When only three people were left, Shinobu withdrew her gaze from the corridor not far away and said softly, "Can these people really be trusted?"
She didn't know why, but when interacting with these people, she always had a kind of uncomfortable feeling, as if being watched by a hunter.
"I don't know. But if we want to leave this sea area, we can only rely on them."
Compared to whether these people could be trusted, Jotaro seemed to care more about the ship in front of him.
The material used for the hull was wood he had never seen before, extremely hard.
No wonder, with this kind of ship, they could sail in such a dangerous ocean.
"In the ocean, such ships are absolutely essential." Jotaro pressed the ship's hull with the foot wearing leather shoes, very much appreciating its sturdiness.
Shinobu said worriedly, "We must not have the intent to harm others, but we must be guarded against others. We still need to be cautious."
Jotaro stood tall, his light green pupils like two flames in the dark environment.
He looked toward the end of the corridor and said faintly, "I actually hope they really do harbor bad intentions…"
That night, a crew member with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks had a smile on his face and tiptoed to the door of Shinobu and Nezuko's room.
"Sure enough, this outfit is still more suitable. Nezuko, you should also change into clothes that are easier to move in."
"Strange, I could wear this before, but now it doesn't fit anymore."
Looking at Nezuko's high, full chest, Shinobu also realized that Nezuko had unknowingly grown up.
Yes, already more than three years had passed, and Nezuko was about to become an adult.
Her current height was no different from her completely demonified state, and her full chest seemed to show everyone she had shed her identity as a young girl.
Her smile was still pure and lovely, but she was no longer a flower bud about to bloom, but a beautifully blooming flower.
From Nezuko's body, Shinobu even saw the shadow of her older sister back then.
She teased, "You should ask Jotaro-san for two bigger outfits."
Nezuko's face turned slightly red, and she said shyly, "So annoying, I can buy clothes myself now."
She had long since left the age of not understanding anything, and naturally knew what should be avoided in front of the opposite sex.
Now with a sense of shame, she could no longer rely on Jotaro as she used to, without any restraint.
Seeing her shy appearance, Shinobu couldn't help but smile and touched her head as before.
Hearing the discussion in the room, the sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked crew member's smile gradually turned lewd.
Changing clothes? He really came at the right time.
In his mind appeared the snow-white and frosty skin of the two girls, and he licked his lips, squinting one eye toward the gap in the door.
"Who's there!"
Shinobu sensed an abnormal aura, her eyes focused, becoming alert in an instant.
With a flick of her figure, she appeared next to the door and pushed it open at once.
"Jotaro-san?"
Seeing who it was, Shinobu was slightly surprised.
How could Jotaro do something so sneaky?
Very quickly, she saw that his hand was pressing on the head of a crew member, pinning him tightly against the ship's wall.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
Jotaro threw a backhand punch, knocking the crew member to the ground.
A punch out of nowhere made his consciousness sway, and he covered his face in disbelief and said, "You bastard, you dare hit me?!"
He tried to grab Jotaro's collar and fight back.
But when he looked into those icy cold eyes, he instantly calmed down.
"Ah…" He wiped the blood from his mouth, shakily stood up from the ground, and said, "Sorry for disturbing you, it was my fault."
"But I just wanted to inform you all to have dinner. Look…" he pointed outside, "it's already time to eat."
Captain Nezumi had prepared a sumptuous dinner for Jotaro and the others. The crew, seeing them, enthusiastically invited them to eat together.
They sang and danced, appearing joyful and harmonious.
Jotaro sat silently at the table, and Shinobu and Nezuko chose to sit beside him.
"What's wrong? Your face?"
"Nothing, just a little misunderstanding." The crew member covered his face and smiled awkwardly, but deep in his eyes, a hateful glint flashed.
"Really?" Nezumi looked suspicious but didn't pursue it further. He just smiled and greeted everyone to eat.
