Afternoon came with the marines leaving the field. The crowd was left speechless by what they just heard or listened to. A vice admiral, with his bulky figure, managed to patch the broken wall by his own doing and drop out of the blue information in the field without regard to anything. Now, his men and the marines are leaving, passing through the canal waterway and into the descending stairs from where they came from. Along the way, they encounter an unusual amount of people hugging a turn of steps that leads below the ground. "Oh?"
In it, they passed through a few janitors brushing and scraping the cement floor, hurling barrels that contained water into the floor, which dropped out towards the giant canal waterway on the sides.
"Cleaning duty, eh?" Vice Admiral Garp commented.
"Oh, sorry for making the mess, sir!. Be careful of the slippery steps.!" A janitor replied.
"Nothing to see here, just some dirt."
Another one said it out loud.
The old man stopped, with a quick glance to the floor, he surveyed the area and was moving his head from left to right. He then inhaled air which a resounding noise of sniff was generated, further terrifying the janitors, who are now eyeing him, hoping to not noticed *that*.

"Have fun brushing," he replied.

With that, the men just stared wide eyed on him and were glad to see him moving on.
With the marines now gone, a few janitors and men sighed in relief.
"Lucky us, they didn't notice anything."
"Who could've done this? Have you seen anybody?"
"Nope."
"Do you think someone died here?"
"There are rarely cases of people dying here. Whatever the reason for this one is, we've got to tell the others."

"after this, yeah."

In the waning hours of the afternoon, loud screams and noise echoed through the capital, with numerous people flocking to the shipbuilding island, where a large party is currently hosted. Everyone that passed by was handed out plates and numerous drinks; others were led inside to witness the strange spectacle of numerous types of people enjoying the scenes. The ground was often rocked by the loud, giant feet of individuals that certainly did not belong to mere humans. With the noise overflowing the capital, one individual, on the other hand, is deep in her thoughts regarding the events that had occurred before. Inside a room that's dark with a dim light from the lamp stood a woman with long golden hair and naked. Soaked with water across her body, she squeezed the towel hard, dropping a few red-like fluids into the floor, and then dipped the towel back on the barrel, soaking it again for another rub. She gently washed off the stain on her neck and slowly rubbed her shoulders. She washed her armpits, rubbing through her arms, and squeezed the towel once again.
'Why did I do that? ' she asked herself. Lefiya herself was not ignorant of reality. She knows the risk and the consequences if she did not act fast at that time. but nevertheless, it deeply affected her when it came to killing humans compared to the monsters in the dungeon.
She did not notice the grip and squeeze of her fingers on the wash towel. She almost ripped it apart due to her lingering thoughts at the moment. She dipped it again in the barrel and began to rub it on her breast and into her belly. As she washed the lower portion of her body, the coldness of the water could now be felt, and it tingled through her body. Assessing herself again, she faced the tall mirror behind her, looking into her own body. She could see a few scars on her waist and legs from numerous close-up engagements. She breathed heavily and inhaled to calm herself. She knew about the dangers that lay ahead. While her actions were somewhat cruel, they should not continue to linger in her, and instead she should move on and be better. After all, despite the circumstances, Lefiya herself knew she was an idealistic person. "I want to grow stronger, to be on par with her and that damn, bunny."
Grabbing another towel, she rubbed the large cloth to remove the wetness from her body. Outside, she could hear Riveria, who now tended to Raul's grievous wound on his upper arm.
"Aw!"
Looking at the wound, Riveria, at the moment, rethinks the weapon's capability alone to inflict such a large wound on the flesh, let alone how a normal human could survive such a wound. It is such a deadly weapon, capable of killing anyone, no matter the difference in strength perhaps with the exception of gareth, she thought. Unless they are extremely fast or possess armor as strong as iron.

Analyzing the wound, the flesh is completely impaled by the iron ball that's inside; judging by Raul's erratic movements, it would be difficult to take it out so she can begin the healing process. "Alicia, a knife, please," she whispered. On the other hand, a man is bound to the chair with tightening ropes across his body, legs, and arms, which would be impossible for anyone to even escape from. Thomas, now awake, looks at the room he is in and is not pleased with a reunion with the people he tried to escape from.

