Night, the private suite's independent courtyard at the hot spring hotel.
The ground was paved with natural cobblestones, and several low stone lanterns emitted a soft glow, illuminating the misty hot spring pool.
Lin Xia "melted" by the pool, squinting, lazily gazing up at the starry sky.
"If that guy Garp hadn't come, today would have been a perfect vacation."
Clatter—
A faint sound came from the bamboo grove by the courtyard wall.
Lin Xia languidly spoke, "Next time you don't need to deliberately make a sound when you come; I have nothing to hide."
As his words fell, a slight rustle of footsteps gradually approached.
Suddenly, a delicate girl's face appeared upside down in Lin Xia's vision, filling his entire sight.
The girl had soft black hair, and a pair of wolf ears trembled slightly with her breathing.
She pursed her lips, her expression calm, her black, jewel-like eyes unblinking, as she met Lin Xia's gaze.
A moment later, a barely perceptible blush colored her cheeks.
Lin Xia then smiled, "Playing a staring game, when have you ever beaten me, Texas?"
"Tell me, what trouble have those rats stirred up now?"
Hearing the question, Texas straightened up and calmly replied,
"Recently, the Kuja Pirates have been causing a ruckus all over the West Blue. Rumor has it they are looking for men."
With a whoosh, Lin Xia raised his right hand, casually dug at his ear, and pouted, "They're not looking for men; they're looking for excellent genes."
Seeing that he was not interested in the topic, Texas continued, "The Mafia's Benn Family recently started abducting children."
Suddenly, she felt the air around her grow colder and unconsciously hunched her shoulders.
"Is that so?" Lin Xia's tone was flat. "Doesn't Benn deal in cigars? After all these years, why is he suddenly abducting children?"
His voice abruptly turned cold, "He's been in the West Blue for so long; doesn't he know the rules?"
"Recently, some news spread widely in the Underworld, though no one knows where it originated," Texas paused, "The World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, will be visiting the West Blue."
"I see. So the Benn Family plans to abduct some children to offer to the Celestial Dragons, hoping to curry favor."
Lin Xia sat up, only his feet still in the hot spring, his gaze fixed on the steam rising from the pool.
"How many families are involved?"
"Five families. They are all abducting women, children, Fish-Men, and other rare races."
At this, Texas's wolf ears twitched twice—she herself belonged to a rare race, said to be a distant relative of the Mink Tribe.
Lin Xia stood up and walked towards the room, casually grabbing a towel to dry himself.
"Let Lappland handle three families, and you handle two."
Texas followed behind him, taking the towel and naturally wiping his back:
"The Maron Family's actions are strange. They seem to be retracting their influence recently, not even retaliating against provocations from smaller families."
"As the largest Mafia in the West Blue, this reaction is quite unusual."
Lin Xia walked back into the room naked, went to the tea table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
"The Maron Family has been entrenched in the West Blue for over a hundred years; their instincts are not something those smaller families can compare to."
"Leave them alone for now. If Rocks is found, report it immediately."
"Understood." Texas acknowledged the order and turned to leave.
Lin Xia smiled and said,
"Oh, and Lappland's birthday is in a few days. Remember to prepare a gift; it would be a good signal to improve your relationship."
Texas paused, then lightly pushed off with her feet, leaping into the night sky.
"Understood."
Lin Xia shook his head, sipping his tea and continuing to ponder.
First, the Kuja Pirates—they came from Amazon Lily, the Women's Island in the Calm Belt.
It was a country of only women, where almost all combatants possessed Armament Haki and had astonishing combat power.
Moreover, almost every empress was the most beautiful woman in the world.
The Kuja Pirates were a pirate crew led by the empress of Amazon Lily.
This pirate crew was very special; while they engaged in piracy, they also traded with various islands, selling goods.
As for the so-called "looking for men," it was actually just to perpetuate the bloodline of the Women's Island.
Lin Xia speculated that eligible members of the Women's Island would be taken by the empress into the pirate crew, sailing around to find suitable partners and have children on the spot.
It was highly likely that the people of the Women's Island could only give birth to girls.
Of course, these were just personal speculations.
Kuja was a very troublesome pirate crew.
Its members were all beautiful and powerful, and wherever they went, they would cause quite a stir.
Because they had a country backing them, the World Government had always wanted to recruit Amazon Lily as an allied nation.
So they received some preferential treatment, which meant the Marines couldn't actively attack them.
Kuja also never actively attacked the Marines, which often resulted in the Marines only being able to act as a send-off party, watching them leave.
As for the Roger Pirates, this future Pirate King's crew was still quite green at the moment.
Last month, they were reportedly in the Grand Line, and he hadn't expected them to show up in the West Blue this month.
However, even a green Roger Pirates had no reason to fight the Kuja to a draw.
Which means... Roger held back?
Their overall strength was formidable, and they were also a big problem.
Finally, Rocks... thump-thump-thump, Lin Xia's fingers rhythmically tapped the tea table.
This guy was a lawless madman. A few years ago, he was already plundering everywhere, killing nobles, fighting the Marines, and roaming the Four Blues.
He hadn't expected him to actually dare to go to the Holy Land and kill an Admiral.
Rocks might truly be strong, perhaps even stronger than Roger and Garp.
But that still didn't explain why he was able to escape from the Holy Land unscathed.
Did he really think Mary Geoise had no masters?
Not to mention Imu hidden near the Empty Throne, just the Gorosei and God's Knights would be enough to stop Rocks.
If those guys were really that useless, he would have led people up there long ago.
So, they deliberately let Rocks go.
What was the reason?
"Thump-thump-thump—"
A knock on the door interrupted Lin Xia's thoughts.
With a whoosh, Lin Guang pushed the door open. Seeing Lin Xia drinking tea naked, he remained upright and reported without changing his expression:
"The Kuja Pirates have arrived at Red Feast Island. The first mate, Boa Hancock, is leading them."
"Let them come. This is already the largest trading island in the West Blue, with a full range of goods."
Lin Xia responded indifferently.
The empress of Kuja also understood boundaries; after all, they had a country behind them, and causing too much trouble would make things difficult for their citizens.
Lin Guang continued to report:
"The Roger Pirates also followed, chasing Shakuyaku to the commercial street."
"Oh? Does that mean Roger is smitten with Shakuyaku? That's fine; pirates can fall in love freely, too."
Lin Xia understood. No wonder the previous report said the Roger Pirates and Kuja fought to a draw; he was reluctant to strike hard.
Lin Guang then reported, "Vice Admiral Garp is currently strolling through the commercial street."
"Bang!"
Lin Xia slammed his palm on the tea table and abruptly stood up.
"Next time, say it all at once!"
He casually grabbed a yukata and put it on. "No need to call those lads; it's a good vacation, can't make them work overtime."
As he walked out, he gritted his teeth, "I knew that bastard Garp's arrival would mean trouble."
...
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