There were fewer people on the ship this time.
Only Nami, Soifon, Rukia, and Rangiku came along.
A few days later, the ship sailed into the waters near Slip Island.
There was only a single small nation on the island, the Kingdom of Adalu.
The entire country relied on agricultural plantations as its main economic model.
Most of the civilians were bonded tenant farmers who had effectively sold themselves.
A textbook slave-state.
Oguro swept the area with his Observation Haki, but found nothing unusual around the port.
"Let's dock first. We'll go up and take a look," Oguro said, turning his head slightly.
For some reason, even though the port looked perfectly normal, he felt that something was off.
After they disembarked, a man who looked like a street vendor took the initiative to approach them, his face full of ingratiating smiles.
"My lord! Care to buy some fruit? The fruit from our plantations is the best in the area!"
He carried a shoulder pole with bamboo baskets on both ends, filled with apples and pears.
Oguro glanced at them. The quality was decent, so he casually bought a bag and handed it to the girls to snack on along the way.
The vendor happily took the money and moved on to look for other customers.
"Where was Jabra's last contact point?" Oguro asked.
Soifon remembered it clearly. "Near the royal palace. A hotel called Midsummer Night's Dream."
After asking around for directions, the group headed straight for the hotel.
Along the way, Oguro kept his Observation Haki active, yet still didn't spot anything strange.
If anything, the place was unusually peaceful.
There weren't even thieves or street thugs.
"This country is run pretty well," Oguro said with a hint of surprise.
Soon, they arrived at the Midsummer Night's Dream hotel.
Oguro expanded his Observation Haki again, but still couldn't find any trace of Jabra or his men.
With no other choice, he asked the hotel owner directly.
"Boss, the scenery and security here are impressive. You must get plenty of outsiders coming to do business or travel, right?"
The owner puffed up with pride. "Of course! Ever since King Lant took the throne, things have been getting better by the day!"
"To be honest with you, just a few days ago, a group of outsiders even planned to buy land here and settle down."
Oguro's eyes flickered as he smiled. "Really? What kind of people were they? Could you introduce them to me? Maybe I could partner up with them and do some business."
The owner didn't suspect a thing and answered directly. "They bought a piece of wasteland about twenty li south of the city, outside the walls. They're building houses there now. Just follow the main road and you'll see them."
After thanking the owner, the group immediately headed out of the city.
Oguro picked Nami up, and the group traveled through the air. Before long, they reached the wasteland the owner had mentioned.
The moment Oguro swept the area with his Observation Haki, he was so irritated he almost laughed.
This idiot Jabra was actually building houses.
He and his six subordinates were bustling around, busy as could be.
The group landed on the wasteland, and Oguro shouted irritably.
"Jabra! What the hell are you doing?"
Jabra and the others turned around and nearly jumped out of their skins when they saw Oguro.
"Greetings, Soul King!"
Jabra immediately dropped to one knee.
"Enough. Explain to me why you're building houses here, and why you've been out of contact with Water 7."
Jabra froze, then showed an awkward expression. "Reporting to the Soul King, I forgot to maintain contact because I was too busy."
Soifon instantly lost her temper. "Busy? Busy building houses?"
"What, are you planning to quit the Shadow Dragon Guard and settle down here?"
Jabra panicked and lowered his head. "I wouldn't dare! This time it really was my negligence. But there was a reason. Please allow me to explain, Soul King!"
"Fine. I'll give you the chance. Explain properly."
Oguro sat down on a small wooden stool and listened quietly.
"It's like this. We were ordered to investigate whether the Kingdom of Adalu could be conquered. A few days ago, I happened to meet the kingdom's Minister of Agriculture, Perov."
"I claimed that we were here to invest and do business, to help them build a large agricultural processing plant and raise the value and competitiveness of their produce."
"Perov was very pleased. He said that if we could buy this wasteland and turn it into a large plantation, he would recommend us to meet their king."
"I thought it was a good opportunity, so these past few days I've been busy buying land, purchasing seeds, hiring workers, and so on. I wanted to secure a chance to meet the king, and I forgot the scheduled contact."
After speaking, Jabra lowered his head and waited for Oguro's judgment.
There had been a reason, but in the end, it was still his mistake.
For an intelligence operative, this was a massive failure.
Handled poorly, it could have led to serious consequences.
Oguro stared at Jabra, his brow tightly furrowed.
The explanation wasn't particularly convincing, but it was reasonable.
The problem was that Jabra was a seasoned CP9 veteran. He shouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.
Even if he forgot at first, it made no sense for him to forget for several days in a row.
Yet Oguro had been observing Jabra the entire time with Observation Haki, and the conclusion was clear.
He wasn't lying.
Was it really just a lapse in judgment?
As Oguro was still pondering, a luxurious carriage suddenly arrived.
Jabra looked up and his face filled with shock.
He whispered to Oguro, "Soul King, that's Perov's carriage!"
The Minister of Agriculture?
Oguro was surprised.
What a coincidence.
He had just found Jabra, and now the only high-ranking figure Jabra had interacted with showed up immediately.
Oguro didn't avoid him. He wanted to see what this minister was up to, and whether there was something wrong behind the scenes.
The carriage soon came to a stop.
A well-proportioned, middle-aged man stepped down. His hair was slicked neatly back, his posture upright and confident.
"Oh? Mr. Jabra, what's going on here?"
Seeing Jabra kneeling on one knee, Perov looked genuinely surprised.
Jabra said, "Lord Perov, this is my master, Lord Oguro."
Perov's expression instantly turned enthusiastic. "Oh! Mr. Oguro! Sending Mr. Jabra to invest in our small country… how generous of you! Please accept my most sincere thanks!"
Perov bowed deeply and extended his right hand toward Oguro.
Oguro shook it briefly, purely out of courtesy, his expression cool and reserved.
"Lord Perov, I heard you can recommend us for an audience with His Majesty. When might that happen?"
Perov laughed. "Ha ha! Mr. Jabra purchased such a large piece of land. Your sincerity is crystal clear!"
"Please wait another day or two. You will definitely hear good news!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Perov took his leave, saying he would arrange things as soon as possible.
The moment Perov left, Soifon spoke decisively.
"Soul King, there's something wrong with that man. He knows who you are."
***
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