Seeing that Luffy's group was not at all worried about their opponent being a Shichibukai.
Vivi suddenly shouted angrily and excitedly,
"Luffy, what's wrong with you guys?"
"Don't you know the seriousness of the problem?"
"The opponent is that Shichibukai! That's a Great Pirate recognized by the World Government."
"Pirates like you, who have just entered the Grand Line, cannot even imagine their terror."
"Luffy, this is a matter of life and death; you must take it seriously."
"Don't joke with your lives!"
Vivi roared out the last sentence.
She valued life too much.
Especially the lives of those she cared about.
She believed that Luffy and the others simply did not know the terror of the Shichibukai.
Facing such an opponent, even giving their absolute best was not enough, yet Luffy and the others seemed so unconcerned.
This made Vivi feel that they were joking with their lives.
Vivi hung her head, tears constantly falling to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably, her mind filled with the lives lost because of Crocodile.
Just then, Vivi suddenly felt someone touching her head.
She looked up in confusion.
She saw Luffy's extremely serious face.
Then, she heard Luffy say,
"We're not joking with our lives; you've been too deeply affected by the title of Shichibukai and imagine him to be too powerful!"
"Eh?"
Vivi let out a soft exclamation, with confusion in her eyes.
She felt that Luffy didn't seem to be joking.
But…
That was a Shichibukai!
As Vivi sighed in her heart, she saw Nami walk over and pat her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Vivi! With Luffy here, everything will be fine."
Uta also came over to comfort Vivi.
"Vivi, Luffy is very strong."
Nojiko followed closely.
"Vivi, trust Luffy!"
Vivi stared blankly at the people in front of her.
From everyone's eyes, she saw extreme trust and reliance on Luffy.
It seemed that with Luffy around, there was nothing that couldn't be done.
She couldn't help but look at Luffy, her heart filled with doubt.
"Why? Why does everyone trust you so much, Luffy?"
At this moment, Vivi still couldn't understand this question.
Just as Vivi was pondering, Igaram's voice suddenly rang out.
"Ahem... Ma-ma-ma... Princess Vivi, everyone, please listen to me."
Hearing Igaram's voice, everyone looked in his direction.
They found that he had, at some point, dressed up like Vivi, and was holding a pile of dummies made to resemble the Straw Hat.
Then, everyone heard him say:
"Please listen carefully, Princess Vivi."
"From now on, I will impersonate you and take the Straw Hat's dummies from here, returning directly to Alabasta."
"While Baroque Works is pursuing me, you will follow the Straw Hat's ship along the usual route back to the country."
"Although I haven't taken this route either, you should arrive after passing two or three islands along the way."
"I hope we will all be safe and meet again in our homeland."
Vivi looked at Igaram with concern, knowing that his actions absorbed the greatest danger.
But now, this was the safest way for her to return to her country.
"Igaram... please be careful."
Facing Vivi's concern, Igaram smiled and nodded slightly.
"Then I'll go first. After I leave, you all should quickly depart from here too."
With that, Igaram rushed towards the shore, holding the dummies.
Luffy watched Igaram leave and did not stop him.
He knew that even if he said he could protect Vivi and didn't need Igaram as a decoy, the two of them wouldn't accept it.
They were too afraid of Crocodile to take such a risk.
At this moment, Vivi looked at Luffy anxiously and said,
"Luffy, let's go quickly. With such a big incident happening here, Baroque Works will surely send people soon."
Luffy shook his head and said,
"Wait, before leaving, I still have one more thing to do."
With that, he looked at Mr. 5, whom he had brought earlier.
Seeing this, everyone else looked puzzled.
"Luffy, I wanted to ask earlier, why are you carrying this guy? Isn't he from Baroque Works?"
"Are you planning to do something with him?"
Luffy nodded and said,
"This guy is an Explosion Fruit user."
"Do you know?"
"After a Devil Fruit user dies, the fruit will respawn somewhere in this world."
Everyone understood what he meant upon hearing this.
"Are you trying to acquire this Explosion Fruit?"
"But didn't you just say it would respawn somewhere? In that case, even if you kill him, you won't get the fruit, right?"
Luffy replied,
"Directly killing him won't get you the Devil Fruit."
"But there's a saying about Devil Fruits."
"Devil Fruits will consciously seek out their masters."
Before anyone could ask again, Luffy suddenly asked,
"Usopp, do you want the power of this Explosion Fruit?"
