Fish Leaps Out of the Water

The martial law in the Kingdom of Bridges has been in effect for many days.

This is certainly a good thing for the workers on the bridge.

After all, this means they can finally escape from their hard work and take a short break.

However, this brief rest was not very pleasant. The navy stationed around the country and the guards stationed on the bridge never stopped searching, leaving no corner unchecked.

They would often call everyone out in the middle of the night and then search through the house like they were going from house to house.

Although nothing was found, the back-and-forth, repeated hassles were indeed driving the workers crazy.

Sirius was also very unhappy.

As government officials, his and Yamato's residence was not subjected to such thorough searches, but the two of them were always called up to assist in the searches.

At first, it might seem interesting, but after experiencing it a few times, Sirius only felt that those bastards were disturbing his meals and sleep.

He was really annoyed. If he weren't still waiting for a fish to bite, Sirius would have loved to jump up on the spot and smash those guys' heads in.

Today was another day spent running around on the bridge with a group of people, and I was just getting ready to rest in the evening.

An invisible, semi-transparent energy shield instantly enveloped a corner of the room, and then, in the next instant, a figure appeared directly in the corner.

"Luo?"

Sirius was passing the time by flipping through a book, raised an eyebrow. "That's not a good habit, like breaking into a newlywed couple's bedroom at night."

"That's right!"

Yamato, sitting on the edge of the bed munching on a chicken leg he'd snatched from the cafeteria, nodded repeatedly. "Sirius has a terrible sleeping posture!"

Is that the main point?

Sirius rolled his eyes. "And you're not much better."

"No way! I wake up every day feeling perfectly asleep!"

"Why do you think you can sleep so well?"

"Alright, I'm not interested in these things," Luo said, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Those two guys are really something, they're like they're never in the zone.

"All right,"

Sirius closed the book in his hand, smiled, and said, "Luo, have you seen the world you wanted to see these past few days?"

Luo paused for a moment, then nodded slightly. "I don't know about the world as a whole, but I think I already have some ideas about the World Government."

"I see."

Sirius nodded with a smile.

That's great.

"But that's not the point right now,"

Luo said, "Jack just contacted me."

"Kindness?"

Sirius paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Why is it you I'm contacting?"

Is this reasonable?

Who is the captain, anyway?

"I thought you already knew this all along."

Luo remained calm. "But that's not the point."

No, isn't that the important point?

"The fish has taken the bait."

"Oh?"

Sirius's eyes lit up immediately.

At another point on the bridge, there stands a towering building surrounded by military barracks.

This is the heart of the Kingdom of Bridges, the place where the people who truly govern this nation reside.

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the building, on a wide elevator leading to the port on the sea, a group of people emerged and officially stepped onto the bridge.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Leading the group was a man draped in a white robe and wearing Vulture mask; his voice was filled with laughter.

The high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Bridges, who had been waiting at the elevator exit, quickly greeted them with smiles, "Welcome, Your Excellency."

They didn't know the Vulture, but they knew that a very important person had arrived.

Although these guys are like supreme gods to the laborers of this country, they are actually not very influential in the World Government's power structure, and have no idea what to do with such a ruthless character as Vulture.

"You're too kind, you're too kind."

The Vulture smiled broadly, appearing very amiable. "We're all working for the government, no need for such formalities."

"By the way, has Belo Betty been found?"

The officials looked grim. "We conducted search after search, but she vanished without a trace, as if she had evaporated into thin air."

"I see?"

The Vulture's voice turned regretful, "Has it already escaped?"

"That's absolutely impossible!"

Realizing he was about to offend this extremely important figure, the official quickly said, "We immediately sealed off the entire bridge. There are people watching both on and under the bridge at all times. Absolutely no one can leave without alerting us."

"That woman is definitely still on this bridge!"

"I see."

The Vulture nodded. "It's good news, but not entirely."

"Since you organized such a search but failed to find her, it means she either escaped without your knowledge or is hiding very well."

The official remained silent.

But inwardly, I thought, "Isn't that obvious?"

Is there a third possibility?

"Finding her will probably be a very difficult task."

Vulture sighed, "But I have a thought. Do you think that woman, Belo Betty, might have come because of those remnants of the Revolutionary Army that were just sent over?"

The officials, their eyes lighting up, quickly chimed in, "Very likely! Those guys just arrived, and that woman showed up!"

"That woman is Paramecia Encouragement Devil Fruit User."

Vulture chuckled, "She probably wanted to rescue her arrested companion, but she didn't expect to be exposed."

"So, can we use her companions to make her reveal herself?"

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"It's incomprehensible, isn't it? The government has already given them leniency, but they're still trying to resist. They might even have been the ones hiding Belo Betty's whereabouts. These aren't ordinary criminals; we have to crack down on them."

"... We understand, sir."

At the same moment, under the dark night sky, on the other side of the bridge, a huge naval warship was quietly moored.

"Aren't we going up, Mr. Garp?"

The adjutant, dressed in a gray suit, spoke.

A gray-haired man stood on the ship's railing, holding a bag of rice crackers, but unusually, he didn't take any out to eat.

He said with a stern face, "I'm afraid that once I go up there, I won't be able to eat or sleep."

The adjutant nodded without saying anything.

As a long-time subordinate, he knew his superior all too well.

"Where is that brat Dragon now?!"

Suddenly, the old man angrily said, "He disappeared without a trace after throwing Luffy to me. When I see him this time, I'll make sure that bastard remembers how painful a punch from love can be!"

The adjutant remained silent.

It was as if they hadn't heard anything at all.

Night deepened.