The New World, Explosion Pirates territory.
"Lord, the information has been confirmed."
"The legendary Pure Gold should be in the hands of Gild Tesoro."
Battle Princess Bettina clicked across the ground in her high heels and came to the poolside. She looked at the man lounging in a chair and reading the latest newspaper. The front page happened to feature news about the Richest Group and the Beasts Pirates.
"Nirudall, any news?"
Explosion Monarch Gottdi stared at Chaos in the newspaper, his red, slit-pupiled eyes lowered. His face betrayed no emotion.
More than half a year ago, because of the Pure Gold, his second division commander, Mantis King Ssubik, had died, while his fifth division commander, Chameleon King Nirudall, had vanished without a trace.
At first, Gottdi had thought they were both dead. After all, Mantis King Ssubik's vivre card had burned away. But when Gottdi returned, he discovered that Chameleon King Nirudall's vivre card hadn't burned away on its own.
That meant the Chameleon King was still alive.
For the past six months, he had also tried to track him by following the vivre card's movements. But it had moved far too quickly, one moment heading west and the next east, at a frightening speed.
After putting the pieces together, he had concluded that the Chameleon King was most likely inside the Lantern Fish's stomach. It was the only possibility.
And Gottdi's guess had been right. The Chameleon King was inside the Lantern Fish's stomach, and the Lantern Fish was still alive. Both of them had narrowly escaped death.
"The vivre card's direction keeps changing too quickly. There's no way to—"
Bettina didn't need to spell it out. Everyone understood.
Unless something unexpected happened, the Chameleon King might never see the light of day again.
What a miserable fate!