Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Linlin’s Admiration and the Invasion of Mary Geoise
The Sabaody Archipelago.
The people on the island had no idea what had just transpired in the New World.
The vanishing Radiant Eclipse had reappeared in the waters near the Sabaody Archipelago.
In an instant, it had crossed a distance of thousands of kilometers.
"We're doomed, doomed today," muttered Charlotte Linlin.
Her eyes were vacant, her face devoid of hope.
She felt there was no chance left.
They couldn't win, and they couldn't escape.
They were all doomed.
Linlin thought, I haven't lived enough yet.
The other crew members blinked as their surroundings changed, and when they refocused, the sky was still the same bright blue.
But the scenery had transformed.
The sea was no longer frozen.
Ahead of them was an island, but it wasn't Lodestar Island, and neither the Five Elders nor the Marines were in sight.
What they saw instead was a tranquil, beautiful view.
The lush greenery and bubble-like atmosphere of the Sabaody Archipelago came into view.
"This is... the Sabaody Archipelago?"
"We've jumped from Lodestar Island to the Sabaody Archipelago in an instant?"
"It's unbelievable!"
Although they already knew about the teleportation ability, the crew couldn't help but feel utterly shocked.
Lodestar Island was the last island recorded by the New World's log pose, while Sabaody Archipelago was the last island of the first half of the Grand Line.
The two islands were nearly half a world apart.
A distance that even the strongest often couldn't cross in a lifetime had been covered in an instant.
A miraculous journey.
Something no one had ever experienced before in the vast ocean.
"It really is the Sabaody Archipelago," the crew murmured, staring in awe at the island ahead.
Sabaody was too famous, too distinct.
"I thought teleportation only worked for tens of miles, maybe less. I didn't expect it could reach this far," said Smoothie as she slowly closed her gaping mouth.
When she first learned of the Radiant Eclipse's abilities—invincible defense, resurrection, teleportation—she had been most shocked by the first two.
Teleportation had seemed less impressive by comparison.
After all, her family had Brûlée, whose Mirror-Mirror Fruit had spatial capabilities, allowing her to travel quickly between locations.
But the Mirror-Mirror Fruit had its limits.
It couldn't even fully cover Totto Land.
Smoothie had assumed the Radiant Eclipse's teleportation would be comparable to the Mirror-Mirror Fruit.
She now realized how wrong she was.
"At least four thousand kilometers... If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't believe it," she admitted.
Unconsciously, Smoothie and her sisters stared at Kuke, the mysterious and powerful captain.
But their reverence was interrupted by an incongruous sigh.
It was Charlotte Linlin again, muttering her despair.
She hadn't even noticed that the scenery had changed.
"Mom, Mom, stop talking and just look outside," Smoothie said, blushing with embarrassment as she hurried to her mother's side.
"Look at what? The Marines storming in? Us dying?" Linlin snapped at her daughters. "You think I'm embarrassing you? I raised you for nothing. You're hopeless!"
It was clear to her now that her daughters had fully committed to living and dying with the Sun and Moon Pirates. But Linlin herself hadn't made up her mind yet.
Sigh.
"Even if I don't want this, what choice do I have? It's the same either way," she lamented.
Slumping on the deck, Linlin looked up at Kuke. "At least let me eat my fill before I die. I can't die hungry, can I?"
It was her one remaining pitiful wish.
"Mom, we're not going to die. We're not going to die!" Smoothie and her sisters chorused, exasperated.
"Even if we don't die, we'll be captured," Linlin grumbled.
"Mom, just look outside. We've left. We're at the Sabaody Archipelago," Amande said, rubbing her temples, utterly drained by her mother's antics.
"Huh? What?!"
Linlin's eyes widened in shock. "What are you saying? We're at the Sabaody Archipelago? Don't lie to me! That's in the first half of the Grand Line, thousands of miles away!"
"Just get up and see for yourself!"
"What's there to see?"
Grumbling, Linlin slowly stood up, complaining as she looked forward.
Her entire face contorted in astonishment.
"It really is the Sabaody Archipelago! Is this real?"
She quickly activated her Observation Haki.
The countless voices of the Sabaody Archipelago reached her ears.
Living, breathing people.
