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[TIOP] Chapter : 38
🕑 Added 2025-02-19 08:05:01 +0000 UTC"Sir, the port of Alabasta is just ahead!" Lena reported, glancing at the nautical chart in her hands.
In the days following their last raid, they had swept through two more islands, reaping substantial rewards. Jack’s exp had climbed to 98%, and he expected to level up within the next two days.
"Prepare for landing," Jack ordered after a brief moment of thought.
"Yes, sir!" Lena saluted before instructing the crew to head straight for the port city of Nanohana in Alabasta.
Meanwhile, Luffy and his crew were also nearing Alabasta. Vivi, however, was growing increasingly anxious.
"Don’t worry, Vivi, everything will be fine," Nami reassured her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Having recovered thanks to Dr. Kureha, Nami was back to full health.
"I know… I just haven’t figured out what to do yet," Vivi admitted with a sigh. But just as she turned to look at the horizon, her eyes widened in shock.
"What is that?" she asked in disbelief.
"Huh~? Looks like marshmallows!" Luffy said, already drooling at the sight.
A few days ago, Luffy, Usopp, Karoo the duck, and their new ship's doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, had stolen food from Sanji. Now, with nothing left to eat, they spent their days fishing—using Karoo as bait, much to his dismay.
"It's nothing serious," Nami observed. "Just water vapor from an underwater volcano."
As the Merry sailed past, Luffy and Usopp suddenly felt a strange tug on their fishing lines.
"Whoa! We caught a... shemale?!" Usopp yelped in shock.
The flamboyantly dressed figure, still clutching Karoo, looked equally startled and tumbled into the sea. Fortunately, Luffy and the others managed to pull them back aboard.
"I'm terribly sorry! Imagine being saved by pirates I don’t even know—how embarrassing!" the person in a swan costume said with exaggerated politeness.
"You can’t swim?" Usopp asked, puzzled.
"That’s right! I ate a Devil Fruit, so the sea is my mortal enemy!" the stranger admitted.
"A Devil Fruit user? What kind of power do you have?" Usopp pressed.
"Ah, since we have some time to kill, allow me to demonstrate!"
With a dramatic flourish, the figure began his performance. He possessed the powers of the Mimicry Fruit—by touching someone with his right hand and then pressing his own face with his left, he could transform into an exact copy of that person. This ability extended across species and even genders, making for a truly bizarre spectacle.
The newcomer’s abilities were astonishing—he could perfectly transform into a reindeer identical to Chopper or take on Nami’s exact appearance, even replicating her body shape.
His Devil Fruit power also had a memory function, allowing him to recall and reuse any form he had previously touched.
Naturally, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp quickly became friends with the flamboyant shape-shifter. However, their time together was short-lived, as the stranger’s ship soon arrived to pick him up. As he departed, his crew addressed him as Mr. 2.
"Wait a minute… I think I saw him turn into my father’s face," Vivi muttered, her expression darkening. "They must have used this ability to deceive people!"
Realizing the potential danger, the Straw Hat Pirates decided to take precautions. They each marked a cross on their left arms and covered it with bandages—a secret sign to distinguish friend from foe.
Meanwhile, in the bustling port city of Nanohana, a commotion erupted inside a popular restaurant.
"I heard he collapsed while eating!"
"What?! Was he poisoned?"
"Did something go wrong with the food?"
"I don’t know, but the owner has run this place for years—nothing like this has ever happened before!"
Jack, who had just entered the city with Lena, felt an uneasy sense of foreboding. His instincts proved correct. As they stepped inside the restaurant, they were met with a grim sight—a man with a whitebeard tattoo on his back lay slumped over his meal, food still in one hand, motionless.
He looked dead.
"Sir, that tattoo…," Lena muttered, immediately noticing the familiar marking.
Jack’s expression darkened. "This bastard!" he growled, striding over and delivering a firm slap to the man's back.
"Huh? Huh? What’s going on?" The man jolted upright from his pile of food, rubbing his face on the dress of the lady beside him. "Ah—ah! I must’ve dozed off!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd, still in shock.
Completely unaware of the chaos he had caused, Ace blinked at the restaurant owner and asked, "Boss, why is everyone staring at me?"
The owner’s mouth twitched, but he hesitated to answer—after all, everyone had just assumed Ace was dead.
"Ace, you idiot! Why are you causing trouble again?" Jack sighed, rubbing his temples as he loomed behind Ace.
Ace finally turned and grinned. "Oh! Jack! Long time no see! What brings you to Alabasta?"
Jack’s expression shifted as realization dawned. "Wait… Are you here for Blackbeard?"
Ace gave a casual shrug. "Yeah. You know about him?"
"Didn't I warn you about Blackbeard—?" Jack started, but before he could finish, a familiar voice suddenly shouted,
"BAZOOKA!"
A split second later, something heavy slammed into Jack’s back, sending both him and Ace crashing into the ruins of the restaurant.
Jack groaned as he crawled from the wreckage, already knowing the culprit. His eye twitched in frustration.
"Ah, shit… Luffy, you little menace! Today, I’ll uphold justice and finally deal with you, once and for all!"
