To put it plainly—Alice was right.
A Marine ship sat anchored just offshore, and a small detachment had already come ashore, marching toward the heart of the city.
That must be Central Town.
And it wasn't just one ship. There were three.
The other two didn't even bother stopping at the port. They sailed on immediately—exactly as Alice predicted—likely to begin patrolling the surrounding waters.
I could probably slip through if I found the right gap, but… with the risk of a sea battle, pushing our luck would be foolish.
If things turn truly dire, I can always fly, but…
"…For now, we watch. Sorry, you two—looks like we'll have to stay a little longer."
"Well… it can't be helped," Leona said with a sigh. "Mother is a pirate, after all. Getting caught by the Marines would be a pain."
"Ugh. I hate this stinky country…" Suzu scowled. "But fine. We don't have a choice."
If it really came down to it, we could force our way out—or disappear into the sky. But picking a fight with the Marines here would only haunt us later. They'd lose face, overreact, and our bounties would climb again… though at this point, maybe that ship has already sailed.
And there was something else.
That ship wasn't carrying Marines alone. There were Government officials aboard as well.
Among the uniforms, I spotted thick-necked men in black suits. From this distance I couldn't be sure whether they were mere bureaucrats… or something worse.
Cipher Pol.
The same faceless dogs who slapped a bounty on my head. And if we were truly unlucky—CP9, the most vicious branch short of CP0.
If that was the case, any clash would be ugly. And Leona and Suzu were still green. They weren't ready for that kind of battlefield.
As long as there was even a chance those men could endanger them, we needed to avoid contact at all costs.
And the very fact that Cipher Pol might be mixed in only made this "routine Marine visit" feel filthier. Better to stay out of sight. Better to stay invisible.
Which raised an obvious question.
Why would Marines—and Government officials—show up in a non-affiliated nation at all, unless there was something here worth hiding?
Secret ties. Off-the-books deals. The kind of business you don't want the world to know exists.
No point chewing on it from the docks.
Let's pull back for now.
And… I suppose I'll take Alice up on her offer. Find a halfway decent inn, maybe a few "hidden gems." While I'm at it, I'll see what she knows about those suspicious men. Anything at all.
---
I went to the meeting spot Alice had named and found her exactly where she said she'd be.
After thanking her and asking her to guide us, I took a gamble and asked outright whether she knew anything about the Marines and those "officials."
"Of course I do," she said, as if I'd asked whether the sky was gray.
She knew. Of course she did. This girl really was a walking information network.
Even in a slum like this, she carried herself like someone who'd learned how to survive. I couldn't judge her strength, not at a glance—but her resourcefulness was obvious in every word, every grin.
Brazen enough, too, to suggest I treat her to lunch—purely for the sake of "talking somewhere quiet."
…Right.
Fine. What can you do?
First, I had her lead me to the "relatively decent inn" she'd mentioned, and I booked a room. Then I invited her up, and we sat down for a late lunch while she talked.
The food wasn't anything bought on the street. It was from my own stored rations.
In a district where even basic hygiene felt optional, I wasn't about to gamble on what people sold openly. Alice offered to show me places that were "relatively" safe, but I didn't like how much work that word would have to do.
I could already picture it: It's not rotten, so it's fine. It tastes good, so it's fine.
I didn't want to take that risk. And I absolutely wasn't feeding Suzu or Leona anything suspect.
…Yes, yes—Suzu had been eating poison until recently.
But that's exactly why I wasn't letting her eat anything questionable now.
Alice didn't get special treatment, either. She ate the same thing we did.
I felt a twinge of guilt offering nothing more than a homemade sandwich. But she didn't complain. Not even a little.
If anything, she looked entranced.
"I've never eaten anything this good!" she blurted, devouring it with such enthusiasm I didn't have the heart to interrupt. I waited until she finished.
For the record, it was dinosaur meat and eggs from Little Garden. It looked like an ordinary sandwich. It tasted… absurdly good.
"Phew…" Alice leaned back, satisfied. "Thanks for the meal. That was incredible… I mean—thank you for everything."
"You're welcome. It was nothing," I said. "Now—can we talk about what's going on here?"
"Of course." She nodded, suddenly casual again. "You were wondering why the Marines and Government officials are here, right? They're close with the people at the top of this country."
