https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-94-You-Dare-to-Speak-of-Six-Styles-/13535891/
Chapter 95: Hair-Raising
Chapter 95: Hair-Raising
The subordinates infected by the Prince of Pleasure couldn’t be taken along, not that Kuro had any intention of bringing them. He’d already dismissed them to return and await orders.
Thankfully, the Navy’s remaining members hadn’t lost their senses—they still understood hierarchy.
But even this much was troubling.
The mere mention of a name had shaken his subordinates. If the Prince of Pleasure himself appeared in person, the outcome would be unpredictable.
“A Devil Fruit user,” Kuro muttered, rubbing his temples.
Abilities could be absolute.
After the amusement park incident, he’d pieced together the Prince’s power. Through some specific method, he could implant a sense of worship in people, even commanding them through words alone.
If Kuro were a civilian, he’d confront the Prince directly and force him to undo his ability. But as a Navy officer, there were rules to follow.
Morgant was a World Government ally, and the Prince of Pleasure was a royal heir, not a pirate. The Navy had no authority to arrest him—perhaps even the World Government couldn’t intervene on this matter. It was a domestic affair of their Kingdom.
The only evidence was the infection of his subordinates, but that alone wasn’t enough.
Truthfully, Kuro hadn’t intended to interfere at all—he’d come here to relax.
Beyond affecting the Navy, the Prince seemed to be doing nothing wrong. Using his ability to lead the nation to prosperity? That sounded responsible enough.
Yet Kai Shao’s reaction—trying to kill them—was suspicious. And there was also that little girl…
Kuro stepped forward, kicking aside Kai Shao’s cloak to reveal a black uniform straining against his bulky, muscular frame.
“Morgant and its obsession with beauty in thinness? Doesn’t seem like it,” Kuro remarked, noting the man’s physique.
More like the little girl, starved and emaciated.
“Let’s go check things out.”
Using Observation Haki to sense the girl’s distinct aura, Kuro followed the trail.
The Commercial Street was massive, circular in design, with the castle at its center. Tracing the aura, Kuro left the bustling street and entered a narrow alley, eventually reaching a towering metal wall.
Lida rapped a hand against it, calling to Kuro, “It’s metal.”
“Hmm,” Kuro muttered, scanning the area. Near the base of the wall, he spotted a small hole. The girl’s aura had already passed through.
“She crawled out here? Even with her small frame, it must’ve been painful.”
Klah studied the narrow gap, the dried blood staining its edges. Just looking at it, one could imagine her struggling through—willingly enduring injury to reach the neon-lit street.
Kuro gripped his hilt. In the darkness, cold flashes of steel cut through residual energy, slicing a triangular section from the wall. With a gentle push, the metal collapsed inward, revealing a gaping hole.
Beyond the wall lay utter darkness, an abyss starkly different from the neon glow of the Commercial Street.
Kuro stepped inside.
The outside was a wasteland—unkept, uneven terrain choked with weeds. Following the aura, he pressed forward.
After a while, faint lights flickered ahead, growing brighter—red and white glows merging into a sprawling expanse.
Factories. Dozens of them.
Black smoke billowed from their chimneys, deepening the night’s gloom. Except for the harsh industrial light, there were no other sources of illumination.
Each factory entrance was guarded by two uniformed sentries, rifles slung over their shoulders, smiles plastered on rigid faces.
In front of one factory stood scattered, dilapidated structures—wooden shanties, not proper buildings. Kuro saw no doors, only makeshift furniture inside: greasy tables, soiled mattresses.
The shanties were empty.
Near a large rock, the little girl crouched, eyes locked on a factory.
A bell rang.
The factory’s deafening roar halted. From its doors poured countless figures—hooded, wearing tall chef’s hats, their faces gaunt. Every one wore the same artificial grin.
“Father! Mother!”
The girl darted toward two figures in the crowd. The thin man reached out, ruffling her hair. “Molly, are you happy today?”
“I…”
The girl’s voice faltered, staring at their frozen smiles. She pulled a cloth bag from her coat, unwrapping it. “Eat this. Your bodies won’t hold up otherwise.”
The pair’s expressions didn’t change, but the man’s hand shifted.
Slap!
The girl crumpled to the ground, the bag scattering dirty buns across the dirt.
It was her mother.
She smiled, grinding the buns underfoot. “I’ve told you, we don’t want these dangerous things. You’re such a good child, but this one bad habit… Honey, give Molly extra medicine pills today.”
“Alright.”
The father nodded, grinning. “More pills will make her happy enough to stop collecting these odd things.”
“My… my…”
The girl watched her food trampled into the mud, tears streaming.
But her parents just smiled. “Molly, remember to go home after playing. We’ll go first.”
They joined the crowd shuffling toward the shanties.
“Wake up!” The girl screamed, wiping her face. “Please, stop this madness! You’ll die if you don’t eat!”
No one listened.
They moved like dolls, their synchronized grins eerily identical.
One person collapsed.
Under Kuro’s Observation Haki, their life aura had withered to near extinction. Before, they’d seemed alive—normal, even.
That was why Kuro had found Morgant only mildly strange before meeting the girl. Everything had felt… normal.
The crowd ignored the fallen, their smiles unwavering.
The corpse lay still, its final expression frozen in a happy grin.
Hair-raising.
(End of Chapter)
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