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Hearing all this information from Robin, Ross was gradually struck dumb with fear.
Even though Heina had lived in her kingdom for several years and had even been granted the title of duchess by Ross's own father, it wasn't realistic to expect that a young princess like her could truly understand the power of such a legendary pirate.
Back in the era when the Red Coat Pirates under Heina's command spread terror across the seas, their infamy standing alongside names like "Silver Axe King John" and Kaido, and ranking just beneath monsters like Roger and Whitebeard, Ross hadn't even been born yet.
As a pampered princess, she wasn't like Robin, who possessed a constant sense of danger and made it a habit to stay informed about all kinds of worldly affairs and intelligence reports.
So, while Ross did know that Heina once carried a bounty of 790 million Belly, far surpassing even the fellow Warlord Crocodile, she had never heard much about Heina's Four Knights.
Even two years ago, when Ross was still in her homeland, she had never once seen the four knights Robin spoke of at Heina's side.
She never imagined that Heina's subordinates could be held in such high regard, each one said to possess power comparable to the later Warlord Crocodile?
Enemies like that… Could they really be defeated?
And if even Heina's subordinates were that terrifying, then how strong must Heina herself be?
Ross's thoughts were a complete mess until Robin's voice brought her back to her senses:
"Gans needs his bandages changed."
"…" Ross lifted her head, glancing at Robin and Liam.
Robin's expression was calm as ever; Liam lounged with one long leg propped on the table, idly spinning a gilded iron rod between his fingers.
"What are you looking at me for?" Liam grinned, holding out the golden staff toward Ross's mouth. "You wanna eat it?"
Ross shook her head rapidly. "I, I'll go change Gans's bandages…" She hurried out of the room in a flustered rush.
In the castle's lounge, only Liam and Robin remained.
Robin sat down on the sofa and opened a new book. "This time's opponent… is truly formidable."
Liam crossed one leg over the other on the table and said seriously, "I'm formidable too."
Robin turned a page. "Mm."
"And besides…"
Robin raised her eyes. Liam was smiling brilliantly. "You're formidable too."
Robin lifted the book and made a mock motion of knocking him on the head with it.
"Though I admit," Liam said with a grin, "it's amusing to have the Marines actually believe you're 'Kujo Jolyne.' But if things get dangerous, there's no need to keep hiding your strength all the way to the bitter end… right? I'm honestly curious to see that, you going all out, wielding the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) to battle all comers! The stronger the enemy, the greater the payoff when Hehua Zizai forces a 50-50 situation. Hahaha, now that would be entertaining!"
Robin shook her head gently, pressing down on her book's pages. "I'd rather not see that kind of situation."
Because if the time ever came when she had no choice but to unleash her full power, it would mean that both she and Liam were in the gravest danger imaginable.
Robin had lived with the awareness of sacrifice since she was eight years old. Though she didn't want to die, at least, not before uncovering the true history of the world, she was never afraid of death itself. But what she truly feared… was Liam being in danger.
"…It's indeed dangerous,"
murmured Gans, who lay mummified in bandages inside one of the castle's rooms as the princess gently changed his dressings.
"Princess, are you worried that Liam and Robin might go back on their word, and refuse to help us fight Heina?"
"…" Ross said nothing.
"If they were going to betray us," Gans gave a strained chuckle, "they'd have already thrown us out of this place."
Ross still stayed silent, quietly tending to the blood-soaked bandages.
After catching his breath a few times, Gans continued, "I've heard tales too, of the terrible strength of Heina's Red Coat Pirates. The Silver Axe Pirates they wiped out were said to have been strong enough to qualify as Warlord candidates for the Marines. But in the two years I was under Heina's control, enslaved by her Decay-Decay Fruit powers, I don't recall ever seeing those legendary 'Four Knights' she was rumored to command…"
The captain of the royal guard furrowed his brow. "In Sikeal, among Heina's followers, even among those close to her, like Steel, who holds a fairly high position in the Red Coat Pirates, none of them ever mentioned the Four Knights much."
"Heina… and her Four Knights…" Ross couldn't help asking, "What kind of pirates were they, really? I know Heina's a Decay-Decay Fruit user, and she's strong, but those four… Robin said each of them had power comparable to Crocodile, who later became a Warlord. Is that true?"
Lying flat on the bed, Gans gave a weary laugh. "Maybe that's an exaggeration… or maybe not. As for which of them is truly stronger, Crocodile or one of the Four Knights, I couldn't say. What I do know is this: each of those four women directly under Heina was a terrifying opponent you'd never want to provoke lightly. Before Heina even became a Shichibukai, each of the Four Knights already had a bounty exceeding 100 million Belly."
Ross's pupils dimmed in disbelief.
After hearing that Liam had once chased Sand Crocodile across the skies, she had looked up the man's records, even before he became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (Shichibukai), his bounty had only been 81 million Belly!
And yet, even Heina's subordinates, every single one of them, had bounties over one hundred million?!
"Kamui… Gabard… Lasha… Coyatel…" "Those are the names of her Four Knights," Gans recalled. "Among them, some possess Devil Fruit abilities. Three of them are swordswomen, it's said they've learned their captain's swordsmanship. But the remaining one, the only one who doesn't use a sword, Lasha, is rumored to be the strongest, the one whose strength most closely rivals Heina's herself…"
"Lasha… Lasha…"
Gans muttered, and the profile of a scar-faced woman suddenly surfaced in his mind. He'd seen her once, from a distance, standing beside Steel. Could it have been her…?
If three of the Four Knights had inherited Heina's sword techniques, then Lasha was said to have inherited everything else, that monstrous, almost inhuman physical strength and close-combat skill that made Heina so terrifying!
"You've got it wrong, Gans," Ross suddenly said. "I'm not worried that they'll back out… I'm worried about myself."
Gans turned his gaze toward the princess. She sighed.
"It's because of me that they have to face such dangerous enemies…"
"…"
Gans looked helpless for a moment, then turned his eyes to the ceiling and exhaled deeply.
"Princess… you're underestimating them!"
Ross was startled.
He raised his heavily bandaged arm and gestured toward the chamber they were in.
"Look around you, look at where we are, think about what those two have done! One has a bounty of 330 million Belly, the other 400 million Belly! Even in the New World, that perilous sea ruled by the Four Emperors, the two of them would still be considered top-class pirates!
Do you really think people like that can be easily swayed, that anyone could tell them what to do?"
Ross gave a bitter smile.
"So you mean I've been overestimating myself?"
Gans shook his head firmly.
"No… what I mean, Princess, is that the very reason we're here, is because they think highly of you!"
Ross pressed her lips together.
Gans sighed again.
"So, Princess… since they've already agreed, no, since they've promised to help you, then you should cast aside all your doubts."
"Otherwise…"
He trailed off, but the words struck home. Tears welled in Ross's eyes.
"Otherwise, it would be an insult to those who are literally risking their lives to fight for you!"
In the ship's cabin, golden liquid ribbons coiled lazily around the steering B.I.B., leftover gold from their previous transaction.
The JOJO Pirates' small ship cut steadily through the ever-shifting seas of the Grand Line, sailing straight in the direction set by the Eternal Pose.
…
At the port city, townspeople occasionally turned their heads to glance at the massive pirate ship quietly moored at the harbor, everyone recognized that flag.
The crimson skull flag, the mark of Shichibukai Laut Heina.
Since she was a legitimate pirate under the World Government, even boldly docking her warship on an allied kingdom's shore caused no trouble.
More than that, out of gratitude toward the savior they adored, the townsfolk even volunteered to act as guards, keeping watch around Heina's ship.
"No matter what, they're still pirates!" someone in the tavern snarled. "It's outrageous that, "
Before he could finish, the man beside him smashed a bottle over his head.
"How dare you badmouth Lady Heina! What right do you have to live?!"
The tavern instantly descended into chaos. Fists flew, chairs splintered, others rushed in from outside to join the fight, not even bothering to ask why.
A bearded man took a swig of his drink, smashed the bottle, and muttered through his drunken haze:
"This country… is beyond saving."
Then he dragged the jagged glass across his own throat.
"Someone just killed themselves! Hahaha!" "Serves him right!" "What?! You think that's good? Then you die first!"
Laughter, curses, roars, the brawl only grew bloodier.
In a shadowed corner, a white-haired, doll-faced girl raised her glass and giggled.
"Heh-heh-heh… not bad, Heina. Things are getting much more fun around here."
Her companion snatched the glass away.
"Lady Kamui, the Captain said, only one drink a day. You've already had yours."
"I'm not a child!"
Kamui snarled, baring her sharp, beastlike teeth.
Moments later, a thunderous crash, the tavern collapsed into rubble.
Outside the port town, two armored forces clashed in brutal melee.
A tall woman in glasses, dressed like a bureaucrat's secretary, passed calmly through the chaos.
"Hey, woman! You blind or something?" "Or are you just looking to die?"
...
