Stowaway

On Onigashima's shore, Yamato and Sirius hid furtively behind a large boulder, carefully poking out half their heads to watch the pirates busily working at the distant harbor.

A great number of ships were docked at the harbor. The pirates were feverishly loading all kinds of supplies aboard, especially weapons, while King stood at the harbor directing them.

This truly was the prelude to war.

"Lady Oni-Hime! Lord Sirius!"

Two pirates passing by respectfully greeted Sirius and the others with bows.

"Mm-hmm, hello."

Yamato happily waved back at them, and Sirius nodded in greeting as well.

"So what exactly are you doing?"

Jack walked over, looking utterly baffled.

"Observing in secret!"

Yamato excitedly grabbed Sirius's arm. "This is really thrilling, Sirius! It's just like being a stealthy ninja!"

What part of this was secret?

Confusion was written all over Jack's simple face.

"So, what did you observe?" Black Maria asked with a smile.

"It really is time for war," Sirius said.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, we're going to war!" Yamato repeatedly nodded along.

"And then?" Jack asked.

Sirius spread his hands. "That's it."

Then hadn't he observed absolutely nothing?

The muscles on Jack's face twitched.

But Sirius had actually already made a guess about whom the Beasts Pirates would be fighting in this war.

The Final Battle against the Kozuki Family was about to begin, wasn't it?

After realizing he had been deceived for five years, driven by rage, Kozuki Oden would lead his Red Scabbards into a decisive battle against Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi.

Kozuki Oden's legendary tale was about to reach its Final Act.

Once Sirius realized that, he secretly made a decision.

Kozuki Oden was an idiot, a fool, a moron. There was no doubt about that.

But he was also a Great Hero.

He had even already accomplished Sirius's dream!

Having come to this world, how could Sirius not go meet him?

"What are you little brats doing here?"

A heavy shadow instantly covered Sirius. He looked up and found that, at some point, King had already arrived before them, looking down at them from above.

King glanced at Sirius. "Since you still have time to rest, enjoy it while you can."

That look made Sirius's back go cold. Queen really hadn't been joking.

"Brother King, Uncle Queen said we're going to war?" Jack stepped forward and asked excitedly.

Jack, who had always wanted to win glory for the Beasts Pirates, was already beside himself with excitement upon hearing that war was imminent.

He could hardly wait to charge onto the battlefield and wreak havoc!

"Does that bastard have no control over his mouth?"

King snorted, then said, "There is such a thing."

He looked at Jack and saw the excitement on the boy's face. He immediately said, "I know what you're thinking, Jack. No."

"It hasn't reached the point where little brats need to take the battlefield!"

Jack's excited expression instantly fell apart.

Yamato also said disappointedly, "Eh, I wanted to go see it too."

"No means no."

King's attitude was extremely firm. He had no intention of relenting just because Yamato was cute. "Now go play properly."

With that, he turned around and left.

"King is a big idiot!"

Yamato jumped up and made a face at King's retreating back.

"All right, Yamato, Uncle King is thinking about our safety too."

Black Maria gently patted Yamato's head and smiled. "We're still children. Taking part in a war would be too dangerous."

"That's right. It's because we're too weak!"

Jack said in a muffled voice, then turned and left.

"Jack, where are you going?" Black Maria asked as she watched his back.

"Keep training!"

Without looking back, Jack shouted, "I'm going to become stronger!"

Wow, he was really getting competitive.

Sirius clicked his tongue.

"As expected of Jack," Black Maria murmured. She turned back to Sirius. "What about you, Sirius? Are you going with Jack?"

Sirius repeatedly waved his hands. "Forget it. Didn't Uncle King and Uncle Queen say I should make the most of these last few days and get some proper rest?"

Having already decided to sneak off to the battlefield, Sirius naturally had no interest in running laps with Jack.

"Didn't we say we'd watch a movie last night?"

Sirius grinned. "I still haven't seen it."

"Great!"

Yamato, who had been dejected just moments ago, immediately forgot her sadness. Instantly full of energy, she happily grabbed Sirius's hand and pulled him toward the interior of Onigashima. "You definitely won't be disappointed, Sirius! It's really fun!"

As Sirius followed Yamato and Black Maria deeper into Onigashima, he watched the pirates transporting supplies, paying particular attention to where they were bringing the items from.

It was a wide-open iron door. Inside were piles of all kinds of supplies. It was probably Onigashima's storeroom. This era was different from the future; the armory had not yet been dug underground.

Kaido and the others definitely would not want him on the battlefield. After all, Kozuki Oden and his retainers were no pushovers. There was no need to gamble the future of the Beasts Pirates.

So he could only find a way himself.

Following Yamato and Black Maria back to the room from last night, Black Maria closed the door, and the room immediately darkened. Yamato skipped over and turned on the Den Den Mushi.

Two beams of light projected from the Den Den Mushi's eyes onto the screen ahead, and an image appeared.

The movie began.

Sirius had not gone to the cinema many times in his previous life. In this world, it really was his first time watching a movie.

The Image Den Den Mushi perfectly replaced both cameras and projectors, even simulating the speakers as well.

This movie was actually pretty good.

It told the story of an adventurer traveling the seas in search of the legendary Great Treasure of the Adventure King. It was obvious at a glance who the original was based on. It seemed the entertainment industry in this world was not very strict with its censorship either, Sirius mused.

It was filmed entirely on real locations, and the actors were quite skilled. Sirius watched with great interest.

Although Yamato had already seen it once, she still got so excited during the thrilling parts that she danced around wildly.

"I'm going to the bathroom."

At the story's climax, Sirius stood and spoke softly.

"Mm-hmm."

Immersed in the story, Yamato nodded carelessly.

Sirius quietly slipped out of the room and casually pulled the door shut behind him.

Good. Now Yamato and the others wouldn't get in his way. The real show was about to begin!

Sirius slowly let out a breath.

He dashed out of the building, avoiding people along the way as he stealthily made his way to the storeroom he had spotted earlier. Pirates were still continuously carrying supplies out of it and loading them onto the ships at the harbor.

Sneaking directly onto one of the ships at the harbor was impossible. King was watching over there.

So he could only take the long way around.

Sirius's plan was to sneak into the storeroom, hide inside a crate of weapons, and then be carried aboard a ship by the pirates.

The problem now was how to get into the bustling storeroom.

So, what should he do?

Just then, a hand landed on Sirius's shoulder.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?"

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