Chapter 18
With all the other pirates defeated, Buggy and Luffy prepare to fight. Luffy asks about Buggy's connection to Shanks, but Buggy mocks him. Each fighter's ability gives them an advantage over the other, and onlookers become too afraid to enter such a dangerous battle. Finally Buggy lands a hit on Luffy's hat, enraging the young pirate. Realizing whose hat it is, Buggy begins to target it specifically, and reveals he was a comrade of Shanks. Luffy refuses to believe this, and lands a powerful strike in return.
The Pirate Buggy the Clown
Buggy confirms the "Red-Hair" he mentioned was Shanks. Luffy demands he tell him where Shanks is. Buggy implies he may know where Shanks is, but Luffy calls him an idiot for the way he said it. Buggy loses his temper, asking him if he can reflect knives, only for Luffy to automatically confirm he cannot.
With that, Buggy attacks, and Luffy jumps to avoid him. Seeing Luffy in the air, Buggy points out that Luffy is now helpless as he cannot fly like Buggy. However, when he attacks, Luffy stretches his arm to a lampost and pulls himself out of the way. As Buggy's attack flies past, Luffy throws a long punch at Buggy, who dodges and tells Luffy that his power is also his weakness, and that he has now left himself open. He fails to notice that Luffy's punch has kept going, and that he has got hold of a windows ledge. He uses the ledge to launch himself into another attack, which Buggy dodges again.
Luffy crashes into the ruins of a house behind him. After stealing the treasure, Nami watches the fight from a distance. Some of Buggy's crew decide to pretend to still be unconscious, rather than risk being killed if they get involved in the fight. Buggy launches another attack, sending out his arm holding three knives. Luffy grabs it, but Buggy separates his hand from the attacking arm to land the strike anyway. Luffy dodges, but is struck in the side of the face by one of the knives. The blow then pierces Luffy's straw hat.
Buggy mocks Luffy, thinking he is upset by his face being cut. Luffy reveals he is instead angry, because that last attack damaged his hat. Seeing Luffy call the hat his treasure, Buggy pulls his hand back towards him, with the hat run through by his knives. As Buggy holds the hat up, Luffy remembers the promise he made on the hat and runs after it. When he hears Luffy saying the hat belonged to Shanks, Buggy throws it to the ground, and explains he was once friends with Shanks. After Buggy spits on the hat, Luffy refuses to hear Buggy compare himself to Shanks, and throws a furious punch. Buggy separates his head while laughing, but Luffy instead hits him in the stomach.
Mission 3
At 128 Park Avenue, Loid Forger is helping Yor move into the new Forger Residence while Anya helps with cleaning. Loid tells Yor that he has backdated their marriage certificate to a year ago to avoid suspicion for the Eden Academy interview. After helping Yor with the moving boxes, Loid holds a mock interview with disappointing responses from Yor and Anya. Loid decides that the family needs to experience the culture and knowledge of the upper class and brings the family on an outing, to Anya's excitement. Yor and Anya nearly bond together until Anya's telepathic abilities reveal Yor's tendency to injure her brother when she was young, scaring Anya away.
Loid brings them to an opera hall to become more refined, but the experience simply leaves Yor confused and Anya dozing off. Next, the family goes to an art museum to become accustomed to fine art, but Anya just pays attention to the art of naked women and a headless statue, while Yor gets entranced by a painting of a guillotine. The family then continues to a political campaign held by the Nationalist Party that aims for reconciliation with Westalis. The majority of the crowd is against this and overwhelms Anya's telepathy with negative thoughts, causing her to become dizzy. They have a meal at an upper-class restaurant to rest up, again causing Loid to despair at their lack of eating manners. Loid tries to come up with a backup plan to avoid relying on Yor and Anya but gets visibly upset at being unable to do so, causing Yor to worry and suggest they get some fresh air.
Yor brings the family to a rooftop park where they admire the view of the town and people, Yor explains that she comes here when she gets exhausted from work to remind herself that her work helps people. As Loid stares at a group of happy children, he notices a man approaching an old woman from behind and snatching her purse. The old woman calls for help, but the bystanders simply stare without doing anything. Loid comments indifferently that the old woman should have been more cautious, but Yor immediately jumps down the wall in an impressive show of athletic ability to chase after the thief, surprising Loid and causing him to go after the thief as well. Unfortunately, Yor loses track of the man and checks on the old woman before realizing she left Loid and Anya behind.
Loid manages to chase the thief to a busy street but loses the man among the large crowd and decides that their chase is now hopeless. Anya tries to help by reading the minds of the crowd to find the thief but again gets overwhelmed by the numerous thoughts and begins to have a nosebleed. Anya continues to use her telepathic abilities until she hears the thoughts of someone celebrating their newly gained loot and finds the guilty man. In order to get Loid's attention, she points out a cake shop that the thief is walking by and successfully gets Loid to recognize the thief, even though he has changed his clothes. Yor arrives at their location just as Loid runs off after the thief and asks her to watch Anya. Loid leaps off the railing of the second floor onto the thief, slamming his head into the ground. Just as Loid thinks about not drawing attention to himself as a spy, he realizes his action has drawn a crowd around him and briefly explains the situation before running off. Yor watches his actions with a smile.
