"Huff... huff..."
After a life-and-death battle, Zoro sheathed his three personal swords while panting heavily, then wordlessly walked into the distance.
But as he walked, Zoro realized something was wrong.
How... had he ended up back at the castle?
"Hmm?"
Perona, who had been lost in thought outside the castle, showed a surprised expression upon seeing Zoro. "Didn't you say you were leaving? Why are you back?"
Zoro: ...
He couldn't possibly admit he'd gotten lost.
"You didn't get lost again, did you?" Perona looked at Zoro with suspicious eyes.
A few days ago, this guy had gotten lost in the forest outside.
If she hadn't happened to encounter him while wandering around with her ghosts, he might have starved to death out there.
Upon hearing Perona's words, Zoro's face immediately turned red.
This reaction made Perona burst into laughter.
"Hara hara hara~"
Listening to Perona's laughter, Zoro's face grew even redder.
After mocking Zoro for a while, Perona said, "With your sense of direction, you'll probably never leave this island in your lifetime."
"Impossible!" Zoro immediately retorted. "I will definitely find my way out!"
"Suit yourself." Perona shook her head.
Clearly, the Ghost Princess had no intention of arguing with this man any further - after all, he was hopelessly directionally challenged.
Just then, a News Bird flew over from the distance, chirping at the two of them, obviously asking if they wanted to buy a newspaper.
This was common behavior for News Birds.
"One copy, please!" Perona waved her hand.
Hearing Perona's request, the News Bird immediately descended from the sky and quickly approached them.
After taking a newspaper from its backpack and handing it to Perona, the News Bird extended its wing toward her.
"Caw!!"
Clearly, it was asking for payment.
"Um..."
Looking at the News Bird's extended wing, Perona fell silent for a moment before turning to Zoro. "Do you have any money?"
When she'd been sent out, she hadn't brought any Berries with her, so she couldn't pay for the newspaper.
Thinking of this, Perona showed an embarrassed expression.
But remembering that she was this man's savior, her embarrassed look quickly disappeared.
Having saved his life... asking for money to buy a newspaper wasn't too much to ask, was it?
"Why are you buying a newspaper if you don't have money?!" Zoro complained.
As he spoke, Zoro checked his pockets to see if he had any Berries left.
Eventually, he pulled out a 1000-Berry note from his pocket.
"Here, take it," Zoro said. "This is the last of my money."
"No more?"
"No more."
Perona: ...
"Isn't this guy one of the Straw Hat Pirates' combatants? Why does he only have this little money in his pocket?"
Perhaps noticing the meaning in Perona's eyes, Zoro explained, "I usually don't carry money in my pocket."
Only when they encounter an island do these guys get some pocket money from Nami.
And these thousand Berries were what remained after he bought alcohol.
"A thousand is better than nothing," Perona muttered.
Then, she turned to the News Bird and said, "You can't take it all, remember to give me change, you hear me!"
"Otherwise, I'll use my Negative Spirit to deal with you!"
News Bird: "..."
The News Bird looked at Perona somewhat helplessly. It wasn't a robber—how could it just take the thousand Berries and run away?
Shaking its head in resignation, the News Bird took nine coins from its backpack and handed them to Perona, simultaneously gesturing for her to hand over the thousand-Berry note.
"That's more like it~"
Perona nodded in satisfaction, then completed the exchange with the bird.
Watching this scene, Zoro stroked his chin and said, "Why does this feel familiar?"
Wait... didn't Nami haggle with a News Bird back then?
Thinking of this, Zoro fell into deep thought.
After sending the News Bird away, Perona brought the newspaper closer, intending to read its contents.
"I wonder if there's any news about Lord Moria in the paper," Perona muttered.
As she spoke, Perona noticed the recent explosive content in the newspaper.
"Blood-Eyed Ninja... causing chaos in Mary Geoise?!!"
"Huh?"
"Blood-Eyed Ninja?!"
Looking at the words in the newspaper, Perona was so shocked her eyes nearly bulged out.
Wasn't that the red-eyed bastard who made her see cockroaches?!
How did that guy end up in a place like Mary Geoise?
"Is it news about Meiser?!"
Hearing Perona's words, Zoro instantly rushed over, his expression excited as he asked, "What happened?"
"Here, it's this," Perona turned the newspaper around and said to Zoro, "Your companion went and caused chaos in Mary Geoise."
"Mary Geoise?"
Zoro was stunned—what kind of place was that?
"It's where the World Nobles live," Perona explained. "I've heard some people mention it."
"World Nobles?"
Zoro said in shock, "Why would Meiser go to a place like that?"
"How should I know?" Perona replied helplessly.
This time, Zoro didn't retort but took the newspaper and began reading carefully.
He spent nearly half an hour reading it.
Then, Zoro looked up and said, "What exactly is going on...
Why would Meiser go cause chaos in Mary Geoise?
And where's Luffy?"
One question after another arose in Zoro's mind, making him feel increasingly agitated.
Sitting bored on a rock, Perona remarked, "If even you can't figure it out, there's no way I could."
"After all, I'm not his companion."
"Companion..."
Hearing these words from Perona, a sudden flash of insight struck Zoro's mind.
Yes, companion!
"I think I understand what Meiser is trying to convey!" Zoro suddenly exclaimed with excitement.
"What is he trying to convey?" Perona asked curiously.
She had just casually mentioned it earlier, but did he actually figure something out?
"Look at this."
Zoro pointed to the symbol on Meiser's arm and said, "This is what Meiser wants to express."
Perona carefully examined Meiser's arm for a moment, then looked at Zoro with a confused expression. "What's wrong with this tattoo?"
Although the tattoo looked somewhat strange, there were plenty of odd things in this world, so Perona didn't see any particular issue with it.