"Where's Lady Coyatel?! She's wandered off again!" "That woman's attitude… she's gonna get herself in trouble!"
Inside the royal city, search parties fanned out everywhere.
Meanwhile, down a side street, a gang of ruffians, whether bandits or thugs, had cornered a golden-haired woman with a generous chest and tearful, delicate features…
"A fragrant woman…" The burly man leading the group, whose left arm had been amputated due to the rot disease, grinned hideously. "Really makes a man jealous, doesn't it?"
…
The Royal Palace
A guard rushed in.
"Your Majesty the King…"
The king, wearing a golden crown, was in the middle of drinking. He laughed drunkenly.
"What is it now? Another war breaking out somewhere?" He guffawed, "Let them fight! Going mad and killing each other is better than rotting alive into piles of stinking flesh, isn't it? Hahahaha!"
He waved the guard off and took another gulp of wine.
"Your Majesty, it's not that…"
The guard quickly changed the subject, unable to guarantee there wasn't a new war breaking out.
"It's the Red-Clad Pirates' ship, it's docked at the port."
The king's hand froze mid-drink.
"They say… the Four Knights are aboard that ship," the guard murmured, bowing his head. "All of them."
With a loud thud, the king slammed the bottle against the table, startling the guard. His face clouded as he rose to his feet. Still wearing only his court robes, he walked slowly toward the tall Gothic-style window.
Outside, near the palace's grand staircase, he could see the woman he himself had once ennobled as Duchess Laut Heina, that infamous, bloodstained pirate, standing there, raising her arm and waving to the crowd. Moments later came the sound, a thunderous, tsunami-like roar of cheering that reached all the way to the king's ears.
Even he, the king of this land, had never received such fervent adoration…
A flicker of anger and pain flashed across his eyes, but it quickly faded. In its place came a heavy, empty feeling, a sense that life itself no longer held any meaning, and death would hardly be different.
"At least it's better than watching the entire nation die of rot…"
He muttered to himself, turned away, and went back to his drink.
From below, Heina glanced back, catching sight of the king's retreating figure behind the palace window, and smiled faintly.
"Heina! Heina! Our Grand Duchess Heina!"
The crowd below, gathered across the stairs and at the foot of the mountain, chanted her name in waves of adoration.
"The princess who betrayed you all is returning soon," Heina said, her voice carrying over the sea of people. "That's all I know, after all, I'm just a pirate. What you choose to do with that information… is up to you."
The cheers rose even louder as she turned to leave, accompanied by Lasha, cloaked in white beside her.
Lasha scowled in the direction of the harbor.
"Those three bastards still haven't shown up? They've really lost their minds in the New World, how dare they keep you waiting, Captain…"
"Call me Heina," the woman replied with a soft smile, gazing into the distance, toward the island where the royal palace rose high above the sea. "It's been a few years. Maybe they're just… shy."
…
Port Town, The Tavern Ruins
In the dust and rubble of the collapsed tavern, a massive shadow slowly contracted into human form.
Her companion dusted herself off and followed the white-haired, doll-faced pirate girl out of the wreckage, speaking calmly:
"Captain said you're still a child. So you are a child, Lady Kamui. If you don't like it, well, that's just too bad."
"Hmph!"
Kamui stomped off angrily, cheeks puffed, lips curled.
Idiot! Who said I was unhappy?!
Battlefield Outside the City
Hundreds of men lay sprawled on the ground.
A tall, intellectual-looking woman, exuding an almost dominant, big-sister aura, drew the whip-blade from her belt. Glancing once toward the royal palace high on the hill, she adjusted her glasses and exhaled, her voice trembling with excitement.
"My apologies… I'm feeling a little too excited right now. Could you let me cut you down for a moment? Just to calm myself?"
The Capital
An entire street had been flattened, as if a hurricane had torn through.
Coyatel lowered her hand, while her subordinates rushed up in a panic.
"Lady Coyatel! You went overboard again!"
Coyatel, her ample chest rising and falling softly, tilted her head and cooed in a delicate voice:
"Oh dear… I didn't mean to. Please forgive me~"
Her innocent tone made the approaching crew members' legs shake in terror, tears practically sprang from their eyes.
"Lady Coyatel! Please don't speak like that, it's terrifying!"
Out at Sea
A small sailing ship approached the shores of Kraikana Island.
Liam looked at the distant coastline, casually spinning his gilded iron staff in hand.
"You really planning to go ashore?" he asked Ross.
"Eh?" Ross blinked in confusion.
(End Of This Chapter)