"With skills like yours, you dare co after ?"
iser frowned as he held a bounty hunter by the collar. "Are you brainless?"
Hadn't these idiots heard how many bounty hunters they'd already beaten to a pulp? Or perhaps... they thought themselves special, believing everyone else was trash and that they alone could defeat him?
"You damn pirate—"
"Spare the bounty hunter clichés."
With a scowl, iser casually flung the man away.
"Whoosh—"
Like a cannonball, the bounty hunter soared across the street before crashing into the outskirts.
"BOOM!!"
The impact left a crater in the ground, the bounty hunter unconscious before he even hit it.
"You bastard pirate, I'll kill you—"
"Hmm?"
iser rely glanced at the next bounty hunter charging toward him.
"Guh— AHH!!"
"No! Don't kill !"
"AAAH!!"
The bounty hunter clutched his throat in terror before collapsing, scared stiff into unconsciousness.
"That guy's terrifying..."
"So that's the Blood-Eyed Ninja of the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"Those bounty hunters had a death wish, picking a fight with soone like him..."
"Money makes the world go round. Just glad he's not coming after us."
The nearby pirates whispered among themselves, eyeing iser warily as he stood in the street, praying he wouldn't turn his fists on them.
"Hmm?"
"Eek!"
A single glance from iser sent them scrambling, nearly tripping over themselves in panic. Fortunately, he just as quickly looked away.
"Nothing but weaklings," iser muttered. "Where are those Supernovas?"
To hone his Haki, he needed opponents worth his ti. These small fries weren't even worth using it on.
Shaking his head, he called out to one of the pirates, "Hey, you!"
"Y-yes?!"
"What do you need, sir?"
The man trembled, fearing iser might obliterate him on the spot.
"Relax. I've got no interest in bullying the likes of you." iser waved dismissively. "Tell where the other Supernovas are."
"Supernovas?"
The pirate blinked. What the hell was that? With a asly bounty of a few million berries, he'd never even heard the term. Maybe... his captain would know?
"The ones with bounties over a hundred million," iser clarified. "Like that Kid guy or whatever."
"Sorry, I don't know..."
Seeing the man wasn't lying, iser shrugged. "Don't know? Fine."
Guess those guys weren't making waves either. Probably holed up sowhere, waiting for their ships to get coated.
With another shake of his head, iser strode off into the distance.
"We... we lived..."
"Lucky bastard..."
"Let's get out of here. Back to the ship—this place is too dangerous."
"Yeah, good call."
Exchanging nervous glances, the pirates grabbed their belongings and bolted. Within monts, the street was completely deserted.
"It seems finding these guys won't be easy," iser mused, stroking his chin. "Then let's see if we can locate that fellow called Katakuri."
Shakky had ntioned the man had a bounty exceeding one billion berries—soone of that caliber would undoubtedly be strong.
If the opportunity arose, crossing blades with him might be an interesting experience.
"Hey!"
"iser!!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing the familiar voice, iser instinctively turned sideways and imdiately spotted his Moss Head.
"Ah!"
"Zoro!"
A grin instantly spread across iser's face. "What are you doing here, you bastard?"
As he spoke, iser turned and walked toward Zoro.
"Just wandered here while taking a stroll," Zoro said, lifting the bottle in his hand. "Want so?"
"This is good stuff!"
He'd stumbled upon this tavern when entering the comrcial district—the liquor here was exceptionally fine. If only he could carry more, he'd have bought extra.
"Not now. Might have to fight later."
"Fight?"
Zoro blinked. Why would they need to fight? Was soone causing trouble for iser?
The thought of soone targeting iser reminded Zoro of the matter with his supposed fiancée. He imdiately pointed behind him. "Oh yeah, iser, soone's looking for you."
"Soone?"
"Where?"
iser glanced behind Zoro but saw no one.
Zoro: ???
Zoro turned around, baffled, only to realize the two people who had been following him had vanished without a trace.
Zoro stiffened, then scowled. "Were they lying to ?"
Was that woman not iser's fiancée after all? But then how did she know about iser's eyes being a symbol of his bloodline?
Just then, Galette erged from a side alley, wearing a gentle smile.
"Hello, iser. I'm your fiancée, Galette."
iser: ???
iser looked at Galette, then back at Zoro. "You an her?"
"Yeah, her," Zoro confird, nodding.
At the sa ti, Zoro was puzzled—where had she gone earlier?
With that in mind, Zoro stepped forward, eyeing Galette. "Where'd you go just now? And where's that big guy?"
"You ran too fast earlier—I couldn't keep up," Galette explained. "As for my brother... he received so news and left for now."
When they first disembarked, she had discussed this with her brother. Once she t iser, she would handle the conversation herself.
So when they encountered iser, Katakuri had left Galette's side, choosing to observe from the shadows instead.
As for whether his sister might be attacked by iser...
With his future-sensing Observation Haki, Katakuri was confident he could rescue her no matter what happened.
"Is that so?"
