A sea beast that was tens of meters tall and had white and green stripes like a cow sprang out from the bottom of the sea. Half of its body was exposed on the sea. It looked at the boat in front of it harmlessly: "Momoo--"
"There is something fun!" Shuma, who was looking bored, his eyes lit up, and he jumped up in the air on Geppo, and lay on Momoo's head, banging and making a playful sound, "Drive, drive!"
As if feeling that his dignity had been insulted, Momoo began to look a little irritable, looking like a volcano about to erupt.
"Hey, are you hungry?" Shuma scratched his head, took out a few 'Destruction Pepper' that he carried with him, and threw them into the gap in Momoo's mouth.
Momoo's pupils suddenly narrowed, a strong heat wave suddenly spurted out from the huge mouth, and the whole body began to stir up the waves.
"Hey, you're so naughty!"
Shuma clenched his small fist and hit Momoo unceremoniously on the head.
Wow!!
Momoo's huge body was instantly sunk to the bottom of the sea, and waves alternated layer by layer, rolling and undulating in all directions.
"I used too much strength..." Shuma paused in the air and scratched his head in embarrassment.
Wow--
Momoo's body emerged from the sea again, with a big bag on its head and an angry roar.
Buggy suddenly separated a hand and flew one meter away from Momoo's eyes. The outstretched index finger was like a tiny needle hanging in the air. His voice suddenly became gloomy. "If you don't want to be food, just give me some peace."
The seemingly invisible and terrifying aura coming from the top of its head and in front of its eyes caused cold sweat to break out on Momoo's forehead. It intuitively told it that if it resisted, it would be in danger, so it kept its posture tremblingly and did not dare to move.
"Very good..." Buggy threw a long rope from the deck to Shuma, "Put it on so we can speed up a bit."
The humidity in the air began to increase, and rain began to fall on the sea surface.
With the power of Momoo to open the way ahead, and with the sails with the skull and crossbones flag on the ship furled, it took only a few hours to reach the shore.
Big Top docked smoothly without any obstruction.
At first glance, the village is deserted, with almost no people in sight. I don't know whether it's because of the rain or because the place is so lifeless. Looking upward, the symbolic shark-headed high-rise building Arlong Empire is looming, but after looking at it for a long time, it feels like it's not, like a phantom in the rain... This probably isn't Cocoyasi Village.
The rain-proof cloak was draped over his body. Buggy looked at Shuma who was holding Momoo by force and playing in the water. "Shuma, the task of guarding the ship is left to you."
"Ah?" Shuma sat on top of the tearful Momoo and patted his chest, "Leave it to me!"
"Uncle Buggy, I also want to go out and have a look."
Kaya put on a light yellow cloak and walked along the rope ladder of the ship to the shore. She didn't know if it was because of the weather, but she felt that she was very depressed recently. Maybe she stayed in the library for too long reading medical books, and her brain was a little dizzy.
"Then let's come together." Buggy greeted, and after she caught up with him, he continued to walk forward with Cabaji.
Walking along the deserted village road, raindrops hit the ground, covering up a thin layer of dust on the bluestone slabs. At a glance, the Net tight spider webs beside the windows of the house have been broken layer by layer by fine raindrops. There are no traces of people in the open door of the small yard, and there are some old fishing gear and farm tools leaning against the corner. The scenery is depressing.
"It's so deserted, completely different from the liveliness of Syrup Village." Kaya said with great emotion.
"Can't you smell it? There is a faint smell of blood in the air. If it hadn't been for the rain, I'm afraid this smell would have lasted for a long time." Buggy responded with an indifferent expression.
Kaya exclaimed in disbelief, "Uncle Buggy, you mean..."
"If my guess is correct, everyone in this village should have been killed. There are traces of looting everywhere. It must have been at least a month... If there is a village next door, maybe they collected the corpses."
Kaya covered her mouth in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why, why is this?!"
"This is how survival and death are. If you are in an excessively weak position, you will inevitably be dominated by the powerful and even killed."
Cabaji interjected without saltiness. As one of the first veterans to follow Buggy, he himself had his own understanding of this sea. Whether it was the despicable means he used in the early days or his current desire to become stronger, he was all in order to survive on this sea.
"It is undeniable Cabaji, this world is actually about the weak and the strong. Kaya, you should have eaten the meat of other animals. If you can eat it with peace of mind, it means that your subconscious mind agrees with this concept. To them, we are powerful, so we can deprive them of their lives without any care... Of course, these two things cannot be generalized."
"But..." Kaya bit her lower lip. Buggy was right, but she could not and did not dare to accept this view.
Buggy continued, "It does not mean that innocent people can be killed indiscriminately. I personally still retain the opinion that animals with high intelligence and communication skills are equal. However, the initiator does not think so. The world will always be full of various irreconcilable contradictions, and the consequences will be the same. I am just conveying the information I saw and heard to you. You should learn to make your heart stronger during the journey."
