Chapter 174: The Brats and the Visitors
Ulti opened her eyes on a sofa in the main hall, the first thing she saw being an unfamiliar ceiling. Then, as if she had realized something, her expression became urgent, and she subconsciously turned her head to look for something. When she saw her younger brother sleeping peacefully beside her, she breathed a sigh of relief and then began to observe her surroundings.
Ulti's large pink eyes darted around, taking everything in. She discovered that she and her brother were, at some point, in a huge hall and not on a ship. The interior decoration was quite unique. On the ceiling, which was dozens of meters from the floor, soft incandescent lights shone. Not far away, several massive figures, dozens of times larger than a human, were sitting opposite each other, and the loud sound of their conversation could be heard.
Seeing this, Ulti shrank back. She knew what these were. "Giants!" Although it was her first time seeing them, their reputation and power were world-renowned.
"Why are Page One and I here?!" A bewildered look appeared in Ulti's eyes. She only remembered that she should have been sleeping in a ship's cabin. But after being woken up by a huge roar last time, she had found herself wrapped in a strange white cloud. Not long after, she and Page One had fainted for some reason, and when they woke up again, they were here.
But soon, the bewildered look in Ulti's eyes disappeared, replaced by a resolute one. She first glanced at the giants not far away, then tiptoed over to her brother's side. She gently covered his mouth and carefully woke him from his deep sleep.
"!!"
Page One was woken by Ulti and, with a groggy look in his eyes, learned of their current situation from her. Then, the two of them crept down from the sofa, which was too large for humans. However, just as the two of them landed on the ground and turned around, they were horrified to find that a figure over three meters tall, clad in thick armor and wearing a gas mask, was standing behind them at some unknown point.
After a brief daze, Ulti was the first to react. She stood directly in front of Page One, her pink eyes glaring straight at the figure blocking their way. "Where is this? And why are we here?"
To this, Yelena, who was blocking their path, was silent for a moment, then concisely explained what had happened. "This is Dressrosa. While I was defending it, I discovered one of Kaido's Devil Fruit ability's creations, a flame cloud. At that time, one of the Seven Warlords, Hanafuda, fought me for it. But in the end, after he discovered Kaido had fallen into the sea, he hurriedly rushed over to rescue him. When I turned around, the flame cloud had dissipated, and you two, unconscious, had appeared before me."
"..."
Ulti and her brother heard this, their minds nearly blank.
"Dressrosa... Kaido's flame cloud—" After a long while, Ulti, while still on guard, fell into thought. These two terms were not unfamiliar to her. When she and her brother were on the ship, they had been near Dressrosa. And Kaido... her father had often mentioned this person to them; he was a good friend of her father's.
But... "Why were we in Kaido's ability's creation?" At this moment, this question rose in Ulti's mind.
While Ulti was thinking, Yelena glanced at the siblings and asked thoughtfully, "Would you two like something to eat?"
As her words fell, the wary look on Ulti's face grew even stronger. However, just as she was about to refuse, a thunderous rumble came from her own stomach.
In front of the siblings, the corners of the mouth under Yelena's gas mask turned up slightly.
Ulti, as if sensing the playful gaze, her small face turned red, but she still stubbornly said, "We don't need it!"
But soon, a second rumble sounded from behind her. Ulti heard it, and the expression on her face froze. She turned her head, only to find Page One looking away, his face also becoming unnatural.
"Page One—"
Seeing this, Yelena thought for a moment, then slowly knelt down in front of the two. Immediately after, in their wary eyes, she took off her gas mask, revealing a beautiful face with a gentle smile. Yelena's scarlet eyes flashed with a gentle look, and in a soft voice completely different from before, she repeated the question. "Would you two like something to eat?"
"Munch munch—"
"Chew chew chew—"
At a table in front of a human-sized sofa, the brother and sister with blue and purple hair were wolfing down the food before them.
Ulti swallowed the food in her mouth, her eyes shining. She then picked up her chopsticks and dumped one of the entire plates of food into Page One's bowl. "Page One, try this!"
"..."
"This one's good too!"
"..."
"And this one!"
Faced with the unique delicacy cooked by the giant race, Ulti, who doted on her younger brother, wished she could pour all the food into his mouth.
