"Hey, brat, I've got good news for you. Because of these two guys, you don't have to work today."
As he spoke, he flung both arms and threw Kin'emon and Kanjuro in front of him.
"Your dear retainers came back to save you again. Are you moved?
"But because of these two idiots' stupid actions, I'm very angry right now, so I have some bad news to tell you. Starting tomorrow, your workload will double."
Momonosuke's expression seemed to go blank, but he soon recovered, as though he had grown numb. He made no response to it at all, as if he had tacitly accepted everything.
"Tsk, Babanuki, what did you guys do? If this brat's like this, then my punishment is no different from doing nothing, is it?"
"Well... Lord Queen, we didn't do anything. At first he would still complain, but ever since that day when Kozuki Hiyori said something to him, he's been like a different person. The exact time was after Doflamingo came to Wano Country."
Babanuki whispered in Queen's ear, which made Queen reveal an intrigued smile.
"Joker, huh? That brat really is full of evil tricks. I'm actually looking forward to it a little. But... you really were proactive, weren't you? It wouldn't have mattered even if you'd just ignored this kind of thing."
In the end, Queen turned his attention back to Babanuki. After all, if Babanuki had slacked off a little, then Queen might still have had a chance in the bet.
"Speaking of which, Boss Kaido still hasn't announced the result. If you insist that you didn't recognize the two of them..."
"Boss Queen, don't make things hard for me. If I did that, Oni Princess would probably target me, right?"
"Hm? You brat, aren't you afraid I'll target you too?!"
"Lord Queen, forgive me for being blunt, but if Oni Princess does something willful, Boss Kaido and Lord Arceus might let it go. But in your case..."
Babanuki's extremely honest words directly blocked Queen's little scheme. This was also the reason Babanuki had always done things by the book. He was a prison guard to begin with. As long as he firmly followed the rules set by the higher-ups, he might not gain contributions, but he definitely would not make mistakes.
"You really are an honest brat..."
"It's all right. I learned it from Mandrell."
"I wasn't praising you! Also, that Mandrell is slippery as hell. How did you decide he was honest? Because he has a wife...?"
"Pirates! Why do you always bully a child! Don't you feel ashamed doing this?!"
Queen and Babanuki's exchange was just banter between old buddies, and neither of them took it to heart. But at that moment, an unexpected voice entered Queen's ears.
Although the Udon Quarry was now one whole entity, it was also divided into areas internally. The area where Luffy was currently working was not in the same place as Garp's ice cell, nor was it in the same place where SWORD was mining. Otherwise, they would not have missed each other over the past two days.
However, as special prisoners, Momonosuke and Garp were imprisoned quite close to one another. The one speaking now was Koby.
He always liked to worry about people who had nothing to do with him, whether on the battlefield or in prison.
"Oh, isn't this our Marine's new hero? Speaking of which, I should thank you. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to achieve such great results. What, do you think the current you can help this brat?"
Looking at Koby, who could barely protect himself yet still spoke up to support Momonosuke, Queen started mocking him in a sarcastic tone right to his face, but had no intention of actually paying him any mind.
"Say whatever you want. I've got no interest in debating right and wrong with Marines. After all, you're all just a bunch of idiots."
Because of the bounty the Marines had placed on him in his early years, Queen had always felt both pain and pleasure.
It was true that Queen enjoyed the fame and profit brought by his high bounty, but he still could not accept the Marines' "stupid" behavior.
"Oh, right. Because of your nonsense, your labor will be doubled too. If you keep talking nonsense, then I'll make all the Marines suffer with you."
Queen merely disdained arguing, but he was still petty. Facing an enemy who had embarrassed him, he naturally would not be polite.
Most of Udon's matters had been settled, but some other things had become even more troublesome. At this moment, Luffy had already been surrounded.
Because Kin'emon and Kanjuro had used Luffy's image to wreak havoc everywhere, Luffy's appearance began spreading through Onigashima's internal system, and the jailers of Udon had already noticed this matter.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you guys doing? Don't you want to settle my wages?"
The simple-minded Luffy had not yet figured out what had happened before he was already surrounded.
"Stop playing dumb! Straw Hat Luffy, you actually snuck into Wano Country and set fires everywhere, and you even dared to hide here!"
"Wait... Hasn't he already been here for two days? How did he go set fires?"
The pirate who had just been acting aggressively was silenced by his companion's question. Since they did not understand exactly what had happened, it was difficult for them to figure out what was really going on.
"Who cares! In any case, this brat looks exactly like the person who set the fires. Catch him first!"
"Makes sense. Hey, brat, I actually find you pretty likable. You'd better not resist and just obediently surrender."
"Strange... Hercules, could I have gone out to set fires while sleepwalking...?"
Luffy ignored the pirate's questioning in front of him and instead pondered whether that person had really been himself.
"Heraaacross!"
"What? You're saying Kin'emon and the others used me?"
Hercules had just seen what had happened from the sky, and now relayed everything it had seen to Luffy.
"Damn it, how could they do that? I thought they were just liars, but they actually went that far... Forget it, let's figure out how to escape first."
Looking at the pirates gradually surrounding him, Luffy threw those matters to the back of his mind and decided to break out.
"Gum-Gum... Whip!"
He kicked away the few pirates closest to him, then pulled Hercules and signaled for it to prepare to take off. However, Hercules did not move at all.
"Hercules? What's wrong? Hurry up, these guys have already surrounded us."
"Heraaacrooss."
Hercules raised a hand and pointed toward the sky, where an azure figure was falling downward.
Boom!
The huge impact kicked up countless clouds of dust. Not only Luffy, but even many of the guards who had originally been here were knocked away.
"Cough, cough... What was that? An enemy attack? Where are Boss Babanuki and Lord Queen?"
"N-No, it's not an enemy. It's Boss Kaido..."
Several pirates supported one another as they stood up, then saw Kaido in Dragon Form sprawled drunkenly inside the quarry.
"I think we should get farther away from here."
"I agree."
The first principle of the Beasts Pirates: stay away from a drunk Kaido, unless Arceus, Yamato, or Queen, one of these three, is by your side.
The nearby pirates swarmed away, and in the end all hid in unison at the opposite corner from Queen, who had just rushed over after hearing the commotion.
"Ugh... That Red Hair brat's wine sure has a strong aftereffect..."
After landing, Kaido gradually transformed into human form. However, he was still sitting limply on the ground, and was even still savoring the taste of the wine just now, as though he had already forgotten what he had come here to do. But when he saw Hercules in front of him, he still recovered a bit of clarity and set his gaze on Luffy.
"Straw Hat boy... I'm a little interested in you right now. You're the first outsider to come here with a Pokémon. I'll give you a chance. You can fly my flag."
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