One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 223 The so-called strong are those who conquer fear.

"Then it's settled. When my people go to Elbaf in a few days, I'll trouble you two to host them."

"Crack! Crack! No problem!"

"Hehehehe—a partner of a warrior of your caliber must be quite formidable. Brogy and I will certainly treat him well. But it would be even better if you could come along too, then we can have another fight!"

"If the opportunity arises, I will go with you—if you want to fight, I'm always ready to join you."

"However, I have other matters to attend to at the moment, so I won't stay any longer!"

These words were spoken.

Amidst hearty laughter, the figure with the monkey-head mask rode on golden clouds and soared into the sky.

“Skull, Chenlong asked me to tell you something—although you have found a companion now, you are still friends with him. If you have time in the future, he will invite you to drink again.”

As such a sound echoed through the sky, the monkey instantly vanished into the heavens.

"Yo ho ho ho, those are really heartwarming words. Oh, even though I don't have a heart."

Brook wiped his eyes.

But
"Mr. Shenhou—since you're leaving anyway, why don't you take us to find a boat on your way?"

"Why didn't you tell him that sooner!" *5
At that moment, the Straw Hat crew, who were huddled together with Brook on a small piece of land, glared angrily at the afro-haired skull.

"But...it's really unbelievable."

However, even after roaring, Nami was still somewhat incredulous: "One attack actually destroyed such a large island!"

"It's an unimaginable power."

She was a little disappointed.

Although she personally doesn't have a strong desire for power, ever since she met Luffy and witnessed him save her hometown...

She, however, always had great confidence in Luffy and his crew.

But today.

Even Nami understood after witnessing this battle firsthand.

"We're not even close yet."

Whether it's fulfilling the promise to sail the Grand Line, drawing all the sea charts in the world, becoming the Pirate King, finding ALL BLUE, or becoming the strongest swordsman and bravest sea warrior.

They are still very far from their dreams.

And the truth is just as she said at that moment.

The ancient island of 'Little Garden', which has existed on the Grand Line since ancient times and witnessed the century-long duel between two giants.

It no longer exists.

The Straw Hat crew could still remember the scene of that attack.

The colossal club, seemingly a pillar connecting heaven and earth, crashed down with a deafening roar—the 'Elbaf Spear' unleashed by the two giants together crumbled almost instantly upon contact with that club.

Then they felt the entire island crumbling.

They watched as the volcano in the center of the island was instantly shattered along with its lava by the black and red overlord-colored lightning.

They watched as a tsunami, hundreds of meters high, rose out of nowhere from all sides.

Even those who were swept up in the wave could see that the giant island-eating goldfish that had been devouring dinosaur carcasses nearby had no strength to resist and was instantly knocked unconscious, swallowed by the giant wave and sinking into the sea.

At this moment, within the entire sea area where the small garden is located, only the floating island remains on the sea surface can prove that the island once existed.

And that's the scariest part.

"Yes."

Sanji picked up a cigarette and was about to light it.

"This is the strongest being in this vast ocean."

He said this, but his eyes seemed a little unfocused.

This time, they witnessed firsthand the power possessed by the strongman at the top of this ocean.

Fortunately, the other party had no ill intentions towards them, and was even quite friendly because of their relationship with Brooke. The attack just now was not aimed at them.

Even so, this blow that destroyed the entire island still left them in a very sorry state.

But what if the next top expert they encounter is hostile towards them?

Sanji couldn't help but think of Germa—although he only felt hatred for his father and brothers, he had to admit Germa's strength.

But even Germa, faced with the truly hostile Zodiac, was nothing more than a silent news item in the newspapers.

"We are indeed just 'newcomers' to this vast ocean."

He realized this.

"I told you before, you idiot cook."

At this moment, Zoro was wiping the dusty Wado Ichimonji in his hand—in the chaos just now, he had cut through many flying rocks.

"The twelve constellations are not opponents we can challenge right now."

He raised his sword and looked at its blade through the sunlight.

As I said before—after witnessing my teacher's contest with the Pig in Frostmoon Village.

He already understood.

The true powerhouses of this vast ocean are far beyond the enemies he can challenge at present.

