章 41: Chapter 40: Queen
As they got closer, a middle-aged man, dressed slightly differently from the other guards, walked up to them with a look of excitement. He handed the fat man a pair of binoculars and said, "Your Majesty, look quickly! It's an island, a green island!"
The fat man eagerly pressed the binoculars to his nose, looking nervous, in a way that was somewhat reminiscent of Sanchi spying on a beautiful woman.
"Hey, Fite, you're just focused on writing your notes," Kado walked up to Fite and punched him lightly, saying, "You didn't even care about me. You should know, I almost died."
"Bullshit, me and Sanchi are fine. With your physical condition, you would be fine too," Fite scratched his nose and said seriously, "Besides, I came out with the guard team partly to look for you."
"Ahem." Kado rolled his eyes. "Every time you lie, you scratch your nose. Are you trying to fool me?"
Fite snorted but didn't respond. Instead, he turned his attention to the fat king.
The fat man, still holding the binoculars, peered through them for a long time before finally lowering them. He struggled to suppress his excitement and turned to the middle-aged guard, saying, "Captain Gula, given the current drift speed, how many days will it take to reach that island?"
"Your Majesty, that island is not within the range of the doldrums, and the ocean current direction is still unknown. It may very well affect the drift of the rock island. However, based on the current speed, if nothing goes wrong, we should be able to drift near the island in three days," answered the captain, Gula.
"Three days? In three more days, I will be able to leave this prison," the fat man finally showed some semblance of a king's demeanor. He scanned the surrounding sea and sighed, "Pass my orders: slaughter all the sea monsters we have raised, and hold a grand feast for the entire Naga Kingdom for three days. All food will be free."
Hearing the king's command, the guards around them erupted in cheers, loudly praising the king's wisdom.
"Haha, I'm in a good mood today! I'll personally catch a wild sea monster later!" The fat man rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to get to work.
"What? Sea monsters come in wild and domesticated varieties?" Kado was a bit confused. According to the old man's earlier explanation, their sea monsters were all hunted, so how could there be a distinction between wild and not?
"This is a secret crucial to the survival of Naga. I can't tell you about it for now, sorry," Captain Gula shook his head apologetically. It seemed that this secret was very important to Naga, and he couldn't reveal it to Kado yet.
"It's fine," Kado nodded in understanding. Everyone has their own secrets, especially a kingdom with a history of hundreds of years. To survive in this world, there must be some hidden secrets, just like the superpowers on Earth—when they have advanced weapons, they always keep them hidden, only revealing them when war begins, to surprise their enemies.
The fat man, however, seemed unconcerned. He patted Kado on the shoulder and tried to put on a regal expression, saying, "We've shared a meal and had a chat, we're good brothers now. Later, I'll show you the greatest project that has been passed down for hundreds of years in Naga."
Seeing the fat man trying so hard to act imposing, Kado couldn't help but feel a vein pop on his forehead. For others, being brothers meant they had fought together, shared women, or been through tough times. But this guy was calling him a brother just because they had eaten a meal together?
Sensing that Kado might be a bit skeptical about their newfound brotherhood, the fat man scratched his head and said, "I think, besides my parents and the governor, you're the first person I've ever eaten with. So, you tell me, how strong is our bond?" When he mentioned the governor, the fat man visibly shuddered, looking nervous and frightened.
"Looks like this governor is quite a big deal. I should meet him sometime," Kado thought. Besides his parents, the fat man had only eaten with the governor, and he seemed terrified of him. It was clear that the governor held the real power in Naga, while the fat man in front of him... well, he was just an idiot who had clearly never seen the world.
"Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name," the idiot fat man, who had just called him a brother, now asked for his name. The nearby guards all looked embarrassed; if this guy weren't their king, he would definitely have been punched by now.
