With a local guiding him, Vane was able to wander through the Twin Kingdom with far greater ease.
"The Twin Kingdom's bloody policies have split the country into the Blood Kin faction and the Coldblood faction."
"One side can't let go of family ties, while the other, driven by impulse, might kill their own brothers and sisters before the so-called blood-kin slaughter even begins."
After all, in this country, they were destined to kill each other sooner or later. Striking first and catching the others off guard could at least raise one's chances of survival.
"The Blood Kin faction is always looking for ways to leave Twin Island."
Monet herself belonged to the Blood Kin faction. Whenever she spoke of this, a heavy pressure weighed down on her heart. Returning to Twin Island only made the feeling even stronger.
It felt as though she were still living on this land of constant dread—her past self, forever worrying about whether she could scrape together enough money to escape.
Vane: "Do the nobles take part in the blood-kin slaughter?"
Hearing Vane's voice instantly lightened Monet's mood. Now she had secured her future—by following Vane-sama, she could leave at any time. That life of endless anxiety was already behind her.
"They… they only die because of internal strife—fighting over property. That's the nature of nobles. It's for their own interests. It's completely different from the blood-kin slaughter we commoners are forced into."
"In half a month, this year's blood-kin slaughter will begin. By then, countless qualified citizens will be thrown into cages, using the flesh and blood of their relatives to entertain those filthy nobles."
The nobles' killings stemmed from greed. The commoners' killings stemmed from this nation's twisted laws.
If resources were scarce, they could simply lift the restrictions on sailing and let people leave. If someone refused to leave—or lacked the ability—that was the commoner's own problem. But preventing them from leaving and then forcing siblings to slaughter each other? That was nothing but the nobles' vile nature.
"That's Crown City."
Under Monet's guidance, Vane arrived at the royal capital of Twin Island—Crown City.
Its walls were shaped like a crown. The pristine white stone and gilded details spoke clearly of immense wealth.
"All nobles of status in Twin Island live inside Crown City."
In that sense, it resembled Mary Geoise on the Red Line. Except Mary Geoise also had Pangaea Castle above it—home to the Five Elders who held real power, the God's Knights, and the near-divine Imu.
"Crown City… doesn't look like a place commoners can enter."
The city wasn't particularly large—barely enough to house the nobles and their servants.
"A commoner only has one chance in their lifetime to enter Crown City… during the blood-kin slaughter."
Since it was a performance for the nobles, the annual "feast" naturally took place in the most prestigious location. In the nobles' eyes, allowing commoners to set foot in Crown City was probably seen as a grand act of mercy.
"Well, at least the wealth is centralized."
Vane almost preferred that all the nobles be gathered in one place. It would make sweeping them up in one go much more convenient.
The wealth of an entire nation… was enough to fund a great many things for his crew.
In truth, Vane's pirate crew wasn't short on money. The gold they brought from Six-Gold Kingdom—worth over a billion Belly—had barely been touched.
But he had no intention of remaining a small-time pirate forever. At the very least, he aimed to reach the level of a future Yonko.
And the Yonko all possessed their own territories and enterprises. Those required enormous funds. Once he secured a stable foothold in the New World, he would fully support Meowth in pursuing scientific development.
Even without basic research—going straight into applied science—
Science was still a money-burning machine, a ravenous gold-devouring beast.
To Vane, the countries along the first half of the Grand Line were nothing more than money bags. A nation like the Twin Kingdom—one he found especially disgusting—he could strip clean without the slightest psychological burden.
Once they reached the Grand Line proper, gathering large sums of money so easily wouldn't be possible. That monster-infested sea was home to nations with real strength—hardly easy targets.
...
Night fell, and Vane and Lena arrived at Crown City.
"Why didn't you bring Meowth? Without the Castle-Castle Fruit ability, we won't be able to move much."
Lena looked puzzled as to why Vane had brought only her and not Meowth.
The Through-Through Fruit combined with the Castle-Castle Fruit was practically the perfect theft duo.
"Because our target is the wealth of every noble in Crown City."
The Through-Through Fruit and Castle-Castle Fruit were indeed extremely useful. But they didn't yet know the exact locations of the treasures. In a single night, between searching and packing, they'd be lucky to carry off half the city's wealth.
If they couldn't empty the country in one go, once news of a grand thief spread, the remaining nobles would simply relocate their fortunes.
"Tonight we're just scouting. If we see any Devil Fruits, we can take them. Otherwise, don't touch anything. We'll strike when the nobles are most gathered and the wealth is most concentrated."
The two began exploring the royal city under cover of night. Vane unleashed his Observation Haki fully, searching for living presences and concealed spaces.
Before Lena's Through-Through Fruit ability, walls were meaningless.
After checking several noble residences—
"There's definitely money… but not as much as I imagined."
Vane had assumed each noble household would have at least hundreds of millions of Belly. In reality, the cash, gold coins, and gemstones weren't anywhere near that level.
"These nobles spend money every day just to maintain appearances… And a large portion of their wealth is immovable—land, property, grain, things like that."
"And of course, there are local antiques."
Which Vane neither needed nor could realistically carry away.
Through their efforts, the locations of the nobles' wealth throughout the not-so-large royal city were marked one by one on a map.
"Next is the palace."
The palace within Crown City was the largest structure, housing the current king of Twin Island and his relatives.
As a nation prone to producing multiple heirs in each generation, the royal family was no exception—there were always several with legitimate claims to succession.
The more honorable method was to grant money and exile the younger sons and daughters from Twin Island.
The darker method was to kill until only one remained.
"We haven't found any Devil Fruits so far. The palace is the most likely place."
As long as there was no Seastone, Lena's Through-Through Fruit could bypass anything—even the palace.
It was around three in the morning, when most people were in their deepest sleep. After avoiding a patrol of guards still on duty, the two officially entered the palace treasury.
"It's pitch black…"
Fortunately, they had come prepared—Meowth-brand flashlight.
With a click, a bright white beam illuminated heaps of jewels and gold coins.
Lena: "As expected of the king—far wealthier than his subordinates."
Vane's gaze passed straight over the piles of gold and gems.
Instead, he fixed his eyes on several boxes of appropriate size—containers that looked perfect for holding Devil Fruits.