The Pirate Princess Becomes Queen

Just as the Landoruff troupe was about to arrive in Water Seven, their ship was stopped by a group of extremely arrogant sailors.

Chapter Fifty: Framed

The Landoruff Theatre Company had always had a good reputation among the public. At first, a few staff members didn't take it seriously and went up to greet them with smiles. As a result, they were all beaten black and blue. The company immediately became nervous.

As several sailors fired shots into the air, the troupe's ship came to an abrupt stop on the sea. Vivi, who was eating watermelon in the cabin, heard the commotion and came out with her and Karu the duck, each holding half a watermelon, looking on with curiosity.

Three naval warships surrounded the Landoruff Troupe's ship. The sailors on the deck had stern faces and were all armed, clearly indicating that they were up to no good.

What's going on here? Vivi was a little confused. She had specifically asked Dadi and Tashigi about Landoruff. The Navy's policy towards Landoruff was neither to support nor encourage him, but also not to suppress him. However, the Navy's tough stance now seemed to contradict the rumors.

"What are you doing? We are a legitimate theater troupe." Old man Landoruf was practicing his lines in his room when he heard the commotion. Without even changing his clothes, he ran out in his costume to ask.

The leading naval officer, with a businesslike expression and a stern face, said, "We received a report that your theater troupe is suspected of transporting weapons for a pirate crew."

"How is that possible!"

"This is a frame-up!"

Everyone was furious, but they couldn't fight fire with fire; the navy wanted to inspect, and they really couldn't stop them.

They were driven onto the deck one by one, and a large number of naval soldiers entered the cabins to search.

Half an hour later, the navy carried three large wooden crates out of the cargo hold. When they pried them open, they found them full of guns and ammunition.

Landoruff trembled with rage, pointing at the leading naval officer: "You, you actually used such despicable means to frame me?! You beasts! You are trampling on the honor of the Navy!!"

The other party's method of framing them was indeed not clever. They first drove everyone to the deck, and then had a full half hour. In that time, it would be easy for them to load something onto the ship.

Vivi could see through this childish frame-up, but others might not. After three large crates full of weapons and equipment were moved onto the deck, the way several actors and crew members looked at Landoruff changed.

The navy men all pointed their guns at the troupe members. Vivi sensed a hint of murderous intent in their eyes. As a stage actress, she certainly couldn't openly carry the famous sword "Hanashu" around. The sword was in Karu's backpack. She reached into the backpack, knowing that if these guys opened fire, she would definitely strike first.

"Stop! Stop! Don't shoot! You can't hurt my troupe! Who's behind this? Come out, and I promise you, I won't fight back," Landoruf shouted.

After waiting for more than ten seconds, a colonel wearing a coat of justice walked down the spiral staircase of a nearby warship.

This person was balding on top of his head, had high cheekbones, and looked at people with malice in his eyes, perfectly illustrating what it means to have a shifty and cunning appearance.

The naval officers immediately saluted their superior.

The man didn't even look at him, and walked up to Randolph on his own.

He smiled smugly: "Major Landoruff, it's been a long time."

The old man gritted his teeth and spat out a name through the gaps: "Gobarna."

The man emphasized, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Gobarna!"

"You once-mighty Major Landoruff, can you still lecture me now? Can you still send me to Enies Lobby? My rank is already lieutenant colonel! Hahahaha, you old geezer! As a criminal, you kneel down before me!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lieutenant Colonel Gobara, though eager to catch up with his old superior, restrained himself due to the presence of so many people and maintained a professional demeanor, pointing at Landoruff.

"Arrest this criminal who's transporting weapons for pirates! If he resists, kill him without mercy!"

"Yes!"

The navy soldiers swarmed forward, their guns pointed at Landoruf. The old man gestured to the troupe not to get agitated, and stretched out his hands, allowing the navy soldiers to handcuff and shackle him.

The smug Lieutenant Colonel Gobara first pointed to three wooden crates not far away, then gestured with his finger to include all the actors and staff in the troupe: "The crates contain physical evidence, and these are all witnesses. We are the righteous Navy; we will not wrong an innocent person. Landoruff's crimes need to be tried on Enies Lobby... Of course, if anyone is willing to step forward and further expose Landoruff's crimes, then they will certainly be rewarded. Is anyone willing to step forward and expose him?...

