Chapter 1200: Overwhelming Information, Processor Overloaded

Hawkeye couldn’t understand, even after two years, he still couldn’t understand why, despite traveling in a straight line along the Log Pose, he couldn’t reach the destination.

He had lost count of how many times he had swung his sword. Zoro was like a stubborn young man with his own ideas; no matter how Hawkeye planned the route, Zoro would eventually veer off course.

Kuraigana Island was too remote, and after the kingdom was destroyed, it lost its regular routes. Merchant ships rarely docked there, otherwise Hawkeye would never use this method.

[Our company does not offer live delivery services]

The sign in Dragonite’s hand also became a symbol of courier services. Dragonites have extremely high intelligence and can work as programmers, mastering a language isn’t difficult for them, so on overseas tasks, Dragonites would carry a sketch board with them.

Thinking back to the sign Dragonite showed him initially, he had a somewhat incomplete view of the company’s services. If a bulky courier could deliver live people, he would have packed Zoro up and sent him away.

He couldn’t bring himself to personally escort Zoro, so he had to use this method to send him off.

Through Hawkeye’s persistent efforts, he finally sent the direction-impaired Zoro to Shampodi Islands, but as they got closer to the islands, more ships appeared nearby, and some things were inevitably discovered.

A pirate ship appeared inappropriately near Hawkeye and eventually became the “prey of the Seven Warlords of the Sea”.

Hawkeye would consider merchant ships, but pirate ships…

To a lawful pirate, attacking other pirates doesn’t require any reason as long as all witnesses are eliminated; no one would know the real reason Hawkeye attacked them.

…

After a series of twists and turns, a wet Zoro was the last to arrive at Shampodi Islands.

Yet, he still couldn’t reach the rendezvous point smoothly. He wandered around the island, got into conflicts with other pirates, causing quite a commotion, which finally caught the attention of Luffy and the others, bringing the last member back.

“Green algae-head, what the hell were you doing? Do you know how long you’ve delayed us?”

“Huh? What’s it got to do with me? If it weren’t for the tsunamis I kept running into on the way back, I would have been here long ago. Look at yourself, with a face so pale, can you still set sail? Be careful not to die halfway.”

After two years apart, the first thing these old rivals did upon meeting was to mock each other.

“Ha? Even if you die, I won’t! Where have you been these two years? What happened to your eye?”

They were rivals; for Zoro to appear here alive, no matter how tough the past two years had been, meant he had made it through. At this moment, Sanji was more concerned with the environment Zoro had lived in for two years.

To Sanji, the Okama Kingdom was nothing short of Hell; no matter how suitable the recipes there were for his training, a country without any normal women was horrifying for him.

If Zoro’s environment was better than his, it would truly be adding insult to injury.

“Stayed with that guy Hawkeye on an island full of baboons for two years, just suffered some minor injuries, that’s all. How about you?”

Normally, an island with just baboons isn’t a good place, yet for some reason, Sanji felt a sense of unfairness; he would rather face a pack of wild baboons than those Okamas.

“Sanji-kun and I spent two years in Heaven; it was absolutely marvelous, a dreamlike Holy Land for Okamas.”

“Don’t drag me into this! It was clearly Hell!”

“Sanji-kun, if you say that, little Tibany will be hurt if he hears you. He came from faraway to send us off.”

Upon hearing Zoro’s inquiry, Bon Kurei picked up the conversation, and hearing the name Tibany, Sanji felt his heart nearly stop. His mind flashed the image of a golden-haired, rugged-faced assassin.

“Enough, stop talking about it; I don’t want to recall those memories…”

Clutching his chest, Sanji sank to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Alright, you can catch up on old times later. The Thousand Sunny’s coating is complete; all crew members are back, ready to set sail anytime. But before you head out, there are some things you must know.”

Watching the noisy crew, Rayleigh felt a youthful energy within but steered the topic back to sailing.

“In theory, letting you learn slowly on your own would be better, but the sea is too dangerous now. Without any basic knowledge, you may not even make it past Fishman Island.”

Seeing Rayleigh’s seriousness, the Straw Hat Pirates put away their previous casualness, with everyone except their captain occupying the seats at the bar.

“After the Summit War, with Whitebeard’s death, the sea’s power shifted from the Four Emperors to a Three Emperor struggle, specifically a dominance by the Hundred Beasts. Kaidou, Charlotte Linlin, and Shanks are all Sea Emperors, yet there are differences between them, with the Hundred Beasts undoubtedly being the most outstanding.”

“What about Ace and the others?”

The crew listened to the intel attentively, and having nothing else to do, Luffy also joined in. According to Rayleigh, the Whitebeard Pirates seemed forgotten by the world, naturally causing Luffy’s confusion.

“Ace? He’s grown quite a bit too. The Whitebeard Pirates are considered a strong force in the New World now, but they’re not enough to compete with those top-tier monsters.”

