Large raindrops splattered down, quickly drenching the ruins of the execution platform, washing away charred wood debris and traces of battle. The air was filled with the dampness of rain and a faint smell of char.
"Wow!!! That move you just did was amazing!" Luffy's eyes practically turned into stars, completely ignoring the Marine gathering and stirring. He excitedly danced around Tomioka, who was nearby, asking, "How did that sword spray water?! Is it a Devil Fruit? Are you a Devil Fruit user too? Do it again!"
Tomioka Giyu silently watched Luffy, who was jumping around in front of him.
One second, this boy was calmly facing death; the next, he was completely unharmed by the explosion caused by the lightning strike and sword slash, and now he could display such pure excitement.
'Devil Fruit? Devil Fruit user?'
Tomioka caught these two words. They seemed to explain Luffy's physique and the red-nosed clown's ability to split his body.
It seemed that this place, devoid of demons, also harbored another abnormal power called Devil.
"Hey, Mosshead." Sanji lit a cigarette, the rain quickly dampening the tip, but he didn't mind. He glanced at the ruins of the execution platform, shattered by a single sword strike, then looked up at the lingering power of the thunder that still seemed to hang in the dark clouds. "Do you believe there are gods in this world?"
Zoro "tsk"-ed impatiently. His three swords were already sheathed, and his hand gripped the hilt of the wado ichimonji as he looked at the increasing number of Marine soldiers forming an encirclement at the plaza entrance.
"Idiot Swirly Brow, is this the time to be thinking about that? The Marine won't reason with you! Get ready to break through!"
Tomioka's gaze shifted from Luffy, swept over the gradually closing white wave, and finally settled back on Luffy. He remembered the tavern owner's words; it was the only clear clue.
"You." His clear, cold voice pierced the rain, asking steadily without a ripple, "Are you heading to the Grand Line?"
"You want to come too?!" Hearing this, Luffy's excitement soared again. He slapped Tomioka's empty sleeve with a loud smack, saying, "We're setting off right now! Come be my nakama!"
The familiar instruction text reappeared in Tomioka's vision:
[Target: Monkey D. Luffy]
[Status: Extremely excited, expectant]
[Preferences: Adventure, nakama]
[Suggestion: Accept invitation]
"Hey, Luffy, your reason for inviting someone onto the ship is too casual." Zoro teased from the side, glancing at Tomioka. "This guy's strength doesn't look simple."
Luffy, having been splashed with a bucket of cold water by Zoro, began to pout.
"What does it matter? This guy saved me, so he's definitely not a bad person."
"I give up on you, but you're the Captain, so whatever you decide is fine."
Tomioka silently glanced at his sleeve that had been slapped, then at the face before him, filled with unreserved trust and invitation. Finally, his gaze fell upon the pressing Marines.
Rationality rapidly weighed options in his mind.
The goal was to find a way home as much as possible, and the known clue was that the Grand Line might contain many countries with samurai.
The most likely successful method now was to follow this Straw Hat boy who had survived a lightning strike. The risk was getting involved in certain troubles: this group was a bunch of pirates, but they didn't carry the nauseating smell of blood.
"I can temporarily travel with you."
Tomioka clearly drew the line.
"But I am only going to the Grand Line to find a place, not to be your nakama."
"That's great!" Luffy didn't care about such subtle distinctions; for him, traveling together was no different from being nakama.
He let out a cheer, his rubber arm suddenly stretched out, grabbing Zoro, Sanji, and Tomioka, "Let's go! Time to run!"
"Bastard! Don't suddenly hug me!"
"Hey Luffy! My cigarette's wet!"
"... Too close..."
Watching Luffy's arm suddenly stretch out, wrapping him up and dragging him along, Tomioka suddenly felt as if he had boarded a pirate ship.
Sanji couldn't help but laugh at Tomioka's expression: "Hahahahahahaha, our Captain is just like that. You'll get used to it soon."
The four-person group, in a very strange posture, instantly crashed through several Marine soldiers attempting to block them, charging towards the port!
...A few minutes later, in front of the ruins of the execution platform, a group of Marines had gathered.
Smoker's tall figure was particularly prominent in the rain, and the smoke from his cigar mixed with the moisture of the rain was heavily exhaled from his mouth. His cold gaze swept over the wreckage destroyed by both lightning and sword, finally settling on his subordinate's face.
"Have you ever seen anyone smile like that just before death?" His voice was low, with a barely perceptible tremor.
The subordinate paused, then firmly shook his head: "Impossible, Captain Smoker! No matter how boastful or evil a pirate is, when facing death, they will only turn pale and die with despair and fear! This is human nature!"
"No..." Smoker looked in the direction where the four-person team had disappeared, as if he could pierce through the heavy rain and see that moment again, "That Straw Hat boy... he smiled. The exact same smile as the man named Gol D. Roger, twenty-two years ago, in this very place!"
