"Huh? The Big Mom Pirates? Why would they attack us out of nowhere?"
Yamato was a bit baffled. This kind of thing rarely happened. As far as she could remember, the Big Mom Pirates had never attacked them before.
"It's probably because of us. We beat up Big Mom's daughter on our way here."
Seeing Yamato's confused look, Leno and the others exchanged a glance, having some suspicions.
"That's right. That daughter of Big Mom blocked our way for no reason, and then we beat her up."
"I just didn't expect their revenge to come so quickly," Ulti said with some contempt, thinking of the person she had knocked out on the way.
"Ulti, was it Page One who found you?"
Seeing Ulti, King remembered that she seemed to have gone missing some time ago. Page One had even pleaded with Lord Kaido to let him go find her.
"Nope. It was Leno and his group who brought me back. Otherwise, I'd still be in the West Blue right now."
Speaking of this, Ulti perked up and praised her saviors extensively. Finally, remembering the reward she had promised them, she looked up at King.
"When is Lord Kaido coming back? We've been waiting for him for a long time."
"It's not certain yet. That Red-Hair guy is very difficult to deal with. He's probably still at war with Lord Kaido right now."
"If it weren't for the sneak attack by the Big Mom Pirates this time, I wouldn't have come back."
Pausing for a breath, King then looked at Yamato.
"Young Master Yamato, now that the shackles have been removed from your wrists, are you planning to leave Onigashima?"
"Yes, I'm preparing to leave. Uncle King, you're not going to stop me, are you?" Yamato answered King's question frankly, then looked at him with some vigilance.
"Are you leaving with them?"
He didn't answer Yamato's question immediately, instead looking at Leno and his group.
"That's right. Yamato has already joined us the adventurers. Soon, we will travel the world together," Leno said, stepping forward in front of Yamato, not backing down as King looked at them.
"And sir—don't even think about stopping us. You can't."
"Heh... cocky brat."
"Young Master Yamato, you should know that the reason Lord Kaido locked you up was because he didn't want you to leave Onigashima," King continued, seeing Yamato's expression darken.
"Have you ever thought that even if you escape this time, Lord Kaido will just capture you again?"
"He just wants to lock me up for my whole life, to let me grow old and die in this damn place, right?"
Hearing King speak of Kaido's actions, Yamato's eyes immediately reddened. Her voice trembled as she spoke hoarsely. At the thought of being captured and locked up by Kaido again, Yamato's body couldn't help but tremble. Images of being locked in a bottomless, sunless abyss flashed through her mind.
Just then, a warm hand rested on her shoulder.
She looked up and saw Leno's smile, as brilliant as the warm sun, full of ease and confidence. Seeing this infectious gaze, the corners of Yamato's mouth unconsciously turned up, and the light in her eyes rekindled.
"Even if Kaido plans to lock me up again, I won't give up on going out to the sea. Besides..."
Yamato suddenly straightened her back, her eyes burning as she looked at King, then her gaze shifted.
"What's more, even if Kaido comes himself, he might not be able to capture me."
"No, no, no… even if Kaido shows up himself, he definitely won't be able to take you back!"
Leno patted Yamato's shoulder, seriously correcting her.
"Hahahaha..."
Behind them, Nami, Robin, and the others looked at each other and smiled, all deeply believing in Leno's words. 'This guy, although sometimes unreliable, never disappoints when it counts.'
"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? Why was there such a big commotion just now?"
Page One, who had already transformed into a Spinosaurus, came rushing over with a rumble. Seeing a few people chatting and laughing, his face instantly darkened. To think he had heard the noise and hurriedly called people to run over.
"Pei-chan~"
"BAM"
Seeing that everyone was fine, Page One had just deactivated his dragon form when he was tackled to the ground in a bear hug by Ulti. The sound of "creaking" came from his waist from time to time, making Nojiko and the others look over. 'So this is a sister who loves her younger brother the most... it's really... true to form.'
"Pei-chan~ Why haven't I seen you these past few days? Big sister missed you, wuwuwu..."
"Pei-chan~ did you miss your big sister?"
Page One, who was already well-accustomed to this situation, quickly spoke.
"Of course I missed you, sis, but I couldn't disturb you and your friends' fun."
"Mhm, so obedient~"
The group watched this harmonious sibling relationship, somewhat speechless. Nami and the others were even rolling their eyes. 'Ulti, you really love your little brother. He's so 'lucky'.'
"Eh? King, why are you back? Where's Lord Kaido?" Page One seemed to have finally noticed King and asked in confusion.
"If I hadn't come back, should I have waited for you to let the Big Mom Pirates in and destroy Onigashima?" King's expression was grim, but luckily his mask hid it from view.
"Hey, hey, you bastard! How dare you talk about my Pei-chan like that? Are you looking for a beating?"
Seeing King indiscriminately scolding her little brother, Ulti immediately blew up. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight King, but Page One hurriedly held her back.
While the group was chatting, Leno's Observation Haki picked up another movement.
Below the waterfall, the fallen ship should have capsized with all hands lost. However, Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi ability had managed to stick the ship in mid-air before it hit the water.
Looking at Katakuri, who had secured the ship as if with a spiderweb, even Leno was a bit impressed. 'This guy's ability, I remember it seems to be awakened as well.'
As if sensing something, Katakuri suddenly raised his head and looked up at Leno.
"Adventurer Leno, you really are here. I came this time to take you back."
"Oh, and that one named Ulti. It's Mama's order. All the culprits must be brought back."
Looking at Katakuri below, Leno was a bit speechless. 'What's with these Big Mom Pirates? Are they all this strangely confident? They don't give people a chance to speak at all. Smoothie was like this, and now Katakuri is too.'
'I'm famous enough by now, right? You gonna keep pretending I'm nobody?'
"It seems the Big Mom Pirates have been ruling the New World for too long, to the point where they see everyone else as ants."
"How very… arrogant."
As he spoke, lightning overflowed from Leno's eyes, and sparks faintly flickered around his body.
T/n:
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