Chapter 114 Kaido: Wait, Queen, I Have a Plan!

After bidding farewell to the owl, Bazel exited the library and found Loki, who was bored and dozing off.

As for Ripley.

Nothing strange had happened between them, nor was there any strange agreement, at least not now.

From a human perspective, while he also found the Tontatta Tribe adorable, there wasn't a single trace of romantic or carnal desire.

Size was one aspect.

More importantly, his feelings towards the Tontatta tribe were more akin to the affection one has for a pet.

Although describing it that way isn't entirely appropriate, the meaning is roughly the same.

Comparing a Giant's height to a human's is no different than comparing a human's height to a Tontatta's.

He believed it was the same for Ripley.

He definitely was not the Holy Sword Warrior, the SSS-rank cave adventurer Gaban, able to charge headfirst against challenges with someone so much larger than himself.

At least, not before resolving the height issue.

If he were to be honest, Bazel had always been curious about how Gaban managed it.

"Let's go, Loki. After resting for two more days, we need to prepare to set sail."

"It's a long journey from here to the Paradise.”

"Coming, coming~"

Spitting out the dogtail grass the size of a normal human from his mouth, Loki followed eagerly behind Bazel.

"Aniki, did you discover anything?"

"Hard to say. Eight hundred years is not a short time, and the things recorded in the texts are all related to myths and stories."

[The Third World]

[In the chaos, blankness emerged, the turbulent afterimage recalled that day of promise]

[The whispers of the shattered moon surfaced, the Sun God began to dance.]

Recalling the much more complex stories, Bazel vigorously rubbed his face with his hands, trying to perk himself up.

The language used to record Harley was not the ancient text.

But given the book's age…

Even Bazel was somewhat baffled by the arrangement of some phrases.

It was completely different from the brief, translated prophecies found in the manga.

"Loki, do you know what the Devil Fruit is that your Elbaf has been protecting generation after generation?"

‘Devil Fruit?’

Loki scratched his head, "That thing is a secret only known to each successive Giant King."

"And haven't you already eaten a Devil Fruit?"

"In my opinion, the Yamata no Orochi Fruit you ate is a super powerful fruit!"

Bazel chuckled wryly and didn't dwell on the topic, "Speaking of which, Loki, I remember you have a brother, right?"

‘Brother?’

Loki thought of Hajrudin's stupid face and said disdainfully, "That guy wouldn't dare show up where I am. He's weak, incredibly weak."

"If you're interested in him, big brother, I can tie him up and bring him for you to see."

Just as Bazel wanted to respond, the sudden sound of a Den Den Mushi interrupted what he was about to say.

Buru Buru Buru~~

Kacha.

"Big Brother Bazel!"

Enel's slightly anxious voice came from the Den Den Mushi wearing an afro wig.

"Babanuki and I came to the waters near Elbaf to look for News Coos, but we saw in the newspaper that something happened with the Fish-Man Tribe!"

"Many mermaids have suddenly disappeared. Traces of humans were found at the scene. The newspaper says-"

"Neptune led the Fish-Man army out of the sea yesterday evening, caused a big commotion on Sabaody Archipelago, and then left!"

"Before leaving, they warned humans to return the missing mermaids, otherwise they would completely destroy Sabaody Archipelago!!"

Stopping in his tracks, Bazel's expression froze.

∑(O?O)

‘Was Neptune this radical in the original work?’

‘Could it be that there is something wrong with my memory?’

‘Wait.’

His self-doubt was forcibly interrupted as Bazel suddenly remembered that back on Fish-Man Island, when he was drunk, he seemed to have fed Neptune quite a bit of motivational talks.

Such as-

“No one is a savior. Everyone grows up after experiencing hardships. What we can do is become the adults who inflict hardships upon each other."

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. After that, you'll find life becomes simpler, the world becomes broader."

And so on.

"...I will handle this matter personally."

At the same time, Kaido, who is far away on Sabaody Archipelago in Paradise, received a call from Bazel.

"You're talking about the Fish-Man Tribe thing? I was drunk yesterday afternoon, what happened?"

"Mermaids missing? Wororororo~ It just so happens that I’m bored and have nothing to do! Don't worry, Bazel, I'll handle it personally!"

"What?! You're telling me to pay attention to limits?"

"Ha! Bazel, since when have I ever paid attention to that sort of thing?! That's settled then, I'm going to check out those slave auction houses right now!"

Kacha.

