Grand Line, Paradise, St. Poplar, September 1492 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
"Hey yo, BABY, get hype!!"
"Zimu~zimu~zimu♪~~~"
"If I get too thin I'll be too popular, so I can't afford to lose weight on purpose~~Funk♪~!!"
St. Poplar, the Town of the Spring Queen, a beautiful city of eternal spring.
On a temporarily built stage, Queen, who hadn't yet fully ballooned into his spherical shape, was singing and dancing wildly.
His exposed upper torso still faintly showed traces of what were once an eight-pack.
The passing tourists all gave the stage strange looks without the slightest intention of stopping.
"What a strange guy. What is he even singing? Weird melodies."
"Right, right, let's hurry up and go. It would be terrible if we got tangled up with him."
"Hey, doesn't his face look familiar? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before..."
"..."
The song ends.
Hearing the whispers from below, Queen spat to the side.
"Dammit! Why do I have to perform here for these guys who don't know how to appreciate art!?"
"It's all that madman Judge's fault! I told him not to research Lineage Factors! If it weren't for him, I should still be in MADS right now!!"
The angrier he got, the more the microphone in his hand was deformed by his tight grip.
"Found him!"
"We are CP4, affiliated with the World Government! Illegal scientist Scien, you are under arrest for endangering the safety of the seas!!"
"Stop! Don't run!!"
"Only a fool wouldn't run."
Queen muttered under his breath, turned, smashed through the wooden board with the words [Queen Concert] on it, and charged straight into a pitch-black alley.
"You damn hunting dogs, I won't let you get away with this!"
"I am Queen! I will become the King of Singing and Dancing Sci… No! I am Queen-sama, who will become the greatest scientist!!"
"I'll definitely be back!!!"
…
At the same time, on Sabaody Archipelago.
A ship flying a jolly roger with a horned skull suddenly fell from the sky, crashing into the offshore waters near the Shipyard at Grove 50.
"Babanuki, move quickly! Get us sailing again before those persistent, leech-like Marines show up!"
Kaido strode out of the cabin, followed by King, now wearing black leather clothes and his mask, and Bazel.
"King, the ship's safety is your responsibility. Bazel and I are going to look around inside."
"Understood, Kaido-san."
King waved a hand towards the crew behind him.
"Babanuki, have your men split up. Some go find shipwrights to repair this ship, others go procure supplies for the voyage."
"Yes, King-sama!"
Unlike his interactions with Bazel, Babanuki wouldn't dare use familiar terms like 'Aniki' with King.
If Bazel was the brains of the Beasts Pirates, kind, patient, and thorough, then King was their blade… aloof, serious, and delivering death to anyone who crossed the crew's bottom line.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! We're staying here for 6 hours at most. Get everything we need done within 6 hours!"
Babanuki's roars echoed across the dock.
"Toki, you guys stay on the ship."
Before leaving, Bazel held Toki's hand and instructed her.
"This is Sabaody Archipelago, not a place for casual strolls. Big Bro Kaido and I are just going in to buy a few things, we'll be back soon."
"I understand, please be careful." Toki said worriedly, holding onto Bazel's hand.
"Don't worry, I haven't fully digested the essence from that meal I had last time yet, and my strength has increased quite a bit."
Bazel joked, deliberately flexing his bicep.
As for the culinary essence he mentioned…
It naturally referred to that giant lantern fish that had lived for hundreds of years.
One month ago, the Beasts Pirates shared that lantern fish, which possessed super vitality.
The part with the most life essence, the lantern, was naturally consumed by Bazel and the other true core members.
Unlike a normal lantern fish, this super-sized one that had eaten Pure Gold and digested it, converting it into nutrients, didn't have a lantern made of simple photocyte cells.
Perhaps because of the Pure Gold.
The inside of that glowing great lantern was filled with a meaty texture like golden jelly.
