Chapter 191: The Eve
In the sunflower fields of Dressrosa, Louis sat leaning against a large tree, enjoying the fragrance of the flowers and the pleasant caress of the breeze.
On a rock nearby, a Den Den Mushi with two styles of decoration opened its eyes and, mimicking Shiki's current appearance, let out an arrogant laugh.
"Shishishishi—"
"You've run into trouble, Louis!"
"The whole New World knows that your man cut off one of that Whitebeard's sons."
"Now the whole New World is waiting for you two to go to war, so they can come and clean up the mess!"
"And the Marines, who received the news even earlier, have already had a rather large fleet go missing."
Hearing this, Louis didn't pay much mind. "If you're just calling to say this, then don't waste my time," he said calmly.
Louis's words made Shiki, who was far away on Hachinosu, pout. "Tch. You're clearly just a brat who's not even eighteen, yet you're even more boring than those eighty-year-old geezers! Forgetting about not drinking, you don't even have a bit of the hot blood and arrogance a young person should have. Talking to you always gives me the feeling that you're the old geezer, and I'm the young one!"
"Get to the point," Louis said, annoyed, raising an eyebrow.
"..."
Hearing him, the Golden Lion stopped his nonsense and directly stated his purpose. "I say, do you want to use that favor and have me help you take out Newgate? I feel that there are a few too many top-tier or reserve top-tier powers in the New World now. It's necessary to cut one or two down."
Shiki stated that the current situation in the New World, with three top-tier powers and four that were just one step away, was too ridiculous.
"You've heard, right? A guy who can fight Kaido to a standstill suddenly appeared in the Land of Wano, and he even has the top-tier Logia - the Rumble-Rumble Fruit! That guy is not to be underestimated either. Once he starts recruiting, there might be another power!"
Even someone as strong as Shiki, who was on par with Roger and Whitebeard, had a considerable headache after seeing the current lineup in the New World, and he frankly stated that this situation was so absurd that even Rocks would call it ridiculous if he came back to life. The thought that in the future, there might be a situation where seven or eight pinnacle existences coexisted in the New World made even Shiki's hair stand on end.
This many top-tier fighters, almost the number of the Seven Warlords, gathered in the small New World could create too much uncertainty. Therefore, Shiki had the idea of joining forces with Louis to take out Whitebeard, who was currently the strongest, first. And this would conveniently use up one of the favors he had just incurred.
To this, Louis didn't even think before directly refusing. "No need. It's something I can solve myself. It's not worth using the favor you owe me." Louis felt that a precious favor from a top-tier powerhouse like him should be saved for Marine Headquarters.
On the other side, Shiki heard him and raised an eyebrow, a grin on his face. "I take back what I said!"
"What did you say?" A hint of confusion flashed in Louis's eyes.
Facing Louis's confusion, Shiki's iconic laughter came through the Den Den Mushi. "Shishishishi— Now you sound a bit more like a young person!" Shiki stated that the current Louis now had that unique sense of a young person who thinks the heavens are the greatest and he's the second, and a confidence that doesn't know the meaning of death.
"A boring sense of humor," Louis said again.
Seeing that he couldn't change Louis's mind, Shiki gradually lost interest, and his tone became casual. "In that case, then I wish you fewer losses." Shiki felt that even if they did fight, it wouldn't escalate to the point of life and death.
Then, just as suddenly as he had called, Shiki hung up.
Hachinosu - in the gradually established palace.
Shiki slowly lit a cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "It failed!"
"In that case, why don't you just go over there yourself? Then who dies will be up to you, won't it?" Nearby, Ochoku stood with his arms crossed, quietly gazing at the gradually changing landscape of Hachinosu.
However, Shiki refused through the smoke. "No. If Louis doesn't agree to use the favor, I'm not going there. I feel that, compared to being a third party and intervening on the battlefield, there is something more suitable to do."
Ochoku heard him and his interest was piqued. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?"
The corners of Shiki's mouth turned up slightly. He took out the Den Den Mushi of his intelligence personnel and let out a laugh that could be described as terrifying. "Shishishishi— We need a battlefield that is no less than Louis's and Whitebeard's. To announce the birth of the fourth pinnacle power—no, the return of the second top-tier power! And I've already thought of a particularly great title to hang in front of my name after the victory."
"What title?" Ochoku turned to look.
Shiki turned his head and showed Ochoku a profile filled with a crazed smile. "How about... Emperor of the Seas?" he said meaningfully.
