The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

He was originally only receiving the salary of a general.

The Celestial Dragons' unexpected events are simply unavoidable overtime work.

The overtime pay isn't even enough to cover the cost of his tea and drinks while running errands, let alone the actual work.

He would absolutely not resort to violence if the problem could be solved without fighting.

So~

This incident, which involved a Marine admiral being kidnapped by a Celestial Dragon, could be temporarily brought to a close with Kizaru being forced to retreat by Link's words.

However, both sides knew that until that major battle began, neither could say that things had come to an end.

There are still twelve days left; anything can happen.

"Now that we've found a professional mentor for our partner and Kizaru has left, we can focus on finding external help. Recalling the imposing figure in that photo, resembling a golden lion king, Link once again took out the [Finding Staff]."

In the first half of this Grand Line, high in the sky, there exists such a place.

A dozen or so islands that appear to be floating islands, but are actually islands below, float together in a staggered and orderly fashion.

These islands are connected by rainbows, and they have all the mountains, rivers, lakes, plants, trees, and rocks you could want.

It's like a fairytale scene born from the sky.

However, at the very center of all these islands lies a sky island called Vermeer.

This island, along with a dozen or so other islands, together form this domain in the sky.

A floating island realm named [STRONGWORLD], where "the strong rule!"

"Hehehehehe!!"

In the very center of the island of Navelmeo, there stood a palace, from which a hearty, domineering laugh rang out.

"So, Dr. Indigo? Are the animals bred using IQ sufficient in both quantity and quality?"

Inside the castle, the majestic figure, who stood with two famous swords under his feet, who had looked down upon the world of the sea thirty years ago and single-handedly attacked the Shanghai Navy Headquarters twenty years ago, still sat there, exuding the same domineering aura.

Well, except for that ship's wheel stuck in his head, which really looks rather comical.

"Pfft pfft"

The man known as Dr. Indigo was wearing a white lab coat, a blue scarf with yellow spots around his neck, and was bald on top of his head but had thick blue hair on the sides.

He stomped with a sound like he was farting, and swung his noticeably longer sleeves as he approached the figure.

"Everything's ready, almost done~"

Dr. Indigo, as if using a silent film, presented this meaning.

"That's it..."

The man, exuding an aura of dominance, nodded first, and then...

"Oh, are you saying I'm a 'rooster'?"

The man suddenly opened his eyes wide, revealing the whites of his eyes, and started shouting in a high-pitched voice.

Dr. Indigo: "..."

I never said that.

However, he also knew what kind of person his captain was right now, so...?

Snapped!

He snapped his fingers.

Then, from some unknown corner of the palace, a gorilla dressed in human clothes suddenly darted out.

He was also holding a radio, which he skillfully placed on the ground and then turned on.

"Beep beep beep?"

Suddenly, a melodious tune came from the radio.

D is rich, rich, rich!

The figure that had just been like a majestic lion, exuding extraordinary power, began to sway upon hearing the music.

Stepping on two extraordinary swords, he smacked his lips as he walked down from his seat and arrived right in the middle of Dr. Indigo and the gorilla dressed in human clothes.

The three struck a pose, and as the song progressed, they swayed together.

Let's row our oars, row our oars... no, let's sway together!

Yes, this song is just as catchy as the natural version of Xiao Fang.

As the singing and dancing continued, a joyful atmosphere filled the castle.

Even after the song ended, the three of them delivered a beautiful dance performance!

clap clap.

A round of enthusiastic applause followed.

"Hehehehe, this jump felt incredibly good!"

The man with the ship's rudder on his head was also laughing heartily.

He was just about to reach into his pocket, wanting to grab a cigar and enjoy it some more.

Suddenly, his movements stopped.

"Where did that applause come from?!"

His eyes bulged out again. "I remember there are only the three of us in this palace right now!!"

He immediately turned his head and looked in the direction where the applause was coming from.

"That was a really good jump!!"

Link clapped and praised, "This is the first time I've ever seen a trio dance so well coordinated."

"Is that so? Hearing you say that, I am truly delighted, hehehehe..."

He first scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily, then~

"Hey, who are you?!"

He immediately realized what was happening and pointed at Link, shouting.

"Me? Just a nobody pirate who debuted this year?"

Link humbly replied, "I came here mainly because I heard that the legendary pirate, the admiral of the Flying Pirates who once roamed the seas, Shiki the Golden Lion, is in this place, so I specifically wanted to come and see for myself."

As he spoke, Link's gaze swept over the man in front of him, lingering particularly on the prominent ship's wheel above the man's head.