Across him is a large dwarf with a grizzly brown beard and a receding hairline. He wears no armor, unlike before, and is covered with a skirt and a grey sando shirt.
Eyeing him, the man replied with the following:.
"Nice to see you again, lad." Thomas mentally grumbled. With ropes tied tightly around, he could barely move aside from his neck, which he can at least use to look around at the large room they are in. It did not help that the windows are covered. What's worse, though, is that his strength hasn't returned. All the walking he just did has paid off. By getting captured.
"It's too dangerous to walk in broad daylight after, uh, what Lefiya did to that man," Raul commented.
Raul remembered every detail, but what worries him are those marines that would be on their doorstep. Looking for what could be considered a criminal act.
"We already sent Bete out to reach the funds. I predicted that the amount we have left is not enough with the many supplies we have procured," said Riveria.

"And it's best if we get to the ship as soon as possible before they notice who the culprit behind this," she said to the group.

Meanwhile, Bete himself was passing through the very same stairs that Lefiya and Raul encountered Thomas. As he passes through, he can smell the faint stench of blood. To rid himself of the disgusting smell, he sprang much further. He passed through a bunch of people who were startled by his speed and strange appearance. The one thing that annoyed him was the loud band of people celebrating on top. In only 1minute, he had already reached the shipbuilding island. In front of him lies a straight, narrow canal and two gates at each opposite. The left side houses the temporary galley, where the noise of the party is coming from, and to the right is where Finn's at. He pressed on; he could see giants in his left eye corner and was surprised for a bit, but not too surprised, as they look more like regular humans than monsters compared to the dungeon. Turning right, he proceeded towards the dockyards and used his nose to scent the captain. He detected his smell and continued towards the nearest vessel. At this moment, the sun is already setting, plunging the orange-dimmed world into darkness. Lamps lit up across the streets, and the skies turned dark and gray.
"Hey, Finn."
Finn, meanwhile, and Cruz are sitting on a table. It is some board game they are playing. By the looks of it, Cruz is already at the end of his ropes, having given up as Bete arrived.
"Awww! I suck."
"Oh? Hey, Bete. And better luck next time, Cruz."
Upon arrival, he gently placed the four briefcases on the floor and lowered himself to reach his bag to grab something.
"Thank you, Bete. How are things down there?"
"tch, some problems had just occurred. I don't know how this works, but the old hag said you can use this to talk to them."
Inside his backpack, Bete grabbed a shell-like object, which soon sprung out, revealing itself. "A snail transponder."
The snail's color is that of lighter skin. Its features are covered in colorless form, coupled by two eyes and a mouth. There is a circular object on the top of the shell, a string-line-like object that you can use to extend for listening by placing it near your ear.
For a moment, the colorless-looking snail snuck back inside upon receiving the snail on Finn's palm. "I don't know how much, but that thing cost a huge amount just looking at that hags face."
In a few seconds, the once colorless and empty-looking shell of the snail suddenly morphed into one with blonde hair and purple-like features. The snail itself then came out with features similar to its shell.
What's odd though is that the face it morphed into looked exactly like Finns, and this creeped him out.
'What a strange thing in this world.' he thought.

Grabbing the device on top of the shell, he gently placed it on the ear, and then...
There was a lull.
"Bete, how do you use this?"
The confused wolf simply shrugged and stared at the captain as he figured out what to do. 'Perhaps this is just like ours during the Knossos raid.'
*Pedepedepedepede*
*Pedepedepedepede*
*Pedepedepedepede*
"Riveria, what is that?"
"Oh, it's Finn."
Unveiling the snail transponder, she gently placed the object on the table and almost chuckled at the snail's appearance, which resembled Finn himself. "It looks cute," Anakitty commented.
*Pedepedepedepede*
*Pedepedepedepede*
*Click-a!*
"Uh, Hello?"
"Riveria?"
"Yes, this is me. The rest are also here."
"Thank you for the funds; I didn't expect it to be quite sooner. Good call, though, and also good work for the funds and the supplies. Are things going alright there?"
"We have a problem, Finn. Lefiya killed a man and found Thomas."
With the information now at hand, Finn is delighted to learn that the former navigator escapee has now been found. But now he is concerned about Lefiya's action, which could jeopardize their effort if they don't move things soon.
After a brief lull, Finn spoke again on the telepathic call. The snail transponder he is using has now morphed into green-like features with two long ears and the snail's eyes similar to those of Riveria's.
This did little to distract him, as he was more concerned about people finding out who the culprit was.
"Riveria, bring all the supplies back up here. We will leave tomorrow."
"What about the mayor?" she replied.
"For our licensure voyage and purchasing, I will visit the office tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we can depart as soon as possible."
"Alright. I'll see you there soon."
*Click-a!*

