The cavern lay beneath a coastal cliff in the south of Rum Island.
This was also where Noah and his companions had landed. Jay and his brother Ray had not gone to Sucrose Town that day, instead digging a temporary underground cavern here.
With the Hole-Hole Fruit, Ray had easily dug out an underground cavern covering several thousand square meters.
Once the wormhole opened, Noah and the others passed through one after another.
Looking at Powell, who was as lifeless as a dead pig, Ray asked, puzzled, "Boss, is this guy the mastermind? There's nothing special about him, is there?"
"We'll find out whether anything's amiss when we question him."
Lilith injected the antidote into Powell, and Noah casually dumped a cubic meter of seawater over him.
Drenched in the bone-chilling seawater, Powell shuddered and slowly regained consciousness. Before the fat pig had figured out what was happening, he immediately began cursing:
"So cold! Where the hell has everyone gone? Hurry up and..."
Suddenly, Powell's throat seemed to close up, and he panicked. "Who are you people... Do you know who I am? Let me go, or else..."
"Or else what..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Lilith approached him with a smile and plunged a syringe into his arm.
"Y-you... What did you do to me?"
A moment later, Powell felt his arm grow hot, then itchy. The sensation spread throughout his body.
"Ahhh... It's so itchy..."
If he had not been tied up, Powell might have scratched his skin raw. At that moment, he desperately wanted to tear his skin off and roast it over a flame.
More than ten minutes later.
The venom's effects began to fade, but Powell was like a limp puddle, and his sweat had soaked the quilt wrapped around him.
Lilith asked with a smile, "Could you repeat what you just said, Minister Powell?"
"Y-you... Stay away from me!" Powell was so frightened that he burst into tears.
Noah stepped forward. "I ask, you answer. Why are taxes in the Rum Kingdom so high?"
"Ah... Th-that's naturally to pay the Heavenly Tribute."
Noah looked at Mary, and she shook her head.
He did not get angry. Smiling, he instructed, "Lilith, turn up the intensity for our esteemed minister."
"No, no... I'll talk, I'll talk..."
Lilith plunged two more syringes into his arm.
Soon, screams like those of a pig being slaughtered rang through the cavern again.
This time, Powell suffered the pain and itching for a full twenty minutes. By the end, his eyes were vacant, and he was utterly exhausted.
Noah repeated his earlier question. "I ask, you answer. Why are taxes in the Rum Kingdom so high?"
This time, Powell finally told the truth. Trembling, he replied, "It was His Majesty the king. He told me to do it."
"Oh? Why does he need so much money? That's nearly ten times the Heavenly Tribute, isn't it?"
"Huff, huff..." Powell caught his breath, then explained with a gloomy expression, "I don't know why. I was only promoted to chief minister three years ago."
"Has there been anything unusual about your king?"
"Unusual?" Powell frowned deeply. After a moment, he seemed to recall something. "The current king actually only succeeded to the throne five years ago. He wasn't the previous king's son, but his younger brother."
"Go on."
"Five years ago, the previous king's only son was killed by pirates. Not long afterward, the previous king died of illness. The current king, who inherited the throne, was perfectly normal at first, but four years ago, Clark, the former commander of the kingdom's army, was killed by pirates. The king promoted a man named Barton to succeed him as commander, and after that, he began issuing harsh laws one after another."
"Three years ago, the former chief minister, Earl Tim, was executed on the charge of colluding with pirates. Then the king promoted me to chief minister and had me issue all kinds of laws."
Noah looked thoughtful. "Is there anything strange about Barton?"
"Barton? There's nothing particularly special about him, though he is quite strong. If not for his protection over the years, Rum Island would have fallen to pirates long ago. The people call him a hero."
"A hero?" Noah laughed. He seemed to have seen this script before!
After asking about a few other things, Noah casually sealed the fellow inside a card.
Lilith seemed to have noticed something. "Boss, do you suspect Barton has some sort of scheme?"
"We'll find out tomorrow whether anything's amiss."
He casually wrote a letter, then gave Ray a few instructions.
The next day.
At Powell's residence in Rum City, the butler discovered that Powell, his wife, and his children had all vanished. Only a letter had been left behind.
Looking at the instructions on the letter, the butler wanted to know what was inside, but he did not dare break the wax seal.
"Someone, have this letter delivered to the commander's residence."
"Yes, sir."
After the servant left, the butler's expression shifted. Having thought it over for more than ten minutes, he quickly gathered up a large sum in treasure, disguised himself, and left Powell's residence.
Meanwhile.
Inside Commander Barton's residence.
Having received the letter, Barton's expression was extremely grim.
He hurried out of the residence with several trusted aides and headed toward Sucrose Town.
Five hours later.
In the waters 48 kilometers southwest of Rum Island, a sailing warship bearing the Rum Kingdom's emblem appeared on the sea.
An uninhabited island lay nearby.
As they drew closer to the island, Barton stood at the bow, his expression growing darker.
"Boss, we're here," a burly bald man reminded him.
Barton clenched his fists. "Land. Watch for my signal."
"Yes." The other five were already fully armed.
Once the ship reached shore, Barton leaped onto the beach with five of his subordinates, leaving the bald man to watch the ship.
They crossed the jungle and came to a grassy hillside.
A figure in a black windbreaker and a spiral mask stood on the hillside, looking down at Barton and his men as they arrived.
"Where's Powell?"
"He's somewhere safe."
Barton suddenly laughed. "What do you want? Name your price."
"Let me guess. What's your ability? You went to such lengths to control the Rum Kingdom. Surely it wasn't for that wastepaper?" Noah calmly looked him in the eye.
Barton grinned. "Wastepaper? That's more than 200 billion Beli. Aren't you tempted? As long as you're willing to join us, I can give you half. Isn't treasure what people live for? And I can make you a noble of the Rum Kingdom. Isn't that better than going out to sea on adventures?"
"Those are tempting terms, but why should I join you? If I kill you all, I can have all the treasure."
Barton's smile grew even brighter. "So it's the money you're after. No problem. Let's be friends. As long as you agree to join us and help me become king of the Rum Kingdom, I can give you 300 billion Beli."
"Now that really is tempting, Your Excellency Sith!"
"My friend, come help..." Barton's body suddenly stiffened, and killing intent surged in his eyes:
"How did you figure it out?"