Spandine

For the next few days, unlike the Kingdom of Sorbet, which was in chaos outside, Gigue's church continued as usual, as if nothing had happened.

The only difference was that Ivan, who used to go out and cause trouble every day, had become quiet. He stayed in the church every day, occasionally helping Kuma receive the elderly who came for treatment.

No one mentioned what happened that night, and the four of them continued to get along as usual.

Until one day, a Marine warship arrived at the port.

A large number of Marine soldiers, along with a Marine officer with the rank of Rear Admiral, quickly disembarked from the warship.

The nobles and ministers of the Kingdom of Sorbet had been waiting for a long time. As soon as they saw the Marine Rear Admiral, they immediately surrounded him.

A minister obsequiously approached the Marine Rear Admiral and said, "You must be Rear Admiral Babus from Headquarters, right? We've been waiting for you!"

The Rear Admiral, named Babus, nodded, gave a military salute, and then, instead of looking at the minister, turned his gaze towards the warship.

Following Babus's gaze, they saw a man with a slicked-back hairstyle, wearing a black and gray striped coat, slowly disembarking from the warship with an arrogant stride, accompanied by two men in suits.

The Marine soldiers on both sides had awkward expressions and lowered their heads, clearly not wanting to see this guy.

A look of disgust flashed in Rear Admiral Babus's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He slightly bowed and said respectfully, "Mr. Spandine, we have arrived at the Kingdom of Sorbet."

Spandine ignored Babus. He glanced sideways at the man in a suit beside him, who immediately understood and skillfully took out a cigar, offering it to Spandine's mouth, and then produced a lighter to ignite it.

Taking a deep puff of the cigar, Spandine contemptuously scanned the ministers in front of him, then glanced at the town not far away, and exhaled a large cloud of smoke.

"This is the Kingdom of Sorbet? Tsk, you call this a country? No wonder the Celestial Gold is so little every year, hmph, spit!"

A glob of phlegm landed on the ground, grazing the collar of a noble's clothes. However, this noble, who usually acted so high and mighty, didn't dare to utter a single word.

These ministers and nobles were not fools. From Spandine's arrogant behavior and his words just now, they vaguely understood Spandine's identity – he was someone from the World Government!

The minister who had been fawning over Rear Admiral Babus just moments ago immediately shifted his target. He bent his body into a shrimp shape and approached Spandine, asking subserviently, "Forgive my poor eyesight, but may I ask who you are, sir?"

Spandine maintained his arrogant, nose-in-the-air demeanor. The man in a suit beside him stepped forward and snapped, "Why are you getting so close? You're not worthy of knowing the sir's identity, get out of the way!"

The minister was startled and quickly retreated, saying fearfully, "I am truly sorry, I have offended you, sir. Please do not be angry!"

Spandine waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright. I heard your king is gone? A trivial matter, let Babus handle it. I'm here on an important mission!"

The minister bowed several more times. Babus, seeing his pitiful state, spoke up, "Tell me about the current situation. Are there any clues about King Beckley?"

Although he was a minister of a kingdom, both Rear Admiral Babus from Headquarters and Spandine from the World Government were figures he could not afford to offend. He immediately replied, "The King was fine that day, but after one night, he suddenly disappeared. We suspect that this matter is most likely related to that Gigue! He is not old, but he possesses a strange ability, and most importantly, he is lawless and an extremely dangerous individual!"

Hearing the minister's description, Babus nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "A strange ability? Could he be a Devil Fruit Ability User? No wonder..."

Devil Fruits were rare treasures, especially in such a remote small country. An ability user who was even slightly strong was not someone ordinary people could deal with.

Babus wanted to ask more about Gigue, but Spandine, who was beside him, suddenly changed his expression, and the cigar in his mouth fell to the ground.

He lunged past the two men in suits, grabbed the minister by the collar, and shouted incoherently, "Who did you just say? Say it again!"

The minister, sprayed with saliva, replied obediently, "Gi... Gigue, King Beckley was probably captured by him!"

"Slap!"

A loud slap echoed. In front of everyone, Spandine struck the minister with a heavy blow, sending him to the ground. If Babus's leg hadn't happened to block him, it was unclear how much further he would have rolled.

Babus, who had just reacted, frowned and said displeasedly, "Mr. Spandine, although you are an official of the World Government, isn't this behavior a bit excessive? The Kingdom of Sorbet is, after all, one of the affiliated nations. You cannot treat a minister like this without reason."

Spandine panted heavily. He didn't have much combat power himself, and he was tired from the blow he had just delivered.

After his breathing slightly calmed down, he pointed at the trembling minister lying by Babus's feet and cursed loudly, "Damn it! Don't you know your place!? Is that sir's name something you can just blurt out? I'll just..."

Saying this, Spandine pulled out a pistol and was about to shoot the minister when a man in a suit beside him quickly stopped him, "Lord Spandine, don't kill him yet. We still need to find out from him where that sir is!"

This statement had an effect. The enraged Spandine put down his pistol and ordered the two men in suits to drag the minister over like a dead dog.

Babus did not step forward to speak for the minister this time. He fell silent. This matter seemed more complicated than he had imagined.

Not long ago, he had received a mission from Admiral Sengoku to investigate the king's disappearance. However, just as he was about to depart, Spandine suddenly arrived and requested to accompany him to the Kingdom of Sorbet.

Babus had intended to report to Sengoku first, but Spandine produced a document signed by the World Government, completely denying him the opportunity to do so.

With this document in hand, even though Babus was displeased, he could only obediently let Spandine swagger aboard the ship.

Spandine hadn't revealed his objective to him, and Babus couldn't be bothered to ask. He had only been thinking that once they reached the Kingdom of Sorbet, everyone would go their separate ways. However, it now seemed their tasks were intertwined.

The key point was the young man mentioned by that minister, Gigue.

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