Chapter 164: Clues to the Player
Starting with the most difficult and moving to the easiest, Violet decided to deal with the [mysterious marble statues] in Kaido's, Whitebeard's, and Shanks' territories one by one.
After a trip to Ghost Island and a timid retreat back to R'lyeh while being pursued by the Black Wyverns, the news Ginny reported back to her left Val even more bewildered.
Big Mom did not summon her children and allies to retaliate against Violet and R'lyeh. Moreover, after Violet successfully "kidnapped" him, Big Mom acted as if nothing had happened and continued her grand project of collecting all races as usual.
Violet: ? ? ?
Although he had already made up his mind, he couldn't help but worry about the safety of his younger siblings in Whole Cake Island, and feel guilty that Katakuri and Violet had become enemies because of him: ...
This usually mature, composed, and unwavering pirate revealed a bewildered expression, almost like that of a child.
Katakuri looked at Ginny: "What did you just say?"
"BIG MOM, cough, is getting ready to marry her 37th husband."
Because of his former World Government agent status, Lucci, who was taken away by Ginny to work as an assistant while investigating pacifists and rose pattern patterns, looked at Katakuri with a gaze that was a mixture of sympathy and disdain.
Pirates are indeed a bunch of filthy scum without feelings or morality; they even forgot so quickly that their most important son was stolen.
If it were Violet, she would probably chase after him to the ends of the earth to bring him back.
Lu Qi first proudly compared them in his mind, then quickly changed his expression after realizing what he was thinking.
Damn it, why is he thinking about these things? He's just using Violet to gain the status and power he wants. Why should he care about Violet's attitude towards the other islanders?
What does this have to do with Lu Qi? That single-minded idiot, Violet, was completely fooled by his facade. She thought he was really like the other fools who had been brainwashed by her and submitted to her, obediently becoming her subordinate.
That idiot has been completely deceived by his outward compliance, and even dared to let him participate in the investigation of the World Government.
If we're talking about betrayal and abandonment, it's only Lucci who betrayed and abandoned that idiot, Violet!
Hmph, when Violet is captured by the World Government, considering her relatively useful abilities and incredibly gullible mind, Lucci might be able to rescue her and use her as a useful henchman and lackey.
Even Ginny felt a pang of sympathy when faced with Katakuri's bewildered gaze.
Well, there's nothing we can do about it; she's a mother too... But Big Mom's behavior was indeed quite unexpected.
Ginny looked at Vera curiously: "Did the island lord really not know Big Mom before?"
Katakuri turned slightly to the side out of curiosity, and Lucci, Law, and the others also pricked up their ears. Even Bonney, who was learning to speak, shut her mouth at this moment.
In the strangely quiet atmosphere, Vera raised her hand and scratched her face, recalling carefully for a moment, and said with certainty, "I really don't know her, and I've only met Lingling once."
The previous time doesn't count. Before that, Vera was just a temporary chef arranged by Perospero, and she only saw Lingling once from afar.
"That is indeed quite strange."
Unable to come up with a solution, the group could only categorize this incident as one of the "mysterious events surrounding the island master." Thinking about it that way, among all the strange and unusual events that have occurred around the island master, this one is actually nothing special.
After placing the marble fragments from Wano Country into the second box, Violet contacted Marco, who then led Violet and Law to Sphinx Island to deal with the marble statues there.
Marco once again transformed into a phoenix, pulling Violet along as they soared through the sky. As the armored ship carrying Law grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight, Marco lowered his head and smiled at Violet, who was already immersed in the joy of flying.
Marco: "Vell, did you have Jhin carry you like this a couple of days ago?"
"Pfft! Cough, cough!" Violet was so startled that she choked and coughed violently. "Wh-what?"
Violet's first reaction was, how could Marco possibly know about this? She did have Jhin fly over there, but that was far away on Ghost Island. Jhin flew so high that you couldn't even see a bird around, let alone an informant.
