"Gollum…"
Suddenly, no one in the tavern spoke anymore, and Casa's attack directly silenced the room.
But soon, someone spoke again.
A burly man stood up and sneered. "You're indeed strong but if you think the three of you can take down all of us, you're clearly delusional!!"
"Yes, exactly!"
"It's just the three of you! Do you think we're scared?"
The others chimed in, mocking once again.
Seeing this, Casa suddenly sneered. "In that case why don't you test out my Zoan Devil Fruit ability for yourselves?"
The words dropped.
Casa's body immediately began to change.
His muscles expanded, his skin flushed red, and two black, curved horns sprouted from his head. Though his form wasn't fully beast-like, his size and beastly features clearly marked him as a Zoan-type user. It hadn't been long since he consumed the Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Mad Bull, so his hybrid form wasn't yet perfected but this was more than enough.
"Hey!"
With a smirk, Casa shouted, "Soru!"
He vanished in an instant and appeared behind one of the pirates. His voice followed swiftly "Shigan!"
A finger pierced straight through the man's skull. The pirate's head exploded like a watermelon, blood spraying the wall behind him.
"Damn it, kill them all!"
Another pirate stood up and roared.
Hearing this, the rest also stood, weapons drawn, charging toward the three members of the Pandora Pirates.
From the look in their eyes, there was no turning back they'd chosen to bet it all, pirate style.
A dozen or so pirates rushed forward. Seven or eight swarmed toward Casa, while the rest targeted Rin.
Seeing this, Rin smirked and instinctively reached for his Thunder Calamity Blade, preparing to strike.
But before he could unsheathe it, Artoria placed her hand over his.
"Huh?" Rin looked at her, puzzled.
"Let me handle it," Artoria said calmly.
Rin chuckled. "Fine."
With that, Artoria turned, her eyes cold as steel. She raised her right hand into the air "Excalibur!"
Golden light burst forth. In a flash, the Sword of Promised Victory materialized in her grasp, radiant and noble.
Artoria dashed forward.
The sword flashed.
'Shlick.'
Three pirate heads were instantly severed, soaring through the air before landing with dull thuds. Without pause, Artoria moved again precision in every step.
Meanwhile, Casa was already in combat. His monstrous strength and speed tore through his opponents like paper.
Rin, seeing that he had no enemies left to fight, shrugged and said, "Finish it quickly. Once this is over, we're heading to Sky Island."
Without waiting for a reply, Rin stepped outside the tavern.
Passersby on the street flinched upon seeing him. The screams and chaos inside had already drawn attention, but no one dared interfere. Afraid of provoking the wrong people, most quietly slipped away.
Rin leaned against the wall outside, arms crossed.
Time ticked on. After a few minutes, the sounds of battle faded.
Soon after, Casa and Artoria stepped out, blood splattered across their clothes.
But they bore no wounds the blood wasn't theirs.
Clearly, all the enemies inside had been slaughtered.
Rin nodded approvingly. "Let's go. We need to stock up first then head for Gaya Island."
"Alright."
"Mm."
The trio departed the tavern.
Moments later, a curious youth cautiously stepped inside.
Just seconds passed before he bolted out, his face pale with terror.
...
Naturally, Rin and his crew paid it no mind.
After leaving the tavern, they swiftly bought supplies food, fresh water, lumber, and reinforced ropes before heading straight for Gaya Island, located in the Jaya region.
In the first half of the Grand Line, Gaya was known in legends as the gateway to the sky. Rin knew the only viable route was through the Knock Up Stream, a massive vertical ocean current that launched ships thousands of meters upward.
There was another option: using his Gravity-Gravity Fruit powers to lighten the ship and float up manually.
But that method wasn't viable yet.
Though Rin's gravitational powers had improved significantly after defeating Orik in an earlier battle, he could only keep the ship afloat for about three minutes. After that, his stamina crashed completely.
So, they'd stick with the Knock Up Stream.
Eventually, Gaya Island came into view its shape jagged and half-split like a skull due to its violent tectonic history, just as seen in the manga when the Shandians and Skypiea stories unfold.
They arrived on shore, and Rin issued orders. "Cut down some trees. The Sky Island is 10,000 meters above Gaya. The Knock Up Stream can launch us there, but the ship needs to be reinforced or it'll disintegrate in midair."
"No problem," Casa replied.
He grabbed an axe from the ship's cabin and ran toward the forest.
Having consumed the Ushi Ushi no Mi, his strength had increased drastically perfect for this kind of manual labor.
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