Chapter 12: Legal...
The merchant ship stopped in the sea area one kilometer from Dressrosa. At this moment, the waters within several kilometers around Dressrosa were a restricted zone. Any ship not belonging to the Don Quixote Family entering these waters would be interrogated, or even shelled.
Several fast ships with the Don Quixote Family emblem printed on their sails approached, vaguely forming an encirclement, which made the sailors on the merchant ship nervous.
The one-eyed captain looked at Pica. He had long recognized Pica's identity. Entering these waters was easy, but leaving would not be so simple. The food on his ship could not be stored for long. If he was forced to anchor at Dressrosa and endure detention for several days or even half a month, it would be a huge loss.
Pica did not speak. He simply walked to the edge of the ship's railing.
On a small sailboat rapidly closing in, several pirates wearing Don Quixote Family attire all held telescopes, constantly observing the merchant ship's movements. They couldn't understand why a ship under Whitebeard's command would come to these waters. This wasn't on the route of any sea route. As for resupplying—don't joke, Dressrosa's supply station had been closed a month ago.
"That is..."
A pirate adjusted his telescope.
"Lord Pica?"
"What?"
The surrounding pirates were startled upon hearing this.
"That's right, it's Lord Pica. Let's move in."
Over a dozen fast boats formed a pincer formation, surrounding the merchant ship. Several pirates climbed aboard via ropes.
"Lord Pica, you..."
A Don Quixote Family pirate was about to ask about Pica's condition, but Pica glanced at him, and the pirate immediately shut his mouth.
"You, escort them out of these waters."
Pica randomly pointed at a pirate. Perhaps he couldn't recall who that pirate was, so he simply used "you" as a substitute.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu transferred to a small boat. A few minutes later, the group landed at Dressrosa's port.
This was a port of modest size, usually handling few ships. Those truly coming to Dressrosa for business entered the underground port beneath the island.
Under the "escort" of a large group of pirates, Su Xiao walked toward the island. Although these pirates didn't know who Su Xiao was, they understood not to ask about things they shouldn't.
Pica walked at the front. His steps seemed steady, but inwardly he was very conflicted. He had barely returned from a "victory," yet his ships and subordinates were forever left in those waters.
If Pica had died, he would have been a hero of the Don Quixote Family, sacrificing himself for his young master, Doflamingo.
But Pica had returned alive—returned after all his subordinates and ships were annihilated. If it were just Don Quixote Family ships and pirates, it wouldn't matter much. Pica would only feel guilty at most.
What was unacceptable was that among those eight ships, four belonged to the Beasts Pirates. The pirates on those ships were all subordinates of Jack. Drought Jack was not an easy person to deal with.
In truth, if anyone were in Jack's position, they would question Pica: "All my subordinates died. Why did only you come back? Did you use them as cannon fodder?"
Worse still, Pica was a Devil Fruit user. All the ships were destroyed, yet a fruit user survived. As for Su Xiao saving Pica, that would be hard for Jack to believe. From Jack's perspective, Su Xiao's origins were unclear.
Because of this, Pica appeared deeply worried.
While Pica was anxious, Su Xiao was in a good mood. He had finally arrived at Dressrosa. The promotion/main mission was complete. As for the third ring mission, it would activate in two days. That meant he could freely explore Dressrosa for two days.
Dressrosa was a famous large island in the New World. No, it was more accurate to call it the Dressrosa Kingdom.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Dressrosa had beautiful scenery, with hot-blooded beauties on the island and unforgettable delicacies.
In the eyes of pirates, Dressrosa was a casino, supply station, sanctuary, and so on.
In the eyes of the underworld, Dressrosa was an arms trading post. As long as you had money, you could purchase any type of weapon here. Of course, they wouldn't dare cause trouble here.
Prosperity and enthusiasm masked the darkness here. The prosperous things were above ground; the dark things were underground. Compared to other countries, the residents of Dressrosa lived quite comfortably. It made sense—their "king" was in the black market business, so how could the island's economy not be thriving?
Half an hour later, Su Xiao walked along Dressrosa's streets. Pedestrians came and went in an endless stream. Although the Don Quixote Family was at war with the Big Mom Pirates, it hadn't affected this place.
The aroma of food wafted through the air. Bubu Wang behind Su Xiao was clearly tempted by the scent.
The group crossed several streets of Dressrosa, heading straight for the central area. Most of Dressrosa was residential or commercial districts, with a few special locations: the Corrida Colosseum, the Love Lane, the SMILE Factory, the Flower Field, and the Plateau of Kings.
Su Xiao and his group were about to enter the Flower Field. Before they even entered, Su Xiao saw a vast expanse of sunflowers. Blue sky, white clouds, and the distant sunflower sea—the scenery was very beautiful.
But in Bubu Wang's mind, it didn't care how beautiful the sunflower sea was. Instead, it was pondering another question: with such a large field of sunflowers, how many sunflower seeds would they produce in a year?
Amid Bubu Wang's confusion, the group arrived at the elevator below the Plateau of Kings.
The Plateau of Kings was the highest point in Dressrosa. On this vast plateau, a villa for the Don Quixote Family was built. Originally a royal palace, it had been converted into a villa complex where all the Don Quixote Family executives lived.
In other words, the Plateau of Kings was the Don Quixote Family's lair. It overlooked the entire Dressrosa and also connected to the underground port.
Clank, clank, clank...
The metal elevator slowly rose. Inside the elevator were only Su Xiao, Pica, Bubu Wang, and Amu. Due to Pica's and Amu's sizes, the elevator was inevitably a bit cramped.
The elevator shook, and the iron gate opened, revealing a courtyard. Except for Don Quixote Family executives, unauthorized ordinary pirates were forbidden to enter.
A pool was built in the courtyard, with clear water spraying, forming a small rainbow in mid-air.
"Lord Pica?"
A little girl with green hair was sitting by the pool. She wore a suspender dress and red slippers, her fair calves swinging back and forth. She seemed to be in a good mood.
Seeing this little girl, Su Xiao immediately recognized who she was. This was the legal loli, Sugar. She looked 10 years old but was actually 22.
"Who is this?"
Sugar held a small bamboo basket filled with plump grapes.
"This is... a new member."
The preoccupied Pica stepped out of the elevator.
"I hate him."
"Eh?"
Pica was stunned, looking at Sugar with a questioning gaze.
"I don't know him, but my gut tells me I hate him. The smell of blood is too strong."
Sugar grabbed a grape and put it in her mouth to chew. She wasn't pretending to be cute; she was very genuine...
Sugar turned her gaze to Bubu Wang and said, "But this dog is pretty cute."
Bubu Wang rolled his dog eyes, as if to say: "Don't you come near me. This Wang hates you too."