Cover Serial: Heart Pirates, Part 13, "Do you need me? Please... tell me you need me..."
After finishing her story, Baby 5 continued wiping away her tears. Corazon and Law, a cigarette hanging from the latter's lips, stood up and boarded a small lifeboat taken from the battleship they had left offshore.
Baby 5's tears began pouring down again.
"Are you going to abandon me too? Please don't leave me... I can be useful! You can use me however you want, so please... please don't abandon me..."
…
"So the Black Dragon King was actually the hero who saved this country. Is that right?"
Sienna lowered her voice and sneered.
"And since the emperor willingly abdicated, why would generation after generation of us risk our lives trying to assassinate the Black Dragon? It doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Kento walked silently beside her.
Keeping her eyes on the crowds passing through the city gates ahead, Sienna gritted her teeth.
"You're wrong! More than three hundred years ago, the Kano Kingdom's National Treasure wasn't accidentally lost because of the royal family's incompetence.
"It was all because of that hateful Black Dragon!
"The Black Dragon deliberately stole the National Treasure from the royal family. First, they stripped the royal family of its greatest weapon. Then they lured pirates into the Kano Kingdom and watched from the sidelines as the country descended into chaos.
"They let the kingdom's soldiers and the pirates slaughter one another, waiting until the emperor and Princess Lily were powerless to repel the invasion..."
"I see..."
The headless Kento considered her words.
"But how did you confirm that, hmm?"
Through Liam's Flower Clone and its powerful Haki, Robin detected the unusual presences surrounding them with exceptional clarity.
"It appears we're being watched," Kento said calmly. "Prepare to fight."
Sienna's pupils contracted as she clenched her fists.
Her entire body tensed, and she focused intently on the presences following them.
The moment Sienna and Kento passed through the city gates amid the unnaturally calm atmosphere, the killing intent behind them erupted.
...
Three minutes later, on the roadside several dozen meters beyond the city, Sienna lowered her fists in disbelief.
Nine experts sent by the imperial palace lay scattered around her and the Headless Monster.
These were no ordinary soldiers. They were black-armored death warriors, the finest elites serving in the king's army.
And yet...
The instant the nine black-armored assassins appeared and attacked, the Headless Monster suspected of being Jolyne Cujoh had swiftly beaten them all down. Sienna hadn't even found an opportunity to join the fight.
The monster hadn't used any particularly impressive martial arts. He had simply coated his body in Haki, moved directly through the nine assassins, and struck them with straightforward, bone-crushing punches.
The whole fight had ended in moments.
The difference in strength was overwhelming, so vast that the battle had been completely one-sided.
'Is this the power of the Warlord of the Sea, Jolyne Cujoh?!'
Thud!
The doll head perched atop Kento's neck had come loose during the fight. It fell to the ground and rolled to a stop beside one of the fallen assassins.
"Watch out..." Sienna warned.
Kento turned his head…
No, he didn't have one.
He turned his body instead. Through the partly open front of his clothes, the beautiful eyes on his chest saw the nine black-armored assassins rising one after another.
They remained eerily silent. Without saying a word, each reached beneath the edge of his armor and pulled out a small paper packet.
"No! Stop them!" Sienna shouted.
She immediately sprang forward.
But the black-armored assassins had already torn open their packets. They pressed them over their mouths and noses, inhaling the hazy clouds of pollen inside.
The assassins released low growls.
The exposed skin on their faces and necks instantly turned red. Veins bulged beneath their flesh, their eyes became bloodshot, and their bodies swelled noticeably in an instant.
Bang!
One of the berserk assassins struck Sienna with a punch, sending her flying.
"This is..."
The eyes on Kento's chest immediately reminded Robin of what had happened outside Bamboo Village. The blue-armored Dragon Banner soldiers Sienna had fought there had done the same thing: consumed something and entered a berserk state.
Liam hadn't even delivered the finishing blows that time. Those soldiers had simply withered away and died on their own.
Whatever they had consumed seemed to exchange their life force for a brief surge of overwhelming power.
And the substance these assassins had just taken from those paper packets...
Robin was certain she hadn't mistaken it this time.
It was pollen.
Her thoughts raced.
Robin's memory might not rival Liam's Stand, but she had earned a doctorate in archaeology at only eight years old. She was a genuine genius with vast knowledge across countless fields, and her natural memory was certainly better than Liam's own.
She quickly recalled the Poneglyph they had discovered on the Loan Shark King's Interest Island.
"...The researchers discovered that by altering the microscopic structure of these PYRO particles, they could produce many different wavelengths..."
"...Certain wavelengths transformed PYRO particles into microscopic particles commonly found throughout nature and the water cycle. Other wavelengths converted them into highly adaptable factors bearing a strong resemblance to Lineage Factors.
