Scusen's Invitation

Although in the original work, betrayal was something that would absolutely never happen within the Straw Hat crew.

Fortunately, the pirate crew was small in scale, practicing an elite system, and the Straw Hat crew were not true pirates who pillaged and plundered, but merely adventurers wearing pirate flags.

Little did they know that even someone as strong as the Whitebeard Pirates had a black sheep like Blackbeard, ultimately leading to Ace's capture and the Whitebeard Pirates shattering apart during the Marineford War.

Sigh... Aeneas sighed. This is the real pirate world, and I can't afford to be careless.

At least up until now, Aeneas had not been betrayed by anyone, and this incident also served as a wake-up call—he was not living inside a manga, and if he continued to treat this world with the detachment of an outsider, retribution would come sooner or later!

"Get lost!" Aeneas looked at Jerry, who wore a mournful, lifeless expression, and gave him a direct kick to send him on his way.

Jerry didn't even look back, leaving on his hands and knees.

"Has the old man appeared in Tinos?" This was the most useful piece of information Aeneas had obtained so far, but its truthfulness could not yet be guaranteed.

Forget it, I'll just keep searching. Aeneas intended to continue walking along Central Circle Street to see if he could discover anything.

Just at that moment, a masked man in black suddenly appeared right in front of Aeneas—the exact spot where Jerry had run off earlier.

"Who are you!" Aeneas instantly grew alert, staring at the newcomer without a shred of carelessness.

"You must be Aeneas, right?" Unexpectedly, the man in black called out Aeneas's name directly. "Our boss wants to invite you over as a guest."

"Who's your boss?" Aeneas frowned. "How does he know my name?"

"You should know him. He's the boss of the District Three underground syndicate, Boss Scusen," the man in black replied straight away. "As for how we know you, you'll find out when you get there."

Yet Aeneas still did not lower his guard.

"So mysterious, why didn't he come to see me himself?" Aeneas wasn't so easily fooled. "What if it's a trap? Do they really take me for some ordinary kid?"

"Besides, is this your attitude when inviting someone?" Aeneas looked at the man in black's attire. "Not an inch of skin is exposed from head to toe, why on earth should I trust you?"

"Fine, just as Lord Obi-Wan said." The man in black immediately took off his hood and mask, revealing a young face with blonde hair, though the blonde man's words piqued Aeneas's interest.

"Did you say Obi-Wan?" Aeneas was completely baffled now. "What's going on here? What kind of relationship is there between your Boss Scusen and the old man?"

"My name is Krachio Emondi, and I am the combat captain of District Three in Tinos," the blonde man introduced himself. "As for what you want to know, let's talk on the way; it's not safe here."

Since things had reached this point, Aeneas had no real reason to refuse.

I don't know if this is true, but since it involves the old man and Rami, I don't have any other choice either. Aeneas pondered it slightly in his heart, then agreed to go with Emondi.

Afterward, the two of them left the place.

However, right in the shadows, a man with a shattered pair of glasses and a big nose adjusted his broken spectacles, frowned slightly, and quickly vanished from the spot.

"You can talk now." Aeneas followed closely behind Emondi. This Emondi was clearly someone who had trained hard and was much stronger than the pirate cannon fodder he had encountered earlier.

Walking one after the other, the two quickly left the bustling, noisy port and stepped onto the North Street entrance of Central Circle Street—the avenue leading into District Three.

"Of course, just as I said before." Emondi slowed his pace, walking side by side with Aeneas as he spoke. "It's our Boss Scusen who wants to find you, but it was actually Lord Obi-Wan who instructed me to find you. The lord anticipated days ago that you would arrive at the port of Tinos."

"You call the old man 'Lord'?" Aeneas was somewhat puzzled. "Isn't your only boss Scusen? Could old man Obi-Wan be your boss too?"

"Uh..." Emondi was momentarily at a loss for words, thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Never mind, it doesn't hurt to tell you. Have you ever heard of Stephanie?"

Stephanie!

Of course Aeneas knew her. Back then, Obi-Wan had left together with Stephanie, and at the time, the sickly Little Rami had been with them as well.

"Of course. What's their relationship?" Aeneas asked.

"Our boss is Stephanie's biological younger brother, and Lord Obi-Wan is our boss's brother-in-law..." Emondi's tone was somewhat strange when he said this, but Aeneas's expression was even stranger.

"What!" Aeneas was so shocked his jaw dropped.

Well, that's completely unexpected yet somehow makes sense! Aeneas had long felt that Obi-Wan and that Herbalist Stephanie shared some vague, unspeakable relationship, but looking at it now, it wasn't any sort of vague relationship at all.

This was simply the plain truth!

Obi-Wan and Stephanie were husband and wife!

"What the hell!" Aeneas wore a heartbroken expression. To think I actually believed the old man had never truly experienced a woman's tenderness in his entire life. I was careless!

As expected, your old man is still your old man.

"However, their relationship doesn't seem to be very good." Emondi scratched his forehead with a finger and then said, "You'd better not run your mouth later."

"Fine, is the old man in your boss's territory right now?" Aeneas nodded and then continued to ask, "Is there a little girl next to him who's even younger than me, with brownish-white hair and a somewhat malnourished look?"

"Lord Obi-Wan is there, but I haven't seen the little girl you described," Emondi answered truthfully.

Thump-thump!

Aeneas's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Rami isn't there?" Aeneas's expression turned ugly. Something hasn't really happened to her, has it?

Whenever he thought of that cute little girl, Aeneas couldn't help but feel happy—who wouldn't cherish such a clever and adorable little sister?

Yet Aeneas was utterly powerless, completely unable to alleviate Little Rami's worsening condition day by day.

If it weren't for the sake of Rami's health, Aeneas would never have let Rami leave him—even with Obi-Wan taking her along, it still made Aeneas worry every single day.

Aeneas had completely come to regard Rami as his very own younger sister.

If anything happens to Rami, I won't forgive the old man even if it kills me! Aeneas's mind went blank. He clearly promised me he would take good care of Little Rami. What on earth have you been doing, old man!

Aeneas couldn't help clenching his fists tightly, and soon they arrived before an inconspicuous house.