Chapter 6. Welcome to Cocoyasi Town
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"What should we do next? Should we just run?"
"I've told you to calm down~" Dante looked at Nami, who had started clinging to him again after returning, and said helplessly, "Nothing will happen. Even if something does, I'm confident we can escape."
"Alright, alright! That's the Marine Hero we're talking about! Our Captain Dante will definitely find a way to cooperate with the Marine Hero." But seeing Dante remain so calm, Nami felt a lot more at ease and looked around suspiciously. "Where's Robin? She's not here either? Did she run off on her own?"
"Robin had some business. She'll be back later," Dante waved his hand, not bothering to explain where Robin had gone.
As for Garp...
To be honest, he wasn't sure if Garp would go along with them or not.
You could say Garp was lazy, sloppy, and even a bit of a hypocrite, but without a doubt, as the Marine Hero, he had his own brand of justice.
This world isn't one of pure evil or pure good—it's a cesspool.
There are bad people in the Marines, and there are good people among pirates too!
And Monkey D. Garp is precisely the kind of Marine who judges justice by his own standards.
As for the World Government and the Marines...
Honestly, just the power that the World Government shows on the surface is already enough to make people despair. If there's no better solution, then this kind of muddled justice they're practicing is the best they can do.
Deceive those above, and carry out your own justice below!
If you don't have power, your only options are to go to sea as a pirate, join the World Government, or just drift along in the murky waters.
As for himself...
He was simply taking advantage of the World Government and Marine Headquarters.
You must understand—this is a world that belongs to the strong. The strong can destroy everything in an instant. The weak can only follow the rules set by the strong. Without strength, everything else is just empty talk.
Dante shook his head in resignation, looked at the newspaper in his hand, and said, "At the very least, it looks like we won't be getting arrested right now."
After all, Vice Admiral Garp had just eaten the pancake he treated him to.
He looked up at the confused Nami. "If you really have nothing to do, go help deal with the newly arrived refugees. You know, they captured a lot of people this time~"
…
"Daddy, are they really not going to sell us?"
"I… I don't know."
"Then can I eat? That's white rice and big white buns… they smell so good!"
"I-I…" Looking at his daughter's hopeful eyes, the man called "Daddy" wanted to, but couldn't bring himself to say no.
He didn't know whether this was all just a trick, or if this would be their final meal as ordinary people.
After eating, they might be sold as slaves to those filthy nobles—or worse, the terrifying Celestial Dragons.
Even as a refugee, he had lived long enough on these seas to know that those so-called gods… no, those terrifying demons, were not to be trifled with.
He had heard that once you fall into the hands of the Celestial Dragons, you are no longer human—only insects crawling through life.
They would even suffer unimaginable torment.
But…
"Daddy, I'm so hungry~"
Hearing his daughter's words and holding her thin little body in his arms, the man could no longer say no.
Pick.
That's his name.
His wife had already starved to death, and he didn't want his daughter to suffer the same fate.
And yet...
As an ordinary man, there was nothing he could do.
He thought back to yesterday…
They were originally citizens of the Vittgen Kingdom—or rather, forgotten citizens.
In order to pay the exorbitant Heavenly Tribute, the King of Vittgen had confiscated their property and driven them to a remote part of the island. As forgotten citizens, they were left to fend for themselves in the desolate place.
Some said the idea came from the so-called most beautiful country in the East Blue—the Goa Kingdom—where the useless were driven out to keep the country clean and beautiful.
It was even rumored the Celestial Dragons praised them for it.
He didn't know how beautiful that country was supposed to be, but a country that abandoned its own people—how beautiful could it truly be?
Yesterday morning they had still been scavenging in the desolate place. Then, that night, a group of pirates stormed the island, and suddenly… they were brought here.
He remembered that when the bald pirate captain heard he had a daughter, he paused, then let out an excited laugh and shouted, "You have a daughter? Take her! Take her with you!"
What a terrifying demon!
He didn't even spare a little girl.
He thought he and his daughter were doomed—that they'd suffer unimaginable torture, or be sold as slaves. But what he didn't expect…
It would be like this?
Pick looked around him and his nose couldn't help but twitch at the aroma in the air. Not to mention a little girl, even for an adult like him, it was irresistible.
He was hungry too.
Really, really hungry!
He wanted to eat!
At that moment—
Dong Dong Dong~
A metallic sound snapped Pick back to reality. He looked up dazedly at the window in front of him.
