The box contained a photo of Nolan's parents with her before they passed away.
The parents had kind smiles on their faces. Nolan was still a chubby-faced little boy with his hands on his hips.
She was rushed away from her hometown and couldn't find the photo no matter how hard she looked. In the rush, she had no choice but to leave in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, upon its return, it was found again in the hands of the Basena players.
"I found this in a hidden compartment in a room, thinking that maybe one day the person in the photo will come back."
The old woman had a kind face, unlike any other Basena resident she had seen on the street.
"Thank you!"
Nolan carefully put the photo back in the box, feeling somewhat conflicted.
She was determined to take back her hometown and her home no matter what.
However, the person living here now happens to be a kind-hearted old woman.
"I saw the newspaper and recognized you immediately as the little girl in the photo. I knew you would come back."
The old woman seemed to have figured out what Nolan was thinking.
"The newspapers say you are a group of vicious people. I have lived for so many years and have seen a lot of people. I don't think you are."
Then, through her words, Nolan and the others learned about other things about this place.
Rona Town was originally a strategic location bordering Qing Kingdom and Basena, which the latter took over after their victory.
But in such a place, Basena dared neither continue to keep the Qing Kingdom residents nor rashly allow people of high status to live there.
So, the Basena Kingdom began to select people by lottery from among the common people who had no status in the country. Those selected would move to the Rona Town to live, and of course, a relative could take their place.
The old woman didn't want to occupy someone else's home or become cannon fodder in the buffer zone of war, but her grandson was chosen, so she chose to take his place.
Even though the Qing Kingdom has been destroyed, Basena will not allow them to return home until Qing Kingdom are dead.
"Then you must want to go home too, right, Grandma?"
Although it was a question, Nolan already had an idea in mind.
"For ordinary people like me, if we could, who would want to leave their home? Who would want to seize someone else's home?"
The old woman's thoughts seemed to have flown far away, back to her warm home in Basena.
"Let's go then. I'll point you in the right direction, give you some directions, and I'll take you home."
If Cifer wanted to, his Neural Scan could instantly cover the entire Basena Kingdom.
"No, if it's discovered, my children and grandchildren will also be punished. Our king will absolutely not allow anyone to disobey him!"
The old woman refused outright, saying she didn't dare gamble on whether she would be discovered.
"I'm not asking for your opinion."
A gentle breeze blew by, and in the sunlight, Cifer, in the old man's eyes, already looked somewhat like a villain.
"Captain Cifer, don't frighten the old man!"
Nolan knew the captain meant no harm, so he gently pinched his side.
The old woman ultimately chose to listen to them, after all, they didn't seem like they would let the king go.
After a quick packing, the old woman didn't have much to take with her, just as she hadn't brought anything with her.
Based on the direction and approximate distance she indicated, Cifer tore through space, and in the blink of an eye, the group arrived in the capital of Basena.
"How amazing, I'm actually back in Alba..."
"Grandpa, thanks to you, my home has been able to remain the same. This is our way of returning the favor."
Looking at the familiar buildings before her, the old woman felt as if she were in a dream. She rubbed her eyes several times and tried to bow to express her gratitude, but Nolan helped her up.
"Please, everyone, save Basena, save the Qing Kingdom!"
The old woman did not leave; instead, she grasped Nolan's hand, her eyes brimming with tears.
War is not something to be celebrated.
Both the Qing Kingdom and the Basena should have a wise monarch, and their people should enjoy true freedom.
"Certainly!"
This was also the purpose of Nolan and his team's trip.
After watching the old man leave, they began to walk into the city.
Perhaps because they live deep inland, perhaps because of their victory over the Qing Kingdom, or perhaps for other reasons, the people here do not seem to have much fear of Cifer and his group.
"I feel so depressed living here."
Robin noticed that the pedestrians on the street were completely different from those in the Qing Kingdom. Although life was also hard for them, they still had hope for life on their faces.
The pedestrians in Alba all looked busy and tired, with not a trace of a smile on their faces, like puppets being manipulated.
"Divine Judgment!"
As he walked, Enel suddenly shot out a bolt of lightning, paused in mid-air for a moment, and then flew away into the distance.
"This is truly a suffocating country."
Bonney was buying lollipops from Chopper when the usually taciturn bear suddenly spoke up after Enel launched his attack.
"With God favor, this place will soon have a completely new look."
Enel picked at his ear, completely disregarding the country.
"Ulquiorra, I don't care why or how you and your crew got to Alba, but you'd better leave immediately."
At this moment, a middle-aged man in military uniform led a group of men and surrounded them in the city.
"I am Euin, the Security Officer of this country. No pirates are allowed to enter this country. I am now going to expel you!"
Euin drew his long sword from his waist, and the soldiers behind him raised their guns as well.
"Yay~ Hahahaha~ You bunch of worthless cowards, do you think you can stop the God?"
Enel seemed to have heard a joke.
"I know you are very strong. With Bounty of this level, you must be extremely vicious. So when I discovered you, I sent someone to notify the World Government."
"Even if Basena isn't World Government Member States, I think they'd be happy to come here and wipe out your group of heinous individuals!"
Euin's tone was firm, as if he wanted to scare everyone away.
"That's too naive. The World Government will only try to avoid a direct confrontation with us until they have absolute certainty."
As a former henchman of the World Government, Lucci knew their methods better than anyone.
"Then... don't underestimate the power of a kingdom! Even with all the soldiers in the country, you might not be able to wipe us out before you're exhausted!"
Euin was somewhat annoyed. He didn't want to clash with the other party, but he also didn't want such a vicious person to enter his country, especially the capital!
"Yay~ Hahaha~ Your subordinates don't seem to be very obedient."
"Sir!"
Enel's fingers flicked lightly in the air, Euin the soldiers behind Ewing cried out for help.
When he turned around, he found his men kneeling on the ground in all sorts of strange positions.
"You bastard! What did you do to my men?!"
Euin, Ewing drew his sword and slashed at Enel, but with a flick of Enel's finger, he lost control of his body!
More accurately, he was like a puppet, completely at the mercy of his opponent and powerless to resist.
"Electricity and magnetism are a perfect match. Although the magnetic field in the human body is very weak, it is different if electricity is used to guide it."
Enel seemed to be explaining, while constantly manipulating them into various poses.
"Stop playing around, let's go to the palace!"
Just as Cifer spoke, Enel was about to finish the job quickly, Euin suddenly burst into tears:
"What are you bastards trying to do to my country?!"