Cover Serial: Heart Pirates, Part 8 - "The Girl Crying at the Sea"
Rosinante, currently in Law's body, carried Law with one arm while pushing a spare boat stolen from the warship into the water with the other.
Despite the unbearable pain, Law guided Rosinante through operating the boat. But Rosinante suddenly turned toward Minion Island with a startled expression.
Law followed his gaze.
At the edge of the island, beneath the gently falling snow, a little black-haired girl sat all alone with her knees hugged to her chest, tears streaming down her face as she stared out at the vast sea...
...
Chinjao and the others followed Liam and Robin into the hall. The Kano Country's vice minister was waiting inside with several tall attendants dressed in white armor.
The vice minister turned and looked Liam and Robin up and down.
"As expected of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. You both possess an extraordinary presence, one a mighty hero, the other a remarkable heroine."
Neither Liam nor Robin reacted.
The vice minister showed no embarrassment. With a flick of his sleeve, he produced something resembling a scroll.
"This is His Majesty's imperial edict. If you would..."
"Xiren," Chinjao interrupted in a deep voice, "they're guests from overseas. There's no need for them to formally receive an edict. I'll accept it on their behalf."
He reached out with one huge hand, snatched the bright yellow scroll from the vice minister, and tossed it to one of his men without even opening it.
The vice minister merely smiled. His gaze lingered briefly on Chinjao's restored drill before he cupped his hands respectfully.
"Congratulations on regaining your full strength, Leader Chinjao. May the Happo Navy's might resound throughout the land once more."
He then turned and bowed to Liam and Robin.
"His Majesty has long admired the two of you. Upon hearing that such distinguished guests had arrived in our humble country, he arranged a banquet and invited you to the royal palace. We may speak of heroes while admiring the flowers. What greater pleasure could there be?"
Liam stared at him in silence, then pointed at the vice minister and looked back at Chinjao.
"Does he always talk like this?"
Chinjao touched his drill and said nothing.
Robin smiled. "How could we refuse an invitation from the king? Are we leaving now?"
"Simply accompany me to the palace," the vice minister replied with another formal bow.
Liam readily agreed. Getting a free meal at the royal palace sounded pretty good.
Chinjao and the other Happo Navy members watched as Liam and Robin followed the vice minister's party into the distance. After standing there for a long while, they finally returned to their stronghold.
Tian suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked their path. He looked up at Chinjao with wide eyes.
"Jolyne Cujoh mentioned the Humble Bamboo Alliance?!"
Chinjao flew into a rage and looked around. "Who told him?!"
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Sai, however, asked in confusion, "Even if the Humble Bamboo Alliance and the Demon Alliance are the same thing, why are you being so sensitive about it, Grandpa?"
"Didn't I tell you never to mention that name again?!" Chinjao raised a hand to slap Sai away, but Tian stepped forward and blocked the blow with his fist.
He stared coldly at his father. "Did Sai say anything wrong, old man? Three hundred years ago, we should've been members of the Humble Bamboo Alliance too!"
"Shut up!" Chinjao roared.
His restored drill turned black with Armament Haki, and he immediately brought down one of Hasshoken's ultimate techniques.
"Drill Dragon - Drill Nail!"
Tian grabbed the others and leaped aside.
Chinjao slammed headfirst into the ground, crushing it inward and splitting it apart.
His white beard billowing around him, Chinjao shouted furiously, "The victors become kings, and the defeated are branded criminals! That's how it has always been! Three hundred years have passed! How many of those people are still alive? Of the seven navies, only two remain! Haven't you understood reality yet? Do you want us to replace our banner with the Dragon Flag and abandon the name of the Happo Navy as well?!"
Tian looked furious and unwilling to accept it, but he offered no argument.
Sai, meanwhile, was both confused and embarrassed. What in the world were his father and grandfather talking about? Why did it feel like he was the only person being left out? He couldn't understand a word of it!
No, there was one thing he could gather from their argument. There seemed to be an enemy so powerful that no one could resist them.
"Even you can't defeat them, Grandpa?" Sai asked, staring at Chinjao's restored drill. "Not even now that you've regained your full strength?"
