"Cover Story · Straw Hat Crew Arc 2: 'Enemies Have Different Fates Since Childhood'"
"The North Blue, in a palace that is both magnificent and full of futuristic technology, a golden-haired, curly-browed baby cries loudly. The dozen or so maids, who had been holding their breath, are now frantically trying to calm the baby, using various toys with great effort until the child quiets down."
"Meanwhile, in a shabby cottage in Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue, a young woman dressed in tattered clothes is busy at the stove. A two-year-old green-haired boy is tiptoeing to add firewood to the stove, blowing with all his might, only to be choked by the smoke and coughing, his face covered in soot..."
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In the VIP box on the second floor.
Those who could sit here were either wealthy or noble.
At the very farthest east corner, a bald, sweating fat man instinctively scooted his chair back.
"…Lord Baji," the black-suited bodyguard behind him leaned forward and whispered, "That guy insisted on seeing you. What should we do? Should we fight him?"
"Fight my ass!"
Without even thinking, the bald fat man slapped the bodyguard across the face. He turned his body and muttered angrily:
"You want to die, but I don't. Fight that monster? What kind of brain comes up with something like that? With a few useless guys like you?"
The black-suited bodyguard covered his red and swollen face, a little wronged. "Then... then what should we do?"
"Just stall. We can't reveal our identities."
The bald fat man gritted his teeth. "Her Highness the Princess just happens to be on the island these two days. She's probably rushing over now after hearing the commotion. As long as she can get here, our lives can be..."
He suddenly noticed that the black-suited bodyguard had a strange expression and his eyes were a little dazed. He couldn't help but frown. "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"You… you… behind you…" The bodyguard's teeth were chattering.
"…"
A huge black shadow blocked the light from the ceiling. The bald fat man suddenly realized something. A chill ran down his spine, and he turned his face around, his face pale.
What greeted his eyes was a handsome face with a half-smile.
"You must be the person in charge of this auction house, right?"
Nao smiled and extended his hand. Under the bald, fat man's terrified gaze, he grabbed his collar and lifted him high off the ground.
"You've been muttering to yourself since the beginning... but your voice was too quiet, and I couldn't hear you clearly. Can you repeat that? What was that about Her Highness the Princess?"
It was just a quiet whisper. How is this guy's hearing so abnormal...
The bald fat man's throat tightened as he swallowed hard.
Before he could speak, he suddenly felt a tremendous force throw him back. He screamed in agony as his body was flung high into the air, forming an arc before crashing hard onto the first-floor corridor.
He clutched his waist, gritting his teeth in pain, and looked up to see the shadow jumping down from the second floor, stepping closer, the threat of death making him forget everything else. He screamed in panic:
"You… You can't kill me! This auction house belongs to Princess Hathaway! It's under the protection of the Machino Kingdom!"
"If you anger Princess Heatherway, your… your Marine career is over! You'll be questioned by the higher-ups!"
The shadow's steps suddenly paused.
Did it work? The bald fat man immediately felt relieved and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
Although Her Highness the Princess didn't like her subordinates flaunting her name, in a situation like this, bringing up the name Hathaway was still the best thing to do...
However.
The Nao in front of him, at that moment, leaned down, looked him directly in the eyes, and said strangely.
"Who is Princess Hathaway?"
This guy... has never even heard of Her Highness the Princess's name?
The bald fat man was stunned. Before he could react, a loud bang was heard. The guests around them were all startled and turned their heads at the same time.
They saw the auction house's door being blasted open from the outside, and a large group of Marine soldiers in white uniforms surged in, surrounding the entire auction house along the edges.
"G-67 Branch!! Everybody, stay where you are, and put your hands up!"
"Who dares to cause trouble at Princess Hathaway's auction house!"
Behind the tide of Marine soldiers, a tall and fierce-looking Marine Commodore, with a cigar in his mouth and dressed in a justice cloak, strode in.
Behind him was a noble young lady wearing a purple-red royal gown.
She was about twenty years old, over two meters tall, with a slender figure and delicate, beautiful features.
