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In the blink of an eye, four days had passed since Haiyna's defeat.
Kuraigana Island, West Seag Kingdom of Cial-
The Royal Palace City Fortress had been reduced to ruins during the recent battle. The thousands of citizens released from the Den Den Mushi City Fortress, now free from the Corrupting Poison's influence, understood everything. Filled with remorse and eager to repay Princess Rose for saving their kingdom, they threw themselves wholeheartedly into rebuilding the palace. Naturally, some of the able-bodied men and women joined the remaining soldiers to hunt down the remnants of the Red-Clad Pirates on the island.
Giorno and Jolyne had only defeated the five most elite and core members of the Red-Clad Pirates.
"Pirate..."
Guns, the guard commander of the Kingdom, who had also been freed from the Den Den Mushi City Fortress and whose injuries had greatly improved, slowly lowered his hands, which had transformed into gun barrels and muzzles.
With the pillar of the pirate crew fallen, the rabble clinging to the Shichibukai's banner had little will to fight on. They were quickly captured or driven off.
Guns muttered to himself, "This kingdom was nearly destroyed by pirates, yet it was also saved by pirates."
"Commander Guns!"
His subordinate guard soldiers, armed with guns and swords, wore expressions of hesitation and doubt.
"Princess Rose... has she truly become allies with pirates?"
"Those two... they're the Great Pirates with bounties of 400 million and 300 million Belly, right? They're terrifyingly wicked, aren't they? Did they threaten the Princess?"
As the soldiers and young men who had come to help chattered nervously, a sudden BOOM! of a cannon silenced them.
Guns' arm had transformed into a cannon barrel, pointed skyward, its muzzle still smoking.
"You..." Guns' gloomy eyes were shadowed. "Haven't you purged the Corrupting Poison from your minds yet? Giorno and Jolyne... their primary identity to this nation isn't as pirates or criminals... but as...
"The saviors of us all!"
The crowd fell silent, deeply moved.
Someone asked curiously, "Giorno, Jolyne Cujoh... what kind of people are they really?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's so strange! The Captain's bounty is actually lower than the crew's..."
"No, no, what's really strange is why Jolyne is the Captain instead of the more powerful Giorno..."
"How do you know the female Captain isn't stronger than him?"
"Because Haiyna was defeated by Giorno, wasn't she?"
"That's true..."
"But I heard that World Government agents took Lout Haiyna away... What's really going on here?"
Listening to their idle chatter, Guns lowered his hand cannon and turned away. "Let's go check the beach."
Behind them, baboons followed at a distance, their intentions unclear, whether to help or cause trouble.
Oang City, formerly the Grand Duchess's residence,
"Hurry! Bring out the next course!"
"What? He's already finished?!"
"Stop complaining! Do you have a problem with that? Tell the kitchen to work faster!"
Inside the residence, nearly every chef and cook from the Royal Palace City Fortress and across Oang City had been mobilized, bustling back and forth in a frenzy of activity.
"Is he even human? Sleeping for three days and three nights straight, then waking up and screaming he's starving, and now he's been eating non-stop..."
"He's been eating for almost an entire day now!"
Flames roared from the stoves as spatulas clattered and chefs grumbled under their breath, their faces nonetheless beaming with pride.
It wasn't just the chefs working tirelessly. Over the past day, as the gluttonous feast threatened to deplete all food supplies, nearly half the city's population had responded to Princess Rose's call, sharing surplus ingredients from their homes or organizing expeditions to the island and the coast for fishing and hunting.
Vast platters of delicacies were carried away by palace maids, their hands moving with practiced grace.
Rose watched the maids file into the room, carrying platters of steaming delicacies. She said with a hint of concern, "Are you sure he's alright? He's been eating for so long now..."
The Royal Palace City Fortress was still under reconstruction, but fortunately, Haiyna's Duke's Mansion remained intact. The King had temporarily moved Rose and the others into the mansion.
Now, Rose had shed the disheveled look of her two years spent wandering abroad, reclaiming her regal bearing as Princess. She radiated the youthful radiance of a royal princess once more.
