One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 137 Dare to fight this great master for three hundred rounds?
Floating islands.

As the name suggests, it is an archipelago that was suspended in the sky along with the seawater by someone's power.

Its former name was 'Vermeu'.

Now, it's called 'STRONG WORLD'—a land where the strong prey on the weak.

And there is no doubt about it.

The people living in the village of Vermeer are the 'weak'.

Because the able-bodied and young people were conscripted and forced to join the 'Flying Pirates', only the old, weak, sick and disabled survived here, and could only do the most basic labor.

They had strange, wing-like appendages on their hands, and their bodies...
"Cough cough."

Weakness and dark green toxins are almost everywhere.

“I told you! You are absolutely not allowed to leave the village—if you are discovered by Shiki or by wild beasts, you will die.”

The little girl was scolded by her mother again and walked out of the room dejectedly.

Before leaving, she heard a weak sound coming from inside the house.

Don't be angry with her, Aio is a good boy.

"It's all Shiki's fault for making the island float; that's why it's like this now. Cough cough, you have to keep an eye on her."

"When she comes of age, Shiki will recruit her into the palace as a servant, and then... cough cough."

That was her grandmother's voice.

Aio, of course, knew very well that the pirate named Shiki had floated the island and seized the special herb 'IQ' from it.

He researched herbs that could make animals incredibly powerful, turning the island's animals into ferocious and dangerous creatures. This forced the villagers to plant trees called 'Raging Green Trees' near their villages to ward off the animals—trees with an extremely unpleasant odor for them.

However, the toxins carried by this tree can gradually poison the human body, and only those with high IQ can be detoxified.

Aio had already heard from the village doctor that if left untreated, her grandmother would likely not live more than three years if she continued to absorb the toxins.

"That despicable Shiki!"

Reaching a corner of the village, she angrily kicked a stone from the roadside.

"I wish someone could get rid of him."

That was her deepest wish.

Unfortunately, her mother had told her that Shiki was an extremely powerful pirate, and there were very few people in the entire sea who could defeat him.

On the contrary, those who are targeted by Shiki almost always face annihilation.

For example, this morning, it is said that Shiki brought back a ship.

My mother said that the ship seemed to be a naval warship used to capture pirates.

Is there really no one who can beat Shiki?

Io thought to himself.

then
"Bulu?"

She then saw that the rock she had kicked had just hit a giant Den Den Mushi that was walking.

The Den Den Mushi turned its head, its huge eyes staring intently at Io.

"."

Aio, of course, knew that it was a large-scale teleportation Den Den Mushi (snail) belonging to the 'Flying Pirates' led by Shiki, serving as their eyes and ears to monitor the village.

Because Golden Lion has recently invited the pirates who collude with him to the island for the annual banquet, the Den Den Mushi (snail communication device) patrols have been very frequent.

Now, she is clearly being targeted.

Aio recalled his mother's words—if he was targeted by a Den Den Mushi, he had to immediately submit to the Flying Pirates.

Otherwise, it will lead to your death.

But
Io bit her lip, unable to open her mouth no matter what she did.

The enemy who destroyed the village, shrouded it in darkness for over a decade, and nearly killed Grandma—her father and grandfather—both died in the Golden Lion's palace.

To obey this kind of person, even if she's a child, is really...
"I"

After a long while, she took a deep breath and prepared to speak.

But at this very moment...
"Buzz!"

An invisible sense of oppression came over me.

Then, Io suddenly saw—the body of the Den Den Mushi in front of her shatter in an instant.

Blood splattered, and although it didn't splatter on Aio, it still stunned her for a moment.

And the next moment.
"call!"

Io felt a gust of wind whistling past.

She raised her head subconsciously.

Then she saw a figure flying upwards with the wind.

He was dressed in white and wore a pair of black boxing gloves.

The direction he was heading at that moment was the very top of the entire floating island.

"Please inform the villagers to prepare."

Aio seemed to hear that person's voice coming from the wind.

"This floating island is about to crash."

At the same time, at the highest point of the Wilmeyou Islands.

The headquarters of the Flying Pirates, 'Lion Palace'.

Because of the high altitude, snow was falling outside the palace.

Inside the palace, the banquet was in full swing.

The pirates are having fun.

Of course, since there weren't many inhabitants on this floating island, there weren't many beauties at the banquet.

Even so, the atmosphere at the banquet was still very lively.

because
"As expected of Boss Shiki, he actually captured Navy personnel for our entertainment!"

"Is this the power that the boss has been brewing for over ten years to conquer the world? Truly remarkable! Those navies are no match for them!"

"I heard that's no ordinary navy officer; he's supposedly a direct subordinate of that 'Black Xie,' who's recently gained notoriety on the high seas!"

"Captured the direct subordinate of an admiral candidate? Is this the kind of audacity a legendary pirate once compared to the Pirate King, Whitebeard, possesses?"

Amidst the clamor, the pirates present were talking about the man sitting on the throne in the center of the banquet.

He had extremely long, golden hair, like a lion's mane.

He was clearly not young; the signs of age were visible on his face.