Hanging up the Den Den Mushi decisively, Kaido snorted two jets of hot air from his nostrils and shouted excitedly:

"Hey, Shakky, there's work to do! Quickly have your underlings help me investigate the mermaid disappearance case!"

"You bastard! I've told you I'm not your servant!!"

Shakky behind the bar glared fiercely at Kaido, "If you're healed, then get out! Don't just laze around in my place! And another thing!"

"Pay me for the drinks from the past few days!!"

Kaido raised his head proudly, "I don't have any money!"

Shakky: “…”

‘Why is this guy so proud about having no money?’

"But I'll have money soon."

Stretching his slightly stiff body, the smile on Kaido's face gradually turned ferocious.

"You give me the intel, I'll go 'patronize' all the slave auction houses on Grove 1 of Sabaody."

"We split the money we snatch fifty-fifty."

Hearing this, Shakky's eyes almost instinctively turned into the shape of Berry…

But she quickly seemed to remember something and rummaged through the safe under the bar to pull out a piece of intelligence.

"It's about the mermaid disappearances, right? This intel came in early yesterday morning. My people saw a large batch of 'high-quality goods' entering that place recently."

"That auction house is on Grove 1. They're holding a mermaid-themed auction in a week, but I suggest you think twice before going."

Snatching the intelligence Shakky was waving around, Kaido looked through it but didn't find anything strange.

He immediately asked for the reason.

"The owner of that auction house is named Cronus Van Buren, a somewhat famous slave trader. You might not have heard the name."

"But this guy is quite something in the underworld."

"He specializes in the slave trade of different races: Longarm Tribe, Snakeneck Tribe, Fish-Man Tribe, and he even has some dealings with the Giant Tribe."

"But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is~"

"That guy has a Celestial Dragon backing him."

‘A Celestial Dragon?’

Kaido, who was initially a little worried, became even more excited, "I've been wanting to personally teach a Celestial Dragon a lesson to see how it feels."

"As long as I kill this guy, the Celestial Dragon will come personally, right?"

Shakky was stunned. After reacting, she hurriedly grabbed Kaido, who was about to leave.

"Hey, hey, don't bring trouble to my shop, you bastard!"

"Mine is a small business! Offending those Celestial Dragons… do you want me to eat in the future or not?!"

"Don't worry."

Kaido gave a thumbs-up, his upturned lips revealing eight large white teeth.

"Even if I get caught, I definitely won't rat you out. You're my lifesaver!"

"And soon, Bazel and I are going on a trip to Holy Land Mary Geoise. This is perfect for familiarizing ourselves with the business ahead of time."

After saying that, he broke free from Shakky's grip, dragged the pretending-to-be-dumb Queen, and quickly ran out the back door into the darkness.

"It's over…"

Shakky knelt on the ground, her background turning a gloomy gray.

"My bar is going to have to close down again…"

"Wait, Kaido-sama!!"

Queen followed behind Kaido with a tearful expression.

"Are you sure you really want to attack a Celestial Dragon? That will attract Marine’s Admirals, won't it?!"

Kaido glanced at Queen, who had regained some of his plumpness, and said disdainfully, "If I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of? If something happens, I'll take you to with me to take refuge. Just who did you inherit such a cowardly personality from?!"

"My Beasts Pirates are all daring real men. A coward like you would definitely get beaten up if you joined."

Queen felt like crying but had no tears.

‘This isn't a matter of being brave or cowardly at all!’

‘What normal person would ‘familiarize themselves with the business of beating up Celestial Dragons’ in preparation for a trip to Holy Land Mary Geoise?’

‘Wait, no!’

‘What normal person would even want to go to that damned place for tourism!?’

But this was something Queen only dared say in his heart.

If he dared talk back, he'd 100% get beaten up by Kaido again.

He simply shut his mouth and obediently followed his captain, running towards Grove 1.

After dozens of minutes of sprinting, the two stopped at a street corner.

Looking at the slave auction house not far away, Kaido excitedly licked his lips.

"Wait, Queen, I have a plan!"

After saying that, he took out his Den Den Mushi.

Buru Buru Buru~

Buru Buru Buru~

Kacha.

"Neptune, it's me!!"

Without waiting for a greeting from the other side, Kaido said bluntly:

"I found traces of the missing mermaids from your Fish-Man tribe! Bring your troops quickly to Grove 1 on Sabaody Archipelago!"

"I'll lead you to wipe this place out! The Berry and treasures are mine, the mermaids are returned to you!"

"Hurry up! My kanabo is already thirsty for blood!!"