With Robin's joining, everyone's lives on the ship had changed. Though no one objected anymore, they were all still wary of her. They had all come from the East Blue, sailing together for a long time. Robin, on the other hand, had suddenly appeared, a mysterious figure shrouded in secrets. Basically, with the exception of Moonlight and Luffy, everyone was still on their guard. But this was normal, and Robin understood. Time would prove her worth.
Of course, there was one exception: Sanji. He had been the first to surrender. Every day, he would wake up to the sight of the two beautiful ladies on the ship, sunbathing on the deck. Under Robin's kindness, he was quickly captured and surrendered completely.
The second was Usopp. He was the smartest on the ship, and after all sorts of tests and temptations, he had confirmed that Robin was not a threat and had let down his guard.
Next, Nami and Zoro also let down their guards, one after another. But Chopper... he was a different story. Finally, after Moonlight came out, Robin praised Chopper for three consecutive days, and after Chopper's feet were soft every day, he finally felt that this person was very kind and let down his guard. And he often asked Robin questions. In terms of knowledge, temperament, and insight, Robin was the strongest on the ship. She even knew the art of sailing, though she was no match for Nami's genius.
Robin would spend her days reading, sipping a drink from Sanji, and immersing herself in the world of books. This made Chopper say every day that if she continued like this, she would really become a bug. Humans all said "bookworms," wasn't it like this? Robin just smiled at this.
For four or five days in a row, the sea was calm, and everyone was able to relax. Luffy was sitting in his special seat at the bow of the ship, fishing, while Usopp was telling Chopper about his invincible adventures on the sea. Chopper screamed with admiration. Sanji, on the other hand, was happily waiting on the two ladies.
Zoro and Moonlight were sparring. Ever since he had broken through his bottleneck and stepped into a new realm, Zoro's sword skills had reached a new level in terms of strength and speed, and he had even created new techniques. Now, Zoro had formed his own style and had become a swordsman of some accomplishment. Of course, under Moonlight's tutelage, he was quickly brought back down to earth.
"You still have to continue to practice hard," Moonlight said to Zoro, "until one day, you can truly cross the sea." As they continued to sail, they were getting deeper and deeper into the Grand Line. Moonlight knew that there would be more powerful enemies waiting for them ahead. To become the King of the Pirates, they had to uncover the truth of the world hidden by the World Government and thoroughly understand the will of the D and the ancient inheritance. There was no doubt that what awaited them would be copper walls and iron wills, and stormy waves. If their strength was insufficient, it would be difficult to protect everyone, let alone themselves.
So everyone saw it, and Moonlight started again, working hard day and night. No matter day or night, in addition to his fixed daily rest time, Moonlight was practicing his swordsmanship. Fortunately, Sanji delivered meals on time when he was hungry, Nami personally customized his clothes when they broke, Usopp humbly asked for warmth, Chopper checked his body regularly, Robin researched historical texts from time to time, and Luffy had a fantastic performance from time to time. Although boring, it was interesting.
Along the way, they passed several islands. Moonlight was in charge of watching the ship, and everyone else went to get supplies. Every time they passed an island, everyone gained something, and their strength was constantly growing. The relationship between Chopper and Robin gradually became the best. Robin would take Chopper with her every time she took a bath, which made Sanji wish he could become Chopper. He asked Chopper if there was any medicine that could make people transform, and Chopper naively said he would consider developing it.
On an island with fireworks in full bloom, Usopp got a secret gunpowder formula, which made his sniping even more powerful. When Zoro was drunk, he occasionally talked in his sleep, but it was about his own past experiences. It was clear that he had been out for a long time, and he also had some memories of the past. After Nami met a strange person called the "Ladybug Postman," she spent a lot of money on special paper and locked herself in her room all day long. Luffy, as always, ate when he was hungry, and ate any meal and added any meat. He ate until he had a pot belly every day, but his life was returned in a second, which was surprising.
