It had to be said, the vegetation on this island was truly pitiful. After leaving the city, there wasn't a single tree in sight. The only greenery that survived was the wild grass scattered across the land.
"It's all because of the war. Any usable resources can't be spared," said Katherin, who clearly understood the situation better than the rest.
"How long have your countries been at war?" Shirakawa asked.
"Who knows? The war had already started when I was born. It's said to have lasted for decades, going back to my great-grandfather's generation. At first, it was just small skirmishes, but now it seems like they're ready to fight for real."
"Then how did you end up here? It shouldn't be possible for you to get here alone."
"There was a traitor in our kingdom."
Katherine clenched her teeth as she spoke, clearly filled with hatred.
"He lured me outside the city, but there was already a squad of enemy soldiers lying in wait. Unsurprisingly, I was captured. While they were escorting me back to their royal capital, I seized the chance and escaped."
"You escaped? You? How?" Shirakawa was surprised. A weak girl with no combat ability managing to flee from trained soldiers?
"I had knockout powder on me. When they were cooking, I slipped it into their food. Once they all passed out, I ran."
"Well, you were lucky. If even a few of them hadn't eaten, you'd never have gotten away. But I'm curious, why were you carrying knockout powder?"
"Hehe… I use it for pranks. Didn't think it'd come in handy like that," Katherine said sheepishly, sticking out her tongue.
"Pranks… with knockout powder? You're seriously mischievous."
Shirakawa didn't even know how to respond anymore.
"I'm starting to suspect your father got sick of your tricks and purposely tried to send you to the Moll Kingdom."
"Impossible! My father's not that kind of person. Don't say nonsense!"
"Fine, fine. I won't say anything."
Along the way, Shirakawa gradually came to understand why Katherine was here and what her country was like.
Unlike the militaristic kingdom they were in now, the Moll Kingdom focused more on internal governance. Although they were somewhat weaker militarily, their administration was the best of the three nations, and the people's loyalty and sense of belonging were strongest there.
"What about you guys? Where are you from?" After introducing herself, Katherine was now curious about the trio.
"Buggy and I are from the West Blue," Shanks said as he slung his arm around Buggy's neck in a friendly gesture.
"The West Blue? Buggy, you're from the West Blue? I always thought you were from the East Blue," Shirakawa said. He knew Shanks was from the West Blue, but he'd assumed Buggy was from the East Blue, after all, in One Piece, Luffy met Buggy in the East Blue.
"Of course, I'm from the West Blue. Everyone from the East Blue is some kind of big shot, I couldn't take that pressure!"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the captain, the first mate, they're from the East Blue. Even Garp from the Navy is from there. If I were from the East Blue, maybe I'd be as strong as the first mate by now."
"Hmph." Shirakawa sneered at that.
"With your personality, it doesn't matter where you're from. If you want to get stronger, you'd be better off finding a powerful Devil Fruit to eat."
"No way. A Devil Fruit worth 100 million berries? That'd be a waste to eat. Selling it for money is the proper way to use it."
"Heh, such a money-grubber. If you're not strong, no amount of money will keep you safe."
"What about you? Where are you from?"
Though Katherin didn't quite follow the conversation between the three, she did gather that Shanks and Buggy were from a place called the West Blue.
"Me? I'm from the sky." Shirakawa pointed upward.
"The sky? You're lying, right?" Katherine said in disbelief. How could someone be from the sky?
"You don't believe me? Ask those two, they saw me come down from the sky."
"It's true. Shirakawa descended from the sky and scared the hell out of us," Shanks confirmed.
To this day, Shirakawa still doesn't know why he appeared near the Roger Pirates. Maybe it was Roger's strong Conqueror's Haki that attracted his kingly power.
"Wow, then you're something," Katherine said, though her tone suggested she wasn't fully convinced.
"If you don't believe me, I can't help it." Shirakawa shrugged.
Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves, fast, urgent, and coming straight for them.
"What is it, Shirakawa?" Shanks asked, noticing Shirakawa suddenly stop, and his expression turned serious.
He knew Shirakawa wouldn't change expressions for no reason; something was happening.
"Someone's coming. Probably an enemy."
As he said that, Shirakawa's gaze snapped toward the distance, and he saw a black-scaled horse charging toward them.
As the horse drew closer, Katherin saw the fat figure riding it and her expression changed dramatically.
"Who is that?" Shirakawa asked, noticing her reaction.
"That's the infamous butcher, Akda. He's both the city lord and the general in charge of defense."
"Is that so? Then it looks like we're his target."
Not far from Shirakawa's group, Akda brought his horse to a halt. He leered at Katherin with a disgusting, lascivious expression.
"Princess Katherin, why did you leave without saying goodbye? That's very rude of you," he said mockingly.
As he spoke, Katherin quickly ducked behind Shirakawa in fear.
"Oh, you want to say they kidnapped you? Don't worry. I'll kill them all and escort you back personally."
Hearing that, Katherine trembled uncontrollably.
"Hey, you pig-faced bastard. You sure talk big for someone who looks like that," Buggy said. He despised people like Akda. He'd survived encounters with monsters like Garp, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard; some city general wasn't going to scare him.
"Pig? Did you just call me a pig?"
Akda's expression turned dangerously dark at the word.
"That's right. You're a fat pig. You dare say you'll kill us? Go ahead and try."
Who knew where Buggy got the courage to say that?
"Then I'll start with you!"
Akda suddenly charged from his horse straight at Buggy, raising his massive blade to take Buggy's head.
Buggy froze; he hadn't expected the fat man to be that quick.
Luckily, Shanks reacted immediately. He drew his sword and stepped in front of Buggy, blocking Akda's strike.
Shanks was the type who didn't talk much in battle. When things got serious, he simply fought with everything he had.