Red Port

Kane returned to the warship, but the more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Robin noticed his unease and came over to ask with concern:

"Did you run into trouble?"

"I have a few doubts."

Kane held nothing back as he told Robin everything he had done, then quietly watched her, wanting to hear her thoughts.

Having spent ten years on the run, Robin had plenty of experience with conspiracies. After a brief moment of thought, she understood what was strange about it.

"Since Black Maria said they were there to rescue Doflamingo, that meant Doflamingo had contacted Kaido.

"But with just the former Jack and two Flying Six, it would have been impossible to rescue him, because Vice Admiral Tsuru was too strong."

"That's it!"

Kane suddenly understood. He picked Robin up and kissed her fiercely, not setting her down until her face had turned crimson.

"I get it. Doflamingo wanted Kaido's men to fall here, preferably forming a bitter blood feud with the Marines..."

Kane froze halfway through his words, then rubbed his chin meaningfully.

"Though it seems the one who has a grudge against Kaido is me."

Robin immediately grew nervous. That was Kaido, one of the Four Emperors who ruled over the latter half of the Grand Line—the King of the Beasts, known as the strongest creature in the world!

Even if Kaido did not personally make a move against Kane, he had countless powerful subordinates, not to mention innumerable pirates willing to do anything to please him.

The more Robin thought about it, the more frightened she became. She instinctively hugged Kane tightly, afraid she might lose him the next second.

"Don't be afraid. It'll be fine."

Kane stroked Robin's back. That kind of comfort quickly soothed her heart.

Sure enough, under Kane's reassurance, Robin's pounding heart quickly calmed down, though worry still lingered on her pretty face.

"I'm a Marine. Normally, no one would come looking to provoke me."

Kane looked calmly into Robin's eyes, and his composure quickly spread to her.

"Besides, we'll reach Marine Headquarters soon. I've never heard of any pirate daring to cause trouble at Marine Headquarters."

Kane's reasoning was not particularly convincing. Robin had calmed down, but she was still worried.

"Looks like you need stronger reassurance."

"Ah? What are you—mmph!"

After Black Maria withdrew with the remaining pirates, they did not encounter another pirate ship on the way to Red Port.

The smooth journey eased much of Tsuru's concern, though she still personally kept watch over Doflamingo's group the entire time, lest anything else go wrong.

When the towering Red Line became visibly closer and closer, everyone aboard the warship let out a sigh of relief, knowing they were about to enjoy a period of peace and quiet.

"So this is Red Port? It doesn't look that big."

At dusk, Kane sat in the lookout post, shading his eyes as he looked down at the port where the warship was about to dock, full of curiosity.

"The place itself isn't large. Its location is simply important."

Cuckoo spoke flatly, seemingly uninterested in Red Port.

From a distance, Red Port was merely a peninsula extending from the foot of the Red Line. It was the same color as the Red Line, with little land and sparse vegetation, making it rather unremarkable.

Yet no one would dare underestimate this place.

Above it stood the holy land of the Celestial Dragons, Mary Geoise. Beneath it, deep in the sea, lay Fish-Man Island. It was also separated from the Sabaody Archipelago by only the Red Line, giving it an exceptionally advantageous location.

Thus, this peninsula had been developed into an important stop for crossing the Red Line.

The Bubble Cable Cars responsible for carrying people and cargo up and down had become Red Port's famous specialty and attraction.

Every day, tens of thousands of people traveled between Red Port, the Red Line, and the Sabaody Archipelago through the Bubble Cable Cars that connected the Red Line.

Among them were civilians, merchants, Marines, and Celestial Dragons, who remained arrogantly haughty wherever they went.

Fortunately, the Celestial Dragons had Bubble Cable Cars reserved for their own use, so others did not need to worry about running into them while riding one.

"That must be the Bubble Cable Car exclusively for the Celestial Dragons, right?"

From afar, Kane could see the tracks embedded in the Red Line's cliff face, as well as the Bubble Cable Cars rising and descending along them.

Those enormous round bubbles, formed from the natural resin of Sabaody, were set into metal frames. Each one could hold nearly a hundred people.

Two of those cable cars were especially luxurious in appearance, inlaid with gold and gemstones. Clearly, they were not for ordinary people.

"That's right."

Cuckoo's expression darkened slightly, as though she had remembered something unpleasant.

"What is it? Did you remember something unhappy?"

The sharp-eyed Kane moved close to Cuckoo, slipping his arm beneath the Justice coat draped over her shoulders and gently wrapping it around her waist.

"Mm. I once escorted Celestial Dragons on a trip. They... were disgusting."

Cuckoo leaned against Kane, a look of disgust on her face. Clearly, her memories involving the Celestial Dragons were far from pleasant.

Kane remembered how Cuckoo had looked repulsed when she had previously mentioned Bubble Cable Cars. Already disgusted by the Celestial Dragons himself, he found them even more irritating now.

Cuckoo nestled in his arms and softly began recounting her experience.

"Five years ago, while I was on an assignment involving Celestial Dragons, I served as the guard for a ten-year-old Celestial Dragon girl.

"She went to the Sabaody Archipelago for fun, but she never walked the entire time. Instead, she rode on the back of a girl only a few years older than herself.

"That girl wore heavy shackles around her neck. If she moved even a little too slowly, she would be whipped.

"I saw with my own eyes that the girl did not even dare let herself jostle. Even when she was whipped, she clenched her teeth and did not dare make a sound.

"And that was only the most insignificant thing I saw and heard in Mary Geoise."

Cuckoo spoke very calmly, but a vivid image had already formed in Kane's mind.

"Does no one restrain them? Or..."

Kane leaned close to Cuckoo's ear, breathing warm air into it.

Cuckoo instinctively ducked away. Her eyes shone brightly as spring when she looked at Kane, and she asked curiously:

"Or what?"

Kane smiled mysteriously, lightly kissed Cuckoo's cheek, and whispered:

"Or perhaps someone could... punish them?"

Cuckoo's eyes widened abruptly. She warily scanned the surroundings and even spread her Observation Haki.

Only after confirming that no one was eavesdropping did she look at Kane in disbelief and warn him in a low voice:

"Kane, remember this: you must never say something like that carelessly.

"Once someone hears it and reports it to the Celestial Dragons, whether they have evidence or not, the Celestial Dragons will hunt you down!"

Kane frowned. He truly had not expected a situation where people could be killed based on testimony alone, without any evidence.

"Wouldn't that mean that once someone made a false accusation, the accused person would be doomed?"

"Exactly. Though the person making the false accusation would not end well either."

Cuckoo lowered her voice.

"To the Celestial Dragons, everyone except themselves is lowly.

"In their eyes, the falsely accused person may have offended them, but the false accuser would have ruined their mood.

"And they simply do not care whether dealing with those who offend them ends up implicating other people as well..."

A finger suddenly pressed against Cuckoo's full, soft lips, stopping the rest of her words.

Cuckoo looked at Kane in confusion and saw him shake his head slightly.

"Talking about them feels way too unlucky. Let's change the subject."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Let's talk about what animal you want to play later."

Cuckoo's eyes immediately lit up. She climbed onto Kane's lap, tugged excitedly at his collar, and said:

"I'm not being an animal. I want to be an animal trainer!"

"Beasts can be very fierce."

"Then I still want to be an animal trainer!"

"Looks like the beast can have a full meal."

"One meal~ will that be enough~"

"Looks like tonight's animal trainer has quite an appetite."

"...Mmm!"