"Ahem, do you want to hear my full name, my nickname, or my real name?" Kado said proudly. These names were all nicknames given to him after years of adventuring at sea, and they were well-known across the world. In most places, if he shouted his name in the street, people would either look at him with admiration, fear, or, of course, with the kind of look one gives an idiot. It was easy to imagine how famous Kado was across the seas.
"I've already said it, haven't I? My name can't be more than yours. Commoners call me 'Our King,' the governor calls me 'Naga,' the guards call me 'Boss,' outsiders call me 'Your Majesty,' my sister calls me 'Mao Mao,' 'Rou Rou,' 'Qiu Qiu,' or 'Rice Bucket'..." The fat man held up his fingers to count his nicknames. After going through them, he realized there were over a dozen, so many that even all ten fingers weren't enough to count. Among them were nicknames like "Idiot" and "Pig Head."
The guards nearby felt incredibly embarrassed, but there was nothing they could do. Their king had been stuck on Skull Island since birth, and in his 20 years of life, besides rocks, all he had seen were more rocks—he had never even seen a green plant. Everything he knew about the outside world had been told to him by others. With such a level of intelligence, how could he be expected to be particularly sharp?
"Ahem." Kado coughed twice, interrupting the fat man who was still counting on his fingers. He proudly said, "The navy and commoners call me 'Saint Hand,' pirates call me 'The Immortal Evil God,' and my real name is Caesar... Kado."
"Immortal Evil God, that sounds so cool! How do you qualify as 'immortal,' and how do you qualify as 'evil god'? Come on, show me!" The fat man instantly turned into a starry-eyed admirer, looking up at Kado with awe. Kado's nickname was far cooler than his own, like "Mao Mao" or "Qiu Qiu." One of Kado's nicknames was worth ten of his.
"Well, the 'immortal' part is a bit hard to demonstrate right now, but as for the 'evil god,' I can show you," Kado said. Using his Devil Fruit ability, he pushed hard with his legs and jumped high into the air. The fat man, who had expected Kado to fall, stared in shock as Kado actually stayed suspended in midair, walking around as if there were invisible stairs beneath his feet. It looked just like a divine being flying through the sky.
Kado looked down at the people below with a proud expression, doing his best to look like a god. To be honest, he actually did look somewhat divine, but his tattered clothes really ruined the image. His celestial appearance was completely undermined by his shabby attire.
While everyone and the guards were stunned by Kado's abilities, no one noticed a graceful figure silently appear by their side like a ghost.
"The leader of the Night Owl Pirates, Caesar Kado, known as the most mysterious pirate. He set sail thirteen years ago, and ten years ago, the navy considered him a candidate for the Seven Warlords of the Sea. However, for unknown reasons, he was not selected. It is rumored that he reached some kind of agreement with the navy, which is why his bounty is only over 80 million, a sum that does not match his true strength. There are rumors that Kado once fought against Mihawk, and because the entire island was destroyed, the outcome of the battle remains unknown..."
A clear, crisp voice, like dripping water, rang out, listing Kado's identity and background.
Sanchi glanced over and crushed a rock with his chin.
Fite glanced over, scratched his nose, and snapped a pen in half.
Kado looked up, then fell from the air, landing with a thud that created a large human-shaped crater.
The guards looked over and respectfully stepped forward to salute, "Governor."
The fat man looked over, then turned to run, but was struck to the ground by a black-red long whip.
Her black hair was elegantly pinned up, and her chin, as delicate as jade shoots, was raised high, exposing her long, fair neck. Her face was extraordinarily beautiful, almost inhuman, clear and alluring, yet with a trace of coldness. Her sparkling eyes conveyed a fresh, autumn-like clarity, with a hint of doubt in her gaze as she looked at Kado, who was lying on the ground, dirty and drooling. Her bright red lips parted slightly: "I wonder, this famous pirate, what is his intention in abducting our king?"
