This caused an eerie silence to fall over the office.
"Wow, it sounds so scary now, but we didn't realize it back then."
Lida patted her chest, still shaken, and reached into her small backpack, preparing to eat something to calm her nerves.
Hugo said incredulously, "Impossible! I've been here for two years and I'm perfectly fine."
Kuro closed the book, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said in a deep voice, "Kuro."
Kro looked at Hugo and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Hugo, didn't you find it strange when you came to be stationed here?"
Hugo thought for a moment and said, "I came here two years ago. The previous base commander passed away, and I took over. Since I can't get inside, I don't know what happened, but I heard that some people here were recruited inside three years ago, and then a new batch of people were let in. Since then, the base has not been able to recruit any more navy personnel."
Kro nodded and said, "According to the intelligence I've seen, although the Kingdom of Tada doesn't interact much with the outside world, it does have normal diplomacy and there are traces of exchanges with other countries on land. Until ten years ago, their exchanges became less and less frequent. Based on this, it can be inferred that the content in the book had already occurred in reality ten years ago. However, the Kingdom of Tada officially severed diplomatic relations with neighboring countries five years ago."
"That means that after spending five years, they not only failed to find Bluebeard, but also allowed the disaster to rage even more within the kingdom. So they simply cut off contact with other countries and sealed off the borders to prevent the disaster from spreading to other countries."
“Miss Lida, when was the last time you were here?” Kro asked.
Lida chewed on an apple, tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Before I came to the East Sea... I forgot the exact time, but it wasn't too long ago."
"So, this book didn't exist a long time ago. We can conclude that 'Bluebeard's' abilities weren't very strong back then, but as time went on, his contagiousness increased significantly, which led to the publication of this book."
"Three years ago, the kingdom banned the book and officially closed its borders. In addition, the port city of Tada changed its leadership and even prohibited people from going to sea. This means that the internal disasters of the kingdom have become very serious."
“We don’t know the exact details, but Absolon’s ability is to create illusions. The sign Mr. Kuro saw at the port was an illusion, and since the port is open to outsiders, it means their strategic goals have shifted from the inside out.”
In other words...
Kro adjusted his glasses, cold sweat beading on his forehead: "The situation inside the kingdom is already very bad, even..."
He dared not say what came next.
But Kuro could guess it.
It is very possible that the entire nation will suffer.
If tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people were to have an accident like this, it would be a serious matter.
Hugo understood what Crow meant and said, "It can't be that bad. If the Tada Kingdom were really like that, wouldn't it have been better to notify the World Government from the start?"
"No...that's precisely why we can't notify the government."
Kuro stood up, tucked the book into his pocket, and sighed.
If the contents of the book could become reality, then, as things stand, the people here are quite terrifying.
During the day they act like normal people, but at night they transform into monsters. Even if they die, they can be resurrected the next day and continue living as if nothing happened. This cycle repeats itself, and if the person with this ability cannot be found, it will be a complete mystery.
If this were reported to the World Government, and the government sent people to investigate and find out the truth, then when they determined that the problem couldn't be solved, Kuro knew very well what the only solution was.
The Kingdom of Tada may have taken this into account, which is why it did not make it public.
After all, compared to the instant annihilation of a country, there is still hope for salvation if the problem is solved slowly from within.
But now it seems that it may have just been a delaying tactic to postpone the destruction of his own kingdom.
"That's an entire country, really...it's giving me a huge headache."
Kuro shook his head.
I've gotten myself into another troublesome situation.
Let's go...
"Where to?" Hugo asked.
Kuro said, "Find that guy named Gugas. That strange woman mentioned him. If he's in cahoots, he should know something."
"impossible!"
Hugo jumped up at this moment, "Lord Gugas would never associate with pirates or evil people. He is the person I admire most, and I will not allow you to insult him!"
Kuro turned his head. "Take off that skin before you talk to me like that, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo!"
“I’ll go with you, and I’ll prove his innocence!” Hugo followed.
...
At the end of Tada Town stands a massive bridge, beneath which lies an abyss that stretches to the horizon.
The island seems to have been hollowed out from here; there's nowhere else to get close.
When Kuro arrived with the Navy, he found the place unusually deserted, with no one around. The fortresses flanking the gate, filled with heavy cannons, were also unmanned.
With Kuro's keen eyesight, he could even see that the cannon holes were filled with ash, indicating that it had not been used for a long time and had not been maintained at all.
"Mr. Gugas, Mr. Gugas!"
Hugo opened his mouth and began to shout.
"No need to shout."
Kuro exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at the small fortress above the gate, and said, "The person was heading this way when we arrived. Their Observation Haki is quite impressive."
As he spoke, a crisp sound rang out from the door.
It sounded like a sharp object scraping the ground.
On it, a man dressed in monk's robes slowly appeared. He held a book of doctrine in his left hand, closed his eyes, and muttered incantations, seemingly in prayer.
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