Originally, this situation should have been Smoker’s problem, but due to personal matters, he had been delayed in pursuing Luffy. As a result, Smoker had only recently entered the Grand Line.
"Boss! More food! I wanna eat, eat, eat!" Luffy called out eagerly from his seat.
The restaurant owner quickly served the food but hesitated, his voice shaky. "If you value your life… I’d suggest you run. Now."
Luffy paused mid-bite. "Huh? Why?"
The owner pointed to a gaping hole in the wall. "Do you see that massive hole?"
Luffy tilted his head, studying it for a moment. "Ohhh! Is this part of your store’s decoration style? Kinda weird, but cool!" He nodded approvingly before taking another bite.
"It was YOU who did it!" the other customers and the boss shouted in unison.
Luffy blinked in confusion. "Huh? I did that? When?"
The owner wiped his sweaty brow. "Think back—did you feel like you crashed into something when you entered just now?"
Luffy chewed thoughtfully, recalling the moment. Now that he thought about it… he had hit something.
The owner sighed and pointed behind Luffy. "Two people were caught in that mess—one is a Marine Captain from headquarters, the superior of this Chief Petty Officer. The other…" His voice dropped. "A pirate with the Whitebeard Pirates' tattoo."
At that moment, a furious voice rang out.
"You’ve gotta be kidding me! Damn it, who the hell just slammed into me?!" Ace, who had landed next to Jack (but fortunately hadn’t been sent flying as far), stomped forward, cursing as he dusted himself off.
But before anything else, Lena drew her sword. The lord she respected most had just been ambushed and knocked aside by a pirate who only cared about stuffing his face—and now that same pirate had the audacity to sit there and eat openly.
"Pirate Monkey D. Luffy, bounty: 30 million berries! In the name of the Navy, I will bring you to justice!" Lena declared furiously, brandishing her blade. Her sudden aggression startled Luffy mid-bite.
"Navy? A Captain?" Luffy mumbled, dodging her strike by tilting his head. "Wait… didn’t the boss say I knocked a Captain away? Captains… Jack, Smoker—oh yeah! Smoker from Loguetown was a captain too!"
Rather than waste time thinking further, Luffy opened his mouth wide and shoveled in the rest of his food. Then, covering his mouth with both hands, he gave the restaurant owner a quick bow. "Thanks for the meal!" he mumbled before bolting out the door.
Naturally, Lena wasn’t about to let him escape. Without hesitation, she took off in pursuit.
Just as Ace stepped inside, he spotted Luffy’s retreating figure. Without saying a word, he turned and chased after him.
The restaurant owner stood there, dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold. "Wait… was that just a really elaborate dine-and-dash?"
At that moment, Jack finally arrived, rubbing his head in frustration. "Boss, where’s the pirate who knocked me away just now?"
The owner blinked, then gestured toward the door. "They all ran off."
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he turned back to Jack and hesitated. "Uh… since those folks were your friends, do you want to cover their tab?"
"Those bastards! Dining and dashing in a civilian restaurant? I won’t let them get away with this!" Jack roared, sprinting after them.
The restaurant owner blinked, watching Jack vanish down the street. In that moment, he felt the world's deep and inexplicable cruelty toward him.
"I swear, when I catch them, I’ll make them pay!" Jack fumed, his face still flushed with embarrassment. Since joining the Navy and dedicating himself to becoming the strongest, he had never been humiliated like this.
The real problem? He never carried any money. Normally, Lena handled all the expenses, so without her, his pockets were completely empty. If he’d had even a single berry on him, he wouldn't have had to flee the restaurant like a common criminal.
But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
Wait… doesn’t my inventory have plenty of funds?
Jack let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples. "Damn it, Ace and Luffy… just being around you two is making me dumber." Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort, he gave up on the chase.
Besides, Ace knew Lena—he wouldn’t hurt her. And Luffy? He and Lena were evenly matched for now, so there was no real danger.
Meanwhile, Lena wasn’t about to let her target escape so easily. Spotting a group of marines patrolling the streets, she wasted no time.
"All available units—block that pirate immediately!" she commanded, her voice sharp and authoritative.
The patrolling Marines froze at the sight of Lena’s uniform. Within seconds, they snapped to attention, shouting orders as they quickly rallied their forces to pursue Luffy.
"Damn it, Lena, that's my brother!" Ace called out from behind as he chased after her. He knew Lena was Jack’s subordinate, which meant he couldn’t just attack her outright—so he had no choice but to keep following.
At the harbor, Lena finally caught up to Luffy. By sheer coincidence, Zoro and the others were already there. Wasting no time, she led the marines in surrounding them.
"You really have a talent for causing chaos. How do you manage to get the entire city’s Navy after you just by stepping outside?" Nami snapped at Luffy, arms crossed in frustration.
"I didn’t do anything! I was just having a meal at a restaurant!" Luffy protested, looking genuinely aggrieved.
"Forget that—right now, we need to focus on escaping! More Marines are closing in by the second," Sanji said, exhaling a puff of smoke as he assessed the situation.
