"This place is really strange."
Watching Queen dance on a hastily built stage, Drake's face twitched a few times. Even though he had seen a lot in his life, he had never experienced anything this bizarre.
"Yeah, this place is weird, but Drake, I'm going to trouble you to make a little sacrifice."
Apoo, who was standing nearby, grabbed a mining pickaxe and swung it at Drake. But his skills were no match for Drake. Not only did he miss, but Drake countered with a carrying pole, striking Apoo on the shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Apapapa, obviously I'm carrying out my plan! Just obediently become a stepping stone for me!"
Even though he took a hit from the pole, Apoo wasn't discouraged. Whether he could win or not wasn't important; as long as he could cause chaos, that was enough.
Seeing the two of them start fighting, the surrounding prisoners immediately scattered, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. However, before they could run far, a laser blast came crashing down.
"Who dares disturb me? Hmm? Are you all wasting the opportunity I've given you?"
Smoke was still coming from the weapon on Queen's arm. Visibly furious at having his performance interrupted, he acted without considering the consequences. Fortunately, Drake and Apoo were quite agile, otherwise, that blast could've killed them on the spot.
"Cough cough... Lord Queen, I have something to report! This guy said your dancing was ugly! When I refuted him, he hit me!!"
"I did NOT!"
Listening to Apoo's nonsense, a few drops of sweat slid down Drake's forehead. The number one rule of being an undercover agent was staying alive; dead men couldn't complete missions. And clearly, Apoo was trying to climb the ranks by stepping on his dead body.
If Queen, this weirdo, actually attacked...
Drake began to worry, but Queen didn't fall for it.
"You think I'm an idiot? You expect me to fall for such a cheap trick? Trying to have me kill for you? Neither of you has any credibility with me, why should I believe a word either of you says?"
". . ."
The way things were unfolding caught Apoo off guard. This clownish fatty wasn't as easy to fool as he thought.
"Take them down to the underground mines. Let them see what happens when you fight in the quarry."
This was a prison run by the Beasts Pirates, and it's the most unreasonable place in the entire Beasts Pirates. Queen had zero interest in why they were fighting. As far as he was concerned, both of them were going to pay for it.
No matter who you were, interrupting his dance party was an unforgivable sin; unless you were someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"Wait! Lord Queen, I still have something to say!"
At this moment, Drake stood off to the side with a disdainful expression, looking cold and aloof, as if trying to present himself as someone who wouldn't easily submit. Apoo, on the other hand, was doing the exact opposite: he dropped to his knees and started begging.
Seeing that Queen didn't want to pay him any attention, and that the prison guards were approaching, Apoo quickly shouted, "Your dance moves are incredibly graceful, and your singing truly one-of-a-kind, but you're missing a great partner!"
"Partner?"
"Your subordinates aren't professional enough. They can't grasp the music's rhythm well, the transition between songs is terrible, and their coordination with you is poor. Let me do it, if I can be your DJ, your performance will reach a whole new level!"
"Interesting. Someone bring him over to me."
Apoo had successfully piqued Queen's interest. Queen waved at his underlings, and they brought Apoo before him.
"Brat, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself. If you can pull it off, I will take you out of here. But if you dare trick me, prepare for the death penalty."
"Tell them whatever equipment you need. All of my music equipment is top-tier, best in the world. You only get one shot, don't blame the equipment if you fail."
"I don't need anything. I'm the user of the Tone-Tone Fruit. I am a one-man band. Just take off the Seastone handcuffs, and I can do the rest."
"Babanuki, bring me the key."
"But Lord Queen…"
"Relax, I'm right here, you think this brat can run? Bring the collar too while you're at it, so I don't have to lift a finger to kill him."
At Queen's command, Babanuki obediently brought over the key and the collar. Queen then demonstrated the collar's special features.
"See this, brat? Inside this collar are incredibly sharp blades, and it works on the same principle as the Celestial Dragons' slave collars. If you try to destroy it, the blades will slice your neck off.
Of course, if you lie to me or if I'm not satisfied, you'll meet the same end."
"Actually, I think it'd be better if my crew helped out a bit."
A captain's secondary profession would influence how their underlings behaved. Law's crew could act as nurses, Hawkins' men doubled as fortune-tellers, and Apoo's crew could form a small band.
Looking at the way Queen was behaving, Apoo figured it was better to play it safe.
"Bring them here. If I'm not satisfied, you'll all be meeting up in the underworld together."
"Please don't worry. Just give me 20 minutes, and I'll prove myself."
"Alright, I guarantee that even if you die, you'll die knowing why. Babanuki, start the timer. Not a second more or less."
On Queen's orders, the entire quarry came to a halt. Countless eyes turned to watch the members of the On Air Pirates, who had formed a circle and were listening to Apoo's briefing.
"Listen up, everyone, this is our one shot at success. Do it like this, then this, and follow my instructions to the letter. Got it?"
"Mr. Apoo… are you sure this will work?"
"No worries. I might suck at fighting, but when it comes to this stuff, I'm a total expert. Lord Queen! We're ready!"
"Then let's see what you've got."
"Lights! Music!"
Apoo directed his underlings into action, followed by an impromptu rap performance. The lyrics were extremely straightforward: several minutes of nothing but shamelessly sucking up to Queen.
Let alone Drake, even Babanuki was stunned. He never imagined anyone could be this shameless, or that someone could sing lines like that without their tongue cramping up.
But Queen absolutely loved it. Beyond the lyrics, Apoo's control over rhythm and music was totally in line with Queen's taste. In the end, the two of them even performed together on stage.
"Muhahaha! Not bad, not bad at all. I like you. From now on, you follow me."
"It's all thanks to your incredible talent, Lord Queen. I'm just lucky to add a little flair to your brilliance."
"Hmph! Don't think this means I will break the rules. For now, you're leaving Onigashima. Work under Hawkins for a while. Once you are qualified, you'll get to stay by my side. Make the most of this opportunity."
Letting Apoo go was within Queen's authority, but the evaluation couldn't be skipped. The Beasts Pirates' rules had been set by Arceus himself. If Queen dared to violate them, he would see Shayna's Red Chain around his neck by the next day.
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