Chapter 45: The Proposal
One of them, draped in a cloak that covered their body, wore a cotton hat that obscured half of their face, leaving only a pair of lascivious and cruel eyes visible.
"These damned Sea Kings... I've told them countless times not to kill each other, and now another ten or so are dead. If this ruins the plan, I'll make sure to roast every last one of them," the person said arrogantly. From their tone, it was clear that this individual was the leader of the group.
"Lord Quikton, after the plan succeeds, these Sea Kings will be released anyway. It doesn't matter if a few of them die now," said one of the other men, a burly figure with a hunched back. He slightly bent forward, speaking respectfully to the cloaked man.
"Hmph, pirates are pirates. Even if they've joined us, they're still foolish beyond measure. Do you really think I'll let them go? They are the best tool I have to control this country," Quikton, the cloaked man, said without concern for his subordinate's feelings, immediately berating him.
"Yes, yes, Lord, your wisdom is unmatched..." The hunched man, hearing Quikton's scolding, didn't show the slightest sign of dissatisfaction. Instead, he became even more servile.
At that moment, the ears of Quikton, exposed outside his hat, twitched slightly as he listened carefully. Faint sounds of footsteps reached his ears.
"Someone's coming. We need to leave now. We can't expose our identities just yet," Quikton ordered, his body twisting slightly before he vanished into the air.
The hunchbacked man who received the order, the rock under his feet flashed for a while, and disappeared into thin air in no time, leaving behind a deep cave.
The third person glanced at the hunched man before jumping into the cave, disappearing without a trace. The hunched man followed closely behind, leaping into the cave as well.
As the hunched man disappeared, the rocks above the cave shimmered again. The previously vanished rocks reappeared, sealing the entrance completely, making it impossible to tell that there had once been a cave there.
At that moment, Kado and the fat man finally arrived. However, the three individuals they had seen earlier were already gone, leaving only the empty, barren rocks behind.
"What's going on? I clearly saw three people here just now. How could they have disappeared into thin air?" Kado frowned, his face full of confusion. From a distance, Kado had noticed the three figures, and one of them seemed strangely familiar. However, because it was far away, he couldn't see clearly and didn't recognize them. Now, upon arriving, these three people had vanished without a trace. Had they encountered some kind of ghost or strange phenomenon?
"There are footprints here," Captain Gula seemed to have discovered something, standing on a rock and saying with surprise.
Kado took a look, and indeed, there were three pairs of wet footprints on the rock. However, what puzzled him was that there were only these three lonely pairs of footprints—there were no prints from when the individuals arrived or left.
"Could it be that these three flew here? How come there are no footprints from when they arrived?" Kado couldn't help but entertain this theory in his mind. However, he quickly dismissed it. According to the information from the One Piece anime, there are only five Devil Fruit abilities that grant the ability to fly. He knew of two—one was the Bird-Bird Fruit, used by the guardian of Alabasta, Pell, and the other was Marco's Phoenix-Phoenix Fruit. Since neither of them could have come here, the possibility of these three having the ability to fly was almost nonexistent. So, this theory didn't hold up.
The group searched the area again but found no clues. With the sky growing darker, they had no choice but to return. However, the fat man and Captain Gula were clearly not in a good mood, likely still worried about the whereabouts of the missing intruders.
When they returned to the Naga, the island's residents had already begun preparing for a feast, each one wearing a joyful smile. Not only did they have free food, but in a few days, they would be able to visit other islands. For the Naga people, who had been isolated for twenty years, this was truly a cause for celebration.
Additionally, the little turtle had been brought back with them. Initially, it was very reluctant to leave its birthplace, but once Sanchi made a drink using some crystal vines, the little turtle eagerly followed him, no longer wanting to leave.
When they returned to the Naga Kingdom, perhaps influenced by the celebratory atmosphere of the people, the fat man's mood lifted considerably. He cheerfully invited Kado and his group to join the feast, with Sanchi as the head chef.
In fact, there were many excellent chefs in the Naga Kingdom, and the dishes they prepared amazed Kado and the others. However, the fat man had clearly grown tired of these foods and preferred Sanchi's unique cooking methods from the outside world, especially the strange and exotic seasonings used in his large pot.
The feast lasted for a day and night. After resting, the fat man was just about to take Kado and the others on a sightseeing tour of some peculiar places on Skull Island when a troubled-looking Captain Gula came to interrupt. He brought with him an earth-shattering piece of news—someone was pursuing Alexander Cherry and had already proposed to her.
After hearing the news, the fat man was indifferent. His sister was already twenty-seven, and he had never seen her show any interest in that man. It was better for her to get married, so she wouldn't keep causing trouble for him.
Upon hearing the news, Kado's face instantly darkened. A complicated feeling surged within him, something he couldn't quite put into words. At thirty-one, counting both his past and present lives, he was still a pure virgin, never even having had a girlfriend. When he saw Cherry, something strange stirred inside him—a sudden, intense desire to possess this woman. It wasn't like the usual possessiveness he felt for celebrities in his past life. Instead, it was about conquering Cherry and seeing her humble her proud demeanor.
Kado had originally thought he didn't truly like Cherry, that it was just about enjoying the thrill of conquering a queen. But now, upon hearing that someone had proposed to her, he felt an unexpected sense of reluctance, almost as if he couldn't bear the thought of anyone else having her. He wished he could go and cripple the man who had proposed to her right now.
Sharp-eyed Fite immediately noticed the subtle change in Kado's expression and suggested they go see what the man who dared to propose to the queen looked like.
Sanchi, who had nothing to do, immediately agreed, and the fat man was also somewhat interested. So the four of them set off together to visit Cherry's residence.
Cherry's place was not far from the palace, just a few minutes' walk.
During those few minutes, Kado thought a lot, imagining Cherry's beautiful eyes, filled with suspicion, staring at him intently, the cold, dismissive expression on her face, and the long, white neck beneath her lifted chin...
The queen also lived in a cave, but unlike many other caves, this one had two massive stone doors at its entrance. Kado tested them with his hand, and found that these doors, standing at four meters tall and at least half a meter thick, weighed thousands of kilograms. They would be extremely difficult to destroy with external force.
When they arrived at the queen's door, the fat man was just about to knock, but the massive stone doors opened by themselves, creating a gap wide enough for people to pass through.
From the gap in the stone doors emerged a figure, a young man wearing a cotton hat. He looked to be in his twenties—neither ugly nor handsome, just ordinary, with a perpetually warm and friendly smile on his face.
However, Kado couldn't shake the feeling that there was something eerie about the young man's smile, as if the guy had been secretly watching him the whole time.
The young man greeted Kado and the others before turning and walking away, leaving behind a tall but somewhat cold silhouette.
"That feeling is so familiar," Fite frowned, thinking, "It feels like I've seen this back before."
Hearing Fite's words, Kado immediately felt a sense of familiarity but couldn't quite remember where he had seen this person.
End of chapter
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