'A person who can't refuse anyone as long as they're needed by others is really easy to deal with.
No wonder she had over twenty fiancés, and all of them were killed by Doflamingo.'
Violet ignored that brainless woman and merely memorized the face on the wanted poster.
"So, another pirate crew opposing the family? You people really are unlucky."
She tossed the bounty poster onto the table and paid the group no further attention.
They were just another bunch of fools making enemies of the family.
Since their destination was Dressrosa, they would be discovered by her Devil Fruit ability before they ever landed.
Compared to that…
It would be far more worthwhile to investigate who exactly had killed Pica, one of the top executives.
'Those bastards have always been wary of me… if it weren't for Father…'
Violet clenched her fists, stood up, and left the room to make preparations.
Although she looked down on that group mentally and felt certain they would be crushed by the family officers, she could still tell from the arrangements just how seriously the family regarded these enemies.
Normally, they would let her take care of a few side tasks along the way, but this time, she had only been ordered to report immediately once she discovered them.
Clearly, the family considered this a matter of great importance and wanted to gain an informational advantage in advance.
After all, her Glare-Glare Fruit ability allowed her to see anything within a radius of 4,000 kilometers. The search process was cumbersome, but whether it was finding people or locating ships, she could do it.
Most importantly, no one could defend against her gaze, nor could they detect it.
For example—
One day later, a gigantic golden ship docked beside Dressrosa.
Using the power of the Glare-Glare Fruit, Violet witnessed a special scene. The Golden Emperor, the legendary man said to control twenty percent of the world's Beli and possess limitless wealth, had suddenly appeared here.
'Has the family grown even stronger again? Even after losing a top executive…'
Violet watched uneasily, but the Golden Emperor did not seem to land on Dressrosa. Instead, Doflamingo himself went to the golden ship to speak with him.
After that, she could no longer see anything. It seemed Doflamingo had taken precautions against her as well.
"If that's the case, then I might as well stay in the tower."
Violet changed locations. At present, Dressrosa was basically ruled by the family, so obtaining an undisturbed environment was very easy.
But when she arrived at the tower and successfully looked down over the kingdom from a secure place, she still could not suppress the irritation in her heart.
She had once possessed the same privilege—but not because of the Donquixote Family's rule. Back then, it was because of her identity as a princess.
Yet now, the family was growing stronger and stronger. Even the Golden Emperor had come here…
Violet's mind wavered, and for a moment she seemed to see ghostlike beings.
They wandered all over the kingdom in dense numbers, passing through walls and ground alike, treating material barriers as if they did not exist.
Just like real ghosts!
And judging from how they were spread out, they seemed to have already been here for quite some time.
"No, that's not right!"
Violet's pupils contracted. Within her field of vision, one ghost passed through the ground and appeared right in front of her.
In its hand was a dark bead. With a crack, a graceful figure emerged.
The moment their eyes met, Violet had only just begun to raise her hand when hands sprouted all over her body, twisting her arms behind her back and pinning her in place!
"How is this poss—mmph!"
Violet struggled in shock, but then her mouth was covered.
"Shh, Miss Violet. You need to stay quiet."
Robin smiled faintly, raising a finger to her lips. "Otherwise, I might make an unnecessary judgment and snap your neck."
As she spoke, the hands she had grown searched Violet's body, found the Den Den Mushi on her, and tossed it aside onto the ground.
After finishing all that, Robin took out a Den Den Mushi and reported, "First target secured. The Glare-Glare Fruit ability has been neutralized."
First target?
Why was she the first target?
What was this person talking about!?
Why had she spoken the words "Glare-Glare Fruit" so openly?
Violet held herself still, gathering strength, as she listened to the other woman's casual tone.
Even though she could not understand the current situation, she could keenly sense that something was terribly wrong.
No—
Rather, they had already been exposed!
These people had to be the enemies the family had been guarding against!
But why? Why had the Glare-Glare Fruit failed to detect their whereabouts, and why had the enemy struck at her instead?
Only the family knew that she was both a family officer and their watcher!
"Are you really sending Baccarat? Does she truly have what it takes to handle Sugar's side of things?
I understand. I'll take responsibility for this side… King Riku… all right.
I'll do my best to complete this step and coordinate with Baccarat.
Don't worry. I'll finish very quickly."
Robin hung up the Den Den Mushi, then looked at the restrained Violet with an amused gaze.
"Let's talk, shall we, Your Highness, the second princess of Dressrosa.
I think we have a chance to reach some common ground on the question of who the real enemy is."
Crack.
The sound of a bead shattering rang out once again.
In a dark alley beneath the tower, the provocatively dressed Baccarat stepped out soundlessly and blended into the people of Dressrosa.
Like a tourist from another land, she slipped naturally into the crowd and, amid admiration and attention, became a temporary dancer, continuously coming into contact with lustful men drawn to her.
What no one noticed, however, was that the men who touched her all seemed to have overdrawn their luck. After she left, they became extraordinarily unlucky.
