Redfield had been watching Viscount Fraule for a while now. His Observation Haki had picked up on the stranger lurking in the shadows the moment Kaido's Leaf Man mocked Tiger.
When a tiny yellow flower sprouted from the viscount's chest, Redfield knew he'd found his target. It felt almost too easy, but then again, who could hide from the vast reach of his Observation Haki?
Ghost knows you'd need to be miles away to escape that range!
Lily Carnation, on the other hand, was starting to panic. Its host, Viscount Fraule, was clearly no match for this guy. It quickly manipulated its massive roots into sharp arrows, readying an attack.
Still, it clung to the hope that Redfield hadn't seen through its true nature. Under Lily's control, Viscount Fraule dropped to his knees, pleading desperately.
"Please, spare me! I just want to see my wife and kids one last time!"
The viscount's words carried genuine emotion—dying now, whether he or Lily perished, would mean never seeing his family again, leaving him with nothing but regret.
"Lily Carnation, show yourself!" Redfield said coolly. "You're our target. You've got two choices: submit or die."
He spoke with calm certainty. If the little yellow flower refused to cooperate, Golden Lion Shiki would just float the whole island away. Worst case, they'd get Vegapunk to clone another one and have the Tontatta nurture it.
"Hiahiahia!"
A shrill laugh cut through the air. The small yellow flower emerged from Viscount Fraule's chest, slithering to his shoulder and swaying as it eyed Redfield.
"Come and take me, then!"
Lily Carnation seized control of the viscount, speaking through him with a glint of hunger in its eyes. This man was stronger than the golden-haired dual-sword swordsman or that white-bearded giant—by a hair, but enough to make Lily crave him as its new host.
Come on! Reach out! Plant me on your body!
"I'm not a fan of flowers sprouting on me," Redfield shot back. "Follow me now, or you'll be ash."
He turned and walked away, leaving Lily Carnation stunned. A second later, bolts of lightning blocked three of the viscount's escape routes.
It had no choice but to follow. The flower's gaze darkened, weighing whether to shoot its root-arrows and take Redfield down. But sensing his overwhelming aura, it decided to bide its time, play harmless, and seek a chance to parasitize a stronger host later.
Lily manipulated Viscount Fraule's body to trail after Redfield, doing its best to look innocent. It had to latch onto a powerful host, no matter what.
...
Kaido and Tiger never found that Leaf Man Kaido. Grumbling, they trudged back to the rendezvous point. Golden Lion Shiki had vanished somewhere to vent his rage, leaving the others guessing.
Soon after, Redfield escorted Lily Carnation back to the entertainment district. He fired a lightning pillar into the sky, signaling everyone to regroup.
At the signal, the crew hurried back, including Shiki, whose expression was as sour as a storm cloud.
Redfield gave a quick rundown of the situation, and everyone turned to Tiger, his face flushed red with embarrassment. They couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him—looks like he couldn't dodge the electric shock punishment this time.
The worst part? He'd called Kaido "sama." Tiger wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. His reputation as Fishman Island's shining star? Ruined.
Sneaking around to cover his mistake, groveling to Kaido—what a disgrace! Could he still awaken Conqueror's Haki? Maybe if he took down a couple of Celestial Dragons...
"Yohohoho! Not bad, Tiger! You bend but don't break—true grit, like a real warlord!"
Brook saw Tiger's head practically buried in his chest and sighed. The kid needed a boost, not just punishment and scolding.
Tiger's head snapped up, eyes wide with disbelief at Brook's words. Was this the same captain he knew?
"Captain, you mean it?"
Tiger's eyes sparkled with tears of admiration, locked on the captain he revered.
"A true man learns from shame and rises stronger! Keep at it, believe in yourself!"
Brook kept it short. He wanted to lift the kid's spirits and let him reflect on his own. No punishment this time—just a chance for Tiger to grow from his guilt and resolve.
Shiki, meanwhile, made up his mind to have a serious talk with Brook about this nonsense. If it wasn't sorted out, he'd quit being a top officer—screw that!
Brook didn't call out Kaido for taking advantage of the situation either. He noticed Kaido wasn't as reckless as he seemed—there was a cunning streak in him after all.
...
Brook's gaze shifted to their main target: Lily Carnation, a deceptively cute little yellow flower.
"So, Captain Brook, this is the thing that tricked my little Tiger?"
Kaido glared at Viscount Fraule, not missing a chance to rub in that "little" jab.
"To be precise, it's the flower on his shoulder," Brook clarified.
Unleashing his Conqueror's Haki, Brook bore down on Lily Carnation. If he couldn't tame this thing, what right did he have to call himself a pirate overlord?
The little flower broke out in a cold sweat, and its host, Viscount Fraule, wobbled under the pressure. Lily let out a terrified shriek, and the sky darkened.
The crew looked up to see a swarm of razor-sharp root-arrows, denser than a rainstorm, hurtling toward them.
"Gurarara! A Devil Fruit power, huh?"
Whitebeard Newgate laughed heartily, leaping into the air. He smashed a fist into the atmosphere, shattering it with the Quake-Quake Fruit's power. The arrow storm turned to dust in an instant.
"Hmph!" Shiki scoffed, watching Newgate handle it so effortlessly. If it were him, he'd have sliced the arrows with sword aura or raised the ground to block them—not quite the earth-shaking spectacle of the Quake-Quake Fruit.
"You think you're hot stuff, huh?"
Brook strode up to Viscount Fraule and yanked the yellow flower off his shoulder. Its roots, like bloody veins, were woven through the viscount's entire body.
The moment it was pulled, the viscount's life force faded. Ship doctor Crocus, unable to watch, fed him a Dandelion, bringing him back from the brink.
Lily Carnation's root-web lashed at Brook, desperately trying to burrow into his hand. But Brook's aura grew colder, the temperature plummeting.
The flower's roots visibly froze, its expression stiffening in panic.
"Submit, and I'll give you a new host. Refuse, and you'll be a popsicle—crushed to icy bits with a bang!"
Brook grinned at the little yellow flower. He didn't know how it turned roots into arrows, but that power was too good to waste.
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+300 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg