Chapter 271: We Are Different

"Cola?!"

Choba reached up and rubbed his ears; the surrounding noise was so loud that he hadn't heard clearly what Franky said afterward.

Seeing Franky's exhausted and powerless appearance, he assumed that continuous battles had drained his body to the extreme, and that he needed cola to replenish the moisture within.

"If you're thirsty, try this."

Choba fumbled around his person, pulled two bottled liquids from his chest, and handed them to Franky.

The latter didn't think twice; he directly opened the outer armor on his chest, took out the empty cola bottle, and casually slipped the two bottles Choba provided inside.

The next instant, Franky's body jolted as if struck by electricity; the hair that had been drooping on his head shot straight up, and his entire demeanor changed drastically.

Franky sat down right there, hoisting a hoe he had found who-knows-where over his shoulder, looking every bit like an old farmer about to harvest.

"Life is truly leisurely~ Why must there be fighting and killing~ If only we could just farm like this and everyone could live in peace..."

"Like hell!"

"What did you give me?!"

Franky pulled the two bottles from his abdomen, took one glance, and saw the large characters "Vegetable Juice" clearly written on the labels.

"You bastard!"

"Only cola can give me strength!"

"Sugoi~~~!!!"

Choba's attention, however, had shifted entirely elsewhere.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at Franky before him, his mind filled entirely with cyborgs from manga.

He immediately excitedly hugged Bepo, who had hurried over from the side.

"A cyborg, a legendary cyborg!"

"So cool!"

Bepo was equally excited, as if a dream had come true:

"Can you fly? The kind of cyborg with lasers that shoot from your arms and tracking missiles on your body?"

"Can you control giant robots to fight monsters?"

The two got carried away, obsessively staring at Franky and blurting out various skills that existed only in manga, clearly expecting Franky to demonstrate them next.

"Hmph~"

The corner of Franky's mouth curled up; although his body was weak from lack of energy, the pride in his eyes was completely unmistakable:

"I may not have lasers, but if you give me cola, I do have tracking weapons."

"Here."

Two bottles of cola were neatly placed before Franky's eyes.

He paused slightly, then turned his head to see Bari wearing an expression of sheer embarrassment.

At this moment, the latter's posture was somewhat awkward; he pretended not to care, yet his eyes were glued to Franky:

"I'm not here to see your tracking missiles."

"As an adult, how could I possibly be interested in such things?"

With such a posture, he might as well have written "I want to see" across his face.

Franky was momentarily speechless, but he did not delay.

He reached out, took the cola from Bari's hand, placed it into the energy compartment in his abdomen, and instantly felt his previous exhaustion sweep away; inexhaustible strength surged through his entire body, and even his drooping hair suddenly stood on end.

"Super!!!"

Franky immediately struck his classic pose on the spot, bringing his arms together, perfectly displaying a blue five-pointed star on his forearms.

Such a cool pose made Choba and Bepo's eyes sparkle with even greater anticipation for Franky's upcoming performance, while even Bari nearby widened his eyes, afraid of missing anything that followed.

Franky raised a hand to adjust his hairstyle, a wicked smile curling the corner of his lips:

"Since you are so eager, I shall reluctantly demonstrate my handiwork!"

Immediately, his shoulders began to transform, rising high as two black holes resembling cannon muzzles emerged.

The anticipation of the three was now fully piqued.

"Is it a tracking cannon?!"

"Automatic pursuit, never stopping until it hits the enemy?!"

Bari, at some point, had already stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Choba and Bepo.

He looked at Franky's shoulders and made a bold conjecture based on their structure.

"No, no, no!"

Bepo shook his head:

"It must be precision-guided missiles; like in the manga, one shot is enough to destroy a castle!"

"So amazing~~~"

Choba, at some point, had transformed into a tiny figure; he lay on top of Bepo's head, listening intently to the two descriptions while looking at Franky with sparkling eyes.

"Franky-Tracking Cannon!"

After a strange cry, Franky spread his legs and charged toward an IQ Ferocious Beast.

At the same time, the cannon on his shoulder spewed fire, yet it failed to even break through the IQ Ferocious Beast's defense, and he was punched flying by the latter.

Whoosh—!

A gentle breeze blew past as Choba and the other two stood frozen on the spot.

For a moment, they felt utterly disappointed.

"So this 'tracking' is what you call tracking?!"