Hearing Luffy suddenly mention him, Usopp was momentarily stunned.
"Huh? Me?"
Luffy nodded and said,
"If you eat this fruit, you can turn any part of your body into an explosive bomb. If developed well, you can even turn everything within a certain range around you into bombs, and you'll be immune to explosion damage."
"Aren't you quite knowledgeable about gunpowder and bombs now?"
"If you eat this fruit, you'll definitely develop some amazing abilities and become stronger!"
After hearing Luffy's description of the Explosion Fruit, Usopp was instantly tempted.
He was currently determined to become stronger, but his talent was, after all, in sniping. Even though he trained with Zoro and Sanji every day, he still couldn't compare to them.
And if he could eat this fruit, he would be strong in both long-range and close combat.
Usopp's eyes showed excitement, as if he had already seen the brave warrior of the sea in the future, and he excitedly said,
"I'm willing!"
"But... didn't you say killing him wouldn't get the fruit? How do I get this ability?"
Usopp added, confused.
Luffy's eyes showed contemplation as he said,
"Actually, I'm just trying."
"Your understanding of bombs and your talent in that area should already be top-notch."
"So I want to try and see if this fruit will be attracted by your talent and find you itself."
With that, Luffy applied his Heaven-Defying Comprehension to Usopp, activating all of his bomb-related understanding, allowing him to develop this talent to its extreme in that instant.
Usopp also instantly felt that the bomb knowledge he usually had to think about bit by bit in his mind suddenly gushed out like a wellspring, and it was incredibly clear.
Just then, Luffy picked up a knife from the ground and plunged it into Mr. 5's heart.
After a Devil Fruit user dies, the fruit's ability will briefly remain in their body for a period of time.
So, all Luffy could do now was wait.
During this time, he continuously applied Heaven-Defying Comprehension to Usopp.
Coo-coo!
Coo-coo!
A bird's cry came from above.
While waiting, Luffy curiously looked up.
He suddenly noticed that as the bird flew over their heads, something seemed to fall from its back.
As that thing fell lower and lower, allowing Luffy to see its appearance,
A look of surprise instantly appeared on his face.
"You have Heaven-Defying Comprehension. Through the transmission of comprehension, your transmitter is extraordinarily gifted, and the Explosion Fruit is attracted."
"It worked!"
Luffy suddenly cried out in surprise.
Immediately after, the others also followed Luffy's gaze and noticed the black fruit with strange patterns, falling straight towards where Usopp was standing.
Usopp was stunned and reached out to catch the fruit.
"Is this the Explosion Fruit?"
"sugei! It really came for Usopp!"
"Hurry and eat it, Usopp. Let's see this ability."
Amidst the exclamations from around him, Usopp brought the Explosion Fruit to his mouth.
"Ugh... It's so disgusting!"
After taking a bite, Usopp nauseatingly spat it out.
"Hey! Usopp, don't spit it out! If you don't eat it, how will you get this ability?"
Nami said anxiously, very curious to see what Usopp would become.
Usopp looked at the fruit with a pained expression, truly unable to bring himself to eat it.
Just then, Luffy spoke.
"You don't have to eat it all. As long as you take one bite of a Devil Fruit, you'll gain the ability."
"Really?"
Usopp's face lit up with surprise. After seeing Luffy nod, he disdainfully threw away the remaining portion.
"Hey! Hey! Usopp, quickly show us!"
Nami looked excited, and the others also showed curiosity.
Because of the boost from Luffy's Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Usopp instantly mastered the basic usage of this fruit.
He went in front of a house and then threw a punch.
Bang!
A violent explosion sounded, and the house collapsed with a crash.
Discovering that he had become so strong, Usopp was overjoyed and couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"Wahahahaha, the brave warrior of the sea, Usopp, that's me! Hahahaha..."
The others were also shocked at this moment.
"Su... sugei!"
Especially Vivi, who couldn't help but exclaim,
"It's even more powerful than when Mr. 5 used it!"
As Vivi said, the power Usopp displayed far exceeded Mr. 5's.
Luffy had actually expected this.
The strength of a Devil Fruit is greatly related to the user's ability.
Although Usopp had just eaten the Explosion Fruit, he had been training every day before.
Coupled with his understanding and talent for explosions far exceeding Mr. 5's, it was very normal for him to display power beyond him.
However, for subsequent development, Usopp would have to comprehend it himself.
The Upper limit of the Explosion Fruit is not limited to this!
