"A Celestial Dragon?"
Kairo sobered up a little and muttered to himself,
"What kind of timing is this?"
Then a thought struck him.
The system?
With that in mind, he immediately asked in his head,
"System, get out here. Was Da Hong going to the royal city of the Goa Kingdom your idea?"
"Father, that's a false accusation!"
The system answered at once.
"Every crew member I summon is loyal only to you! Even I can't control their thoughts! The reason Da Hong went to the Goa Kingdom is probably just because the banquet was too noisy and he wanted to get some fresh air!"
The corner of Kairo's mouth twitched.
"Running all the way to the royal city of the Goa Kingdom to get some fresh air? You really expect me to believe that?"
"Anyway, it wasn't me!" the system said pitifully.
Kairo didn't trust this shameless thing for a second, but there was no point blaming it now.
What mattered was stopping the situation from getting worse.
But even if he rushed over now, there was no way this could still be settled cleanly.
After all, he was supposedly just a perfectly ordinary traveler.
Da Hong had smashed through the city gate and barged straight into the capital. There was no way the Goa Kingdom would simply let that go.
And with a Celestial Dragon present, there was even less chance the royal family would quietly bury the matter.
So if Kairo ran over now, he'd basically be throwing himself into the net and stirring up even more trouble.
Which meant the best solution right now was simple:
Pretend he knew nothing.
At present, the only people who knew about his connection to Da Hong and Droopy were the villagers of Foosha Village.
As long as the villagers kept their mouths shut, no one would ever connect this mess to him.
As for Da Hong and Droopy's situation inside the Goa Kingdom—
Kairo wasn't worried in the slightest.
Even if all three Marine Admirals were dispatched together, there was no way they'd be able to do anything to those two.
Leaving berserk Da Hong aside for a moment, Droopy alone was already far beyond anything the Admirals could reasonably deal with.
Those two were the very definition of unreasonable.
Creatures who ignored common sense and logic entirely.
Forget the world of One Piece, where even the strongest fighters still relied on Devil Fruits, Haki, physical techniques, or swordsmanship.
Even if you threw Da Hong and Droopy into a higher-order world, there still probably wouldn't be many people who could do anything about them.
After thinking it through, Kairo looked at Mayor Uwoop Slap and said with complete seriousness,
"Mayor Uwoop, you don't want Foosha Village getting dragged into this because of Da Hong and Droopy's recklessness either, do you?"
"The best thing to do right now is to immediately inform all the villagers to keep silent and not tell anyone about my connection to Da Hong and Droopy."
"Only by cutting that link can we stay out of trouble."
"Mr. Kairo, that's… that's abandoning your companions!"
Uwoop clearly didn't agree. His expression, too, was no longer as friendly as before.
"Mr. Da Hong helped us solve the huge problem of the Lord of the Coast. If you won't protect him, then we will! We can't do something as shameful as abandoning our companions!"
Kairo blinked, caught off guard by how strongly the mayor reacted.
Then he shook his head with a smile.
"Mayor Uwoop, you've misunderstood. It's not that I don't intend to help Da Hong and Droopy. It's that if I do get involved right now, Foosha Village will definitely be implicated…"
"We're not afraid!"
Before Kairo could finish, Uwoop flung out an angry hand.
"When trouble comes, you abandon your companions? I never expected Mr. Kairo to be that kind of person!"
"Mayor Uwoop, please calm down!"
Standing beside them, Makino had already regained her composure. Though she also didn't agree with what Kairo was doing, she had caught the key point in his words.
In her view, the reason Kairo wanted the villagers to keep quiet about his connection to Da Hong and Droopy was obvious:
He was trying to protect Foosha Village.
"Can't you see it?" Makino said quickly. "Mr. Kairo is doing this to keep the villagers of Foosha Village from being dragged in!"
"Yes, yes, exactly!"
One of the villagers standing beside Uwoop hurriedly nodded along.
"Mr. Kairo is willing to sacrifice his bond with his companions just to keep the villagers safe. What a noble thing to do! It reminds me of that great leader Chevara—willing to sacrifice himself for the common people… sob, sob… Mr. Kairo, we don't deserve this!"
"…Huh?"
Looking at the villager who had suddenly burst into tears, Kairo's eyes widened again.
What kind of imagination is that?
I just don't want trouble coming back to bite me!
That was what he thought inside.
But on the outside, his face turned grave and tragic.
"There is no question of whether it's worth it or not. The only question is whether I'm willing!"
"Please, don't try to persuade me. I've already made my decision."
"You don't understand the strength of my two companions."
"Let me put it this way—even if all of Marine Headquarters came out in force, they still wouldn't be able to catch them."
"So what you need to do now is stay uninvolved and help me keep this secret."
"But if that's the case… then I can't remain in Foosha Village any longer."
"I'll leave immediately. And if anyone asks, tell them I was never here."
"Once things calm down a bit, I'll find a way to rescue Da Hong and Droopy."
"So now…"
"I take my leave."
With that, Kairo swung his legs off the bed.
His face was full of regret, and every word was steeped in heroic sorrow.
"Ah!"
The moment he heard Kairo was leaving, Mayor Uwoop turned back in a rush.
"Mr. Kairo, wait… I'm sorry. I was too anxious just now, so I spoke too harshly."
Makino, too, widened her eyes the instant she heard he was going.
For some reason, it felt as if something precious was being pulled away from her.
"There is no banquet that lasts forever," Kairo said softly, meeting her gaze.
"I'm a traveler by nature. Sooner or later, I was always going to leave."
"But if Foosha Village still welcomes me, then once all of this is over, I'll come back."
"And when I do, we'll hold another great banquet and drink while we sing."
At those words, Makino's eyes turned red and her voice caught slightly.
"You'd be welcome. Absolutely welcome. More than welcome."
Kairo blinked, genuinely caught off guard.
This girl…
Why was she tearing up?
Could it be—
The thought had only just appeared when he forcibly shook it away.
He had only just arrived in the One Piece world, and he had already decided to travel through the Four Blues and the Grand Line.
He absolutely couldn't let himself go soft just because Makino looked like she was about to cry.
Originally, he had planned to stay in Foosha Village a while longer.
But now that Da Hong had run off and started causing trouble, there was no reason for Kairo to remain here any longer.
This was the perfect excuse to begin the next leg of his journey.
As for Da Hong and Droopy—
He truly wasn't worried.
As long as he kept Green Rabbit, the strongest support unit, by his side, those other two could do whatever they wanted.
He couldn't be bothered to lose sleep over them.
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