"It's good you're alright, kid. You can stir up more trouble than this old man imagined."
Chinjao alone occupied one-third of the ward space. At the moment, he was stroking his beard, looking at Sasuke... and the Yamato beside him.
He was now completely cured, free from the 'snake-person' state.
The old man was very grateful to the Tontatta Tribe's members, who were even smaller than his fingers, and even promised Gancho he could take them sailing to find the remaining tribesmen.
Gancho agreed on the spot.
Fortunately, Chinjao was a 'good man' who kept his word. With anyone else, the Tontatta Tribe might have just escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair.
The benevolent and respectable Happo Navy's Boss looked again at the woman called Yamato.
The Beast Pirates'… 'young master'? That's what he heard the other officers call her.
'So, Kaido's daughter?'
'This brat is strong.'
Although he hadn't witnessed Sasuke and Yamato's fight firsthand, he could still perceive bits and pieces through Observation Haki.
—Besides, even without Observation Haki, could anyone not hear the immense commotion that nearly destroyed the island?
Even that rocky high ground completely collapsed during their fight; one could imagine the intensity.
"Our business here is done. We're ready to set sail back now."
Considering Yamato was present, Chinjao didn't explicitly mention 'destroying the weapons factory and dock'.
But this was enough.
"This old man won't forget what I promised you. Do you want to learn now... or wait until you come to Kano Country next time?"
Chinjao glanced at Sasuke, who looked like a strong breeze might knock him over, then at the lively Yamato beside him, drawing a certain conclusion once more.
'Hmm, truly strong.'
"...No, it's fine."
Unexpectedly, Sasuke just shook his head.
"Oh?"
Chinjao was puzzled.
'Hadn't this kid come to Kano Country, traveled such a long distance with them, and fought desperately in Dressrosa, all for the Hasshoken secret art?'
'Why was he saying this now?'
"I've already mastered something better, my own technique."
When Sasuke said this, there was no overwhelming aura. Instead, he spoke calmly, as if stating something obvious.
"..."
"Hahahaha! How bold! Brat!"
After a brief silence came exaggerated laughter.
Chinjao's appreciation for this black-haired young man grew even deeper.
"You brat, this old man doesn't have a daughter, but I remember King Ramen has a princess. If you're interested, I could..."
"No."
"Absolutely not!"
Before Sasuke could coldly refuse, Baby-5, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in, standing dumbly in front of Chinjao.
"Darling has already pledged his life to me. There's no way—"
"Stop deciding things on your own!"
Before Baby-5 could finish, Sasuke pulled her aside by the head.
This girl had rushed over the moment she heard Sasuke was awake.
Actually, she originally wanted to stay by Sasuke's side 24/7.
But facing Yamato… a strong (in every sense) woman… Baby-5 always felt a bit intimidated.
When Yamato came here, she could only turn into a gloomy mouse hiding in the corner, gnashing her teeth.
"Haha, is that so... Then consider it me owing you a favor."
Chinjao stroked his beard, then signaled Sai, who was waiting on the side, to bring the things over.
Sai and his brother Boo were relatively lucky… after turning into snake people, they were immediately subdued by Chinjao. Aside from some fractures afterward, they were mostly fine.
He handed Sasuke two pieces of white paper.
Vivre Cards. One was Chinjao's, the other was his own.
"Come visit when you have time."
After this near-wipeout experience, Sai's personality became a bit more steady.
He deeply realized his own shortcomings, and this awareness would become motivation to move forward.
"Alright."
Sasuke didn't have any ill feelings toward Sai.
Besides being annoying at first, Sai was actually a good person.
After saying this, Chinjao and the others chose to leave.
The Tontatta Tribe's members, under the Happo Navy's protection, weren't discovered by the Beasts Pirates.
Of course, this was also thanks to the green light given by Yamato, the young master.
Under Yamato's restrictions, the Beasts Pirates simply didn't have the time to worry about the Happo Navy, their 'colleagues', leaving.
