Inside the castle hall, Rhett lounged lazily on his throne. His crimson eyes swept over everyone. "I've decided. We're throwing a hundred-day celebration for little Rati."
Back before he crossed over, Rhett had read about other people who crossed over attending tea parties and weddings.
Big Mom: "Are you talking about me?"
But Rhett was different. He was going to throw his own party. He wanted to see who on the seas would dare refuse to show him respect.
Tesoro immediately agreed. "Absolutely! It has to be the biggest celebration ever!"
Stella held the sleeping Rati in her arms. She looked a little hesitant. "Isn't that too extravagant? And she's only just been born..."
Rhett waved his hand. "Not extravagant at all! She's my niece. The princess of a World Government member nation. One of the candidates to inherit an Emperor's throne!"
Tesoro nodded vigorously. "Yes! And we don't have to start preparing now. Let's set it for a hundred days from now. That gives us plenty of time!"
"How about we hold it at Tesoro's Golden City? What do you all think? It's big enough."
Tesoro nodded seriously. "Yes, that works. But I think it's a bit outdated. I need to renovate it."
"Sure, sure, sure. Spend as much as you want. What's the point of money if you don't spend it?"
Moria clicked his tongue. "Kishishishi... Should we put on a zombie circus for entertainment?"
Everyone: "..."
"Golden Punishment: Dragon God's Prison!"
"Mist God Style: Nine Dragons Carrying the Coffin!"
Moria: "Huh?"
(Turned into a golden shooting star for the second time.)
Perona raised her hand. "I want to decorate the venue with my ghosts! Let the whole castle be filled with cute little ghost balloons!"
Chopper raised his hand excitedly. "I-I can prepare some medicine for fevers and heatstroke! I just learned how to make it!"
Laboon raised its fin, looking very confident. "Woo! (I'll perform the 'Island Whale Fountain'!)"
Rhett: "Denied. Do you want to flood the castle?"
Enel snorted. "Boring... But if anyone causes trouble, this god can take care of the 'cleanup.'"
Kureha had a cigarette in her mouth. "I'll handle the medical team. Also... Hiluluk, put your poisonous mushrooms away!"
Hiluluk hid the mushrooms. "Ahaha... Those are for decoration..."
Tesoro pulled out a stack of blueprints. His eyes sparkled. "I've already thought it through! The venue will be made of pure gold. The carpets will be studded with diamonds. All the tableware will be gold-plated..."
Rhett nodded. "Okay, but don't make it too tacky."
Tesoro: "How about a gold fountain? One that sprays gold?"
Rhett: "Approved."
Stella put a hand to her forehead. "You're all going to spoil her..."
Rhett grinned. "So what if we spoil her? We're here to protect her."
Rhett had once thought that One Piece was about the adventures of little ones traveling the seas. But after watching over a thousand episodes, he finally understood. It wasn't an adventure. It was a world of connections. Every long-running story had this problem.
The main character started out as an unknown nobody. Then it turned out he had special bloodline. He was the descendant of someone important. The Gum-Gum Fruit turned into the Nika Fruit. It felt like if your ancestors weren't some legendary figures, you weren't qualified to save the world.
The connections and reputation that Rhett and Tesoro had built over the years were meant to protect the children. The Blood Dawn Pirates had never hidden the fact that they were staying with Stella during her pregnancy. If you were afraid, it was only because you weren't strong enough.
The necklace the little one wore was made of black, blue, red, and gold. It held Moria's shadow armor, Enel's lightning armor, Rhett's mist armor, and Tesoro's gold dust armor. The shadow, lightning, and mist were all transparent. They only appeared in times of danger. But the gold dust wasn't transparent. It had to float around the baby. That was why the little one always seemed to sparkle. At the slightest sign of danger, all four armors would instantly materialize.
If something could break through those layers of protection and harm the baby, and the four of them didn't notice, they might as well jump off a building.
"Don't worry, dear. When the baby gets a little older, we won't be so tense. We know that a flower grown in a greenhouse can't handle the ever-changing weather of the Grand Line."
---
Just as everyone was excitedly discussing the details of the hundred-day celebration and preparing to leave, Hiluluk suddenly stepped forward. His expression was uncharacteristically serious.
"Lord Rhett..." He took a deep breath and took off his funny hat. He bowed deeply. "I have a request."
Rhett lazily raised his eyelids. "Hahaha, go ahead. Do you want to study my blood mist? Sure, I'll give you some later."
Hiluluk straightened up. His gaze was firm. "Please... help this country."
The hall fell silent.
Tesoro frowned. Moria curled his lip. Enel snorted. Even the three little ones stopped their excited chatter and turned to look at Rhett.
Rhett was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled. "Oh? Why?"
Hiluluk clenched his fist. "This country is sick! Wapol is a tyrant. The people are ignorant. But they aren't..."
"They aren't bad people!" He said loudly. "They've just been blinded by fear! If someone would guide them, they could—"
"Hiluluk." Rhett cut him off. His voice was soft, but it dropped the temperature of the entire room. "Was it me who made them unhappy?"
Hiluluk froze. "...What?"
Rhett looked at Hiluluk without any emotion. "I said, was it me who made them unhappy?"
Rhett slowly stood up. Blood mist surged around him. His crimson eyes were terrifyingly cold. "Was it me who made them ignorant? Was it me who made them call my family 'monsters'?"
He walked toward Hiluluk, step by step. The floor trembled beneath his feet. "Don't tell me 'they didn't know any better' or 'they've never seen anything like it'—"
"Stupidity is a form of evil."
If this had been a few weeks ago, before Laboon and Chopper went to buy their hats, Rhett might have been willing to help. He admired Hiluluk's character. But after what happened at the hat shop, that was no longer possible.
When he read the manga, he had felt sorry for Chopper. He had thought the villagers' ignorance was unfortunate, even a little sad. But when it happened to his own family, all Rhett felt was anger. He was no saint. He had become an Emperor by standing on the bodies of countless people.
His upbringing wouldn't let him kill innocent people. But his experience, his strength, all told him that he deserved to be respected. Even feared.
Your ignorance did not give you a free pass to do whatever you wanted. Even a noble person would be judged by his actions, not his intentions. And Rhett was not a noble person.
He was an Emperor.
Hiluluk opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Rhett stopped in front of him and looked down. "Am I such a cheap person? They insult me, and I still go out of my way to save them?"
Hiluluk's shoulders slumped. But he still looked up stubbornly. "But..."
Rhett stared at him for a few seconds. Then he laughed. "Fine. You go save them."
He turned and walked back to his throne. The blood mist left a cold trail behind him. "But don't drag me into it. And don't drag my crew into it either."