They return the purse to the old lady, who gratefully thanks them for helping her. Although Loid gives credit to Yor, he shows some happiness at being thanked. He shows some gratitude to Yor for motivating him to do his work. The old woman compliments their family at the sight of their close interactions. Having returned home, Loid decides to try the mock interview again, now with better results, at least until Anya remembers Loid jumping the thief as a response. However, Loid decides to be optimistic, reassuring himself that if they could make the old woman think they are a family, then the mission still has a chance.
Yu Huang
From the first moment of his existence, Yu Huang, the Jade Emperor, has sought only to enlighten and uplift both man and god. Kind, intelligent and wise, he devoted himself to helping the needy and showed respect to all living things. This was more difficult than one might imagine, for at this time the world was more dangerous.
Monsters and demons prowled the lands of men, and defied the will of the gods. The Heavenly Court was in disarray, and the gods had no leader to unite them. The Jade Emperor had not become emperor yet.
In this time, Yu Huang roamed the world as a demigod, helping those mortals that he could. But even his great powers could not contend with the sheer number of fell beings who haunted the earth. Heartsick and weary, he retreated to a mountain cave, where he spent the next several millennia cultivating his Dao.
But during this period there arose a great king among the demons who tormented the world. This demon king wished to rule the heavens and the earth, and made war upon the gods. The gods resisted and the demon king went into seclusion to expand its power through dark sorceries and twisted rites. After several millennia it returned at the head of an army of all the foulest things in creation, and resumed its conquest of existence, leading its army into the heavens to do battle with the gods themselves. But it did not do so unopposed – for the Jade Emperor had returned as well.
Even as the gods fell to the might of the demon king, Yu Huang ascended to the heavens and challenged the creature. Their duel shook the very pillars of heaven and the world itself nearly perished in the ensuing conflagration. In the end, the demon king was defeated – not by the might of Yu Huang, but rather by his benevolence and wisdom. The creature fell from the heavens, and only the gods know where it now rests.
In the aftermath, mortal and god alike acclaimed their savior the sovereign of sovereigns, and ruler of all creation. The Jade Emperor had ascended to his throne.
Terror of Darkshire
Stitches is an abomination found in Duskwood. Abominations are twisted, mutilated undead creatures comprised of multiple dead limbs and body parts from many different corpses. They are enormous warriors, scarred by loose stitchings and putrid, open sores. They love to carve flesh and tear their enemies apart. The slow-moving and dull-witted abominations constantly drip blood and smell like disease-ridden slaughterhouses. They carry large cleavers into combat and wield various sickle-bladed hooks on their disproportionate limbs.
Almost all abominations lack any real intelligence, having an I.Q. closest to that of an ogre on average. Abominations outwardly appear strangely joyful due to their absent-minded expressions and mannerisms, though this is most likely due to their low level of mental capacity. Like their undead cousins, abominations lust for flesh and are known to eat not only the living but the dead as well.
Abercrombie the Embalmer created Stitches as a "gift" for Lord Ello Ebonlocke, the mayor of Darkshire. Setting out from a shack near the Raven Hill Cemetery, Stiches marched through Duskwood and killed all the Night Watch guards he encountered on his way to Darkshire.
Part 3
Guchie Jinglepocket from Smokywood Pastures here again ready to share with you more Smokywood Pastures goodness. This is an incredibly important story I’m telling you here. It could change your life! It could even SAVE your life. So pay close attention as we continue where we left off. It was half past one in the morning. Scrounge wasn’t very happy about the interruption to his gold counting or his dreams of more Smokywood Pastures goodies. The first spirit had come and gone and now he waited for the next to arrive.
The undead financier Scrounge stared at the clock on the wall. Each tick sounded louder than the clink clink clink of his gold. It rankled him, as he had yet to understand how much he could give to the world of Azeroth – particularly Smokywood Pastures. We at Smokywood Pastures were determined to get through to him, and we were sure the second spirit would be our big ticket.
Light burst around Scrounge and pushed the curtains surrounding his bed aside. The sound of a thousand Winter Veils assaulted his ears and a merry voice called to him. He was not at all happy about it, really, as he took in the sight before him: Greatfather Winter positively glowing with spirit. Scrounge flinched and tried to draw further away but found he couldn’t move.
“Are you the spirit of Winter Veil present then?”
A twinkle lit the new visitor’s eyes.
