Rebecca's Tragedy and Resolve

Outside the colosseum.

The exhausted Rebecca collected today's appearance fee and victory prize.

As a remnant of Dressrosa's royal family, Rebecca could hardly find any job opportunities in this country.

Even vendors refused to sell her anything.

If not for Toy Soldier's care and Violet Violet's secret support, she would never have survived until now.

As a child, she had been captured by human traffickers several times. To give Rebecca the ability to protect herself, Toy Soldier had begun teaching her swordsmanship when she was six or seven.

Because he had repeatedly protected Rebecca and attacked human traffickers and pirates, Toy Soldier had been wanted by Dressrosa on the charge of "toys attacking humans."

Violet, the Glint-Glint Fruit user, could only join Doflamingo's ranks to preserve the lives of King Riku III and Rebecca.

The Donquixote Family officers and the people of Dressrosa had only allowed Rebecca to continue living in this country out of consideration for Violet Violet.

But Rebecca's life was still exceedingly miserable.

Participating in gladiatorial matches was practically Rebecca's only way to earn money.

Holding the money she had traded her life for, Rebecca headed toward an old grandmother's shop.

It was one of the very few shops willing to sell things to Rebecca.

The old grandmother had never believed that King Riku had massacred civilians. She had even sensed something strange about the toys.

She knew that this country was already shrouded in dark clouds, but there was nothing she could do. She could only help the pitiful Rebecca a little.

"Thank you, Grandma."

Rebecca set down the money, took the bread and food, and quickly left without lingering. She did not want to drag the old grandmother down because of her identity.

Watching Rebecca's thin figure leave, the old grandmother could only sigh.

Luo Ji and Yamato followed behind, each clutching armfuls of grilled skewers as they ate.

Tama sat atop Komachiyo, stuffing her face as well. Every so often, she pulled off a little meat to feed Komachiyo and Onimaru.

"A kingdom's princess suffering under oppression... Luo Ji, I think I can smell adventure."

Yamato wolfed down a skewer, her eyes shining as she spoke through her stuffed cheeks.

If her guess was right, this Shichibukai, Doflamingo, must have used some kind of scheme to usurp the country and frame the royal family as criminals.

She seemed to have read similar stories in some novels.

And now, Yamato desperately wanted to defeat Doflamingo, the publicly acknowledged strongest Shichibukai.

After all, among the Shichibukai, Doflamingo had the highest bounty among those whose bounties had stopped rising.

Doflamingo was also the only Shichibukai thriving in the New World.

At least on the surface, he was indeed the strongest Shichibukai, with the largest force.

"That's right. This island is full of stories and adventure."

Luo Ji chuckled. Now they were the fierce dragons crossing the river; they had no reason to fear Doflamingo, the local snake.

It did not matter if they stirred up a little more trouble.

As the group entered the Flower Field, they quickly caught the attention of a one-legged soldier.

Cyrus silently thought, That careless daughter of mine has been targeted by unknown people again. She really is a constant worry.

"What a beautiful sea of sunflowers!"

Riding Komachiyo with Onimaru in tow, Tama happily ran through the flowers. Even Yamato was drawn in by the beautiful scenery.

"I knew the sea had beautiful sights. Setting out to sea on adventures is the real way to live!"

Yamato's eyes sparkled. This was far more pleasant than Onigashima, filled with beautiful sights she had never seen before.

"Huh? There seem to be some powerful little creatures in the Flower Field."

Yamato's Observation Haki quickly detected several little ones hiding among the flowers.

It made her eager to investigate.

Perhaps this was the wonderful feeling of exploration and adventure.

"They're Tontatta. Even the Roger Pirates might not have encountered the Tontatta."

Luo Ji smiled faintly. Sure enough, following Rebecca was the fastest way to find these little ones.

After all, the Tontatta and the Riku Dynasty had been allies for centuries.

The Tontatta would definitely keep an eye on Rebecca, a descendant of the royal family.

Doflamingo and Caesar had not yet started producing artificial Devil Fruits, nor had they begun capturing the Tontatta on a large scale to grow artificial Devil Fruit trees.

That meant Princess Mansherry, the Paramecia Heal-Heal Fruit user, was still in Green Bit.

"The Tontatta?"

Yamato's eyes lit up like two lanterns. These were the legendary "fairies," a rare race that could only be encountered by chance.

"Good, good, good! Now I can finally write an exciting story in my sailing journal."

Yamato immediately dropped to the ground like an excited husky and began sniffing wildly for traces of the Tontatta.

Yamato's actions shocked Cyrus, who had been observing from the shadows.

Had their revolutionary base been discovered?

After all, the Riku Royal Army Intelligence Department that he and the Tontatta had built together was beneath the Flower Field.

With the Tontatta's help, they could obtain much information about the Donquixote Family's movements.

"Hey! Who are you people? Leave this place immediately!"

The one-legged Toy Soldier held a toy gun and suddenly shouted, staring directly at the strangers.

"A talking toy! That's so cool!"

Yamato sprang up from the ground and excitedly looked at the unusual toy soldier.

With his arms folded across his chest, Luo Ji watched the toy created from the strongest gladiator with great interest.

Call him strong, and Doflamingo had instantly cut off one of his legs. Call him weak, and he could defeat Diamante.

It seemed he did not even know Armament Haki.

His strength was like Schrödinger's cat, strong one moment and weak the next.

Cyrus's voice also put Rebecca on high alert. She ran back and drew her sword.

"Mr. Soldier, what's going on?"

Rebecca asked nervously. She could sense a powerful feeling of danger from the two of them.

"Cyrus, how could you watch your own daughter take part in such a dangerous gladiatorial match?"

"And you, Rebecca, do you want to become stronger? Do you want to defeat Doflamingo? Perhaps I can help you."

Luo Ji looked at the wary human and toy and spoke calmly.

"You actually know me?!!"

Toy Cyrus's eyes widened. How could anyone still remember him? That hateful Devil Fruit user's ability had erased all memories of him.

Even the statue of the legendary gladiator who had won three thousand consecutive matches was merely a new legend others had attached to it. It had basically nothing to do with Cyrus.

"You can defeat Doflamingo?"

Rebecca did not care about the part about being his daughter. She only wanted to defeat the Donquixote Family, avenge her mother, and avenge the Riku Dynasty.

"If you completely sever your ties with the Riku Dynasty and become my crew member, in exchange for a chance to defeat Doflamingo, would you be willing?"

Luo Ji did not want to become a nanny responsible for protecting every crew member's country. That burden was far too heavy.

"I'm willing! But how do I know you have the strength to deal with Doflamingo?"

Rebecca answered without hesitation. As King Riku's granddaughter, she had never been the kingdom's heir in the first place.

Her aunt, Princess Violet, was still the direct heir above her.

And if they could not defeat the Donquixote Family, that royal identity would never return to King Riku.