Since the toys turned back into humans, many pirates had chosen to leave… they couldn't possibly keep track.
Now the Beasts Pirates' main task was reestablishing order in Dressrosa.
Yes.
A group of pirates was responsible for this kingdom's security and order.
It sounded surreal, but with Yamato, the young master, everything made sense.
Regarding this, Drake was quite approving. Who's-Who had some opinions, but he didn't dare say them in front of Yamato anyway.
Earlier, when he reported Drake to Yamato, not only did he not get praised, but a frustrated Yamato even hit him with her kanabo.
Following the Beast Pirates' usual approach, they didn't plan to directly rule this country. Instead, they chose to have King Riku manage the place again, rebuild the weapons dock, and 'pay taxes' to the Beasts Pirates.
This was the overt 'transaction'. Even Yamato couldn't go against the consensus at this time.
After all, this involved a country's interests, and Kaido would never give them up.
Without Kaido's nod, any order issued by Yamato, the young master, would be revoked immediately.
The decision-maker for the Beasts Pirates was still Kaido.
So, she chose a roundabout way to save the country.
After a secret discussion with the Riku Family, Yamato gave them a timeframe and a plan.
Everything would wait until she overthrew her old man's position!
King Riku had no objections… the Beasts Pirates had no objections…
The Dressrosa's citizens had even fewer objections.
Or rather, they had no right to voice opinions.
Thus, the Riku Family was restored to the throne. Dressrosa, after losing the World Government's protection, found itself a new tiger skin to hide behind.
At least for a long time, they could focus on rebuilding their country without worrying about threats from other pirates.
…
Sasuke didn't rest for too long.
Most of his injuries had already healed thanks to Calamity Flames. What truly left him so weak was the physical and mental overdraft from forcibly using the [Konoha Three Forbidden Technique] plus the Conqueror's Haki awakening.
Mental recovery was relatively quick, and by the time he woke up, he was mostly fine.
His physical weakness had also improved somewhat over the past few days.
—At least he could walk on his own now.
"So, you're planning to set sail now?"
At the harbor, beside a small boat kindly provided by King Riku… it wasn't that they didn't want to provide a bigger ship, but considering Sasuke didn't have enough crew, a large ship would be unmanageable.
Yamato leaned on her kanabo, Takeru, tilting her head as she looked at Sasuke.
After that fight, the two could be considered friends.
No discord, no concord.
"Mhm, things here are finished."
Sasuke nodded, then prepared to step onto the ship's side.
He wasn't a sentimental person and wouldn't say mushy words during farewells.
"Where are you planning to go?"
"Don't know, and it doesn't matter. After all—"
"There are plenty of strong people on this sea."
As he said this, Sasuke actually gave Yamato a rare smile.
Hearing this, Yamato first crossed her arms and nodded, then very naturally followed him onto the ship.
"??"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You can take that little maid sailing. Why not take me?"
Yamato said this with complete confidence.
Not far away, hiding in the cabin, Baby-5 gnashed her teeth, muttering something about 'disrupting their alone time'.
She was following Sasuke because she had nowhere else to go… she 'had no choice'.
But Yamato…!
She was the next leader of an Emperor's pirate crew!
Unlike the complex-enmity-filled Baby-5, Yamato was practically the 'supreme ruler' in Dressrosa, basically able to do whatever she wanted.
—In this regard, Sasuke was quite similar.
Perhaps it was precisely this excessive enthusiasm, plus Viola showing up every now and then to show goodwill, that made Sasuke choose to leave now.
"You're serious?"
Sasuke felt a headache coming on again.
In response, Yamato pulled up the anchor, then kicked off from the shore.
The reaction force immediately pushed the boat out of the harbor.
"Don't worry. Drake is watching things here. Those guys won't cause trouble. And Uncle King will be here soon anyway."
Yamato waved her hand dismissively.
Hearing this, Sasuke fell silent again.
Fine.
What could he do?
In his current fragile state, fighting was impossible. He could only let this reckless person have her way.