City of Water Mist, Pirate Prison.
As night fell, the surroundings quieted down.
Most people had fallen asleep.
Robin leaned against the bars, gazing into the distance at Crocodile, who was imprisoned far away.
Crocodile had long noticed the Straw Hat crew but showed no reaction, remaining calm within his cell.
Nami sat against the wall, with Chopper sleeping on her lap.
"What's wrong, Robin-chan?" Sanji approached Robin and asked.
Robin withdrew her gaze from Crocodile and said, "It's nothing. I just couldn't help but look a little longer when I saw an old acquaintance."
She glanced down at the shackles on her hands and said, "These are just ordinary iron cuffs. Breaking free shouldn't be too difficult."
"Ah, that's right," Luffy responded casually.
Then, using his rubber body, he slipped the iron cuffs off.
"Then hurry up and find a way to get out of here!" Usopp urged immediately.
Robin, however, cautioned, "We can't act recklessly. That purple light during the day left us completely unable to resist. If we encounter it again, we'll just be captured once more."
Nami nodded in agreement. "We need a solid plan."
Robin once again cast her gaze beyond the prison cells, where row upon row of densely packed cells filled the space.
Luffy rested his chin on his hand. "Why hasn't Zoro come to rescue us yet?"
"Given our current situation, even if Zoro came, it would still be troublesome. We have to rely on ourselves," Robin said, her eyes gleaming with thought.
"Now should be the time when the guards are most lax. Luffy, I have a suggestion…"
Luffy looked at her. "Hmm?"
"Crocodile," Robin spoke a name that everyone was all too familiar with.
Back in Alabasta, they had been enemies locked in a life-and-death struggle.
"He's a Sand-Sand Fruit user. If we can get him to help all the imprisoned pirates escape, we could use the chaos to make our own getaway."
Silence.
Everyone turned to Luffy.
Everything that had happened in Alabasta was still fresh in their minds.
The suffering that Vivi and the others had endured had all been caused by Crocodile.
Luffy slowly walked up to the iron bars, gazing at the scene outside—countless prison cells, the bright moon in the sky, and the night breeze…
"This place is really annoying," he muttered for no reason.
The others were puzzled, but Sanji understood and said, "Because there's no freedom here."
Luffy gripped the bars with both hands and forcefully pulled them apart, creating an opening.
Then, he stepped outside. "I'll go alone."
Robin used her Devil Fruit ability to help the others remove their shackles.
She then added, "Actually, there's one thing I still don't understand."
Usopp asked, "What is it?"
Robin said, "These are just ordinary iron shackles. They shouldn't be able to hold Crocodile at all. If he wanted to escape, it should be easy. So why is he still staying in this prison?"
Meanwhile, under the cover of night, Luffy made his way to Crocodile's cell unnoticed.
It was as if Crocodile had expected his arrival.
When he saw Luffy, he didn't look surprised.
Instead, he smirked and said, "Yo, sashi buri da na, Mugiwara." (Long time no see, Straw Hat)
Seeing that same arrogant expression on Crocodile's face, Luffy couldn't help but clench his fists.
Suppressing his anger, Luffy asked, "Hey, why are you here?"
Leaning against the wall, Crocodile replied, "Where I choose to be is my own business. But you, Straw Hat, what do you want from me?"
He immediately took the initiative in the conversation.
Luffy stood outside the cell in silence for a long moment before suddenly saying, "Ah, nothing."
After speaking, he casually turned around as if he had really just come to take a look.
Crocodile: "..."
This guy really doesn't play by the rules.
Crocodile's expression stiffened as he watched Luffy's retreating figure.
In the end, he took the initiative and said, "Are you here to ask for my help in breaking out of prison?"
Luffy stopped in his tracks.
"The security in this prison is actually quite lax. Right now, the warden and the guards are probably all asleep. But do you know why, despite that, no one dares to escape?"
Luffy turned his head to look at him, tilting it slightly in confusion.
"Because of that tower."
Crocodile shifted his gaze toward a distant tower with a glowing purple light at its peak.
"During the day, you were immobilized by that light. If you try to escape from this prison, the same thing will happen again."
Luffy looked toward the distant Solarity Tower, his eyes filled with astonishment.
What kind of thing could be this powerful…?
Crocodile then asked, "Straw Hat, do you even know what's happening in the world right now?"
"..."
"Seems like you're completely clueless." Crocodile let out a mocking laugh.
"This world is no longer the same as before. The sea is no longer the sea we knew. In other words, we have arrived in a new world."
"There is no more Navy, no more World Government. Instead, a force called the Sun Empire has taken their place. The Red Line and the Grand Line have also disappeared. Perhaps..."
He suddenly stopped speaking.
He had intended to say that One Piece might not exist anymore, but he swallowed the words at the last moment.
Crocodile had already done his homework and had a thorough understanding of the current situation.
Luffy suddenly asked, "What were you going to say?"
