"purple-haired! I hope you can find your own answer the next time we meet!"
Blue Dragon Wings spread, stirring up a cloud of dust. The heroic dragon girl flapped her wings and soared high, tracing a magnificent arc in the afterglow of the setting sun.
"My name is Zephyr! Next time we meet, I will definitely throw you into Impel Down!"
On the ground, Zephyr shouted toward the sky. Tsuru walked slowly to his side, watching as the figure vanished into the horizon.
Watching the departing Charlotte Linlin, Zephyr remarked, "Fighting us for so long just for a group of Slaves she doesn't even know... she's a pirate who doesn't act like a pirate at all."
"Then in your opinion, what kind of person truly counts as a pirate?" Tsuru asked softly.
Zephyr sighed, "Yeah... what exactly is a pirate? And what is a Marine?"
Only after seeing Charlotte Linlin leave Dressrosa did Zephyr finally withdraw his gaze.
Zephyr's long-held belief was to capture pirates and throw them into Impel Down, so they could reflect on their actions and reform themselves.
But today, Charlotte Linlin had given him a lesson: why did those people choose to become pirates instead of Marines?
As if suddenly remembering something, Zephyr asked, "By the way, where is that fellow Basti? With such a massive commotion, he's nowhere to be seen! I'll have to report this truthfully when we return!"
As a Marine from the same generation as Tsuru and a close friend of hers, he naturally disliked Basti, who was often disrespectful to her. He wouldn't miss a chance to file a formal complaint against him.
"I'm not sure either."
Tsuru elegantly smoothed a strand of hair at her temple, appearing as though she had completely forgotten that Basti and his subordinates were still buried beneath the ruins of the Colosseum, which had been destroyed by the shockwaves of her battle with Charlotte Linlin.
In any case, those who could be saved would be, and those who couldn't were beyond help... High in the sky, sensing that the gaze following her had finally vanished, Charlotte Linlin immediately changed course and headed back into Dressrosa.
After all, she had learned from Zephyr that there was another Devil Fruit here!
Before long, Charlotte Linlin arrived above the Dressrosa Royal Palace.
What met her eyes was a scene of devastation: stones everywhere, collapsed buildings, and piles of rubble. There was no trace left of the city's former prosperity and romance.
"Could it be that a Logia-type Stone-Stone Fruit user came to steal the Devil Fruit earlier?"
Looking at the rubble that had buried nearly half of the grand Dressrosa Royal Palace, Charlotte Linlin speculated.
"So... where is the King?"
Spreading out her Observation Haki, several life signatures appeared in her perception... At a temporary shelter outside the Dressrosa Royal Palace, guards were busily clearing away rubble. King Riku II was speaking in low tones with his son.
"So, the riot at the Colosseum caused the deaths of many nobles?" A visible flash of joy crossed King Riku II's eyes.
Prince Riku was momentarily taken aback, not understanding why his father was pleased, but he reported truthfully nonetheless:
"Yes. The Slaves they purchased were released, and many nobles were killed. Duke Ditet is also likely to have met a grim end."
"When I was rescued by that pirate, there was no one left to stand between Duke Ditet and that vengeful slave."
"Really? Ditet is dead!" King Riku said excitedly.
"Most likely, Father."
As the current King of Dressrosa, he had long been unable to tolerate Ditet, a hereditary Duke.
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