“Go if you want. It doesn’t matter if you make an even bigger commotion. After all, you’re one of my subordinates. But the person who got injured recently… Delia, was it? King, you seem to care quite a bit about that girl. Could it be that the cold and ruthless Conflagration has a soft side?”
Conflagration, Phantom, Plague, and Jack—whose specific calamity name was not certain yet—are all infamous names. Their names as calamities were forged through blood and cruelty in large-scale wars.
On top of that, carrying the flag of the Beasts Pirates makes them monsters who can silence even the cries of children.
No matter how cruel they are said to be, people outside will firmly believe it. But to say that these people have a soft side—that’s simply laughable.
“Boss, quit joking. She is nothing but trouble. She just got humiliated outside, so I’m going to settle the score.”
“Worororo, say whatever you want. There’s nothing much happening lately anyway. Just hand over your responsibilities to Queen, then go do what you want to do.”
“Understood.”
“Wait… that guy called Teach—be careful when facing him. He might not be as simple as he looks.”
Just before King set off, Kaido suddenly recalled something. When he forced Shanks to drink with him to create a diversion, Red-Hair didn’t stay completely silent the entire time.
Shanks had said a bunch of things that Kaido considered complete nonsense—probably something about world balance and other such drivel.
But he did remember that Shanks mentioned Blackbeard’s strength and believed that Ace chasing after Blackbeard wasn’t a wise move.
“Teach seems to have left a scar on Shanks, so he might have some special tricks up his sleeve. Of course, I believe you’re more than capable of handling him, but don’t get careless. Someone who’s been biding their time for so long is definitely a schemer.”
“Understood.”
In a way, Kaido’s arrangement wasn’t entirely without merit, but as the one taking over the responsibilities, Queen had a few complaints.
“Why is it that you, a torture-loving pervert, the one running off to settle the scores, yet I’m the one who ends up working overtime? I’ve even lost weight these past few days!”
“You really think I don’t know what you used to look like? If you have a problem, take it up with Boss Kaido.”
“……”
Although Queen really wanted to confront Kaido and protest in person, his rationality told him that wouldn’t be a wise move. The only outcome of doing so would be turning overtime into extra training.
Leaving behind an overworked Queen, King set off to track down Blackbeard. However, finding Blackbeard was not an easy task. Blackbeard’s whereabouts were a complete mystery, and King could only make speculations based on the location of previous battles.
Although the New World had a method for making Vivre Cards, apart from the Beasts Pirates—who had implemented an internal monitoring system and made Vivre Cards for all personnel stationed on Onigashima—no pirate crew would create Vivre Cards for every single member.
Even the Whitebeard Pirates didn’t have a Vivre Card for Blackbeard. If they did, finding him wouldn’t have been so complicated.
King had exceptional mobility. This time, he didn’t even take a ship. Instead, he embarked on the pursuit alone, traveling by flying. But even so, locating Blackbeard was bound to take some time.
…
While King was tracking Blackbeard, the Straw Hats had already arrived in Alabasta after a series of adventures.
“Everyone, we’ve reached Alabasta. As I’ve told you before, the boss behind Baroque Works is one of the Shichibukai—Crocodile.”
As the Going Merry arrived at the port of Alabasta, Vivi emphasized to Luffy and the others the root cause of the current turmoil in Alabasta.
“As a pirate officially recognized by the World Government, he is an incredibly difficult opponent. But don’t worry, we have someone who can help us. The biggest challenge right now is Crocodile himself.
On the day he became a Shichibukai, his original bounty was revoked, but even back then, he was a pirate with a bounty of 81 million Berries.”
“81 million?!”
“Huh? That’s it? Only 81 million?”
“Yeah, that scared me for a second. I thought he was some kind of terrifying monster, but he hasn’t even reached 100 million.”
Other than Chopper, who had only recently joined the crew and was shocked by the number, Nami and Usopp remained calm, even looking down on the bounty a little. This left Vivi somewhat confused.
“But Luffy’s bounty is only 30 million. That’s more than twice as much…”
“It’s fine, Vivi. You don’t understand. There’s a saying—when you’re deep in debt, a little more won’t crush you.”
“Yeah, compared to those monsters, this guy is probably just a small fry.”
Rather than saying Nami and Usopp weren’t afraid, it would be more accurate to say they had come to terms with it. The former bounty of 81 million, the title of Shichibukai—these were indeed intimidating, but it all depended on who you compared them to.
Luffy had already set his sights on defeating Kaido, who had a bounty of over 4 billion. Compared to that monster’s bounty, Crocodile’s was indeed insignificant.
A bounty doesn’t determine everything, but for most people, it is the most straightforward way to judge strength.
A low bounty doesn’t necessarily mean someone is weak, but a high bounty definitely means they’re strong. This logic applies even to Queen. Even after removing all the blame pinned on him, Queen’s own strength remains that of a monster.
Whether it was the Haki tempered by Kaido or the various weapons and equipment he carried, the destruction he could cause was immense. With his abilities, if no strong opponents stood in his way, wiping out a nation wouldn’t be difficult for him.
…
Meanwhile, after finishing their journey, Yamato and the others successfully arrived in the desert kingdom of Alabasta.
“Alright, you can head back for now. I’ll call for you again when I need you.”
Yamato didn’t continue traveling with Corviknight, instead she sent it back to Corviknight’s nest. The climate in Alabasta wasn’t particularly suitable for Corviknight’s survival.
The nights were manageable, but in the scorching daytime, the sun’s intense heat made Corviknight’s wings so hot they could practically be used as a griddle.
“It’s so hot… I don’t like it here. Let’s just go to another country. I think that last island was much better. Their Potato Festival doesn’t seem to be over yet.”
Ulti had a special fondness for potatoes. To her, deep-fried potatoes tasted far better than sea beast’s meat. She had thoroughly enjoyed the festival.
Alabasta’s food was fine, but this temperature was something she just couldn’t tolerate.
“Don’t worry, we won’t be here long. Robin has made a major discovery. Once we finish this business, we can leave. But… I have a feeling that returning to Wano Country might bring some misfortune.”
“We still haven’t figured out the exact location given by those Millennial Dragons. Let’s hurry up and get her to translate the map so we can get out of here.”
“Good point. Let’s go. Robin’s message said she’s in the capital, and it looks like a war has broken out there too…”
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