Chapter 213: Doflamingo's Coup
The next morning, Kurumi walked into the dining room with a victorious smile plastered on her face. As she passed by Esdeath, she snorted loudly, walking past with the proud attitude of a hen puffing up her chest.
Esdeath, who was having breakfast at the table, asked in confusion, "What's making you so happy?"
Of course, Kurumi didn't answer. Let Esdeath walk through the day with a face full of questions. After all, Kurumi was the winner!
Sitting across from Esdeath, it seemed like Kurumi was ignoring the small nostrils that didn't even exist.
Esdeath silently sat down, propping her chin on her hand and thinking deeply.
Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she lightly tapped her right fist into her palm. "It must be related to Eric ."
Eric , who was busy peeling eggs, suddenly trembled, crushing the eggshell and the egg whites together in his hand.
The sound of clinking dishes suddenly quieted, and the others around them perked up, their curiosity burning with gossip.
Akame carefully observed the slight expressions on everyone's faces and nodded in approval, "Kurumi looks really good today."
Everyone inwardly thought: 'Of course, anyone could see the smile on Kurumi's face.'
"Eric looks really good today too."
Everyone: "?"
"Esdeath looks really good today too."
Everyone: "??"
The dining room fell into silence.
Suddenly, someone broke the silence.
Perona, wide-eyed, stuttered, "T-T-Three people together?!"
Porche, her face turning red, added, "Ugh~ Have you already ascended the ladder of adulthood?"
Eric , Kurumi, and Esdeath all said in unison, "Huh? How would I know?"
After saying that, Esdeath and Kurumi exchanged a fierce glare.
"Phew." Everyone sighed in relief, adding carbon dioxide to the global greenhouse effect.
Only Kurikei remained unfazed, blowing out smoke rings, unmoved by the situation.
The red light in Scáthach 's eyes flickered, "So it was last night…"
'Not only can she see the future, but she can also see the past?!' Eric exclaimed in shock, shouting "Master!" and tightly hugging Scáthach 's leg, pleading for mercy.
"Heh heh," Scáthach chuckled lightly, gently patting Eric 's head. Her usually indifferent expression softened into a faint smile. "Gotcha, huh?"
So, women from outside the pirate world are truly too smart!
In front of both Scáthach and Esdeath, Eric , threatened with entering Esdeath's interrogation room, hesitantly confessed about kissing Kurumi last night, only to be drenched in saliva by Esdeath, who finally let him go.
Seeing Eric drenched in Esdeath's saliva, Kurumi's cheeks puffed up in frustration again.
...
In a bar on an island in the Grand Line, the sound of pirates drinking and shouting filled the air. The clinking of glasses, loud laughter, and boisterous conversations mixed together.
Two pirates, helping each other, stumbled toward the door, and a little beer splashed from their mugs.
At that moment, the two small doors of the bar were pushed open from the outside.
The already unsteady beer mug fell from their trembling hands, spilling the cheap beer everywhere.
The air, thick with the stench of poor beer, vomit from too much drinking, and the sour smell of men who hadn't bathed in a long time, filled the room.
The newcomers, clearly displeased with the atmosphere, immediately frowned.
One woman covered her nose with her pale hand.
"Ah?" The pirate whose beer had spilled approached with a look that could only be described as a punchable face. "You spilled my drink. How will you compensate me?!"
Another pirate chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! You opened the door and knocked over my mate's drink... hic"
"Such a pretty woman..." The pirate with the spilled beer noticed the petite woman beside the captain and slurred, "You'll have to give me this woman as compensation!"
The bar, which was once unbearably noisy, suddenly became deathly quiet.
"Hm?" The two troublemaking pirates turned around in confusion, only to see faces covered in cold sweat and filled with fear.
"Hahaha!" The pirate, thinking that his pirate gang's reputation had scared them, proudly said, "That's right, I'm…"
"Dead men don't need introductions."
"Whip!"
Blue light engulfed them from behind.
"It's... it's the Yonko, Darren Eric !" Someone shouted, and all the pirates scattered like headless flies.
The exit was blocked, and no one dared run that way. Some escaped through the back door, while others crashed through the wooden walls to flee.
In an instant, the entire bar was emptied.
Except for one pirate, whose large belly got stuck in the window. His short legs couldn't touch the ground, and he was flailing helplessly in mid-air.
"Quiet."
His flailing legs froze as if controlled by sound.
"Boss, come out." Eric leaned over the bar, calling for the bar owner, who had been hiding on the floor.
The owner, rubbing his hands together and laughing foolishly, said, "E-Eric -sama, I don't know what I can do for you."
"Go get all the newspapers from September to now. I want to take them with me."
"Yes, I'll go right now!" The bar owner hesitated before asking, "Should I get food for you all?"
"No need. The food here isn't good, and it could kill you." Eric gave a sideways glance to the drooling Akame, as the conditions here were awful enough to eat.
After obtaining all the newspapers released during the training period, Eric led everyone to the best restaurant on the island for a feast.
...
Eric flipped through the newspapers from the past year. A major news story:
[The former King of Dressrosa, King Riku, was caught setting fires in the town and killing his own people. He was stopped by "Warlord of the Sea" Donquixote Doflamingo.]
[King Riku's brutal actions were condemned by the entire nation, and he was driven off the throne. "Hero" Donquixote Doflamingo became the new king of Dressrosa.]
Esdeath frowned, saying, "Pirates will always be pirates. How could they possibly defend the people while looking like heroes?"
Kurumi followed up, "King Riku was once well-known for his wisdom. But suddenly, when Doflamingo arrived, he changed his behavior and killed his own people to seize wealth? It doesn't make sense."
Luckily, the intelligence of the crew was intact, and they wouldn't be dumbed down by this world.
"King Riku and his soldiers were all controlled by Doflamingo," Eric explained. "Doflamingo is a Devil Fruit user who can control people with his Parasite Parasite Fruit, like puppets."
"Those with insufficient strength become his puppets, to be toyed with at his whim."
Eric felt sorrow in his heart: 'They don't even question the strange powers of the Devil Fruits. They're such pitiful and hateful people…'
"The King Riku in the newspaper was crying as he killed people, showing how much pain he was in," Akame clenched her fists. "The people must have been living in hell under such a cruel ruler."
"That's right." Eric flipped to the next page. "Now Dressrosa is known as the 'Country of Love, Passion, and Toys,' and it has more than just toys—those toys are made from humans."
Kurumi curiously asked, "Won't the families of those who become toys notice?"
"This fruit is powerful. Those touched by the Toy Toy Fruit turn into toys, and the people connected to them lose all memory of their time together. We must be careful of a little girl named Sugar."
Eric casually drew an ugly figure…
"You, maybe you should learn how to draw from Da Vinci."
(END CHAPTER)
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