Chapter 166: Ochoku and the Golden Lion
In the depths of the New World, Pedro and Zepo, having moved the Den Den Mushi to the sea, looked at each other, confusion on their faces.
After a while, Zepo stroked his chin, a pensive look on his face. "You think it might be a trap set for us by the World Government?"
Opposite him, Pedro thought for a moment, then replied with an uncertain tone, "Probably not? If it were a trap, then the ones standing in front of us just now would have been Marines and World Government agents! Although, that guy just now did look a lot like a government agent."
As his words fell, the entire deck became silent, with only the sound of the churning waves.
Then, Zepo frowned and said again, "If it's not a trap, then who is contacting us?"
Ever since their quest for the Poneglyphs was discovered by the World Government and the Nox Pirates were branded as a pirate crew, no one had contacted them. All this time, the two of them had been wandering alone, drifting aimlessly on the sea, searching for islands that might have a Poneglyph.
To this, a notorious power appeared in Pedro's mind. "Could it be the Revolutionary Army? I heard they're a force that resists the World Government. Maybe they're the ones contacting us."
Just then, the sleeping Den Den Mushi before them opened the eyes on its tentacles and began to ring.
Brrring~ Brrring~ Brrring~
This scene made Pedro and Zepo look at each other again. In the end, Zepo slapped his fist into his palm, a look of someone facing death on his face.
"Forget it, let's just listen! We brought the Den Den Mushi on board anyway because we wanted to know who was contacting us, right?"
With that, Zepo reached out a large, furry hand, picked up the receiver, and answered the call. "Hello, who is this?"
Beside him, Pedro stood with his arms crossed, quietly watching Zepo, who was holding the receiver, his gaze incomparably cold. However, the next moment, the Den Den Mushi spoke, and a voice that was very familiar to the two of them came through, instantly breaking Pedro's cold demeanor and making him look like a startled large cat.
"Big Bro Zepo! It's me! Serena-dayo!"
"..."
"Serena!" Pedro and Zepo were shocked and subconsciously repeated the name. "Is it you who's contacting us?"
"That's right!" the Den Den Mushi replied, mimicking Serena on the other end.
Pedro then took the receiver and asked in a disbelieving tone, "Serena, how are you contacting us? Weren't you heading back to Zou with Pekoms and the others?"
Hearing this, Serena, who was far away in Dressrosa, became dejected, and her sadness was transmitted to the two of them through her voice. "We were attacked by human traffickers on our way back to Zou. I was captured, and I was just rescued by a great lord a few days ago."
The two of them heard this, and worried expressions appeared on their furry faces. "Then what about Pekoms and the others?" they asked nervously.
To this, Serena replied in a low voice, "I don't know. After I was captured, I never saw them again. Among the people who were rescued with me, they were not there—"
Pedro heard this, swallowed, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "Pekoms and everyone else... please be okay—"
And Zepo, hearing this, was in no better state, his face filled with regret.
Then, Serena asked again, "Big Bros, where are you now? I'll come and find you!"
However, hearing these words, the two felt no joy at all, but were instead covered in sweat.
"Don't!! You just stay there and hide! We'll come and find you!"
Serena had already been captured by traffickers once. Although she had been rescued by a kind person, if she were to set out to sea to find the two of them, no one could guarantee that she wouldn't be captured a second time. And at that time, there might not be anyone to save her.
Then, realizing the gravity of the situation, the two asked again, "Serena, where are you now?" Pedro and Zepo planned to first terminate their current exploration and bring their kinswoman back first.
However, the answer Serena gave left them dumbfounded. "In Dressrosa!"
The two of them heard this and were stunned for a moment. Then, Zepo repeated the word in a disbelieving tone, "Dressrosa? That Archangel's territory?" Even the two of them, who spent all their time searching for Poneglyphs, had heard the name that was now the loudest on the sea. "Archangel - Louis." They knew that this was a monster powerful enough to rival the three top-tier pirates.
To this, Serena, who was far away in Dressrosa, gave them an affirmative answer. "Yes. Not long ago, it was Lord Louis who saved me from the hands of the traffickers!"
"."
The deck became dead silent again. The faces of Pedro and Zepo were filled with an unshakable worry. They realized that things were not so simple. An existence like that would absolutely not do something just out of kindness. Saving Serena meant that she had a value that was worth that person's attention.