The crew, hearing the Captain's order, immediately picked up their bowls and gobbled down the food.
"Our Navy is rough in style, especially during missions. If the hospitality is lacking, please forgive us."
Jotaro couldn't be bothered with politeness. Only when Shinobu shook her head did he slowly pick up his chopsticks.
"Captain, I wonder if I could borrow the sea chart here to view. I want to confirm our current position."
"Oh? Of course, you may."
Nezumi observed the expressions and movements of the group and knew they didn't fully trust him, so he very generously agreed to any request.
After speaking, he began eating on his own.
Seeing that their chewing and swallowing didn't seem fake, Jotaro also sampled some dishes.
As for Shinobu and Nezuko, even though the food looked pretty good, they still showed discomfort and didn't move at all.
Seeing this, Nezumi curled the corners of his mouth into a meaningful smile.
In his eyes, Shinobu and Nezuko posed no threat at all.
With each bite Jotaro took, the satisfaction in the sharp-mouthed crew member's eyes grew.
The rest of the crew also began to smile maliciously.
Jotaro furrowed his brows, suddenly put down his chopsticks, and asked, "What is it? Why are you all looking at me?"
"Hehehehehe…"
Whether crew or Nezumi, their laughter grew more and more wanton.
"You're quite alert, but you still fell for it." The sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked crewman laughed up to the sky. "To think you believed I'd help poor wretches like you, what a dreamer you are."
He was full of contempt. If Jotaro had asked around in this sea area about the Navy's reputation, he wouldn't have had such unrealistic fantasies.
"What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?" Nezumi had a cunning look on his face. "Idiot, it's time for you to pay the ship fare. Government ships are expensive, you know."
"But I can tell, you guys don't have a single Berry on you. So… hehe, I plan to sell you to those nobles."
"Yare yare daze, this is your plan?" Jotaro's expression didn't change a bit, still calmly sitting in place. "What makes you think we'll just sit and take it?"
"Of course, you have considerable strength, I can see that." The Captain stood up, hands behind his back.
"But no matter how strong a person is, once they're drugged, they'll still become a lamb to the slaughter."
Upon hearing this, Shinobu's expression changed drastically.
She had already checked earlier but hadn't found anything wrong with the food.
"This kind of drug is colorless and tasteless. How could you possibly detect it?" Nezumi shook his head smugly.
"You all ate this food too. If Jotaro-san is poisoned, you guys wouldn't be spared either."
"That's right. To allay your suspicions, we did eat this food, but we won't be affected at all."
"Don't tell me… you took the antidote beforehand?" Shinobu said through gritted teeth.
"No need for that much trouble, they can just poison other things, like… these chopsticks."
Nezumi didn't answer, but Jotaro revealed the reason.
"I imagine, the poisoned person's face will turn green, body will go limp, and in the end, like a puddle of mud, won't even be able to make a sound."
Nezumi was stunned at first, then burst out laughing.
"Exactly right! Looks like the symptoms have already appeared on your body. I'll add another detail, not just your voice, in the end, even your senses will disappear."
"Even if we chop off your limbs, you won't feel any pain!"
"Oh?" Jotaro revealed a calm smile. "Looks like I need to hurry and beat you all up hard before your pain disappears!"
After speaking, he put his hands in his pockets, proudly stood up from his seat, and the faint smile on his lips grew crueler.
"Impossible!" Nezumi exclaimed in shock. "How do you still have strength?!"
Only then did he realize the surrounding crew had all turned green-faced and collapsed to the ground like mud.
Reflected in the mirror's light, he was horrified to discover, his own face was the same.
"Ugh…" Just as he was about to touch his face, he found he couldn't exert any strength at all.
Watching Jotaro stride forward, he mumbled vaguely, "Lis…ten…to…me…ex…plain…"
"What did you say?" Jotaro raised a hand to his ear and asked.
But he could no longer make any sound.
"No matter what you say, the result is the same."
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
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