Under a large tree in the middle of the sunflowers.
Louis stood up, gazing at the endless sea of sunflowers before him, and fell into thought. "Whitebeard... the missing Marine fleet."
Just then, a young girl in a magnificent dress with long red and white hair walked out from among the sunflowers with a smile, looking as if she had expected this. Then, a faint smile appeared on Uta's face as she strode gracefully to Louis.
"Louis, are you worried about the Marines and Whitebeard?"
To this, Louis first glanced at the girl who had suddenly appeared, and then gave a negative answer. "No. I'm thinking, if we fight, what will we get after the battle?"
Louis explained that he was not troubled by the disparity in military strength, but was thinking about what tangible benefits he could gain from a fight with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Hearing this, Uta crossed one arm and tapped her chin with the other, assuming a thoughtful pose. "Hmm—"
In the end, her face was uncertain, and then it visibly became dazed until she gave up on thinking. It was clear that Uta also couldn't think of any tangible benefits to be gained from fighting the Whitebeard Pirates.
Then, she looked carefully at Louis and asked tentatively, "Then should we avoid this fight? Do you need me to use my singing voice to control the pirates under Whitebeard?"
To this, Louis looked surprised. "Why should we avoid fighting them? But there are hidden benefits, and they are not to be underestimated," Louis said concisely.
"..."
Uta heard him, wanting to say something but holding back.
"Let's go. Daz and the others have brought back the person I wanted." Just then, Louis spread his flawless white wings and extended a hand to Uta.
Hearing this, Uta nodded slightly, then took Louis's outstretched hand and skillfully sat on his shoulder. Then, Louis flapped his snow-white wings and, with a fierce hurricane, rose into the air, heading straight for the castle on the King's Plateau.
With the heavy gate being opened by a puppet, two figures, one tall and one short, slowly stepped into the castle hall, appearing before Daz Bonez and the other, who had just returned not long ago.
Daz Bonez, dressed in a suit similar to a CP agent's, sat on the sofa with his arms crossed. On another sofa, a young girl in a deep red maid's uniform was lighting a cigarette, her thoughts unknown as she puffed away.
Suddenly, Baby-5 caught sight of the girl with the red and white hair out of the corner of her eye. In an instant, she jolted, trembling all over. A terrified look appeared in her eyes, and the fear on her body almost materialized as a dark smoke.
Uta: "." To be honest, Uta had never been so feared by anyone in her entire life. Others who saw this scene would probably think she was a terrifying, abusive demon. To this, Uta had also tried to struggle, but the consequence was that Baby-5 became more and more afraid of her. This fear, which was only directed at Uta, even overshadowed her psychological illness, making her tremble as she refused Uta's requests. This point had amazed everyone who knew Baby-5's personality.
Uta looked at Baby-5's appearance, shook her head, and, lacking interest, returned to her room.
After Uta left, Louis's gaze fell on the man on the ground who was bound in chains, his hands locked behind his back with Seastone. He was wearing a green overcoat, and his face was also covered by a green mask. He had a long tongue sticking out, and he looked like a lizardman.
"Chameleon... a title that fits the name," Louis assessed after a moment's observation. This thing was not just its ability; even its appearance was quite like a chameleon.
After a glance, Louis snapped his fingers again, summoned a pair of puppets, and had them take him to the deepest part of the dungeon, to temporarily keep company with Sugar.
Then, Louis turned to face Daz Bonez and Baby-5 and said with a smile, "Good work, Daz, Baby-5."
To this, Daz Bonez just nodded silently and did not reply. But Baby-5, after receiving the feedback of being needed, had a happy look on her face. "It's what I should do!"
"."
?
Louis looked at the completely different Baby-5 and fell into thought. He was thinking, should he let her be under Uta's command for a while, to let Uta give her some tough medicine.
After temporarily setting this idea aside, Louis took out his Den Den Mushi. While dialing Road, he instructed the expressionless Daz Bonez, "Daz, activate your intelligence network. Find a way to contact the Vinsmoke Family."
Daz Bonez nodded. "Alright."
As his words fell, Daz Bonez took out his Den Den Mushi and began to carry out Louis's order.
While Daz was carrying out his order, Louis gave another instruction to Baby-5. "In my name, go and gather Kuina, Kyros, and those pirate captains. We've been in Dressrosa for a little too long. It's time to be active on the seas again." Louis said this while using the Den Den Mushi to have Yelena and the others change their course.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!