Her gaze swept across the room. The massive dining table, piled high with plates and bowls, was gradually being cleared by the maids as they brought in fresh, steaming dishes. Behind the receding stacks, Brother Giorno remained, still devouring food with gusto.
He had nearly transformed into a massive, spherical, unidentifiable creature...
Watching him like this, Rose couldn't help but worry. An ordinary person would have long since eaten themselves to death.
Robin, resting her chin in her hand, watched Liam's appalling table manners for a moment before chuckling, "He's terrified right now."
"Terrified?" Rose was genuinely surprised. "Brother Giorno? I thought..."
She couldn't help but chuckle softly. "I thought he was completely incapable of feeling fear."
Robin smiled. "Now you see."
Focusing her mind, she activated her Observation Haki, perceiving the black battle armor hovering beside Liam as he devoured his meal.
...The Stand floated cross-legged in mid-air, arms crossed, its narrow, glowing white eyes fixed intently on its host.
"Mmmph... mmmph..." Liam's hands and mouth never stopped moving, clearly aware of the Stand's gaze. Under that dog-like stare, cold sweat gradually beaded on his forehead. He twisted his head to glare back, raised a finger, and mumbled through his stuffed mouth, "Don't... rush me! I'm... eating!"
B.I.B. said earnestly, "The longer you delay, the more painful the retrieval will be."
"Thanks for the reminder, huff..."
Liam swallowed a massive mouthful of food, his stomach already swollen into a large, round ball.
His expression gradually turned serious as he glanced at his Stand.
"Go play a bit longer..."
This time, his Stand had been engaged in continuous battles, all of them high-intensity.
Haiyna, his opponent, was a formidable foe who pushed Liam to the very limits of his combat abilities.
If not for his mastery of Life Return and the inhuman stamina he had cultivated over years of training, allowing him to endure Haiyna's relentless assault...
If not for seizing the Impact Fruit from Haiyna's subordinate and unleashing its power with maximum efficiency through several waves, Liam couldn't imagine how the battle would have ended or what further schemes Haiyna might have devised.
He might have had to ask Sister Robin to use her Flower Freedom, which could cut through anything... or something like that.
Waking up after a long sleep, Liam shuddered at the thought of the overwhelming fatigue and phantom pains he would experience when he recalled his Stand.
He shook his head. First, let's eat our fill!
Robin, Rose, and the foreign guests sat together.
Robin asked, "The Royal Palace City Fortress is still under reconstruction. What about this year's Heavenly Tribute?"
"Sigh..." Rose frowned, looking distressed.
King said gravely, "Tomorrow, I will go directly to Marine Headquarters, Marineford."
Rose looked shocked. Robin glanced at King. King sighed. "The Shichibukai appointed by the World Government have become a scourge, destroying several countries and plundering countless Heavenly Tributes... I believe that if the Marines or the government don't want this scandal exposed, they will find a way to resolve our small, impoverished nation's inability to gather the Heavenly Tribute this year..."
Just then, Guard Commander Guns knocked on the door and entered with a squad of guards.
They carried a pile of personal belongings, mostly clothes, food supplies, and books, many of which showed signs of having been soaked.
"Your ship was destroyed, likely by Haiyna's people earlier. These are all we could salvage..." Guns explained as they placed the items before the King. He then addressed Jolyne Cujoh, who was sitting next to Princess Rose.
"Leave the ship to me," Rose said, clasping Robin's hand. "If we use the Munch-Munch Fruit, we might be able to repair it..."
Robin patted her small hand reassuringly. "It's alright. It was just an ordinary little boat anyway."
Just as Rose was eagerly asking Guns to show her the way, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly echoed from the depths of the corridor, likely from the direction where Giorno had been eating.
"Aaaaaahhh!!!"
Giorno's agonizing screams echoed throughout the Duke's Mansion for a full half-hour, a sound so heartrending it could make anyone weep.
Rose certainly wept when she rushed to the scene.
Half the room was filled with scalding steam, swirling like smoke and mist. At the center of this dense vapor stood a tall, indistinct figure, convulsing and trembling violently. The agonizing screams emanated from this figure.
(End Of This Chapter)