But her gaze was as cold as ice, resembling a divine being looking down upon the world.
"Hey, it's Princess Hathaway from the Machino Kingdom!"
"… So, this auction house really belongs to her?"
"I've heard that the Babu family had some background, but I didn't expect it to be this shocking…"
The moment the noble girl in the purple-red royal gown appeared, the entire auction house erupted into whispers, murmurs spreading from all directions.
I'm saved!
The bald fat man was overjoyed, scrambling up from the floor, and like a dog wagging its tail, he rushed in front of the noble girl, grabbed the edge of her gown, and wept uncontrollably:
"Your Highness! You're finally here! Your Highness! If you had come a little later, we would have all died here..."
The noble girl glanced at him coldly, her face full of disgust. Without a word, she kicked him away.
"Get away, you're so dirty."
She then turned her head and coldly spoke:
"Commodore, it seems my people have been wronged... You know what to do, right?"
"Yes, I understand."
This Marine Commodore seemed quite annoyed with the girl but was also very wary of her.
He grumbled in reply and then, with his cigar in his mouth, he strode down the corridor between the seats from the doorway.
"Hmm?"
Due to the auction house's lighting, his view had been obscured by shadows. It wasn't until this moment that he finally saw Nao standing there.
His steps froze, and he stood there in shock, the cigar he had been holding falling to the ground with a soft plop.
"Well, it's been a long time."
Noxia looked at the fierce-looking man with a cigar, somewhat surprised. His gaze flickered, and with a half-smile, he spoke:
"What, from the looks of it, you're going to stand up for this princess and arrest me? Onigumo…"
That's right.
The person who had appeared in this auction house with a large number of Marines was his old acquaintance, Onigumo.
He just didn't know.
When did he, who was a Captain under Kizaru two years ago, get promoted to Commodore?
And when was he transferred to the Sabaody Archipelago to serve as the highest-ranking officer of the Marine Branch here?
"Nao..."
Onigumo was in a daze for several seconds before he reacted. He quickly walked up to him and asked in a low voice, looking pained. "Vice Admiral, why are you here?"
"You're asking me?"
Nao looked up at the guy. He said flatly. "I wanted to ask you the same thing. Isn't this supposed to be a lawless zone? When did the Marines get so efficient at dispatching troops?"
Including the time of his conflict with the Warlord Tooke.
At most, it had only been a little over ten minutes so far.
"We normally wouldn't manage this place..."
Onigumo carefully glanced at the noble girl in the distance and said with a wry smile. "But this VIP just happens to be here today. When she heard that someone was causing trouble at her business, she didn't hesitate to order us to rush over..."
"And you didn't expect the troublemaker to be me?"
Onigumo forced out an awkward smile. "Well… so, Vice Admiral, what happened?"
Nao pointed to the cages on the stage and briefly explained what had happened.
Onigumo looked at the bruised and battered Emily, and a flash of anger also appeared in his eyes.
"I've heard rumors that the auction houses in the lawless zone of Sabaody have been secretly running a slave trade…"
He gritted his teeth bitterly. "But this time, they even dared to put one of our Marine Ensigns up for auction. They're completely lawless…"
"So, get your men ready for a fight."
Noa withdrew his gaze from the cages and spoke indifferently:
"Half of the people attending this auction are bounty criminals or members of underground gangs. Including the Babu family, I don't plan on letting any of them go today."
"This..."
Onigumo's face, however, showed a hint of hesitation. He lowered his head and said in a whisper. "Vice Admiral, the pirates are one thing, but the people from the Babu Family might be a bit tricky..."
"Because of the princess?"
Noa's gaze shifted slightly, though he wasn't surprised by the response.
"Yes."
Onigumo gave a bitter smile. "You've heard of the Machino Kingdom, right?"
The shadows of all the kings he had met at the Reverie quickly went through his mind. Nao nodded slightly. "I have a little memory of it."
It seemed to be a member kingdom not too far from the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was not a large country, nor was it particularly powerful. The population was a million at most.
