Back in Alabasta, Michael explained everything to Sora and then handed over the five bawling little ones to their furious mother.
After that, he officially attended the Alabasta princess's full moon banquet.
The fully recovered Queen Titi was present, along with the little one.
And in the baby's swaddling clothes, he was still clutching tightly onto that feather plucked from Michael, refusing to let go.
Michael was helpless…
Was his feather really that desirable?
At this grand social banquet, royals came one after another to extend social invitations to Michael and the others.
Before the banquet began, they could act arrogant as royals, but once it officially started, the banquet was their battlefield—there was no room for carelessness.
When it came to the Navy, they had to show proper respect on such formal occasions.
After sending off yet another royal with his formulaic smile, Michael sighed.
What a pain.
But he had to give Cobra some respect.
"Ah hahaha, looks like the famous Vice Admiral Michael doesn't enjoy these social banquets either."
A hearty voice sounded nearby. Michael turned his head to see an exaggeratedly broad-shouldered, V-shaped man walking over.
Just by his build alone, he was clearly different from those pot-bellied royals.
"You are… King Riku?"
"That's right, Riku Doldo III, king of Dressrosa," King Riku said with a smile and a nod. "I had some friendship with Cobra in my younger days, so I brought my daughter along to attend this full moon banquet."
As he spoke, a little girl timidly peeked out from behind him, staring at Michael.
The yet-unscathed "Viola" was, at this moment, just a shy and innocent little girl.
But even now, one could tell she would grow up to be a breathtaking beauty.
The kind of beauty that even a career-obsessed Doflamingo couldn't resist.
"But it really is interesting how people's lives differ… You don't seem that much older than Cobra, yet you already have such a big daughter."
"Ah hahaha, that's just because Cobra wasn't working hard enough!"
King Riku laughed heartily, making it clear his relationship with Cobra was indeed close.
Otherwise, in the original timeline, they wouldn't have joined forces at the Levely to propose abolishing the Warlord system.
Without a strong bond, there was no way to conspire on something like that.
But…
Michael could tell King Riku's real purpose wasn't to attend Vivi's full moon banquet.
"I wonder what it is King Riku wants from me? You wouldn't have come all this way just to flaunt your friendship with Cobra, right?"
"As expected, nothing escapes your eyes," King Riku said openly, without a hint of embarrassment at having his secret exposed. "That's right, I came here specifically to see you."
"I thought so…" Michael nodded, then gestured to the children at the table. "Just say what you need. As you can see, right now I'm less of a Vice Admiral… and more of a babysitter."
At this moment, Crocodile was nowhere to be seen. Bell-mère and Stella, as Alabasta branch Marines, had stepped out after the banquet began to inspect the defenses—after all, there were plenty of "distinguished guests" around.
Meanwhile, Sora, as queen of Germa, was purposefully seeking out royals from Paradise to converse with—since no nation could exist without foreign ties…
Choosing the right neighbors was critical.
But from the disappointment in Sora's eyes, it was clear those countries were hardly promising.
That left only Michael sitting at the table, surrounded by a gaggle of children.
Five curly-browed nephews, the three Boa sisters from Amazon Lily, Nojiko and Nami…
And Jack, whose body was like a small mountain.
"Taking care of children is a fine thing. After all, children are the hope of the entire sea," King Riku said as he pulled over two chairs. "You don't mind if my daughter and I sit here, do you?"
"Of course not."
Once seated, King Riku immediately let out a sigh.
Michael instantly grew alert.
Sighing before getting to the main point—
That never boded well.
"Since you know who I am, then surely you know about Dressrosa, yes?"
"Of course. Even in the New World, it's a rather famous country."
"Famous might be overstating it… We only have a few flowers and a little bit of food."
Michael's lip twitched.
Humble!
This guy was being humble!
A "few flowers"? A "little bit of food"?
Dressrosa was renowned across the entire world for its floral beauty and exquisite cuisine!
Not to mention its vibrant artistic atmosphere.
Music everywhere, beautiful women, and sensual, fiery dances known across the seas.
Their dance style was almost identical to flamenco from Michael's previous life.
Because of all this, Dressrosa was also known as "The Island of Love and Passion."
Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Exciting?
But this was a nation in the New World!
And there was no such thing as a normal country in the New World.
Because of their obsession with "love," Dressrosa's women often had incredibly strong jealous streaks.
If a man betrayed them, they wouldn't hesitate to cut him down.
The more beautiful the woman, the stronger she was—a common saying in Dressrosa.
Which meant that emotional disputes often escalated into violent fights and even bloodshed!
Sakazuki's G1 base suffered greatly because of this!
As a country with a massive tourist population, the Marines of G1 frequently had to patrol Dressrosa.
When nothing happened, it was fine. But when something did, it always turned into a deadly brawl.
And at the root of it all—just romantic quarrels.
Over time, it drove the battle-hardened Marines of G1 insane with frustration.
"The famed 'Island of Love and Passion,' one of the New World's biggest tourist spots—why does it sound so shabby when you describe it, King Riku? Being overly modest isn't a virtue, you know."
"That was in the past," King Riku said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. "Nowadays, Dressrosa isn't deserted, exactly… but let's just say fewer and fewer people wish to visit."
"Eh? That bad?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" King Riku gave Michael a resentful glance. "Ever since Fishman Island rose to prominence under the joint protection of the Navy and Whitebeard Pirates, Dressrosa has fallen completely into decline."
Michael's lips twitched.
Damn, so he really did come here to collect debts.
"So, what you mean is…"
"I was wondering if Dressrosa might have the chance to hitch a ride on this favorable tide?"
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