As if because of the sound of walking and talking, a strange gaze came from not far away and fell on him. Looking sideways, he saw a boy hiding half of his head in the shadow of the alley.
"You are human beings!"
The little boy walked out cautiously. He looked haggard, thin, and a little sluggish. He just walked a few steps, then started to stagger, and then fell to the ground.
Kaya was still thinking about what Buggy said when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of muddy water splashing. He looked up and ran up to help the little boy in panic, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The little boy who looked quite miserable struggled to stand up and shouted to Buggy and others, "Is there a doctor? Is there a doctor who can save my sister!"
His only voice echoed in the dripping raindrops, but no one answered.
"Can a doctor save my sister? I beg you!" He repeated the same words, his weak voice mixed with anxiety and panic.
Everyone's eyes fell on Kaya who was quite hesitant.
"Are you a doctor, are you a doctor, big sister!" The tears on the little boy's face were no longer distinguishable from the rain, and he looked at Kaya as if he was grabbing a life-saving straw.
"I..." Kaya, who was not very confident, looked at Buggy as if he had no backbone. He thought of what the latter had just said, and finally nodded with determination, "I am a doctor!"
"Great... Big sister, please save my sister!"
"I understand, take me there and I will find a way."
"She has had a fever for several days!" The little boy quickly took Kaya's hand, ran to a house, and disappeared in the rain.
"Captain Buggy, do you want to let her go?" Cabaji hesitated, but said.
"It's okay... let's go." Buggy shrugged and moved forward along the path near the village.
The two continued to move forward, passing half of the village along the way. Except for the little boy who didn't know how he survived, there was no living person in sight. The smell of blood could still be clearly transmitted to the nose in the wash of the rain, but it soon disappeared because the nose had adapted to the smell.
Arlong... This is really a cruel guy who slaughtered the entire village. His character is definitely more cruel and bad than in the original work...
That's right, this is a real world after all, and it's not unusual for an extreme racist like him to do such a thing, especially when the navy lets him go, and he is obviously more unscrupulous. He is not like a pirate, but an emperor, holding the power of life and death for everyone in the nearby villages.
Arlong Empire... it's well-deserved.
Buggy doesn't know what to think in his heart. He is not a cold-blooded person. He has some sympathy for these civilians who are not in line with his stance and interests. Although he does not have a heart of charity, he has no interest in killing ordinary people. Seeing such behavior, he is more disgusted than angry. Arlong, who inherited the dark side of Fish-Man Fisher Tiger, is really an annoying bastard.
Cabaji followed beside him. He had been a pirate with Buggy for so many years, but he had not been excessively violent towards civilians. Looking at the contrast between the dense group houses and the depressed streets in the village, he couldn't help but be shocked. "This is Arlong Empire..."
Buggy said jokingly, "Who would have thought that in East Blue, the sea area known as the most peaceful, there is such a place, cruel, chaotic and cold, the building that starts to rot from the bottom will sooner or later be in danger of the upper floors, and finally collapse and fall to pieces..."
The last sentence was not spoken out loud, but kept in the heart, "This is the troubled times, the troubled times that are about to reach their peak..."
In this somewhat depressing land, the long drizzle will affect people's mood to some extent.
While walking along, Buggy picked up Den Den Mushi and dialed the phone.
"Mohji, where are you now?"
"You are Buggy, haha-" A strange laughter came from the other side, it was not Mohji.
Buggy was silent for a moment and then said, "Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you state your own name first?"
"What an interesting human pirate."
After saying this, the other end of Den Den Mushi was filled with all kinds of mocking laughter. Dozens of people were laughing at the same time. Then these voices stopped at the same time and changed back to their original voices.
"I am Arlong. There is a stupid pirate who tried to challenge my authority, but I left him a life. Buggy. If you want him to survive, come to the Arlong Empire with your head and 100 million Beli, haha!"
Poof pod.
Den Den Mushi's eyes closed, and there was no sound anymore.
"The white-haired monster has been caught." Cabaji clicked his tongue twice without any sense of crisis, and said gloatingly, "This idiot must have done something outrageous."
"The noise caused by Mohji seems to be a bit loud." Buggy said in a low voice, "But in the final analysis, I blame this matter for not thinking it through. After all, the other party is Fish-Man who came down from Grand Line. It is not as easy to deal with as expected..."
"Then what should we do, Captain Buggy."
Buggy stopped, thought for a while, and said, "His purpose is to get back the 100 million Beli, and to eliminate me as an external hidden danger. Mohji, who is used as a bait to lure us, is not in danger of life yet, but we cannot hand over the initiative. Since he threatens us with Mohji, then we will treat him the same way he did."
"If he wants to manage such a large territory, his subordinates cannot all stick together. There must be Fish-Man who manage and monitor and patrol in a decentralized manner. If we can catch a few fish that slip through the net, we may be able to use it as a bargaining chip to regain the initiative."
"But...Arlong will not care about the life and death of his subordinates..."
