"Here it is, Master Minos!"
The lively weapon maid carried Sugar, whom she had beaten into a swollen mess and knocked unconscious, and said, "All the toys are being held in this underground factory. The prison above is just there to scare people!"
With a little of Evil Eye's hypnotic power added to his verbal persuasion, Baby5 abandoned the dark side for the light at nearly the speed of light and became Minos's exclusive maid.
Then, Baby5 immediately exposed Sugar's secrets, knocked out this Hobby-Hobby Fruit user, and led Minos to find King Riku and the others whom Sugar had turned into toys.
Before Minos could push open the doors to the underground factory, he heard a noisy commotion inside. When he opened them, he found those who had reverted from toys back into humans because Sugar had fallen unconscious.
Dressrosa had only fallen into the Donquixote Family's hands the night before. Aside from a few pirates whom Sugar had turned into toys long ago, the rest were basically Dressrosa's guards, so there were not too many of them.
However, one side was the kingdom's guards while the other was pirates. Even after turning back into humans, their relationship was hardly going to be good.
If they had not been wary of the Donquixote Family, they might have already started fighting.
"Huh!? Strange, why don't I see King Riku?" Baby5 said in surprise. At that moment, everyone in the underground factory became wary upon seeing her.
"The Donquixote Family's assassin maid... what are you here for?"
Violet, standing at the very front of the guards, looked at her and asked.
"Be grateful. I've already left the Donquixote Family," Baby5 said with her head held high. "I've come under my master's orders to save you!"
The crowd looked at one another, unsure whether to believe her. Minos glanced at them before turning his gaze to Violet. "You're the Glint-Glint Fruit user?"
Violet swallowed and nodded lightly. Her gaze kept drifting to the bundle in Baby5's hand. Wasn't that Sugar? The poor little girl had been beaten into a swollen mess! It seemed the newcomer was quite ruthless too.
"Where is your father?" Minos asked with a frown.
Violet's expression suddenly darkened. "Father... he already..."
"He's dead? Looks like Doflamingo's Pirate Crew made sure to wipe out every last one of you!"
"...was rescued by a limping Toy Soldier."
After a moment of silence, Minos sighed. "Could you stop pausing so dramatically when you talk?"
"A limping Toy Soldier?" Baby5 thought for a moment. "Ask this one."
With that, she casually tossed Sugar onto the ground. Sugar groaned and woke up.
"Damn tool, how dare you hit me," Sugar said angrily after waking up. Only when Baby5 pressed the muzzle of her gun against Sugar's forehead did her expression change and she finally sober up.
"Wait... wait! Calm down, calm down! If you really kill me, the Young Master definitely won't let you go. Baby5, do you want the Family to hunt you down?"
"Quit babbling and tell me who that limping Toy Soldier is!" Baby5 said coldly.
"A limping Toy Soldier?! What are you talking about?"
"A limping Toy Soldier rescued King Riku. All the toys should be connected to you, right? Don't tell me you have no memory of that Toy Soldier!" Baby5 sneered.
"Uh... I remember now. That should be Dressrosa's Captain of the Guard!" Sugar immediately said.
"That's Kyros! He's my brother-in-law!" Violet breathed a sigh of relief. At last, there was some good news.
"Is that so? It looks like King Riku is relatively safe for now," Minos said, then looked at Violet. "I advise you to leave Dressrosa as soon as possible. No matter what, you're no match for Doflamingo's Pirate Crew."
"But..." Violet gritted her teeth. "The residents of Dressrosa..."
"Doflamingo wants to rule Dressrosa, not destroy it. He can't possibly carry out a massacre, so your worries are completely unnecessary."
"Besides... no matter what, you don't have the strength to defend your own country. On these seas, those without strength will never have a voice!"
Violet's face turned pale, and she lowered her head. "Mr. Minos... could you help us..."
"Sorry, I can't. Please leave," Minos said, quickly shaking his head. With his own scrawny arms and legs, he could only earn a few achievements because of the Charlotte Pirates. How could he possibly withstand Doflamingo's Pirate Crew?
And asking the Charlotte Pirates for help would be useless. Katakuri and Doflamingo might have been fighting fiercely, but in truth, the two were basically unlikely to engage in a true fight to the death.
One was a Yonko Commander of a Yonko Crew, while the other was a Shichibukai. Both knew their own positions and the other's very well—without a genuine conflict of interests, they would never recklessly risk their lives against each other.
Or rather, the benefits King Riku and the others could offer simply were not worth the Charlotte Pirates making a move for them.
"Is that so..." Violet sighed helplessly. "Then... please save my father and sister!"
Minos rubbed his chin. "Then... what's the price?"
"I forgot to tell you, I'm a member of the Charlotte Pirates. Even if I personally sympathize with you, you know very well what kind of pirate crew the Charlotte Pirates are, don't you?"
"Without sufficient payment, I can't possibly take you in. And even if I did take you in, would you be willing to hand over your souls?"
"The... Charlotte Pirates..." Violet's face showed both shock and fear. "Are you one of Charlotte Linlin's children?"
"Sorry, my surname isn't Charlotte. I'm just one of her subordinates."
The Charlotte Pirates were renowned throughout the New World. In this era, Red-Hair had only just risen and was still merely a candidate for the Four Emperors. Kaido had remained entrenched in Wano Country, while as Whitebeard aged and took in more sons, his level of activity had greatly declined.
Therefore, the Charlotte Pirates' reputation was the greatest in the New World at this time, and naturally, they were also the most terrifying.
After all, collecting souls did not sound like something any decent person would do.
As for the legends circulating across the seas, Minos could only say that while they were not entirely accurate, they were not far from the truth either—Charlotte Linlin truly was no good person! The Charlotte Pirates might not all be villains, but there really was not anyone among them with much sympathy.
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