In the center of the market.
"Old man, it's a bit cold. Here, let me put a coat on you..."
The old woman with a full head of white hair draped her gray-white coat over the old man's shoulders.
The old man, trembling, uttered a youthful voice that seemed incongruous with his appearance, "Thank you so much..."
He then glanced at the Self-Defense Force personnel passing by and muttered, "I didn't expect that dressing up would actually be so effective."
"Old man, of course... I've been learning makeup since I was six years old..."
Lilina continued to mimic the old woman's labored speech, without revealing a single flaw.
Buggy, disguised as an old man, broke into the home of a frail old man. After tying the owner to a chair and stuffing a burlap sack into his mouth, they searched the house, found two sets of clothes, changed into them, and then put on makeup before returning to the street.
Sure enough, the Self-Defense Forces had begun a city-wide manhunt for Buggy, but he actually walked past them slowly without being detected, demonstrating Lilina's superb makeup skills.
During their conversation, their voices suddenly lowered. Buggy looked at a soldier dressed as a navy officer passing by and asked, "Was there a navy stationed on this island before?"
Lilina also asked in bewilderment, "I don't know either. When I came here a long time ago, this island was always developing freely, and the navy never intervened."
"Let's follow them and see." Buggy and Lilina supported each other and followed the group of navy soldiers discreetly.
After following him for a while, the naval soldier suddenly walked into a corner. When the two men peered inside, the naval soldier had vanished!
"How..." Before Lilina could speak, Buggy gripped her hand tightly. He hunched over, coughed twice, and mimicked an old man's voice and tone perfectly, "Old woman... slow down, or my old back will give way..."
Lilina immediately realized what was happening and said with a guilty look, "Yes, yes... I was wrong, old man, let's walk slowly... I'll go home and massage your back. I'm sorry to trouble you a little longer, my poor old man!"
The two hadn't rehearsed their lines, but they improvised a scene on the spot, then slowly walked out from the other side of the corner.
The navy officer on the roof then jumped down. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, which were about to slip down to his nose, and coldly watched as Buggy and his companion disappeared from sight. He then turned to look at the Self-Defense Force soldiers who had somehow surrounded the corner entrance, frowning. "They recognized us, huh? This is troublesome..."
" Rainbow Mercenary Group executive ' Sapphire ' Rodifei, you can't escape!" The soldier captain, wielding a trident, stood directly in front. "What exactly are you trying to do, disguising yourself as a Marine? Speak up!"
"Hmph, it's not good to let you know too much... Besides, you're the ones who can't escape!" A pale blue, flowing stream of Lightning Flash appeared in Rodifei's hands, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the group, his hands covered in the energy striking them.
Suddenly, it was as if time itself stopped, and the soldiers photographed by Rodifei remained motionless in their original poses, like wax figures.
Rodifei adjusted the brim of his navy cap, waved, and walked towards the other end of the corner. "You... you can stand here until you die..."
Buggy and Lilina hid in the crowd, watching Rodifei walk around the corner and disappear. Only then did they go back to check the situation around the corner. Four or five Self-Defense Force soldiers were still raising their hands and waving their weapons, their shadows stretching long in the sun.
Buggy spoke up, "That bespectacled guy didn't seem like a Marine... Do you know anything about him?"
"I don't know either..." Although Lilina had been to this island before, it was a long time ago. She frowned and thought carefully before saying, "Right, I heard about an evil organization called 'Rainbow' on this island seven or eight years ago. They seem to have inherited the sorcery of our ancestors. Perhaps, that guy with glasses just now... was a member of 'Rainbow'."
"Sorcery... Rainbow... It sounds like it has something to do with the Rainbow Fish legend you mentioned before?"
Lilina shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.
Buggy said, "Never mind... this has nothing to do with us... let's meet up with Cabaji and the others and go back."
The market wasn't very big. About an hour later, Buggy and his companion met up with Cabaji, Mikuru, and the others. However, Shuma was the only one missing.
