"Hey!" Roger responded subconsciously, but then he suddenly remembered who that voice belonged to. His body immediately stiffened, and he looked behind him in disbelief.
Milim grinned, showing her teeth, and waved her arms enthusiastically.
"You've got the wrong person! I have urgent business, so I'll be leaving now." Roger's speed instantly increased, his entire body turning into an afterimage and vanishing in a flash.
"Captain, wait for us!" The rest of the Roger Pirates' crew quickly followed behind Roger.
As a cloud of dust kicked up, not a single member of the Roger Pirates could be seen on the street.
"Hmph, they run so fast," Milim pouted with dissatisfaction, but then she looked at the rabbit in her hand, and a smile returned to her face.
She couldn't wait to introduce her new pet to Linlin.
Running all the way to the port in one breath, Roger turned his head in terror to look back. Seeing that Milim hadn't followed, he slowly let out a sigh of relief.
"Captain, why were you running so fast?" Rayleigh asked, panting and full of confusion.
"If I didn't run fast, do you expect me to stay and play a bullet-hell game with that little girl Milim?" Roger retorted irritably.
"Hahaha!" Jabba pulled a Den Den Mushi from his coat, a very sleazy grin on his face. "It's fine, Captain. We already took a picture of your embarrassing moment that day!"
"We can send the picture to Sengoku later. Maybe Sengoku will show you some mercy since you're practically brothers. That would be great."
"Jabba, you're too much, hahaha." The surrounding crew members also continued to laugh at their captain.
"Hmph! I'll kick all of you off this ship sooner or later!" Roger didn't mind his crew's teasing and instead pulled out a flyer.
On it was written "Totto Land BBQ Grand Welcome, First Ever Great Eater Challenge," with the winner receiving 10 free meals at the BBQ restaurant.
"Hey guys, want to give it a try?" Roger said with a smile, waving the flyer in his hand.
"Forget it, Roger. We just finished breakfast. We should at least wait until noon," Rayleigh said with a laugh, taking a sip of his drink.
"Then we'll wait until noon to eat. The next activity is sky-high disco dancing."
...
In Linlin's office, Linlin looked at the mountain of documents, let out a long sigh, but still silently picked them up one by one to review and approve them carefully.
Not long after!
Bang!
With a loud crash, the door to Linlin's office was kicked open. Unsurprisingly, Milim bounced in.
"Linlin, look at my new pet, Chariot!" Milim placed the rabbit on the desk, grandly introducing her new pet to Linlin.
Linlin looked up and saw a small rabbit lying on her desk.
"Chariot? This little rabbit?" A large question mark appeared over Linlin's head.
"Don't look down on her just because she's small now. As long as I find Vegapunk, a little rabbit can become a big rabbit," Milim said with great pride.
"Oh!" Linlin was instantly intrigued. "Did your Observation Haki see something from the future again?"
There were many types of Observation Haki in this world, each with unique abilities. The Red Count's Observation Haki could read minds, and some with extremely strong Observation Haki could briefly foresee the future.
Milim described her Observation Haki as being able to occasionally see fragments of the future, which made it convenient for her to say things she shouldn't know at the present time.
"That's right, Linlin. I saw a super great inventor, someone who in the future is called a scientist 500 years ahead of the current era."
Linlin lowered her head and pondered for a few seconds, then said, "If it's really as you say, then we must get this scientist named Vegapunk on our side."
"Right, right," Milim nodded in strong agreement.
"Milim, you should know where Vegapunk is right now, right?" Linlin asked Milim cautiously. After all, with Milim's unreliable personality, she might only know Vegapunk's name and not his current location.
"Hmph, do you think I'm an idiot?" Milim punched Linlin's stomach several times with her small fists in dissatisfaction. "How could I possibly come to you without even knowing the location?"
"Mamamama! That's great then." Linlin completely ignored Milim's attacks and said in a good mood, "Then for this mission, I'll have to trouble you and El to go together."
Milim was a bit stunned. "Linlin, aren't you going?"
"Totto Land still needs someone to guard it. If something really happens, I can hold out until you two get back," Linlin said after a pause.
Milim became anxious. "But ever since Totto Land was founded, you've never gone out, Linlin. You just stay cooped up in your office handling official business all day."
"You used to love going out to have fun."
"Ah!" A look of reminiscence appeared in Linlin's eyes, but it quickly turned firm again. "I did use to love going out, but now, apart from you, Milim, nothing is more important than Totto Land."
"After all, this is our shared dream: to build a country where everyone can eat their fill."
"But you don't have to push yourself so hard! Taking a break once in a while to balance work and rest is good too." Milim's brain was spinning so fast that she even used the idiom "balance work and rest."
Seeing Milim's anxious expression, Linlin's heart warmed, and she quickly comforted her, "I know. And I'm just a bit busier right now. Later, when Totto Land has more talented people, I'll be able to relax."
"Since you like being busy, then be busy. It's good to be busy, it's best if everyone is busy." Milim walked out of the office dejectedly.
Linlin looked at the pitiful little rabbit left on the desk, forgotten by Milim, and sighed at her forgetfulness.
Then she picked up the little rabbit, held it in her arms, and continued to handle her official duties while stroking its fur.
Meanwhile, Milim headed towards El's office. When she opened the door and found no one inside, Milim knew that El must be at the construction site.
Unfurling her Dragon Wings, Milim flew into the sky above the Spring Island. A sweep of her Dragon Eye quickly located El. Not long after, Milim landed beside him.
She then told El what she and Linlin had discussed. After hearing the whole story, El didn't hesitate at all and immediately arranged for a ship.
Then, he found the location of Karakuri Island, "Baldimore," on a map. His efficiency was absurdly high; by the time Milim had finished a bottle of juice, everything was already prepared, just waiting to set sail.