Chapter 440: Clashes and Loyalties in the Brewing Storm

“You tell me to get lost the moment I show up? That’s pretty rude, don’t you think?”

“Besides, just because you tell me to leave doesn’t mean I have to. I’m not going anywhere. What are you going to do about it?”

Franky had always been a rebel—the more others wanted to stop him, the more determined he became. He was here to find out about Iceburg. There was no way he’d walk away just because someone told him off.

“Franky, you bastard, are you leaving or not?” Barry’s face morphed into a shark’s snarl as he pushed through the crowd, storming straight for Franky.

Franky didn’t even have a chance to react before Barry made his move.

A rope lashed through the air and wrapped around Franky’s neck. Barry yanked it hard, causing Franky to stumble.

“What’s going on?”

“Huh? Did they just start fighting out of nowhere?” Luffy’s eyes narrowed with confusion despite their small size.

The two had been bickering like an old married couple, and now, just like that, they were trading blows.

“This is getting interesting!”

No matter how things turned, watching two people duke it out always got Luffy’s attention.

“Hey, Luffy, this is between those two. We shouldn’t get involved,” Nami and Usopp rushed over and blocked Luffy’s path.

Anyone could tell there was some bad blood there—jumping in would just make them look like total outsiders.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked a drink shop at the street corner, shaking up the already tense scene.

Lucci was the one who crashed the drink shop. The moment he spotted Ye Fan and Robin—and Bruno tied up hand and foot—he charged at them. The uproar was from Ye Fan blasting him out of the store with a single punch.

“That was awesome!”

“Hey, Luffy, look! That’s Ye Fan.”

Luffy had just been gawking at the man in white who’d been sent flying. With Usopp’s prompt, he spotted Ye Fan standing at the edge of a rooftop.

Even with a mask hiding his face, Ye Fan’s outfit was a dead giveaway.

“Alright! No way I’m just going to stand here while Ye Fan faces a fight alone!”

Grinning wide, Luffy gave his sleeves a roll, then launched himself toward the man in white like a rocket.

“Gum-Gum Rocket!”

Lucci, still dazed in the air, barely had time to react before Luffy’s fists slammed him back down to earth.

Boom!

As Lucci dragged himself out of the crater, he found himself surrounded—Usopp with a sniper rifle, Luffy looking dead serious, and Ye Fan smiling at the corner of his lips.

“Lucci, you’ve got guts!”

Ye Fan waggled his finger at Lucci. Didn’t he realize who Luffy was?

Anyone who tried to outshine Luffy usually ended up badly. Just look at those big names—Doflamingo or Crocodile—both ended up as cellmates.

“Ye Fan, do you even know who I am?” Lucci hadn’t expected Luffy and crew to attack someone from the World Government. Were they not afraid of what might come next?

Or did they just not know his real identity?

“Hey, Ye Fan, who even is this guy?” Luffy tilted his head, curious.

Ye Fan felt a little touched deep down. Luffy didn’t even care who their enemy belonged to—he’d rush in anyway. No wonder he became captain of the Straw Hats. He’d always been one of Ye Fan’s favorite characters.

“If I’m right, he’s with some special unit—CP0—under the World Government. But…”

Ye Fan deliberately dragged out his words.

“World Government?” Usopp’s voice suddenly cracked.

He knew full well who the World Government was. After all, they’d ruled the seas for 800 years. Never had he imagined their pirate crew would cross paths with them one day.

“Luffy, I think we’re in a whole lot of trouble.”

Usopp’s finger trembled, but his grip on the gun was rock solid.

“World Government… That’s the Navy, right?”

Nami’s expression turned grim, but not because she feared their power. To her, there hadn’t been a single good man in the Navy since she was a child.

If it weren’t for Captain Nezumi making things worse, Cocoyasi Village wouldn’t have become a Fishman colony.

Ye Fan snapped his fingers. “That’s right—the World Government is the Navy’s boss. The Navy’s just one of their branches. This guy’s an agent, sent to take Robin away.”

“What?” Nami was shocked. She couldn’t imagine why Robin would be tied up with the World Government.

“Take my crew away?”

Luffy clenched his fists. A red light flickered in his eyes.

After a previous fight, Luffy had sensed another powerful force inside him. With effort, he was learning to control it bit by bit.

Click!

Usopp may be timid, but upon hearing the target was Robin, he loaded his sniper rifle without a second thought, aiming straight at Lucci.

Clang!

Yosaku and Johnny didn’t know every detail, but upon hearing someone wanted to take Robin, they immediately drew their blades.

“Heh, looks like you all still have no idea how powerful the World Government really is.”

“Ye Fan, I’ll admit—I underestimated you earlier.” As Lucci stood, he ripped away his white shirt, revealing a muscular build.

His body swelled to several times its size, transforming into a leopard-man.

Whoosh!

He went straight for the weakest—Johnny—reaching for his head with a swipe.

But Johnny wasn’t so easy to bully now. Empowered by his new strength, he swung his blade at Lucci’s incoming hand.

Lucci was surprised—a mere trainee pirate with such speed defied his expectations.

Still, Lucci didn’t slow down at all. He lashed out with a powerful kick at Johnny’s leg.

Johnny might have gotten stronger, but with so little battle experience, he quickly struggled to keep up.

After just a few moves, Lucci booted him into a nearby wall, leaving a deep dent.

“Draw Slash!”

Watching his brother get thrashed, Yosaku swung his blade and sent out a wave of sword aura.

“Finger Gun!”

Kaku slipped away from the crowd the moment he spotted Lucci. He quietly sneaked up behind Luffy, then struck at Luffy’s side.

Barry, meanwhile, dropped the rope he had coiled, suddenly looping it around Usopp’s neck.

Yet, to Kaku’s shock, his Finger Gun passed right through Luffy as if he were a ghost. Instead, a finger appeared poking out of Luffy’s chest.

“Are you working with him?”

Luffy glanced down at the finger sticking out of his chest, then gave Kaku a sideways look.

Kaku swallowed hard. “How is this possible? Why didn’t my attack work?”

“Whirlwind Palms!”

Luffy didn’t bother to answer. He twisted, and with a giant slap, sent Kaku crashing into the ground.