Chapter 72: Thieves and Pirates

"No! I won't stand by and watch you die alone!"

With a thud, Carina dropped the enormous package she had been carrying and stepped forward, positioning herself directly in front of Nami.

However, Nami's expression remained steely, her eyes cold and resolute.

"You can't stop me, Carina," Nami murmured.

She understood that Carina was right; no matter how strong Pikachu was, it couldn't stand up against an entire nation. But after witnessing the horrors inflicted on those young girls, she couldn't bear to let those monsters in human skin breathe for even a second longer!

Every day these demons lived was another day of suffering for untold innocent lives.

Nami had made up her mind.

Having been oppressed by Arlong's Pirates, she knew all too well the helplessness that came with being trapped between life and death.

Now, with Cocoyasi Village liberated, Nami no longer had anything to hold her back. Though she didn't believe that "with great power comes great responsibility," she couldn't allow the pain she had endured to be repeated—or worse, to be inflicted upon others.

Today, she would take that risk.

At that moment, Carina suddenly took another step forward, standing right in front of Nami and locking eyes with her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Carina sighed.

"Sigh, I really can't win with you," she said, shaking her head helplessly.

Carina understood now that nothing she could say would change Nami's mind.

In that case...

She flipped her hair back with one hand, a determined glint in her eyes, and spoke to Nami in a teasing tone:

"With a leader like you, I'm starting to believe that our little group of thieves might just become famous worldwide..."

"And to think our first mission targets is the Celestial Dragons. I wonder how long we'll last."

"Carina... you..."

Nami was taken aback, her icy expression finally softening.

"I will follow you to the end," Carina said with a sly smile, raising a pale hand to clasp Nami's.

"Don't forget, I'm your chief of staff!"

"And you're so reckless; I can't trust you to handle such a huge task on your own."

"..."

Nami was momentarily speechless.

She had never expected that Carina, whom she had tricked so many times before, would be willing to take such a huge risk with her now.

After a moment, Nami suddenly smiled, meeting Carina's gaze with a renewed sense of purpose.

Slap!

Their palms clapped together and held firm, their eyes locked.

"I won't let you die here," Nami said seriously.

Carina's smile softened. "Neither will I."

At that moment, the Wilson royal family had no idea they were about to face their most formidable enemies yet.

...

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of Hyde Kingdom's capital, under the dim moonlight, a group of shadowy figures slid down the city walls on ropes.

In the Kingdom of Hyde, there were three dukes, all of whom were high-ranking nobles descended from the Wilson royal family, tasked with carrying out their dirty work.

The castles of these three dukes were strategically located near the coast or ports, forming an equilateral triangle around the palace to protect it.

Each duke had a distinct role.

Duke Gordon, who had just met his end at Pikachu's lightning, was responsible for capturing and selecting slaves.

The other two, Duke Cade and Duke Del, were responsible for transporting and selling slaves, respectively.

Because these operations were so secretive, even most officials in the Kingdom of Hyde had no idea such heinous activities were happening right under their noses.

As a group of Black Cat Pirates emerged from a dark corner, their leader, Kuro, scowled, his cat-like claws twitching with barely restrained fury.

"Where did you get this information!?" he suddenly demanded after they had put some distance between themselves and the castle.

Though his tone was calm, there was an unmistakable anger simmering beneath the surface.

The vice-captain, Jango, wiped the sweat from his brow and nervously replied, "It was from a black market dealer on Granlin Island..."

"An informant?" Kuro gritted his teeth. "I'll deal with them later!"

Kuro was livid.

Originally, they had been told that Duke Cade of the Kingdom of Hyde had just received a highly valuable shipment...

If they could sell it, it would be worth at least 800 million Berries!

With newfound confidence in his abilities after acquiring the power of a new Devil Fruit, Kuro had spent a considerable amount of money on intelligence about the Kingdom of Hyde and infiltrated it in secret.

But when they used Jango's hypnosis to bypass the castle guards and Duke Cade revealed the "shipment," they were horrified to discover that the so-called "valuable goods" were actually a group of beautiful young women!

Only then did they learn from Cade that the entire Kingdom of Hyde was essentially a slave market and trading hub!

At that moment, Kuro had almost killed Cade in a fit of rage.

But knowing Cade was connected to the royal family by a life card, he restrained himself.

In the end, Kuro and his crew had no choice but to gather whatever valuables they could find and quietly leave the castle.

Thanks to Jango's hypnosis and their abilities, they managed to escape without alerting anyone.

But Kuro wasn't one to let grudges go.

As they hurried back to their ship, disguised as a merchant vessel, and prepared to set sail, they suddenly heard gunfire coming from the other side of the capital!

Kuro's heart sank.

"Could we have been discovered?"

He quickly ordered his crew to set sail immediately.

But after observing from a distance and finding no sign of pursuit, he was puzzled.

After sending scouts to investigate, they learned that Duke Gordon had been assassinated, and the soldiers were scouring the city for the culprits.

...

...

"This..."

Staring at the hypnotized squad leader before him, a look of realization dawned on Kuro's face.

He glanced at Cade, now tied up and almost catatonic, and his eyes lit up.

His mind raced, piecing together the clues.

"Since Gordon was as important as Cade, his assassination will definitely provoke the Wilson royal family into sending a massive response force..."

"And given the kingdom's emphasis on business over security, most of the soldiers will be stationed at the palace, just as the intelligence suggested..."

"In other words..."

Whoosh!

Under the pale moonlight, Kuro suddenly stood up, a sharp glint in his sinister eyes.

"The palace of Hyde... is currently defenseless!!!"

———

"The Hyde Palace is currently in the stage of empty defense!!!"

After hiding the treasure, Carina stood up, her eyes flickering as she looked at Nami with a smile on her face.

(End of this chapter)