In the vast primeval forest, an armadillo-like beast over ten meters tall sprinted on all fours. Its body was extremely long, and it could cross dozens of meters with every step.
Don Chinjao, the commander of the Happo Navy, stood with his arms crossed, a wide grin splitting his face as he roared with laughter, wrinkles forming around his eyes.
"Hahahaha—"
"Well done, little bro Louis!"
"To think you actually burned that mad dog Garp's ship! Excellent, excellent!!"
His neurotic laughter made Uta and Yelena's expressions turn strange. The two young men Chinjao had brought with him blushed and subconsciously scuffed their feet.
Then, Uta, her face full of curiosity, asked Chinjao, "Chinjao, do you have a grudge against that Garp guy?"
Uta's question made Chinjao's laughter die in his throat. His expression became uncertain. Finally, he explained through gritted teeth, "Back then, my prized drill-head was flattened by Garp."
"..."
This statement left the girls bewildered. They couldn't imagine what a drill-head growing on a person's head would look like.
To this, Louis said thoughtfully, "So, that's why you offered to take the three of us to a nearby town?"
"That's right! Just thinking about that guy Garp getting his just deserts makes me feel refreshed in body and soul!" Chinjao grinned again.
The others were speechless.
...
After a long time, Louis's group and the three from the Happo Navy parted ways near a town. After refusing Chinjao's invitation, the trio gradually disappeared from his sight.
Walking back into the jungle, on the way to the Happo Navy's garrison, Chinjao took out a Den Den Mushi and called the Sanbao Navy.
"How's the situation, Chinjao?" the Den Den Mushi mimicked the old man on the other end, asking anxiously.
Chinjao recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier, his expression becoming a bit strange. "He was warmly received by your Longbo people. The oldest one among them seems to hold him in very high regard."
"..."
"Is that so?" Jin Wu put down the Den Den Mushi, looking at the boy's bounty poster in his hand as he fell into thought. After a long while, he looked at the wings on the boy's back, and as if he had realized something, his pupils trembled violently.
"Could he be one of their people..." He thought of the person who had been knocked out of the sky by his own elder in the past.
In the town, Yelena and Uta, having replenished their supplies, sat on a wooden cart pulled by cats, preparing to take the supplies back to the jungle where they had agreed to meet Louis.
Just then, the conversation of passersby caught their attention.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"It seems a huge sailing ship has docked at the coast of a nearby city. I heard it's several hundred meters long!"
"For real? How many people can a ship that's hundreds of meters long hold?!"
"I heard from people in the nearby city that they're giants! They said they came here looking for a technique left behind by a giant in the Flower Country hundreds of years ago!"
"A giant's technique?"
The voices gradually faded away, but on the cat cart, Yelena and Uta looked at each other. The passersby's description made them think of the giants they had met not long ago.
"..."
Uta, looking astonished, said softly, "It couldn't be Gerd and the others, could it?"
"The possibility is high!" Yelena felt that such powerful beings as giants were unlikely to appear in the West Blue in large groups.
...
After a while, the two returned to the vicinity of their ship and told Louis what they had heard.
"Hajrudin's destination was also this country?" Louis was also very surprised to hear this.
Yelena moved the supplies onto the ship, then turned to ask Louis, "Should we go and take a look? You wanted to recruit them, right?"
To this, Louis shook his head. "Let's not. If we run into them again so soon, they might think we're following them."
"Let's go. Let's continue our journey!"
East Blue, Loguetown.
A huge and magnificent sailing ship was docked at the port of Loguetown. On its sail was the insignia of the World Government. As far as the eye could see, this was the only ship docked at the large port; all other merchant ships and fishing boats had been driven to other ports by the Marines.
Not only that, but the entire port was now surrounded by Marines and agents in black suits, preventing anyone from approaching.
This situation attracted the attention of many people in Loguetown. Many stood in the distance, watching everything with curiosity.
"This ship... does it belong to a high-ranking official of the World Government? Why is it being guarded so heavily?" someone asked curiously.
Beside him, someone heard him and reminded him in a low voice, "It's better not to get close to that ship! A few days ago, someone got close and was beaten to death by those men in black!"
"How could... what about the Marines! Aren't they going to do anything?" someone shouted angrily.
"The Marines are cleaning up the mess..." someone whispered.
"..."
Inside the magnificent ship, the old man with black wing decorations on his back and graying hair frowned as he asked the butler standing respectfully at his side, "Still no related intelligence?"
The butler's face was filled with terror. He fell to his knees with a thud and answered with a trembling voice, "My sincerest apologies, Lord Saint Cabanha. The CP agents have already searched Loguetown and have not found any sign of the target approaching."
A shadow of gloom flashed across the face of the old man named Cabanha. "A bunch of trash!" he reprimanded.
"Yes..." The butler remained in a prostrated position, his forehead pressed against his hands.
After a long while, Cabanha posed another question to the butler. "What about the Marines? No progress on their end either?"
To this, the butler quickly replied, "A Marine branch in the New World was attacked, suspected to be by the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Fleet Admiral Sengoku has recalled Kizaru. Currently, only Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru remain..."
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Cabanha was taken aback, subconsciously repeating the words. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was one of the most powerful among the Logia types. It was indeed necessary for Borsalino, the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, to deal with it.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on Cabanha's body rang.
Brrring~ Brrring~ Brrring~
Click...
Cabanha frowned and answered it. The Den Den Mushi mimicked a young woman on the other end. "Saint Cabanha, Saint Garling requests your return to the Holy Land."
"Tsk..."
"Tell him I have important business to attend to," Cabanha said perfunctorily.
"..."
The Den Den Mushi was silent for a moment. Then, it spoke again, but this time with a different, aged voice. "Cabanha..."
Cabanha's face changed. He instantly shed his casual demeanor and said with a solemn expression, "I will return to the Holy Land immediately, Commander!"
Click... The call was cut off.
A dead silence fell in the room. On the floor, the butler trembled even more violently. He felt that after hearing the call and seeing Saint Cabanha lose face, he was likely to be silenced.
"Get out!"
The indifferent voice sounded, and the butler, as if grasping a life-saving straw, hurriedly got up and left the room.
However, just as the butler reached the corridor and turned to close the door, a long whip with countless sharp barbs shot out and lashed his body.
SPLAT...
With a dull thud, the butler instantly exploded. Blood stained half the corridor, and pieces of flesh and bone littered the floor.
The group of agents saw this, and their hair stood on end, their scalps tingling.
"Clean this up..." From within the room, Cabanha's voice sounded again, clearly reaching the agents' ears.
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