After that, he gave up his plan to directly challenge 'Hawkeye' Mihawk and instead focused on honing his sword.

One day, his sword will face off against someone of that caliber.

By then, he should be very close to becoming the world's greatest swordsman, right?
Even Luffy, unusually serious, nodded, "Ughhhhhh, ughhhhh. (Uncle Monkey is really strong; I feel like he could probably beat Grandpa up.)"

"Why are you still eating?! And why can we all understand what you're saying?!" *N
And it was precisely while they were sighing with regret that they realized this.

"Ga pa pa pa!"

"Jie Jie Jie Jie!"

"You guys are still so energetic!"

But they saw that the two giants had already swum over from the sea.

Their weapons were completely destroyed, and they were still injured, but their spirits were clearly good.

Upon seeing them, Usopp, who had been slumped on the ground, quickly got up and approached the two men: "Master Dorry, Master Brogy, are you alright?"

His movements as he stood up were somewhat stiff, clearly indicating that his legs were still a bit weak.

"Oh? Of course we're fine—just a minor injury."

Broglie, covered in blood, laughed loudly.

"Shenhou controlled the force of his attack just now. Although it destroyed the island, most of the force did not land on us."

Dongli also exclaimed in admiration, "Otherwise, we would definitely be dead by now—this martial arts technique is truly remarkable."

As top-tier warriors, they certainly knew what this control represented.

"That level of attack wasn't even his full strength!"

"What an incredibly powerful warrior!"

"I hope he can come to Elbaf with his companions in the future. We can go get some rehabilitation and then fight him again. Although we probably still won't be a match for him, just thinking about it is exciting!"

"That's right, Dongli!"

They exclaimed in amazement.

"."

Usopp, however, felt a sudden pang of shame upon hearing his two masters' words.

The reason for my shame is very simple.

Because at that moment he suddenly realized.

He couldn't understand why Dorry and Brogy could still laugh at that moment.

They just faced that attack head-on, and they were almost killed!
Why would I want to fight that guy who's so powerful he's not even human again? Isn't that terrifying?

Or to be more precise.

He could understand his two mentors—they were brave warriors.

But he couldn't empathize.

Even now, he still can't control his legs—they are still trembling unconsciously.

At this moment, he had only one emotion in his heart.

"Are you scared, Usopp?" *2
The next moment, he heard the voices of the two masters in front of him.

He raised his head and looked at the two giants, trying hard to suppress his emotions.

But in the end, he couldn't help but shed tears.

"Yes, I'm terrified—terrified to death."

He felt extremely guilty.

Yes—he was terrified, even more so than Nami.

When that blow came crashing down, when he was thrown back by the aftershocks of the battle, and even further back, when he fought Kro, and in Roguetown—every battle, even when he was just watching one, terrified him to death.

But that's clearly not why he went to sea.

He went to sea because he wanted to become a brave and fearless sea warrior.

But as he is now, he's just a man of this caliber.

"."

Usopp lowered his head, feeling ashamed of himself.

But the next moment...
"You should be afraid, Usopp."

But then he heard Broglie's voice. "Huh?"

Usopp instinctively looked up.

Then he saw the two giants' ever-present smiling faces.

The two brave warriors did not despise him for being a coward, but remained valiant.

"Hehehehe, everyone's afraid, Usopp—we're afraid too."

Dongli laughed loudly: "When I first started warrior training, I was terrified when I learned that I would be fighting ferocious beasts brought up from the 'underworld'!"

"Brocky once got chopped by an axe and even said he didn't want to train anymore."

He exposed his friend's shortcomings, but his words were full of emotion.

"Everyone is afraid, Usopp."

He looked at the humans in front of him.

All living things in the world are born with a fear of death and danger.

When encountering a stronger creature, all living things instinctively feel fear.

But here's the difference.

Cowards are driven by instinct when they are afraid—they will turn and run away, kneel down and beg for mercy, and give up everything.

And the so-called warriors
"They are those who, even when trembling with fear, even when their blood is boiling and telling them to run away, still choose to charge forward despite being surrounded by terror!"

That's what they said.

Usopp instinctively turned his head.

Then he noticed many things he hadn't noticed before.

Sanji kept lighting cigarettes, but his hand holding the lighter trembled almost imperceptibly.

