Chapter 386: Is This Considered a Side Quest?
The little people of the Tontatta Tribe had dared not show their faces the moment Jack the Drought landed on Green Bit. They could sense the evil and maddening aura emanating from Jack, so they all hid themselves away.
But when they saw Sardine and Sandasonia fall in battle against Jack the Drought, they still risked danger to come out. Those who had encountered Jack the Drought, including Reiju, were thus rescued.
Now, let’s rewind time a bit, about ten minutes earlier. On the ship by the harbor where Ian and his crew were, Aokiji, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly stirred, sat up straight, lifted his eye patch, and looked toward the dock.
Krokodile, draped in his coat, did the same, turning his head to gaze at the dock.
There, two figures appeared: Ace and Sabo. Behind them were Konenai and Walnut and the others. Unlike when they had left, Ace and his group each now carried two large wooden crates on their shoulders. Together, they must have brought back no fewer than several dozen crates.
Hoisting the crates, Ace and the others returned to the ship and stacked them one by one on the deck.
“What’s this? Pirate loot?” Aokiji asked Ace, looking at him.
He was curious—hadn’t Ace and his group gone after the Germa people? Why had they suddenly come back now?
Ace adjusted his cowboy hat, grinned, and kicked open one of the crates, saying, “Take a look, Admiral Kuzan!”
Inside the crate lay a neat pile of firearms, including submachine guns and other high-end models—the latest top-tier gear, even better than what Marine soldiers carried.
Aokiji frowned and asked, “Were these found in Dressrosa? Are all these crates full of weapons?”
“That’s right!” Ace nodded. “We thought you Marines should see this, so we brought them all back.”
Aokiji didn’t respond, but Krokodile scoffed from the side, “You think this little bit is enough to take down Doflamingo? Not likely. He’s a pirate anyway; smuggling weapons is probably seen as normal by the World Government.”
“Who cares!” Ace laughed. “There’s more. We’re going back for them. Don’t touch these—they’re our loot!”
Sabo and Konenai and the others stayed silent, but in truth, bringing back these weapons was Sabo’s idea. The Revolutionary Army also needed arms to equip themselves. He planned to ask Ian for these weapons later and take them back to the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Since Ace was his brother, he naturally supported his decision unconditionally.
As for chasing after Niji, it no longer mattered to them. Ian’s original goal was Doflamingo.
Ace and Sabo left again to continue hauling the weapons. Aokiji glanced at Krokodile and asked curiously, “Who’s that guy with Fire Fist Ace? Do you know?”
“No, and I’m not interested,” Krokodile replied, biting his cigar without turning his head.
Krokodile actually knew Sabo’s true identity, but he certainly wasn’t going to reveal it—especially not to Aokiji, a Marine Admiral.
Aokiji didn’t press further and instead remarked with interest, “Wasn’t Nico Robin always with you? Why is she following Ian now?”
“Hmph, that woman…” Krokodile was annoyed by the question, but hearing it made him realize that Nico Robin had always been under Aokiji’s surveillance. From this perspective, Robin leaving Baroque Works might actually be a good thing—it would shift Aokiji’s focus away and not interfere with his own plans.
Nico Robin, whom Aokiji and Krokodile were discussing, was actually with Jinbe at the moment. Jinbe had been chasing after Ichiji, destroying several slave-trafficking dens run by the Donquixote Pirates. Seeing that they had rescued too many people, Jinbe decided to take them back to the ship first and asked Robin about it.
But Robin shook her head and said, “Lord Jinbe, you go back first. I plan to explore this island a bit more.”
Jinbe said nothing, nodded, and left with the rescued people. Robin watched him go, then turned to Dorry and Matthew behind her and asked, “Are you two coming with me?”
“Of course!” Dorry nodded. “Miss Robin, the captain told us to protect you before he left!”
“That’s… right…” Matthew slowly nodded in agreement.
Robin smiled warmly and said, “Thank you! Dorry, if you get hungry, let me know, and I’ll treat you to something to eat!”
“Great, great!” Dorry perked up and leaned close to Robin’s face, greeting her with a “Garuchu” in the Mink Tribe’s way, making Robin giggle.
Matthew stared at Robin’s smile, a bit dazed. He realized that this big sister really looked beautiful when she smiled—very mature.
As the three wandered aimlessly around the island, on the other side, Fujitora, along with Zeke and Old K, was sprinting forward.
Ahead of them ran a one-legged toy soldier carrying a gun.
“It’s just ahead! That’s Doflamingo’s palace!” the toy soldier said as he ran.
“Uncle Fujitora!” Zeke couldn’t help turning to Fujitora and asking, “Do you really think there’s a Devil Fruit this powerful? It can turn people into toys and erase all memories of them from everyone who knew them?”
“The world is full of wonders,” Fujitora replied, shaking his head as he ran. “Devil Fruit abilities are already bizarre and varied, so what Kyros said about the Hobby-Hobby Fruit must be true. Arguing over the fruit’s power is pointless. We need to think about how to make that little girl Sugar lose consciousness.”
They were discussing the one-legged toy soldier, Kyros. Earlier, while Fujitora and his group were chasing Gaji and destroying places bearing the Donquixote Pirates’ flag, this toy soldier, who called himself Kyros, had approached them. When he learned that Fujitora and his group were from the Dragon Hunter Pirates and that they were in Dressrosa to cause trouble for Doflamingo, Kyros immediately asked for their help.
Kyros had once been Dressrosa’s strongest gladiator. When King Riku still ruled Dressrosa, he admired Kyros so much that he married his eldest daughter to him.
However, after Doflamingo returned to Dressrosa and used his Parasite Strings to control the royal army, causing the Riku family to lose the people’s trust and seizing the country, Kyros failed in his assassination attempt on Doflamingo. He was then turned into a toy soldier by Doflamingo’s special executive, Sugar, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user.
But it seemed that Sugar was using the Hobby-Hobby Fruit’s power for the first time and didn’t fully understand its rules. She failed to form a contract with Kyros, making him the most unique toy in Dressrosa. He wasn’t enslaved as a toy and could move freely.
Over the years, Kyros had been trying every way to overthrow Doflamingo’s rule. He had witnessed many people being turned into toys and wanted to rescue those enslaved as toys. But he never found an opportunity, and Doflamingo’s power was too overwhelming for Kyros to act.
Through years of covert observation, he had discovered the way to break Sugar’s ability: Sugar, the user, had to lose consciousness.
Killing Sugar wouldn’t work; she had to lose consciousness. This was related to the issue of a Devil Fruit ability going out of control.
If a Devil Fruit user was killed, the facts already created by the fruit’s power couldn’t be changed. That meant if Sugar died, the people she turned into toys would remain that way forever, unable to revert—even if the Hobby-Hobby Fruit reincarnated and was eaten by someone else.
So the best method was to make Sugar’s ability go out of control. Generally, if a Devil Fruit user lost consciousness without dying, their ability would either go out of control or go berserk. That was the only way to undo Sugar’s power.
However, when Fujitora and his group arrived at the palace with Kyros, they found it empty. Sugar was nowhere to be seen!