...
After dealing with the Explosion Fruit matter, Luffy and the others headed towards the shore, preparing to depart.
As Luffy was walking, he suddenly felt something soft pressing against him.
Turning his head, he saw Nami holding his arm, her big eyes blinking, her lips pursed, looking at him with an expectant expression.
Luffy found it amusing and had a vague guess in his heart, but he still asked,
"Is something wrong?"
Nami's expression suddenly bloomed into a smile.
"Hehe... When can you get a Devil Fruit for me and Nojiko too?"
"It's best if it's the kind that's super powerful, where if you eat it, you become as strong as a monster."
Saying that, Nami reasonably explained to Luffy.
"Look, we've now entered the Grand Line, and in the future, we'll definitely encounter many powerful enemies."
"Zoro and Sanji are getting stronger every day, and Usopp now has the Explosion Fruit."
"Only Nojiko and I are the weakest."
"What if one day, we encounter many powerful enemies, and you guys can't protect us? Won't the two of us be doomed?"
After speaking, Nami put on a pitiful expression, her pleading little eyes twinkling like stars, like a helpless kitten, looking at Luffy expectantly.
Luffy looked at Nami in this state and couldn't help but laugh, saying,
"Don't worry! I've already thought about it."
"The Devil Fruits I find for you two will definitely be monster-level."
"Didn't I say? Our pirate crew will definitely be full of monsters in the future!"
Nami was immediately surprised and excited, hugging Luffy's arm like a kitten and happily rubbing against him.
Nojiko wasn't as unrestrained as Nami, but she was equally excited and happy, unable to help but imagine what she would look like when she was as strong as a monster in the future.
And Vivi, walking beside them, couldn't help but feel envious at this sight.
Envious that they could get along so happily, while she had no time or energy to experience the joy of being with companions.
Her gaze turned to the distant sea, where she could still vaguely see the shrinking silhouette of Igaram's ship leaving.
"You must be safe, Igaram!"
Vivi murmured, looking at the ship that was already so far away it was almost disappearing.
Bang!
Suddenly, a faint explosion sound came from afar.
"!!!"
The next second, Vivi's body trembled, and her eyes seemed to lose focus, turning completely white.
The scene reflected in her eyes was one of raging flames and rolling black smoke.
Luffy and the others also heard the explosion and looked over.
The moment they clearly saw the situation, each of them also showed shock and sadness.
Igaram's ship had now turned into a burning, smoke-emitting wreckage.
"Ho-How could this be? Did the pursuers arrive so quickly?"
"No way?! Igaram, he…"
"Vivi…"
Everyone exclaimed in sadness, casting worried glances at Vivi.
At this moment, Vivi bit her lip tightly, her eyes filled with tears, but her expression was resolute, and she said firmly in a deep voice,
"Luffy, let's go quickly!"
This strong appearance moved the others.
Luffy just nodded, not saying much.
In fact, when Igaram chose to do this, he was bound to be pursued by Baroque Works, it was only a matter of time.
...
Arriving at the shore, everyone quickly boarded the Merry and prepared to set sail for the next island.
Just then, Zoro suddenly frowned and called out in a deep voice,
"Luffy!"
Luffy nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
He had also sensed an additional presence on the ship.
In fact, everyone in the Straw Hat Crew, except Vivi and Karu, had noticed the presence of an outsider.
They all looked in the direction of that presence and saw a black-haired, slightly dark-skinned woman sitting on the railing of the Merry's second floor.
Luffy recognized this person at a glance: Nico Robin!
However, at present, her public identity was still Crocodile's partner, Ms. All Sunday!
Robin was a bit surprised to find that so many people on the ship had noticed her at the same time.
"Oh my! How strange? Why did you all notice me at the same time?"
Hearing this, Vivi also looked over.
Immediately, her expression turned to extreme terror, and she exclaimed,
"You… Why are you here… Ms. All Sunday!"
Robin propped her chin with her hand, smiled faintly, and said,
"I just found Mr. 8 over there. You are truly cunning, Ms. Wednesday!"
Upon hearing this, Vivi's pupils constricted, her expression shocked, and she said trembling,
"Did… Did you do this to Igaram…"
The others also harbored hostility and anger towards Robin at this moment, all preparing for battle.
Only Luffy, with a smile on his face, took two steps forward, looking at Robin and saying,
"Since you've boarded my ship, you won't leave without my permission!"