“C’mon then!” the spirit boomed as he waved Scrounge over. “We haven’t all night! We have things to do, people to see, Smokywood Pastures delights to… erm, delight in!” Once more, Greatfather laughed, a painfully jolly cacophony that made Scrounge cringe.
Next thing Scrounge knew he was standing at his nephew Ted’s Winter Veil Party, the sight of which was sad enough to even touch Scrounge’s shriveled heart. Upon the table, there was but one lone Smokywood Pastures Honeyed Holiday Ham (although it looked like Ted had the good sense to pick up some Steamwheedle Fizzy Spirits too). Ted’s family seemed to be laughing and playing some game or other – most assuredly to distract them from how many of Smokywood Pastures’ holiday delights they were missing.
Greatfather Winter gestured to Scrounge and said, “Let’s get closer, shall we?”
Scrounge felt a pull and, within a blink, stood within his nephew’s home. The laughing and joyous sounds made him clamp his hands over his ears.
“Spirit, why must I be made to suffer so? This is no party. There’s no Graccu’s Homemade Meat Pies or Spicy Beefstick.”
Scrounge narrowed his eyes at Greatfather Winter. “There isn’t even any of your Greatfather’s Winter Ale. How can you abide by it?”
Greatfather Winter flushed slightly with anger as he bore down on Scrounge. “Yes, this party has an inexcusable lack of Smokywood Pastures’ unmistakable brand of holiday cheer… Something YOU could easily remedy, I dare say. Have you not enough gold in your coffers?”
Scrounge scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.
He started to speak again but Scrounge felt the now familiar jolt of being relocated again. As the sort who rarely used portals (Scrounge always found the idea of tipping a helpful Mage for their troubles offensive), his constitution could hardly tolerate all of this teleporting around. While he’s getting his feet again, let’s check out another word from our sponsor!
Brrr… it’s cold out there, but you can get cozy while showing your loyalty to either the Horde or Alliance. They can also be used for tent forts, blocking out scary sights, picnics, and so much more! Get yours today!
Scrounge found himself in front of the window of a small home. A gesture from Greatfather Winter indicated he should get a little closer and so, reluctantly, he did. To what did his wondering eyes should appear? Bob Bigheart and probably the biggest ogre he’d ever seen.
“Spirit, why is my employee spending his evening with an ogre?”
“That’s his adopted son, Not So Tiny Tom. He’s a bit of a mouth to feed and you barely give him enough to stay warm at the office.”
“Nonsense. My office operates at well over the legal minimum temperature. That’s hardly your business anyway, isn’t it?”
Greatfather Winter pushed on Scrounge forcing him to look closer into Bob’s humble hovel. The sight that lay before him was far worse than Scrounge had anticipated. There was not ONE scrap, one tiny crumb, not one whiff of any of Smokywood Pastures fine products.
“This is your fault, you know. If you paid him more, he could afford to buy from the catalog of fine Smokywood Pastures delights. We all suffer for this. Without more gold to sustain the market, Smokywood Pastures can’t expand their offerings. We – I mean they can barely even maintain their current catalog!”
Scrounge scowled once more, stirring up a glimmer of hope in this narrator’s gold infused heart. It seemed he was almost starting to see the error of his ways and then… the glimmer died.
“Bah. Humbug.”
“Have it your way,” Greatfather Winter said patting him a bit roughly on the back. “I hope you’re able to find a new employee easily.”
He turned away as if to leave Scrounge behind.
“Wait!” Scrounge called. “What do you mean, ‘find a new employee?’ This one’s so well worn in! Why would I want a new one?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If Not So Tiny Tom doesn’t get enough to eat, he’ll be eating Bob before the year is out. You’ll have to hire someone new, at the latest minimum wage.”
Scrounge trembled. Recent regulations had increased the minimum wage by nearly half a percent – practically robbery! (Smokywood Pastures would like to assure our readers that all of our employees are paid a fair living wage for their services).
“Is there nothing that can be done to prevent that horrible eventuality?”
“Of course, Scrounge. You have but to feed the beast. Might I recommend buying the entire Smokywood Pastures catalog, oh, let’s say… ten times over? That should hold him until next Winter Veil, when Smokywood Pastures will return once more with their amazingly scrumptious temptations and delicacies.”
Scrounge scowled once more and turned to look back at Bob’s house again. Before he could, however, he felt the gut-wrenching sensation of transporting once more, and then promptly found himself falling out of his bed.
Scrounge had but one more Spirit to visit with before he would be free of these vexations. He still didn’t quite understand the amazing opportunity being given to him. We at Smokywood Pastures pride ourselves on top customer service. In fact, the Spirit Package is the finest we offer!
Oda Eiichiro
There was something called a 3D sticker inside a reader's letter. I've often seen them stuck on, but now I get how they're used.
読者のお手紙にポコポコシールっていうのが入ってた。貼ってあるのはよく見るが、ああ使うのか。
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