After a long while, Pedro took a deep breath and slowly spoke. "Serena, you wait for us in Dressrosa. We'll come and get you—"
Half a month later, Dressrosa.
A dozen or so small islands hung high in the sky, slowly approaching Dressrosa at an unhurried pace.
Atop the largest island, in a magnificent palace, Golden Lion Shiki, with a bloody wound on his abdomen and a ship's wheel on his head, held a cigar and gave his two subordinates an arrogant smile.
"Shishishishi—"
"Next, I'll move the island a little farther away. If I die in Dressrosa, you two run!"
Dr. Indigo heard him, a complicated expression on his face as he stared at the Golden Lion's not-so-large frame.
Seeing this, the Golden Lion abruptly turned, flicked his sleeve, and prepared to leave. But the next moment, Dr. Indigo's voice came from behind him. "Don't worry, Boss! We'll definitely run far, far away!"
Beside Dr. Indigo, the gorilla heard him and nodded in full agreement.
At these words, the Golden Lion, who had been making a grand exit, turned back at light speed. He was furious and gave the man and the gorilla each a punch, raising a series of bumps on their heads.
"You really have the nerve to run?!"
To this, the bruised and swollen pair got up angrily, their whole demeanor becoming extremely fierce. "Weren't you the one who told us to run?!" they roared.
"Tch—" The Golden Lion, with a cigar in his mouth, looked away.
Outside the door, a tall man in armor, with a weapon on his back and a long beard, saw this, and a speechless expression appeared on his face.
"Neurotic—" He had never thought that after hiding for all these years, Shiki would have turned himself into such a comical figure.
After another moment, the Golden Lion snapped his fingers. The five wooden boxes that had been on the table slowly floated up and came to rest behind him. Then, he took a key from his kimono and threw it in front of the two.
"This is the key to the treasury," he said through the smoke. "If I don't come back, you can pick whatever you want!"
To this, Dr. Indigo waved his hand with a look of disgust. "The key to the treasury? We've had that for a long time!"
"?"
The Golden Lion was taken aback, then became furious again. He grabbed Dr. Indigo by the collar and lifted him up. "What? You dared to secretly copy this key!"
To this, Dr. Indigo did not indulge the Golden Lion at all. He got right up in his face. "Are you out of your mind? You were the one who gave it to me!"
The Golden Lion heard him, and as if he'd remembered something, laughed. "Oh, is that so?"
To this, Dr. Indigo was already too lazy to complain.
Outside the door, the veins on the tall man's forehead bulged, and his face was filled with impatience. "Shiki, are you done yet?!"
The Golden Lion was startled. He subconsciously looked back, his mouth agape. "Ochoku! Why are you here?!"
Hearing this, Dr. Indigo and Scarlet once again became extremely fierce and slapped Shiki hard. "You were the one who brought him up here!"
The tall man, whom Shiki had called Ochoku, put a hand to his forehead, a look of someone who was doubting his own existence on his face. Then, Ochoku took a deep breath, casually pulled a sword from a guard at the door, and his entire being became abnormally cold.
"Stop looking for any Archangel! I'll perform the craniotomy for you myself!"
Outside the door, a group of doctors saw this, their backs covered in sweat. They all rushed forward to hold Ochoku back, urging him to calm down.
Soon, the Golden Lion finally calmed down and, with the five floating wooden boxes, walked out the door. He took one last look at the two subordinates who had waited for him and planned his rescue even after he had been captured and the Flying Pirates had disintegrated. Without looking back, he, along with the impatient Ochoku and the doctors, boarded a long-prepared sailing ship and headed for the King's Plateau.
On the deck of the floating ship, Ochoku stood with his arms crossed and casually glanced at the bloody wound on Shiki's abdomen. "Shiki, what's with that wound?"
To this, the Golden Lion, with a cigar in his mouth, revealed a mysterious smile through the smoke. "You mean this? I tripped and fell on a knife this morning!"
Ochoku heard him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
On the floating archipelago that was gradually moving away from Dressrosa, Dr. Indigo silently pushed up his glasses, an expression on his face that was vastly different from before. He took a deep breath and instructed a large group of grunts below, "Everyone, head to the marked areas. If the island loses control, open the cages! I've already given them the order to attack Dressrosa!"
"And you all... if any of you survive... no matter what... attack Dressrosa."
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