Unless Jhin tells Marco about this, there's no way Marco could possibly know!
Violet's second reaction was to look down at the mirror-like blue sea dozens of meters below, wondering if she could take out her Ice Staff in time to freeze the seawater and land safely if Marco suddenly let go.
Marco, hearing Violet's question, replied in his gentle, smiling voice, "Just asking out of curiosity."
"The other day, the news that King set off from Onigashima and chased you for most of the Grand Line made the front page of the newspapers. Not just me, the entire Whitebeard Pirates knew about it." Marco's tone sounded quite relaxed, as if this was just a casual topic he brought up to keep Viole from getting bored during the long flight.
"Dad said he couldn't just stand by and watch Jin bully a junior like that, and wanted to help you get revenge."
Vera's lips twitched slightly. "No, there's no need to trouble Mr. Newgate." And had she misheard? Marco seemed to emphasize the word "junior" in particular.
Marco smiled and glanced down at Violet, whose face clearly showed her guilt: "Given Jin's personality, it's quite surprising that he would do something like chasing someone across most of the Grand Line."
This unwavering determination doesn't seem like a mission given by Kaido, but rather like some kind of personal grudge.
So Marco, well, he was just asking out of curiosity, but he didn't expect to actually gain some unexpected information.
Marco: "So, who's better?"
Vera: "Huh? Huh?!?!"
Is this problem what she imagined?
The sharp, bird claws, which should have been able to easily tear apart the enemy's body, gripped her firmly, allowing Violet to maintain her balance. The powerful wings, capable of shattering masts, flapped gently, giving Violet an extremely smooth and comfortable flight experience.
Before Vera could reply to this seemingly fatal topic, Marco confidently answered, "It must be me."
"No matter how you look at it, that guy Jin doesn't seem like the type to care about other people's flying experience."
Vera: ...
Although it's true that Jhin's second flight experience for Violet was almost terrible, that doesn't seem to be the reason for Marco's proud tone, does it?
“Why not?” Marco tightened his grip on Violet, then pulled her into a thrilling dive. As Violet gasped as her toes skimmed across the water, he said matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it something to be proud of to have the ability to bring joy to your brothers, sisters, and friends?”
Of course, Marco knew in his heart that he would never fly around with his brother, and considering his father's height and build, it would be difficult for Marco to take off with him.
So this is an experience unique to Violet.
After thinking about Marco's words, Violet realized that he made a lot of sense!
"You're right, Marco, you're the most beautiful little bird on this sea!"
Amidst the whistling wind, Violet opened her mouth wide and shouted, "Marco, I want to raise you! There's a super beautiful golden birdcage up there in R'lyeh!"
In this regard, Violet was extremely jealous of Kaido and Mr. Newgate. It was truly unimaginable that the great Lord of R'lyeh still didn't have her own beautiful little bird.
Marco's temples throbbed at Violet's unexpected invitation. He tried to hold back, but finally couldn't help saying, "Don't learn from those unreliable guys like Redhead."
What could Violet possibly have done wrong? The only ones at fault are the scoundrels around her who have corrupted her, and within Violet's current social circle, Shanks is the prime suspect.
What is his connection to Shanks?
Val was completely confused, not understanding why Marco suddenly brought up Shanks. However, Val knew that Shanks had also tried to recruit Marco, meaning that in this matter, Val and Shanks were rivals.
I feel really bad for Shanks, but this is the dirty world of adults!
Violet: "Oh yeah, Shanks is so unreliable and irresponsible. Sigh... It must be really tough being his crew member. Just look at how much gray hair Beckman has."
Poor Beckman. When Violet first met him, he was a handsome, dashing, and somewhat unrestrained man. Now, with the increase in his gray hair and the passage of time, he inexplicably exudes a sense of world-weariness and disillusionment.
...One can only imagine what he has gone through these past few years, Amen.
Upon hearing Violet's words, Marco couldn't help but chuckle softly. The subtle meaning behind Violet's words was as obvious as a firefly in a dense forest at night, easily discernible even to ordinary people, let alone someone like him, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division who had been battling on the high seas for so many years.
