The weakness of the Candle-Candle Fruit is fire, and with Sanji—a chain-smoking smoker who never parts with his cigarettes—around, trapping Brogy in wax was just a matter of striking a match.
Brogy stared at Dorry's "corpse," letting out a heartbroken wail. Accompanied by that earth-shaking cry, two pillars of tears shot from his eyes, forming two rainbows under the sunlight, leaving Luffy wide-eyed with amazement.
This massive commotion also pointed the way for Nami and the other two not far away.
Soon enough, Nami and Usopp, supporting a heavily wounded Zoro, rejoined the group.
"Mr. Bushido?!" Vivi gasped, covering her mouth in shock. She had witnessed Zoro's feat of cutting down a hundred men, yet here he was, battered like this. Just how strong an enemy had he faced?
"Nami-swan~~~~" The lovestruck cook spun in circles as he approached Nami. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
As he spoke, the lovestruck cook glanced around, puzzled. "By the way, where's Miss Valentine? She was with you, right?"
Nami shook her head. The two assassins Yasuo had wounded seemed to have slipped away during Zoro and Yasuo's one-on-one duel, leaving only two pools of blood behind. You had to hand it to human resilience.
"Master Brogy…" Usopp covered his ears, enduring the thunderous crying, feeling a pang in his heart.
Just then,Dorry, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sat up slowly, startling everyone so much their eyeballs nearly popped out.
"That hurt like hell…"Dorry clutched the wound on his chest, muttering, "I'm about to pass out."
Popping the last rice cracker into his mouth, Sherlock sat comfortably in his chair, pulling out a handkerchief and elegantly wiping his mouth.
Miss Goldenweek sat across the table, staring mournfully at the now-empty bag, silently sobbing inside. But under the hypnotist's intimidating presence, the little painter didn't dare show the slightest hint of displeasure.
"So, the Hungry Wolf Pirates were hired by Mr. 3 as reinforcements?" Sherlock pushed up his glasses, his calm and composed expression unchanged, showing not a trace of guilt for snatching the little girl's snacks.
After all, following an intense battle, Sherlock urgently needed to replenish his energy. The severe hunger that came after using his ability was one of the drawbacks of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit.
As for why Luffy could eat so much, it was probably tied to consuming the Gum-Gum Fruit—or maybe he was just a natural glutton.
Miss Goldenweek nodded slightly, glancing nervously at Sherlock as he brewed black tea, and whispered, "Yeah, because they were defeated by the Blackbeard Pirates and then chased by the Marines, so Mr. 3 wanted to use them…"
"Blackbeard?" Hearing the name for the first time, a glint flashed in Sherlock's dark eyes. His usually spot-on intuition told him this Blackbeard would be someone deeply connected to him.
Sherlock's tea-brewing skills were impressive—even Sanji, a connoisseur, couldn't stop praising his black tea.
The teapot tilted slightly, and the glossy, dark liquid gently flowed into the cup, the vibrant tea shimmering with a heart-pounding vitality.
"Could you tell me more about Blackbeard?" Handing Miss Goldenweek a fragrant cup of tea, Sherlock gave the young painter a slight smile. "I'm very interested in this person…"
"Kyee hee hee hee hee…"
"Kaban ban ban ban…"
Luffy looked up at the two giant uncles laughing heartily, breaking into a bright grin of his own. "Haha, these two giant uncles' laughter is just too funny!"
"You're still alive! That's great, Master Brogy!" The long-nosed sniper wiped tears of excitement from his eyes.
Zoro sat cross-legged on the ground, cradling his three beloved swords, staring at the two worn-out swords and axe, and muttered, "No surprise there. Those weapons have been in use for a hundred years, after all."
"Oh, right…" Nami glanced around, then suddenly turned to Vivi. "Where's Sherlock? Wasn't he with you picking vegetables?"
"Mr. Glasses?" Vivi's face paled. "Oh no! We need to save Mr. Glasses—he's fighting that captain!"
"Quack!" The giant duck squawked in alarm.
The Straw Hat crew exchanged glances, speechless, with not a hint of tension.
"Relax, Miss Vivi. Sherlock will be fine," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette and taking a satisfied drag, clearly confident in Sherlock's situation.
"Hee hee, Sherlock's super strong!" The straw-hatted kid grinned.
"Yeah, yeah," Usopp nodded sagely. "He's a bit below me, sure, but Sherlock's got a 70 million berry bounty!"
"He's way more reliable than a certain curly-browed idiot…" Zoro stood up, saying coolly.
