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"Your country sounds incredibly powerful. If I had that kind of strength behind me, my country would never have..."
Vivi's voice trailed off, the weight of it clear on her face.
"Haha! Vivi, you still haven't told me whether you accept."
Vivi looked at him for a long moment.
Then she stood up, walked over, and extended her hand with a small smile.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Mr. Kaito."
Kaito stood and took it.
"Happy cooperation."
"That's great, Vivi! You don't have to worry about your country anymore!"
"I know! I never expected to run into Mr. Kaito out here in the desert. It really is fate."
The rest of the crew got to their feet, the mood lifting all at once.
"Actually," Vivi said, "I think I saw Mr. Kaito once before, from a distance, when I was at Nanohana Port."
That caught everyone off guard.
"Is that so." Kaito thought for a moment. "I suppose you must have been there around the same time we arrived."
'Wait. According to the timeline, shouldn't she have been in Cactus Island at that point? The butterfly effect really does reach everywhere.'
He let it go.
"Anyway, it's late. I'll leave you to rest. We can talk more in the morning. Tina, let's go."
Kaito stood. The Straw Hats all rose with him, and in unison they bowed.
"Thank you so much for everything, Mr. Kaito. For helping Vivi, and for letting us stay."
Kaito waved a hand without turning around.
Luffy watched them go.
"Hehe! Didn't expect to run into someone this decent out in the middle of the desert!"
"Truly. Someone that powerful, and still this easy to talk to."
"Alright, you lot." Nami was already heading for the stairs. "Vivi and I are going to shower and sleep. I've been waiting for a shower for days and I am not in the mood to stand around talking."
"Come on, Vivi."
"Okay!"
The next morning, the desert air was still cool, the sun not yet high enough to start its daily work of making everyone miserable.
The entire camp was already awake and moving.
"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four! Three, two, three, four! Again!"
Rimuru and Milim stood at the front of a vast formation of Cursed Children, leading them through morning calisthenics with great enthusiasm.
The Regent, meanwhile, remained firmly sealed in a state of sleep.
Inside the villa, the Straw Hats were gathering in the hall.
"Nami! Good morning!"
"Ah, Nami-swan! You're beautiful even first thing in the morning!"
Nami came downstairs to find all of them already up and waiting.
Vivi looked toward the door.
"We should go find Mr. Kaito. He's probably awake by now."
"Right! A man that powerful must keep a very disciplined schedule."
"Then let's go! We still need to get to the capital before the rebels reach it!" Luffy was already moving.
"Alright! Let's go."
As they stepped out of the villa, they heard it before they saw it.
"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four..."
They followed the sound.
Two hundred and thirty children stood in neat rows across the open ground, all moving in perfect unison, tiny arms and legs swinging with complete commitment.
"This is... even knowing about it beforehand, this is..."
Nami's eyes went wide and stayed that way. She pressed both hands to her face.
Every single one of them was a Cursed Child. The Gastrea virus had given them something difficult to explain and impossible to argue with: each one was almost unreasonably adorable, and thanks to the modifications that Kaito and Rimuru had made, that quality had been significantly amplified. Looking at all of them moving together was almost too much to take in.
"So he really wasn't exaggerating," Zoro said quietly. He had still been holding a small doubt somewhere. It dissolved completely now. Nobody brought two hundred children into the desert for any sinister reason.
"Sugoi!"
"Sugoi!"
Luffy and Chopper both said it at the same time, eyes sparkling. Then, without any discussion, they drifted to the back of the nearest row and began following along.
"Those two..."
Nami pressed her fingers to her forehead. Vivi laughed.
"It's fine, Nami. It's not hurting anyone. A little exercise never did."
Up at the front, Rimuru caught sight of two new additions to the back rows and nearly lost her count entirely.
"Wait. Is that Luffy and Chopper?! How did they end up here?!"
Rimuru had gone to bed early and missed everything. Sakuya had been too busy trying to get Kaito out of bed that morning to brief her, and the Academy Guard was certainly not going to interrupt Rimuru mid-exercise to explain.
To borrow from a movie: how dare a subordinate disturb your enjoyment!
Rimuru was full of questions. But the main task was to finish the routine first.
"Four, two, three, four... And stop! Morning exercises complete, dismissed!"
"Yeah!!!"
The formation broke apart immediately into chattering groups of children heading every direction.
"Alright, let's go say hello!"
"Okay!"
Rimuru turned and watched the Straw Hats walking over, expression bright with surprise.
"Wow! That's Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, Zoro, Sanji... and Vivi too!"
The group assumed Kaito must have told her. Nobody was especially surprised.
"That's right. I'm sorry, I don't know who you are..."
"Oh, your skin!" Nami reached out and took Rimuru's hand before she'd finished the sentence, turning it over with something close to reverence. "You're stunning. How is your skin this smooth? Do you have some kind of secret?"
Rimuru blinked, caught off guard by the sudden enthusiasm, opened her mouth, and then didn't have a chance to say anything at all.
A Security Force member stepped between them.
"Insolent! How dare you show such disrespect to Rimuru-sama!"
His hand was already on the hilt of his sword. The blade was halfway clear of the scabbard.
Zoro's eyes narrowed sharply. That aura was real. This was not someone to take lightly.
It wasn't just Zoro. Luffy and Sanji both felt it — a weight that sat comfortably alongside Crocodile's. Another one.
'Just how many people like this are walking around this camp?'
"It's alright. I'm fine. Stand down."
Rimuru smiled at him. The Security Force member hesitated, then slowly stepped back, though his eyes didn't leave the group.
"Forgive me. But if any of you disrespects Her Majesty the Queen again, I don't care what punishment Kaito-sama gives me. I will not hold back."
He turned and withdrew.
The Straw Hats stood in silence for a moment.
Then it hit them.
"Her Majesty... the Queen?!"