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Chapter 232: Celestial Dragons, You're Asking for It!
🕑 Added 2025-10-05 11:05:12 +0000 UTCChapter 232: Celestial Dragons, You're Asking for It!
"B-Big... Big Brother... Brother..."
Nami gasped, bent over with her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.
"Are you laying an egg?" Shane asked, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. He tossed her his water bottle. "If you have something to say, just say it."
"So... tired..." she gulped down half the bottle in one go. "Why didn't you bring your Transponder Snail to the training room...? Oh, right, it would've died... Anyway, something big has happened! Robin just sent a message! There's trouble on Vesper Island! The Beast Pirates..."
"They won't leave?"
"Uh... you could say that," Nami said, her face scrunching up. "It's worse. The hundred or so pirates Kaido left to guard the island... they're all dead! Every last one of them!"
"Hm?" Shane finally looked up, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. All of them?
Three hours later, on the northwest shore of Vesper Island, the moonlight cast an eerie glow on the blood-red sand. The air was thick with the stench of iron.
A hundred pirate corpses lay scattered across the beach. But there was something strange about them. Their eyes were closed, their faces were peaceful, and their lips were curled into serene smiles, as if they were still lost in a pleasant dream.
Shane walked slowly among the bodies, his eyes taking in every detail.
"Captain, this is all of them," Robin said from behind him, her brow furrowed. "There are no signs of a struggle. Vesper Island is quite large. These pirates were stationed all over the island. They wouldn't have all gathered in one place unless they were ordered to. But tonight, for some reason, they all came to this beach, fell asleep, and died in their dreams. Including their leader, Azzy."
Shane's gaze fell on a four-meter-tall woman in a kimono with curved horns on her head. Azzy, one of the Beast Pirates' Headliners, user of the Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Yak, with a bounty of 340,000,000 Belly. A former Supernova. To be killed in her sleep...
"What about the civilians?" Shane asked, his eyes drifting toward the distant lights of the town.
"The civilians are unharmed, Boss," Jack said, scratching his head in frustration. "But they don't know anything. It's like... it's like the entire island fell asleep at the same time."
"A Devil Fruit user," Robin said, her voice low. "Similar to the Dream Weed, but with a much larger range. A user of this power shouldn't be an unknown..."
"Actually," Shane said, a grim smile on his face, "I think I know who it is." A similar ability, an unknown name... there was only one person it could be. One of the Holy Knights. He couldn't remember his name, but he remembered his power. And his master... Shamrock.
"Shamrock..." Shane's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the night sky, in the direction of Mary Geoise. So, you've finally made your move.
In a courtyard in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
"Don't worry, Vice Commander! No one will ever suspect us!" the user of the Qilin-Qilin Fruit, Qilin, said proudly. "I was clean. No witnesses. And no one in the lower world even knows I exist. That kid is probably on Vesper Island right now, completely clueless!"
"Good," Shamrock said, calmly trimming his nails. "And you sent the distress signal to Kaido?"
"Of course!" Qilin grinned. "Over a hundred of his men, including a Headliner on the fast track to the Flying Six, all wiped out. That hot-headed Kaido will definitely blame it on Shane. And when they go to war, the Curtain Call Pirates will be crushed. If Shane survives, a broken, defeated dog, he'll be begging to join the Holy Knights."
"An excellent plan," Shamrock said with a nod. "If you succeed, I will report your merits to my father."
"Thank you, Vice Commander!" Qilin bowed deeply, then promptly fell face-first onto the grass and started snoring.
"Must you sleep in every conceivable situation?!" Shamrock roared, kicking him in the ribs.
On Vesper Island, Shane explained his theory to Robin and Jack.
"A trap set by the Holy Knights..." Robin mused. "If the Beast Pirates have already received the message, they're probably mobilizing for war as we speak. Captain, are we really going to fight them?"
"A fight?" Shane laughed. If a fight was unavoidable, so be it. The Curtain Call crew might lack the numbers, but in a clash of top-tier officers... it was a toss-up. But he was not a fool to be played. And he was certainly not going to be used as a pawn by the Celestial Dragons.
He pulled out his Transponder Snail.
"Boss? You have Kaido's number?" Jack asked, dumbfounded.
"Hey, Kaido?" Shane said into the snail.
"Worororo..." a cold laugh came from the other end. "I was just about to call you, you little punk."
"Shut up and listen, Kaido. I hate misunderstandings." Shane quickly explained the situation. There was a long silence on the other end.
"...The Holy Knights," Kaido's voice was low and dangerous. "The last time I dealt with them was at God Valley... If they're trying to recruit you, then yes... that sounds like something those bastards would do."
"So you've seen what they're capable of firsthand."
"Don't get cheeky with me, kid," Kaido growled. "But... I owe you one for this. Vesper Island is yours. Queen! Call off the preparations for war! And tell King to get back to his post!"
So he was already preparing to attack? Shane thought, hanging up the snail. The Holy Knights' plan had been flawless. They had just underestimated two things: his knowledge of their existence, and his... "friendship" with Kaido.
"What do we do now, Captain?" Robin asked.
Shane looked out at the beach littered with corpses and sneered. "The Celestial Dragons have sent me such a generous gift to my new territory. It would be rude not to return the favor, wouldn't it?" He had refused their offer once. And now this. Did they really think they could do as they pleased?
Jack's eyes lit up. Robin's breath hitched. Her captain... was going to war. With the Celestial Dragons.
At the World Economic Journal headquarters.
"P-President!" an assistant burst into the office. "It's Shane! He's on the line for you!"
"What?!" Morgans nearly dropped his cigar. "Put him through! Now!"
"Lord Shane!" he chirped into the receiver. "What an honor! What can I do for you?"
"I need your help with something," Shane's calm voice came through the line.
"Anything!" Morgans's eyes glowed. "An exclusive interview? Another enemy you need to take down?" This is great for business!
"I do need to take someone down. But their identity is... special. And a little hard to find. I was hoping you could help me with that."
"Hahaha! Don't be so modest!" Morgans laughed. "No one is more special than a Fleet Admiral, and you dealt with him just fine! Who is it?"
"A Celestial Dragon."
