Chapter 251: Perhaps There's a Slight Misunderstanding?
The rest of the Fish-Man Island itinerary didn't impact Mihawk significantly. Gathering intelligence on Nereus within the kingdom proved exceptionally easy; in fact, the elderly Fish-Men and Merfolk at the taverns were more than eager to grab him by the arm and recount wildly exaggerated, almost mythical tales of their King.
When Mihawk casually mentioned his disdain for the Marines, the patrons practically cheered, proudly recounting how Nereus had slaughtered the Marines so brutally back in the day that they were still too terrified to ever cross the kingdom's borders.
After some careful consideration, Mihawk decided to accept the World Government's invitation. He planned to formally respond and accept the title of Warlord as soon as he returned to the surface.
However, Mihawk had overlooked one crucial logistical issue.
Whether they were merchants or pirates, anyone else traveling to the New World via Fish-Man Island had their own ship. As for the tourists from Sabaody Archipelago, they simply took the return transit bubble back up once their vacation ended.
But since he was heading to the New World, he needed to figure out how to "hitch a ride" all over again.
Furthermore, Fish-Man Island strictly prohibited any unauthorized violence by outsiders. He couldn't exactly pull his usual stunt of drawing his massive blade, beating a crew to a pulp, and commandeering their vessel.
By the time he finally found a suitable ship and officially entered the New World, Nanamo and Chloe had already reached the waters surrounding Dressrosa.
"Slow down! There's no need to rush!"
Nanamo lay flat on Hermes's back—the mimic had stretched itself out into a massive, aerodynamic flying carpet—watching as Chloe darted up, down, and all around in the sky ahead.
Although Hermes was cruising at a pace akin to a leisurely outing, it was effortlessly keeping pace with Chloe, maintaining a steady distance right behind her.
"I really should have seen this coming," Nanamo sighed, massaging her temples. "If she had this much boundless energy when she was one or two years old, there was no way she was ever going to sit still at six."
"Princess Nanamo, if I may be so bold to interject!" Hermes chirped cheerfully. "No matter how fast your beloved little sister flies, this humble servant can easily keep pace! Therefore, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!"
The moment Hermes started speaking, Nanamo instinctively reached out to clamp its mouth shut, but she was a split second too late. Chloe had already heard it.
"Oh? Is that a challenge?!" Chloe's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Let's have a race, then!"
With a loud fwoosh, the flames on Chloe's back completely extinguished. Instantly, her flight speed multiplied, shooting her forward like a black bullet.
"What are you waiting for, you idiot?! Step on it and catch up!"
Nanamo furiously slapped Hermes on its back, ordering it to accelerate, before pulling out her personal Den Den Mushi to dial her friend.
"No, no, I wasn't yelling at you," Nanamo said into the receiver. "My little sister was flying a bit too fast, so I'm chasing after her right now!"
"Oh, okay! Are you close?"
"We'll be there in a few minutes! We can talk when I arrive! The wind is a bit too loud up here!"
Nanamo hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Meanwhile, inside the Royal Palace of Dressrosa, Scarlett quickly touched up her appearance and prepared to head out to welcome her friend.
"Princess Scarlett, please wait a moment. May I ask where you are going?"
Just as Scarlett was about to step out the door, a powerfully built man wearing a standard Dressrosan military helmet hurriedly approached her.
His name was Kyros, recently appointed by King Riku as the Commander of the Royal Army.
"Do I have to report my every movement to you?" Scarlett snapped, glaring at him.
"No, Your Highness. But as you know, the number of pirates invading our waters has surged over the past two years, and some occasionally slip into the kingdom. It is dangerous for you to go out alone..."
"I have someone who will protect me! I don't need you worrying about me, Kyros! I still don't understand what my father was thinking, bringing a convicted murderer like you into the Royal Palace!
"But I won't be fooled by you! Don't you dare come near me! And don't you dare go near Viola, either!"
Seven years ago, a 15-year-old Kyros had been a notorious street thug in Dressrosa. He was arrested for murdering two men in a violent brawl.
The two men had been rival gang members who brutally murdered Kyros's best friend. In a blind rage, Kyros had slaughtered them both in the middle of the street to exact his revenge—blatantly violating the kingdom's laws.
As punishment, he was thrown into the Corrida Colosseum, told that he would only regain his freedom if he managed to achieve one hundred consecutive victories.
In the original timeline, Kyros spent nine years achieving the legendary milestone of three thousand consecutive victories, earning a permanent bronze statue inside the Colosseum.
However, in this timeline, Nereus had previously fought in the Colosseum on a whim and left behind an absurdly high, insurmountable winning streak. Seemingly spurred on by that legendary record, Kyros had achieved his three thousand victories in just seven years.
After completing his streak, Kyros hadn't intended to leave. He planned to remain in the Colosseum indefinitely to "atone" for his sins.
It was only after King Riku spent considerable time and effort counseling him that Kyros finally agreed to step outside.
For a nation like Dressrosa, the Great Pirate Era was a relentless nightmare. They couldn't completely isolate themselves from the world, nor could they constantly rely on outside help. King Riku desperately needed Kyros's overwhelming strength to protect the country.
Ultimately, King Riku appointed him as the new Army Commander, tasking him with protecting his two daughters. However, Scarlett was entirely ignorant of the tragic details behind his past; all she saw was a violent murderer.
Yet, despite her harsh words, Kyros remained steadfastly loyal to his duty. Even when Scarlett explicitly forbade him from following her, he silently trailed her from a distance.
When he realized Scarlett was heading straight toward the port—the most dangerous area in the city—his nerves grew even more taut.
Meanwhile, near the coast of Dressrosa, Chloe was currently in a terrible mood.
She had been having a perfectly fun race in the sky when a pirate ship anchored below suddenly launched several heavy capture nets at her, clearly attempting to snatch her out of the air.
Trailing close behind, Nanamo's mood instantly plummeted past absolute zero. While she knew perfectly well that ordinary firearms and nets couldn't scratch a Lunarian's absurd durability, if Chloe suffered even the slightest bruise, Nanamo would be too ashamed to ever show her face at home again.
As for Hermes... its fury was boundless. Anyone who dared to make its beloved Princess angry was an enemy that had to be eradicated.
Consequently, the pirate ship that had only recently braved the New World suffered an absolute, apocalyptic strike.
By the time Scarlett finally arrived at the port, she was greeted by the bizarre sight of Hermes physically dragging a completely dismasted, half-sunken pirate ship toward the docks, hauling a crew of battered, unconscious pirates along with it.
The ship's hull was heavily scarred by infernal scorch marks, crushing blunt-force impacts, and deep, sizzling acidic corrosion.
"What... what exactly are you doing?" Scarlett asked, staring blankly at the wreckage.
"Oh, we just ran into a pirate crew on the way here, and they suddenly decided to attack us," Nanamo said casually, hopping down from Hermes. "I checked their bounties and figured they were worth a decent chunk of change, so I dragged them along. Once I scrap this ship, the materials should fetch a nice price too. Call it compensation for my emotional distress.
"By the way, is that the bodyguard you were complaining about on the phone? He looks kinda weak."
"That's him," Scarlett sighed in exasperation. "I honestly don't know what my father was thinking, appointing a vicious thug like him as the Army Commander..."
"How many people did he kill?" Nanamo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Two whole people!"
Seeing the profound disgust and terror on Scarlett's face, Nanamo realized there had been a massive, fundamental miscommunication during their phone calls. She had completely misjudged the situation regarding Kyros.
Based on Scarlett's frantic descriptions over the Den Den Mushi, Nanamo had genuinely assumed this guy was a psychopathic mass murderer who had somehow manipulated King Riku.
But a kill count of two...?
Assuming he wasn't just casually slaughtering random, innocent bystanders for fun... his kill count wasn't even higher than six-year-old Chloe's.
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