Infiltration

For a moment, Sirius's heart stopped.

That was terrifying!

Sirius turned around and saw Yamato looking at him with curiosity. He stammered, "What are you doing here?"

"You never came back, so I came to find you," Yamato said with a grin.

You're really good at finding people, Sirius thought, speechless.

"Actually, I know!" Yamato suddenly leaned close to Sirius, her little head by his ear, and whispered, "Sirius, you want to sneak onto the ship, right?"

This time, Sirius was genuinely surprised. He asked in astonishment, "How did you know?"

"Hmph hmph! I'm very smart!"

Yamato put her hands on her hips proudly. "When you heard Uncle Queen say the war was about to start, your eyes were practically sparkling! And when we came in earlier, you kept looking this way!"

She seems like an idiot, but she's surprisingly perceptive, Sirius mused. She's a bit like Straw Hat Kid. No wonder he and Fire Fist hit it off so well.

"I want to go too!"

Yamato squatted down and whispered to Sirius, "Take me with you, okay, Sirius! I already told Maria to help us cover our tracks!"

"No!"

Sirius shook his head decisively. "This isn't a joke, Yamato. It's dangerous on the battlefield."

It's fine for me to go on an adventure alone, but there's no reason to drag others into danger, he thought.

"Then why are you going, Sirius?" Yamato asked indignantly.

"I have a reason I absolutely must go!"

Sirius smiled. "I want to see the world properly, and see the people in it."

If I don't go this time, I'll miss the clash between Kaido and Kozuki Oden. Who knows how long I'll have to wait until the next time I see top monsters collide.

Sirius didn't want to miss it.

"Then me too!"

Yamato said earnestly, "Didn't we make a promise? You said you'd take me with you. We're nakama!"

Sirius froze for a moment.

"Besides, if you're not scared, Sirius, then I'm not scared either!"

Yamato clenched her little fists. "You might not be stronger than me!"

"You really dare to say that," Sirius chuckled. It seemed he couldn't shake her off. "Alright then, I can take you, but there's one condition—"

"Hooray! Sirius is the best!"

Without giving Sirius a chance to finish, Yamato lunged forward and hugged him. Her strength was astonishing, and Sirius's face hurt from her ribs, his nose almost flattened.

Struggling to break free from Yamato's embrace, Sirius whispered, "Idiot! Keep your voice down! Someone will hear us."

"Hehe."

Yamato scratched the back of her head, grinning foolishly.

"Okay, listen, Yamato. My condition is that you have to stay with me the entire time. No running off, and you have to follow my orders," Sirius said seriously.

"Mhm mhm mhm."

Yamato nodded repeatedly. "I understand!"

Then she added eagerly, "So, are we going to start sneaking in now?"

She peeked out towards the gate where pirates were constantly entering and exiting. "Sirius, should I knock out those guys?"

"Would that still be considered sneaking in?" Sirius asked speechlessly.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "Where is the back wall of the storage room?"

"The back wall?" Yamato blinked, not understanding.

"Just take me there."

Although Yamato didn't understand Sirius's intention, she led him away from their spot and then ran towards the back of the storage room, stopping in front of a thick stone wall.

"This is it!"

Yamato patted the wall, and her eyes suddenly lit up. "I get it! We're going to break a hole in the wall and go in, right?"

She directly pulled out the mace she always carried on her back, saying confidently, "Leave this to me!"

Sirius quickly grabbed her. "Idiot, that would make too much noise! Do you want to get caught?"

Yamato was a little troubled. "Then what should we do?"

"Watch me."

Sirius's head instantly swelled, transforming into a giant wolf's head. Then he opened his mouth wide and bit down on the wall in front of him, tearing off a large chunk of the solid wall.

"Huh?"

Yamato took half a step back and suddenly said with a hint of pity, "Sirius, are you that hungry?"

"Shut up!"

Sirius's teeth were truly sharp, and his digestive ability was undeniable. Even such a solid stone wall could be easily bitten through to create a large hole.

As he continued to dig deeper, the wall became thinner and thinner.

Finally, Sirius saw a faint glimmer of light peeking through a crack in the stone ahead. He knew he was close.

His head returned to normal. His palm was covered in black fur, and sharp claws grew out. He poked at the stone in front of him, creating a small hole.

Sirius brought his eye close, carefully observing the situation inside.

He was lucky. This was a corner of the storage room, and there were no pirates nearby.

Sirius opened his mouth wide again and swallowed the last piece of stone.

Then he retracted, returning to the outside of the wall. He jumped out and said to Yamato, who was anxiously waiting, "It's done. Come in."

Yamato immediately, with a happy expression, squeezed inside.

Sirius didn't rush. Instead, he moved a box to block the hole before going in himself. Without some disguise, they would easily be discovered.

When Sirius crawled in through the hole in the storage room, Yamato was waiting for him. The little girl said excitedly, "Sirius, what do we do next?"

"Follow me."

Sirius first pulled another box over to block the entrance to the hole. Then, he crouched down and carefully advanced, using the mountains of supplies piled up in the storage room as cover.

The various equipment and supplies they needed to take were already prepared and stacked near the storage room door. Fortunately, the pirates had started moving things from the outside!

Sirius casually found a box nearby, dumped out its contents, and said to Yamato, "Hide inside."

Yamato obediently hid inside.

Then, Sirius slowly pushed the box towards the pile of supplies near the door. He carefully mixed it in with the other items. After that, he opened the lid and crawled inside himself.

In the darkness, Sirius and Yamato stared at each other.

"This is great, Sirius! We can get on the ship smoothly now, right?" Yamato couldn't contain her excitement.

"Be quiet, Yamato,"

Sirius whispered. "It's not time to be happy yet."

Yamato quickly raised her hands to cover her mouth, signaling that she wouldn't speak anymore.

After an unknown amount of time, Sirius suddenly felt the box shake and then begin to move.

He and Yamato exchanged a look. It had finally begun.

"Move slower, you bastards! Do you want the bombs to explode?"

"Put it in the ship's hold! Is this the last box?"

"Quick, quick, quick! Prepare to set sail! Boss Kaido is impatient!"

Various voices came from outside the box.

Only after the box finally landed with a thud did all the noise slowly fade away.

After it had been quiet outside for a long time, Sirius carefully made a hole in the box and looked out.

It was pitch black outside, so they must have been inside the ship's hold.

The box suddenly began to shake slightly, likely because the ship had set sail.

"We succeeded!"

At this moment, Sirius finally said with a smile.

"You're amazing, Sirius! You're a genius!"

Yamato excitedly hugged Sirius again.

"Your nose! Your nose!!"