Sanji's expression darkened. He flicked away his cigarette butt, grabbed Zoro by the collar, and snapped, "You moss-headed freak, who're you calling unreliable?"
"Tch, says the guy who got played like a fiddle by a little girl…"
"Oh? And who got beaten like a dead dog and had to be carried back?"
"You bastard! You wanna fight?" "Bring it on, I'm not scared!"
"What a lively bunch!" x2 The two giants thought, marveling.
Vivi stared blankly at the two brawling, along with Luffy and Usopp, who were cheering them on like it was the end of the world, unsure what to say.
This crew trusted Sherlock way too much!
"Don't worry, Vivi." Nami gently patted Vivi's shoulder, glancing at the four goofballs. "Instead of worrying about Sherlock, we should figure out how to leave this island. The log pose needs a full year to set here!"
"Well, you don't need to worry about that."
A familiar voice suddenly rang out behind the two women, followed by a tall figure gradually emerging, as elusive as ever.
The crew stopped their scuffling, turning to the newcomer with delighted faces.
"Sherlock!" x6
Sherlock looked at his companions, all bearing some degree of injury, then at the two mountain-like giants. He was about to speak when Vivi launched herself at him, cutting him off.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
Princess Vivi hugged Sherlock tightly, pressing her cheek against his chest. Overwhelmed with emotion, she didn't realize how intimate her position was.
(When did these two get so close?) Nami stroked her smooth chin, puzzled.
(That glasses bastard!!) —from a certain lovestruck cook.
Feeling the astonishing sensation of the young girl's youthful body, along with her faint maidenly fragrance, even the usually calm hypnotist felt a bit dazed.
Sherlock awkwardly patted Vivi's back, then gently pushed her away. Only then did she realize her behavior was improper, her fair cheeks flushing red as she lowered her head, too embarrassed to look up.
Pushing up his glasses, Sherlock handed Nami the Alabasta Eternal Pose, then succinctly explained what had happened.
"So, we can keep sailing, right? Hooray!" Filtering out everything else, Luffy latched onto the most important detail, jumping up excitedly with Usopp.
Lighting another cigarette, Sanji grinned. "Well, since you helped Miss Vivi big time, I'll let you off the hook… for now."
"We need to leave this island immediately," Sherlock said, pushing up his glasses. "The Marines chasing the Hungry Wolf Pirates are likely already on their way to Little Garden."
Nami nodded gravely, then, as if struck by an idea, lit up with excitement. "Wait, before we go, we can—"
Smack! Sherlock pulled a large sack from his mirror space and tossed it to Nami. She opened it curiously, looked inside, and her bright eyes instantly turned into berry symbols.
"All the treasure from the Hungry Wolf Pirates' ship is here. I grabbed it on the way—probably two or three hundred million berries. It's yours…" Sherlock said casually, as if two or three hundred million berries were no big deal.
"And I left a little 'gift' on their ship." Mentioning this "gift," Sherlock's lips curved into a charming smirk.
Snapping out of her daze over the pile of treasure, Nami lunged at Sherlock in excitement, wrapping her arms around his head and giving him a faceful of authentic "face wash" as she tearfully declared:
"Sherlock, you get me!!"
"I love you to death!"
Releasing the hypnotist, who was struggling to breathe under her ample chest, the overjoyed navigator stood on her tiptoes and planted a firm kiss on his fair cheek.
Smooch!*
"Mr. Glasses is really popular…" Vivi murmured, barely audible to herself. When Nami kissed Sherlock, a strange feeling welled up in her heart—hard to describe, but definitely not a good one.
Sanji stood frozen, black-and-white, staring at the prominent red mark on Sherlock's face, dark aura visibly coiling around him.
(He got Nami-swan's kiss!!! I can't let this go! You glasses bastard!)
Sherlock touched the spot Nami had kissed, raised his hand, and frowned at the glistening saliva on his fingers. The mildly germaphobic hypnotist immediately pulled out a pristine silk handkerchief and gently wiped his face.
(You've gotta be kidding me!!!)
Sanji completely lost it at Sherlock's disgusted expression. He collapsed to his knees, pounding the ground, looking utterly heartbroken.
(A kiss I'd be jealous of, and you're acting like it's gross?! Wiping your face! If it were me, I wouldn't wash my face for half a year—no, a year! I just… AAAAAAARGH.)
Lost in thought, Sanji sprawled on the ground, silently crying.
They both wore black suits, so why was the gap between them so huge?!
Glancing at the lovestruck cook, who looked like life had defeated him, Zoro smirked and muttered:
"Tch, idiot curly-brows!"
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