Shimotsuki Village
In the courtyard outside Oggs' house, twenty or thirty children sat on small stools they had carried over themselves, listening eagerly as Kairo recounted yet another of his "travel stories."
It wasn't just the children.
Their parents had gathered as well, along with several apprentices from the Isshin Dojo.
Even the dojo master Koushirou had been drawn here by his students' enthusiastic descriptions. He stood quietly outside the courtyard in an inconspicuous corner, smiling faintly as he listened to the strange tales—stories even he had never heard before.
Especially when Kairo began describing certain countries of the New World, Koushirou—normally calm and composed—couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
He had lived in Shimotsuki Village for many years and ran the Isshin Dojo, but that didn't mean he was ignorant of the outside world.
The "countries" Kairo mentioned clearly didn't exist.
Which meant those "travel experiences" were probably nothing more than stories Kairo had invented on the spot.
Still…
From a storytelling perspective, they were incredibly entertaining.
"Master Koushirou."
A figure suddenly stepped out of the forest behind him.
"This traveler is quite interesting. Even I'm getting hooked listening to these stories."
The person standing beside him was a striking young woman with a curvy figure.
She had short purple hair in a bob cut, wore a tall red hat with goggles, burgundy sunglasses, a red sleeveless jacket, a red necktie, and a long red skirt with striped stockings.
She was none other than:
Belo Betty — Commander of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Forces, user of the Pump-Pump Fruit.
Koushirou's eyes flickered with surprise for a brief moment.
He hadn't expected someone of her rank to appear in Shimotsuki Village.
But his expression quickly returned to its usual calm smile.
"For a commander to appear here at this time… I assume it isn't simply to collect supplies?"
"Have you heard about what happened in the Goa Kingdom?" Belo Betty asked, her gaze fixed on Kairo in the courtyard while lighting a slender cigarette.
"The royal family was wiped out by a red rabbit. But the World Government barely cares about the kingdom itself anymore."
She exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
"Because that same rabbit also killed a Celestial Dragon."
After a pause, she added casually,
"Master Koushirou… care to guess where that red rabbit came from?"
Koushirou narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head.
"Commander, you may as well say it directly. Aside from occasionally helping Dragon gather supplies, I rarely concern myself with matters outside Shimotsuki Village."
"The traveler," Belo Betty said quietly.
"Kairo."
Her voice dropped like a bombshell.
"According to reliable intelligence, the red rabbit… is his pet."
"And he probably doesn't know yet that the Marines have already captured it and are transporting it to Loguetown."
She paused briefly before adding another piece of shocking information.
"The one who first captured the rabbit wasn't the Marines or CP0."
"It was a rookie bounty hunter named Zoro."
Koushirou turned sharply toward her.
He didn't doubt her information.
After all, she was a Revolutionary Army commander.
What shocked him was that Zoro, who had been at sea for less than three days, had already been dragged into such a world-shaking event.
Not only that—
he had captured the rabbit responsible for killing a Celestial Dragon.
Even more astonishing…
that rabbit belonged to the traveler standing in the courtyard telling stories to children.
And yet Kairo himself acted as if nothing had happened.
Every day he either worked in the fields with Oggs or entertained the village with his stories.
Even Koushirou had to admit—
that level of composure was remarkable.
Just then, two figures suddenly walked past them.
Leading the way was a Droopy dog, small but walking upright with surprising speed.
Behind him followed a green rabbit, also walking upright and carrying a briefcase.
Koushirou blinked in surprise.
Belo Betty, however, looked completely unsurprised.
Before coming to Shimotsuki Village, she had already gathered intelligence.
She knew that Kairo's ship carried three unusual companions:
a red rabbit
a green rabbit
and a Droopy dog
Her information came from Windmill Village, where Mayor Woop Slap had told her everything about Kairo and the chaos in the Goa Kingdom.
The mayor had even hoped the Revolutionary Army might secretly help Kairo.
Because if anyone could oppose the World Government—
it would be them.
And so Belo Betty had reported the situation to Dragon, who instructed her to attempt to recruit Kairo.