Zoro frowned. He had been running pretty fast earlier.
Whatever. Whether this woman was really iser's fiancée or not—he could just ask iser directly.
With that thought, Zoro turned to iser. "She says she's your fiancée. Is that true?"
"Like hell she is," iser retorted. "I don't even know her."
"So it was all a lie..."
Zoro's expression instantly turned cold as he looked at Galette and asked, "Who are you? What's your purpose?"
As he spoke, Zoro placed his hand on his sword hilt, watching Galette with wary eyes.
"I told you, my na is Galette, and I'm iser's fiancée." Galette paused after speaking, then added, "I know you don't believe , but I've decided to marry iser, so calling myself his fiancée isn't wrong."
Zoro: !!!
iser: ???
Zoro glanced between Galette and iser, montarily at a loss for words.
Her claim didn't seem false, but iser was his comrade and wouldn't lie to him either... What exactly was going on here?
iser patted Zoro's shoulder, signaling that he would handle this matter himself. Then he stepped forward to face Galette and said, "You—"
"Let's get married!!"
iser: ...
Cut off mid-sentence, iser stared dumbfounded at Galette. How could she propose out of nowhere like this?
They'd only just t for the first ti... and she was already proposing?
"This feels oddly familiar..."
Zoro's lips twitched. He felt like he'd seen this scene sowhere before.
Oh, right—that woman nad Lola they'd t at Moria's place.
Thinking of this, Zoro remarked, "She's just like Lola."
"Oh?"
"You've t Lola?" Galette's face lit up with excitent. "How is she doing now?"
"You know her?"
Seeing their guarded expressions, Galette explained, "Of course I know her. I'm her older sister."
"I was so worried when she ran away from ho."
"Older... sister?!"
Zoro stared at Galette in shock. The two didn't look alike at all.
Their appearances... couldn't be called identical—more like completely unrelated.
Were they... really sisters?
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth." Galette elaborated, "She's Mom's 23rd daughter, and I'm her 18th."
"Your mom sure was... prolific."
"Yeah, Mom really did have a lot of children." Galette sighed.
Because there were so many children, the love each received grew scarce.
One could say that after turning ten, none of them truly experienced maternal affection again.
So... she vowed that when she beca a mother, she would make sure her child always felt her love!
Watching Galette's wistful expression, iser gradually furrowed his brows.
A pirate with many children... Why did this sound similar to what Shakky had told him about one of the Four Emperors Crews?
Hmm... Was this a coincidence?
Or was she actually from that crew?
"Why did Lola run away from ho?"
"Because Mom arranged a marriage for her with soone she didn't like." Galette replied. "To avoid becoming a sacrificial pawn, she fled."
"Though so might call it rebellious... it was also very brave."
After all, in the BIG MOM Pirates, Mom's orders were absolute—no one was allowed to defy them!
Even if you were forced to marry soone you hated, you had no choice but to obey!!
Because of this, many of the sisters ended up marrying n they didn't particularly like—one could say... it was a kind of tragedy.
But the only one who truly went as far as Lola did was her alone.
That's why her sisters still hoped Lola could survive and find happiness.
And that was also the reason she managed to escape from Totto Land so smoothly!
Most of their siblings didn't even bother to seriously stop her!
Otherwise, with that girl's strength, did she really think she could escape from Totto Land?
Absolutely impossible!
"So that's what happened..." iser frowned. "Is that why Lola proposes to everyone she ets?"
Was she... trying to marry herself off as soon as possible to escape that fate?
Looking at it that way, he could understand Lola's actions.
"Seems my earlier guess was right—Lola really was running away from an arranged marriage."
"Maybe..." Galette shook her head. "But unlike Lola, I've only ever said such things to you."
She needed to make that clear to iser—she wasn't the sa as Lola.
Zoro hesitated, unsure what to say. What was this? Another woman forced into marriage by her mother?
What kind of family was this...? Was there really a mother like this in the world?
Zoro didn't understand. Not one bit.
"Could you let the two of us talk alone?" Galette smiled at Zoro. "Don't worry, I won't harm him."
Perhaps afraid Zoro wouldn't trust her, she added, "Besides... I might not even be able to beat him in a fight."
That much was true. If they really fought, she might not win.
After all... her bounty was only a little over 200 million Berries.
Zoro didn't respond, instead glancing at iser. Only after seeing iser nod did he turn and walk toward a nearby tree.
Once there, he sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning back against the trunk, silently watching the two from a distance.
At this range, he wouldn't hear their conversation, but he could rush over imdiately if sothing unexpected happened.
In the end... Zoro didn't fully trust her words.
If iser hadn't nodded, Zoro wouldn't have left at all.
"Before we continue, there's sothing I need to ask you," iser said.
"Go ahead."
"Are you... by any chance, a Charlotte?"
"Yes, I am. I'm from the BIG MOM Pirates," Galette answered frankly. "My full na is Charlotte Galette!"
"Bounty: 235 million Berries."
