Chapter Forty-Six: Negotiation

Baby-5’s life experience is actually quite easy to sum up. At her tender age, her past is hardly unique enough to be called “special.” The brevity of her life so far makes it impossible for a child like her to have lived through anything truly convoluted or extraordinary.

In truth, Baby-5’s misfortune is rather common—abandoned by her mother due to poverty, left to become a foundling. Such events happen almost every moment in certain corners of the world.

What sets her apart, perhaps, is the label imposed on her at the moment of abandonment: her mother branded her as “useless.” This left an indelible, lifelong scar on her young soul.

Because she was cast away for being “useless,” she has since been willing to do anything that might make her useful to others, even if those things are unnecessary. In a sense, from the moment she was abandoned and ever after, she became someone who cannot say no, someone easily deceived.

This is, without doubt, a kind of pathological psychology.

She would agree to anything: sales pitches from utterly pointless salesmen, loans from complete strangers, even marriage proposals from elderly men three times her age—men old enough to be Brook’s uncle. And so, she ended up subscribing to more than fifty newspapers and amassed a debt of ninety-eight million Berries, forcing Doflamingo to eliminate countless “fiancés.”

It is, in a way, a bizarrely powerful and invincible existence. Even from the lifelong personality defect caused by her psychological trauma, Qiu Bai could almost formulate his own theory of mind control—if only he had test subjects.

Sensing Qiu Bai’s kindness, Baby-5’s anxiety eased somewhat. The “head pat” is a remarkably effective gesture for children and even small animals.

It’s like seeing a stray cat on the street; one can try, with all sincerity and goodwill, to stroke it. Even the notoriously skittish feline will sometimes accept a gentle touch—though the odds are slim, perhaps around 0.5%. For true cat lovers, that’s a chance worth taking. As for the “non-peaceful consequences”… well, animal protectors tend to forgive such meowing creatures.

Yet, it must be admitted: most animal protectors prefer human girls who can wear cat ears and imitate a cat’s cry. The actual cat is just their second choice… Wait, that’s a bit off topic.

Ahem. So, why judge Qiu Bai’s gesture as benevolent? Because he merely patted her head, nothing more. Rosinante often performs similar gestures, but his method diverges: he starts with a head pat, then grabs the child’s head in one hand and hurls them like a ball.

“Throwing” is Rosinante’s typical approach.

Qiu Bai had no intention of opposing Rosinante, but the latter’s sadistic ways would never work on Baby-5. If both sides are “suffering,” what’s the point?

“Mr. Corazon, even the most effective methods sometimes fail, you know? In any case, this girl will remain with the Donquixote family. You should be able to tell just by looking at her eyes.”

Why can this little girl endure Rosinante’s abuse? Because she truly has nowhere else to go—not just physically, but more importantly, emotionally. If she were to leave, her soul would have no anchor.

She could never bear to be deemed “useless” and abandoned again. Even if she can’t articulate the reasoning, she instinctively knows how to act… If she left, she would likely die.

So, she will never leave, not even at the cost of her life.

And the things Qiu Bai said, Rosinante could probably discern some of it. Baby-5 is indeed different from other children, but he wanted to keep trying, hoping for a change.

Rosinante shook his head and walked over again, but Qiu Bai suddenly stood up:

“Mr. Corazon, haven’t you noticed the similarities between yourself and this girl?”

“She will… become a smoker just like you.”

Qiu Bai’s words translate, in essence, to “We’re cut from the same cloth; why torment each other so?” But his reaction was so abrupt that no one understood.

Not that he needed anyone to. He patted Baby-5’s head again. “Come, follow me. Brother Qiu will take you to see the whales.”

Qiu Bai’s actions were never meant to claim he was a “good person,” nor was he trying to perform some benevolent deed. He simply couldn’t stand certain things and followed his heart to intervene.

Why become a pirate? Isn’t it for the freedom to do as one pleases? If even piracy feels constraining, then what’s the point?

Baby-5 hesitated to follow Qiu Bai—not out of fear of the whales, but from worry about defying Rosinante and being cast out.

Qiu Bai noticed her fearful glance back and explained, “It’s alright, I’m a family officer too.”

Though only a trainee, his status was a tremendous encouragement for the little girl. She looked back at Rosinante, bit her lip, and finally followed Qiu Bai.

No one likes being beaten for no reason. Even masochists don’t endure all abuse silently; they seek the kind that stirs their passions, don’t they?

The children’s instructor was actually Pica, not Rosinante, so Rosinante’s involvement was an intrusion—while Qiu Bai was simply a third party stepping in. In this sense, he wasn’t wrong; perhaps Doflamingo should award him a little green flower.

What? Did someone forget a child called Buffalo? Well, gender distinctions are universally recognized. Such a tall, sturdy, chubby boy can withstand a few blows without much consequence, right?

A girl getting beaten seems pitiful, but with someone like Buffalo, people’s first reaction is oddly “serves him right.” Strange—it’s as if the beauty bias has become a cosmic law.

In any case, Qiu Bai’s neglect of Buffalo is only human.

Isn’t there a famous saying:

From tomorrow on, feed horses, chop wood, travel the world, and care for lolis and vegetables.

But Qiu Bai honestly had no intention of doing anything to Baby-5. It wouldn’t be long before Rosinante stopped his actions; he would drive away all those he could, and those who stayed, he couldn’t really get rid of. He wouldn’t actually harm the children who remained.

So, it would only be a matter of days before the girl was returned to Pica, and such trivial matters were of no concern to Doflamingo himself.

As Qiu Bai pondered matters of philosophy, with Baby-5 timidly following behind, wanting to speak but afraid, he suddenly looked up and saw a small boat flying a pirate flag docking on the shore.

Crucially, the flag was not Doflamingo’s, but one Qiu Bai had never seen before.

And it hadn’t been sunk immediately—this meant something, especially on Donquixote territory.

Then, a man holding a small triangular pennant, the kind used for “patrolling the mountain at the king’s command,” landed ashore.

“This is interesting—business dealings between pirates?” Qiu Bai murmured.

Honestly, after so many uneventful days, he felt his swords itching for action.

Pirates truly do need to go to sea.