Chapter 122: Newcomers and the Grand Line

Vergo could be considered completely off the grid this time. When you think about it, the reason for his downfall was that Rosinante was still alive, and the reason Rosinante remained alive was entirely due to Qiu Bai.

Ultimately, even the most formidable fortress can be easily breached from within.

In every sense, this operation was an embarrassment for Doflamingo.

Meanwhile, as the Donquixote Pirates were returning, they discovered another peculiar situation: a small boat had been trailing them the entire way.

To get to the bottom of the matter, they chose not to attack immediately but instead brought the people aboard the small craft onto their ship. Their identities were quickly clarified: they were the green-haired sisters who had been incidentally rescued by the "Family" on Minion Island.

Their reason for following was quite simple.

When Qiu Bai woke up, it was already past noon. No one had bothered him during this time; in fact, there were long stretches during any sea voyage where everyone simply had nothing to do.

After waking, Qiu Bai grabbed a bite to eat and then sat on the deck, letting the sea breeze hit his face. He wore a listless, sleepy expression, but in reality, he was busy considering his next move.

Although his actions had seemed smooth so far, he had been unable to make any progress on the key objectives since joining the Family.

Just as Qiu Bai was engaged in this complex mental activity, a slime-like mass slithered up before him.

"Mr. Trebol?" Only when the entity was close enough did Qiu Bai pretend to snap out of his trance.

"Neh, Qiu Bai, did you save anyone special on Minion Island?" Trebol’s neck was as flexible as a Faceless Man’s, and his large face hung down, pressing tightly against Qiu Bai.

The man was covered in snot, which was quite a sensory assault, but the critical point was the ambiguity of his question.

Having done many guilty deeds, Qiu Bai’s first reaction was: has the Rosinante matter been exposed?

Within a millisecond, Qiu Bai dismissed the thought. If the Rosinante situation were exposed, it wouldn't be a matter of Trebol simply coming to probe him. So, where had things gone wrong?

Though his confusion was genuine in a different way, Qiu Bai delivered a perfectly natural performance.

"I don't think so? I don't have any particular impression of doing that."

"I was looking for Rosinante, cleared out some pirates who had charged into the civilian town... Oh, and I ran into Vergo once and had a slight disagreement. That should be everything I did. As for saving someone? I have no particular recollection."

Qiu Bai truly had no impression, as he hadn't thought much of saving the sisters, Monet and Sugar—he didn't even know their names.

"You don't have any impression of green-haired sisters?" Trebol asked again. This involved the question of whether there was any hidden agenda, so he needed to be cautious.

"Green hair... Ah, you mean them," after a slight prompt, Qiu Bai immediately understood. "Strange, they were sisters, not mother and daughter? I did save two people like that in passing, but is there a problem? Or... why does Mr. Trebol know about them?"

"I see, then there’s no problem." Trebol did not answer directly. "You will be seeing them in the Family from now on, that is all."

After the Rosinante incident, Doflamingo had likely been spooked by the prospect of Marine spies. Naturally, there was a degree of caution regarding the Monet sisters, who had attached themselves to the crew in the name of repaying a debt.

However, if their identities could be basically confirmed, Doflamingo intended to keep them—due to certain special reasons.

"There is another rather important matter. Since you mentioned you saw Vergo, I might as well inform you—that guy was taken out after his identity was exposed," Trebol continued.

It wasn't strange that Qiu Bai knew of Vergo, as Vergo would certainly have revealed his status under those circumstances. Trebol mentioning it now was likely an attempt to further probe Qiu Bai’s reaction.

"Huh? Why?" This time, Qiu Bai didn't even need to act, as he was genuinely perplexed. Vergo was a man who would eventually rise to great heights within the Marines; maintaining the cover of a spy while serving as a Vice Admiral required significant skill. Why would he go down now?

Thus, there was not a trace of suspicion in Qiu Bai’s expression.

However, he realized the answer in an instant: the problem must have been Rosinante. Unlike the other Family members who believed Rosinante was certainly dead, Qiu Bai knew he was still alive and kicking.

"Because he ran into Vice Admiral Garp of the Marine Headquarters. Hero Garp, you’ve heard of him, right?" Trebol only explained the direct reason for Vergo’s downfall. As for how his identity was exposed, he offered no explanation, as no one knew why it had suddenly come to light.

Qiu Bai nodded, indicating he knew who Garp was. Theoretically, anyone who knew the name Gol D. Roger should know the name Garp. Were there any pirates who hadn't heard of the Pirate King? That would truly be a disgrace to the profession.

But Garp... one could only say Vergo’s bad luck was too potent. As for the outcome, Qiu Bai still found it quite satisfying.

"So, what do we do now? Vergo..." Qiu Bai pretended to show concern for the matter.

"We are returning to base. The Family doesn't have much time left in the North Blue," Trebol said pointedly. Since he cut off Qiu Bai’s inquiry, it meant that was the end of the line for Vergo.

Ignoring it? That didn't quite fit Doflamingo’s style. It wasn't that he should go save Vergo, but rather that he should ensure his own people who fell into Marine hands were silenced forever.

As a top executive, Vergo knew many of the Family’s plans that Qiu Bai was unaware of. No one could guarantee he hadn't revealed a single bit of that to the Marines.

But had Doflamingo believed Vergo’s guarantees? Or did he simply have no choice but to believe? In any case, turning back to fight Garp was out of the question.

Vergo’s downfall was definitely a major event for the Family, but it had no necessary connection to Qiu Bai. It was merely a piece of news relayed by Trebol. It felt even less significant than the arrival of the new sisters.

Keywords like "sisters" and "green hair" left a lingering impression in Qiu Bai’s mind. He felt there was something he should pay attention to, but he didn't feel too concerned—at least, not until he later met the female version of the "moss-head."