It was undeniably the Sabaody Archipelago.
"How? Why are we at the Sabaody Archipelago? Someone tell me what just happened!" Linlin clutched her head, utterly bewildered.
Barely a few minutes had passed, yet the world and sea around her had changed completely.
This was the most shocking experience of her life.
"Mom, this is the captain's ability. He brought us here," Smoothie explained.
Now that Linlin knew, there was no harm in sharing the secret.
"Captain, how did you do this?" Linlin asked, her massive eyes blinking in wonder.
Unconsciously, she reverted to addressing him as "Captain," her eyes sparkling with admiration, much like her daughters.
Kuke didn't respond.
Instead, he noted the increasing glow emanating from Linlin—now exceeding fifty percent.
Even ignored, Linlin just threw her head back and laughed, her massive mouth wide open.
"Mama... This means we don't have to fight to the death!"
"Quiet," Kuke ordered.
Linlin immediately clamped her mouth shut, not daring to make a sound.
Kuke turned to the now-calm female crew members.
"Now, it's our turn to strike back."
"Yes, yes! This is the perfect opportunity. Those damn Marines and the World Government dared to hunt us down. Now they're stuck on Lodestar Island. This is our chance to destroy Marine Headquarters at Marineford," Linlin said, her voice muffled through her fingers.
"Pathetic."
Linlin froze, stunned.
Destroying Marine Headquarters—an unprecedented act in history—was pathetic?
Even Shiki the Golden Lion, who had fought to the death, had only partially damaged Marineford.
"Our target is Mary Geoise," Kuke declared, revealing their next move.
The sacred Mary Geoise, towering above the sea.
The heart of power and authority.
"Gion, Stussy, Shakky, Yamato, Linlin... Smoothie. You're coming with me," Kuke said, assigning his team.
All were among the Sun and Moon Pirates' strongest, with the exception of Smoothie, whose power was close to ten thousand.
"Kuke, I..." Hancock began, eager to join.
"Hancock, I need you to lead the others and ensure the safety of the Radiant Eclipse. Protecting the ship and the crew is just as important. I trust you," Kuke said, looking directly at her.
Under Kuke's intense gaze, Hancock flushed, holding her burning cheeks as her imagination ran wild. She nodded, obedient and dazed.
"Mama... Mary Geoise. I've never been there before," Linlin said, her excitement growing.
Knowing Mary Geoise was now vulnerable, she felt no fear.
"Decades ago, Captain Rocks didn't achieve this goal. But we will," Shakky said with a sigh.
Linlin, too, remembered.
She vividly recalled Rocks declaring to his crew that he would lead them to invade Mary Geoise and become the true king of the world.
But he had perished in the God Valley incident.
He never set foot in Mary Geoise.
"I know Mary Geoise," Stussy said, gazing toward the Red Line.
She had been there before.
Once as a lowly subordinate.
Now, as an invader.
"Those old geezers wouldn't dare dream of this. I'm going to make it happen," Yamato said, stomping her feet in excitement.
"Let's go!"
Gion transformed into a phoenix, with Kuke standing tall atop her.
Shakky became a bat, carrying Stussy and Yamato.
Linlin stood on her flying thundercloud, Zeus, taking Smoothie with her.
The seven left the Radiant Eclipse, soaring toward Mary Geoise.
"Is that the Radiant Eclipse?" someone finally noticed the ship on the horizon near Sabaody.
"Must be a mistake. The Sun and Moon Pirates are supposed to be in the New World. How could they be here?"
"Probably just a trick of the eye."
The Radiant Eclipse soon disappeared beyond the Sabaody Archipelago's line of sight, vanishing into the sea.
An hour or two later, the latest newspapers arrived on Sabaody.
"Sun and Moon Pirates Mysteriously Vanish?"
"Could that ship we saw earlier really be the Sun and Moon Pirates?"
"No way. Even if they disappeared, how could they appear here? This is Sabaody."
"But what if it's true? That's Kuke we're talking about. Anything's possible with him."
"And if it is true, why would the Sun and Moon Pirates come here? Could they be...?"
"Marine Headquarters at Marineford. Could it be destroyed?"
"If it's true, this is the perfect chance to take down Marine Headquarters!"
"Exactly."
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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