After learning that the red rabbit had been captured by Zoro, she rushed to Shimotsuki Village immediately.
Meanwhile, Droopy and the green rabbit's appearance quickly caught the attention of the children.
Two of them even cried out in surprise at seeing animals walking upright.
The pair ignored the stares and walked straight toward Kairo.
Seeing the children grow nervous, Kairo quickly reassured them.
"Don't be afraid."
"They're my companions."
The children immediately lit up with curiosity.
One brave boy stepped forward and greeted the dog.
"Hello, Droopy! My name is Oggs Jr.!"
Other children rushed over to greet the green rabbit.
The green rabbit seemed shy and overwhelmed.
His wide-eyed expression instantly made the children burst into laughter.
Soon the entire courtyard became lively again.
The green rabbit quickly became the children's favorite.
Droopy, meanwhile, quietly carried the briefcase over to Kairo and tapped it proudly.
Kairo glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention.
Then he leaned closer and asked softly,
"Where's Kirilenko? Why didn't he come back with you?"
"I handed him over to the Marines," Droopy replied matter-of-factly.
"We earned five hundred million."
He patted the briefcase proudly, practically begging for praise.
Kairo blinked in disbelief.
"You traded Kirilenko for the bounty?"
Droopy nodded.
"Don't worry, Master. The Marines don't know we collected the money. I used a green-haired bounty hunter as a proxy."
"And you don't need to rescue Kirilenko either."
"He'll escape on his own when the time is right."
"By then his bounty will double."
"Then we can turn him in again!"
Droopy grinned happily.
"Master, we're going to be rich."
"Happy!"
Kairo felt a headache coming on.
The chaos in the Goa Kingdom had already complicated his travel plans.
Now Droopy and the red rabbit were planning to farm the bounty system repeatedly.
Still…
he was curious to see how Kirilenko would cooperate with this ridiculous plan.
After all, unless Kirilenko entered his berserk state, he was usually quite calm.
In fact, according to the lore of Usavich, Kirilenko had once received a transplanted organ from his older brother—whose calm personality acted like a sheath restraining Kirilenko's violent temperament.
That meant Kirilenko wouldn't lose control easily.
Unless…
the Marines attempted to execute him.
If that happened—
Kirilenko would definitely enter berserk mode.
Shaking the thought away, Kairo turned to Oggs.
"Oggs, does Shimotsuki Village receive the latest newspapers?"
Oggs shook his head.
"No. The news bird always arrives a day or two late."
"I see…"
Kairo narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
He wasn't worried about Kirilenko dying.
In the Usavich world, the prison guards had tried everything—beheading, poison gas, even explosive bread—and none of it killed him.
But he still wanted to know when the execution would happen.
Just in case trouble came knocking.
At that moment—
a confident female voice spoke behind him.
"Mr. Kairo, could we talk privately?"
Turning around, Kairo saw Belo Betty approaching through the crowd.
She walked straight up to him.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"Belo Betty. Commander of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Forces."
Kairo exaggeratedly widened his eyes and stepped back.
"You're… Revolutionary Army?!"
Betty blinked slightly in surprise.
"You seem to have a bias against us."
"Not exactly," Kairo said with a shrug.
"I'm just an ordinary traveler. I'd rather not get involved with an organization that opposes the World Government."
"Stop pretending," Betty said with a smile.
"Mayor Woop Slap already told me what your red rabbit did in the Goa Kingdom."
"Your companion caused an incident that shook the world, yet you act like nothing happened."
"That tells me you're not afraid of the World Government at all."
Kairo sighed.
"That old man sold me out already?"
"Misunderstanding," Betty replied.
"He was worried about your safety."
She stepped closer.
"Join us."
"Let's overthrow the World Government, abolish the aristocracy, and build a world of freedom, equality, and dreams."
Kairo studied her quietly.
Her words were strangely persuasive.
Clearly—
she had activated the power of the Pump-Pump Fruit.
Still…
she was worrying unnecessarily.
Because Kairo had never planned to rescue Kirilenko.
Kirilenko came from the Usavich universe.
Escaping prison was literally his specialty.
No help required.
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