Was it their turn?
Had everyone ahead of them already gone through?
Did they all really get food?
He was filled with doubt, but…
"Daddy, Katie is really hungry!" The little girl who called herself Katie peeked at the window and then looked up at her father again with pleading eyes. "Can I eat?"
"I…" Pick lowered his head, staring into his daughter's eager eyes, then looked at the food at the window, swallowing hard. He glanced at the others who had already gotten their food, sitting down in a daze as if in a dream, but sat under the direction of the security team.
Maybe this really was a dream!
But even if it was, they had to eat their fill!
With that in mind, Pick's cloudy eyes grew sharp. He looked intently at his daughter. "Eat. We must eat our fill! This might be our last meal!"
These words… shouldn't be said to a child, but there was no other way now.
"Even if we're going to die, we have to die with full bellies. We must never become slaves—that place is hell!"
However—
Just as the words fell—
Before his young daughter could ask in confusion what he meant—
Dong Dong Dong~
Another series of metallic knocks rang out.
And just as Pick braced himself, thinking he was about to be beaten for what he had just said—
"Hey hey hey, I've been waiting for you for a long time! I thought you were taking your time picking food, but turns out, you were saying stuff like that to a child?!"
"???" Pick looked up in confusion, only to see behind the window a plump old woman in a loose white chef's uniform, ladle in hand, scooping out food.
What did she mean?
Was she afraid they'd kill themselves?
Before he could ask—
"Pah pah pah, what are you talking about! This is Cocoyasi Town, the territory of Captain Dante. There are no slaves here, and you're not here to be sold!"
The grumpy old lunch lady snapped, then looked at the scared little girl beside Pick. Her wrinkled face softened as she gave the girl a smile.
"Don't be afraid, little girl. This isn't a bad place. From now on, you can eat your fill, wear beautiful clothes, and no one will ever bully you."
"R… really?"
"Of course. I wouldn't lie to you. As long as your father works hard," the lunch lady said cheerfully, raising her big ladle with pride. "Here, you can find a job, earn wages, eat your fill, and wear pretty clothes."
"You can learn useful knowledge, sleep peacefully at night, laugh out loud with joy, and live happily every day!"
"If you've got a skill, you can get an even better job and earn higher pay. Of course, even if you don't know anything, as long as you work hard, the factories will still take you. We're really short on workers here!"
"Welcome to Cocoyasi Town—East Blue's most beautiful place."
"Now hurry and get your food. You can take as much as you want, but don't waste it—and don't overeat. Tonight, you'll be quite busy."
…
In the end, under the old woman's urging, Pick got a full plate of food for himself and his daughter.
There was rice, big white steamed buns, delicious vegetables, and tempting meat—food their family had never tasted before.
When they sat down, looking at the meal in front of them, it all felt like a dream.
Is this real?
"Daddy, can I eat now?"
"Mm! Eat, Katie~" Hearing his daughter's voice, Pick snapped back to reality. Once he was sure everything in front of him was real, he nodded for her to eat. Watching her devour the food happily, a smile unconsciously formed on his face too.
At that moment—
He seemed to hear something and turned his head to see a new group of people walking in. No—not new, they were the same people who had come in with them earlier.
It's just that this group had… right, they went to take a bath.
Pick stared, dumbfounded, as the people who were filthy and in tatters just like him earlier were now clean and dressed in gray new clothes.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"Daddy, you eat too. It's so good. This is the best thing Katie's ever eaten."
Only when his daughter called out again did Pick snap back. Looking at her chubby cheeks from eating, the sorrow and anxiety that had haunted him faded slightly, and he smiled, "Eat! Daddy will eat too!"
In truth, he had been starving all along. But everything around him had been so overwhelming, he forgot the hunger. Now, as his mind cleared, the gnawing pain in his stomach returned, making him ravenous.
But after just one bite of a steamed bun, he froze.
"So delicious!"
In an instant—
Tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks, dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Is it really true that just by working hard, they could eat their fill?
With tears streaming down his face, Pick looked at his daughter—who was also crying at some point—and took a deep breath. With firm resolve, he said, "Katie, Daddy will definitely work hard."
"Mm!"
"I swear I will, even if it kills me!"
Pick raised his head, looking at the queue forming again in front of the food window. His eyes were no longer confused, but resolute and serious.
Cocoyasi Town…
Captain Dante!