Ignoring Cavendish's growing paranoia about the "ghost in the air," Liam calmly retrieved the picnic blanket and utensils one by one from Little Green's mouth and tucked them away into the City Fortress's storage compartment. Once done, he waved toward Robin and Koala.
"Come on, let's check inside the City. Maybe there's a Log Pose pointing toward that Island."
Koala felt a soft warmth stir in her chest. Without a word, she reached out and gently took hold of Giorno's large hand. His skin was a bit rough from battles and travel, but it radiated a kind of steady strength that made her feel deeply secure.
All of a sudden, she was lifted off the ground as Liam hoisted her up and settled her on his shoulder with ease.
"…"
Koala's lips curled into a heartfelt smile. Perched high, she let her slender legs dangle freely, swinging slightly with the rhythm of his stride.
Since eating the Gasu Gasu no Mi, the Gas Gas Fruit, her sense of balance had drastically improved. Being a gas-based Logia, after all, meant she could float, disperse, and re-form at will.
Falling due to an imbalance had become a thing of the past. Once she elementalized, directions became irrelevant. Liam, a former Gasu Gasu no Mi user himself, understood this better than most. This Logia was uniquely attuned to spatial movement and balance…
'Hmm. Perhaps it would be perfect for a certain moss-headed swordsman with no sense of direction.'
"Hey! Don't you dare run off again!" Cavendish's voice came trailing behind them, full of urgency.
Dá dá dá, dá dá dá… huff huff huff~~!
His pristine white horse, Faruru, came galloping ahead and skidded to a dramatic stop in front of the group, cutting them off.
"Seriously? You needed a horse to cover twenty meters?" Liam glanced around, gauging the distance. It couldn't have been more than that.
Cavendish dismounted in style, his long golden hair catching the sunlight as he flipped it back with flair. A rose stem hung from his mouth like he was in the middle of a dramatic opera. He seemed to take Liam's jab as flattery, Robin certainly thought so, smiling at the scene.
But then Cavendish chomped the rose with a scowl, chewed it bitterly, and glared at Liam.
"Don't think you can just ignore me! You dare walk away after challenging me?!"
With a flash, his jeweled rapier, its blade slender and glinting like a silver needle, was drawn in a single fluid motion. There wasn't even the slightest tremor. Clearly, the metal used was of the highest grade, likely forged in one of the Grand Line's hidden smithies.
"You've got guts, brat," Liam said with an impressed smirk. "Did you forget? You got flattened by a red-haired gorilla. I was the one who punched that thing into next week."
"That overgrown ape means nothing to me! It just happens to have thick skin and insane healing powers, worse than some Paramecia freak. But you… you're a different story!" Cavendish shouted, pointing the rapier at Liam.
"And what makes you so sure…" Liam's eyes shadowed slightly as he smiled, "...that I'm human at all?"
A breeze stirred, and a fallen leaf skittered past his boots.
Robin quietly placed her hand on her forehead. Koala, still perched on his shoulder, gaped in stunned silence.
Cavendish's jaw dropped, his expression twisting into something that looked straight off Enel's face, pure disbelief. He staggered back instinctively.
Liam, unbothered, strolled past with Koala on his shoulder and Robin at his side. Cavendish stepped aside involuntarily, eyes glued to the broad back of the man walking away.
"You… you… you're not human?!" He stammered, voice cracking.
Liam glanced back with genuine surprise. "Who said I wasn't?"
"Then what the hell was all that ominous nonsense?!" Cavendish howled from behind, baring his sharp teeth in frustration.
Robin looked between Liam and the giggling Koala, brushed her dark hair behind her ear, and laughed softly.
With a grumble, Cavendish swung back onto Faruru, ready to chase them down again, this time for an explanation, a proper duel, something! But before he could even set off, a group of armored men burst from the forest in a panic, swords drawn and muskets slung, rushing toward the clearing.
"Your Highness, Fourth Prince! Trouble's afoot!" The guards spotted Cavendish on horseback and lit up in relief, racing to him with haste.
Cavendish pulled at the reins and cast an annoyed glance at the retreating figures of Liam and his crew.
"What now?" he snapped, his voice losing its usual theatrical polish.
He scanned the guards quickly. Their armor was dented, and many were bloodied, some limping, some missing weapons entirely. Clearly, they had been in a fight.
"It's pirates! A crew of pirates just landed on the island!" The lead guard shouted in alarm. "It's the Sword Pirate crew, led by Captain Boogy, with a bounty of 650 Million Berries on his head! We can't take them on with our current numbers! Your Highness, Fourth Prince, the others are holding them at bay by the shore. Please, return to the royal capital with us!"
"Yes, Fourth Prince! Once you're safe, we'll report to His Majesty. He'll dispatch the Royal Navy to deal with these sea rats…"
The guards chimed in one after another, visibly shaken. They had come to this island to investigate rumors of a monstrous creature, and their main task had been to prevent the impulsive and curious Fourth Prince from getting himself killed.
But now, with a high-bounty pirate crew making landfall, the danger had tripled. If anything happened to the prince, their heads would roll.
"Return? Hah! It's just some pirates!" Cavendish scoffed, twirling his rapier with flair. "A ragtag gang from the Grand Line dares to show up here and think they're fearsome? What are they, another so-called 'Undying Beast'? Pathetic!"
Snorting with disdain, the young prince squeezed his knees against Faruru's sides, and the white stallion took off galloping toward the coast.
'Undying Beast?' The guards exchanged glances. The prince must have fought the creature rumored to haunt this island, and clearly, he hadn't come out on top.
They were relieved he hadn't lost an arm or a leg. But there was no time to dwell on it. They raced after him to support the reckless royal.
Down by the shore, the scene was pure chaos. A pirate ship was already docked, sails furled, and a tattered black flag flapped proudly at the top of the mast, its design a skull with crossed swords.
The battle had erupted.
The soldiers of the Kingdom fought valiantly, but they were outclassed. These pirates were hardened killers of the sea.
Luffy had only earned a bounty of 30 million after taking down Arlong.
Zoro had gotten 60 million after the Alabasta incident.
And this captain, this so-called "Captain Boogy", was sitting at 650 million. Okay… maybe not Yonko-level, but still a nightmare for any regular kingdom's army.
The pirates used their ship's hull as cover, letting the guards waste a volley of bullets, and then charged. Dozens of them leapt down, hacking and slashing as they tore through the defensive line. Only a few elite guards managed to hold their ground, and even they couldn't match the captain himself; the power gap was just too big.
A silver flash.
Cavendish, only eleven years old, charged straight into the fray. With a swift thrust, he drove his rapier through the throat of a pirate grappling with a wounded guard.
Everything froze for a moment.
Cavendish withdrew his blade without a word. The dying pirate collapsed behind him, clutching his neck as blood poured from the wound. Cavendish flicked the blade clean with a single graceful motion.
The guards, already bloodied and panting, were horrified. A prince risking his life on the front lines? Unacceptable. They shouted for him to retreat.
He ignored them.
(To Be Continued…)
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