Page One struggled to swallow the food in his mouth, looking with some despair at the food piling higher and higher in his bowl. "That's enough! It's really enough!"
After a long while, having eaten and drunk her fill, Ulti slowly took a sip of water. She then pulled up Page One, who was so full he felt like throwing up, and once again began to size up their surroundings.
Just then, Yelena and Louis, who had changed out of their heavy armor and into normal clothes, walked over and sat down directly in front of the brother and sister.
Ulti and Page One subconsciously looked at the two who had come over. At first glance, they recognized the tall, older sister with smooth white hair and black horns as the person who had just taken off her gas mask in front of them. But when their gaze shifted to Louis, the two of them froze, their eyes subconsciously drawn to him.
It took a good while for Page One to be the first to come to his senses. His pupils constricted as he recognized that this was the monster with a bounty of over three billion Berries. Then, he inconspicuously tugged on Ulti's dress, waking her up.
Louis took all this in, but didn't pay it much mind. Seeing that the time was right, he directly posed a question to them. "Is the King of Lizards - Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords, your father?"
Nearby, Yelena sat down with an elegant posture and also cast her gaze upon them.
Hearing this, Ulti shook her head at the two, giving a negative answer. "No. My brother and I don't know any King of Lizards - Hanafuda." Behind her, Page One also put on a "I don't know what you're talking about" look.
"..."
Hearing this, Louis and Yelena exchanged glances, certain of the answer in their hearts. Louis aside, even Yelena would not be deceived by such a clumsy lie. But neither of them dwelled on it.
A moment later, Yelena met Ulti's pink eyes again and asked softly, "What are your names? How old are you?"
Ulti first looked at Yelena's gentle face and was silent for a moment. Then she replied in a low voice, "I'm Ulti, thirteen."
"This is my younger brother, Page One. He's two years younger than me."
"..."
Hearing this, Yelena, who also had the "blood of the Oni" flowing through her, frowned slightly. "They're already in their teens, yet they're still so small?"
When Yelena herself was fifteen, even in that harsh environment, she was over two meters tall. And Kaido's height was over seven meters. Hanafuda was also over five meters. But Ulti and Page One were only about 1.3 to 1.4 meters tall.
This made Yelena subconsciously think that the two had been malnourished since they were young, leading to stunted growth. This made her evaluation of Hanafuda drop a few points.
"Did your family not let you eat your fill?" After a brief thought, Yelena asked carefully.
To this, Ulti and Page One looked puzzled and replied with bewildered faces, "Why would you think we don't usually get enough to eat?"
Hearing this, Yelena became a little hesitant again. Ulti and her brother's words made her begin to doubt. Was it possible that a height like theirs was normal? And it was her and Kaido who were the abnormal ones?! Yelena had heard from Louis and Hajrudin and the others that the oni horns on the heads of the "Oni" were similar to the horns on the heads of the giants of Elbaf, who had ancient giant blood. They suspected they were also descendants of the ancient giants.
Perhaps a person like Kaido, who was over seven meters tall, was a throwback to the ancient giant blood in his body? For a moment, Yelena was a little confused.
Just then, Daz Bonez slowly approached and informed Louis of some news.
"Captain, a report came from our pirates. The entire eighth division of the Whitebeard Pirates has arrived at Dressrosa and is requesting permission to land."
"The eighth division? Who's the commander?" Hearing this, Louis subconsciously asked back.
And Daz Bonez immediately gave the answer. "It's a fish-man, Namur."
Hearing this, a look of understanding flashed in Louis's eyes. "A fish-man?""Then it must be for the several fish-men and the mermaid I brought back from the trafficker base not long ago."
After learning everything, Louis replied casually, "In that case, then take those few fish-men and the mermaid and hand them over to them." Louis had no interest in the Whitebeard Pirates, so there was naturally no need to meet with them.
"Understood," Daz Bonez nodded and then decisively went to carry out Louis's command.
After Daz Bonez left, the golden retriever Mink, Serena, came looking for them again, habitually poking Louis's side. "Lord Louis! Big Brother Pedro and Big Brother Zepo are here to pick me up." Serena's voice was very soft, and she looked at Louis tentatively.
Louis heard her and raised an eyebrow, then, amidst her anxious thoughts, he stood up. "Is that so? Then take me to see them. I'm a little curious about you all."
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