Sanji frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes.
He coldly glanced at Kin'emon, then took a deep drag from the cigarette at the corner of his mouth, the tip instantly glowing red.
Immediately after, he suddenly launched a kick, landing squarely on Kin'emon's face.
The kick was not light, sending Kin'emon staggering back several steps.
"Samurai, be more polite when speaking to Miss Violet, especially to a lady who is helping you!"
Sanji's voice carried an undeniable seriousness, his eyes full of warning.
In his opinion, he could never tolerate anyone being so rude to a lady, no matter the circumstances.
Kin'emon was kicked so suddenly that his face became bruised and swollen, and he was completely stunned.
His head buzzed, and he saw stars, taking a while to recover.
When he finally came to, he heard Sanji's words and realized that his own language had indeed been inappropriate.
Kin'emon quickly performed a dogeza, kneeling with a thud before Violet, and said with sincere shame:
"My apologies, madam, my words were somewhat offensive.
It was my fault.
Please, in your great generosity, overlook my small-mindedness and help me rescue my compatriots.
I would be eternally grateful!"
As he spoke, he bowed his head deeply, his posture incredibly sincere.
"I merely wished to go to the Toy House as soon as possible to rescue Kanjuro, and so I was rude."
Sanji stood in the alley, his gaze vigilantly scanning the surroundings, his brows furrowing unconsciously.
At some unknown point, Dressrosa's once bustling streets were now filled with Marines.
Teams of Marines were neatly lined up, a truly spectacular sight, yet one that made hearts tighten.
"We are also anxious to go to the Toy House, but the situation here is a bit urgent right now."
Sanji frowned, pointing towards the arena.
"Look at the number of Marines near the arena."
"What are all these people doing?"
Kin'emon also leaned in, muttering with a face full of confusion.
Sanji looked up at the large screen above the plaza, where Luffy was standing face-to-face with Chinjo.
The atmosphere between them was tense, as if they were about to come to blows at any second.
"Although pirates and criminals can participate in this tournament, it seems the Marines intend to capture them all the moment they leave," Sanji analyzed while observing.
"Those are all criminals; being arrested is only natural, isn't it?"
Kin'emon, however, saw nothing wrong with it and casually replied.
The moment these words left his mouth, Sanji instantly flew into a rage, raising his hand and delivering a resounding slap to Kin'emon's face, loudly reprimanding him:
"Don't you dare forget that you're also on a pirate ship!
We'll be the ones getting caught then, and you're still making sarcastic remarks!"
Kin'emon was so stunned by the slap that he saw stars, covering his face, unable to speak for a long time.
Sanji then came to his senses, suddenly realizing that his impulsive action had been inappropriate, especially in front of Violet.
He turned to see Violet looking at him with a shocked expression, her beautiful eyes wide with surprise, as if she hadn't expected Sanji to have such a fiery and rough side.
Sanji immediately felt a bit awkward, clearing his throat to try and ease the slightly embarrassing atmosphere.
He then quickly reached up to straighten his tie, making himself appear a little more presentable.
Then, he bowed slightly, his face apologetic, and said, "I apologize, Miss Violet, I shouldn't have done something so ungentlemanly in front of you."
Afterward, Sanji's expression grew even more serious, his gaze fixed on the arena, his brows practically twisted into a knot.
"Indeed, he's someone Orochimaru would value; he truly has a way.
To think he'd try to use the Marine to exert pressure; he's playing a very clever game."
Sanji mused to himself, knowing that if the situation continued to develop like this, it would be extremely disadvantageous for their side.
"I need to find a way to inform Luffy inside quickly, otherwise, when the Marine closes their net, it will be disastrous."
But the problem was that the contestant entrance was now tightly sealed, guarded by Marines armed with live ammunition, their vigilance strict.
Breaking through the defense to deliver a message would be incredibly difficult.
Sanji observed the situation there while quickly pondering countermeasures in his mind, but for a while, it was genuinely hard to come up with a perfect solution.
And it wasn't just the Marine who noticed something was amiss; Sanji also felt increasingly uneasy.
The arena was originally a place for various contestants to enter and exit for matches.
Logically speaking, if there was an entrance, there should naturally be an exit.
But now, people were only seen entering, with no eliminated contestants seen coming out, as if the arena had become a giant cage from which none could exit.
Sanji muttered to himself, secretly thinking that there must be some unspeakable secret hidden within, and he had to find a way to uncover it, otherwise, their subsequent actions might all be affected.
And at this moment, the limping soldier toy, perched on Franky's shoulder, spoke slowly with a hint of gravity, recounting to Franky the darkness hidden beneath Dressrosa's surface.
"Ever since Doflamingo ascended to the throne of Dressrosa ten years ago, two laws have been strictly observed.
The first is that all lights nationwide are extinguished at midnight, and no one is allowed outside afterward.
Humans must return to their homes, and toys must return to the Toy House.
No one is absolutely allowed to be outside in the deep night."
It paused slightly, then continued: "
The second law is that toys must never enter human homes, and humans must never enter the Toy House."
Franky listened, completely bewildered, his eyes wide, and he asked loudly with a face full of confusion:
"What?
Everyone looked like they got along quite well, so why prohibit even something like this?"
He scratched his metal head, truly unable to understand why there were such strange and strict rules behind the seemingly harmonious Dressrosa.
However, after a brief thought, he found it quite reasonable.
"After all, in the end, it's just that insurmountable, sorrowful dividing line between artificial objects and living beings," Franky mumbled to himself.
Then, he changed the subject and continued: "But speaking of which, I don't find you guys strange at all now, but what's the deal with you toys?
You have your own consciousness and can speak.
Who is the Vegapunk-level engineer who created you?
Could it be Orochimaru?
It shouldn't be, since you've existed for ten years."
Franky frowned, his mind full of questions.
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