Mohji said helplessly, "This kid seems to have run off with a female cadre named 'Rainbow'..."
"That's true..." Cabaji added, "When we found him, he had already disappeared."
" Shutaro... ran off with a female executive?" Mikuru tilted his head, blinked, and for some reason, found it unbelievable.
"Rainbow?" Buggy looked at Lilina, who glanced at him in return. After their eyes met for a moment, Buggy said, "Looks like that bespectacled guy we ran into earlier must also have some connection to 'rainbow'..."
"I didn't expect it to really be a 'rainbow'..." Lilina stuck out her tongue. "So what do we do now?"
Buggy hesitated for a moment, then said, " Cabaji, tell me everything you saw before."
The Marine Base is located three kilometers north of the market.
The Navy has only been in control of Crown Island for less than two months, so the Marine Base is still under construction and not yet fully operational.
However, from now on, the entire island will be under the jurisdiction of Vice Dalmatian Dalmatian of the Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral.
In the commander's office at the Marine Base, Dalmatian, wearing a dog-headed hat, sat in a chair, his lips twitching incessantly, his face showing extreme anger.
" Vice Admiral Dalmatian, it was my incompetence that prevented me from capturing ' Golden Rose,' and I was even injured by her..." Miller, with bandages wrapped around his chest and a pale face, lowered his head, awaiting Dalmatian's reprimand.
Dalmatian let out a long sigh, calming himself down, before saying, "You're injured, sit down first."
"Yes... yes." Miller hesitated for a moment, then sat down in the chair.
"Looks like our enemy is quite formidable this time..." Dalmatian gritted his teeth, looking out the window. "First, they used Golden Rose to distract us, then they sent someone to steal the Rainbow Knot Pearl that Self-Defense Force leader Hida entrusted to me. Instead of a direct confrontation, they used a feint. This mercenary group is truly not to be underestimated..."
Dalmatian actually cares about is not the Rainbow Knot Pearl, but the dignity of the Navy. A few months ago, Hida, the leader of the Self-Defense Force who was too afraid of the Rainbow Mercenary Group, came to the Marine Headquarters to negotiate. She was willing to hand over the jurisdiction of Crown Island, but the Navy had to station soldiers to protect the safety of all the islanders and eliminate the Rainbow Mercenary Group.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku immediately consulted the Five Elders. The shrinking territory and influence in the New World made the World Government pay more attention to the management of the first half of the Grand Line. They immediately gave their approval for Crown Island, which had come to them. Thus, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Dalmatian of the Marine Headquarters was dispatched to Crown Island under Sengoku's orders.
In a sense, this was a decision to expand the influence of the World Government and the Navy. However, in just two months, not only was the Rainbow Bead, which was on good terms with the local forces and the Navy, stolen, but even Commodore Miller was injured. This is a slap in the face for the Navy. Moreover, the Self-Defense Forces regard the Rainbow Bead as a treasure and have repeatedly emphasized its importance. If the Self-Defense Forces find out that the Rainbow Bead was stolen, where will the Navy's prestige be?
" Vice Admiral Dalmatian, what exactly is that Rainbow Knot Pearl? It seems like everyone on the island is taking it so seriously?" Miller asked, watching Dalmatian's retreating figure.
"I looked through some of the island's history books, and there was some information recorded in them. The Rainbow Knot Pearl is an item from folklore, made from the saliva secreted by a strange creature called the ' Rainbow Fish.' This is probably their belief. I heard that if you put it on an item called the Seven-Colored Crown, the wearer can have the power to overthrow the country."
After finishing his statement, Dalmatian added, "This is nothing but nonsense. Such backward places inevitably produce distorted cultures, which is one of our goals for improving this island in the future."
" Vice Admiral... So what should we do now? Are we just going to let that Rainbow Mercenary Group continue to run rampant?"
"No, last night a scout reported that they've located the Rainbow Mercenary Group's hideout. You stay here and guard it; I'll personally lead the team to arrest all those criminals!"