Chapter 468 - 307

Chapter 308: Luffy and Rebecca's First Encounter!The streets of Dressrosa were always bustling during the day.Along both sides of the street, vibrant wisteria flowers hung from the balconies of red-tiled, white-walled houses. Petals drifted down with the wind, mingling with the endless stream of people.Street performers played lively Flamenco Guitars, toy soldiers patrolled in neat formations, and vendors hawked freshly squeezed juice and hot Churros... The entire city was like a precisely operating carnival machine.And at a street corner,a girl in a leather breastplate and a red cape was running against the flow of people.Her steps were hurried and resolute, her pink hair tied into a neat ponytail that swished from side to side as she ran, the ends brushing against her dust-covered shoulder armor.Sunlight shone on her sweat-damp forehead, and a pair of pink eyes burned with an almost fanatical flame.Rebecca!The "Undefeated Queen" of the DressrosaColosseum was a ghost living for revenge."Excuse me! Sorry! Excuse me!"She pushed past people blocking her way, not bothering to apologize, and continued to sprint forward.Her leather short boots made crisp "tap-tap" sounds on the cobblestones, and her cape flapped behind her.Three meters behind her, a Toy Tin Soldier limped in pursuit.He was only half a meter tall, his body pieced together from rusty tin, and his right leg was broken at the knee.With every step, his wooden stick thudded against the ground, and his entire body swayed as if it could fall apart at any moment."Rebecca! Wait!"The tin soldier's voice came from his metal chest cavity, carrying the mechanical quality unique to toys, yet unable to hide the anxiety in his tone."Running this fast is useless! Group D's match is the last one in the afternoon, still several hours away!""I know!"Rebecca didn't look back, her pink ponytail cutting a sharp arc in the air."But I need to get there early! Observe the other contestants! Formulate tactics!""Tactics?"Kyros's tin arm suddenly shot forward, trying to grab Rebecca's cape, but only caught air."Rebecca, don't you understand yet? This gladiatorial tournament is completely different from before! Monsters are coming! Pirates with bounties over 100 million Berries! Kings of the Underworld! And possibly even... even powerhouses of that caliber!"He paused, striking his wooden stick hard against the ground."Dressrosa right now is like a volcano! That Tremor-Tremor Fruit is the crater! Everyone is jumping into it! It could erupt at any moment! You participating now is like jumping into lava!"Rebecca suddenly stopped.She turned around, her pink eyes fixed on the tin soldier who had caught up."Mr. Tin Soldier."Rebecca's voice was soft, yet as sharp as a blade."More than ten years ago, when Mama died in front of me, what did you say? You said, 'Live, Rebecca! As long as you live, there's hope!'"Kyros's tin body froze.She raised her hand, tightly gripping the leather straps across her chest, her knuckles turning white:"I survived, but not to keep hiding!""I'm here for revenge!""To get revenge on that pink monster sitting in the palace! To get revenge on Donquixote Doflamingo, who took my mother and stole ten years of light from this country!"Her voice grew louder and louder, finally almost a scream.Pedestrians on the street turned their heads, but seeing it was Rebecca, they showed expressions of disgust and quickened their pace."Rebecca..."Kyros's voice softened, and his tin arm dropped powerlessly."I must win this battle! No matter what means, no matter what cost! And then—"She looked up at the towering Kings Plateau in the city center."—I will use the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruitto personally drag Doflamingo off his throne!"With that, she turned and continued running.This time, she ran even faster, more resolutely.Kyros watched her receding figure, a heavy metallic grinding sound coming from his tin chest."This child... as stubborn as her mother..."He murmured to himself, then gritted his tin teeth and dragged his broken leg to continue the chase.One person and one toy, thus they chased under the Dressrosa sun.Through the central plaza filled with flowers, over the stone bridge with clear flowing water, through the bustling market... Rebecca knew every alley of this city like the back of her hand.For ten years, she had moved, hidden, and survived in the shadows of this city, knowing its Veins better than anyone.But now, the place she was going was the center of light.