The Thorn Treasure might be real, and there was a very high chance it was on Rose Island—and the local underworld most likely knew where it was.
But what exactly was the underworld's objective? Why bring pirates into the Thorn Rose sea area?
For money? If they already held the Thorn Treasure, then why spend huge sums to bring in underworld forces from other regions?
Lena: "It's said that inside the Thorn Treasure, there's a Devil Fruit."
A Devil Fruit?
Vane's eyes lit up instantly. Devil Fruits were just too good.
After killing Calder before, he had mobilized part of his manpower to conduct a carpet search around Shell Island, hoping to see whether the Black Panther Fruit would be reborn nearby.
Unfortunately, no trace of the fruit was found.
"It looks like we need to change our plan. Miss Lena, as your lifesaver, I need you to work for me for a while."
"Is there any place on Rose Island where people can be landed silently?"
...
The Thorn Treasure was on Rose Island. If he landed under his own identity, it would definitely be out in the open, making it inconvenient to do certain things.
They had to send people onto the island without making a sound, ready to do some less-than-nice things at any time.
The best candidates for this were naturally Bonez and Meowth.
"Meow? I have to sneak up too?"
"You're a cat. People don't really pay attention… of course, first put away that shiny gold tag on your head."
Meowth's style fit the image of cats in this world very well; it was just that the gold tag on its head was a bit too eye-catching.
Normally, no one would care about a cat's movements.
Bonez had been an assassin for a long time and had considerable experience in infiltration and investigation.
When he previously treated Vane as a target, he had infiltrated Calder's ship and hitched a ride.
Under Lena's guidance, the Black Panther ship quickly found an unmonitored backside of the island and sent Bonez and Meowth ashore.
Then they turned back around and landed on the island from the front.
Before landing, they contacted Princess Martha of Rose Island to avoid being mistaken for pirates.
Princess Martha was extremely happy upon hearing that Vane was coming. She gathered the meager ceremonial guard of the palace and called on some idle townspeople to line the dock and welcome Vane and his group.
"Who is the Princess welcoming?"
"I heard it's a hero who strikes pirates at sea."
"The three great pirates who attacked us before were all defeated by that hero."
"This time, those pirates are forming an alliance to attack Rose Island. Her Highness invited him to help defend our Rose Island."
The Black Panther ship slowly pulled up to the dock.
With a wave of the Princess's hand, the ceremonial band began to play.
The scene made Vane feel rather awkward. He once watched a movie, he imagined himself in that situation and felt unbearably awkward.
Now it was his turn to be awkward.
But fortunately, he wasn't alone… no, wait. In such an awkward scene, why did all his crew look so proud?
"Alright, wipe those smug looks off your faces. Bring those pirates up."
Visiting for the first time, he hadn't prepared any gifts—so he just caught a ship full of pirates to show goodwill.
There was no more suitable gift than pirates. Rose Island needed a victory to lift morale.
"Your Highness, this is our first meeting. These are the pirates we caught along the way—please accept them as a gift."
The pirates being driven off the ship: "..."
The Princess: "..."
The gathered crowd: "..."
"Mr. Vane, thank you very much for your gift. You look very young."
Previously, the two had only contacted each other via Den Den Mushi. This was their first face-to-face meeting.
Vane was now about 1.9 meters tall. He had originally thought he might push toward 2.5 meters, but recently his growth rate had clearly slowed, and it looked like just over two meters would be the limit.
Just over two meters was a good height among ordinary people, but among the strong, it was like being a bean sprout.
Princess Martha fit Vane's impression of princesses from anime works: golden hair, a striking figure, and a noble aura—altogether a very classic image.
"My father and I have prepared a grand banquet to welcome everyone. Please proceed to the palace."
Hearing that there would be a royal banquet to eat, the members of the Rocket Team all lit up. They all came from hard lives—where would they ever have eaten at a royal banquet?
With Vane's permission, the Black Panther ship was left completely unattended. He believed that before the pirates arrived, no one would dare make a move on his ship… though, of course, he couldn't rule out some thick-skulled person doing so.
If they did, so be it. The Black Panther ship was only a temporary vessel anyway; it would definitely be replaced in the future. Even if someone destroyed it, he wouldn't feel that bad.
In fact, it would give him a reason to carry out large-scale search operations within the city.
All the Rocket Team members disembarked. After Meowth's and Vane's training, their spirit and bearing were excellent. Although quite a few of them didn't meet conventional looks standards and appeared rather fierce, no one really paid attention to those whose appearances didn't measure up. Most people focused their gaze on Tant—a towering man over 2.5 meters tall, with arms thicker than an ordinary person's thighs.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this was the symbol of strength.
Martha was also drawn by Tant's powerful physique, but soon her gaze was captured by another figure. That person was wrapped in a black robe, with a black cloth covering the face, and seemed to be a woman.
...
"They get to eat good food at the palace, and we have to do missions. That's so unfair, meow."
Bonez and Meowth had already arrived in Rose City.
Mainly because Bonez was fast enough on foot, and his Devil Fruit ability let him ignore some terrain and charge straight through, reaching Rose City at almost the same time as the ship.
They just happened to see the scene of Vane escorting a group of pirates while residents lined the streets to welcome them.
Bonez: "The mission is more important."
Coming from an assassin background, he clearly valued the mission more. Appetite could be satisfied anytime; mission failure was real failure.
"According to the information, the local underworld boss likely knows about the Thorn Treasure, and he really likes cats."
Meowth nodded in agreement, then noticed Bonez staring at it.
"Meow~ You're not thinking…"
"Aren't you a cat? Infiltrating and getting close to him couldn't be more suitable."
Not getting to eat royal food was bad enough, and now it had to do missions too. Where were the rights here… no, wait, I'm a cat. There's no such thing as rights for me in the first place.
...
Rose Palace. As a relatively poor and remote kingdom, the Rose Palace was built fairly well—its walls were high and thick. It didn't look like a palace so much as a military fortress.
Back when Calder and the others landed together and charged into Rose City, they definitely wouldn't have been able to break into the Rose Palace.
Vane met the king of the Thorn Rose Kingdom in the reception hall.
Several large tables had already been set up in the hall. Dishes full of color, aroma, and flavor were brought out one after another. A group of rough folks from the countryside, having never seen such exquisite food, all started devouring it wolfishly.
Hambak and another chef ate relatively slowly, occasionally discussing how the dishes were prepared and what ingredients were used.