After George left, Taro also walked out of the headquarters, strolling nearby while deep in thought.
Given the Revolutionary Army's intelligence capabilities, they shouldn't have failed to receive news about Bartholomew Kuma's current situation.
Moreover, Dragon and the Okama King, Ivankov, had both seen Kuma during the Marineford War.
Ivankov even knew that Kuma had already lost his self-consciousness.
That raised a question: why wasn't Sabo coming to take Kuma back now, or even protecting him in secret?
Did he really have to wait until Kuma became a slave to the Celestial Dragons before leading the Army Commanders to infiltrate Marijoa during the World Conference to rescue him?
Something was wrong, very wrong!
The next time he saw Dragon, he had to ask and get things clear!
While pondering, Taro suddenly felt as if someone was spying on him. His heart tightened—was it CP0?
Holy crap, Vice Admiral Garp's guess was right; those spies are indeed still around!
Without breaking his stride or showing any sign of alarm, Taro slowly walked deeper into the Lawless Zone.
Damn it, if a CP0 member went missing in the Sabaody Archipelago, it would be very troublesome to explain, wouldn't it?
He couldn't kill them, yet they were such a nuisance!
"Get out here!"
Turning a corner by some ruins, Taro said coldly, "Following me all this way, you've got some nerve. You really don't learn... Holy crap, why is it you?"
Taro had thought it would be those guys from the former CP9 and was about to scold them for not having a long memory, but he was shocked to see it was Monet.
"Fufufufu, as expected of 'ink dragon' Taro. It seems you discovered I was tailing you long ago!"
Monet was currently wearing a pair of thick glasses styled like milk bottles. Her temperament was quiet, and her voice was gentle.
"What I didn't expect even more was that you would actually recognize me?"
Taro looked at Monet's still-normal human arms and legs.
He then saw the green T-shirt she was wearing; the word "Harpy" was stretched taut by her ample chest, and her left hand was clutching a book about birds.
He sighed inwardly. Why would such a pretty girl think of turning herself into a "bird person"? It was truly a waste of God's gift.
"Donquixote Doflamingo sent you?" Taro frowned.
Monet reached out and pushed her glasses up to her forehead, revealing golden-yellow eyes. "You really do know me."
"Monet, right? I know you!" Taro always had a deep impression of beautiful female characters.
Then, his tone took on a hint of mockery. "What did Doflamingo send you to find me for?"
Monet shook her head, her tone still peaceful. "No, it's just that I was quite curious about you. This has nothing to do with the Young Lord!"
She really was loyal to Doflamingo!
Taro gave a light laugh and pointed at the den den mushi at her waist. "Call him. I want to have a chat with him!"
Monet's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she was about to refuse.
But Taro had already flickered and suddenly appeared in front of Monet.
His left hand was instantly coated in Armament Haki as he grabbed her by the neck.
Thud
Monet tried to elementalize her body to escape Taro's control, but she couldn't. In her struggle, she was slammed heavily onto the ground by Taro.
"Don't move, little beauty. You can't beat me. I suggest you'd better be obedient!"
As he spoke, Taro reached out and took the den den mushi.
Monet began to struggle violently, twisting her body and flailing her limbs.
Taro gradually increased the pressure with his hand, suppressing Monet's struggle.
Just as Taro was about to pick up the receiver, blood actually seeped from the corner of Monet's mouth.
"Damn it, you stupid woman!"
Taro cursed resentfully and released Monet's neck. He hadn't expected this woman to actually plan on committing suicide by biting her tongue!
Monet's fierce reaction immediately dampened Taro's interest. He tossed the den den mushi back onto Monet and said coldly:
"Fine, I believe this was your own private action. Now speak, what is your purpose!"
This pitiful, pathetic, and lamentable stupid woman—a fool who longed to fly as free as a bird, yet was trapped in Doflamingo's 'Birdcage' her entire life. How freaking ironic!
Monet neither ran nor counterattacked. She just lay there on the ground, staring blankly at the sky of the Sabaody Archipelago. After a long time,
"Why didn't you kill me?"
"Talking to you people is really exhausting!" Taro rubbed his forehead speechlessly. He was always running into people who answered with completely unrelated questions.
Then, he leaned down, grabbed Monet by the waist, and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
Before Monet had time to make any reaction, Taro had already transformed into a Falcon and soared into the sky.
At 25GR, George, who had just finished relaying orders, looked up at the sky and froze for a moment. A Marine Soldier behind him stepped forward and whispered:
"Commodore George, that's Vice Admiral Taro, right? He seems to be carrying a woman...?"
George turned back and glared at him. "What nonsense are you talking?"
The Marine Soldier immediately flinched, not daring to say another word.
George, whose strength was a cut above the average Marine, naturally saw much more clearly than the soldiers. He could even see that the woman was quite good-looking.
"As expected of our Vice Admiral!" George lamented.
The group of Marine Soldiers behind him exchanged looks and nodded in deep agreement.
"If you struggle any more, I'll throw you down!" Taro carried Monet above the clouds, gliding on the air currents. He finally found a moment to give Monet a smack on her backside.
"Can't your Snow-Snow Fruit manifest wings to fly?"
He didn't think there was anything wrong with his previous action; instead, he was questioning Monet's development of her Devil Fruit Ability.
After being smacked by Taro's wandering hand, Monet was instantly enraged. Her mouth immediately transformed into the sharp teeth of a harpy, and she lunged to bite Taro's back.
Taro's protective Internal Energy fluctuated slightly. With a shrug of his shoulder, he tossed Monet off.
"Are you crazy!"
After being tossed off, Monet didn't panic. Instead, she spread her arms in the air, experiencing the sensation of flight like a bird, a look of satisfaction on her face.
"Damn it!"
Seeing that Monet had already fallen below the clouds and was plunging toward the sea, Taro cursed and dove down, catching Monet under his arm.
"Lunatics! You're all freaking lunatics!"
"The feeling of flying is so good!" Monet felt the powerful air currents brushing past her cheeks and commented with a smile.
Taro curled his lip, utterly speechless. "If you like flying, then develop your fruit ability properly. A Snow-Snow Fruit user who doesn't know how to fly is a joke!"
Monet shook her head gently, the smile still on her face. "No, the Young Lord doesn't need that ability!"
When she mentioned the "Young Lord," her entire being seemed to be bathed in sunlight.
Taro saw this from the corner of his eye and was stunned for a long while before saying with admiration, "Doflamingo's methods of governing his subordinates are truly impressive!"
Monet shook her head and said softly, "We are not subordinates; we are the Young Lord's family."
Family?
Doflamingo is a ruthless mogul. To achieve his goals, he wouldn't hesitate to kill even his father and brother when they needed to be discarded, let alone you people.
Taro thought of a certain livestreamer from his past life who shared the same name as the Lion King.
That guy was just like Doflamingo, always having "family" on his lips and even calling himself a "hero"!
"Don't think of yourself as too important! You're just leeks to be harvested!"
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