"I'm sorry..."
Hiyori stood awkwardly, holding the two bowls of red bean soup, unsure what to do.
Ever since Caesar had placed her on the throne as Queen of Wano Country, Hiyori's reputation among the people had soared to unprecedented heights.
Beautiful, kind-hearted, and descended from nobility, with the Beast God Pirates—now viewed favorably by the populace—standing behind her, the people of Wano revered and feared their queen in equal measure.
The carpenters of Wano had worked overtime to construct a luxurious palace for her in Bakura Town, on the site of Caesar's former residence.
Hiyori was closely guarded by the Beast God Pirates.
Unless accompanied by Ulti, Black Maria, or Page One, no one dared let her leave the palace.
"Even as queen, staying cooped up in the palace is stifling. I'd much rather visit factories across the country to see how everyone is doing, whether life has improved compared to before." Hiyori sighed.
Ulti abruptly stood up and barked at the two simple-minded men who refused to take the bowls from Hiyori.
"You two idiots! Daring to make Her Majesty hold these for so long—are you trying to exhaust her? What's wrong with you?"
Thud. Thud.
Old Crow and Ronmoku trembled in fear, dropping to their knees once more.
"Hurry up and take it! The ice in the red bean soup is melting!" Ulti barked again.
"Yes, yes! Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty..."
The two scrambled forward, carefully taking the bowls of red bean soup from Hiyori's hands without daring to touch her fingers.
Holding the soup, they stood stiffly under the scorching sun, neither daring to drink nor to set it down.
Hiyori smiled gently at them.
"Old Crow, Ronmoku, drink up. It'll help with the heat."
Like wooden puppets, Old Crow and Ronmoku immediately gulped down the entire contents of their bowls without leaving a single drop.
Ulti glared and scolded, "Why aren't you two idiots scurrying back to work? You're as dumb as a pair of donkeys!"
"Ulti!" Hiyori stamped her foot in annoyance.
Only then did Old Crow snap out of it, hastily dragging Ronmoku back to their cart.
"My god, the Queen herself served us soup... Am I dreaming?" Ronmoku's hands shook on the cart handles, his face alight with excitement.
Old Crow wasn't much better, licking his lips hoarsely.
"I swear, this is the best red bean soup I've ever had in my life! I'll remember this forever—I'll even tell my future sons about it!"
"Yeah, yeah, me too!"
Watching the two workers leave in excitement, a satisfied smile crossed Hiyori's face.
Ulti rolled her eyes, picked up her own bowl of red bean soup, and downed half of it in one go before flopping back onto the lounge chair with a groan.
"If it weren't for this chilled red bean soup, I wouldn't have come here to suffer with you in this heat. You really go out of your way to find trouble, Hiyori."
"Sis, please don't speak to Lady Hiyori like that... And slow down on the soup—you've already drunk most of the pot by yourself..." Page One, wearing a mask and hat, muttered quietly beside her.
"Hehe, Ulti, you never change. Still so immature. Have you forgotten that your God title rests on Lady Hiyori's word?"
The speaker was a curvaceous woman over eight meters tall, draped in sheer fabric that revealed generous glimpses of her snow-white skin—Black Maria.
"Though I'd love that God title, Wano Country is just too boring. I'd rather go to Totto Land and have fun with them! King and Queen must be living it up right now." Ulti yanked Page One into her arms, ruffling his hair into a mess despite his struggles.
Hiyori sighed, picking up two bowls and placing them in a nearby basin before crouching down to wash them with a cloth.
Suddenly!
A streak of light shot across the sky, landing right at the factory entrance where they stood!
"Who's there?!"
Ulti sprang to her feet in an instant, shielding Hiyori.
Crash!
The sunshade collapsed as Black Maria transformed into a spider-woman, while Page One's body swelled violently into a ferocious dinosaur beast!
"The Flying Six of the Beasts Pirates, huh? So Caesar stationed you here to strong-arm Hiyori into managing this sweatshop for him?"
With a flash of light, seven or eight figures materialized at the factory entrance.
"Flame Dragon Claw!"
The moment these people appeared, Ulti saw a massive flaming hand reaching out towards her in an instant.
Startled, she immediately transformed into her Pachycephalosaurus form, covering her head with pitch-black Armament Haki before charging forward with a headbutt!
"Armament Headbutt!"
Bam!
However, in the next moment, Ulti's head was firmly grasped by the dragon claw emerging from the flames.
The immense pressure made her scream in agony, feeling as if her skull might be crushed at any moment.
"Sister!"
Page One roared in fury.
His massive dinosaur body charged recklessly forward, jaws wide open as he lunged at Sabo.
"Is the Beast Pirates full of nothing but mindless beasts like you? Fire Fist!"
With one hand gripping Ulti's head, Sabo suddenly unleashed a searing blast of flames from his left fist, sending the charging dinosaur flying over a dozen meters before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Hearing the violent commotion outside, the workers refining iron ore inside the factory panicked, immediately dropping their tasks and rushing out.
"Stay calm, everyone! Grab your weapons! Grab your weapons!"
A foreman barked orders, commanding everyone to arm themselves with blades, spears, and firearms.
Old Crow and Ronmoku, who had just finished unloading a cart of iron ore and tallying the count, froze in shock.
Then, exchanging a glance, their pupils contracted sharply as they cried out in alarm—
"Her Majesty is still outside!"
Without hesitation, the two stumbled forward, roughly shoving aside the foreman who was distributing weapons, and sprinted madly toward the exit.
"Enemy attack!"
The burly men guarding the elderly and children planting trees in the wasteland paled at the deafening explosion from the factory.
Gripping their weapons tightly, they shouted in warning.
"An enemy attack? Impossible! Our country is isolated, and we have the protection of the Beast God Pirates!"
An old man scowled but quickly gathered the children together.
"Half of you, escort the elderly and children to safety! The rest, arm yourselves and follow me to face the enemy!"
A muscular man dressed unmistakably as a Wano samurai bellowed before turning and sprinting toward the factory.
These armed men were militiamen trained by the Beast Pirates from Wano's samurai and civilians.
As such, these local defenders cherished their hard-won peaceful lives far more than the Beast Pirates' marauders ever could.
Anyone who dared threaten this fragile peace would face their desperate, all-out retaliation!
"Hey! Old man, what are you doing?! Get to safety with the others!"
A heavily armed man shouted in frustration as several elderly men with white hair turned and ran toward the factory instead.
"Hah! What can you young brats do? Think us old bones can't wield a blade anymore?"
"Exactly! Let these invaders witness the unbroken spirit of Wano's warriors!"
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