However, if anyone else dared to play such tricks on him, Marco would make them understand that the consequences of being too clever for their own good are often terrible and fatal. But when Vil did this, Marco was relieved that Vil was finally not as straightforward as before.
Time flies, Violet has grown up so much.
Violet: "...Marco, do you know how weird your eyes are?" That darn Marco, he's treating the player like a child again.
"Heh..." Marco raised an eyebrow. "Strange? By the way, do you want to fly higher and faster?"
Don't change the subject!
Violet wanted to say it so firmly, but her mouth answered loudly before she could: "Yes!"
Forget about this and that, let's just get going!
After landing in Vil and Marco and enjoying coconut oil and bay leaf flavored ice cream, a specialty of Sphinx Island, for half an hour, Luo, piloting his armored ship, slowly approached the shore.
Violet took out the ice cream that had been kept in the real refrigerator created by the Frost Staff and ran to Luo's side to hand it to him.
Luo took it naturally, looking at the ice cream that looked as if it had just been made and showed no signs of melting, feeling a little helpless.
"Isn't the staff limited in the number of times it can be used? There's no need to use it on such a trivial matter."
“That shop is too crowded, the queue is so long.” Vera bent down and took the rope with perfect ease, securing the armored ship to the huge, rusty iron nail inserted into the crevice of the reef. “It won’t taste good if it melts, try it quickly.”
Luo lowered his head and took a big bite. Hmm, it was a little sweet, and the flavor of the bay leaves was very strong, just the island lord's favorite taste.
Marco watched with a smile as he observed the interaction between Vera and Ro.
After Vera secured the boat, Luo quickened his eating pace, stuffing ice cream into his mouth in a few bites, and walked to Vera's right, slightly behind her.
Just like last time, Violet and Marco's group received a warm welcome from the islanders of Sphinx Island. After reluctantly accepting their invitation to the banquet and struggling to squeeze out of the crowd, Marco smiled helplessly and smoothed Violet's slightly messy hair.
Marco was deeply impressed by the mysterious statue buried in his father's hometown. Without needing Vera to bring out the treasure map again, he skillfully followed the path that had been cleared and headed towards the treasure location.
The treasure has not been reburied since it was unearthed by Violet and her crew. Marco simply ordered his pirate subordinates to patrol the area in shifts, preventing the residents of Sphinx Island from approaching.
Using his Op-Op Fruit powers, Law covered the enormous sculptures with a pale blue slaughterhouse, painstakingly cutting them off bit by bit.
“Those rose patterns…” Marco stood to the side, pointing to the thorny rose pattern on the pillar supporting the torn pages, “among the Celestial Dragons, there is an ancient power that uses them.”
Violet: "Rose..."
Marco looked worried. The strange sculpture on his father's hometown island was pointing to the Celestial Dragons, which made it easy to think of a conspiracy.
Vera: "Do you know which family, or rather, which power, it is?"
Marco shook his head helplessly. The Whitebeard Pirates had not been willing to get involved in the affairs of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, so it was difficult to find such secrets in a short time.
But the mere fact that it points to the Celestial Dragons is enough to prove how complicated this matter is.
"It's good that you've taken an opposing stance to both the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates." Otherwise, with so many secrets and a good relationship with the four Emperors of the Sea, Violet would be too conspicuous.
Thinking of the [Fragile Rose] in her backpack, and then of the pacifists who also had rose patterns, Violet glanced at Marco, but still didn't tell him that she might already be being watched by the World Government.
Marco compiled the results of his investigation into the Whitebeard Pirates into a document and handed it to Violet.
“You can take this and ask Shanks,” he advised. “If you insist on continuing your investigation, Shanks is a good partner.”
"He knows far more about the World Government and the Celestial Dragons than my father does."
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Author's Note: Marco: The youth of young people, so sweet! [Let me see]
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