Wanna read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
──────────•~❉✿❉~•──────────
Chapter 232: A Facetious Identity and the Lion Reforged to Peak
Conan clutched his forehead and took two steps back.
He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Since the other party had no killing intent, the situation was still within a controllable range.
Moreover, since this man knew about Gin, knew about the Organization, and even knew his true identity yet hadn't made a move...
It meant he wasn't an enemy.
At the very least, he wasn't with the Black Organization.
"Who exactly are you?"
Conan stared into Blake's eyes, asking the core question.
"Possessing such terrifying skills, knowing so much classified intelligence, and treating that kind of power like a toy..."
"You are definitely not just an ordinary 'fan'."
"In this world, the number of people capable of this can be counted on one hand."
Conan's brain spun rapidly.
FBI? CIA? A secret division of the Japanese Public Security Bureau?
Or perhaps some third-party force that had always been hiding in the shadows?
Blake looked at Conan's bitter, deep-seated resentment and couldn't help but laugh.
He stood up, straightened his slightly wrinkled collar, and adopted a tone that was deep and solemn.
"Since you have asked with such sincerity, I shall show you mercy and give you the answer."
Conan immediately pricked up his ears, holding his breath.
Here it comes.
His true identity.
Blake cleared his throat. His gaze turned profound, as if looking toward the distant East.
"My background is very complex."
"I come from China, and behind me stands a colossal organization with 1.4 billion members."
1.4 billion?!
Conan's pupils quaked instantly.
What was the total population of the world?
What kind of organization could have 1.4 billion members?!
Was it some super underground empire that controlled all of East Asia?
"The objective of this organization is..."
Blake paused, lowering his voice to convey a sense of sacred duty.
"To Serve the People."
Conan froze.
This slogan... why did it sound familiar?
Watching the dumbfounded look on Conan's face, Blake finally couldn't hold it in anymore. The corners of his mouth shot upward wildly.
"That's right."
"I am a glorious... Successor of Socialism."
"..."
Dead silence.
The corner of Conan's mouth twitched violently.
Looking at Blake's "gotcha" expression, he felt his intelligence had been insulted once again.
Successor of Socialism, my ass!
I'm a Young Pioneer too, is that what this is about?!
"You guy... is there not a single word of truth in your mouth?!"
...
Meanwhile, in the One Piece World.
One Piece World, ten thousand meters in the sky.
The Floating Island Group, Merveille.
Clouds that never dispersed wrapped around this aerial fortress isolated from the world like cotton wool. This was the hidden stronghold of the legendary pirate, "Golden Lion" Shiki.
Deep within the palace, the man who once made the entire ocean tremble was standing before a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror.
There was none of his usual mania, nor the iconic cigar smoke.
The air was terrifyingly quiet, with only a heavy sense of oppression spreading silently.
Pata... Pata...
A flurry of rapid, comical footsteps broke the deathly silence.
Dressed in a clown costume with greasepaint slathered across his face, Dr. Indigo charged into the great hall clutching a pile of chemical vials, moving like a duck.
He was preparing to use his ludicrous pantomime gestures to report the latest progress on the "IQ" plants to the boss.
However, when he looked up and saw the figure in the center of the hall, the expensive vials in his hands slipped from his grasp.
Crash!
The crisp sound of shattering glass echoed through the empty hall, multicolored liquids spilling across the floor.
Indigo's mouth hung wide open. He failed to make his signature Piro-Piro sound, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
The figure slowly turned around.
A mane of golden hair, wild as a lion's, draped behind him. The iconic orange and yellow striped kimono was still draped over his shoulders.
But something had changed.
Changed completely.
The steering wheel that had been embedded in his skull for twenty years—a curse he had carried for two decades—was gone.
In its place was a smooth, pristine forehead, without even a scar left behind.
His gaze moved downward.
Those legs, which he had severed with his own hands and replaced with the famous swords "Oto" and "Kogarashi," were now...
They had grown back.
A pair of strong, powerful legs of flesh and blood, their very muscle fibers radiating explosive power, were firmly planted on the cold marble floor.
"Bo... Boss?!"
Indigo finally found his tongue, his voice turning shrill and piercing from extreme shock.
"Your legs... and your head..."
Shiki did not answer immediately.
He slowly lifted his right foot, flexing the arch, curling his toes to grip the floor, feeling the hard texture of the ground.
That long-lost, real sensation of flesh connecting with the earth.
"Twenty years."
Shiki's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a tremor of suppressed emotion.
"Since the day I escaped Impel Down, I haven't felt the temperature of the earth."
He suddenly clenched his fists.
Boom!
A terrifying aura instantly erupted with him at the center.
It wasn't Conqueror's Haki, but pure life energy overflowing from his body.
White Zetsu cells. In the One Piece world, with Shiki's naturally powerful constitution, the enhancement effect far exceeded what was possible in the Naruto world.
These cells, possessing terrifying vitality and compatibility, had not only repaired his broken body overnight but had forcibly dragged his aging functions back to their peak state.
In fact, he was even stronger!
"Jihahahaha!"
Shiki suddenly threw his head back and laughed, the sound rolling through the hall like thunder, making the dome tremble.
"Indigo! Do you see this?! Your Flying Admiral is back!"
Shiki stomped his foot violently.
Thud!
The entire floating island shook as if struck by a giant hammer.
The ground instantly cracked, countless fissures spreading outward like a spiderweb, reaching all the way to Indigo's feet.
Indigo was so frightened he sat on the ground, scrambling backward on hands and knees.
"This... This is simply a miracle!"
Indigo shouted incoherently, "It's medically impossible! Limb regeneration... even the damage to the cerebral cortex is repaired... Boss, your physical metrics are even more terrifying than twenty years ago!"
Shiki took a deep drag of a cigar and exhaled a thick plume of smoke.
He rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds.
"This feeling... it's like when I was young and ate the Float-Float Fruit for the first time. The feeling that the world is in my hands."
"Boss, since your body has recovered, our plan..."
Indigo approached cautiously. "Can we move it forward? The mutated beasts enhanced by 'IQ' are ready. We can drop them on the East Blue at any time!"
"Plan?"
Shiki glanced at him, a sneer of disdain curling his lips.
"You mean that child's game where we wait years just to rely on a bunch of brainless animals to cause destruction?"
Indigo froze. "But... that's the result of twenty years of our preparation..."
"Throw it away."
Shiki waved his hand casually, as if shooing a fly.
"That is the conduct of the weak. It no longer suits the current me."
He walked to the edge of the hall and looked through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the vast sea of clouds below.
It was sunrise.
Golden sunlight pierced the clouds, illuminating his wild golden hair. He looked like an awakening lion.
═════ To Be Continued ═════
Support this fanfic by leaving reviews, comments, and Power Stones!
For advance chapters, visit:
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations