Chapter 120: Princess Vivi's Friends
"Hmph, I have always been the leader of everyone in the village."
Koza lifted his chin stubbornly, clenching his fist.
Vivi did not even look at him.
"It looks similar," she murmured instead, turning her head to look at the red haired man in the distance. His hair, blazing in the desert sun, was a little like the figure carved in the palace mural.
She quickly shook her head.
No way. Impossible.
Grandfather had said it before. The human face on that stone was just how the artist imagined it. Only the hair, and the cloud he rode down from the sky, had been drawn according to the guard's description.
"Little one, want to win?"
Roy crouched down in front of her, having caught Vivi staring at him. He smiled.
"Yes." Vivi nodded without hesitation.
That arrogant Koza, she absolutely hated him.
"Come here. I will tell you how." Roy crooked a finger at her.
Vivi hesitated for a moment, then took a few quick steps toward him.
Koza was about to shout something when Roy glanced at him.
That single, razor sharp look made him swallow his words and shrink back.
Brat.
You really think you are that impressive?
Cobra was a gentle king who loved his people, so he never took Koza's temper too seriously.
Roy was different.
Vivi had been no match for Koza before. Roy was not about to let that stand.
He spoiled the ones he cared about.
If Koza had dared to mouth off at him, Roy would have slapped him flat on the spot and let him taste the loving slap of Elbaf.
Roy did not like Koza. When he was small he was naive. Now, in Roy's eyes, he was just someone who would stir up trouble and make things worse in the future.
Pah.
Vivi looked at Koza with surprise, then giggled and ran over to Roy, eyes shining.
If she learned this trick, she could scare that guy the way Roy did.
"You do this. Then this. Then..."
Roy leaned in and quietly whispered instructions in her ear.
Vivi listened, nodding over and over, trying not to burst out laughing.
"...Got it?"
"Got it."
She almost bounced on the spot.
...
"Mind your own business," Koza snapped, glaring at Roy.
The next second, he felt that killing intent again, heavy as a mountain.
He jerked his eyes away and did not dare continue.
When a naughty child gets out of hand, a little scare is usually enough.
Brat.
Roy had been raised among the giants of Elbaf. He was very good at dealing with children like Koza.
"I am going."
Vivi grinned at her new older brother, then turned and charged toward Koza.
Koza stared at her warily.
In the next moment, Vivi crashed into him, pushing him straight to the ground.
Just as he was about to launch his signature "roll on the ground and grab hair" attack, Vivi hopped off him and stepped back.
Please. She was a princess.
How could a princess roll around on the ground pulling hair with some desert boy?
With big brother's idea, she had many other ways to win.
As soon as Koza staggered to his feet, Vivi darted forward, pinched her fingers together, and jabbed him right in the eye.
Hancock sighed and covered her face with her hand.
"Roy, could you not teach her something a little more proper?"
"Ah!"
Koza yelped, hands flying to his eyes.
The next second, Vivi's hand closed into a small fist and she drove it straight into his forehead.
"Hngh!"
Koza saw stars. He stumbled back several steps, dizzy and in real pain.
"Your way of fighting is dirty!" he shouted, glaring at Vivi through watering eyes.
"Hehe."
Vivi made a face at him.
What a hypocrite.
He had been rude to the king, thrown punches at the princess, and kept swinging wildly with no mercy.
Now he wanted to complain that she fight dirty
Vivi hated Koza.
Roy's interference made the story between Vivi and Koza veer off the original track.
What should have been the tale of childhood sweethearts who fought, made up, and grew close had twisted into mutual resentment.
But it did not matter.
Many years later, Koza would lead a rebellion against Vivi's family.
If he was going to rebel, why keep him in her life as a fond memory?
Koza gritted his teeth and rushed forward again, wanting to punch Vivi until she cried and admitted defeat.
As he swung at her face, Vivi watched his fist carefully, then suddenly dropped into a crouch.
The punch sailed over her head.
She planted her hands on the ground and kicked upward with her foot.
"Hiss..."
The kids around them recoiled as one.
The adults watching sucked in a sharp breath, every man present instinctively crossing his legs.
Koza let out a scream and collapsed on the sand, rolling back and forth in agony.
Right then and there, Grandpa Koza was born.
It was not that Vivi was especially strong.
It was that the place she kicked hurt far more than any punch.
That felt good.
Vivi exhaled, feeling every bit of her earlier anger vanish.
What, he was supposed to be disrespectful to the king, hit the princess, then later reconcile and become her friend?
Then one day, after his failed rebellion, he would be forgiven because of their childhood memories and even marry the princess?
What a beautiful little dream.
Take this kick and wake up.
Vivi did not care if those dreams were crushed.
A miserable Koza was a good Koza.
"I won, I won!"
Vivi jumped up happily, then glanced at the handsome red haired brother and back at the now disheveled Koza.
Suddenly, she lost interest in Koza and his tiny Sand Gang.
A run down little gang, a loud mouthed boy.
None of that seemed important anymore.
Instead, her curiosity shifted completely to that mysterious red haired big brother.
"Forget it. I am a beautiful and kind princess. I do not want to be the leader of your Sand Gang. You can keep it."
Vivi waved dismissively and ran toward Roy, eager to learn even more powerful moves.
In the distance, two figures hid behind a pile of rubble.
King Cobra had a piece of cloth wrapped clumsily around his head, with the ends tied together in front of his nose.
Igaram crouched behind him, sweating nervously.
The two of them stared at the scene ahead, watching Vivi chat happily with the red haired man and the beautiful woman.
This was unreal.
Cobra had expected his daughter to brawl with Koza, then reconcile and slowly become good friends.
Instead, Vivi had beaten Koza senseless and then gone to worship a new mentor.
"This is not enough," Igaram muttered in a low, dangerous tone, making the king speechless for a moment.
Igaram already found Koza extremely annoying.
If Cobra had not stopped him earlier, he would have arrested that boy long ago.
Now that Princess Vivi had given Koza a beating, Igaram still felt it was not enough.
"But who exactly is that man?"
As the king watched Vivi pummel Koza, his heart had been hanging in his throat. At the same time, he could not help thinking about how to mend Vivi's relationship with the other children and help her make more friends.
Now his focus shifted.
Igaram snapped to attention, eyes narrowing as he studied the red haired man and the woman beside him.
Their clothes matched the desert style around them.
But the way they moved, their habits, their air, all clearly said they were not people of Alabasta.
"Oh? Why do we not investigate?" Cobra whispered.
"Understood, Your Majesty. Leave it to me."
...
Ever since Vivi beat up Koza, she had lost all interest in that arrogant boy.
Poor Koza had no idea he had just lost his future childhood sweetheart route.
He was still proud of himself for keeping his position as leader of the Sand Gang.
"Big brother, are you from another country?" Vivi asked curiously, tagging along at Roy's side.
"The Calm Belt," Hancock replied before Roy could answer, watching him gnaw on his meat with a helpless expression. She did not even bother to look at the little princess.
"Liar. Everyone knows nobody can live in the Calm Belt. That place is the most dangerous in the world."
Vivi puffed up her cheeks and glared at the older sister, clearly unconvinced.
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