"Still other wavelengths transformed PYRO particles into special particles capable of influencing Lineage Factors. The tragedy recorded on this Poneglyph was connected to this third type of particle, known as PYROSADO...
"...Highly concentrated PYROSADO solutions, and the fruits of plants cultivated with them, possessed the ability to attract the second type of Lineage Factor particle.
"At the same time, the solution, the plants it cultivated, and medicines produced from those plants had a catalytic effect on human Lineage Factors. Several nations therefore administered them extensively to their soldiers to improve their combat capabilities.
"But this eventually led to disaster.
"The enhanced armies became virtually unstoppable. Before long, however, every soldier who had taken the special medicine began aging prematurely. Their organs rapidly failed, and countless soldiers died of old age within an extremely short period..."
Plants cultivated using technology derived from that special particle...
Pollen?
Increased combat ability... Physical deterioration... Rapid aging and death...
Wasn't that exactly what had happened here?
While Robin was distracted by her thoughts, she suddenly heard Sienna's voice.
"That's enough. They're already dead."
Robin snapped back to reality.
She realized that the headless Kento was holding one of the berserk black-armored assassins by the neck. The man appeared to have completely burned through his life force. His hair had turned white, his skin had shriveled, and he was no longer breathing.
The other eight assassins lay in the same condition nearby.
Naturally, the strength they had gained from the forbidden pollen medicine hadn't been entirely useless.
They had managed to strike Kento several times. It simply hadn't mattered.
This wasn't Robin's real body, so she couldn't even feel the pain. Liam's original body was the one receiving those sensations.
Robin would be sure to comfort him later, if he actually needed it.
Heh.
The berserk assassins had continued their futile attacks until their lives finally burned out, leaving behind nine human-shaped husks.
Robin sighed inwardly and had the headless Kento lower the shriveled old man in his grasp.
Sienna was the one who truly wanted to sigh, not from weariness, but from amazement.
She had already learned how powerful Giorno was when they fought the blue-armored Dragon Banner soldiers. This time, however, their opponents had been elite black-armored members of the Dragon Banner Army.
And the person fighting them wasn't Giorno, but the female captain.
She hadn't expected this at all.
Nine elite soldiers had taken the pollen and gained tremendous strength, yet they still couldn't defeat this Headless Monster, whether it truly was Jolyne Cujoh or not.
If those two were really that powerful...
Could they defeat the Black Dragon head-on?
Sienna's heart trembled at the possibility. She scarcely dared to hope.
"Whether or not you're truly Jolyne Cujoh," she said hoarsely, "I'll take you to meet someone."
Kento turned his head…
No. Still no head.
He turned his body toward her instead.
"Who?"
"Our big sister, Xianglian..."
Sienna looked into the distance. Robin noticed that it seemed to be somewhere near Bamboo Village.
"My third brother and I were adopted by Big Sister," Sienna murmured. "She is the true final successor of the Humble Bamboo Alliance..."
Kento nodded…
No head.
Robin nodded instead.
According to the Spirit Medium Grandma, Liam's mother, Lily, had become sworn sisters with Xianglian, the last successor of the Humble Bamboo Alliance. That effectively made Lily half a successor herself.
This was certainly worth investigating.
Xianglian probably knew much more about Liam's mother.
As they traveled, Kento suddenly spoke again.
"By the way, about the question those assassins interrupted..."
He turned his body toward Sienna.
"How did you confirm that the Black Dragon framed the royal family, stole the National Treasure, and lured pirates into the kingdom?"
Sienna gazed into the distance.
"Princess Lily was the one who left behind the truth of what happened," she answered calmly. "And her descendants, the surviving bloodline of the former royal family, are still alive!"
...
Kano Kingdom - Leafway Path, Bamboo Village
The Spirit Medium Grandma was advanced in age and no longer had much stamina. After growing tired, she had returned to the thatched cottage to rest.
A'Yu stayed inside for a while before picking up her bamboo pole. When she opened the door, she found two familiar figures standing outside.
"A'Yu, do we have visitors?" the Spirit Medium Grandma called from inside.
A'Yu looked up at them and opened her mouth.
"Mm-hmm."
Liam rested one elbow against the cottage's doorframe.
"Heading out?"
Robin bent down and affectionately patted A'Yu's head.
"Looks like we arrived just in time."
These two, especially the Spirit Medium Grandma, clearly knew a great deal.
About both the Humble Bamboo Alliance and Liam's mother, Lily...
Since Liam and Robin had decided to uncover the truth about this land's past, there was no point in taking a roundabout approach.
They would gather everyone who knew anything in one place and have them explain exactly what they knew.
That was the simplest way to make everything perfectly clear.
(End of Chapter)
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