"Princess… you'll be fine."
"We've already escaped."
The guardian in a bear costume fixed the helm and kept sailing outward. As long as they stayed away from the flames of war, there would be a chance to survive.
Having suffered two gunshot wounds and a sword slash, he was losing too much blood and gradually slipping into unconsciousness. Even so, he still held the pink-haired little girl tightly in his arms.
The sea region of Nanami Kingdom—perhaps in the future it would be called the sea region of Six-Gold Kingdom.
A large ship with a Meowth flag sailed into the waters.
"There's a small boat ahead."
"Move closer and take a look."
The Thunder Fortress approached the small boat and quickly saw the situation clearly: an unconscious man in a bear suit and a little girl.
"Report to Doctor Martha immediately. This man is severely injured."
"Bring them aboard."
The pirates who had been "brainwashed" by Meowth possessed quite a sense of justice. In the anime, Rocket Team were villains, yet their entrance lines were always rather righteous—just a bit too much like pyramid scheme slogans.
In short, these Rocket Team grunts had been trained well.
It didn't matter whether Meowth believed it or not. As long as the grunts believed, that was enough.
"Doctor Martha, take a look at what's going on with these two."
Martha and several ship doctors examined them thoroughly. The burly man in the bear suit had lost too much blood, suffering from gunshot and blade wounds that required immediate treatment.
As for the little girl, although she was unconscious, her vital signs were completely normal. She could only be arranged to rest in a room for now.
"I heard someone was fished out of the sea?"
Vane walked out of the training room, Dice following behind him with a bruised and swollen face. Dice relied purely on brute strength without any technique. Against such an opponent, Vane simply gave him a lesson with Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist.
Only after beating him did Vane remember that Dice was a masochist. As long as he wasn't killed, any attack was a reward to him.
Vane made up his mind—if Dice didn't show improvement next time, he would simply drain his strength without attacking him. Denying him that pleasure would definitely hurt more than killing him.
Baccarat nodded. "One adult and one little girl. We don't know why the girl fainted. The adult is having a lead bullet removed."
"A little girl? Did some merchant family run into pirates?"
"Not sure. But she doesn't look like a merchant's child. There's a small crown on her head—real gold… She might be the princess of Nanami Kingdom."
Martha herself was once a royal princess. She had the eye to recognize someone of similar bearing. Though the bear-suited guard looked somewhat comical, his aura resembled that of a royal palace guard captain.
"The only people who could appear nearby are from Nanami Kingdom. If even the princess has been chased out onto the sea, it looks like Nanami Kingdom has completely fallen."
Vane stroked his chin.
"Perfect. Let's see if we can cause some trouble for Six-Gold Kingdom, a member nation of the World Government. As for our pretext… avenging the princess of Nanami Kingdom!"
The new king of Six-Gold Kingdom was said to be a Devil Fruit user. Ever since learning that, Vane had wanted to pick a fight with him.
"When the girl wakes up, we'll ask her identity. If she really is a princess… then we'll be the most loyal and patriotic adventurers of Nanami Kingdom. We must teach Six-Gold Kingdom a harsh lesson."
Martha was speechless. We're wanted criminals—who would believe that?
...
The Thunder Fortress temporarily stopped advancing toward Nanami Kingdom and anchored near a small deserted island.
As night approached, inside the training room, Tant, Bonez, and Dice were sweating profusely.
Bonez continued strengthening his physical training and developing his Devil Fruit ability. Vane wasn't sure how the fruit development was progressing, but his muscles were clearly much bulkier than before.
Dice and Tant were engaged in hand-to-hand combat, both bruised and battered. One was a Zoan-type with rapid recovery; the other enjoyed getting beaten.
"Let me show you—this is Armament Haki. Bonez, if you don't want your defenses easily broken, Armament Haki is essential…"
While explaining, Lena passed through the wall into the training room. Ever since obtaining the Through-Through Fruit, she never used ordinary entrances.
"Even if you're developing your Devil Fruit ability, next time enter through the front door when there are clearly people inside, Lena. Aren't you worried someone might not be wearing clothes?"
Lena froze, glancing at the four grown men.
"The chances of you four being together… and not wearing clothes at that… how high do you think that is?"
The image was too horrifying to imagine.
"By the way, that little girl woke up. Martha asked me to call you."
She woke up? Vane followed Lena toward the girl's room. Before they even entered, a scream rang out.
"Ah!!!"
It was Martha.
Lena's expression changed. She drew a short gun and passed straight through the wall.
"Were they attacked?!"
Upon entering, she saw Martha sprawled on the ground in a very ungraceful position, her face filled with anguish.
Lena's gaze darted around. Only a five- or six-year-old girl was present. Having spent years in the underworld, Lena would not dismiss suspicion simply because the other party was a child.
"Did you do something?!"
The little girl blinked. Suddenly Lena sensed something and spun around—but it was too late. A ghost-like white mass of energy passed through her body.
Lena instantly felt weak, overwhelmed by deep frustration. She collapsed to the floor as well.
Martha: "Being a human is such a failure."
Lena: "I want to become a strand of seaweed…"
Vane entered through the front door. The moment he stepped in, he saw Lena and Martha lying on the ground, muttering gloomy confessions.
And something ghost-like drifting about.
"Negative Ghost?"
The little girl's eyes sharpened. The Negative Ghost was about to rush over and plunge Vane into negativity as well.
Vane narrowed his eyes slightly. A small surge of Conqueror's Haki burst forth, enveloping the little girl's head. How could a five- or six-year-old withstand even a small fraction of Conqueror's Haki?
The moment she fainted, the Negative Ghost disappeared as well.
At the same time, a blue feather appeared.
Vane skillfully grabbed the feather and pinned it to his chest. When he first awakened Conqueror's Haki, he had consumed considerable energy. This Articuno feather would perfectly fill the gap. Once fully absorbed, it should elevate his life level and awaken his Blood Demon Art.
"What just happened? I think I saw a ghost."
"Obviously, this little girl is a Devil Fruit user."
Paramecia-type Devil Fruit—Hollow-Hollow Fruit—user, Ghost Princess Perona.