Like the town, the royal castle was also built on a grand scale to accommodate giants. Walking behind Kaie, the Straw Hats looked around, feeling the difference in scale from the giant-sized furniture and doors. The question of how such massive doors were even opened lingered in their minds.
Sanji had somehow recovered from his petrification, though the cause remained a mystery. The only certainty was that Hancock had been wrongly accused. Hancock, though subdued in Kaie's presence, occasionally shot murderous glares at Luffy. Luffy, perhaps finally feeling a bit guilty, offered a sincere bow.
"Sorry for doubting you. My bad, Hammock."
"It's Han-cock! Are you even trying to apologize!?"
His attempt only seemed to add fuel to the fire.
***
The room Kaie led them to seemed designed for regular humans; while spacious, its dimensions were familiar to Luffy and the others. At Kaie's invitation, they sat on the guest sofas. Sora, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp sat together, while Luffy and Uta sat separately. Though nothing was said, Uta naturally claimed the spot next to Luffy.
Hancock, still fuming, was dragged by her two sisters to a seat slightly further away. Meanwhile, Kaie poured tea, placed it on the table, and then sat down on a sofa herself. Luffy and Usopp immediately began sipping the hot tea.
"This is good~"
"So calming~"
"Fufu, I'm glad you like it," Kaie smiled.
"Um!" Nami began, "Komurasaki told us to come here... We have something we need to exchange..."
"Ah, the matter requiring my introduction," Kaie nodded. "Understood. I'll arrange it immediately."
Komurasaki's letter concerned this very matter. While few would dare impersonate Komurasaki, whose name was largely unknown publicly, proper procedure was still essential. Reporting, communicating, and consulting were fundamental practices. Kaie briefly scanned the letter she received and set it aside. Confirming it was genuinely from Komurasaki was sufficient.
"That was fast," Usopp commented.
"My primary responsibility is island security. Unless it's an emergency, I have quite a bit of free time," Kaie explained.
"Are you strong, lady?" Luffy asked bluntly.
Hancock looked ready to explode at Luffy's words, but her sisters managed to placate her. Kaie, seemingly unfazed, simply smiled and replied, "Somewhat."
Though she was in charge of security, it was mostly the giants who faced danger head-on. Kaie herself rarely had reason to fight.
"Not as strong as Komurasaki, though. I heard you had some trouble on Skypiea as well. Komurasaki was exceptionally strong, wasn't she?"
"Yeah. Unbelievably so," Usopp confirmed.
Maraptonoka had been formidable, but Komurasaki, who had cornered her with swordsmanship and abilities, was on another level entirely. Such strength from an unknown executive made Twilight's power understandable. Though, since Kanata joined the Seven Warlords, most of her top executives were actually unknown to the wider world.
"She is special," Kaie said. "One of Kanata-san's few direct disciples, and she's been through many battles."
Kaie herself was strong enough to spar with Bullet, but she wasn't sure how long she could last in a real fight. The Four Emperors and those who could match them were simply in a league of their own. Kaie believed Komurasaki could hold her own against Bullet, and considering she had once wounded Kanata, she even thought Komurasaki had a chance of winning. Komurasaki, along with the top four members of the Valkyrie and Einherjar units, had even repelled an attack by Wang Zhi in the past. Kaie acknowledged that Komurasaki's abilities surpassed her own.
"Komurasakiii!?"
"Sister, calm down. Easy now."
"Kaie-neesama knows you're more beautiful and stronger, sister, it's alright."
Meanwhile, Hancock, who had previously been glaring at Luffy, now directed her hostility towards the mention of Komurasaki.
"She sure gets angry easily," Luffy thought idly, but Kaie just chuckled wryly.
"Those two don't get along very well..."
Hancock prided herself on being the most beautiful. Based on the Amazon Lily value system where strength equals beauty, and considering Kanata had cared for her since childhood, Hancock acknowledged Kanata as superior... but Komurasaki was a different story. Being Kanata's direct disciple, being close to Kaie—everything Hancock heard about Komurasaki irritated her. Put simply, Hancock disliked Komurasaki.
Komurasaki, believing herself more beautiful and paying Hancock's animosity no mind, was kept separate from Hancock whenever possible; it was an unspoken rule.
"Twilight seems like a handful too," Uta commented.
"And you are...?" Kaie inquired.
"I'm Uta. I came here from Elegia for the concert in Alabasta."
"Ah, waiting to join up with Tesoro, I presume."
Uta's escort had been entrusted to Hancock, so Kaie had only kept it in the back of her mind, not considering it a high priority. Nevertheless, the title "Red Hair's Daughter" wasn't something Kaie could ignore. Combined with Luffy's straw hat, Kaie felt a sense of connection.
"Shanks is an old acquaintance. I've known him since he was an apprentice. So, he has a family now."
"Ah... well, um, haha. I'm Shanks's daughter, but we're not related by blood..."
"Whether you share blood or not is trivial. If you think of him as your parent, and he thinks of you as his daughter, then you are family."
