Welcome to Cocoyasi Village

"What do we do now? Maybe we should just run!"

"I told you, calm down~" Xia Che looked at Nami, who had started fidgeting with him again after returning, and said helplessly, "Nothing's going to happen. Even if something does, I'm confident I can get us out."

"Fine, fine! That's the Marine Hero we're talking about! Our Colonel Xia Che can definitely get the Marine Hero to cooperate." But seeing Xia Che still so composed, Nami felt a bit more at ease. She glanced around curiously, "Where's Robin? She's not here either? Did she sneak off on her own?"

"Robin has things to do. She'll be back later." Xia Che waved a hand, not bothering to explain where Robin had gone.

As for Garp...

To be honest, he wasn't sure if Garp would stoop to his level.

You could say Garp muddied the waters, loafed around, and even had double standards, but there was no doubt that as the Marine Hero, he had his own sense of justice.

This world had no pure evil, nor pure good—it was a cesspool of a world.

There were bad people in the Marines, and good people among pirates!

And precisely, Monkey D. Garp was a Marine who had his own way of discerning justice.

As for the World Government and the Marines...

To be honest, just the abilities the World Government showed on the surface were enough to make one despair. Without a good way to deal with it, this kind of muddled justice was the best they could manage.

Fooling superiors above, carrying out their own justice below!

Without strength, you either became a pirate and hid, joined the World Government, or muddled through.

As for himself...

He was just taking advantage of the World Government and Marine Headquarters.

After all, this was a world that belonged to the strong. The strong could destroy everything in an instant, while the weak could only follow the rules set by the strong. Without great power, everything was empty talk.

Xia Che shook his head with a sigh, looking at the newspaper in his hand, and said, "At least it looks like I won't be arrested for now."

After all, Vice Admiral Garp had just eaten the baked flatbread he'd treated him to.

He looked up at the puzzled Nami, "If you really have nothing to do, go out and help deal with the refugees that just arrived. We caught quite a few this time, you know!"

"Dad, are they really not going to sell us?"

"I... I don't know."

"Then... then can I eat? That's white rice and big white steamed buns. They smell so good!"

"I... I..." Looking at his daughter's eager eyes, the man called Dad couldn't bring himself to refuse.

He didn't know if this was all a trick, or if this would be their last meal as ordinary people.

Once this meal was over, they would become slaves, sold to those hateful nobles, or even the terrifying Celestial Dragons.

Even as refugees, living on this sea, he knew about those gods... no, they should be called terrible demons.

He'd heard that once you fell into the hands of the Celestial Dragons, you were no longer human, forced to live like insects.

You might even suffer unimaginable torture.

But...

"Dad, I'm so hungry~"

Hearing his daughter's words, holding her thin little body, the man couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Pike.

That was his name.

His wife had already starved to death. He didn't want his daughter to starve too.

But...

As an ordinary man, he had no way out.

Thinking back to yesterday...

They had originally been citizens of the Wittgen Kingdom—no, more like forgotten citizens.

To pay the exorbitant Celestial Gold, the king of Wittgen Kingdom had confiscated their property and driven them to a remote part of the island, leaving them to fend for themselves in the barren wasteland as forgotten people.

Some said this was learned from the legendary most beautiful country in the East Blue—the Goa Kingdom—driving away useless citizens to keep the country clean and beautiful.

It was even said that the Goa Kingdom had been praised by the Celestial Dragons for it.

He didn't know how beautiful the most beautiful country was, but how beautiful could a country that abandoned its own people be?

That morning, they had been scavenging in the wasteland, and that night, a group of pirates suddenly stormed the island. Then, they ended up here.

He still remembered when he heard he had a daughter, that bald pirate captain froze for a moment, then let out an excited laugh and shouted, "You have a daughter too? Bring her along! Bring her too!"

What a terrifying demon!

Not even sparing a little girl.

He thought that now that they were captured, father and daughter would suffer unimaginable abuse, or even be sold into slavery. But instead...

It turned out like this?!

Pike looked around, his nose involuntarily sniffing the aroma spreading through the air. Forget a little girl—even a grown man like him couldn't resist.

He was hungry too.

So hungry!

He wanted to eat!

Then.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

The sound of metal striking rang out, snapping Pike back to reality. He lifted his head with dazed eyes, staring at the counter that had appeared before him.

Was it already his turn?

Had everyone ahead of him finished lining up?

