"Bwahahaha!"
The laughter boomed across the square. Leading the charge was a man with the same golden hair as Lily. He wore a crooked crown atop his head and a gaudy, jewel-studded cape draped over his bloated frame—he looked less like royalty and more like a grotesque golden balloon.
"Lily, long time no see!"
His face was covered in coarse stubble, his skin rough and weathered, and when he laughed, several front teeth were conspicuously missing. He looked like some sleazy, perverted brute—an enormous, towering brute, at least two and a half meters tall.
Standing at his side, Sarge squinted up and murmured to himself, Damn... guy's gotta be at least two-fifty.
Lily's body tensed. Her eyes narrowed as she ground her teeth.
"Ennio...!"
The name hissed from her mouth like poison.
Before them stood the despicable usurper, the man who had plunged the kingdom into chaos—Beondetta Ennio, the traitor who seized the throne.
Ennio flashed a grin, revealing rows of glinting gold teeth.
"Finally caught you, Lily. You've been missing for so long—I was starting to think something terrible had happened."
"You bastard!"
Lily lunged forward, her rage boiling over—but before she could reach him, a squad of royal guards surged out from behind Ennio, weapons drawn. Blades and bayonets were instantly leveled at her.
Ennio reached out with one thick, jeweled hand to touch her face—but Lily recoiled and glared up at him with fiery defiance.
Unfazed, he extended his hand again, casually asking, "So, tell me—after escaping, why come back?"
Head held high, Lily stared him down.
"To stop you from destroying this kingdom any further. I won't let you trample over it anymore!"
"Hah!"
Ennio scoffed, utterly unimpressed.
"And how exactly do you plan to stop me? With that bounty on your head? Or maybe with the help of these clueless peasants? Don't be ridiculous. All they're good for is paying taxes."
"They can choose not to!"
Lily snapped. "If they break away from the Kingdom of Oikot, they're no longer your citizens. And if you can't collect their taxes... you won't have the money to pay Heavenly Tribute. Without that, your throne won't last."
For just a moment, something flickered in Ennio's eyes—uncertainty, perhaps—but then he burst out laughing again.
"So what, you want them to become bandits? Even bandits are still on my land! Or wait..." He tilted his head mockingly. "You want them to set sail?"
Before Lily could respond, he turned to the gathered crowd and shouted:
"Hey, you lot! Go on, set sail! Stop paying taxes if you want! Other places have lighter taxes! Just set out to sea and be free!"
The city was quiet. The townsfolk—thin, pale, worn down by the heavy tax burden—simply stared back at him. No one stepped forward. No one cheered. In fact, many of them quietly took a step back.
Ennio sneered and leaned in close to Lily.
"You know as well as I do, this kingdom fell into ruin because of pirates. Set sail? Even if I, the king, ordered it—they wouldn't. You know why I keep raising taxes without fear? Because they're all cowards."
His voice dropped to a cold murmur.
"Cowards... don't set sail."
Then, with a lazy wave of his hand, he called out:
"Colonel Mouse."
A figure stepped forward—a man in a long navy coat with a hooded cap that had ears sewn on top. His thin mustache curled like whiskers on either side of his bruised, swollen face. He looked less like a marine and more like a mangy rat.
"I am Colonel Mouse of Marine Branch 16," he announced with a smirk. "Upon hearing about the assassination attempt on King Ennio, I requested that the bounty on Princess Lily be upgraded to a World Government-level threat. Now that she's been found... I'm here to place her under arrest."
Ennio laughed heartily.
"You've always been such a headache, Lily. Better to hand you over to the World Government. That'll earn me a nice payday, right, Colonel?"
Colonel Mouse's grin widened with greedy delight.
"A royal beauty like this, sold into slavery? She'll fetch a huge price. Might even catch the eye of a Celestial Dragon. Those freaks pay top dollar."
"Exactly!" Ennio cackled.
"Um—excuse me."
A new voice cut in awkwardly. It was Sarge, raising his hand as if in a classroom.
"She's my catch. So before you start auctioning her off, shouldn't I be getting my reward?"
He had been standing there quietly for a while, trying to get a word in—and now that things were escalating, he figured he'd better speak up before it was too late.
"Oh? You're the one who caught Lily?"
Ennio finally looked over, squinting at the white-haired man. A slow grin crept across his face.
"White hair, huh? That's rare."
Colonel Mouse studied Sarge for a moment and then grinned. "Very rare, indeed."
"You're under arrest."
Click.
Guns cocked and blades gleamed as the marines surrounding Mouse drew their weapons and closed in.
Sarge blinked.
"...Wait, what? I didn't do anything!"
He glanced around at the armed men surrounding him. "You don't have any right to arrest me. I'm not a pirate. I haven't broken any laws."
Mouse pointed at his own swollen, bruised face.
"Look at me! You attacked a Marine officer. That makes you a pirate in my book. I can arrest you."
Sarge's brow twitched. He glanced at the two sleazeballs in front of him, exhaled sharply, and muttered:
"So you're skipping the bounty payout, huh? Figures..."
Yep. His luck was still garbage.
He raised his hands and took a small step back.
"Fine, fine. I'm just a bounty hunter. I was going after the Arlong Pirates. I don't want any trouble with you people."
He really didn't. Getting branded a pirate meant losing everything. As a bounty hunter, he still had options. He wasn't about to throw that away over some corrupt Marines.
But Mouse's expression darkened, and Ennio let out a cruel laugh.
"The Arlong Pirates? They're long gone."
Sarge's eyes widened.
"Wait—what?"
"Those bastards were wiped out!" Mouse snarled. "And that damn Straw Hat punk ruined everything. I didn't even get a single berry out of the deal!"
He'd been making a killing working with the Arlong Pirates. Protection money, bribes, favors—it had been a good run. But when Arlong fell, so did Mouse's cover.
And while he hadn't been punished yet, he knew it was only a matter of time.
That's why he jumped at this opportunity. The Kingdom of Oikot was under his jurisdiction, after all. He came here to escort Heavenly Tribute, but Ennio's little proposal... was too tempting.
The king wanted the rightful heir to disappear.
Mouse needed someone to impress the higher-ups.
Selling off a highborn princess to the Celestial Dragons?
Perfect.
If they took her, he might even get promoted.
And if they didn't? Well, there were always the auction houses at Sabaody. Plenty of scumbags willing to pay top dollar for royal slaves.
As for the white-haired guy?
Ennio didn't like him. That was reason enough.
And that hair? Rare as hell. That alone was worth something.
"Take him!" Mouse ordered.
But at that very moment—whoosh!
Sarge suddenly leapt straight up, soaring clean over the circle of marines. His motion was swift, fluid, almost catlike. Ennio's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
What the hell was that...?
Sarge landed lightly on the ground beyond the soldiers, his expression darkening.
No way...
They already took out the Arlong Pirates?
And Straw Hat... that must mean—
(To be continued.)