Lieutenant Colonel Gobarna kept a close eye on the troupe.

Old man Landoruff was usually quite nice to the troupe members, but now he had publicly turned on them, putting them under immense moral pressure. Vivi noticed that a few people hesitated, but in the end, no one spoke up.

Lieutenant Colonel Gobara snorted disdainfully: "A bunch of clueless lowlifes, take them all away!"

One warship was in front, two were behind, and the theater troupe's ship was in the middle. Lieutenant Commander Gobara of the Navy Headquarters was unusually decisive. He led a group to Enies Lobby that very day. He wanted to submit evidence and then solidify Landoruff's crimes.

"Jaina, what do you think we should do now?" a few familiar people asked Vivi in ​​a low voice.

Despite her constant lack of effort and attempts to minimize her presence, Vivi's charisma couldn't be completely concealed. Her domineering aura further enhanced her personal charm, drawing people to her without her even realizing it.

"Don't worry, Mr. Landoruff was once a naval lieutenant commander. The Navy will not let such a good person as him suffer an injustice."

Vivi herself wouldn't join the Navy, but after watching One Piece for so many years, she still had some illusions about the Navy's justice. Whether it was thorough justice, lazy justice, or ambiguous justice, it was still justice in essence.

On the one hand, she harbored a certain degree of illusion about the Navy's justice; on the other hand, Lieutenant Commander Gobara's framing technique was simply too despicable. Landoruff was not a civilian; he had connections within the Navy. Faced with such a clumsy scheme, wouldn't he be easily defeated?

She paused for a moment, then said, "We should trust Mr. Landoruff and the current judicial system. I believe Enies Lobby will give Mr. Landoruff a fair judgment."

Vivi still had some trust in the Navy, but she had absolutely no trust in Enies Lobby. In her memory, those courts were just a formality; once someone was brought to Enies Lobby, they were considered criminals.

But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that old man Landoruf did not put up a fierce resistance, so she guessed that there was still a chance for things to turn around. She decided to observe for a while and then deal with any problems that arose. No matter how dark Enies Lobby was, they couldn't just arrest witnesses indiscriminately, could they?

Chapter 51 Judiciary Island

The troupe members, including Vivi, shared this thought. They had no choice but to think this way. The actors in the troupe were ordinary people; they didn't know the Six Styles of Shave, nor did they possess any domineering aura. If they wanted to resist, they would first have to ask Lieutenant Colonel Gobara's gun for permission.

Four ships sailed straight toward Judiciary Island.

Smoker told Vivi that he discovered Vivi's true identity by comparing photos of several suspects after the Conqueror's Haki incident in Loguetown. In other words, as long as she doesn't deliberately seek the limelight, she's unlikely to expose her true identity. However, Vivi doesn't dare to gamble that no one on Enies Lobby knows her.

During her time with the theater troupe, she always wore her light blue, long hair in a single ponytail, wore wide-rimmed glasses, and applied dark lipstick. Her necklace, earrings, and rings were all completely different from usual. Even Karu the duck had changed into a fisherman's hat. She was confident that she wouldn't give herself away this time. There were probably hundreds, if not thousands, of princesses like her in the world, so the chances of being recognized again were extremely low. Even if she were recognized, it wouldn't matter. What crime could a princess commit by concealing her identity to join a theater troupe? Therefore, she calmly followed along to Enies Lobby.

“These are witnesses, and those are physical evidence,” Lieutenant Colonel Gobarna said enthusiastically as soon as he disembarked.

His decision to put Randolph on trial was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Judging from the frequent eye contact he made with the officials at Enies Lobby who received prisoners, this guy had been planning this for a long time and had already secured several key connections.

"Bring the prisoner down!" Lieutenant Colonel Gobara could hardly contain his joy. He waved his hand forcefully, and two naval soldiers helped Landoruff off the ship step by step.

The old man wasn't a Devil Fruit user, nor did he seem to know how to use Haki. His physical abilities in his youth were just average, and now that he's old and frail, he'd be lucky to have retained even 30% of his former fighting strength. Yet, the Marines still put him in full shackles, clearly treating him as a serious criminal.