“Besides that, the genius scientist Vegapunk’s death was caused by a high-level official of the Hundred Beasts. Although it’s unclear exactly why, it seems like there was a deep-seated blood feud, based on the news.”

“On the Navy’s side, through World Conscription, they replenished a large number of soldiers, even adding two monsters at the Grand Admiral Level.”

“Among the original Three Great Admirals, only Kizaru retained his seat. Akainu and Kuzan had a fierce battle, with Akainu emerging victorious to become the Navy Admiral, while the defeated Kuzan… joined the Hundred Beasts and became a pirate.”

The Navy hasn’t publicized this information, but Kuzan joining the Hundred Beasts isn’t a secret anymore; anyone with some connections knows about it.

As each major event was recounted by Rayleigh, the Straw Hat Pirates’ mouths widened a bit more with every revelation.

Previously their information channels were lacking, and the news they received were mere bits and pieces. For example, Franky knew Vegapunk had already died, while Brook was aware of the thriving development of the Hundred Beasts Fruit.”

Now, with all this information coming together, they realized how complicated things were, directly or indirectly, these events were somewhat connected to the Hundred Beasts.

“L-Luffy, actually, over these two years, my illness hasn’t fully recovered… I’ve contracted a disease that would mean death upon entering the New World.”

Chased by carnivorous plants and pursued by Beautifly, Usopp, who had undergone rigorous training on the island, thought that he had grown, but when faced with this information onslaught, his old timidity surfaced again.

The timid trio huddled together once more. Although the others didn’t show much reaction, the vast information was also reshaping their worldviews. In two years, the world appeared more dangerous.

But regardless, their voyaging plans remained unchanged. With a mix of complex emotions, the Straw Hat Pirates set sail on their journey to the New World.

“Do you really think they can make it?”

Watching the Thousand Sunny submerge, Shakky exhaled a smoke ring. She was somewhat of an information broker at the Shampodi Islands, aware of the changes in the sea over the past two years.

“Training and growing through battle are clearly two different things. Trying to grow enough in two years to fight those top-tier monsters is no easy feat.”

“Who knows, but isn’t adventure challenging because of the unknown? Young people must grow, and that’s something they can only rely on themselves for.”

No strange occurrences disrupted their voyage. Luffy’s journey went surprisingly smoothly.

The new Fishman Pirates had long since vanished, and no disturbances occurred on Fishman Island. Luffy reached Fishman Island peacefully, also noticing the high-hanging pirate flag of the Hundred Beasts at the entrance.

Meanwhile, Chopper took out a black cloth strip and handed it to Sanji.

“Sanji, for your safety, you should cover your eyes.”

“No way! It’s such a pity not to see the mermaid ladies now that we’re finally here!”

“But considering your condition… meeting mermaids could result in you dying from excessive blood loss! Your blood type is pretty rare, replenishing it is not easy!”

“Chopper, this is a man’s dream. Even if I die here, I won’t cover my eyes. Plus, I’m prepared, this time… that situation won’t happen again.”

With longing and passion, carrying different thoughts, the Straw Hat Gang entered Fishman Island. But once inside, they weren’t greeted by enthusiastic mermaids; instead, they encountered a battle.

…

Da-da-da-da!

The roar of machine guns echoed endlessly, with numerous shell casings scattered on the ground. At this moment on Fishman Island, the ground presented a massive swamp. At the edge of the swamp, a revolver machine gun protruded from Caribou’s belly, pouring out firepower.

“Wet-Haired” Caribou, Captain of the Caribbean Pirates, with a bounty of 201 million Belly, was this year’s Super Rookie, known for his penchant for slaughtering Navy soldiers—a dangerous figure on the Navy’s list.”

Without the fake Straw Hat crew’s interference, Caribou even reached Fishman Island before Luffy and the others. Attracted by the interests of mermaids, he began using his abilities to capture them.”

The Hundred Beasts’ flag is a deterring force, capable of scaring off 99% of enemies, but there will always be those daring enough to risk everything for profit.

Caribou is a Logia-type Swamp-Swamp Fruit user, relying on this Logia-type ability, he was unmatched in the First Half of the Grand Line. Now, his confidence was at an all-time high, and he wouldn’t stop just because of a flag.

The swamp on the ground was essentially an extension of his body. He was attempting to use this method to restrict his opponents, but it didn’t seem effective until the bullets ran out, and an impatient voice emerged from the smoke.

“Too slow, does it take this long to find a pirate’s identity information?”

“Sa… Sasaki, sir, please wait a moment. We mostly carry out missions in the New World, and have little knowledge of the newcomers in the first half.”

The pirate next to him held a stack of wanted posters, searching for information. But before he could find anything, a man with hair styled like a chameleon charged in with a shovel, aiming to strike Sasaki’s head.

Crack….

The shovel splintered into two pieces, and only then did Sasaki’s subordinate find the information on the two…