Occasionally, they encountered the Navy on the road. Although the Navy was strong, it was no longer a match for them. After easily dealing with them, the group continued to go deeper. They even met a strange old man and a strange group of sheep. The old man turned out to be a man named Zenny who was once famous for lending usury to pirates. Although he was very old and terminally ill, he was very optimistic. Even if he was old, he still did not give up his dream of being a pirate at sea. Everyone admired this very much, and then helped him run away and watched his Navy before continuing to sail.
On this day, a cloud of colorful fog suddenly floated on the sea, like a cushion, blocking their way. Everyone was very curious, but when Robin saw the fog, her expression changed drastically, and she quickly exclaimed, "Quickly, get out of this fog. This is a terrible legend that prevails on the sea. This colorful fog is also called the 'ship's tomb.'" Robin looked very solemn.
"The ship's tomb?" everyone was surprised.
"Yes," Robin nodded. "According to historical records, so far, all the people and boats who have entered inside have never come out. Some people have even tried all means to study them, but they are all broken, so they are called the tomb of the boat. Everyone, get out of this colorful fog."
"It's really creepy to hear you say that. The Grand Line... there really is such a thing," everyone was shocked, and even cold sweat came out.
"Usopp, change course! Hurry up!" Nami commanded. Only Luffy looked curious and wanted to go in and take a look. But when Moonlight slashed out with his sword, and the sword energy, as if entering another space, disappeared in the colorful fog, Luffy couldn't help but slap his tongue. And everyone was even more shocked. How ferocious was Moonlight's slash? Even storms, sandstorms, and the sea could be cut away. Now it had no effect on the fog. In this case, it was enough to show the horror of this colorful fog. Luffy became very solemn.
However, just when everyone turned their course and prepared to leave, the sun jumped out of the horizon, and the sun shone on the sea, a bright golden light. And the colorful fog gradually dissipated. Then an island appeared in their sight.
"It's an island!"
"What a big lighthouse!"
"Can I go for supplies?"
"I want to buy more paper and clothes!"
"I'm so hungry! I want to eat meat!" Seeing the mist dissipate and the island suddenly appearing in front of them, everyone became excited. The mystery brought by the colorful mist disappeared instantly. Especially Chopper, pointing to the island, shouted at a huge tower. He thought it was a lighthouse. However, when he took a closer look, it was a giant towering into the clouds.
Luffy's eyes lit up. He had been hungry all the way. Now that he finally saw an island, it meant that rice could be eaten freely and meat could be added freely.
"The legend of the colorful mist?" Moonlight remembered what Robin had said, and the two looked at each other, their eyes flashing solemnly. The Grand Line was full of all kinds of incredible things. The colorful mist was one of them.
At this time, the Merry was already close to the port. After finding a place to dock, everyone went ashore. However, as soon as they set foot on the island, a guard holding a weapon immediately appeared and shouted at them, "This is Ruluka Island. If you want to go to the island, you have to pay an entry tax."
"An entry tax?"
"No, you have to pay taxes even if you stop for a while?"
"I've never heard of this tax," Usopp yelled first, and Nami had a bad face. As the woman in charge of all the money on the ship, she would never allow any unrelated expenditures.
"Why, are you evading taxes?" However, upon hearing this, the guard's face became cold, and the gun in his hand was raised immediately, aiming at everyone.
"It would be too rude to treat a lady like this," Sanji's face sank, and he straightened forward immediately.
"It seems you are going to resist," the guard's face became completely cold, and he was about to raise his gun and shoot. At this time, Luffy, who had been waiting for a long time, was already impatient, and ran directly towards the island no matter what it was.
"Stop!" the guard shouted angrily, but then Sanji kicked his weapon away. "Damn, wait! No one can evade taxes on Ruluka Island," the guard said, putting down a cruel word and fleeing immediately. Everyone didn't care and walked towards the island.