Crocodile replied, "Ah, nothing. If you want my help, I have one condition."
"What is it?"
"I don't like the warden of this place. Go beat him up for me. If you agree, I'll unlock all the cells and release every pirate here."
Luffy was momentarily stunned. He found the request rather strange.
Two minutes later, Luffy returned to where his crew was waiting.
"Luffy, how did it go?" Usopp asked with concern.
"He agreed," Luffy said.
"Did he make any demands?" Robin asked.
She understood Crocodile better than anyone else.
"He wants me to beat up someone—the warden of this place."
Robin frowned. "He wants us to draw the guards' attention for him."
Luffy clapped his hands in sudden realization. "Oh, so that's what he's after! I thought he just really hated the warden."
Sanji sighed. "That much was obvious. Only an idiot like you wouldn't see it."
Usopp asked, "So, what do we do? Do we go along with his request?"
Luffy shrugged indifferently and said, "I'll just go find the warden and have a fight with him."
Robin interjected, "I'll go instead. It was my fault that everyone got locked up in the first place."
Luffy placed a hand on his straw hat and flashed a bright smile. "No, I'm the captain. I'll go!"
Usopp gritted his teeth. "Then I'll go with you!"
Sanji silently lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke.
Luffy's tone became resolute. "I'll go alone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted his head and, with a powerful leap, landed on the third level of the prison.
Just as Crocodile had said, there were no guards in sight, and there weren't even any fences around the area.
Anyone agile enough could easily escape.
Standing there, Luffy got a clearer view of the distant tower.
The Solarity Tower, the Sun Empire...
No more Navy, no more World Government… Then what about Grandpa?
The thought crossed his mind unbidden.
He paused for a moment before heading in the direction Crocodile had given him.
Suddenly, the quiet of the pirate prison was shattered by a thunderous noise.
Countless prisoners woke up in shock, faintly hearing a series of shouts in the distance.
"Someone is breaking out!"
"That guy with the straw hat!"
"Catch him!"
"Notify the tower defenses immediately!"
Nami, Robin, and the others also heard the commotion.
Soon after, they noticed that the walls around their prison cells, where the iron bars were embedded, were rapidly turning to sand.
In no time, the entire iron barrier collapsed.
And it wasn't just their cell—outside, the sound of iron bars crashing to the ground echoed everywhere.
Every prison cell had been opened.
Solarity Tower Control Room
The night-shift guards, who had been slacking off, were suddenly awakened by an emergency call.
One by one, their eyes locked onto the surveillance screens displaying live footage of the pirate prison.
"Why are all the pirates out?!"
"Lock down the area! Prepare to activate large-scale Restraint Light!"
They reacted swiftly, pressing buttons on the control panel.
The light at the top of Solarity Tower instantly became blindingly bright.
"Hey, don't you guys feel something's off?"
"The control room… it's shaking!"
Whoosh!
A purple beam shot out from Solarity Tower, rapidly expanding to cover the entire pirate prison.
The pirates who had just escaped from their cells and were about to flee suddenly froze in place.
In an instant, the chaotic prison fell into an eerie silence.
Countless figures stood stiffly in strange postures, as if time itself had stopped.
But the eerie silence didn't last long.
Someone noticed that, in the distance, the conspicuous high tower suddenly collapsed.
Its entire structure crumbled into a cloud of dust and sand, and a massive glowing sphere plummeted toward the ground.
With Solarity Tower reduced to rubble, the prisoners regained their ability to move.
"What just happened?"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"I can move again!"
After a brief moment of confusion, chaos erupted once more.
—
In Mist City…
Zoro, who had been navigating through the winding alleys, suddenly heard a sharp, prolonged alarm.
At the same time, countless figures began leaping across the rooftops, and a city-wide announcement echoed from loudspeakers:
"Attention all residents! Level 1 emergency alert! Return home immediately and lock all doors and windows! Do not leave your house under any circumstances!"
"Attention all residents! Level 1 emergency alert…"
Zoro watched the ninja darting above him, frowning in silence.
Luffy and the others had been gone for a long time and hadn't returned to the ship.
He had no choice but to go looking for them.
After asking around the city, he learned that a fresh batch of pirates had been captured today—there was a high chance it was Luffy's crew.
But… where the hell is the pirate prison?!
Why has he been searching for so long and still can't find it?!
.............
Konoha, Early Morning.
"A riot in the pirate prison? The Solarity Tower was destroyed, and the Tenseigan Weapon was stolen?"
Makoto had just woken up and hadn't even eaten breakfast when he received an urgent communication.
He was utterly stunned.
A Hyuga clansman, sweating from his forehead, bowed slightly and reported, "Yes… The emergency report came in early this morning… but we did not dare disturb your rest."
Makoto asked, "Wasn't Shisui stationed there?"
"Well…"
There were many Solarity Towers, but the one that got destroyed was specifically the one in Mist City, right at the center of the Water Province.