Cabaji asked doubtfully, there are too many such pirates, as can be seen in the sea area of East Blue. The higher the bounty, the more cold-blooded the pirates are. Kuro, Krieg, and the previous Buggy are all such people.
"No, these Fish-Mans are the foundation for him to build an empire in East Blue. If one dies, one will be missing. There are very few Fish-Mans in East Blue. In addition, he himself is an extremist. Once the number of subordinates decreases, he will not be able to replenish manpower from among humans, and his dominance in external expansion will also be greatly reduced. According to common sense, he will not take this risk."
Listening to Buggy's analysis, Cabaji nodded suddenly. "So, as long as we can capture and kidnap those scattered Fish-Man, we can replace this idiot Mohji."
"That's true, but now we don't know where the bottom line is for Arlong. One Fish-Man, two Fish-Man, three Fish-Man, or more. When he feels distressed, we can take back the initiative."
Buggy continued, "Let's do this. Let's act separately. Although Mohji is the bait on the hook, we cannot overestimate the patience of the fisherman Arlong. We don't have much time left. After half a day..."
He looked up at the looming tower and said, "Let's gather at that location."
After summing up, we split up and started the Fish-Man capture plan.
In a cellar somewhere in the village, faint candlelight flickered, and the smell of fruits and vegetables was everywhere.
A girl with weak breathing, probably only three or four years old, with white lips, was lying on a bed made of flat shelves. She was covered with a cotton quilt and looked very uncomfortable.
Kaya Green bubbles like ping pong balls appeared in the palm of his hand. He put the bubbles in the cup and stirred them. He carefully opened the girl's mouth and slowly poured the liquid in.
The little girl's throat moved slightly, her expression softened a lot, and her breathing became smoother and slower.
Kaya secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Disease and trauma in the body are two different systems. She is not sure whether her ability is effective, but now it seems that this ability should have a certain effect on the internal injuries of the human body.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, then put a water bag on the girl's forehead, and then took a medical box that the boy had taken out from the village clinic that had been smashed and destroyed. She glanced around and touched various unmarked syringes and medicines in the medical box with trembling hands.
"I'm a doctor... I'm a doctor."
Kaya said to himself silently in his heart, trying to keep his emotions calm, and held a potion tube tremblingly in front of his eyes to watch. Even though he had read a lot of medical books, theory and practice were completely different things. He had zero real on-the-spot experience, and his mentality was not as calm as usual.
The little boy held back his tears and did not dare to speak. His name was Kalis. Nisa Village was born here. Until a month ago, the villagers could no longer bear the endless plundering of Arlong and rose up to resist. In the end, everyone was ruthlessly killed. He hid his three-year-old sister in the cellar and luckily escaped the disaster.
Starting from the day when Fish-Man invaded, he and his sister hid in the cellar for a whole day without making a sound. After waiting for the group of Fish-Man to leave, he realized that his head was dizzy, and his three-year-old sister Her resistance was even worse. When she discovered something strange about her, her sister had already fallen into a coma, and her condition had lasted for more than a month. The Fish-Man that could be seen outside from time to time made him afraid to take his sister to the ground for fear of being killed.
In this adverse environment, his condition worsened, and finally he had to risk his life and run out to find rescue.
It wasn't until Kaya ordered Kaya to empty the cellar of vegetables and fruits that Kalis realized that these foods were robbing him of "air". Long-term cerebral hypoxia was the source of coma. Weather changes and the harsh environment of the cellar gave his sister a fever and infection.
"No... there are no medicines to reduce fever or alleviate the condition here." Kaya put down the medical box, briefly looked at the little girl's eyelids and tongue, and looked at Kalis with difficulty, "I don't know... how long my ability will last, but if this continues, she will die soon..."
"Then what should I do!" Kalis's face was full of tears, biting his lower lip to prevent himself from crying too much. If it weren't for his sister, who was the only spiritual support, he would have collapsed in the pain of losing his parents and relatives in the neighborhood.
The feeling of being relied on and regarded as the backbone gave Kaya an indescribable feeling in her heart. She seemed to see the crying and stubborn self in the past, and suddenly remembered what Buggy had just said, "... You should learn to make your heart strong during the journey."
She took a deep breath and put her hands on the little boy's shoulders. "Don't worry, there must be a village nearby, and there must be a medical clinic there. As long as we get there, there will definitely be a solution."
The little boy choked and said, "The closest one to here is Cocoyasi Village, but, but... there will definitely be those bastards Fish-Man blocking the road, and, and... my sister..."
"Even if you stay here, your sister's condition will not improve... if you send her to the medical clinic, we still have hope, don't give up!"
Kaya felt for the first time that he spoke like an adult, with a firm and mature air.
Kalis wiped away tears firmly. "Okay, I listen to you, big sister."
After hearing the other party's promise, Kaya wrapped the little girl in a thick quilt, carefully held her in his arms, and asked Kalis to open the cellar door and walk out in the wind and rain.