Time to Leave

The king stared at the pirates without blinking, as if he were punishing himself.

To him, what those pirates drank was not milk wine, but the blood of his people.

"Marcus, am I useless? Is this country destined to fall apart under my rule?"

His voice was hoarse, his face haggard.

The king had once been the undefeated champion of the Hasa Kingdom. He had imagined he might lose one day, perhaps to a new champion. But he had never imagined losing like this, or that a single defeat would come at a price he could not bear.

Marcus pressed his lips together. He did not know what to say.

That was the whole story.

When Airis finished, everyone fell silent. None of them had expected this country to have gone through something like that.

But one person thought something about Airis's account did not add up.

The problem was not Airis. It was Christol.

Neither his methods nor his personality fit someone from the Big Mom Pirates.

Moyun had only been suspicious at first. Now he was certain: Christol was not one of Big Mom's people.

But why would Christol lie? Wasn't he afraid of being found out?

And Moyun still did not know whether the mark on the factory actually belonged to the Big Mom Pirates.

Could even that mark be a convincing fake?

"How can that Christol be such a bastard?"

Hisoka spoke indignantly. If he ever met the man, he would give him a good beating.

Even Robin could now understand why everyone had been so angry at the Bonfire Festival.

"Honestly."

Kuina patted Hisoka on the head, apparently agreeing with him.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. We hit Christol this time. What happens to us will probably be even