Chinjao's expression darkened. "Adults are talking! This is no place for you to interrupt!"
Other than Tian and Sai, everyone had turned pale beneath the pressure of Chinjao's Conqueror's Haki. They could barely remain standing, let alone join the conversation.
But the implications of what Chinjao had just revealed sent a chill through everyone present.
Seven navies had been reduced to only two? The others had abandoned their old names and raised the Dragon Flag?
Could the current Dragon Banner Army have once been the Santou, Yontou, Gotou, Rokutou, and Nanatou Navies?
The Dragon Banner Army was stationed across the five regions of the Kano Country, exactly the same number as the five vanished navies...
Sai stared blankly. "Grandpa, are you saying the person even you can't resist is actually..."
Chinjao shot him an icy glare. This time, even Sai snapped his mouth shut.
Chinjao took several deep breaths. Realizing he had already said too much, he let out a heavy sigh.
"If you want someone to blame, blame the emperor who ruled the Kano Country over three hundred years ago, for losing the nation's most important 'treasure'!"
Tian gave a cold snort and strode away.
"A hero's ambitions cut short...
A beauty's heart knows no mercy...
An old friend departed, never to return..."
He walked away, snapping his fingers to the mournful song. His voice was sorrowful, and his retreating figure looked unbearably lonely.
Sai stood rooted to the spot, watching his father leave.
If even Grandpa couldn't stand against the king, then what about Giorno and Jolyne Cujoh?
He looked toward the royal palace in the Water Capital, then shook his head. They were only Warlords passing through. Why would they interfere in the Kano Country's affairs?
...
Kano Country, Royal Palace...
Liam and Robin followed their escorts into the capital.
It was every bit as beautiful as expected, filled with flowing streams and drifting blossoms. The residents here looked far healthier and more prosperous than those living near the Happo Navy's stronghold.
If the people of the Water Capital were flowers that had been carefully watered and nurtured, then the residents of Ayu's Humble Bamboo Village were like withered leaves abandoned beside the road.
Before long, they arrived at the palace.
Like many of the royal residences they had visited on other islands, this palace had been built on the highest ground available.
The Kano Country's royal palace stood amid towering mountain peaks. Liam and Robin calmly crossed a swaying suspension bridge stretched between sheer cliffs. Far from showing any fear, they leisurely admired the scenery along the way.
Robin glanced beneath the bridge. Far below lay a seemingly bottomless abyss shrouded in clouds and mist.
Liam looked toward the far end of the bridge, where a magnificent palace had been constructed atop the opposite mountain.
"That mountain doesn't look like it grew there..." he murmured.
Walking ahead of them, the vice minister replied, "You jest, sir. Mountains aren't flowers or grass. How could they 'grow'?"
"You're picking apart my wording over something that trivial?" Liam glanced at him. "Or was this mountain actually moved here from somewhere else?"
The vice minister smiled and cupped his hands. "You're overthinking things. Nothing of the sort happened. The palace is just ahead. His Majesty has been waiting for you both."
Liam and Robin soon entered the palace.
A short, thin, middle-aged man came forward to greet them, surrounded by guards. He wore imperial dragon robes and a small gold-trimmed cap, while two long strands of black mustache hung from his face like cords.
"I've heard so much about you! So very much!" he said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting. "Why didn't you inform us that the Seven Warlords of the Sea had arrived in our humble country?"
His small, round sunglasses reflected Jolyne Cujoh's calm face in one lens and Giorno's expressionless face in the other.
"I hope you'll forgive me for inviting you here so abruptly..."
"It was rather abrupt," Liam agreed.
His gaze settled on the black dragon tattoo at the king's temple.
Both the king and vice minister froze. The guards behind the king, clad in bright yellow armor, immediately fixed their eyes on Liam.
Even Robin looked at him in surprise.
Liam rubbed his chin, then shifted his gaze to the two long strands of black mustache hanging from the king's face.
Out of nowhere, he said:
"That mustache is hideous. Want me to trim it for you?"
(End of Chapter)
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