Wearing 20 cm high-heeled sandals, her delicate, pink feet trembled slightly as they stood firmly on the ground. She wore tight, pure black pants that outlined her slender, powerful legs. Below her towering, firm breasts was a slender waist, white as snow, impossibly delicate. Her prominent collarbones and smooth, pale skin were alluring, and she held a black-red whip made from unknown beast tendons.
With a noble posture, her face lifted proudly, and her identity as the governor of the Naga Kingdom, she exuded the aura of a queen.
Kado swallowed hard.
He almost blurted out, "Take care of me, I'm willing to go through fire and water for you, loyal to the end."
Fortunately, he was no longer the computer-obsessed, petty thief from his past life. His years of pirate experience had greatly strengthened his resistance. If this were before, he might have actually declared his undying devotion.
Wiping the blood that was still flowing from his nose, Kado turned his head to look at Sanchi, whose bearded face helped calm him down a bit. It was easier to focus on him—if he kept staring at the queen, Kado wasn't sure if he'd even be able to speak.
"No... no intentions, I... I... I was just... shipwrecked..." Under the pressure of Sanchi's lecherous expression, Kado finally managed to squeeze out a few words, but they were still fragmented and unclear.
"Big sis," the fat man, showing impressive resistance, completely ignored the queen's terrifying appearance. He rushed to Kado's side and put his arm around his neck, saying, "He definitely has no ill intentions. This is my newly made brother, how could he have any ulterior motives?"
"Hmph," the queen lightly flared her jade-like nose and snorted coldly. "Your Majesty, don't address me as 'big sis' in front of outsiders."
"Besides, how could you tell whether he has any ulterior motives? With your rice-bucket-level intelligence?" Her sparkling eyes briefly glanced at Kado, and the queen was certain that Kado was definitely a bad guy.
"Go... go, let's... let's catch the Sea Kings," Kado forced himself to suppress the unwillingness in his heart. He grabbed the fat man and tried to leave. If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist and might just force things.
"Snap!"
A whip cracked, and the fat man, who was holding Kado, jumped in shock, nearly throwing Kado to the ground.
"Come back here! How can I let you go off on such a dangerous task with an outsider?" The queen shouted angrily, coldly glaring at Kado. "This guy definitely has some ulterior motive. How could someone with such great power not go to conquer the Grand Line, but instead come to our little island?"
Hearing that the queen had completely assumed he had ulterior motives, Kado felt a mix of unwillingness and anger, though he dared not look her in the eye. Still, there was an undeniable feeling of frustration within him. Why had he come to this world? It was for the things he had never experienced in his past life. As a thief, he had never known true friendship, never experienced love, and even the little familial love he had was cut short after just one day. Now, he had met someone who, despite being a bit foolish, was unreserved in trusting him, open-hearted and kind, and someone he could consider a friend—a naive, yet endearing, fat man. And yet, someone was trying to take him away from him.
Though she was a beautiful woman, though she was the fat man's sister, Kado couldn't help but feel a flicker of anger rising inside him.
"I came here to pursue the things I never had before—family, friendship, and love. I cherish them deeply because I couldn't have them before. In this world, there is familial love that feels familiar from the very first meeting, love that you would die for after just one glance, and friendship that welcomes you as though you have known each other forever. I long for all of this, for the kind of love that lasts until the end of time, for the deep friendship that allows you to bare your heart, and the peaceful family bond that brings comfort. I crave these things, because I have never had them."
Kado finally raised his head and stared into the queen's eyes. "This fat man, though foolish and not very smart, trusted me unreservedly the moment we met. That is a soulmate, a born companion. Even if he becomes smarter, changes his mind, or understands things differently later, I will still remember what he was to me, and what we were to each other—two friends tightly connected. To have had that, I should be content. I don't expect to have a soulmate for life, but I don't want a fleeting one either. So, I don't want you to continue slandering me, especially in front of him." Kado paused for a moment and added, "Although... I do want to conquer you."
The queen was stunned for a moment, staring at the only man who could meet her gaze. "Will wait for your conquest," she said. "My name is Alexandra Cherry."
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