Give us a lift...
What did that mean?
The Straw Hat crew widened their eyes, staring at Maude.
"What, you don't want to?"
Maude slowly stood up, his gaze calm as he looked at the Straw Hats, who couldn't conceal their surprise.
"No, we don't—mmph!"
Luffy, ever the straightforward one, was about to refuse outright, but before he could finish his sentence, Usopp and Nami swiftly covered his mouth together.
"Of course, we want to!"
Nami, Usopp, and even the least influential member, Bartolomeo, immediately made the decision for Luffy.
Maude's strength was evident. Having him accompany them was akin to having a powerful guardian escort them.
An opportunity like this? Only an idiot would refuse.
And yes—
Their captain was precisely that idiot!!!
Nami and Usopp silently thought to themselves as they tightened their grip over Luffy's mouth.
Sanji and Zoro exchanged glances, their eyes briefly resting on Luffy, who was now effectively silenced.
Truthfully, they also preferred for Maude to join them.
After all, Crocodile's forces far outnumbered theirs, and there was also the so-called Baroque Works.
Given such an overwhelming disparity in numbers, having a powerhouse like Maude travel with them was nothing but beneficial.
Vivi, whose heart was set on her kingdom's future, couldn't have asked for anything better.
Ace glanced at Maude but chose not to interfere.
His reason for coming to Alabasta was to investigate the presence of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Meeting Luffy was merely something he did along the way.
Once he confirmed Blackbeard's whereabouts, he would depart immediately. Naturally, he couldn't stay with Luffy for long.
And now that he was sure Maude posed no threat to Luffy, a lot of his concerns had been alleviated.
With Luffy still muffled, the crew agreed to Maude's proposal.
Among them, the ones happiest about Maude joining were undoubtedly Usopp, Nami, and Bartolomeo.
"Master, how did you suddenly 'fly' here?"
Now that things were settled and Luffy and Ace's injuries had been treated, Usopp finally voiced the question that had been nagging at him.
"To save you."
Maude folded up his shadow sunshade and turned his head toward the distant corpse.
Hearing Maude's words, the crew was momentarily stunned.
Thinking back on it, it was indeed true.
If Maude hadn't arrived in time, then they—
The memory of that towering, sky-blocking stone colossus still sent shivers down their spines.
"Thank goodness Master came..."
Usopp let out a long sigh of relief.
Everyone felt the same way. Putting aside the previous misunderstandings, even the carefree Luffy was grateful for Maude's help.
"As expected of my idol, even the way he rushes in to save the day is extraordinary!"
"..."
The crew's lips twitched as they glanced at Bartolomeo, whose eyes sparkled with admiration.
"You don't need to thank me. This whole situation started because of me, so it's only natural that I deal with it."
"Huh?"
The crew looked puzzled.
Until now, they had assumed that Pica was part of Baroque Works, so they didn't quite understand what Maude meant.
"The one who attacked you was actually one of the top executives under the Warlord Doflamingo. And Doflamingo has a grudge against me."
"What?!"
Hearing Maude's words, the crew was shocked.
Maude then explained why Pica had targeted them.
"No wonder that rock monster came straight for Usopp."
"Now that I think about it, ever since we entered the Grand Line, quite a few people have been coming after Usopp."
"Yeah, I almost thought Usopp was some kind of bad omen..."
"Hey! Watch how you talk!!!" Usopp roared in protest.
"Phew, what a relief. Usopp isn't a bad omen."
With the truth now clear, Chopper patted his chest in relief.
Seeing Chopper's reaction, Usopp was moved to tears.
"As expected of my idol, he casually—"
"Wham! Wham!"
Before Bartolomeo could finish, the crew pounced on him, silencing him with a flurry of punches.
Moments later,
Bartolomeo sat there, his head covered in lumps, looking pitiful.
"Speaking of which, Bartolomeo was also one of the people who originally came to 'pick a fight' with us."
Zoro tapped the bruised and swollen Bartolomeo with the hilt of his sword. The latter scratched the back of his head sheepishly but winced in pain from the touch.
Maude's gaze casually drifted to Zoro's three swords, a flicker of curiosity flashing in his eyes.
Aside from Wado Ichimonji, the other two swords didn't look particularly impressive—
They didn't seem to be Sandai Kitetsu or Yubashiri.
Could it be that, due to the butterfly effect, Zoro had missed his chance to obtain Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri in Loguetown?
Lost in thought, Maude instinctively glanced at the Shusui hanging from his waist.
Somehow… he felt a little guilty toward Zoro.
After their rest, the crew prepared to head for Yuba.
"Bailey, transform into a 'war chariot.'"
Before setting out, Maude had no intention of walking.
Hearing his command, Bailey gave a small nod. His body shifted and transformed at a visible speed into a makeshift tracked war vehicle, armed with crude weaponry.
The term "weapon" was broad.
Strictly speaking, any tool with offensive capabilities could be considered a weapon.
Thus, whether it was swords, spears, axes, or the war vehicle Bailey had just turned into, they all fell under the category of weapons.
In other words, as long as he had a clear enough vision, Bailey's Arms-Arms Fruit ability wasn't limited to conventional weapons.
Expanding on that premise—if Bailey's proficiency with his ability were high enough, or if he awakened it—
Then, in theory, as long as he had access to the right blueprints and could understand their structure, he could replicate them.
That could mean building the Navy's top-tier warships,
Or even the experimental Pacifistas still under development.
Perhaps even... a prototype of the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
That being said, the Arms-Arms Fruit had a significant limitation—
Size.
For instance, right now...
The crew stood in silence, staring at Bailey's transformed war chariot.
Or rather… his toy-sized car.
Earlier, during their break, they had gotten to know Bailey and Perona through conversation and had gained some insight into their abilities.
Now, seeing Maude instruct Bailey to transform into a toy car barely big enough to carry Chopper, they were left with nothing but confusion.
And this was precisely the fundamental limitation of the Arms-Arms Fruit—the size of the user.
If a giant like Little Oars were to eat the Arms-Arms Fruit…
Or if it were to be combined with a certain Devil Fruit that still remained within an inmate in Impel Down…
Perhaps such a combination had already existed in history.
Back to the matter at hand.
Bailey's small size meant that transforming into conventional weapons like swords or guns wasn't an issue.
But when it came to large-scale weapons, such as a tracked combat vehicle, the disparity in proportions was undeniable.
In terms of practicality, it was utterly useless.
What's more, Bailey had only transformed into the shell of a tank—he didn't even have the ability to power it.
However, Maude's Shadow-Shadow Fruit could make up for these flaws.
Shadow Flow – All Things Take Form.
Maude infused his own shadow into Bailey's.
Moments later, the size of Bailey's tank began to expand at a visibly rapid pace.
"It can even do that?"
Under everyone's increasingly astonished gazes, the toy tank that Bailey had transformed into kept multiplying in size!
In just five or six seconds, it had grown into a massive vehicle capable of carrying all of them.
This was the marvel of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Its versatility in support applications was nothing short of astounding.
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