One Piece Shadow Army - Chapter 40
Navy Headquarters, Sixth Floor.
“Captain Smoker!”
“Captain Smoker!”
The duty marine anxiously knocked on Smoker’s office door.
“What’s all the fuss about? Is there something urgent?”
Inside the room.
White smoke filled the air.
A tall figure sat on a sofa, smoking two cigars simultaneously while stacking fist-sized stones.
He had already stacked more than four stones.
Since Curls had taken down the gangs in Loguetown, the casino had also closed, leaving Smoker to pass the time in this manner.
The duty marine stood at attention, saluting quickly. “Captain Smoker, something major has happened!”
“What major event?”
Smoker tried to continue stacking stones.
The marine reported, “Shylock Curls defeated the Liquor Pirates at the Baratie.”
“What?”
A look of surprise crossed Smoker’s usually stern face, causing the stacked stones to fall onto the table.
“Curls was on leave, wasn’t he?”
The marine detailed the information he had just received, “Captain, Curls contacted us through the Baratie’s Den Den Mushi. The Liquor Pirates attacked, and he was there by chance. He has eliminated most of the pirates, including Red-Beard Barbarossa, but there are still over three hundred pirate captives. Curls requests that we dispatch a warship to transport the prisoners.”
Smoker’s expression grew serious. “Is this information confirmed?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then have Lieutenant Commander Morgan lead a warship to the Baratie.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the duty marine left.
Smoker, in a rare moment, took out his cigars, rose slowly, and opened the two windows on the wall.
With an outlet for the smoke.
The room quickly cleared, and the light brightened.
Smoker fell into deep thought.
He had initially thought Curls’ solo takedown of the entire Loguetown gang was rapid progress.
But defeating a 24 million Berry bounty pirate like Barbarossa was unexpected.
This level of growth was terrifying.
It seemed the previously set rank needed reconsideration by Navy Headquarters.
…
As Lieutenant Commander Morgan set off with three hundred marines, the news of Curls’ victory over Red-Beard Barbarossa quickly spread throughout the base.
The marines buzzed with discussions.
“That was a thousand-strong pirate crew. How did Shylock Curls do it alone?”
“No way! Is this for real?!”
“Even though Curls is a Devil Fruit user and the strongest new recruit, defeating Red-Beard Barbarossa seems too much.”
“Lieutenant Commander Morgan is already leading a warship to the Baratie to take custody of the prisoners. The news is confirmed.”
“Because of the Black Cat Pirates incident, Curls’ rank was delayed. What will it be now?”
“Who knows! When we finished our training, we were just second-class seamen. With all his achievements, Curls is surely heading for an officer’s rank. It makes you envious!”
In the medical ward, Kaen, who heard the commotion outside, didn’t know what was happening.
Mod, after confirming the news, returned to the ward to report, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“Major, they’re saying that the newly appointed seaman Shylock Curls defeated the 24-million-Berry bounty pirate Red-Beard Barbarossa at the Baratie.”
Kaen’s face showed a hint of surprise.
He had a guess as to how Curls accomplished it, possibly by summoning Lanos after he was unconscious.
With a swordsman-level shadow soldier like Lanos, most pirate crews in the East Blue were no match for Curls. The exception being the secretive William Pirates.
…
At the Baratie.
After loading Barbarossa’s body onto an empty pirate ship, Curls issued his usual summoning command.
“Rise!”
A breeze blew through, causing the pirate ship’s flags to flutter.
Shadows surrounded Barbarossa’s body, but halfway through the process, it struggled and then dissipated.
Hmm?
Why didn’t it work?
Was it because Barbarossa had eaten a Devil Fruit?
Curls rubbed his forehead, deep in thought.
If he couldn’t summon shadow soldiers from Devil Fruit users, how could he summon Whitebeard after the Paramount War in three years?
Wait.
This wasn’t the first time a summon had failed!
A flash of insight reminded him of the failed attempt to summon Lanos.
Grand Knight Lanos, a high-level shadow soldier, retained his will.
So, summoning faced resistance.
A strong desire was required to succeed.
This time, Barbarossa’s strength wasn’t at the high-level shadow soldier standard, so the Devil Fruit might be the reason.
The first failed attempt didn’t mean it was impossible.
Curls called out again.
“Red-Beard Barbarossa, rise!”
Shadows swirled around the lifeless body, quickly forming an armored, red-bearded Barbarossa.
Success!
Curls felt a surge of joy.
He then worried if his shadow soldiers retained Devil Fruit abilities.
“Barbarossa, use your power.”
At Curls’ command, Barbarossa hesitated, then spread his arms, conjuring strong liquor from thin air.
Next, white steam rose from Barbarossa’s shadowy form, significantly boosting his strength and presence.
No wonder he had a 24 million Berry bounty!
Curls sensed Barbarossa’s strength, now the most powerful shadow soldier after Lanos.
But what thrilled Curls was that Barbarossa retained his Devil Fruit power.
If not, he would be limited to summoning masters of physical and sword techniques, hindering his development.
Thankfully, “Devil Fruit abilities” could coexist with shadow soldiers.
Curls speculated that the Shadow-Shadow Fruit’s nature allowed this.
Shadow soldiers, representing the shadows of the deceased, revived in another form, could logically retain their abilities.
…
Inside the Baratie.
With peace restored.
Zeff and the other chefs prepared a grand feast.
Several nobles and wealthy individuals quickly approached Ronald, now showering him with attention.
With Curls’ outstanding achievement at such a young age, his future in the Navy was bright.
They wanted to secure good relations with the Shylock family now.
“Brother Ronald, we apologize for underestimating your son earlier. Please forgive us!”
“We sincerely apologize. We’re really sorry!”
“Yes, yes! We didn’t know the full situation back then!”
“Ronald, your son took down a thousand-strong pirate crew. He’s bound to rise in the Navy. Please remember to look out for us in the future!”
Ronald felt a deep dislike for these people who had previously scorned his son but now flattered him.
They reminded him of butchers from the philosophy book “Slaughtering Lambs,” smiling deceitfully at the lambs growing strong, anticipating future profits.
Ronald responded with polite smiles, neither agreeing nor refusing.
He found this approach in the book quite sensible and used it against these insincere nobles and wealthy individuals.
On the other hand, Verchiel continued eating, having piled up four and a half columns of empty plates, showing no sign of being full.
She wanted to eat as much as she could today!
Once back in Loguetown, it would be hard to enjoy such delicious food again.
After an hour, when the empty plates reached eight columns, Verchiel was finally full.
Each column had at least twenty plates, showing just how much she had eaten.
“This trip has been the best!” Verchiel beamed happily.
Hearing his sister, Curls, who had eaten ten plates of food, smiled and ruffled her hair.
Happiness varies for everyone.
For Verchiel, happiness was a full stomach. For Ronald, it was seeing his children grow up healthy.
For Curls, it was being with his family, living a normal, peaceful life.
But in this era of rampant piracy and chaos, even walking down the street could mean encountering robbers, and staying home might not protect them from cannon fire.
Like this trip to the Baratie.
Without summoning the swordsman-level Lanos from the ghost ship, how many could have survived Barbarossa’s powerful attack?
But was one Lanos enough to ensure his family’s safety?
The Seven Warlords!
Navy Vice Admirals!
The Four Emperors of the New World!
Navy Admirals and even the Fleet Admiral!
The seas were filled with figures far more powerful than Lanos.
To truly ensure his family’s safety, Curls knew his strength was insufficient.
His once lax resolve to grow stronger became active again.
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