"Of course there's a problem!"
Zoro pointed to the crossed-out "3D" and said, "This was the agreement we made back at Sabaody Archipelago."
"But this 3D being crossed out means the three-day timeframe has been canceled."
"And this 2Y means the three days have been changed to two years!"
"Combined with what we experienced at Sabaody Archipelago..."
At this point, Zoro paused, then said with determined eyes, "What Meiser wants to tell us is definitely to regroup after two years!"
At this moment, Zoro had completely understood Meiser's intended message!
Meiser wanted everyone to use these two years to train and strengthen themselves, so... they wouldn't have to experience what happened before again!
Thinking this, Zoro changed his mindset.
He looked up at the castle behind them, his eyes gradually firming with resolve.
To become strong enough, he would go find Hawkeye!!
"Your reasoning sounds plausible, but why couldn't it be another possibility?" Perona said.
"Like what?"
"Like the Straw Hat Boy being killed or something." Perona made a scary face at Zoro. "After all, he went through such a brutal battle, so it's possible he was killed."
Zoro fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head. "Impossible."
"Why?"
"If Meiser really just wanted to avenge Luffy, he wouldn't have made this pattern on his arm," Zoro said.
Compared to Perona's theory, he preferred to trust his own judgment.
Moreover... he didn't believe that guy Luffy would die!
"You're really optimistic."
"No, I just believe in my crewmates," Zoro said.
Then he handed the newspaper to Perona. "Here, check the later sections. I just saw Moria's name."
Though he hadn't read it carefully, he had definitely seen those three characters.
After Perona took the newspaper, Zoro resolutely headed toward the castle.
"I can't believe there's news about Lord Moria here! This is wonderful!" Perona exclaimed excitedly.
As she spoke, she flipped to the back of the newspaper and quickly read the information about Moria.
"Moria being pursued by the Marines, status unknown..."
The moment she saw this, Perona's body froze completely.
Then, the Ghost Princess hugged the newspaper and burst into tears.
"Lord Moria!!"
Hearing the voice behind him, Zoro immediately halted his steps before turning to look at Perona.
Upon seeing the girl sitting there weeping bitterly, Zoro sighed.
"Ah..."
He then turned around and strode toward Perona.
"None?!" Saint Saturn said with a grim expression, "Are you telling me... there are no corpses of the Blood-Eyed Ninja inside those Super Large Sea Kings?!"
"Correct."
The guard replied with a troubled face, "After receiving Saint Shamrock's orders, we began processing the Super Large Sea Kings' bodies, but we couldn't find any trace of the Blood-Eyed Ninja's corpse."
They hadn't even found any human tissue remains.
It was as if... as if the Blood-Eyed Ninja had never been eaten by these giant creatures at all!
Saint Saturn fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Search again. Even finding an arm would be sufficient!"
"But we've already searched multiple times..."
"I told you to search again. Are you deaf?" Saint Saturn glared fiercely.
"Yes, Saint Saturn!" the guard responded.
He then closed the door and departed.
After the guard left, Saint Saturn slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming, "Damn it! If we truly can't find the Blood-Eyed Ninja's corpse, our losses this time will be enormous!"
Not only would they fail to obtain the Blood-Eyed Ninja's bloodline power, but the Holy Land would have suffered tremendous damage.
"Now we can only pray they overlooked something," Saint Nusjuro said, rubbing his temples.
If they suffered such heavy losses without obtaining the Blood-Eyed Ninja's corpse... Saint Nusjuro found that outcome hard to accept.
At that moment, Saint Warcury spoke, "What if... there's a possibility the Blood-Eyed Ninja isn't actually dead?"
"Are you suggesting he summoned those Sea Kings?" Saint Mars glanced at his old companion.
"It's a possibility."
"I know what you're implying," Saint Mars said, "But the one who can command Sea Kings is the legendary Mermaid Princess, not a human!"
"Moreover, the Blood-Eyed Ninja is male!"
Therefore, he absolutely couldn't be the legendary Mermaid Princess.
Saint Warcury fell silent before nodding, "You're right."
It seemed he had overthought the situation.
"Rest assured, that fellow is definitely dead," Saint Shepherd stated, "This has been confirmed by both Saint Shamrock and Borsalino."
They were inclined to trust the judgment of these two Admiral-level figures.
"Then there shouldn't be any issues," Saint Warcury nodded.
Although they might not obtain the Blood-Eyed Ninja's corpse... at least they could confirm the man had been killed.
This could be considered a silver lining in their misfortune.
Thinking this, Saint Warcury exchanged glances with his other old companions before sighing quietly.
After a moment, Saint Nusjuro spoke, "I wonder how Morgans is progressing with that newspaper."
The Blood-Eyed Ninja's corpse could be searched for slowly, but publishing the newspaper couldn't be delayed!
"The newspaper will be published tomorrow," Saint Saturn said. "We'll know the specific contents then."
"Could that guy try something underhanded?"
"He wouldn't dare."
As long as Morgans valued his life, he wouldn't attempt any tricks at this moment - doing so would mean making an enemy of the World Government!
If that fellow had any sense, he wouldn't do such a thing.
"You're right," Saint Nusjuro nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Saint Saturn stood up and began walking out step by step with his cane.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to take a look outside," Saint Saturn replied. "To see if I can collect a blood sample from the Blood-Eyed Ninja."
If they could obtain a blood sample, they could at least attempt some research.
"Will that be useful?"
"It's better than doing nothing," Saint Saturn said calmly.
With those words, the old man pushed the door open and left.
The four remaining in the room exchanged glances before sighing quietly in unison.
Their losses this time were simply too great!
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!