''Chapter Extra: Days on the Kuja East Route:
Hā hā hā hā hā hā''
Has the Snake Squad made their debut?
Robin had a book spread across her legs, holding a cup of floral tea, smiling as she watched the Boa sisters in the clearing. Hancock had a blank expression, perfunctorily placing a sign on the ground in front of her, on which Robin's hand had sprouted to write a capital letter "S";
Sandersonia spread her emerald snake wings, sitting cross-legged in mid-air, looking like an "H"; Marigold, with her flexible figure and orange hair, had her arms outstretched and her snake tail laid flat, resembling an "E"… Liam was beside them, clapping on a wooden stump, laughing uncontrollably, leaving Hancock utterly confused.
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A battleship from the Holy Land Mariejois was docked at the shore, belonging to the self-defense forces.
On the deck, some soldiers of the self-defense forces were standing guard, while others were gathered in a corner, chatting leisurely in the sea breeze.
"That's just ridiculous; without a specific list, how could we possibly catch them all…"
"Shh, don't talk nonsense; are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Just follow orders; at worst, we can consider it a business trip."
"Hey, now that's what you call talking nonsense! But, indeed, it's rare to be out, so let's treat it like a vacation."
"I heard there's a world-famous resort island at the front of the Grand Line…"
The old soldiers shared cigarettes, lighting them and smoking, completely ignoring the disgruntled glances from the recruits standing nearby as they leisurely waited for the people going to the island to finish their business and return.
"…"
In the lookout room above, a man in a white military uniform held a famed blade, wiping it with a handkerchief as the blade glimmered with a chilling light.
Maintaining this beloved sword that had accompanied him through many battles and had severed countless criminals' heads, the swordsman in white paused with the handkerchief, the reflective blade gently flipping, revealing a very blurry image of the distant seaside—a small boat was slowly approaching the shore.
A sailboat.
It had something painted on the sail.
A skull pattern.
The mark of a pirate.
This was a pirate ship.
It could be cut.
This was a ship that could be cut.
The people on the ship were pirates who could be cut.
The swordsman in white stood up with his sword but saw that the small pirate ship had slowly docked, and as a man and a woman stepped onto the shore, the man surprisingly lifted the entire small pirate ship with one hand.
He did something, raising the pirate ship with one arm and stuffing it into the ground, and it gradually disappeared without a trace.
"…" The swordsman in white was astonished, quickly realizing, "Devil Fruit?"
He walked to the window of the cabin, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter. It had been a long time since he had cut down an ability user; it was a long-lost feeling. After defeating them, he could take their bodies back to show the Celestial Dragons— perhaps they would be interested in adding them to their collection…
As he thought this, he noticed that among the two people who had landed, the tall man seemed to glance over in his direction.
Gripping the hilt, the swordsman in white felt a chill run down the blade's edge.
"Interesting!" He smirked, lightly brushing his finger across the blade, drawing a drop of blood, which he licked off his lips, the rusty metallic taste filling his nostrils. "I wonder what kind of pirates they are? If their bounty is below 50 Million, then it won't be satisfying to cut them down… Don't let me down!"
......
"What's wrong?" Robin asked, tilting her head.
She put the lazy Den Den Mushi into her bag; this little guy was stuffed with all her and Liam's luggage, even a pirate ship.
"I just feel like some idiot is spying on us," Liam said. "Forget it; I can't be bothered with him. Let's go check the situation on the island."
Robin nodded, and the two of them held hands as they ventured deeper into the island.
This island was not small, but it wasn't large either.
When they had looked from a distance earlier, they could only see the bare mountains that resembled towering pillars, with patches of green hidden between them.
With Liam's Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) level, the moment he stepped onto the island, he already had a rough idea of where the crowds were gathered, indicating the location of the town, so he wasn't worried about being directionless.
The scents of animals and humans varied in strength; with Liam's expertise in Kenbunshoku Haki, he could easily distinguish between them by shifting his perspective.
On Kuja Island, the strong scent belonged to humans, while the weak scent belonged to animals.
On the Grand Line, most of the time, the strong scent belonged to animals, while the weak scent belonged to humans.
Liam led Robin toward a nearby gathering of human scents. Although it was called a gathering, it didn't feel like there were too many people—according to the energy feedback collected by his Kenbunshoku Haki, there were about two hundred people.
When they arrived at this small town of over two hundred people, they happened to see a group of soldiers on the street, dressed in white uniforms. Some carried long guns, while others held clipboards and pens, either gathering a crowd of villagers or going door to door, seemingly investigating something.
The appearance of those islanders felt somewhat familiar to Liam. He focused and realized, wow, wrapped in white robes with exotic patterned sashes, especially with their feathered headdresses, they looked like a group of Native Americans, didn't they?
Liam also noticed that the soldiers' white uniforms did not bear the Marine's seagull emblem but instead had a circular yellow pattern with curved lines connecting to a simple fortress design in the center.
"It's the self-defense forces from Mariejois." Robin leaned in to quietly remind Liam.
"Another military force independent of the Marines?" Liam asked.
Robin nodded. Liam curiously inquired, "They say there are three military forces; what is the other one?"
Robin whispered, "The other one is in the prison system…"
"Oh…" Liam finally understood.
He recalled the flag planted in Impel Down from the manga— it was neither the Marine nor the World Government emblem but had a very peculiar design; it must have been the flag of the prison guard system.
As Liam and Robin approached the village, the soldiers of the self-defense forces and the villagers being questioned quickly noticed them.
The soldiers turned to look.
(To Be Continued…)
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