Vir looked at Robin, who was lost in thought, but he wasn’t surprised.
Robin preferred quiet places, so it wasn’t unusual for her to stay on the ship.
It wasn’t a big deal anyway. After dealing with Enel, they still had to wait for the Log Pose to fully record the island’s magnetic field.
That process would take about two or three days.
They could take this time to explore the island a bit.
Including Robin, there were now five “sacrifices.”
Vir could already sense something unusual approaching from beneath the distant ocean surface.
It was moving extremely fast.
And it was massive—its movement caused large ripples in the water.
It’s here! No doubt about it!
Just as Vir had that thought, the ship suddenly shook violently.
As if something was about to emerge from the water.
On the shore, Luffy and the others noticed the disturbance and turned to look in their direction.
At that moment, a colossal crab burst out from beneath the waves.
Its enormous pincers clamped tightly onto both sides of the Going Merry.
Lifting the ship effortlessly, the crab held it up like a mere toy.
Its sheer size was enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
Luffy and the others were completely stunned by the sight before them.
Nami, being the closest, was so frightened by the crab’s monstrous appearance that she fell backward.
“W-What is that thing?! Vir… Vir and the others are still on the ship!”
Nami stammered.
Luffy and the rest quickly snapped out of their shock and rushed forward, ready to fight the crab.
But the creature gave them no chance.
Clutching the Merry, it scurried off at an incredible speed.
The sheer swiftness of the beast left Luffy and the others with no hope of chasing it.
In just a few seconds, the Going Merry had completely disappeared from their sight.
“Huh…? What just happened? Did a crab… steal our ship?” Luffy asked uncertainly.
Zoro, his face darkened, responded, “Steal? That was a blatant robbery! Even with Vir on board, he couldn’t stop it.”
“Eh?! Then doesn’t that mean they’re in danger?” Luffy belatedly realized, his face showing his usual cluelessness.
“You’re just realizing that now?!”
The group shouted in unison.
As they debated what to do next, a girl with white wings happened to approach them from a distance…
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Merry, after enduring three minutes of an unwanted “pirate ship ride,” Vir and his group arrived at the heart of the forest.
The giant crab placed them onto what appeared to be an altar.
Surrounded by water, massive fish—comparable in size to the crab itself—jumped in and out, making the area appear extremely dangerous.
Looking around, Vir found the scenery familiar.
This was the altar from the original story.
That made things simple.
All he needed to do was shout: “Tour guides! Do your job!”
Then he could head straight for God’s Shrine.
Time to take down Enel!
But first, he had to ensure the safety of the Going Merry.
And the threat?
Those fish, of course!
First, he had to deal with these hungry flying fish eyeing them menacingly!
The others on the ship were all terrified.
The two Skypiean guides were particularly dumbfounded.
How did they suddenly become sacrifices?
Wasn’t everything going smoothly?
They had just warned Vir about how dangerous this place was, and he had seemed to take their advice seriously by choosing to head to Angel Island instead.
They thought being his guides wouldn’t be too difficult.
But now, what was happening?
How did they suddenly become offerings for sacrifice?
This was bad.
There were only a few of them here—coming in was basically a death sentence.
Just look at those fish.
They were impossible for normal people to handle.
Would they just have to wait here until they died?
Chopper and Robin also looked worried.
Those fish clearly weren’t weak opponents.
Being trapped in such a dangerous place out of nowhere—if Vir weren’t here, they wouldn’t have known what to do.
Chopper was about to ask Vir what they should do next.
But before he could speak, Vir suddenly leaped off the ship and into the White Sea below.
This shocked everyone on board.
“What is he doing? Does he really think he can take on all those flying fish alone?” Raki exclaimed in disbelief.
The group quickly rushed to the railing to look down.
But all they could see was the churning water.
Nothing else.
“He’s such an idiot. With his strength, we could have come up with a plan to escape. But no, he just had to jump down and throw his life away. Now we’re truly doomed.”
Raki, seeing the chaos below, was convinced Vir was as good as dead.
Fighting alone against so many powerful sea creatures in the water?
That was basically a death sentence.
Hearing this, Chopper, who was already anxious, became even more panicked.
He couldn’t wait anymore.
Big bro is in danger!
No! I have to save him!
Determined, he prepared to jump in.
But Robin quickly held him back.
He struggled several times, but Robin’s multiple arms kept him firmly in place.
The White Sea was still the sea. A Devil Fruit user couldn’t just jump in.
“Let me go, Robin! I have to save big bro!”
Chopper yelled, struggling against her grip.
But with his current strength, there was no escaping Robin’s hold.
Just as Chopper was about to eat a Rumble Ball to increase his strength and break free—
A figure suddenly leaped out of the water.
Landing steadily on the ship’s railing.
Seeing the scene before him, and Chopper holding a Rumble Ball ready to eat, Vir instantly understood what had happened.
Waving a hand, he gestured for Robin to let Chopper go.
Vir walked over and picked Chopper up with one hand.
Taking the Rumble Ball from his hoof, he placed it back in Chopper’s pocket.
“What? You really think your big bro can’t even handle a few fish?” Vir said, playfully patting Chopper’s head.
It was then that Raki noticed—the water below had turned red with blood.
Countless massive fish, dozens of meters long, floated belly-up on the surface.
Judging by the scene, they had been alive just moments ago.
Sssss~~~!
What just happened?
Less than a minute—no, not even a full minute!
And every single one of those terrifying flying fish had been taken out?!
These creatures were the kind they would usually avoid at all costs.
And here he had wiped out an entire school of them in mere seconds.
This guy…
His strength was completely unnatural.
Scratch that—it was outright monstrous!
Chopper, seeing Vir completely unharmed, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I thought…”
He mumbled, still worried Vir might scold him.
Vir put him down and looked him in the eyes seriously.
“From now on, no matter what danger I’m in, don’t ever come to help me!”
Though his words were strict, his tone was gentle.
“If even I can’t handle it, what good would you be? Don’t worry about anything else. Just hurry back to your hometown… er, Drum Kingdom. Got it?”
Chopper was confused but nodded.
Would he actually listen? That remained to be seen.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, Vir smacked Chopper hard on the head.
“Ow!” Chopper yelped, clutching his head.
“You’re a Devil Fruit user, and you still wanted to jump in the water?! I’ll let this slide once. If there’s a next time, I’ll punch you first, then heal you!”
Chopper shuddered.
The pain vanished instantly.
Only Vir’s terrifying words remained in his mind.
“Yes! Understood, big bro!”
Chopper instinctively saluted.
Vir nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright, next stop—the God’s Shrine! Tour guides, time to work.”
He grabbed a nearby vine and swung toward the land ahead.
The two guides turned pale.
Did he just say… God’s Shrine?
Where did he even hear about that?
Forget that—was he insane?!
That place was home to an untouchable monster!
—–
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