Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Page 84

The crane, enjoying the breeze of Marineford, spoke slowly and contentedly:

"The navy exists for justice on this sea—that is our belief."

"So, if that's the case, anyone with a sense of justice can become a naval officer."

"Let your young brat show that emperor from eight hundred years ago the 'justice' of this era."

……

At the end of the document, there is also a handwritten note from the crane:

Your Majesty, please bear with our young son.

Rowan finished reviewing the documents and handed the file back to Barlow, smiling as he asked, "Welcome to Alabasta. Has the branch location been decided?"

Barlow shook his head. "I just arrived."

"I'll have someone take you on a tour of Alabasta. You can choose the location, and someone will contact you afterwards."

After thinking for a moment, Rowan added, "You can handle the conscription yourself."

"Okay, I understand!"

Balo seemed very excited and did not think that Crane or Rowan were making things difficult for him.

……

Those surviving pirates were all imprisoned by the Alabasta King's army.

At Barlow's request, they will be handed over to the nearest naval branch for trial.

Once the GT branch is established, Alabasta will have the function of adjudication, but this is not possible at this stage.

Instead of returning to Albana with Rowan and the others, Balo chose to stay in the rapeseed fields to familiarize himself with the surroundings.

Rowan left the more mobile Bell with Barlow so they could stay in touch, and then prepared to return to Albana.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Fisherman's Village Wharf.

Two strange-looking people rowed a small boat and landed on the shore.

They were one big and one small, like an adult leading a child.

Both men were dressed in long robes with hoods pulled up over their heads, obscuring their faces in shadow.

Once ashore, the man in question made several inquiries and went directly to the village chief of the fishman village—Hoka.

"Excuse me, is this the Four Seas Alliance?" the man asked.

Hoka was somewhat surprised, since very few humans dared to communicate directly with fish-men.

He nodded. "This is the Fishman Village of the Four Seas Alliance."

Then, Hoka looked at the little child beside him.

It was a human boy, with some white spots faintly visible on his exposed skin.

Hoka narrowed his eyes.

That is……

The man then raised his head, revealing a bizarre face with clown-like makeup.

He got straight to the point:

"I need to find the best doctor here!"

Purple Pen Literature

[Chapter 81. Platinum Lead Disease]

After resting for a while, just as everyone was about to set off back to Albana, Rowan's Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

Bulu, Bulu, Bulu... Bulu, Bulu, Bulu...

Click!

……

"..."

"Well, I see."

……

Click!

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Rowan turned to the people around him and said, "There's something going on in Fishman Village. I need to go check it out."

The others were about to nod and follow, but Rowan refused.

"The matter is rather urgent, I can get there faster by myself, you guys go back to Albana first."

The "faster" refers to the super-fast movement achieved in the desert using the Sand-Sand Fruit's power, which is about ten times faster than the Water-Land Transfer Turtle.

But to Rowan's surprise, Crocodile lit some ash from his cigarette and suddenly said, "I'll go with you."

Rowan was taken aback. "Weren't you going to Sky Island?"

"The airship won't set sail for another three days, there's still time."

Crocodile gave a perfunctory reply, but then realized Rowan was still watching him, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

Alright, this old man just wants to hear the truth, doesn't he?

Crocodile said rather "patiently": "First of all, that silly marine is still in the rapeseed field, and I don't want to stay under the marine's watchful eye for three days; secondly, something that makes you anxious must be very interesting."

Rowan nodded after hearing the legitimate reason. "You've convinced me. Come along."

Swish!

Rowan turned into sand and scattered in the wind.

Crocodile flicked some ash from his cigarette, and his body followed suit, transforming into a sandstorm that closely pursued Rowan.

……

A few hours later, the two elemental beings could see the outline of the fishman village in the distance.

The two ended their elemental transformation and regained their physical forms before heading towards the fishman village.

Coming.

What exactly happened in the fishman village?

Crocodile narrowed his eyes and suddenly heard the roar of an engine coming from not far away.

"Who?"

He turned his head and saw a wrinkled old woman with a hooked nose, dressed in a purple tracksuit, riding a sand motorcycle, speeding towards him from afar.

Whoosh...whoosh! Boom!

With a roar of the engine, the dune buggy accelerated further, leaping up in front of a small dune, then spinning a beautiful semi-circle in the air before landing and braking.

The entire maneuver was completed in one smooth motion, and the sand motorcycle came to a steady stop in front of Rowan and Crocodile.

That incredibly trendy old lady is none other than the "witch" of Drum Island, Doctor Kureha!

"Haha, the sand buggy is just as easy to handle as the snowmobile!"

Kureha lifted her sunglasses, her gleaming eyes glancing at Rowan and Crocodile.

"What's wrong? Do you want to know my secret to staying young forever?"

Rowan nodded slightly. "No need, thank you."

Crocodile frowned and muttered under his breath, "What a pretentious old woman..."

Swish!

A bottle slicing through the air struck Crocodile squarely on the head.

Crocodile's head was half-shattered into sand, the bottle disappeared into the gravel, then passed through the sand and fell to the ground.

The one who threw the bottle was undoubtedly Kureha.

"Hahahaha, you little crocodile brat, just kidding. Don't always frown, it'll give you wrinkles!"

Kureha parked her sand motorcycle, laughed, patted Crocodile on the shoulder, and strode towards the Fishman Village.

Seeing this, Crocodile's brows furrowed even deeper, but he showed no intention of retaliating, only resignation.

Kureha is, after all, their doctor. Although her personality is more like that of a pirate, her medical skills are undoubtedly extremely high, which gives her the right to act impulsively.

Doctors—especially ship's doctors—are one of the most valuable resources on this high seas.

but……

Why did Dr. Kureha come to the Fishman Village?

Moreover, judging from Rowan's tone, he clearly already knew about this.

So, someone in the fishman village was injured?

No, a simple injury is unlikely to warrant Kureha's personal intervention; something must have happened!

With questions in mind, Crocodile followed Rowan and Kureha into the Fishman Village.

As soon as he entered, he saw a group of fishmen and humans surrounding two weary travelers, one large and one small.

An adult man and a little boy.

On the little boy's face, several mottled white spots were clearly visible.

Crocodile's eyes widened, a jolt of surprise rising within him—

Platinum lead poisoning?!