"Oi!"
Suddenly, a voice was heard. But it came from the sides, and Finn followed through and eyed a shipwright on the concrete floor, calling them.
"The dock closes in two hours! You have to leave by then!"
Finn nodded and responded with the following: "We will, thank you."
While the moon shines brightly from the horizon, another part of the world can barely be seen from its angle. At the top of the gigantic continent of the red line lies the home of the celestial dragons, particularly the highest authority figures in the world. The tall castle-like structure called Pangea Castle is home to these figures. Now they are in a room, engaging with the Fleet admiral about the details he'd just told them of.
One of the five figures, a bald old man with glasses, asked the following:.
"Does no one know about the capture of this man?"
"Aside from the man named Blackbeard, rear admiral Spruance, and commander in chief, Kong, no one," Senguko replied.
Senguko is in a bad state today. A few days since work have plagued this man to near total exhaustion. His glasses could barely cover the heavy eye bugs below his lashes. But despite that, he remained active and made great efforts not to reveal his weakened state. The elders, on the other hand, couldn't care less about it; they were more concerned about the repercussions of this incident.
"Speaking of Blackbeard, do you have any details about this man?" This time, the tallest and youngest one with a long beard asked.
"I do not know; a few weeks ago, there was a crew of his who came to recommend him. His name, Blackbeard, does sound similar to Whitebeard," Senguko replied.
"Very well. He will be the replacement Crocodile. All that's left is to test the experimental weapons."
"The Pacifista program. I have witnessed them myself, and they are good," Senguko commented.
Deep in his mind, Senguko began to wonder. How come they are not worried about the meeting between the two emperors? So he asked them the following: "Should the alliance of Whitebeard and Red haired bear fruit, it is best when that event occurs, our fleet is stationed in the new world."

Instead of a reply, he was met by silence. The five elders instead stared at him, unbothered or more heavily annoyed by his question. The silence was only broken when the youngest of them, with an inverted V-like beard, responded.
"No."
Now faced with a flat-out rejection with no concern, he continued the following questions:.
"Should this alliance take place? What if they try to rescue him in impel down?" Senguko laid out his concern.
"Senguko, you do not need to worry. The Red-haired emperor would not do such a thing."

Already pressured by their intense stare, senguko resigned and bowed before leaving the elders.

"I understand," senguko replied.

"One more thing.."

!*

Senguko turned upon hearing the voice of the elder

"It is important that the four bridges are complete as soon as possible."

Senguko nodded and continued towards the doors and finally left the room with a volume of sweat pouring behind his neck. Without delay, he proceeded down into the stairs and left the palace towards the red port down below.

It was bumpy.. an odd sensation as he tried to open his eyes for a bit and all he saw was the dark sky and the dimming of light shades.

He felt movement, and a bit of pain in his head. As he continued to open and close his eyes he wondered for who knows how long he has been asleep. Add the tightening ropes and a cloth on his mouth, no wonder he could barely breathe when he opened his eyes. And there he was being carried by a grumbling wolf as they traversed through the narrow streets. His eyes now fully wide began to scan the area around him and saw a blonde beautiful woman following, who noticed his gaze to which she diverted by looking far ahead. Thomas is helplessly pinned behind the wolf's back as he is being carried, taken hostage by the group he escaped from.

'great.. i wonder what happened to that guy?' Thomas for a moment thought about whether he was alive or not. 'doesn't matter now.' he thought.

