Chapter 116: Mr. Virgo? (Part Two)

What does it feel like to have five billion in hand, only for it to suddenly vanish? Hard to say. Whatever it feels like, it is certainly not much like losing fifty bucks.

The spectacle, however, was utterly bewildering. The pirates below each reacted in their own way, but taken as a whole… it was probably what people meant by saying that the whole place had exploded into chaos.

The only incongruous—and rather comical—part was that no matter what sort of upheaval took place below, not a single sound could escape. From Qiu Bai’s third-party vantage point, the entire scene was like a silent film, possessing an odd unreality.

If the Silent-Silent Fruit prevented the transmission of sound by blocking or severing vibrations… then, on closer inspection, wasn’t this seemingly useless fruit actually absurdly powerful?

Although Rosinante was one of the Donquixote Family’s top officers, the truth was that he was not particularly formidable in combat. He differed noticeably from the other top officers. In fact, Qiu Bai could easily knock him down now… using nothing but close-quarters combat. Yet that was precisely why Rosinante’s actions were so admirable.

To stir up a pirate crew whose power was overwhelmingly superior to his own with such limited strength was no simple feat. Of course, if he failed, he would naturally be judged as someone who had overestimated himself. But if he succeeded, he would receive the exact opposite sort of praise—something along the lines of “He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Qiu Bai even felt a certain kinship with him. He seemed to have a habit of taking risks to achieve the impossible himself, after all. Though in his case, what people usually sensed was not cleverness, but madness.

Yet just as Qiu Bai was, for once, heaping lavish praise on Rosinante’s actions, shouts, explosions, and gunfire suddenly flooded into his ears.

Rosinante’s ability had been lifted.

Because he worked as a spy in an extremely dangerous line of business, certain aspects of Rosinante were easily overlooked or taken for granted. But according to the reality established by the setting, the truth was this: the man was missing a few screws. The more important and tense the moment, the more likely he was to fumble the ball.

“It looks like Rosinante has been discovered…”

Because of the darkness and the distance, Qiu Bai could no longer see Rosinante’s exact movements, but it was easy enough to reach that conclusion.

After thinking it over, and with less than five minutes having passed since their last call, Qiu Bai took the initiative and contacted Doflamingo again.

“Doffy, I’ve reached Ghost Town, but the pirates hiding here have fallen into complete chaos…”

Although he had been given instructions to act independently, an upheaval of this magnitude naturally had to be reported to Doflamingo. Qiu Bai was simply following standard procedure.

“Chaos?” Doflamingo immediately understood what he meant. But at a time like this, he had no chance to question why Qiu Bai was always one step late. “Is it Corazon? Have you found Corazon’s trail?”

The pirates’ reactions could only mean that the Op-Op Fruit had been stolen, and the person most likely to have done it was, of course, Rosinante.

“Not at all. But I’m currently tracking the direction in which the pirates are moving.”

“Find Corazon as quickly as possible. I’m about to arrive!”

After saying that, Doflamingo hung up with considerable force. Then he dialed another number.

Though it was a last resort and risked being monitored by the Marines, Doflamingo had no choice but to contact his Marine captain at a time like this. Vergo—the Donquixote Family’s top officer and its original Heart—was currently aboard a warship near Minion Island, carrying out a surveillance mission against the Barrels Pirates.

Whatever the reason, Doflamingo now understood a rather profound truth: at critical moments, Qiu Bai was unexpectedly unreliable.

At times like this, Doffy naturally had to use the chess piece he trusted most.

It was undeniably a shrewd decision, because Qiu Bai was indeed pursuing the pirates on the other side—but he was chasing the group that had fled toward the small town in the opposite direction. In other words, he had once again “returned the way he came,” heading in a direction completely opposite to Rosinante’s.

There was nothing impossible about setting Vergo into motion. After an explosion like that, any Marine officer in charge of surveillance who was not an idiot would certainly take action.

Qiu Bai pursued this group mainly to prevent the pirates from slaughtering ordinary civilians… though probably no one would believe that explanation. In truth, he merely wanted to give Rosinante more time to act. But since he was already here, he might as well deal with this band of pirates too.

Pirates who had lost their fortune were unlikely to retain much reason. Saying they would cut down anyone they saw would actually be giving them too much credit—they even slashed and fired at pillars that happened to stand in their way.

“This is why the public reputation of the profession has been ruined by people like them.”

Watching the pirates’ behavior, Qiu Bai was briefly seized by the sorrowful feeling that the whole profession was doomed.

Of course, if the pirate profession truly collapsed, everyone would surely celebrate.

“Split up. Deal with them before this group of pirates can cause any real damage,” he instructed Bepo, then accelerated ahead in pursuit.

The pirates’ primary objective was naturally to search for Rosinante. Those running in this direction, however, were unlikely to be so single-minded. They certainly would not refuse the chance to steal whatever they could—or seize it by force.

But these scattered dozens were nothing more than ordinary underlings. They were not even enough for Qiu Bai to kick one apiece.

Thus, the basic pattern of the battle went like this:

First, the pirates would shout:

“Who are you?!”

“You’re looking for death!”

Then Qiu Bai would raise a foot, and finally there would be a quick whoosh and a smack—and the matter would be settled.

Of course, the simplicity of his movements did not mean the pirates’ conduct was any less vile. If they had been left unchecked, these few dozen men could have wrecked the entire town.

After entering the town, the pirates scattered into small groups. They probably had no idea that Qiu Bai was following behind them. And then…

They were taken down.

“Is the mayor here?” Qiu Bai called loudly to the crowd after pinning the last man beneath his foot.

No one answered.

“Regardless, tie these pirates up. Afterward, you can hand them over to the Marines. There are quite a few Marines in the vicinity lately. Or… well, do whatever you like.”

The fate of defeated pirates who fell into the hands of ordinary people probably would not be pleasant. Throughout history, captured pirates had most often been hanged, hanged, and hanged again.

Yet just as everyone was breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the pirates who had threatened them efficiently beaten down by the man who had previously visited the town, a sudden scream seized their attention.

Qiu Bai’s as well.

Bepo’s efficiency seemed to have fallen short. So…

Had someone slipped through the net?