"Ah."

"I don't know why, but suddenly I've lost all interest in robots~"

Barry sighed, turned, and silently departed with Chopper, leaving only Franky, who had just climbed to his feet, standing bewildered in the wind.

After the brief jest, the distant IQ Beasts attacked again, and the four quickly joined the battle.

Bepo shed the weights from his body; his muscles, already surging with blood, now appeared even more explosive, with twisted veins bulging across his exaggerated pectorals.

Wielding a baseball bat in each hand, he swung them with fierce momentum, sending a beast far larger than himself flying with a mere light strike.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed through the air, staining Bepo's pure white fur red, making him look utterly ferocious.

"Hahahaha—!"

Bepo felt increasingly exhilarated:

"Senior Chopper, I finally understand what a Pioneer is; absolute power is absolute freedom!"

"Exactly!"

Chopper, transformed into his human form, waved his hand to block an attack from a tiger-like IQ Beast.

Immediately after, he pinned the tiger-like IQ Beast down, looking at Bepo with an indescribable sense of gratification:

"That's it!"

"Strength and power are the means to solve every problem."

"And on our ship, you will grow even faster; have you considered truly joining us?!"

"Follow our captain and build a perfect utopia together!"

Bepo felt a momentary stir of interest.

During this period, having lived together with Gao Wen's group, they could already be called friends.

He knew even more clearly the style of Gao Wen's group: upright and benevolent, yet decisive; for both himself and Law, they could be considered an ideal haven.

"I..."

Bepo opened his mouth, but Law's figure floated before his eyes once more, and his gaze hardened in that instant:

"Thank you for the invitation, but I must still go save that guy Law... By the way, he is within the Jin Shizi Pirates, so he will definitely participate in this battle too!"

"I must find him."

"I must expose the Jin Shizi's true identity; I cannot let him remain under the Jin Shizi's command, it is simply too dangerous!"

Speaking thus, Bepo no longer cared about the battle at hand.

He stomped heavily on the ground, vanishing from the spot in a flash, and began searching for Law's figure amidst the battlefield.

Chopper was just about to speak when several IQ Beasts attacked him, interrupting his action, forcing him to watch helplessly as Bepo departed.

But what Bepo did not know was this:

At this very moment,

atop a building in Water Seven, Law was likewise watching him:

"Am I seeing things?!"

Law reached up to touch his forehead, feeling certain he must be hallucinating.

He simply could not connect the massive, masculine beast in the distance—at least three or four times larger than Bepo, cutting in and out of the IQ Beast horde seven times—with the introverted and shy Bepo of his memory.

The difference between the two had reached a point where they couldn't possibly have been born of the same mother.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Law shook his head:

"It must just be an IQ Beast that happens to resemble Bepo."

"Mm."

"It has to be that way."

Thinking thus, Law's heart settled slightly.

He took a deep breath, looking at the fierce battle in the distance, a trace of reluctance flashing in his eyes.

Yet he knew even more clearly that he was currently right under the Jin Shizi's nose, making it impossible for him to act and save anyone.

Although he was a doctor, he did not consider himself noble enough to sacrifice himself for others; not acting was already the limit of what he could do.

Unless...

Law slowly raised his head.

High in the sky,

two figures stood silently confronting each other; amidst the increasingly noisy battlefield, that place appeared surprisingly calm.

Yet even with just a single glance, Law felt an invisible pressure, like a mountain roaring and the sea surging, fall upon his shoulders.

"How could that guy Jin Shizi possibly lose? What unrealistic thought have I even had?!"

Just how strong is the Jin Shizi?

Originally, Law had an answer to this question in his heart.

But as the old wound on the Jin Shizi's head healed and the final shackle restricting his power was removed, his once-mighty strength gradually revived.

By now, Law didn't even know to what extent he would need to go in order to avenge Pequin and Xia Qi.

"Heh."

He laughed self-mockingly, realizing at this moment why the Jin Shizi was so fearless:

"Absolute power is the foundation."

"What schemes and tricks? Before such immense power, they hold no meaning whatsoever; I am still too weak."

"Too weak!"

"I cannot even make him feel the slightest hint of a threat..."

Luo gripped Ghost-Cry tightly in his hand, his fingernails digging deep into flesh and blood.

But he knew even more clearly that before the Jin Shizi fell, or before he obtained the power to resist the Jin Shizi, he could not even reveal the hatred in his heart.