Had they really gotten food?

Doubt filled his heart, but...

"Daddy, Kati is really hungry!" The little girl who called herself Kati glanced cautiously at the counter, then looked back at her father with pleading eyes. "Can I eat?"

"I..." Pike lowered his head to meet his daughter's desperate gaze, then looked up at the food behind the counter. He swallowed hard, then glanced at the others who had already gotten their meals—dazed, as if they were dreaming, yet sitting down under the Security Force's direction.

Maybe it really was a dream.

But even if it was, they would eat their fill!

With that thought, Pike's murky eyes sharpened. He stared intently at his daughter. "Eat! We have to eat our fill! This might be our last meal."

These words shouldn't be said to a child, but there was no choice now.

"Even if we're going to die, we'll die with full stomachs. We will never become slaves—that place is hell!"

But then.

Before his young daughter could ask what he meant.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

Another burst of metal clanging.

And just as Pike braced himself for a beating over what he'd said.

"Hey hey hey, you bastard, I've been waiting for you forever! Thought you were picking your food, but instead you're saying that kind of thing to a kid!"

"???" Pike looked up in confusion at the old woman behind the counter. She held a big ladle, and even her loose white chef's uniform couldn't hide her plump frame.

What did she mean?

Was she worried they'd kill themselves?

Before he could ask.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft—what's all this 'die die die' nonsense! This is Cocoyasi Village, Colonel Xia Che's territory. Where would there be slaves? You're not here to become slaves."

The old woman grumbled irritably, then looked at the frightened little girl. Her wrinkled face broke into a smile.

"Don't be scared, little one. This isn't a bad place. Starting today, you can eat your fill, wear pretty clothes, and no one will bully you."

"R-really? I can?"

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you. As long as your father works hard." Seeing those desperate eyes, the old woman cheerfully raised her big ladle and said with excitement, "Here you can find work, earn wages, eat your fill, and have nice clothes."

"You can learn useful knowledge, sleep peacefully, laugh happily, and live each day joyfully!"

"If you have a skill, you can get an even better job with higher pay. And if you don't know anything, as long as you work hard enough, some factory will take you. We're desperate for people here!"

"Welcome to Cocoyasi Village—the most beautiful place in the East Blue."

"Now hurry up and order. You can have as much as you want, but remember—don't waste it, and don't stuff yourself. You'll be busy tonight."

"..."

In the end, urged on by the old woman, Pike and his daughter got a tray piled high with food.

There was rice, big white steamed buns, delicious dishes, and tempting meat—food their family had never tasted before.

The moment they sat down and looked at the meal before them, it felt like a dream.

Was this real?

"Daddy, can I eat now?"

"Mm! Go ahead, Kati~" Hearing his daughter's voice, Pike snapped back to reality. Confirming that this wasn't a dream, he nodded for her to eat. Watching his little girl wolf down the food with joy, he couldn't help but smile.

Then.

As if hearing something, he turned his head and saw another group of people walking in. No, not another group—these were the same people who had come with them earlier.

Only this group had just gone to... right, they'd gone to bathe.

Pike stared in disbelief at the crowd, who had been just as ragged and filthy as him but were now clean and dressed in neat gray new clothes.

His eyes were filled with utter astonishment.

"Dad, you eat too, it's really good—the best thing Kati has ever eaten."

It wasn't until his daughter's call that he pulled his thoughts back. Looking at his daughter, whose cheeks were stuffed full, the originally worried and anxious Pike couldn't help but let a faint smile curl at the corners of his mouth. "Eat! Dad will eat too!"

In truth, he had been hungry for a while, but the sheer shock of everything before him had made him forget his hunger. Now that he had come back to his senses, the gnawing emptiness in his stomach stirred him awake again, and he couldn't help but start wolfing down his food as well.

But just one bite of the steamed bun, and he was instantly stunned.

"So delicious!"

In that moment.

Tears streamed from his eyes, tracing past his lips and falling from the corners of his mouth.

If you worked hard, could you eat your fill?

Pike, tears still flowing, looked at his daughter, whose face was equally streaked with tears, and took a deep breath. With a resolute expression, he said, "Kati, Dad will definitely work hard."

"Mm!"

"I will—even if it costs me my life!"

Pike lifted his head, gazing at the window where people were once again lining up. His eyes were no longer lost, but firm and earnest.

Cocoyasi Village...

Colonel Xia Che!