Chapter 264: I Doubt Your Identity, But I Have No Proof
"What a pity..."
Watching Kyros and Scarlett chatting quietly in the distance, King Riku let out a long, exhausted sigh. He had heavily valued Kyros's unwavering honor and absolute martial strength when assigning him to protect his daughter.
But he certainly hadn't intended for him to "protect" her in this particular manner!
King Riku also felt a deep sense of regret that Nanamo was a girl. Given how incredibly close the two girls were, if Nanamo had been Nereus's son, they would have been the most perfect, flawless political and personal match imaginable.
"Royal Father, the funeral isn't over yet. Please maintain a sorrowful expression," Viola whispered, gently nudging King Riku in the ribs to remind him of their current setting.
Scarlett's reputation among the citizens had always been exceptionally warm and beloved. Consequently, her "sudden passing" had plunged the entire kingdom into genuine, widespread grief. It wasn't until dusk finally fell that the grand funeral officially concluded.
Afterward, the small group of people who actually knew the truth gathered at the new, secluded home King Riku had secretly prepared for Scarlett.
Although it couldn't compare to the opulent grandeur of the Royal Palace, it was cozy and fully equipped. They certainly wouldn't have to worry about their daily necessities.
At this moment, Nanamo was glaring at Scarlett and Kyros with a distinctly unfriendly expression. She couldn't shake the irritating feeling that she had been thoroughly played for a fool.
"What a shame," Nanamo muttered. "I should have brought a Tone Dial with me when I visited two years ago so I could play it back for you right now."
The moment the words left her mouth, a Tone Dial was enthusiastically shoved directly into her face.
"Big Sister Nanamo! Do you need a Tone Dial? I brought one!"
"Why on earth would you carry a Tone Dial with you...?" Nanamo asked, staring at the shell.
"To record my daily life!" Yamato beamed. "That way, if I'm ever forced back into that sunless, miserable hellhole of Wano Country, I can at least listen to these recordings and reminisce about how wonderful the outside world was!"
Similar novelty items were incredibly common on Fish-Man Island, and they were particularly popular among tourists wanting to record their travels.
"No thanks. You and Chloe go play outside for a bit. I was just joking with them," Nanamo sighed, waving them off. "Hermes! Keep an eye on them!"
Outside Scarlett's new home lay an endless, vibrant field of sunflowers. Taking Yamato and Chloe by the hands, Viola happily ran outside, the three girls disappearing into the sea of golden flowers to play.
Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipelago, a slightly hunched, elderly figure suddenly appeared at the port.
Although she appeared to be nothing more than a frail, elderly woman, her movements were terrifyingly swift and silent. Without pausing, she hurried straight toward Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
"Gloriosa? What brings you all the way out here?" Shakky asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise as the old woman barged in.
"Shakky, disaster has struck... Hancock... she was taken by human traffickers..."
"What?" Shakky's eyes narrowed. "How on earth did a bunch of slavers manage to breach Amazon Lily's defenses?"
"It didn't happen on the island. It happened while they were out at sea on our ship."
Hearing Gloriosa's explanation, Shakky was even more utterly baffled. The Kuja Pirates didn't sail on pleasure yachts; their vessel was a massive warship packed to the brim with elite Haki-wielding warriors.
The strongest current Empress was aboard, and the ship was literally towed by lethally venomous Sea Snakes! Under those circumstances, how could slavers possibly snatch someone right off the deck?!
"Was Toritoma not on the ship?"
"She was there! As for exactly how the slavers managed to snatch her away, we still aren't entirely sure. But the real problem right now is... how do we get her back?! That girl's natural talent completely eclipses both yours and mine! She is..."
"I know," Shakky interrupted solemnly. "The designated successor to the throne, the Kuja's most gifted warrior. But the problem is... I don't really have any solutions for this kind of situation either."
Shakky had officially defected from the Kuja Pirates many decades ago. However, if the tribe genuinely needed her help, she wouldn't ignore them—assuming she was actually capable of helping.
She was somewhat aware of Hancock's situation. The girl was hailed as the Kuja's absolute prodigy of the new generation and had long been officially designated as Empress Toritoma's successor. This current voyage was supposed to be her formal rite of passage as a Kuja warrior.
"With that girl's peerless beauty, if we drag this out too long... I'm terrified she'll be sold directly to those Celestial Dragons..." Gloriosa's voice trembled with poorly concealed panic. "You've lived on the Sabaody Archipelago for years. Do you have any way to contact Nereus?
"When it comes to hunting down slavers... he's the absolute authority."
Back in the golden era of Hachinosu (Pirate Island), the place had been overflowing with legendary figures, each possessing their own unique domain of absolute expertise.
