Underwater Survey King Shoujou

This is a full-color version of the previous title page. Nico Robin, Tony Tony Chopper, and Nami are relaxing in a cozy room. Robin, wearing a floral top and blue jeans, sits at a table with a teacup. Chopper, in his usual hat and red shorts, eats from a bowl. Nami, wearing an orange top with a black star and black pants, sits on a stool making a peace sign. A white cat with orange sunglasses sits on the counter behind them.

A single small panel sits at the bottom of a mostly blank page. It shows a sketchy, silhouetted scene of a few figures. One figure carries a large, heavy-looking sack on their back, walking away. Another figure stands nearby holding a gun. The context is unclear, serving as a brief transition or teaser.

"LUFFY! ZORO!" a voice calls out. Luffy and Zoro walk along the wooden docks, both looking heavily battered. Their clothes are torn, and they are covered in dirt, bruises, and blood. Despite their severe injuries, they walk with relaxed, unfazed expressions. On the deck of the Going Merry, Nami and Chopper look down at them in absolute shock. Nami screams, "NAMI! IS NAMI ALRIGHT!?" Chopper, tears streaming down his face, cries out in panic, "WHAT'S WITH THOSE WOUNDS!? WHAT HAPPENED!?"

Chopper tearfully yells at Zoro, "THAT'S YOU, YOU IDIOT! DOCTOOOOOR!" Zoro, looking completely unbothered, simply replies, "So?" On the deck of the Going Merry, Chopper uses a first-aid kit to tend to Luffy's wounds. Usopp asks, "What kind of freaky monster did you get into a fight with?" Luffy, smiling despite the bandages on his face, says, "Some pirate. It's fine, it's over and done with." Zoro, sitting back with his arms behind his head, agrees, "Yeah." Nami, however, is furious. Zoro points out, "You're the one who told us not to cause trouble..." Nami explodes, yelling, "ACTUALLY, YOU SHOULD JUST FLATTEN THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN TOWN WHILE YOU'RE AT IT TOO! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? IF YOU CALL YOURSELVES MEN, YOU SHOULD UNLEASH SOME WHOOP-ASS WHEN JERKS COME ASKIN' FOR IT!" She glares menacingly, adding, "It may be done and over with for you guys, but my temper sure ain't over yet."

Chopper, holding a medical swab, asks, "Oh that's right. Did you ask around about sky island?" Luffy and Zoro look away, sweating slightly. Luffy says, "Dunno." Zoro adds, "THE PAST IS THE PAST FOR A REASON! DON'T DRAG IT OUT TO THE PRESENT! OR I'LL MAKE YOU PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO BRING IT UP!" Usopp wonders, "Why's the only uninjured one so hopping mad?" Nami, still furious, yells, "I've HAD IT with that subject! I mentioned sky island once, And the whole bar exploded in laughter..." Suddenly, she realizes something and turns around with a shocked expression. "SKY ISLAND!?" she exclaims. She grabs Usopp by the collar, shaking him violently. "DID I REALLY SAY SOMETHING THAT FUNNY!? WELL!? DID I!?" Usopp chokes out, "'CERTAIN KILL KETCHUP STAR!'" while Chopper panics and uses "GUARD POINT!" to protect himself, turning into a large, fluffy ball.

Nico Robin approaches the ship, wearing a dark coat and a cowboy hat. Sanji greets her enthusiastically, "Ahh! Welcome back, Robin! Will you be eating now? Or will you be taking a bath!?" Usopp asks, "Oh, you were out, Robin?" Robin smiles and says, "My, my, don't things seem awfully noisy here?" She explains, "Yes, to acquire some clothes... As well as some information on sky island..." Nami immediately snaps back to her angry state, pointing at Robin and yelling, "THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED US OFF ON THIS WHOLE CRAZY GOOSE-CHASE ABOUT A SKY ISLAND! THE MOMENT I FIND OUT IT DOESN'T EXIST, YOU'RE FISH-FOOD!" Chopper bounces around in "JUMPING POINT!". Usopp tries to calm Nami down, "Just let her be for now... In fact, don't even get near her right now." Luffy looks at a piece of paper Robin brought and says, "OOH! A TREASURE MAP!" Robin clarifies, "It's just a normal map. But a map of where...?" Luffy looks at it and says, "This island."