But he vaguely remembered that in Mariejois, for some unknown reason, the kings of the larger countries treated the King of Machino with a great deal of respect.
"Hathaway is the daughter the King of Machino dotes on the most."
Onigumo said in a low voice. "This identity shouldn't have been much, but this princess was extremely beautiful since she was a child, and after she grew up, her beauty was widely known. Her social skills are also quite amazing. Who knows how many nobles from other countries are willing to fall to their knees at her feet..."
Nao listened quietly. He could already guess a few things.
"Until five years ago, at the Reverie, she was brought to Mariejois by the King of Machino. Somehow, she managed to entangle several young Celestial Dragons in a complicated, ambiguous relationship."
"There are even rumors that if not for the collective opposition of the Celestial Dragons, she would have married one of them..."
"Indeed…"
Noa chuckled, "A princess from a small country, managing to take the initiative and manipulate the Celestial Dragons… She certainly has some skills."
No, rather, it was a terrifying skill.
You have to understand, the difference between world nobles and regular nobles is night and day.
The Celestial Dragons, high above, had never cared about the royal families of the smaller countries. Otherwise, twenty years later, there wouldn't have been a scene at the Reverie where the Celestial Dragons forcibly demanded Vivi.
And yet, this Princess Hathaway had managed to reverse the situation and manipulate the Celestial Dragons…
It made one wonder how she pulled it off.
He glanced at Onigumo.
"So, the plot from here on out is probably that this princess, using her ambiguous relationship with the Celestial Dragons, runs rampant in the underworld, doing whatever she pleases, but no one dares to touch her?"
"Pretty much…"
Onigumo sighed helplessly. "At least we Marines can't afford to offend her. Sometimes, we even have to follow behind her and clean up her messes..."
"The Babu Family, who runs the auction house, and the Arima Family, who are at the top of the slave trade chain, probably also had the idea of seeking shelter under a big tree. Who knows when they secretly pledged their allegiance to her..."
And at the same time.
The bald fat man who was sprawled on the ground also gave a full and honest account of what happened to the noble girl with a bitter face.
She immediately raised an eyebrow and turned her displeased gaze towards Nao. But when she saw his features clearly, her eyes brightened slightly.
"I haven't been paying much attention to the newspapers lately, but I never expected that the Marines would produce a guy like you..."
She took elegant steps and walked down slowly, sizing Nao up and down with great interest. She chuckled. "Hey, kid, your name is Nao, right?"
At this moment, Onigumo was whispering to Nao, earnestly trying to persuade him to be patient.
However, Nao seemed indifferent. When the noble girl greeted him, he merely turned his head and gave her a calm glance, completely ignoring her.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
A flash of irritation crossed Hathaway's delicate face, but then her eyes twinkled with a new idea, and she smiled again:
"Oh dear, it seems like I'm not being well received? This really makes me so sad. Could it be just because my people accidentally caught one of your Marine officers? Is that such a small matter?"
A small matter?
Onigumo turned his head sharply and glared at her, but he couldn't flare up. He could only clench his teeth and endure it.
"…"
Nao also finally turned around. He looked down at the royal girl who had walked in front of him and said softly.
"Human trafficking and the slave trade are explicitly prohibited by the World Government, Princess Hathaway. As a princess of a country, you should be aware of that, shouldn't you?"
"Oh, it looks like you're hung up on this point..."
The noble girl covered her mouth and smiled carelessly, "You're so young, yet you're acting like an old fool who doesn't know the world. When did the World Government's rules ever apply to the underworld…?"
"Besides, what's the big deal? A bunch of scummy little lives—are they really worth getting so worked up over?"
She pouted slightly, acting like a little girl throwing a tantrum. But her words sent chills down the spine:
"I was going to invite you to a nearby café for a drink, but you've been so caught up in these little matters. That's going to make me unhappy, you know…"
"So, then."
She smiled sweetly, and without warning, pulled out a handgun from somewhere. She pointed it at Emily in the cage and pulled the trigger:
"Things that can ruin my coffee mood… better disappear quickly for me."