With so many shackles, the old man was walking a bit slowly, and a group of Enies Lobby staff in black suits, black ties, and white shirts started urging him on.

Lieutenant Colonel Gobarna stood at a distance, watching with obvious enjoyment as his old superior was treated like a pig or a dog; his smile was completely undisguised.

"Hurry up and go!"

"I'll only say it once, bow your head!"

The government personnel on Enies Lobby were extremely arrogant. They not only shoved Landoruff, but also treated witnesses like Vivi and others as if they were criminals.

Landoruff wasn't a serious criminal like Nico Robin, and Lieutenant Colonel Gobana was no match for Rob Lucci of CP9. The trial was a clandestine affair, requiring no publicity, no reporting, and not even much knowledge among the Marines. Instead of using the main entrance, they opened the side door and entered the front island of Enies Lobby through it.

Even Vivi couldn't help but be startled as she walked through the gate.

The main island of Judiciary Island was floating on the sea. Apart from the road leading to the main entrance of the front island, the surrounding seawater seemed to have been cut off in a ring shape along the edge of the island by some great force.

Like a waterfall, the seawater was isolated from the island and then dragged down by gravity into the giant sea cave below. Vivi only glanced at it casually, but she felt as if her vision was being absorbed by the darkness in the sea cave. This sea cave located below Enies Lobby was bottomless. She looked at the sea cave and felt a little uneasy for no reason. The sea cave was just too deep and too dark.

"What is this?" She now had the illusion that she was gazing into an abyss, and that the abyss was gazing back at her.

She felt her geographical knowledge was completely inadequate. Was this a naturally formed, unique landscape, or man-made? Where did all this seawater, which kept falling, end up? Surely the planet beneath her feet wasn't hollow?

Although it is a small island, the seawater around Enies Lobby has now fallen into the sea cave below. Except for the main road leading to the main entrance of the front island, the main island of Enies Lobby can basically be considered to be floating above the huge sea cave.

All she could hear was the roar of the sea. Even Vivi couldn't hear anything other than the ocean. This island was completely different from the Golden Lion's floating island. The floating island would miss the sea and express anger at the Golden Lion's actions, but here? Vivi felt no emotion at all, as if the island was already dead.

Even though today's trial is not important, Enies Lobby still follows the age-old rules: government soldiers in black suits and white shirts stand on the left, and the navy stands on the right. Landoruff is escorted in the middle, with Lieutenant Colonel Gobara, the prosecutor, and Vivi and a large group of witnesses following behind.

Enies Lobby is like a small town, with an elite force of over 10,000 men stationed there year-round to guard against powerful pirates causing trouble.

A minor case like Landoruff's would certainly not alarm the garrison. They walked for more than twenty minutes and arrived at the main gate of the island, which was the second gate.

Two enormous figures were sleeping against the wall in the shadows beside the gate.

Vivi glanced at them; these were the two young giants she had used to fool the Blue Oni Dorry and the Red Oni Brogy. The two had left the Giant Kingdom to find the Blue Oni and the Red Oni, but were tricked by the World Government and forced to guard the gate for a hundred years.

This gave her a lot of room to maneuver; she was desperately short of help.

Just as she had been thinking from the very beginning of her transmigration, the Sand Crocodile wanted to seize her country by force and trickery, and was the enemy at hand. Would it be safe to defeat the Sand Crocodile? Wrong, the situation at that time was actually more dangerous.

The World Government, controlled by Im, is her long-term enemy. She sees no hope of defeating this enemy at present, and she needs to use Crocodile's cover to secretly strengthen herself.

She's willing to do anything that annoys Crocodile or causes trouble for the World Government! If she can annoy both of them at the same time, that would be even better.

If the World Government can lie, why can't she lie? Besides, she wasn't lying; she was just stating the truth. Vivi's gaze lingered on the sleeping giant for a few more seconds before she looked away. There were too many people around, so she planned to sneak over and chat with the two giants later.

The courthouse on Judicial Island has judges and jurors, and it maintains a 007-style work mode year-round, mainly because there are too many criminals to try, and this time is no exception.

