Bege hadn't expected the process of duping them to be so smooth; the Little People were even more naive than he had imagined.
Afterward, Bege naturally had no trouble learning that Mansherry had already eaten the Heal-Heal Fruit and possessed her healing abilities, which undoubtedly made Bege even happier.
He loaded the entire Little People Tribe into his internal castle and departed Green Bit, then crossed the iron bridge to Dressrosa Island.
It was said that Dressrosa's royal family long ago was the Donquixote Family. The Donquixote Family had used the Little People to make their fortune, eventually ascending to become Celestial Dragons.
This was the root of the long-standing grudge between the Little People and the Donquixote Family. Later, after the Donquixote Family became Celestial Dragons and left Dressrosa, the Riku Family became Dressrosa's new royal line.
This also explained why Doflamingo eventually returned to Dressrosa and became its king.
These events all had historical reasons.
Bege went to Dressrosa intending to investigate whether Doflamingo had already begun to lay his plans there.
After wandering around Dressrosa for several days, he found no trace of Doflamingo, suggesting that Doflamingo had not yet set his schemes in motion on the island.
Or perhaps, he simply hadn't discovered them.
Before leaving, he came to a mountain covered in endless fields of flowers, an exquisitely beautiful environment.
"It's so beautiful here!" Warren Taylor exclaimed, gazing at the boundless flower fields and dancing joyfully among them. The flowers were beautiful, but the woman was even more so. Bege found himself staring.
"What are you looking at?" Warren Taylor snorted.
"The person you're looking for should be over there. I hear voices," Warren Taylor said, pointing towards the distance, where a simple wooden house stood encircled by the flower fields.
Only then did Bege stride towards the wooden house.
As he neared it, a sturdily built young man with a tuft of beard on his chin emerged from the house. His eyes were sharp and wary.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Captain of the Fire Tank Pirates, Capone Bege," Bege straightforwardly announced his identity.
"Demon Dragon?!" The young man's expression changed instantly, becoming even more guarded.
"Kyros, who is it?" Just then, a gentle voice came from inside the room, and a graceful figure walked out. She was an elegant and beautiful young woman, looking at Bege and his companions with curiosity.
"Lady Scarlett of the Riku Royal Family, good day to you," Bege said with an immediate smile and greeting.
He had come here specifically to find Kyros. On Dressrosa, the only one who had caught Bege's eye was this legendary swordsman with an undefeated record of three thousand victories in the Corrida Colosseum.
It was said that in the original story, when Doflamingo invaded Dressrosa, Kyros had come very close to killing him.
Even after losing a leg and suffering a great loss in strength, he had still managed to cut down the Donquixote Family's top executive, Diamante.
At this moment, Kyros should be at the peak of his strength. Bege wanted to test his swordsmanship and also harbored the intention of recruiting him.
The young woman's expression grew slightly somber. Kyros stepped in front of her and asked in a deep voice, "Captain Demon Dragon, what business brings you here?"
"No need to be nervous. I'm not here to cause trouble. I simply wish to have a friendly spar with you, to test our swordsmanship," Bege said with a smile.
"Alright," Kyros replied in a low voice, agreeing.
Kyros retrieved a longsword from the house, and he and Bege went out into the flower field.
"Come, Kyros! Let me see just how remarkable the swordsmanship of a 3,000-win undefeated swordsman truly is!" Bege said seriously, drawing his Fire Cloud Sword.
Kyros's expression became even more solemn. He knew that the young man before him, even younger than himself, was a genuine Great Swordsman.
Kyros kicked off the ground, exploding forward with incredible speed. In a single breath, he closed the distance to Bege, his longsword slashing down.
Bege waved his sword and blocked the attack. Clang! Sparks flew from the blades.
"Not bad strength," Bege's eyes lit up. From this single strike alone, Bege was certain Kyros was a formidable swordsman.
Kyros was even more astonished. A slash delivered with half his strength had been casually blocked.
He gritted his teeth and swiftly swung his sword again, the movements so rapid that it seemed as if countless sword shadows were about to engulf Bege.
Bege, unhurried, swung his own sword, parrying every single one of Kyros's slashes.
"Hey, Kyros, do you have any stronger sword techniques?" Bege called out.
"Destruction Sword!" Kyros roared, lunging forward and bringing his sword down. A massive slashing wave of sword qi shot out vertically, shredding all the flowers and grass in its path.
Bege's eyes brightened. He swung his sword, and a wave of flame sword qi fiercely collided with Kyros's attack. It exploded rapidly, the resulting shockwave instantly sweeping through a hundred meters of the flower field, mincing all the plants into tiny pieces.
"Again!" This time, Bege took the initiative, stepping forward and closing in on Kyros, his Fire Cloud Sword slashing down without any elaborate technique.
Kyros immediately swung his sword to meet the Fire Cloud Sword. In the fierce collision, Kyros was sent flying.
Bege pressed his advantage, his longsword dancing, his attacks even faster than Kyros's. Countless waves of flame sword qi covered the area.
Kyros, gripping his sword with both hands, suddenly swung, and an enormous wave of sword qi destroyed all the flame attacks, then surged towards Bege, crashing against the Fire Cloud Sword. The astonishing slash pushed Bege back several tens of meters.
"Now that's more like it!" The excitement in Bege's eyes intensified. He strode towards Kyros, flames erupting from his Fire Cloud Sword.
"One Sword Style—Extreme Fire Quetzalcoatl Dragon!"
A breathtaking flame dragon sword qi roared into existence.
"Thunder of—"
"Destruction Sword!"
Kyros, not to be outdone, swung his longsword with both hands, fiercely striking the flame dragon sword qi, cleaving the entire fiery dragon in two. The remaining sword qi still had enough force to rush towards Bege.
Bege casually swung his sword, blasting apart the residual sword qi. A fierce wind howled and swept outwards.
Kyros panted heavily, his gaze fixed sharply on Bege.
"A very strong slash. Now, take one of mine. Try not to die," Bege said. Blood-red flames ignited on the Fire Cloud Sword, and an incredibly ferocious sword qi erupted from it.
Bege, his expression serious, swung his sword. A wave of blood-fire sword qi slashed through the air, speeding towards Kyros with astonishing velocity.
Kyros's face turned ashen, a hint of fear even appearing in his eyes. He took a sharp, deep breath and roared, swinging his longsword to unleash a wild wave of sword qi to meet the blood-fire attack.
The blood-fire sword qi instantly shattered Kyros's attack and continued towards him.
Kyros swung his sword again, striking the blood-fire sword qi.
His body slid backward, his feet dragging on the ground, his longsword creaking ominously. He roared, using all his strength, trying to block the blood-fire attack.
"Break for me!"
Kyros planted his feet firmly, hands gripping his sword tightly, veins bulging all over his body, his teeth practically shattering from the effort. With a sudden, violent swing, he shattered the blood-fire sword qi—but his own longsword also broke into more than a dozen pieces with a series of cracks.
Completely drained of strength, he collapsed to the ground.
"To be able to block my Half Beast King, I acknowledge your strength," Bege said with admiration as he walked over to the gasping Kyros.
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