" Konan, hurry up and leave this island with Rebecca and the others. You'll be safe once you get on their warship. It'll be too late if you wait any longer, so go!" The old woman looked anxious, as if something terrible was approaching.
This was exactly what the old lady had always hoped for; she wanted Konan to leave this devilish island and start a new life.
However, the people on this island have been surrounded and influenced by the pollen of the Devil's Flower for many years, and most of them have developed some degree of addiction, including Konan.
However, she doesn't need to eat foods processed from flower petals; staying in the Flower Field naturally allows pollen to enter her body and alleviate her symptoms.
In addition, ships leaving the island are inspected by gangsters, making it very difficult for the indigenous people to escape. However, it's different with warships. Gangsters don't dare to openly inspect them; they will only wait for the warships to leave and then intercept them halfway.
"Grandma, we really don't need to run away. Even if someone comes to arrest us, we're not afraid. We're strong too, and we won't let the gang take you away!"
The old lady only heard Rebecca say that she was a trainee and had no idea that Rebecca was a strong person. She was already a junior strong person who had mastered all Six Powers. At least she was much stronger than Rob Lucci and his CP9 when they first appeared.
Moreover, with the added advantage of Observation Haki, it would be a one-sided battle against Lucci and his group. However, the old lady was unaware of this and would never have imagined that this girl, who was about the same age as her granddaughter, possessed such formidable strength.
"Yes, although we are just trainees, we belong to Elite Camp. After graduation, we'll be officers, high-ranking officers right away. We're not weak."
Wendy could also see the old lady's worry. She guessed that there were people like Vic on the island who used Observation Haki to investigate at any time, and would send people to arrest and execute anyone who made inappropriate remarks. She had witnessed Vic's Observation Haki before.
"Grandma! I don't want to leave you. Please trust Rebecca and the others. Besides, they have Devil Fruit powers, so we don't need to run away!"
Konan still trusts Rebecca quite a bit. She had just witnessed that amazing Devil Fruit ability, which was already a miraculous power. It wasn't hard to believe that they were very strong. Her past experiences made her unwilling to leave!
Just as the old lady was about to persuade the group, Rebecca's expression changed and she became serious, then she started talking to herself.
She spoke of the island's secrets, just as the old woman had mentioned, as if she were telling someone a story, but her gaze never fell upon anyone.
Konan and the old lady thought that Rebecca was deliberately provoking the unknown being in the royal family who could sense everything, in order to strengthen their resolve to fight against it.
Rebecca's actions seemed to the two of them like she was risking her life to fight against the royal family. To be honest, the grandmother and granddaughter were somewhat moved. They were not related by blood, had only just met today, and Rebecca had even saved the old woman's life. Now she was going to risk her life for them. It would be a lie to say they weren't moved. Their eyes were a little red as they looked at Rebecca with a complicated expression.
But Rebecca's actions were not what they expected. She had just heard Vic's voice in her mind, saying that the painting was finished and that the three women should go back to him so they could go to the city for a good meal.
Rebecca, burdened with a heavy responsibility, could not leave. She immediately told Vic the island's secret, hoping to persuade Vic to help the poor civilians on the island and save the tourists who came to visit.
"That's roughly the situation, Vic! You have to help them, someone might come to arrest them soon!"
Rebecca stopped after saying that. Wendy and Ain already knew that Rebecca had just been talking to Vic, Konan and the old lady also realized that their earlier emotional outburst had been somewhat hasty, but they were still a little confused. Devil Fruit power? High-tech communication?
Vic had already listened to Rebecca's account, but he didn't believe that was the whole truth about the island. After all, the common people at the bottom of society only had limited information, and the full picture would have to be found out from the king of the country.
Ignoring the chattering women around him, Vic packed up his canvas and other painting tools, the disappearance eliciting another gasp from the women.
In his heart, Vic thought that resolving the matter on this island had saved their lives. These people were really lucky, after all, being enslaved and sold was a truly terrible fate.
Being controlled by addictive drugs, especially women, and forced to do whatever they are told, forced to kneel on all fours like female dogs being led on chains, completely losing their sense of self—the thought of such a scene is chilling.
Vic shook his head, as if trying to banish some images that had just flashed through his mind. He crouched down to observe the land and the Devil's Flower.
The soil is also blue, but not as deep as the surrounding area of the island. It also has a sour smell, but the sweet fragrance of the flowers mixes with that sourness, making people who come here feel that this is the smell of love, and they overlook many other things.
Based on Rebecca's description, Vic guessed that the roots of this Devil's Flower secrete a substance, which is likely a blue, acidic substance that, with long-term cultivation, can turn the soil into extremely acidic soil unsuitable for plant growth.
The soil also turns blue, and the color deepens year by year, so the deep blue soil on the outer edge of the island has become barren land. It looks beautiful, but nothing can be grown there anymore! Behind the beauty lies extreme darkness!
In other words, all the arable land on the island is now planted with those Devil's Flower, and the only source of food on the island is purchased from overseas. Is this the royal family's method of control?
Vic couldn't help but smile wryly. This was his first time dealing with royalty, and a direct confrontation at that. This was originally Monkey D. Dragon's business!
"This is really difficult to handle. Even if we overthrow the royal family, it won't be the end of the story. A country can't function without a leader. Who will be the new ruler of this country is a problem. After all, we are outsiders and are not familiar with the island. It will take a lot of time to completely resolve this matter. The training warships can't wait that long!"
"Fortunately, this is Affiliated Nation. If it were Affiliated Nation, it would be much more difficult to handle. We would have to submit a report and wait for approval, and in the end, it might even alarm the World Government. After all, this is a country's internal affair, and the navy might not be able to interfere."
However, Vic still felt that there were still things unclear. Were the gangs on this island really just acting as thugs? How did the royal family control them? Was it their wealth? Their overwhelming military power? Vic believed things weren't that simple, so Vic decided to wait and see; the truth would eventually come to light!
" Frodeku, don't you feel like something's off about this town?"
Barnett and Frodeku were shopping in the city, watching the bustling crowds, but Barnett felt something was off about the scene, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. So he asked Frodeku if he noticed anything.
"No, is it because there are too many people queuing at those restaurants? I've never seen anything like this before. Is food made with flower petals really that delicious?"
Having little experience interacting with people, Frodeku couldn't discern anything unusual about the occasion. However, he became increasingly interested in the specialty food, wanting to try it out to see what made so many people line up.
Moreover, there was never enough flower petals to make the food, and many carts carrying flower petals from outside the city could be seen shuttling through the streets, which was enough to show how delicious the special food was. This scene made the two of them impatient to eat!