Chapter 98 Is Bai Ye dead?

Author: Xiao Yifeng

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

SLASH!

A blood-red blade, charged with a swirling torrent of electricity, fire, and wind, tore through the sky above Alabasta, cleaving the heavens and the earth beneath it. BOOM! The ground heaved violently, and the very air seemed to howl from the force of the impact.

In the eye of this storm, Bai Ye hung suspended, as if floating in a void. His eyes were closed, his body utterly spent. He could no longer sense anything, not even the life or death of Vice Admiral Tokikake. The crimson aura that had engulfed him flickered and died, and his long, white hair fell gently onto his back, swaying like three thousand strands of silk in the wind—a symbol of a life reaching its twilight.

Having consumed the Blood Demon Pill, Bai Ye knew his fate was sealed. Not even an immortal could save him now; the "Taomen Jilu" had been clear about that. He murmured to himself, a whisper of fading hope, "Is this really the end? Perhaps a miracle...?" But no miracle was coming. He couldn't even finish the self-mocking thought before darkness claimed him completely.

In the next moment, his body, finally succumbing to gravity, began to plummet toward the unforgiving ground below.

"BAI YE!"

Just as he was about to crash, an elongated figure burst from the earth nearby, racing toward him. It was Luffy, finally free from the swamp. Bai Ye's technique had laid a swamp over the existing ground, meaning Luffy had to tear his way through both the suction of the bog and the hard, sharp gravel of the Alabastan earth. He was covered in cuts and bleeding, but he paid his wounds no mind. His entire world was focused on the falling form of his friend.

"Gomu Gomu no... BALLOON!"

Luffy inhaled deeply, his body swelling into a massive rubber cushion just in time to catch Bai Ye's fall. He'd done it! A relieved smile crossed Luffy's face. In his mind, the task was simple: catch Bai Ye, get him to Chopper, and everything would be fine. Bai Ye always had some miraculous pill, after all. He'd healed Zoro, Nami, Vivi, and Luffy himself before.

"He just needs Chopper and some medicine," Luffy told himself, clutching his friend. "He'll be alright! He has to be!" The alternative was unthinkable. He knelt, holding Bai Ye's limp body, half-expecting a joke or a sharp reprimand for being too rough.

But this time, there was only silence.

If Bai Ye had been conscious, he would have undoubtedly snapped, "Don't use such force, you fool!" Overwhelmed, Luffy stared up at the sky, tears carving paths through the grime on his face as a heart-wrenching cry tore from his throat. "AHH!"

The weight of it all crushed him. The thought that Bai Ye, his nakama, could be dead was too much to bear. Memories flashed through his mind:

Bai Ye's introduction: "I am Bai Ye, a Daoist priest."

Their playful banter: "Then, let's go cause some trouble, Captain."

His unwavering faith: "My captain is the man who will become the Pirate King."

His weary complaints: "Honestly, don't just keep giving me more work, Captain."

His moments of fury: "You idiot!"

His last words: "You must all continue your journey together!"

Consumed by grief, Luffy screamed at the heavens, his voice raw with agony. "WITHOUT YOU, I CAN'T BECOME THE PIRATE KING AT ALL!"

As he screamed, his anguish unleashed a torrential wave of Conqueror's Haki. A dark red aura erupted from his body, so powerful it cracked the ground and shattered nearby buildings. Luffy was on the verge of complete collapse, broken by the pain of his loss.

It was at that moment that Ace, wearing his familiar cowboy hat, arrived. "Luffy?" he called out, his voice tight with concern. He had felt that immense sword strike from miles away, a slash that held power shockingly similar to Whitebeard's. He had rushed here, fearing the worst for his little brother.

Nothing could have prepared him for this. The city was a wasteland. In the center of it all, his brother knelt, weeping uncontrollably, radiating an unintentional aura of Haki so dense that Ace struggled to even approach. In Luffy's arms lay a lifeless figure.

Gritting his teeth, Ace pushed through the oppressive aura, careful not to release his own and agitate Luffy further. When he finally reached him, he saw his brother was in a state of shock, a walking ghost, not even registering his presence. And then he saw the man in his arms—the Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Priest Bai Ye. Ace's pupils contracted. He didn't need the full story to understand the depth of Luffy's sorrow.

He lost a friend… already? So soon after entering the Grand Line? As a captain himself, Ace understood this pain intimately. He knew his brother's heart, and he knew how deeply this would cut him.

Before he could speak, another voice shattered the stillness. "Fire Fist Ace! And Straw Hat Luffy! Get them!"

It was Smoker and Hina, flanked by Marines, arriving from the other end of the street. The regular soldiers were instantly overwhelmed by Luffy's Haki, collapsing one by one. Only Smoker and Hina, grimacing against the pressure, pushed forward.

When Smoker saw Bai Ye's still form, his eyes widened. "Is the Priest dead?" He processed the scene quickly. "So, it looks like Tokikake was responsible?" A Vice Admiral attacking a rookie crew made a twisted kind of sense.

As Smoker scanned the apocalyptic destruction, wondering if Tokikake was behind the cataclysmic sword strike, his gaze fell upon a shocking sight. There, atop a pile of rubble, lay a man in a tattered navy cloak—Tokikake himself. His cloak of justice was split in two by a clean, massive sword mark. His right arm and leg were gone, severed cleanly, his blood staining the stones beneath him.

The situation's gravity slammed into Smoker. The Straw Hat Pirates had killed a Vice Admiral. He refused to believe Bai Ye could have done it alone; it had to have been the whole crew. "Hina," Smoker said, his voice grim and resolute. "Priority one is arresting the Straw Hat Pirates." Hina nodded, her face a mask of determination.

"You want to arrest my brother?" Ace snarled, stepping between them, flames beginning to lick at his shoulders. "You'll have to get through me first!"

Smoker and Hina froze, stunned by the revelation. Straw Hat was Ace's brother? The connection to the Whitebeard Pirates was a complication they couldn't afford, but they were in too deep to back down now. Smoker lunged forward.

"Smoke-Smoke Fruit - White Blow!!"

In the next instant, two new attacks intercepted him from the shadows.

"Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt!"

"Black Leg Style: Épaule Shoot!"