Zoro held the sword, but his hands were sweaty.

Luffy ate his food and drank his water, but his eyes were filled with seriousness.

Then it dawned on Usopp.

"you."

Those three people who have always played the main fighting force in the team—do they actually feel subconsciously afraid when facing strong enemies?
"what?"

Faced with Usopp's question, Sanji shook his head helplessly: "Of course it is, idiot?"

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not like that stinky cook—this great man isn't afraid."

"You algae-headed idiot, you want to fight?!"

"Ugh... Ugh... Ugh (Water! Water! Water!)"

Driven by fear at the beginning, he couldn't even hold his weapon steady.

Then endure the fear and force yourself to fight.

Then embrace the fear, and transform that fear into your own power.

So-called warriors and strongmen are creatures that grow up in this way.

So at this moment, the two giants looked at Usopp in front of them.

Usopp called them his masters.

In fact, they did acknowledge this human friend they had only known for a short time.

It's not because he's so powerful, nor because he's so incredibly powerful.

But because
"Usopp, you have embarked on the path of a warrior."

Yes.

In past battles, Usopp was more afraid than anyone else and often uttered weak words.

But when it came to actual combat, even knowing that he might face death, he never ran away.

"Master Dongli. Master Brogi."

Usopp trembled as he tried to say something.

But
"Hey—look over there, it's the Going Merry!"

Nami, who was filling Luffy's bottle with water, looked up and saw the Going Merry slowly rising from the sea in the distance.
"Huh!? What's that under the Going Merry? Hey, it's that island-eating goldfish!"

"It's already so badly injured, yet it's still alive—it's going to eat the ship! Quick, think of something!"

"Crack! Let me and Donley come. We don't have a boat to go back to Elbaf, so building a temporary one with this guy's bones should be a good idea!"

"Go, Brogy!"

"Hey, keep your hands to yourself, or the island will sink!"

A moment later, Usopp's screams echoed through the air once again.

"No! Nooooo!"

at the same time.

New world, Dressrosa.

This member state of the World Government, known as the 'Land of Love, Passion, and Toys,' is a place where laughter and anticipation coexist.

"Hey, did you hear? There's an extra 'Grand Martial Arts Tournament' at the Bullfighting Arena in two weeks!"

"Really? What's the scale?"

"It's said to be an unprecedented level, even the bullfighting arena has been expanded—it's an order personally given by His Majesty Doflamingo, and it's said that he'll bring out a 'prize' that's unique in history, enough to change the entire sea situation!"

"Enough to change the ocean? Really?"

"His Majesty Doflamingo is a Shichibukai, he couldn't possibly be lying, could he!?"

"I heard the World Economic News will be publishing about it soon. Let's go buy tickets!"

"No tickets are needed; it's supposedly free to watch this time!"

Such discussions were spreading throughout the country.

And at the highest point of this kingdom lies a place called the "King's Highlands".

The Dressrosa Palace, which is also the residence of Don Quixote Doflamingo, exists here.

At this moment, at the highest point of the royal palace.

"Dover...do we really have to do this?"

Holding a cane, wearing a cloak and sunglasses, and with snot hanging from his nose, the disheveled middle-aged man spoke with a slight tremor.

He was one of the highest-ranking members of the Don Quixote family—'Plum Blossom' Trebol.

And not just him.

Pica, Diamanti, Sugar, Delinger, Rao G.—all the core members of the Don Quixote family have gathered here.

At this moment, they listened to the plan announced by their master, and they all found it hard to believe.

"Doflamingo, although you had a grudge against the Rooster of the Twelve Zodiacs before, if we really do this—we will completely offend them, and even Kaido will turn against us."

Trebol stared at his young master in disbelief.

"咈咈咈咈."

But at this moment, Doflamingo, who resembled a flamingo, simply sat on the throne with his legs crossed.

"Yes, Trebol."

He let out that distinctive, hoarse laugh.

"Even for us, this is an unprecedented gamble."

He grinned and opened his arms.

His body was also tense.

Yes.

He certainly understood better than anyone the significance of his words at that moment.

The 'plan' he mentioned stemmed from a coincidence not long ago.

That coincidence changed all his original plans.