Just then, a messenger ran up, panting, to report: "Captain Smoker! The Straw Hat have gone to the west port! But... but the rain is too heavy, all our brothers' gunpowder is wet, there's no way to shoot! One team has already gone back to change equipment!"
Another soldier added: "And... the wind direction is west wind now, which means... it's a tailwind for them..."
"Wet gunpowder... troops returning... tailwind..." Smoker chewed on these words, an inexplicable chill mixed with fighting spirit surged in his heart. All these coincidences, it was almost as if... "As if even the heavens want them to live..." he muttered to himself.
Immediately, the image of the one-armed swordsman flashed in his mind—the empty sleeve, the haori with different patterns, the sword that seemed to draw water, and the calm as the sea yet incomparably sharp aura when he split the execution platform.
"And that one-armed swordsman..." Smoker's fist clenched suddenly, knuckles cracking. "That cold sword intent... the precision and power to destroy the execution platform with a single strike... When did such a monster lurk in the East Blue..."
But the next second, a battle-hungry, ferocious grin appeared on his face: "However... it's just what I wanted! In this East Blue, it's been too long since I've encountered someone who can make me serious, my limbs are almost rusty!"
He suddenly looked up, his roar echoing across the entire plaza, even overpowering the sound of the rain: "All troops, listen up! Everyone who can move, pursue with all your might! Block all roads leading to the port! Not a single rat is allowed to escape!"
"I'm betting on my title as 'White Hunter'!!! I will not let any of them leave this 'Town of the Beginning and the End' alive!"
...West Street Main Road, this was the only way to the port.
The rain grew heavier, and visibility began to decrease. Tomioka and his group advanced quickly, with scattered Marines attempting to block them being dealt with by Zoro and Sanji almost instantly, while Luffy excitedly led the way.
However, at a street corner, a team of people, as if already ambushed, suddenly appeared, completely blocking their path.
The leader was Tashigi, clad in a Marine uniform.
She adjusted her rain-soaked glasses, her sharp gaze sweeping over the four, finally settling on Zoro and Tomioka.
"I didn't expect, 'Bounty Hunter' Roronoa Zoro, that you really became a pirate." Tashigi's voice held suppressed anger. Then she looked at Tomioka, "And you! You were clearly with them, pretending to be a stranger in the weapon shop, was it fun to toy with me?"
She drew the shigure from her waist with a "clink," pointing the blade at them: "I will defeat you pirates here and reclaim the famous swords in your possession!"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts, and he began to wiggle in place: "Ah ah~ What a beautiful and righteous Marine lady! Mosshead, what disrespectful things did you two do to this lady!"
Zoro looked at Tashigi's face, almost identical to Kuina's in his memory, especially those eyes filled with determination and conviction through her glasses, and his expression became extremely complex and unnatural.
He subconsciously turned his face away, even irritably covering his forehead, and whispered to Tomioka beside him: "Hey... I'm really sorry. This guy... reminds me of an old acquaintance from a long, long time ago. I... don't really want to get into too much trouble with her right now."
Tashigi grew even angrier upon hearing this: "What 'too much trouble'?! You are utterly rude!"
Zoro, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly turned back and roared: "Shut up! You imitator woman!"
Just as this strange atmosphere reached a stalemate, Tomioka stepped forward expressionlessly.
His movement instantly drew everyone's attention. Rainwater slid down his black hair, dripping onto his haori with its different patterns.
One-armed, he held his nichirin blade, which still condensed faint water vapor, directly confronting Tashigi.
Based on the "efficient breakthrough" required by the current situation, he calmly gave his decided instructions to the three behind him:
"You go first."
His voice was not loud, but exceptionally clear, carrying a sense of resolve.
"I will catch up immediately."
"Oh! Okay!" Luffy had the most intuitive trust in Tomioka's strength and responded without hesitation.
"Tsk, quite confident, aren't you." Zoro 'tsk'-ed, but his feet were already moving.
"Farewell, beautiful lady!" Sanji blew a kiss.
The three instantly bypassed the waiting Marine soldiers from another side and continued to rush towards the port.
"Stop!" Tashigi was both surprised and angry. She wanted to stop them but was completely locked down by the cold aura of the one-armed swordsman before her. Tomioka's words sounded to her like extreme disdain and insult.
"Although you are strong..." Tashigi gripped shigure with both hands, adopting a standard sword stance. Her sense of justice and self-respect would not allow her to let them pass, nor to be underestimated in such a way. "Don't look at me like this, I am also a Marineford Sergeant stationed in Loguetown! I will not let you escape from here."
She let out a battle cry, stomping her foot on the water-logged ground, splashing water, and charged at Tomioka. The blade of shigure cut through the rain, striking directly!
Tomioka's eyes were as still as a deep pool. Facing the fierce attack, his nichirin blade merely lifted slightly, and the invisible water vapor gathering around him seemed to become even denser.
[Power Stones Required]