"Counting our new companion, out of the seven of us now, I'm the only one who isn't a Devil Fruit User, right?" Kuina said with a hint of complaint.
Because she noticed that everyone else among them was a Devil Fruit User, Luna even described her gliza template, a Void Beast, as a Devil Fruit Ability.
And what about the others?
Kaya had the Six-Winged Angel Fruit, Nojiko had the Ice Sky Snow Woman Fruit, Shino Asada had the Ray Fruit, and their new chef companion was a Phoenix Fruit User.
And there was Shiro; this afternoon, the Captain actually gave her a Devil Fruit, so good heavens, out of the seven people on their pirate ship, she was the only one who wasn't a Devil Fruit User.
Of course, she was only complaining a little. After all, Luna had already told her that not everyone on the pirate ship would be a Devil Fruit User in the future. She would respect and lean towards other powers, such as Haki, martial arts, and swordsmanship experts among The Girls.
Take Nojiko, Kaya, and Carmen, for example; they were all companions who urgently needed Devil Fruit, such a great treasure of the sea, to quickly enhance their strength.
Moreover, Luna currently only had Devil Fruit that could significantly boost The Girls' strength.
And Kuina's path was that of a Great Swordsman, dreaming of becoming the worlds strongest swordsman, so she didn't really need a Devil Fruit, or rather, she didn't need it at all.
But as soon as she said that, she was immediately met with teasing from her companions, especially Shiro, who directly said:
"You can consider it too! And I've found that for the weak, Devil Fruit is a great way to quickly improve strength, but for the strong, it can even fill gaps. I think my Devil Fruit is pretty good; it boldly compensated for my shortcomings and enhanced my abilities."
She was indeed very satisfied with the Mechanical-Mechanical Fruit that Luna had given her.
It allowed her to extend or conjure other mechanical weapons from parts of her body or out of thin air around her. She could also control various metal-rich weapons, and of course, technological weapons too. It was precisely because of this Devil Fruit Ability that Shiro had such a performance in the restaurant earlier.
After she finished speaking, Kaya, Nojiko, and even Shino Asada all showed that they actually quite liked their Devil Fruit Abilities, both in their expressions and attitudes.
Luna smiled from the side, saying nothing, her gaze fixed on the phoenix in the sky. She realized it was time for Carmen to enter the next stage; after consuming an Animal-type Devil Fruit, one would automatically enter Beast Form and Human-Beast Form sequentially. Carmen was likely close now, about to enter the Phoenix Fruit's Human-Beast Form.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
The phoenix in the sky, as flames ignited all over its body again, slowly shrunk, gradually reverting to Carmen's appearance, but with a slight difference.
From her hands to her arms, both arms had completely transformed into burning, orange-red phoenix wings, incredibly large, especially the outermost feathers, which looked like sharp blades.
Her feet had turned into phoenix talons, similarly wreathed in flames, and she also had phoenix tail feathers on her back, along with a phoenix crest on her head.
This was the Human-Beast Form of the Phoenix Fruit, also known as a Phoenix Human.
She looked around at her current appearance, just as she had observed her phoenix form in mid-air earlier.
Carmen's heart was now filled with excitement and joy. I've become stronger, I've truly become stronger, so much stronger, and I've even transformed into the legendary phoenix.
Thinking of this, she looked at Luna in front of her and The Girls beside her. These people must be the rest of the Pink Hat Pirates, she thought.
But she immediately released her Phoenix Human-Beast Form, returning to her normal, original appearance.
Perhaps because she wasn't a Hito Hito no Mi User, her clothes didn't change during her transformation.
However, even Kaya and Nojiko would revert to their original clothes after releasing their forms.
But Carmen was still wearing her casual clothes, the same outfit she had on before.
Nojiko and Kaya wore blue and yellow clothes respectively, and if one looked closely, they would immediately recognize them as the Navigator and Doctor.
As for Shiro, she was naturally still wearing her original Galactron MK2 armor, looking like a Scientist.
Shino Asada wore her sniper suit, Kuina wore a Shadow Assassin Seven-style suit, and Luna was dressed in a pirate captain's attire.
Carmen stepped forward and greeted Luna and the others.
But without a doubt, Carmen successfully joined the pirate ship, becoming the chef of the Pink Hat Pirates. Carmen now met the requirements and possessed both ability and strength.
Luna personally sought her out, and with the pirate ship genuinely needing a chef, all the other companions naturally welcomed her with smiles and enthusiasm.