Robin holds open a map labeled "JAYA Island". She points out the locations: "The town on the left is where we are. Mocktown. You see a mark at the coast on the other side, don't you...?" The map shows Mock Town on the west coast and an 'X' mark on the east coast. Sanji notes, "Apparently, an outcast lives there." Robin adds, "His name was Montblanc Cricket. A man chased out of this town for talking of dreams..." She smiles confidently, "Seems like we may have mutual interests, doesn't it?" Luffy and Usopp look at the map with interest.

Out at sea, a large, strange-looking ship with a massive monkey face on the front is anchored. A voice calls out, "Big boss! Status underwater is ready and good to go! Mike's ready too!" Another voice yells, "ALRIGHT! IT'S TIME FOR THE 'SEARCH SONAR!'" On the deck, a man with long hair and a microphone shouts, "SCREECH!" Two men with monkey-like features and headphones, wearing black shirts with a white star and "*SJ*" on them, listen intently to a large radar-like device on the deck.

Underwater, sound waves pulse through the water, bouncing off schools of fish and the seabed. The sonar operators on the ship listen carefully. One of them reports, "Echo confirmation! School of fish detected at 9 o'clock! Judging from their swimming speed, they're likely to be saury!" The man with the microphone cheers, "LET'S HAVE SOME GRILLED FISH TONIGHT, BOYS!" Another operator yells, "UTAN DIVER #27! DIVER #4! ECHO CONFIRMED!" Suddenly, one of the operators looks shocked and reports, "Small sailing ship detected!"

The sonar operator yells, "What!? A sailing ship!? From which exact direction!!??" Another replies, "Umm... 12 o'clock!" The man with the microphone shouts, "I CAN ALREADY SEE IT MYSELF, YOU SLOW-POKE! HALT THE SURVEY! RETURN TO SHIP, UTAN DIVERS!" The Going Merry sails towards the large monkey-themed ship. On the Merry, Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper look ahead. Luffy says, "Looks like we've already run into some weirdos." Sanji adds, "Not sure if that's a good or bad thing though..." Usopp says, "But I don't think it's 'him,' Usopp."

Usopp looks through his goggles and says, "Well in any case, we saw them, no doubt about it! That's right! The salvage crew we ran into earlier, Are definitely from this island! We saw them returning back to dock!" Luffy replies, "Ohh... Well I don't really care if I ran across them again though." The massive ship, named "MORINOHITO", looms in front of them. It has a giant monkey face figurehead and trees growing on its deck. A loud voice booms from the ship, "HEY, HEY! LIL' BROS! DON'T BE MUTTERIN' THERE TO YERSELVES NOW!" The Straw Hats look up in awe, exclaiming, "WHOA HO!"

A massive, imposing figure sits on a throne-like chair on the deck of the Morinohito. He has a large, ape-like face, long green hair, and wears a black captain's coat over a striped shirt. He looks down at the Straw Hats and says, "Hmph... Thought ya might be someone important for a sec there... Gave me the jitters, ya did." A caption box introduces him: "Big Boss of the Shoujou Pirates 'Underwater Survey King Shoujou' Bounty: 36,000,000 Beli". A small footnote explains: "*Shoujou: Lesser used word for orangutan or a red-haired ape-like figure fond of drinking in Japanese folklore".

Luffy bluntly asks, "What species are you? Pretty queer face you got there." Chopper whispers, "Homo sapiens, y'idiot." Shoujou's crewmen angrily yell, "WHOA HO! HEY, WATCH IT, PUNKS! Don't you go tickin' off our big boss now, y'hear!?" Shoujou calmly raises a hand and says, "Aghh, pipe down. It's fine, it's fine. In any case, you folks seem like pirates. Did ya hear? That Crocodile was dropped out of the Shichibukai? If we're talkin' sheer ability alone... I reckon I might be gettin' an offer aaaany day now for the seat, Which is why I've been waitin' on pins and needles..." He leans forward, "Ohh... You want to join the Shichibukai? Hmm!? Like I was sayin'... If I had to sum up what makes me so great, I'd say it's the fact that I haven't cut my hair once in the 25 years I've been alive. Well? Surprised...?"