Bete navigated the alleys with extreme caution. Earlier he had been recalled again to assist the transport of supplies. Had he known he was about to carry a man he would've grabbed something and let the others or ais handle it. But that was done now, all he could do is rant with his usual style. *Tsk!*

It was early morning since they departed from the inn, and so far the sun is yet to rise as the sky is still dark enough to hide them from people and any bystander. Luckily bete's senses could save them from anyone that could happen to be passing. As they approached the stairs, a sudden noise gripped the group with curiosity as the strange sound, followed by a light is seemingly flung up high and then *bang!*

The light exploded into beautiful particles of light.

"Was that a magic spell or a devil fruit power?" Tiona asked.

"It's most likely a technology that they can use for celebrations." Riveria answered.

Meanwhile at the shipbuilding island, Finn watched the sky in delight as it reflected back towards his eyelids. "I wonder what's in it." He said. Turning his gaze below, he can hear the faint noise of people partying and the smell of delicious food, rum and brandy. Lights have died down a bit and these "fireworks" they call it were used earlier until the early morning came.

The sun has yet to be seen but the orange sky above the clouds now ray as it signals the sunrise. He heard a faint noise and turned to the gates once again to see his Familia climbing the wall, unnoticed.

"It's morning already," one of the shipwrights muttered. "I guess it's another day for another.. what the." There, the newest of the galleon is seemingly filled with supplies of crates, baskets of fruits and weapons. The confused shipwright who was here yesterday evening suddenly remembered that blonde looking kid he'd noticed about the island closing. "ah! Probably those strange looking people."

It was their 4th day on the island. Water seven now drizzling with people and merchants have come flooded with numerous work trying to rebuild the lower portions of the island that was destroyed by the aqua laguna storm. She was eyeing numerous birds flocking together on one roof and then flocked to the next roof. She scanned the surrounding areas and led to the edges of the highest ground of the island. There, just the cliff shows the wide and breathtaking view of numerous houses built in brown clay and roofs. She can see numerous districts spanning in the downslope across her view. "It's beautiful, right?"

Suddenly a voice cut off her silence by none other than the green haired elf. "Riveria.."

"I've been to numerous places, my home forest, mountains, or heard of cities such as altena. Orarios labrinth tower is the closest when compared to this scale."

The elf laid down her experiences and the blonde girl wearing her light armor stood on the sides of the cliff viewing below. "it is impressive that this city steadily rises with those strong waves impacting the shores every day." The elf muttered.

"It reminds me of Bell's description of the ancient cities of the lost world in the past." Ais Wallenstein replied.

The elf closed her left eye, eyeing the girl she raised beside her and told the following: "that boy sure knows a lot." She eyed the girl once again and now noticed her face morphing into sadness. Almost like a little girl missing her pet rabbit.

"Not to worry, perhaps when we return, you can tell him about this place."

This time, the girl looked at the depths below her and eyed the rising sun. She stared at the clouds whilst raising her neck a bit, followed by a smile. "yes." She replied.

The commotion behind them prompted Riveria to turn to see Finn and Gareth approaching them. "It truly is breathtaking in the morning." The prum followed. "aye, maybe we can use those canals for a quick slide, don'cha, ais?" the dwarf stated his thoughts while grinning. "Crude and dirty, fitting for your folks." The elf replied.

"Gahahahaha," Gareth laughed.

"That seems a bit racist don't you think?" Finn stared at her as if asking her the question instead of the elf.

Ais wallenstein only smiled and stared at Riveria who's face changed to exhaustion and morphed into a smile. "Apologies for that remark." She followed.

This time, both Finn and Gareth laughed, prompting the group behind them to approach the executives. "hey! What are you talking about?" tiona butted in. Behind her, Tione, Alicia, and Cruz are there now approaching the same spot.

"It is a wonder, can we slide in those canals?" tiona asked. Her sister, the dark skinned amazon woman, tione simply bashed her sister's head with her fist. "idiot!"

"gahahaha, looks like we have the same brains, kid." Gareth followed.

"How is Lefiya?" ais asked.

"She's doing, alright. There will be bete guarding Thomas at the ship. Hopefully no one notices them." Cruz replied.

The short relax prompted Finn to stand from the concrete barrier he was leaning at the edge and with claps of his palms, he followed with the following words: "Everyone! Let's go on an adventure!"

With the rest of the familia now heading out, their main objective is the mayor's office.

END OF CHAPTER