Lieutenant Colonel Gobarna may be a big shot outside, but here he's just a nobody. He wouldn't dare cut in line. If he disrupts the trial process on Enies Lobby, he'll be labeled a criminal in no time. A lieutenant colonel from the Navy Headquarters is nothing here.

The staff at the judicial island quickly reviewed the case documents, stamped and signed them, assigned them numbers, told everyone to wait for the court hearing, and then left on their own.

Chapter 52 Recruiting Giants

"Old ghost, you're dead this time! There might still be those pirates you sent in back then in Impel Down. I reckon they'll 'treat' you well!" Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Lieutenant Colonel Gobana finally stopped suppressing his malice and looked at the old man Landoruf with a face full of resentment.

Whether out of genuine confidence or belief in the impartiality of the local justice system, the old man glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Gobara and declared righteously, "My actions are just. You know best who is selling weapons to pirates. I was able to send you to Enies Lobby back then, and I can expose your crimes just as easily today."

Vivi overheard a couple of sentences from the side. It was nothing more than that the old man was Lieutenant Colonel Gobana's superior when he was young. He discovered evidence that this guy was selling weapons to pirates and then sent him to Enies Lobby. However, the old man believed too much in the so-called justice involved. Gobana not only got away with his crime but has now become a lieutenant colonel, a rank higher than when the old man retired.

Former criminals have transformed into embodiments of justice, while former heroes have become prisoners.

Since arranging for Lao Fan to join the CP organization, Vivi is no longer as ignorant about the current state of the World Government's subordinate agencies as she once was.

She shook her head inwardly. This place was too dark. In the end, it all came down to money. It would be very difficult for old man Landoruff to get justice from the judge in court and to expose Lieutenant Colonel Gobara's crimes on the spot.

There were more than thirty witnesses in total. Faced with the notorious reputation of Enies Lobby, everyone was terrified. When people are nervous, they need to go to the toilet. The staff of Enies Lobby were very experienced in this and did not restrict the witnesses' movements. They could go to the toilet whenever they wanted, and no one stopped them.

Vivi took the opportunity to leave the room. She stayed close to the wall and used various buildings as cover, quietly approaching the two giants guarding the second main gate.

The two giants were dressed in tattered clothes, one wielding an axe and the other a wooden stick. Even when they slept, they showed off their big white teeth, looking silly and easy to fool.

"Hey, you two, wake up, wake up!" After calling for a while without any response, Vivi couldn't shout too loudly, so she kicked each of them on the head, which finally woke up the two giants.

As warriors of the giant race, being battle-hardened is a basic quality. The two giants noticed Vivi the moment they regained consciousness. It was an intuition that the small human in front of them could pose a danger to them. The danger was not too great, but it was definitely not small either.

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't make too much noise. I have a friend... She heard about what happened to you guys, and then she led eight thousand men to search for Dorry and Brogy at sea. That process must have been extremely difficult and arduous, but the result was good. She found Dorry and Brogy, and the two giant warriors were not captured by the World Government." Vivi once again used her skill of making friends out of thin air, shaking her cheeks as she began to bluff.

It turns out that the environment is very good at training people.

While both are Titans, the older Dorry and Brogy deeply believed in Vivi's "friend." Their minds were only focused on battle, and even after a hundred years, their life experience hadn't increased much compared to a century ago. They were quite naive. On the other hand, the two younger Titans, Oimo and Kashi, had seen too much deceit and treachery due to their years of guarding Enies Lobby, and didn't believe her immediately.

Oimo, a burly man with a fierce appearance, wielding a battle axe and sporting upturned nostrils, was the first to ask, "You...you're from the World Government?"

Vivi shook her head: "Of course not! A long, long time ago... I heard that because Dorry and Brogy were arrested, you volunteered to guard Enies Lobby for a hundred years..."

She paused for a moment, letting the giant recall the incident in his mind first, allowing him to gather his emotions.

These two giants aren't exactly model workers. While they're said to have guarded the gate for a century, they actually have their own ways of slacking off: sleeping! They sleep during the day, sleeping for sixteen hours straight, and when they open their eyes again, it's already dark! Work? Work my ass! All the humans on Enies Lobby have already gone home!