Makoto fell into deep thought.
This was the first time he had ever encountered something like this.
If the enemy had managed to destroy a Solarity Tower, it meant they knew how it worked.
"Do we know who did it?"
"That… is still unclear. Last night, every cell in the pirate prison was opened. The sections where the iron bars were embedded had all turned into sand. The Solarity Tower also collapsed in the same way—most of its structure mysteriously disintegrated into sand."
Sand… sand…
Makoto's expression grew thoughtful.
The messenger continued, "However, we did manage to capture someone last night. Lord Shisui believes this individual may be the mastermind behind the incident."
"What's their name?"
"The prisoner calls himself… Monkey D. Luffy."
Makoto: "…"
He immediately turned to Ayari and the others, saying that he would not be eating breakfast.
Then, without wasting a second, he soared into the sky, speeding toward the Water Province at full force.
.............
Water Province.
After a night of chaos, the pirate riot had finally been quelled.
The ninja forces in the Water Province were strong—even without the Solarity Tower, suppressing a prison uprising was not too difficult.
At this moment, Hyuga Seien, Uchiha Shisui, and Karatachi Yagura were gathered in an office, each wearing a troubled expression.
"What should we do? If His Majesty blames us for this, how are we supposed to answer?" Hyuga Seien muttered anxiously.
This wasn't just about the destruction of a Solarity Tower—the Tenseigan Weapon had been stolen!
The Solarity Towers were the very foundation of the Sun Empire's power!
Right now, Hyuga Seien felt like dying.
"Those damn pirates!" he growled through clenched teeth.
"I will have them all executed! Every single one of them!"
Shisui sighed, shaking his head. "Seien-senpai, please don't act impulsively. We should focus on finding a way to fix this first."
Hyuga Seien snapped, "Fix this? How? That enormous Tenseigan Weapon disappeared underground right before everyone's eyes! How can we possibly retrieve it?!"
The ninja search teams had already investigated the area where the weapon vanished, but apart from discovering severe sand erosion underground, they had no other useful leads.
The enemy had clearly planned everything in advance.
As the three were deep in frustration, the office door suddenly swung open.
Hyuga Seien instinctively turned to lash out, but the moment he saw the person standing at the door, he nearly fell off his chair.
"Y-Your Majesty…!"
He scrambled to his feet and hurriedly knelt down before the figure.
Shisui and Yagura were equally stunned.
Without hesitation, they both rose to their feet and knelt respectfully.
"Your Majesty…!"
Makoto walked straight to the main seat in the office, sat down, and looked at the three kneeling before him.
"Explain what happened."
Seien wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"Last night… the pirates in the prison started a riot, destroyed the Solarity Tower, and stole the empire's sacred weapon…"
Makoto cut him off immediately.
"Who stole it?"
Seien hesitated, stumbling over his words. "Well… uh…"
Seeing his reaction, Makoto didn't even bother scolding him.
Instead, he said,
"Where's the prison inmate record?"
Seien immediately responded, "I-I'll go get it right away!"
He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he rushed out of the room.
Makoto then turned his gaze to Shisui.
"Shisui?"
Shisui lowered his head and said, "It is my failure. I could not protect the Solarity Tower—"
Makoto waved his hand impatiently, cutting him off.
Soon, Seien returned, holding a thick record book in his hands.
He placed it carefully before Makoto, both respectful and anxious.
The record was long.
Makoto flipped through it back and forth until he found the name he was looking for.
"Sir Crocodile."
Makoto asked, "How was this Crocodile captured?"
Seien's expression turned blank for a moment, clearly having no idea who that was.
Makoto's patience finally ran out.
He grabbed a stamp from the desk and hurled it straight at Seien's head.
"What exactly do you know as the branch president?!"
Seien didn't dare dodge.
The stamp struck his forehead, splitting the skin, and blood immediately trickled down.
Yagura then spoke up.
"I remember that name. He seemed like just an ordinary pirate. There was a pirate disturbance in one of the nearby towns, and he was captured along with the rest."
Makoto continued flipping through the roster and asked, "How was he captured?"
"A squad was sent, led by a Jonin."
A single Jonin…
Makoto frowned, deep in thought, slowly piecing things together.
Should I say, as expected of Crocodile? The guy actually dared to target my Solarity Tower…
Instead of anger, Makoto suddenly felt intrigued.
But when his gaze landed on the still kneeling Seien, his irritation flared up again.
"You captured someone named Luffy, correct?"
"Yes."
"Take me to him."
Yagura and Shisui stood up to lead the way.
As Makoto passed by Seien, he couldn't resist and kicked him again.
--------------
Exclusive access : All novel on paetron
Genshin impact Complete novel, Naruto birdcage Complete novel, Overlord Complete novel
From the apocalypse 100+ch, Fairy tail Destiny Complete novel, Genshin Impact Eerie Teyvat 300+ch
Join now : patreon*com/DeCakraWnloverz