"…The Marines and the Government?"
"Yep. And one of the big gangs in this slum uses the whole country as a dumping ground for things they couldn't do in an affiliated nation."
She spoke as if she were listing market prices.
Contraband goods banned by the World Government. Manufactured here. Processed here. Traded here.
Their excuse was simple: We're not affiliated. Your rules don't apply to us.
So they turned the country into a loophole, and the gang turned that loophole into a business.
"And the Government and Marines?" Alice continued. "They don't just take bribes and look away. They're in on it."
They participated in the deals quietly, skimming "forbidden goods" for themselves.
Drugs that make you feel good. Explosives so powerful they're outright suicidal to handle. Poisons that can drop even massive beasts. Metals so beautiful they look pure—until you learn they're toxic.
That last one, she said, had already contributed to the destruction of an entire country in the North Blue.
And people were treating it like merchandise.
Worse—this slum's residents were the labor force. Cheap hands to cultivate and process the stuff, under conditions so bad they didn't even bother pretending to care about safety. If someone died, they were replaced. The work continued. The profits stayed clean for those at the top.
"And that 'patrol' you asked about?" Alice said. "It's part of the system."
She explained it bluntly.
Yes, the patrol really did intercept black market merchant ships. That much wasn't a lie. But they made sure the patrol never interfered with the deals that mattered.
In advance, the smugglers received information: the day, the route, the order, the timing. Exactly when and where to slip into port and avoid the patrol's eyes.
That's why their trades moved like clockwork.
"And the officials visiting Central Town?" Alice added. "Rumor is the country's elites are just entertaining them. Wine, food, gifts—whatever it takes."
She admitted she hadn't seen that part herself. But she didn't sound like someone who repeated rumors carelessly.
"So you've confirmed the other rumors too?" I asked. "The contraband trades, the intel leaks to black market ships?"
"And where did you dig that up?" Leona chimed in, incredulous.
Alice blinked at us. "You don't even have to 'dig.' It's everywhere. The gangs and the upper levels use the slum like a tool—cheap labor, easy targets. If you get dragged into their work, you'll see it whether you want to or not."
"Then why doesn't anyone do anything?" I asked.
"Because it's pointless." Alice didn't hesitate. "A poor person from a country with no rights learns something dangerous, starts acting brave… and then what? The Government's involved. No one listens. And the next day, they're silenced."
She smiled as if she were talking about the weather.
"People learn to shut up on their own. Fear makes them convenient. And if fear isn't enough—well. You can always get rid of them. Either way, nobody speaks."
…What a rotten country.
And the rot was practically stamped with approval.
"It's still better to have a job than starve," Alice said, shrugging. "So people line up for it. In this slum, unless you're in a powerful gang, you're exploited all the same. If you get picky, you don't eat. I've done plenty of work I'm not proud of, too. But that's how I learned."
She talked about hopping from job to job, trying everything in the district, chasing experience—maybe even searching for something that fit. And she was capable enough that employers liked her. She sounded almost… in demand.
"Work you can't talk about?" Leona asked, curiosity bright in her eyes. "Like what?"
I really shouldn't let this conversation continue.
But Alice only grinned, teasing, like she was savoring the moment.
"Hm… I can't get into details. It's dangerous." She held up a finger. "So I'll keep it vague. Part-time at a pharmacy. Moving certain things without asking questions. Watching people who did bad things to make sure they don't run. And… you know."
She tilted her head, as if it were nothing.
"Jobs where you have to be 'friendly' with men… and women."
…Ugh.
Even vague, the meaning landed like a stone.
Suzu and I understood immediately, our faces going stiff. Leona only blinked, then said, honestly, "Oh. That sounds rough."
Good.
Stay innocent, Leona.
Alice couldn't be much older than the two of them—early teens at most. To have endured that kind of work at that age…
And both men and women.
This country's darkness ran deep.
But what shocked me most was how bright she still seemed—cheerful, energetic, almost unaffected. What kind of mental strength did it take to keep smiling after all that?
I'd lived through my own share of hell. Pirates burning my hometown. Slavery. Kidnapping. Celestial Dragons. False accusations and a wanted poster stamped with my name.
