Inviting Rebecca

"No! Rebecca! King Riku only has you and Princess Violet left as family!"

Toy Cyrus hurriedly shouted. Scarlet's blood ran through his daughter's veins—how could she possibly sever her ties with the Riku Dynasty?

"Enough! Soldier, if we can't defeat Doflamingo, then there will be no Riku Dynasty left in this world!"

"I want to avenge my mother!"

"And besides, you're just a toy! Do you know? I'm really tired, really lonely..."

Rebecca suddenly burst into tears and shouted at Cyrus. She had had enough of hiding everywhere, being met with contempt and insults.

She couldn't see any hope...

The Toy Soldier couldn't give her hope or warmth, and neither could Aunt Violet.

If she could defeat Doflamingo, avenge her mother, and restore the royal family, then what did it matter if she sacrificed herself a little?

Besides, life at sea might be better than staying in Dressrosa.

On the streets, Dressrosa's citizens drove her away and berated her. In the colosseum, she was insulted and cursed at, told to die...

Even if those citizens had been deceived by the Donquixote Family, the harm they had caused had already pierced her heart like nail after nail.

She was only a teenage girl. Why did she have to bear such pressure?

Why did the Toy Soldier have to place the burden of restoring the kingdom on her shoulders?

Aunt Violet had joined the Donquixote Family, and her life was far more comfortable than Rebecca's.

If she had never seen hope, perhaps she would have endured it forever.

But if she was given a glimpse of hope, she wanted to change everything.

"Rebecca..."

Toy Cyrus's heart ached terribly. He wanted to cry, but he was only a toy. He had no tears to shed.

His daughter truly had borne far too much.

Luo Ji had not expected Rebecca to think this way at this point. It seemed anime had portrayed human nature far too beautifully.

How could someone who had lived in oppression and darkness all their life possibly remain pure and kind?

How had the current Rebecca, like Naruto from the neighboring world of Naruto, managed to keep a kind heart in such harsh circumstances?

Shouldn't they have turned dark like Doflamingo?

Still, people on the protagonist's side needed truth, goodness, and beauty. That much was true.

No matter how many flaws or dark stains they had, their other positive qualities had to be amplified and highlighted.

If a supporting character on the protagonist's side was cruel, bloodthirsty, and lustful, then the focus would be on shining traits like loyalty and brotherhood.

Like the cannibal Bartolomeo, Tian Boguang, the rapist from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, or Ma Moujun, the evil-fire phoenix of a certain Law...

Looking at the tearful Rebecca, Luo Ji thought that perhaps she was at the critical age when her values were taking shape.

If Luo Ji and the others had not appeared, perhaps with the guidance of the Toy Soldier and those Tontatta, she would slowly become the kind and upright Rebecca of the future.

But Luo Ji's arrival had given Rebecca another choice. She would choose to walk a different path.

Under Rebecca's expectant gaze, Luo Ji flicked two wanted posters toward her.

In this world, nothing was more convincing than a wanted poster.

That was also why it was so important for Luo Ji to get himself on a wanted list.

A high bounty could scare off eighty percent of his enemies.

The rest were either stubborn fools or true powerhouses.

"1.399 billion Beli! 550 million Beli! Rakshasa Queen? Yama?"

Rebecca's eyes widened as she looked at the man and woman, who looked completely different from the portraits on the wanted posters.

Then, with a puff, their disguises were undone, and they returned to their original appearances.

"Join us now, and you can grow stronger quickly!"

Luo Ji smiled faintly as he invited the pink-haired beauty in the making.

Princess, beauty, potential—she met several of Luo Ji's preferences.

"Please take me to sea and help me grow stronger!"

Rebecca looked at the two wanted posters, took a deep breath, and decisively stepped onto the path of piracy.

If she remained in Dressrosa, she could only continue living a hard life of rejection and abuse, risking her life in the colosseum to earn money.

She might as well venture out onto the sea and return once she was strong enough to defeat Doflamingo.

She believed these two companions would help her.

"Rebecca..."

"Forget it. I'm also a gladiator with blood all over my hands. What right do I have to interfere with your path?"

Toy Cyrus gave a bitter smile. Back when Rebecca had been born, he had even needed to put on gloves before he dared hold his own daughter.

He had not wanted his hands, stained with lives and blood, to defile his daughter.

Over those three thousand life-and-death duels, countless contestants and pirates had died beneath his sword.

Was he a good person?

Probably not.

He wanted to stay with his daughter too, but he could not leave Dressrosa. He still had preparations to continue with the Tontatta.

Seeing Rebecca join a powerful pirate crew and receive their protection made him worry far less.

"Welcome to the Luo Ji Pirates, Rebecca!"

"Is this our new crewmate? She's a little weak, but if she works hard, she should be able to catch up to Ulti's strength."

"Welcome, Sister Rebecca. Have some dango."

The friendliness of Luo Ji's group stirred Rebecca's heart. No one in Dressrosa had treated her so kindly in a very long time.

"Please take care of me, Captain Luo Ji!"

Rebecca solemnly bowed to Luo Ji, as though a student were greeting her teacher.

From now on, Luo Ji was not only her captain, but also the guide who would teach her how to grow stronger.

"Alright, to celebrate Rebecca joining us, let's have a banquet!"

Luo Ji happily took out a storage scroll. As the scroll expanded, a huge amount of food appeared from within it.

This was part of the spoils Luo Ji and the others had gathered while sweeping through Dressrosa today.

"A Devil Fruit ability?"

Rebecca's eyes lit up. This seemed to be some kind of spatial storage ability. Did that mean Captain Luo Ji was carrying countless things on him?

"Come on, Rebecca—and Cyrus too. Join the banquet."

"If you have any other friends, you can invite them too."

Luo Ji warmly called out, even hoping to use the two of them to draw out the hidden Tontatta.

"Soldier, is your name Cyrus? Why is it the same as the name of the colosseum's strongest swordsman?"

Only then did Rebecca belatedly ask. She realized that she might not have known much about the Toy Soldier who had accompanied her for so many years.

"I've forgotten my own name."

Cyrus had no intention of acknowledging Rebecca as his daughter yet. Besides, with no memories, what use was there in recognizing each other? Right now, he was only a Toy Soldier.

As Cyrus and Rebecca prepared to hold a banquet with these strangers, the Tontatta in the underground base beneath the Flower Field had been watching them all along.

The Tontatta warriors had not expected Rebecca and Cyrus to become friends with strangers.

By the rule that a friend's friend was also a friend, the Tontatta felt that these unfamiliar large humans should be their friends as well, so there was no need to be overly wary.

Thus, they planned to come out and properly get to know these large humans.