Carmen went into town to buy some clothes she liked, then immediately returned to the pirate ship with them. Since the pirate ship had plenty of food and a perfect kitchen, there was no need to buy food and cooking utensils, as she was already the chef of the Pink Hat Pirates.
Upon arriving on the pirate ship, Luna assigned Carmen a double room, allowing her to decorate and arrange it to her liking, creating a comfortable bedroom.
But at the same time, Luna truly hadn't expected it. She had only come to invite Kaya today.
But afterward, she first fought with Garp and his group, and she still had a summon card unused, so she summoned Shino Asada and used the Ray Fruit on her.
Then, she truly hadn't expected it: she had only planned to come to this town to celebrate with a good meal, and it turned out that the last companion she wanted to invite in the East Blue, the chef Carmen, was right here.
Tonight, she successfully invited Carmen onto the pirate ship and bestowed upon her the Phoenix Fruit.
Their pirate ship already had seven people so quickly.
One must know, according to the current timeline, even if the Straw Hat Pirates included Robin, they would probably only have seven members.
But it's important to remember that less than half a month had passed since she departed from the Desolate Island.
However, according to her previous plan, whether single or double rooms on the pirate ship, they were all counted as single rooms, able to accommodate eight people.
But thinking about it, The Girls didn't mind sharing rooms. Even if the number of companions exceeded the limit before reaching Water Seven, they would just make do for now.
In any case, on the pirate ship, both Shino Asada and Carmen were currently occupying double rooms individually.
"Let's spend one night here. Tomorrow, we'll depart directly for Loguetown. From there, we'll enter the Grand Line. We'll cross Reverse Mountain and go straight into the Paradise of the Grand Line's first half."
Luna, familiar with the plot, naturally knew the path ahead.
The Girls nodded, then began their nightlife. Some had already fallen asleep, and of course, some were cultivating.
And there were also those who, as professionals, were doing their duties on the pirate ship.
But no matter what, getting stronger, recuperating, and preparing were all things they should do well.
However, while they were about to enjoy a peaceful night, the news of them once again destroying the Gevalla Town Navy branch would soon reach the Marineford.
After all, there were always a couple of stragglers, plus Luna had left their small pirate flag.
Especially the latter, which had become Luna's personal mark. Every time she eliminated an opponent, whether it was a pirate ship, a Navy warship, or a Marine branch, as long as it was a fixed location, she would leave a small flag... "Bang——"
On another part of the East Blue, Garp's warship was sailing. He was originally deep in thought in his office, or more accurately, he had already dozed off.
But suddenly, a Marine Soldier burst in from outside and immediately reported to him. Garp was startled awake, though still a bit groggy from just waking up. However, upon hearing that the Pink Hat Pirates had completely destroyed another Marine branch...
He was instantly wide awake, his eyes wide open, and he immediately stood up, smashing the table in front of him with a single punch.
"These truly are a bunch of rotten little brats."
Garp's expression was very displeased, clearly angered. He truly hadn't expected these little brats to act so quickly, destroying yet another Marine branch.
But this wasn't what Garp was most concerned about. Thinking back to seeing Rocks' shadow through Luna's silhouette earlier, and combining it with Luna's current indiscriminate attacks on pirates, Marines, and even an incident where they had attacked Bounty Hunters before.
Such a style was too similar, truly too similar to that man from back then.
He hadn't mentioned this when he spoke with Sengoku before because he wasn't sure, but combining Luna's actions this time with her previous ones, this little brat was indeed too much like Rocks.
Coupled with the talents and strength of the other little brats on that pirate ship, and Luna's own incredibly formidable Void Ability, the Marineford had to give this group high priority.
Thinking of this, Garp was about to grab the transponder snail to contact Sengoku; he needed to discuss this matter thoroughly.
Soon, after his operation, the two sides were connected.
"Sengoku, I just received intelligence. About half an hour ago, those brats destroyed another Marine branch." Garp immediately said after connecting.
"...What? They acted that quickly?" Sengoku, hearing this, was stunned on the other end, in his office at Marineford. How much time had passed? Did these little brats act that fast? Destroying another Marine branch.
"What about the casualties?" Sengoku asked with some concern.
"The Colonel of that branch should already be dead. There shouldn't be more than three surviving Marine Soldiers." Garp said with a bitter smile.
"What?! Those crazy brats? Damn it!" Sengoku on the other end was instantly shocked, then couldn't help but curse loudly.
Because combining it with Luna and their previous actions, they were already severely slapping the Marineford in the face.
Repeatedly eliminating Marine patrol warships and even directly destroying branches, in his eyes, this was already quite egregious.
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