And yet…
Why did the word boomerang suddenly drift through my head?
…Could Alice and I be more alike than I thought?
"Huh?" Alice leaned closer, eyes wide with innocent curiosity. "What's wrong, Sis?"
Was even that charm something she'd learned for work?
But if what she said was true, she'd collected a stranger, harsher set of experiences than I had. Maybe she really was resilient. Maybe that was the only way she'd survived.
"Oh?" she teased, bright again. "Are you getting interested in me? Don't be shy, Sis. If you really insist… how about becoming one of my 'clients'?"
"No thanks," I said flatly. "I don't have that kind of taste."
I'm normal. I like men—
…Except, now that I think about it, I've never actually fallen in love with one.
I'd spent my whole life focused on my work. Romance never even made it onto the list.
Elder Nyon's voice surfaced in my head—You're getting older, you know…
But I didn't want to chase someone just because time was passing.
And besides, I'm a pirate. It's not like love just falls into your lap on the Grand Line…
Though there are female pirates who marry. Great pirates who build massive, unconventional families in the New World. Plenty of them.
…Wait. Have I simply not been trying?
N-no. That's not it. I don't even want to find someone. Everything is fine. Safe. Completely safe.
"Aww, too bad," Alice said, pouting as if she were clicking her tongue at me.
Then she spoke more quietly.
"I was kinda hoping I could become your favorite… and you'd take me out of this country."
Suzu's eyes widened. "Mother's favorite aside… Alice, do you want to leave?"
"Of course." Alice didn't hesitate. "If I stay here, my future's already decided. Or rather—there is no future. But if I try to leave, the gangs will come after me like it's nothing. 'She knows too much. Kill her just in case.' And even without them… sailing the Grand Line alone is suicide. I don't have any seafaring skills."
I see.
So the cleanest way out was to leave with someone else. Someone strong enough to protect her. Someone she could trust—if such a person existed at all.
Alice seemed to have decided, from a single day's acquaintance, that we might be that chance.
She pleaded—lightly, half-joking, half-serious—offering to do anything, to serve, to work, just to come aboard.
I refused.
And to my surprise, she backed off easily, smiling as if she'd expected it.
"Oh. That's a shame."
Maybe she knew better than to push after being told no.
---
We spent the rest of the day inside, listening to Alice's stories until evening.
She had an endless well of them—far more interesting than I expected. And there was nothing outside I wanted to see badly enough to leave the room.
So the day passed, strangely… not unpleasantly.
At dusk, Alice stood to go home.
I gave her a generous tip as thanks for the information and the company. She looked genuinely pleased. Whether it was true delight or a practiced smile, I couldn't say.
But she seemed happy. I chose to accept that.
That night, we stayed in our room at the "decent inn." But even in a country like this, "decent" doesn't mean safe.
I built a cardboard house inside the room—a fort within four walls—before we went to sleep. If someone broke in, it would buy us time.
Why not sleep inside the cardboard house out in the open from the start?
Because even in a slum, a sturdy cardboard structure would stand out like a beacon. It would become a target. A building within a building was cleaner. Safer.
As an extra precaution, we set small windmills around the outside of our cardboard shelter, their blades turning with a faint creak. They'd keep air moving, dispersing airborne poisons or sleeping gas—tricks human traffickers loved.
After a few more measures, we finally lay down.
With this, we should be safe enough.
And if I kept my Observation Haki active—consciously holding that thread of awareness even as I slept—I could wake and fight instantly if anything happened.
That was how we drifted off, prepared for the worst.
Still, of course, we hoped for nothing at all. Just a quiet night. A peaceful morning.
But that wish didn't come true.
Late at night, not long after the date changed, the crisis hit like a hammer.
Only… it wasn't something happening to us, exactly—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ratatatatatatat…!
Crash! Bang! Shatter!
"…What the hell is that noise…?"
"Are they shooting outside?!" Leona jolted upright.
"I think they are…" Suzu whispered. "That's gunfire. A lot of it!"
The sheer volume—so sudden, so violent—woke all three of us with an eerie calm.
Seriously… what is happening at this hour? A war? A revolution?
…Either way, there's no going back to sleep now.
Might as well go outside and see what's happening...
To be continued...