Day 6 of the voyage.
The large merchant ship 'Croissant,' 3rd-floor VIP room.
Victor looked at the several zipper samples of different styles and materials laid out on the table in front of him, lost in thought.
From the moment he fought 'Three-Fingered Fox,' Victor understood why the Marines considered the Zip-Zip Fruit to be a useless Devil Fruit. Unlike Bruno Bucciarati's Stand 'Sticky Fingers' in the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the Zip-Zip Fruit's zipper-opening ability could not be used on other living beings.
In other words, the Zip-Zip Fruit did not possess 'Sticky Fingers'' most deadly ability from the manga—the ability to decompose enemies with zippers upon touch. When facing an enemy, the most it could decompose was their clothing.
However, after simple adjustments and tests, Victor discovered during his battle with Pippin that the Zip-Zip Fruit could actually be used on himself, which opened up a lot of operational possibilities.
And most importantly, the Zip-Zip Fruit was a special Paramecia-type Devil Fruit; this was what his special Observation Haki, 'Revelation,' told him. The Zip-Zip Fruit simultaneously possessed the three major Paramecia characteristics: 'supernatural ability,' 'superhuman body,' and 'super creation.' What he needed to do now was to thoroughly research the performance of various zippers and develop more powerful techniques.
Thump, thump, thump.
A very rhythmic knock on the door, it must be Clansner.
"Come in."
Upon receiving permission, Clansner pushed the door open: "Boss, the captain wishes for me to inform you that the lookout can already see the port of Kano Country. We should be docking in about 40 minutes."
"Good, I understand. Inform everyone to prepare for landing."
"Yes."
30 minutes later, everyone gathered on the deck, waiting to dock.
The massive port of Kano Country was right before them. Large and small ships moved like schools of fish in the bustling port. What was surprising was that numerous pirate ships were also docked, and the surrounding civilians and guards completely ignored them.
"Horohorohoro~~ We're finally in Kano Country! I hear the food here is especially delicious!" Perona was the first to jump onto the dock, raising her hands and cheering.
"That's right! Big Sis Perona! I heard Kano Country's super spicy dishes are simply divinely crafted!" Mim, who bounced down right after her, surprisingly agreed with Perona.
"...It's 'ingenious' not 'ghost-possessed'! I remember Kano Country's stir-fry... wait a minute! What exactly are we here for? A sightseeing tour with food and fun?" Capone Bege, the third to disembark, looked at the two foodies in front of him with a black line on his face, then turned to Victor: "Boss, are we heading out now?"
Victor stood on the dock, appreciating the surrounding cultural scenery, which was distinctly different from Algaro Town, and nodded in response: "Mm, have Clansner lead the guys to inventory the goods, then we'll head to Tiger's Shadow Mountain."
"Tiger's Shadow Mountain? Isn't that the den of the Happo Navy?" Bege was startled; the Happo Navy was not to be trifled with. It was one of the eight pirate violence groups officially sanctioned by Kano Country, and its leader, 'Don Chinjao,' was a renowned pirate. It was said that even in the latter half of the Grand Line, where powerhouses were abundant, Don Chinjao was still a top-tier expert.
"Yes, the Happo Navy. The other seven naval forces are difficult to deal with, but I had a brief encounter with the next leader of the Happo Navy." Victor said lightly.
Seeing that his boss had a plan, Capone Bege said no more. He and Clansner together directed the gang members to inventory the goods, and soon everything was ready.
After storing all the goods in Capone Bege's internal castle space, Victor only brought Perona, Bege, Clansner, and Mim to Tiger's Shadow Mountain, leaving the other gang members to guard the 'Croissant.'
Meanwhile, at Marine Branch 91's Algaro Town base, a middle-aged man with particularly deep forehead wrinkles was leisurely sitting with his legs crossed, enjoying the most famous grilled cheese bagel from 'Simon's Cheese Ring.'
"Report, Victor's group has arrived at the port of Kano Country." A Marine soldier reported to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man, Marine Captain Krone, swallowed his bagel with effort, then waved his hand at the Marine soldier:
"Cough cough... He has special anti-monitoring methods, tell the surveillance team to withdraw!" This Victor is truly restless, going to Kano Country to talk business or fight? Forget it, he doesn't have many days left anyway, let him be.
He had already envisioned it: once Teacher Zephyr came to West Blue and subdued Victor, he would seize the opportunity to build a good relationship with this civilian genius. If he ever grew into a Marine Vice Admiral or even an Admiral, wouldn't he have another powerful backer?
Marine Captain Krone happily took a sip of hot coffee. Just then, the private Dan-Dan-Mushi on his desk rang doo-doo-doo-doo.
"Captain Krone, long time no see." The Dan-Dan-Mushi's face automatically changed into that of an old man with not-so-obvious wrinkles.
"Teacher Zephyr! It's truly a shame that you, in your busy schedule, would personally call me!" Krone felt a bit embarrassed, then cheered up and asked: "Is the Marine trainee officer exam you're overseeing at Headquarters going smoothly? Please, you must not overwork your body..."
"Sorry, I can't go to West Blue for now." Zephyr interrupted Krone's enthusiastic greeting, saying helplessly: "Fleet Admiral Sengoku wants me to personally supervise the trainee ship this year, and I agreed."
Krone was struck as if by lightning, and after a few seconds of stuttering, he asked:
"Then, then Victor..."
"You guard the entrance to Reverse Mountain, don't provoke him. In about two months, I'll finish my supervision duties for the trainee ship here. Until then, you'll have to manage on your own."
"Yes! Please rest assured, Teacher Zephyr, your student will do everything in his power!" Krone saluted the Dan-Dan-Mushi directly.
"Hmm, you take care." Click, the Dan-Dan-Mushi reverted to its original face and closed its eyes.
...This is bad!
Krone, his face covered in cold sweat, immediately summoned a Marine soldier and loudly ordered: "Send more troops to garrison the Reverse Mountain entrance! As long as that Victor doesn't actively go to Reverse Mountain, don't bother him!"
Perhaps for Admiral Zephyr, this Victor was just a minor character he could easily deal with. But for himself and for the West Blue, a simulated bounty of 100 million Berries meant Victor had already entered the ranks of West Blue's top-tier combatants; there were only a few with higher bounties than him.
He could only hope that Victor wouldn't seek death by provoking Kano Country's Happo Navy, otherwise, even gods couldn't save him, and his plan to return to Marine Headquarters would come to nothing.
Meanwhile, in Kano Country, Victor's group finally arrived at the Happo Navy's stronghold—Tiger's Shadow Mountain.
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