He had a ship's wheel stuck in his head, wore an orange and yellow kimono, and his legs were broken, but he had attached two swords to his legs as support for walking.

But all of this only deepened the admiration of the pirates present.

Because every mark on a man's body is part of his 'legend'.

The ship's rudder above his head is evidence of the Battle of Edd War with the Pirate King Roger. His severed legs are proof of his solo charge into Marine Headquarters and subsequent solo escape from Impel Down.

Yes—from any angle.

Shiki the Golden Lion is a legend among legends.

This reputation is also the reason why these pirates gather here.

And at this moment.
"Hahahaha!"

Looking at the cheering pirates below, 'Golden Lion' Shiki also burst into laughter.

In his view, this is how pirates should be—pirates should gather in groups and then act recklessly!

"Clang!" "Clang!"

He stood up, and the sound of his footsteps was like the clanging of swords.

"My little ones."

He opened his arms and looked in front of him.

"See? It won't be long."

It was a giant projected Den Den Mushi (snail phone) in the window of the banquet hall.

Inside the Den Den Mushi, the scene outside the palace at this moment is being projected.

In the scene, a group of huge and ferocious beasts are seen 'hunting'.

"Boom!"

A giant centipede was burrowing into the ground.

As it moved, it created a rift valley more than ten meters wide on the earth.

On the other side, a mantis with a body at least five meters long swung its claws, instantly slicing down huge trees in its path—and the way it wielded its claws clearly resembled the rudiments of swordsmanship.

obviously.

These animals possess strength, speed, physique, and intelligence far exceeding those of normal animals.

At this moment, in the 'hunting ground' depicted in the scene, there are at least several hundred of these wild beasts.

That is what Shiki the Golden Lion has been researching all these years; it is a symbol of his ambition.

Using the herb 'IQ' produced on this island, which can enable animals to evolve, it is purified to form a special potion 'SIQ', which is then used to cultivate the animals.

That's how these ferocious and powerful special beasts came to be.

Its name is—【Rare Beast Weapon】.

At this moment, the prey that these powerful rare beast weapons are chasing is a group of naval personnel.

That was also the 'entertainment program' prepared by the Golden Lion for this banquet.

He himself hadn't expected it—he had only gone to the East China Sea with his subordinate, scientist Dr. Indigo, to test the effects of the latest batch of 'rare beast weapons'.

Their original plan was to randomly select an uninhabited island, drop the rare animals onto it, and see if they could damage the island.

But by sheer coincidence, their 'communications tinker' intercepted the telephone signal of a naval warship.

That's how this hunting performance came about.

Shiki knew very well that the pirates behind him had chosen to join his ranks only because of his legendary reputation and power.

After more than a decade of dormancy, many pirates have actually begun to waver.

So Shiki wanted to show them the power he had gained through years of forbearance.

"My subordinates have already developed the best product, and the rare beast weapon will be completed in one or two more years of iteration."

"At that time."

He laughed loudly: "First, we'll destroy the East China Sea as a deterrent, then we'll intimidate the rest of the world. At that time, the world will be ours!"

He said so.

The pirates were also very excited upon hearing this.

But it is precisely at this moment.
"That rooster-headed guy! What's his name, Golden Lion—wasn't he supposed to be some legendary pirate!?"

"What kind of skill is it to have a bunch of animals play with us?"

"Do you dare to come down and fight your Uncle Hans for three hundred rounds?"

A loud, provocative voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"."

As a result, the atmosphere at the scene paused slightly.

The Golden Lion, a magnanimous and domineering figure, paused slightly during his loud laughter.

He looked up at the live broadcast of the Den Den Mushi and saw a burly navy man holding a can of cola in each hand.

He was covered in blood, but he couldn't tell if it was his own or the blood of the rare beasts.

At that moment, he was gulping down the cola in his left hand.

then
"Buzz!"

His right arm swelled up almost instantly.

"Drink your fill, right arm!"

He clenched his right fist and knocked back a huge black bear in front of him with a single punch.

He then casually tossed the Coke can in his left hand toward the black bear, and the Coke landed perfectly in the bear's fur.

Then, he turned his head in a sly manner towards the direction of the palace and made a provocative gesture.

"Here we go again. Is this guy using Coke cans as white gloves? Every rare beast he defeats has one of those cans thrown at it."

"It's not just rare animals, it's everywhere on the ground too—why does this thing have so much Coke on it?"

"This is a complete provocation against Boss Shiki."

"He seems to be an ability user. He can still fight even though he's injured like that."

"The other guy seems to be an ability user as well. It seems he's hidden all the injured marines."

"."

This is also what makes the Golden Lion most unhappy at today's banquet.

At this banquet where he established his prestige and demonstrated his power.

The group of sailors he captured were very uncooperative and unwilling to die obediently.

Especially those two ability users.

Their combat strength was not strong; at least in the eyes of the Golden Lion, they were as weak as ants.

But just like right now—they're incredibly annoying.

Normally, he would just laugh off such a low-level provocation and pretend he didn't hear it.

But today
"Those reckless fools are really annoying."

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)