If you had a major conflict with a massive, entrenched mafia syndicate, dropping the names Golden Lion or Silver Axe would undoubtedly yield results—though whether those results were positive or lethally negative was a different matter entirely.
For the underground smuggling trade, Wang Zhi was the absolute kingpin. For cutting-edge, highly unethical scientific tech, Buckingham Stussy was the go-to contact.
And when it came to understanding the ruthless mechanics and hidden networks of human traffickers... Nereus was the undisputed authority. Even though the slavers across the globe constantly devised new, desperate ways to hide from his wrath, Nereus always managed to track them down and slaughter them.
However, neither Shakky nor Gloriosa had ever been particularly close to Nereus. The Den Den Mushi frequency they had used back on Hachinosu had been disconnected decades ago. Having absolutely no idea how to contact him, Gloriosa had frantically rushed to Shakky first.
"Let's head over to the Fish-Man Island diplomatic office," Shakky said, putting out her cigarette. "They definitely have a secure line to Nereus."
A short while later, Shakky led Gloriosa into the Ryugu Kingdom's Sabaody office. As luck would have it, the Fish-Man currently on duty was Babel. Since he was a veteran from the old crew, communicating their urgency would save them a massive amount of hassle.
However...
"Wait, you're... Gloriosa?!"
Babel's eyes practically bulged out of his head. He stared at the shriveled, hunched old woman, entirely unable to connect her to the legendary Gloriosa from decades ago.
If Shakky hadn't been standing right next to her, Babel would never have believed in a million years that this frail woman was the once-famed "Flame Flower" of the Kuja.
While she hadn't held a grandiose title like "World's Most Beautiful," the young Gloriosa had been renowned across Hachinosu as an absolute beauty, boasting countless fierce admirers and suitors.
"It's me, Babel," Gloriosa sighed heavily, too exhausted to care about his shock. "For the sake of our old ties on Pirate Island, please contact Nereus for me. I have an incredibly urgent matter I need to discuss with him."
After staring at her in stunned silence for a few more seconds, Babel finally picked up the secure Den Den Mushi. Back on Hachinosu, they hadn't ever had any major conflicts. Given their old camaraderie, making a simple phone call on her behalf was no issue at all.
Gloriosa's journey proceeded quite smoothly from there. Nereus didn't refuse her request for an audience, instructing Babel to dispatch an elite escort to safely bring her down to Fish-Man Island.
"The passage of time is truly a cruel, ruthless thing, Gloriosa," Nereus remarked, leaning back in his throne.
"The world changes, and people wither, yet you remain as eternally unfazed as ever..." Gloriosa replied bitterly. "I'll get straight to the point. A young pirate from the Kuja was abducted by human traffickers in the nearby waters. I want you to help me find her and bring her back.
"I've heard you've spent the past few years relentlessly hunting those scum down. For a man like you... this shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"If you knew exactly which syndicate took her and the current coordinates of their ship, it would indeed be remarkably easy," Nereus replied calmly. "But if you knew that, you wouldn't have come begging to me. With the Kuja's combat power, you could easily slaughter them and take her back yourselves."
Nereus's anti-slaver operations were essentially random exterminations; whoever was unfortunate enough to cross his path was slaughtered on the spot. But dealing with a highly specific rescue operation like Gloriosa's—while not exactly searching for a needle in a haystack—still required an immense expenditure of time, intelligence networking, and operational resources to successfully intercept the correct ship.
"That..." Gloriosa hesitated.
"Let's skip the excuses. I absolutely despise human traffickers, yes. But the request you're making requires a massive mobilization of my resources. It is entirely reasonable for me to demand compensation, is it not?"
"What do you want?"
Compared to Nereus demanding an exorbitant price, Gloriosa was far more terrified of him outright refusing. The Kuja Pirates were fiercely isolationist; they possessed virtually zero intelligence networks in the outside world. Relying solely on their own strength, tracking down a specific slaver ship in the vast ocean was utterly impossible.
"It's quite simple," Nereus stated smoothly. "I want the Kuja tribe's comprehensive Haki cultivation manuals. Aside from that, your isolated island possesses absolutely nothing of value that I desire."
True powerhouses across the sea naturally knew how to instruct others in Haki. However, the Kuja tribe was incredibly unique. As a nation composed entirely of warriors, practically every single citizen could effortlessly coat their arrows in explosive Armament Haki.
This implied that the Kuja possessed a highly systematic, easily popularized foundational training method for awakening Haki—which was exactly the kind of knowledge Nereus was highly interested in acquiring...
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you