said they were full! Some weirdo and his crew bought out the whole place! He said you sold food here!"
"Only bar snacks," she said, then paused, a look of recognition on her face. "Hey, kid, you're Ace, aren't you? Portgas D. Ace, with a bounty of 330 million. The highest of this year's Supernovas?" The name, the face, the attitude... he's just like a young Roger.
"Eh? You know me, old lady?"
"330 million?" Zoro said, surprised. The two of them turned and looked at each other.
"Tch. Another moss-head?" Ace said with a scowl. "No wonder I couldn't get a table. What bad luck."
"What did you just call me, you freckled little brat?" Zoro sneered, his hand on his sword. "You know, I have a habit of paying off my debts by collecting the bounties of people who annoy me. And you just so happen to be worth enough to cover my bar tab..." He paused, a look of confusion on his face. Again? Why did he say 'again'?
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