Luffy stares blankly and asks, "Are you retarded?" Shoujou's eyes widen in shock. He yells, "HMM!? NOW THAT'S A SURPRISING RESPONSE!" His crewmen panic, "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT OUR- Aghh, quiet, quiet." Shoujou continues, "But your unexpected response gave me the jitters for a sec, it did." Luffy, unimpressed, says, "Uh huh, whatever. I've got a place to go to so can you guys move already?" Shoujou's face darkens with rage. He glares menacingly and growls, "NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME AND YOU LISTEN GOOD... THE ONLY THING BEYOND THE TUNNEL OF MY RAGE, IS THE BLOOD-SOAKED SEA... SHUT YOUR TRAP, YOU HALFWIT! THIS IS MY TERRITORY YER ON! IF YOU WANNA PASS, YOU GOTTA PAY THE TOLL!"

Luffy looks confused and says, "'Territory?' He sounds like Masira." Sanji asks, "Did he say that too?" Luffy casually mentions, "Him? We kicked him overboard." The Shoujou Pirates are stunned. "WHAT!? MASIRA!? WHAT ABOUT MASIRA!?" Shoujou's eyes bug out in disbelief. "K... KICKED... KICKED HIM OVERBOARD!? HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY BROTHER!?" His crewmen realize, "SO YOU'RE MASIRA'S ENEMIES! We kicked him off but he's still alive. Hang on there." Shoujou grabs his microphone, takes a deep breath, and unleashes a devastating attack. "SOUND WAVE... HAVOC SONAR!" He screams into the mic, sending massive, visible sound waves rippling through the air.

The intense sound waves from Shoujou's scream shatter the wood of his own ship. His crewmen scream in pain, "GAHHHH! BIG BOSS! YOU CAN'T USE THAT TECHNIQUE WHEN ON THE DECK...!" Sanji observes, "So... What're they doing?" Luffy replies, "Beats me. But it's still impressive. He can destroy a ship with just his voice!" Usopp panics, "It's USELESS! HE'S TOO BLIND WITH RAGE TO KNOW WHO HE'S ATTACKING!" The sound waves reach the Going Merry, causing the wood to splinter and crack. Usopp yells, "Oh no! THE SOUND WAVES ARE HITTING OUR SHIP TOO!" Nami, now calm and smiling, says, "Guys! Don't just keep staring! Now's our chance to sail past them! Sweet, Nami's not mad anymore! Well anyone would be, after lettin' off that much steam..."

Nami takes command, shouting, "SET FULL SAIL FOR AHEAD! WE'VE GOTTA GET SOMEPLACE WHERE HIS VOICE WON'T REACH US!" Usopp agrees, "THE REPAIRS ARE ALL COMIN' APART! Our ship's in bad enough shape as it is already! We're gonna sink if we stay here!" Shoujou continues to scream into his microphone, his massive mouth wide open, sending continuous shockwaves that tear his own ship apart. The Going Merry sails away as fast as possible, with Luffy and Chopper holding onto their hats against the powerful vibrations.

Back in Western Jaya, "Mocktown", a group of pirates are drinking and talking in a bar. One pirate says, "Man, That was a shock! And then the chick says to me, 'Tell me where this Cricket lives.' Which instantly pinned down all of us in the bar! That ain't no laughin' matter! There were all these... 'hands' sprouting from god-knows-where." Another pirate laughs, "Haha! Sounds like a feisty one! Sounds like!? You haven't half the idea!" A pirate with a top hat says, "But what'd she want with Cricket? His place is by the Monkey Brothers' territory. Not only that, gettin' involved with that geezer'll only get you... Hahaha! Get you infected with stupidity! HAHAHA! TRUE THAT!" At the bar, Sarquiss and Bellamy are listening.

The pirates continue their gossip. "I'll bet you that woman was after the gold." "Gold? Yeah, heard he found some recently." "Really? Where?" "Hey, you over there. What's all this fuss about gold now?" Sarquiss calls out, "Bellamy..." Bellamy, a blonde man with a scar over his eye, turns around with a wide, sinister grin, sticking his tongue out. He says, "I'D LOVE TO CHAT WITH THIS CRICKET FELLA TOO NOW... WHY DON'CHA TELL ME MORE ABOUT HIM... HAHAHA!" The chapter ends on his menacing laugh.

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