Clack!

The scabbard of Ghost-Cry tapped the ground, supporting Luo's body as he stood up, and then he prepared to turn and leave.

Yet at this moment, the invisible pressure in the air turned violent, and the already biting wind between heaven and earth became even more restless.

"This is..."

Luo whipped his head around, his gaze landing on the figure confronting the Jin Shizi.

High in the sky.

Gao Wen flapped the twin wings on his shoulders; fine dragon scales covered his entire body, while coiling dragon horns atop his head appeared ferocious and exaggerated.

It was precisely the Demon Form.

Even counting old legends like Hawk-Eye and Kizaru, the Jin Shizi before him ranked among the strongest opponents Gao Wen had ever fought.

Moreover, the Jin Shizi standing before Gao Wen at this very moment was one whose old wounds had healed, whose restrictions were lifted, and whose combat power approached its peak.

This was the legend who once dominated the seas and fell only to the timing of heaven, not the clown who lost to Straw Hat as if it were a child's game.

"The aura on you is even stronger than last time~"

The Jin Shizi couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration; once again, he was shocked by Gao Wen's speed of growth and potential.

A few months ago, during the battle at Rapeseed Flower Port, if Gao Wen had possessed such formidable presence as he did now, the Jin Shizi would have withdrawn without a second thought.

He was confident and arrogant, but not foolish; engaging a strong opponent while his combat power was severely dragged down by old wounds would have been extremely frustrating, regardless of victory or defeat.

But now, everything was different.

He could feel that due to his physical condition, his strength might no longer reach the heights of his youth, yet it was already very close.

In this era where Whitebeard secluded himself in a corner and Luo Jie had already passed away, he had the confidence to face any opponent.

Looking at the man before him who was excessively young yet had already reached the summit of the seas, the Jin Shizi once again felt a hint of appreciation for talent rise in his heart:

"I will give you one last chance: become my deputy, Gao Wen!"

"This world should be held in the hands of people like us, not dominated by a herd of swine."

"You must be able to feel it, right?!"

"Just how ugly and stupid those Celestial Dragons truly are!"

Gao Wen did not reply; he merely lowered his eyes to look at the commoners below fleeing in panic into the underground of the Mayor's Building and asked:

"And what about them..."

The Jin Shizi paused, following Gao Wen's line of sight.

Positioned high in the sky, looking down upon everything on the earth, he felt that those commoners were no larger than the crawling insects on the ground.

Thus, two words slipped from his mouth:

"Ants."

"Heh..."

A sound of contemptuous laughter rang out.

Zing!

Guanshi Zhengzong left its sheath; its cold glow reflected the moonlight, making it appear extremely sharp.

Gao Wen's mocking voice also reached the Jin Shizi's ears at this moment:

"So you and the Celestial Dragons are actually the same kind of people; all you see in your eyes is power, nothing but the desire to control everything."

"You are blind to the suffering of these ordinary people."

"Although I am no good person either, but..."

"We are different."

"I feel that no matter how terrible this world is, at the very least they should be allowed to live, rather than being treated like leeks by the roadside, cut down one batch only for a new batch to quickly grow in its place."

The smile on the Jin Shizi's face vanished, yet his eyes became extremely complex in that instant.

Before his eyes, he vaguely heard the final words that man had spoken to him over twenty years ago, during their last battle with Luo Jie.

We are different.

That was also the last time he saw Luo Jie; not long after that, the Marines announced the news of Luo Jie's public execution.

Up until the moment of Luo Jie's death, the Jin Shizi never had the chance to ask exactly what was different.

But now...

The Jin Shizi took a deep breath, yet his exhalations became increasingly rapid.

His Conqueror's Haki began to churn at this moment, and crimson lightning even started flashing around his body.

"I heard from Spandam that you are also from the East Blue, yes?!"

"Coincidence?!"

"No, it is fate."

"Twenty years ago, I lost to a man from the East Blue; today, twenty years later, I will reclaim what I once lost from another man of the East Blue."

Boom—!

A sonic boom rang out; the Jin Shizi's figure vanished instantly, replaced by his famous blade, Wood-Wither, which stabbed toward Gao Wen like a wasp's stinger.

Sharp, fierce, yet possessing an overbearing spirit that declared, 'If not me, then who!'

(End of Chapter)