LIGHTNOVELONLINE 329. Old blood
"I can understand as your home is in danger," Crocus said.
"You know of it too?" Ken was surprised that Crocus knew what was going on in East Blue.
"It's all over the news. Haven't you seen?" Crocus asked as he got up to bring himself a news-coo paper. On their return journey, they hadn't stopped anywhere and had been flying around. Thus, the news coo never showed up on their ships and hadn't been in touch with the outside world.
Ken held the newspaper as he read what was written on the first page.
"Lion Shiki Unleashes Chaos in East Blue - Floating Islands and Mutated Beasts Ravage Two Islands
In a shocking turn of events reminiscent of the infamous pirate era, Lion Shiki, a feared and enigmatic figure, has orchestrated a devastating assault on two unsuspecting islands in East Blue. Reports indicate that Shiki utilized an arsenal of floating islands and unleashed a legion of mutated massive animals to wreak havoc on the peaceful communities.
The attacks were characterized by a relentless onslaught as Shiki's forces descended upon the islands, leaving destruction and despair in their wake. Eyewitnesses describe scenes reminiscent of a nightmare, with floating islands.
Governments and marine forces in the East Blue are now mobilizing to assess the extent of the damage and formulate a response to this unprecedented threat. The residents of the affected islands are left grappling with the aftermath, struggling to comprehend the surreal events that unfolded before their eyes...."
As Ken was reading, he was joined by the other crewmates. His eyes went wide as he read that. It had been so many years that he had been living here, and he had forgotten so many things from his previous world. All this time he had almost forgotten about the other fact of the world of One Piece.
Ken had always overlooked the whole movies of One Piece once he realized that there was no Apis. Though there were people in the real world who showed up in movies, he never thought about it. Not until now when he saw the name Lion Shiki.
It was there that the whole memories of the movie came crashing down on him. One Piece Strong World. That movie had Lion Shiki and his plans to take down the Government using science. Or whatever that was.
Ken finally understood what was going on and why there was an attack in East Blue. This was the piece of work of Lion Shiki. No wonder it struck him like a sore throat. In the actual story, Shiki couldn't start the war because he met with Nami and kidnapped her.
The other Straw Hats had to go and rescue her and in the process defeat Lion Shiki. But this time there was nothing like that. They never crossed his paths, and nor Ken thought otherwise, as he always thought he had died long ago.
But it seemed he was too naive.
"Shiki? I heard he used to fight against Roger and is quite well known," Robin said.
"Yes. I heard he escaped prison. He was the first convict to do so," Vivi said.
"Shiki? I think I heard the name somewhere," Brook commented.
"What does he want to do in East Blue?" Nami asked and was quite angry as this guy killed whole islands.
"Let's first reach and see what is going on." Sanji said. Luffy and Zoro were already on their way back to ship. They were on the last part of the journey and thus they needed to leave and confront this maniac.
Ken getting the answers were happy. At least they had a lead. After coming back to the ship, they flew away. Crocus was surprised that their ship could fly. Brook and Laboon bid their goodbyes and promised to come back. Laboon was more than happy to wait.
"Coming through this route again. It's nostalgic." Zoro said.
"I am so excited. I will get to see the seas where Luffy and Ken came from." Chopper said.
"Yeah. It's very exciting." Luffy agreed.
Soon they went the other way of the reverse mountain and just flew few inches above. Everyone was excited and they knew which turns to take as they soon landed in the open and calmer seas of East Blue.
"We are back home." Ken said.
"It's been such a long time." Luffy chuckled.
"So now where do we start?" Sanji asked.
"From the island that got destroyed." Ken replied.
"Good idea. Let's go there. Jinbe, rotate the ship 65 degrees starboard." Nami said.
"Yosha."
The ship started sailing and this time not in air, but in water. Though it was in water, it wasn't slow. As they went towards the island that were destroyed, the Straw Hats soon came to realize that this journey wouldn't be easy because after travelling for a few hours, they heard cannons and shots.
The Straw Hats came running out to see who had the audacity to shoot at them and that too in East Blue. At least those were the thoughts of Ken and not Luffy or others. But when they came out to see, the Straw Hats, didn't expect to see a huge fleet of Navy ships pointing their cannon at them and shooting.
The cannon balls would struck the invisible barrier of their ship and burst, giving off a faint vibration and sound.
"Why are there so many navy here?" Jinbei was confused. It was East Blue, and the whole fleet of ships actually didn't make sense. They could also tell that these ships had come from the headquarters because they had their spinning peddles behind, which was the design of Vegapunk.
"Maybe Lion Shiki has attracted their attention." Zoro said.
"Then why are they firing upon us?" Ussop was very scared.
"Because we are fat sheep to them." Franky said.
"Then let's rain hell upon them. Franky.. Light them up." Ken announced.
"Yosh." Everyone shouted and ran to their offensive measure taking rooms. The ship had multiple rooms from where they could control their offensive measures. It was basically a gaming setup.