South Blue, Taya Kingdom.
In Royal City Prison.
"Uh... uh~"
"There's a monster..."
"Save..."
A prisoner wearing a black and white striped prison uniform suddenly collapsed, lying helplessly on the ground, his right hand trembling as he reached out towards the cell door, desperately pleading for help, his face filled with fear and Despair.
But a vine on his back suddenly intensified its devouring force.
The vine, like a straw, kept sucking at the pupae.
The prisoner's face and limbs withered away in an instant, turning him into a dried-up corpse.
This bizarre scene added an atmosphere of fear to the already dark prison.
"It's been a month!!"
"What are these bastards doing?!"
Aramaki sat on the dilapidated stone bed. A vine on his right hand quickly retracted, leaving only one finger.
He, a high-ranking police officer in the kingdom, had to resort to cannibalism to survive.
However, this feeling of being devoured actually gave him a sense of pleasure.
This also seems to eliminate the hassle and time required for meals.
However, given a choice, he would never choose to devour these filthy prisoners.
After all, I've been eating this for over thirty years, so it takes some getting used to.
Moreover, this involves 'cannibalism,' which would damage his image as a police officer.
"Those bastards aren't coming to my rescue? I'm the ace of the Guard Army!"
"Now they're not even giving me food! Are they trying to starve me to death?!"
"How could that woman be so petty and heartless?"
As the hunger subsided, Aramaki's eyes were filled with resentment, along with a hint of helplessness.
Deep down, he still hoped that his colleagues and superiors could rescue him.
He didn't want to just give up his position as a high-ranking police officer, force a prison break, and become a pirate and a wanted criminal.
It's important to know that Aramaki has been working hard for this high-ranking police officer position for many years.
How could I bear to lose it like this?
From a young age, Aramaki aspired to become a superior person, to stand at the pinnacle of power, and to trample those inferiors underfoot.
Even if you become a pirate and roam freely in one place, how can you compare to the World Government that has ruled the world for eight hundred years?
Those pirate overlords and the Four Emperors only reigned supreme for twenty or thirty years.
They will inevitably be replaced by a new great pirate, until they die and their entire crew is wiped out, without exception.
The carefree days of these pirate overlords and pirate emperors couldn't even compare to the longevity of those underground dark families.
Not to mention the even longer-standing royal and noble families.
Aramaki didn't want to become a pirate destined to be killed.
"Just one more month, and I'll..."
"The limit is three months!"
"Okay, six months is fine. By then, that woman should be calmed down..."
Aramaki has repeatedly lowered his standards.
As long as he can keep his position as a police officer, he can barely endure another six months in jail.
At worst, we can 'eat people' for another six months.
Consider it an execution of these pirates and criminals for the Taya Kingdom.
Aramaki lay back on the stone bed. With nothing to do, he could only start thinking ahead about which criminal to 'execute' next.
···
In the port of the capital of the Taya Kingdom.
King Taya, accompanied by his queen, princes, princesses, and a host of nobles, welcomed the visiting emperor of the Goa Empire.
Even though the Taya Kingdom is one of the top member powers in the South Blue, they dare not underestimate the Goa Empire, the rapidly rising new hegemon of the East Blue.
The Goa Empire defeated the Germa Kingdom, the Overlord of the North Blue, and even formed a marriage alliance with the Germa princess and the Dressrosa princess, making its power increasingly immense.
The Taya Kingdom dared not provoke the Goa Empire even more.
After all, Doflamingo, like Vinsmoke Judge, is a notoriously ruthless person.
Wang Shi was able to ruthlessly exile Judge and also cooperate with Doflamingo, so he must be a ruthless person who is not to be trifled with.
Amid cheers and cannon salutes, the Goa Empire's royal flagship, the Exile Emperor, along with a Germa Snail Warship and a naval warship, entered the capital's port.
With a group of clone soldiers, navy, imperial Baron and Guard Army clearing the way and providing protection.
Wang Shi, holding hands with his two imperial consorts, Reiju and Baby5, slowly walked down the steps, the three of them exuding an aura of nobility and majesty.
"A warm welcome to His Wang Shi, Princess Reiju, and Imperial Concubine Baby 5 for their visit to the Taya Kingdom."
King Taya King Qizhi VI of Tayyah, accompanied by his wife and children, warmly greeted the three Wang Shi, displaying the demeanor of a great nation.
At least on the surface, he showed no sign of fear of Wang Shi, the King of Exile.
"I hope King Qizhi will not take offense at my unauthorized visit."
As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, Wang Shi responded very politely to King Qizhi VI's warm greeting.
After a brief greeting and introduction, King Qizhi VI welcomed the Wang Shi entourage into the Taya Palace.
At this moment, in the ranks of the Taya nobles at the rear, there was a beautiful noblewoman, her eyes fixed intently on the white figure restraining the two women.
"Is this the Emperor of the Goa Empire, His Majesty Wang Shi, known to the world as the [King of Exile]?"
Harada Shinagawa, daughter of Grand Duke Harada of the Taya Kingdom, gazed at the back of the Wang Shi in his platinum military uniform with eyes full of admiration.
As expected of an emperor of an empire, he is indeed more handsome and Haki than Prince Qizhi.
Even King Qizhi could not compare to the nobility and majesty of the Wang Shi.
'Only a handsome man as noble and powerful as him is worthy of me.'
Harada Shinagawa was fantasizing, wishing she could immediately oust Princess Reiju and Imperial Concubine Baby 5 and take over the position next to the Wang Shi.
After meeting Wang Shi, Shinagawa instantly felt that Prince Qizhi was rather unremarkable.
As for the most powerful police officer who offended him, he was even more despicable.
She hated the thick-lipped, slovenly Aramaki; he had no aristocratic air whatsoever, he was practically a scoundrel.
The thought that Prince Qizhi had personally ordered his men to increase Aramaki's punishment after learning that Aramaki had offended him filled Shinagawa with pride and smugness.
Even Prince Qizhi fell for her charms.
She loved seeing men so infatuated with her.
The fact that she could manipulate the kingdom's strongest police officer and the kingdom's heir made Shinagawa even more smug, and her smile grew even wider.
She also wanted to completely bewitch Wang Shi, the emperor of the empire.
She wants to be the Empress of the Empire!
She was more noble than the Queen and Princess of the Taya Kingdom, and even more esteemed than King Qizhi.
Shinagawa's beautiful eyes curved into crescents, sparkling with starlight, as she officially listed the handsome and noble Wang Shi as her number one target.
As for Prince Qizhi, this kind of heir to the kingdom is no longer worthy of him now.
Wang Shi, who was at the front of the group, was unaware that he had become the target of a Duke's daughter's advances.
Moreover, this Duke's daughter happened to be the culprit who caused Aramaki Mu to be imprisoned.
Most importantly, the prince of the Taya Kingdom was infatuated with the Duke's daughter, which is why Aramaki was not only imprisoned, but also had his food supply cut off by the prison guards.
It has to be said that Aramaki was really unlucky; he accidentally offended the Duke's daughter and the heir to the kingdom in one mission.
If it weren't for the World Government's World Military Draft to recruit strong individuals, they wouldn't have rescued Aramaki.
It's estimated that he might have been imprisoned for more than a few years, and eventually developed a cannibalistic habit of not liking to eat.