It wasn't uncommon not to have a mother. Kaie herself had been abandoned by her biological parents and raised by Gloriosa, and the Hancock sisters, raised similarly by Gloriosa, looked up to Kaie as an older sister. Blood ties weren't important. What mattered was the love between parent and child.
Kaie smiled warmly at the wide-eyed Uta.
"It was quite the topic when Shanks returned to this sea missing his straw hat and left arm, but I haven't seen him in a while. You should ask him directly how he feels."
"...Okay," Uta nodded.
She felt Kaie had said something profound—and then realized she had heard something utterly shocking.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean, Shanks lost his hat and left arm?"
Gulp!
Luffy froze beside Uta.
Kaie looked puzzled. "You didn't know?" she asked. It had apparently been a major topic, so she found it strange that Uta was unaware.
The hat was currently on Luffy's head right next to her. Naturally, Kaie's gaze shifted from Uta to Luffy, assuming he knew something about the missing arm.
Luffy quickly averted his eyes.
"Luffy."
"..."
"Look at me, Luffy."
Under Uta's intense stare, Luffy couldn't hold out any longer and confessed.
***
After spilling everything about Shanks, Luffy was now facing Uta's glare, his cheeks being stretched painfully in her hands. Luffy endured it passively. Kaie, though hearing the details for the first time, found Shanks's actions entirely characteristic and accepted them.
Nami and the others, having no particular plans or places to go afterward, decided not to overstay their welcome and stood up. Kaie promised to send someone later to appraise the gold, so they just needed to tell her the ship's location before leaving the room.
"It was a pleasant time. Perhaps we'll meet again," Kaie said.
"Yeah, see ya!" Luffy replied casually.
Hancock's eyebrows shot up again at Luffy's easy manner.
Regardless, their business was concluded. It would be difficult to split the earnings until the exact amount was determined. Usopp suggested they browse the town and head back for the day. Nami had no objections, and Luffy had no particular destination in mind. Uta, though having no errands, wanted to see Luffy's ship. She had been given a small Den Den Mushi with a single button to call if needed, meaning she could move freely while on the island.
Sanji and Sora said they would be going separately.
"Sorry, gotta go for a bit," Sanji said.
"Yeah, that was the plan," Luffy acknowledged.
In exchange for bringing Sora to this island, Sanji wanted to know the reason for her recovery. That was the condition for letting her board the ship. Chopper had also been curious, but Sanji didn't trust Judge. Suspecting some unsavory method had been used, he intended to go alone first to confirm. If unethical practices were involved, he didn't want Chopper to witness it.
Luffy's group left the royal castle, saying they would look around town on their way back to the ship. Sanji and Sora remained, then started walking down a different path.
"...Is that man still up to his usual tricks?" Sanji asked.
"Yes. For him, the revival of Germa is something he must achieve, no matter what. I thought there might be other ways, but..."
Even to Sora, modifying one's own children was a mad act. Modifying one's own body was one thing; taking available measures to achieve one's desires wasn't necessarily wrong. But attempting modifications on one's own child while still in the womb was nothing short of insanity.
Sora had opposed it, taking drugs potent enough to affect lineage factors, ensuring only Sanji was born with a human heart. The price was Sora's own weakened body... By the time Sanji escaped, she was already too frail to even get out of bed.
"But, compared to the past, he seems to have calmed down," Sora admitted.
He had become close to Twilight, which possessed immense military power. Believing a mutually beneficial relationship was possible, Judge had chosen to align with Kanata. Of course, Sora herself was indebted to Sukura. She feared Kanata, but she trusted Sukura's sole dedication to saving patients, and if Sukura trusted Kanata, Sora felt she probably could too. ...Though she couldn't deny a lingering anxiety.
"The North Blue is full of darkness," Sora explained. "Smuggling of weapons and drugs, slave trading... Markets where goods officially banned by the World Government are openly traded. He probably wanted someone even slightly familiar with the darkness of the North Blue on his side."
Twilight, the world's largest shipping enterprise, did not transport certain goods. Kanata prohibited the trade of weapons and slaves, so underground dealings primarily involved those two commodities, along with drugs. Naturally, organizations profiting from such trades tended to grow large, often choosing Kaido or Linlin as patrons. Kanata likely wanted to cut off the flow of funds to Kaido and Linlin, including those from the Five Great Families of the West Blue, and squeeze them financially.
Judge was likely chosen because he was easy for Kanata to handle and con-ven-ient, Sora surmised. There was no easier negotiation partner than someone whose desires were clearly known.
"You must be careful too, Sanji. That woman, Kanata, no matter how good her actions may seem—she is, through and through, a pirate."
Judge's eyes were clouded by his ambition. Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji merely followed Judge's words without objection. Reiju was the same. Sora felt she had to maintain a degree of suspicion. Otherwise, she had a bad feeling—a premonition that something irreversible might happen.
"...I'm a pirate now too, though," Sanji mumbled.
"You are my son. My proud, kind son," Sora replied gently.
"..."
At Sora's words, Sanji looked conflicted, running a hand roughly through his hair.