It was smooth but not greasy to eat. Paired with the special fruit dipping sauce Toki made, Bazel and the others felt like they could have swallowed their own tongues.
And this special sashimi dish did not disappoint.
The most direct changes were seen in the two women in the crew.
Olga was already young, so major changes in her skin weren't as apparent.
Toki, on the other hand, as she slowly digested the meal over time, found her skin becoming increasingly firm, supple, and hydrated.
Moreover, she began to emit a pleasant fragrance.
Strangely, however, this fragrance seemed to be something only Bazel could smell.
Whether it was Kaido or King, they only felt that Toki seemed somewhat different, while the fragrance was completely undetectable to them.
'Well, maybe it's because Toki likes you so much that she emits that nice smell when she's alone with you.'
'Anyway, Arber and I can't smell it.'
Kaido said this at the time, and Bazel looked surprised.
Toki didn't refute it either, just blushed prettily, looking at Bazel with shy eyes in her gaze.
It was precisely because of Kaido's accidental assist that time that their relationship progressed by leaps and bounds over the next month.
Apart from the final step, they had basically done everything a couple would do.
As for why they didn't go further...
It was entirely because the environment didn't allow it. Over a hundred people were crammed onto a single brig.
Any significant noise, not to say the whole ship could hear it, would be pretty close.
Bazel didn't have the fetish of being overheard.
"Didn't you see for yourself? With Big Bro Kaido's help, I've gotten even stronger."
"My Yamata's Phantom was called a calamity-like attack by them."
The life essence from the lantern fish didn't just bring increased lifespan, Bazel was highly sensitive to his own physical condition.
In the month since eating the lantern fish, his physical strength had been continuously increasing.
It didn't stop even while sleeping or bathing.
Coupled with the occasional tutoring sessions Kaido held, his current strength was at least three times greater than when he first became a pirate.
According to Kaido's assessment…
'You might not be able to beat Shiki yet, but you've got the capital to resist now. Even if you fight, you won't be defeated as easily as last time.'
"Yes, yes, yes, you're the best."
After straightening Bazel's collar, Toki stood on her tiptoes and gave the man a light kiss on the lips, then slipped a note into his breast pocket.
"If everything goes smoothly, please help me bring back some clothes."
"Mm, I'll remember. I'm off then."
With those words, Bazel quickened his pace to catch up with Kaido, who had already disembarked.
"Big Bro Kaido, did you arrange to meet someone here?"
"Can't hide anything from you, as expected."
Kaido wasn't surprised Bazel guessed. After all, how could one head compare to eight thinking together?
"It's a comrade I sailed with before. I'm short on cash lately, so I asked him for some."
"Captain John from the Rocks Pirates?" Bazel pressed.
Hearing that name, Kaido showed a look of surprise.
"Where did you hear that? I shouldn't have mentioned him to you guys, right?"
"The news."
Bazel pulled out a newspaper.
"This is yesterday's paper. Someone saw Captain John of the Rocks Pirates at Sabaody Archipelago."
"Combined with what you just said, it must be him without a doubt."
"As expected of you."
A red light flashed in Kaido's eyes as he spread his Observation Haki, searching for that familiar presence.
"Right, it's that cowardly Nitoryu Master."
"During the battle at God Valley back then, he and Shiki were the first to run. They rode off on a piece of God Valley's land straight into the Calm Belt."
'The Calm Belt?'
Bazel pondered for a moment before exclaiming in surprise, "I remember God Valley is in the West Blue, right? So that means, after you all started fighting, the two of them returned to the New World?"
"Found him."
Kaido suddenly turned his head to look southwest.
There was an alley there, and standing at its entrance was a man with light pink hair, a captain's coat, and stubble.
"That guy John went straight back to Hachinosu in the New World and took most of the treasure before the rest of us could return."
"As for why he's coming to give me money... Wororororo!"
"It's because that bastard Shiki is short on cash lately too. John plans to form an alliance with me to repel him first."
"Should I say long time no see, John!"
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