As one side's luck waned, the other side's fortune naturally rose!
Though she still had not successfully awakened the powers of the Luck-Luck Fruit, Baccarat's control over luck was growing stronger and stronger.
'Sugar, huh? I'm really looking forward to meeting you.'
Baccarat tucked away a horn, concealed herself among the crowd, and began to act according to plan.
Clatter, clatter, clatter—
The sound of dice shaking rang out before coming to a stop. The dice cup slammed heavily onto the table.
"Two, four, even!"
"I won!"
"Ah…"
Amid the cheers of the winners and the sighs of the losers, Issho smiled as he collected a pile of coins, then stood up and waved his hand.
"That's enough for today. No more, no more."
"Eh? That's way too sly, Issho! You're running right after winning!"
One of the gamblers beside him grumbled unhappily, "It's hard enough to hit the jackpot once. Now that we've got the chance to come play in the New World, why not have a little more fun?
If we win, the money is ours. If we lose, it's theirs. As long as we don't play too big, they'll let us gamble however we like.
You won't get a second chance like this."
"Hahaha, I gamble only because it interests me. When the interest is there, I gamble. When it's gone, I stop.
If you go through life constantly calculating gains and losses, you'll never be happy. So go ahead, you all keep playing."
As he spoke, Issho tightened his grip on his blind man's cane, felt his way through the crowd, and quickly left the casino.
But just after stepping outside, he suddenly turned off the street and into an alley, then stood there without moving.
As if he were waiting for something.
"What keen senses you have, sir."
A voice sounded in the empty alley. Then a figure appeared out of thin air, looking at Issho—who had turned his head toward him—with a hint of admiration.
"I do enjoy gambling, and I enjoy great rises and great falls. But I also understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Before and after that jackpot, several hundred million must have been spent, yes? So tell me—after spending such an enormous sum to bring this old man here, what exactly do you want?"
"Before I answer that, may I trouble you to answer one question first, in consideration of the amount spent?"
Ren asked in return, "Was it you who once said, 'To be blind is, perhaps, a blessing'?"
"Indeed."
Issho paused. "But I remember saying such words only rarely."
"I happened to hear it."
"Heh… then tell me. Why did you seek me out?"
"For the sake of what is happening here."
"Oh?"
"'To be blind is, perhaps, a blessing.' Interpreted another way, that means there are simply too many filthy, vile people in this world—too many things too ugly to bear looking at.
And so one chooses to close one's own eyes, letting what is unseen remain clean."
Ren said softly, "But looked at from the other side, does that not also mean that a man like you once saw the world and tried to change it?
Only, whether through failure or helplessness, you chose to shut your eyes—to hear nothing, see nothing, and thus free yourself of trouble.
But—if something were to happen right in front of you, what would you do then?"
"This old man may be blind, but I can still hear, still smell, and still move."
Issho tightened his grip on the cane and lightly drew it, exposing a section of cold steel. "But I don't like people who use civilians as bargaining chips!"
His voice turned deep and powerful. Along with it came an intense, shifting pressure that twisted the surrounding air.
The ground seemed to sink slightly under an invisible weight.
Ren's shoulders sank. As his crimson eyes turned, he faintly caught sight of purple-black lines.
Gravity…
Click.
Issho sheathed his blade again, and the abnormal gravity instantly vanished.
"As you can see, I am, for the time being, moderately skilled with a sword and possess a little bit of power.
But I do not like becoming someone else's weapon, nor do I wish to be coerced into doing anything.
If something like that happens, don't think you'll be able to walk away so easily."
"Issho-dono, what do you think this world is like?"
Ren smiled, then answered his own question.
"I think in a world like this, good people are the ones who end up with guns pointed at them—and perhaps they should.
Just like me. And just like you. Because we cannot ignore the gun in our own hearts, the one aimed at ourselves."
Shing—!
Issho drew the sword hidden in his staff once more, but under the weight of gravity there was no one there anymore—only a cluster of light particles drifting away on the wind.
And from that radiant glow came these words:
"You're a good man, Issho-dono. So please—look at the toys in this country. Look at those people who were turned into toys by a Devil Fruit ability.
People who lost their lives, their families, and every social tie they ever had."
"…"
Issho sheathed his sword again, frowning as he walked out of the alley.
Just then—
On the street before him, a tottering toy doll passed by. It was a one-legged soldier, and it ran past him at incredible speed.
Behind it chased a group of Donquixote Family members.
"Stop right there!"
"Damn it, causing trouble again!"
"Let us catch you, and we'll rip off your other leg too!"
The Donquixote Family members stormed through the street, cursing loudly and forcing the crowd to hurriedly make way.
'That soldier… is very angry.'
Issho mingled among the people, thoughtfully reining in his Observation Haki.
Come to think of it…
Many of the toys in this country carried emotional colors.
Anger, sorrow, fear, despair—
But not a single positive emotion.
"Filth… or perhaps deception…"
Issho left the area, wandering on without a destination as he encountered more toys.