"Paracia-type Butter Fruit user, age 29, asurents are—"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Seeing Galette getting increasingly carried away, iser quickly cut her off. "Why are you giving so many details?"
The level of detail was ridiculous—now she was listing her asurents? What was this?
"Of course, so you can get to know better," Galette said with a laugh.
Clearly, Galette didn't mind iser knowing about her affairs. On the contrary, she hoped he would learn even more.
This way... wouldn't it bring the two of them closer?
iser felt sowhat helpless. This girl seed completely unguarded—wasn't she afraid he might be a scoundrel?
But this also confird for iser that she was indeed from one of the Four Emperors Crews, and her landing on this island... was specifically for him.
It really... turned out just as Sister Shakky had guessed.
"Let's sit down first."
As he spoke, iser gestured to a nearby seat, indicating they should talk there.
Once seated, iser said, "So... you're also marrying because of your mother?"
"Yes, and no."
iser: ???
What did that an? Why did she also have to speak in such cryptic terms?
Seeing iser's exasperated expression, Galette explained, "It's true that Mother ordered to marry you, but unlike my sister Lola, I don't resist this arrangent."
After a pause, she added with a sigh, "iser, do you know? For people like us... being able to marry soone we actually like is already a luxury."
As she spoke, she thought of her older sisters, who had been married off by their mother to pirates who joined their crew—whether they liked it or not.
Even now... she could still rember how one of her sisters had wept before her wedding over a decade ago.
But what could they do?
As their mother's daughters, they had no choice.
Compared to them... her current situation was already incredibly fortunate.
"Absolute authority, huh...?"
"Exactly."
"But even so, it shouldn't—"
"This is our fate, iser."
iser fell silent for a mont before shaking his head. "Fate?"
"I don't believe in that."
"You don't understand. In this family, we have no choice."
Not just her—even her sister Smoothie would have to marry if circumstances demanded it.
"So you—"
"As I said earlier," Galette interrupted, "I don't object to marrying you."
"Why?"
"Because I've taken a liking to you."
iser: ...
"You've never even t before," iser retorted. "How could you possibly 'like' ?"
He hadn't even been in this world for half a month. If she knew him at all, it would only be from his Wanted Poster.
Under those circumstances... how could she claim to like him?
"I saw you in the newspapers and on your Wanted Poster," Galette said.
iser: ???
"That's it?"
"Why not?" Galette shrugged. "iser, I'm a pirate. Pirates aren't exactly known for subtlety."
"Mother made the decision, and I think you're not bad, so I have no reason to resist."
After a brief pause, she added seriously, "You might not understand won very well. Whether we like soone or not—we can usually tell at first glance."
"So you saw my Wanted Poster and just... fell for ?"
"Pretty much."
Galette smiled and said, "Of course, after eting you in person, I like you even more."
"So... co back with and get married!"
"After marrying into our Charlotte Family, you'll receive unimaginable benefits!"
"If you agree, we can set off for the New World right now. Under Mama's witness, we'll hold a grand wedding!!"
As she spoke these last words, Galette raised her hands animatedly, her eyes sparkling.
Her expression was like... a little girl with dreams, finally about to obtain what she'd longed for.
Clearly, she'd been looking forward to her wedding for a long ti.
"Your answer?"
Facing the expectant Galette, iser hesitated before replying, "I'm a mber of the Straw Hat Pirates. I can't betray my captain to marry into your pirate crew."
"And... when it cos down to it, we've only just t, haven't we?"
Galette's expression froze at these words. Her smile gradually faded, and the light in her eyes dimd.
"Is that so..."
Crunch
"Hmm?"
iser looked around in confusion. Did he just hear a strange sound?
On a rooftop out of his sight, a tall man sat gripping the brick he'd just crushed in his hand.
"He refused..."
Veins bulged on the second brother's forehead.
His little sister had made herself perfectly clear, yet that brat dared to refuse... Did he think people from a Four Emperors Crew were pushovers?
This bastard had no idea how much pressure Galette was under!
If she returned without bringing him back, Galette would surely face Mama's punishnt—sothing he couldn't bear to see.
Thinking this, Katakuri prepared to teach that kid a lesson.
How dare he reject his adorable little sister? He needed to be disciplined!
But before he could act, he seed to sense sothing and imdiately stopped, letting out a quiet sigh.
"Ah—it's fine!"
Galette suddenly declared loudly, "We still have ti anyway! It's not like you have to agree right now!"
iser: ???
Watching Galette, iser's eyes showed confusion. Why was she speaking so loudly?
Though he didn't understand, his stance remained unchanged.
"Galette, I've already ref—"
Before he could finish, Galette pressed a finger to his lips, forcibly silencing him.
iser gave her a strange look and saw her subtly shaking her head, her eyes pleading.
As if saying: Please... don't say it.
iser frowned slightly. Suddenly, he sensed this situation might be more complicated than he'd thought.
Was there... sothing here he didn't know about?
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