"Oh? You're a pirate too?"

Upon hearing the word "pirate," the man with the ship's rudder on his head instantly regained his senses, straightened his body slightly, and once again exuded a powerful aura like that of a lion king, terrifying all beasts!

"Am I the Golden Lion?"

He took a cigar out of his pocket, lit it, and couldn't help but grin.

"Kid, what do you want from me?"

The man before me, with a ship's wheel stuck in his head, was none other than the legendary pirate who once stood alongside Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, and Edward Newgate, the Whitebeard!

He is also the first pirate to escape from Impel Down since its establishment.

He was once on the same ship as Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido of the Beasts, and later formed his own large fleet. He is a man with the ambition and courage to roar across the seas and conquer the world!

Well, that refers to Shiki from twenty years ago.

And now, just by looking at his hot dance just now, you can tell what kind of situation he is in.

Twenty-five years ago, in the year 1495 of the Sea Calendar, he wanted to join forces with Gol D. Roger in order to rule the world, but was rejected by Gol D. Roger and became furious.

The two pirate crews clashed in a fierce battle in the Aito Wall Sea, which became known as the Battle of Aito Wall.

The Roger Pirates, who were originally cornered by the Golden Lion who occupied the top, were saved by a sudden storm.

Most of the Flying Pirates' fleet was sunk to the bottom of the sea, and an accident resulted in the ship's rudder unfortunately getting stuck on the head of the Golden Lion.

Because forcibly removing the rudder would be life-threatening, it remains embedded in the head of Shiki the Golden Lion.

This has meant that for the past twenty-five years, the Golden Lion has been influenced by this ship's rudder almost every moment, causing his thought process to gradually become different, and he is gradually developing in the direction of being a fool and an idiot.

??0 Please give me flowers...

The most typical manifestation is that he will suddenly space out, or give irrelevant answers to other people's cultural questions, or do many funny things when he is surprised by normal things.

He also likes to jokingly call himself a "rooster" and dances with people there.

Moreover, the presence of this ship's rudder inserted into his brain caused his energy and spirit to be affected to some extent.

Not only has his own strength deteriorated rapidly, but even his domineering aura has regressed drastically.

He could no longer use advanced techniques of Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and he almost never used Conqueror's Haki anymore.

The only means he can currently maintain his powerful offensive are the world-class swordsmanship strikes unleashed by the two famous swords beneath his feet, [Sakura Ju] and [Kureki], as well as his Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit ability.

When Golden Lion learned of Roger's arrest, he single-handedly stormed into the Marine Headquarters.

After killing a large number of marines, it attracted the attention of Sengoku, who was then a Marine Admiral, and Garp, a Vice Admiral.

After fighting for most of the day, at the cost of destroying most of the Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and Garp joined forces to send Shiki to Impel Down, the deep-sea prison.

Later, in order to escape Impel Down, Shiki cut off his own feet, which were bound by seastone shackles, and used "Sakura-ju" and "Kureki" as prosthetics to escape Impel Down.

He became the first powerful pirate in history to escape Impel Down.

Therefore, Shiki, as a legendary pirate, left behind endless legends for future generations.

But now, twenty years later, things are not as good as they used to be.

People will eventually grow old.

"I came here mainly to tell Mr. Golden Lion something."

Link said with a smile.

"Say something? What should I say? I'm very busy right now, I don't have time to deal with those trivial things."

Shiki, with a cigar dangling from his lips, glanced sideways at Link before slowly exhaling a puff of smoke.

"By the way, kid, where did you come from?"

He meant to ask Link how he found this place and how he got here.

Link's answer to him was:

"I come from the East China Sea."

East China Sea?!

Upon hearing this place, Golden Lion paused in his smoking motion.

"The East China Sea? That's a wonderful place!"

He lowered his head slightly, obscuring the upper half of his face in shadow, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Yes, it's a beautiful place, and it's where I was born."

Link chuckled. "That's why I can't just let someone destroy it!!!"

"Um?!"

The golden lion slightly raised its head and looked at him.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze.

Shiki just stared at Link, and then~

"Oh, is today your birthday?"

His eyes widened, and the smoke from his cigar swirled in his mouth.

Link: "...???"

"I've already said, that's where he was born, his hometown, where did this birthday come from?!"

Dr. Indigo, standing next to Shiki, was speechless again and gave Shiki a big wok-shaped punch on the back of the head.

[Thanks to 'Saber!' and '339966' for the generous donations of 1000 points! Thank you to 'Please Give Me Some Face' for the donation!]