A group of people came to the island and then split up. Usopp, Robin, and Sanji went to find Luffy; Nami, Moonlight, and Chopper were in charge of supplies; and Zoro stayed to watch the ship. Although Ruluka Island was not large, it could be regarded as prosperous, but it was very strange that people here had to pay various taxes no matter what they did. For example, you had to pay a "loud tax" for speaking loudly, a "city appearance tax" for being long and ugly and going to the streets, and a "drinking tax" for drinking, and even a "street tax" for shopping on the street. In such a place, that beauty was speechless. Of course, she would not pay a penny.
As a result, their actions quickly attracted the attention of the collection team. The collection team was established by the Mayor Wetton to collect taxes from the citizens. Whether they were dissatisfied or sneaky, as long as they were caught by the collection team, they would be forced to pay taxes immediately. If they couldn't be handed over, they would be sent to the Rainbow Tower, where they would work to death.
Just when they finished their supplies and were about to return to the ship, a man wearing a strange machine armor, two people tall, followed by two guards dragging wires, appeared behind him, stopped in front of the three, and shouted, "That's why you don't pay the entry tax? You spoilers, dare to defy Mayor Wetton!"
"No, it's Henzo!"
"Run away, or it will be over!" Upon seeing this, the villagers went around, shouting bad news and fleeing all around.
And Nami looked at this machine armor with a strange look. "Who are you?"
"I am the grandson of the Mayor Wetton, Henzo. Now I will give you one last chance. Hurry up and pay the entry tax, otherwise don't blame me for being rude to you!" Henzo shouted loudly, and the machine armor raised his arms, suddenly screaming. The current swept, and it was terrifying.
"Otherwise, you're welcome?" Hearing that, Nami curled her lips and stood behind Moonlight. Who was she afraid of when there was moonlight?
"It seems that you are going to resist to the end. In that case, Thunder Bone!" Upon seeing this, Henzo's face became cold, and then he gave a grinning grin, raised his arms, and a flash of lightning pierced the air towards the three of them.
WHOOSH!
But at this moment, Moonlight drew his sword. A crescent-like sword energy directly cut through the thunder and lightning and instantly slashed on his body.
CRACK!
The people around him were dumbfounded, and the two guards behind Henzo were incredible. Under Henzo's unbelievable gaze, the machine armor on his body was suddenly cut in two by this sword energy. The armor shattered, and Henzo fell to the ground, screaming. The sword energy swept past, and the streets of the city behind him were chopped in two. The sword energy whistled, and it was shocking.
"The thunder and lightning have been split!"
"What?!" everyone went around, and was immediately stunned by this shocking scene. The two guards trembled all over and shivered. Henzo sat down on the ground and was frightened. When had he ever seen such a powerful sword skill?
"Wow, Moonlight, you are amazing!" Nami gave a thumbs-up to Moonlight, then stepped forward and stared at Henzo, disdainfully said, "You dare to charge my tax on things like you. Now it's the other way around. I want to charge you a 'wasting my time tax' for wasting my time, 2 million Berries." After speaking, Nami turned against the general and stretched out her hand.
"A 'wasting my time tax'? How can there be such a tax in the world! And 2 million at that!" Hearing this, Henzo immediately screamed. However, seeing the indifferent face of Moonlight standing with a sword, he suddenly trembled. Later, after reluctantly handing in 2 million Berries, he fled. Finally, he left one sentence for them to wait, that his grandpa would never let them go.
"Miss, you are so good, but Mayor Wetton is not easy to provoke. Please run away," the villagers said, kindly persuading them. It seemed that Mayor Wetton was a terrifying figure.
"Don't worry, Mayor Wetton won't do this. You can divide the money," Nami said, and then even divided the 2 million Berries among them. This surprised Moonlight. Nami, who had always regarded wealth as her destiny, still had such a side. Chopper opened his mouth even more, as if he didn't know Nami.
BOOM!
At this moment, there was a sound of a huge heavy object entering the sea suddenly on the distant sea, and then they heard a series of shocked, even extremely panicked shouts: "Look, the colorful mist has appeared again!"
"No, that thing will swallow everything!"
"Run for your life!"