—The Colosseum!!!That stage which had devoured countless lives, yet was the only stage for revenge she could think of.Turning the last corner, the massive circular outline of the Colosseum appeared at the end of her sight.The golden stone walls shimmered in the sunlight, flames blazed atop the thirty-two stone pillars, and even from this distance, faint cheers could be heard from within.Group B's match must have already begun.Rebecca quickened her pace.Just then—Bang!She crashed into something hard.Not a wall, not a pillar, but... a person's chest.The force of the impact sent her bouncing backward, her pink ponytail flying in the air, her vision spinning.She instinctively tried to adjust her posture, but the momentum from her running was too great, and she ultimately landed hard on her bottom on the cobblestone path."Ouch..."She covered her forehead, physiological tears welling up in her pink eyes. Through her blurry vision, she saw that she had crashed into a person.A man.Tall, at least a head taller than her, wearing a simple red shirt and black shorts, with a jacket casually draped over his shoulders.Most noticeable was the exaggerated, curly white mustache on his face... it looked like it was glued on, with the edges already peeling up, trembling slightly with the man's movements."Ah, sorry, sorry!"The man scratched his head, grinning a bright, somewhat silly smile.His teeth were very white, sparkling in the sunlight. His voice was loud, with the cheerful frankness characteristic of the East Blue accent:"I didn't notice you rushing over! Are you okay?"He extended his hand.Rebecca froze for two seconds.Then she realized... she was the one who had bumped into someone."N-no! It's my fault!"She waved her hands frantically, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment."I was running too fast and wasn't watching where I was going! I'm sorry!"She grabbed his hand and used the leverage to stand up.The man's hand was warm, and the heat from his palm made her heart inexplicably beat a little faster. After standing up, she realized the man was indeed very tall; she only reached his chest. She had to crane her neck to see his face clearly.Then she saw it.That face... even with the ridiculous fake mustache, even smiling like a carefree fool, but that outline, those eyes, that smile... Rebecca's breath hitched for a moment.She recognized him.From countless wanted posters, from countless newspaper headlines, from countless legends spoken of with awe or fear—"Straw... straw hat..."She murmured, but her words were cut short."Rebecca!"Kyros finally caught up. He rushed to Rebecca's side, then looked up at the tall man.The next second, Kyros's tin body froze.His two button eyes widened to their limit."Straw... Straw Hat Luffy..."Kyros's voice trembled."Four... Four Emperors..."The last two words were as light as a sigh.Time seemed to freeze.The street's clamor continued... the vendors' calls, the passersby's chatter, the faint cheers from the distant Colosseum.But in this small corner, the air had solidified.Luffy blinked.The fake mustache, due to the earlier collision, had come loose on one side and was now hanging crookedly.He raised his hand and touched it, pulling the entire mustache off, revealing the young, handsome face beneath."Ah~?!"Rebecca stared at him blankly.Staring at that face without a mustache.Staring at that face that had appeared countless times on newspaper front pages, whose bounty had risen from thirty million to four billion, who was called the "Fourth Emperor," and was said to have defeated Beast Kaido.Straw Hat Luffy!Monkey D. Luffy!A Four Emperor!Why was he here?Why was he on the streets of Dressrosa?Why... was he wearing such a ridiculous fake mustache?Countless questions exploded in Rebecca's mind, but she couldn't utter a single word. She just stood there with her mouth agape, her cherry-red eyes wide and round, like a startled fawn.And Kyros had entered a state close to shock.His tin body trembled slightly, his button eyes fixed on Luffy, his mechanical brain frantically whirring—Oh my god!A Four Emperor!A living Four Emperor!Right in front of him!Less than two meters away!And he seemed... easy to talk to?No, no, no! This is a Four Emperor!He's a monster with a bounty of four billion Berries, who wreaked havoc at Marineford, and defeated Kaido! He's an existence at the pinnacle of the seas!Why would he appear in Dressrosa? Why would he be strolling on the street? Has the allure of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit become so great that it attracted even a figure like him?Then Rebecca's plan... no, that's not a plan, that's suicide! Contesting for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in front of a Four Emperor? What a joke!Must escape!Immediately!Right now!Kyros's tin arm suddenly grabbed Rebecca's wrist, intending to pull her away to escape.But Luffy was faster than him.In the instant before nearby pedestrians noticed the anomaly and connected "that man without a mustache" to "Straw Hat Luffy"—Luffy moved.He covered Rebecca's mouth with his left hand, scooped up the tin soldier Kyros from the ground with his right, his leg muscles bulging, and then—Boom!A wave of air exploded from the ground.Luffy's figure vanished from the spot.Leaving behind only a shallow crater in the middle of the street, and a few slowly falling wisteria petals.Two seconds later, a passing little girl tugged on her mother's skirt:"Mama, wasn't there a big brother there just now?""Hmm? Where?""Right there... huh? He's gone?""You must have seen wrong, sweetie, let's go buy some cotton candy.""Okay~"The street returned to normal.As if nothing had happened...