Chapter 249: Subsiding
The sky was clear and blue, but the hearts of Dressrosa's people were gray.
To Dressrosa, this day felt like the end of the world.
The royal castle that symbolized the country had always stood high above them, a place the people could look up to. That castle, carrying countless traces of history, now had its heavy outer shell stripped away piece by piece, revealing the most primitive thing beneath.
Even though the castle's collapse had nothing to do with them, sorrow still rose in the hearts of many citizens.
After all, they had once been proud of this country.
Some people could not bear the weight of what they were seeing and began calling for Doflamingo, their king.
They did not understand why Doflamingo, who had once protected them, had not appeared this time.
After Axel successfully escaped, he found a place and casually tossed the bundle in his hand onto the ground.
Painful cries immediately came from the Tontatta Tribe inside.
Axel ignored them.
He turned to leave, as though he did not care at all whether the small people inside were hurt.
At that moment, a stern shout came from the curtain bundle.
"Insolent person!"
Axel stopped.
He turned around, his gaze cold.
It was like a high and mighty monarch looking down at an offending subject.
He said nothing, yet everyone could feel the suppressed anger gathering around him.
Irritable and tyrannical emotions seemed to find an outlet at that moment, pouring out without restraint.
His slightly raised hand seemed to grasp the space itself, manipulating the cold air toward the curtain where the voice had come from.
The Grim Reaper's scythe gradually approached the Tontatta Tribe.
"Axel-land! How is it going?"
At that moment, a shout suddenly rang out.
Axel froze, and his movements stopped.
His cold, hollow eyes slowly regained their lively look.
The change happened so quickly that it was like switching outfits in a game with a single click.
He only needed the slightest trigger to return to his original self.
Axel looked back and saw a small, delicate figure weaving through the ruins with nimble steps.
The little figure jumped over obstacles and lifted stones several times larger than his own body, arriving in front of Axel in the blink of an eye.
"Leo, why are you here?"
"We couldn't let a friend come alone to rescue our princess."
Leo stood firmly and said, "His Majesty the King sent us to support you."
But just as he finished speaking, an older Tontatta grabbed him and pulled him back.
Leo struggled.
"Even though I'm still a minor, I can still help!"
Leo's height looked no different from the other Tontatta, but in reality, he was still a minor.
He had secretly snuck out for this support mission.
That was why, as soon as he appeared, he was dragged back into the group by the older Tontatta.
This was the elders' care for the young.
Even if the current Leo was not weaker than them, and even possessed a Devil Fruit ability.
Axel watched the scene in astonishment, then pointed to the side.
"Your princess is over there..."
In an instant, many Tontatta rushed over.
They untied the tightly bound bundle and released the Tontatta inside.
It was not that Axel had forgotten to untie them.
Even if he had done nothing, once the Tontatta inside adjusted themselves, with their strength far beyond ordinary humans, tearing through that fabric would have been easy.
The rescued Tontatta collapsed onto the ground.
It was not because their injuries were serious, but because the experience had been too intense.
Earlier, although Axel had protected them, he had not eliminated the sense of weightlessness inside the bundle.
It was like they had been thrown onto an extremely violent roller coaster without seatbelts.
Anyone who could still stand afterward deserved to be called a warrior.
The Tontatta princess, Mansherry, had a pointed nose and a tiny body like the other members of the tribe.
Her long golden hair and beautiful face were perhaps what set her apart.
The moment she was rescued, she used her healing ability.
Dandelions spread through the air and drifted down onto the Tontatta.
Their injuries and poor condition recovered at a visible speed.
The restored Tontatta immediately crowded around their healing princess in gratitude.
At this time, Leo squeezed through the crowd.
"Stupid Leo!"
The moment Mansherry saw Leo, the quiet demeanor she had shown in front of others shattered completely.
She walked over and complained at him, as if trying to get his attention.
"I'm not stupid!" Leo argued.
"You are!"
Mansherry placed her hands on her hips.
"And you came so slowly! The way you rescued us was also so rough!"
Leo did not defend himself first.
Instead, he said seriously, "Princess, it's very impolite to treat your savior like this!"
"In that situation just now, successfully rescuing everyone was already difficult enough. Being rough couldn't be helped."
Then he turned to Axel.
"Right, Axel-land?"
"Uh... I guess so."
Axel's tone was a little weak.
He could not exactly say that in the state he had been in just now, he had almost wanted to kill them.
Although he had now returned to normal, the memories stored in his brain had not disappeared.
It was like another person had appeared in his memory.
He did not know what was happening.
But it felt similar to the split personalities he had heard about before.
Axel could not help falling silent.
Without anyone guiding him, he had forcibly developed his Brain Domain.
Could he have damaged himself?
If this continued, could he end up like Shinobu Sensui from YuYu Hakusho, with seven different personalities?
Just thinking about it was a little frightening.
Mansherry immediately walked over and performed very proper etiquette, her tone respectful.
The Tontatta Tribe was never stingy with manners toward saviors and friends.
"Thank you very much for your help this time."
She lowered her head.
"I am very sorry for my tone just now, and I apologize for calling you an insolent person."
"What did insolent person mean?"
Leo leaned in and asked.
"You didn't say that to our savior, did you? Even if you are the princess, that's too much."
Mansherry immediately returned to her willful posture.
"I don't know. It just happened. I thought it was some trick that devil was playing."
"To think you mistook our savior for Doflamingo... and you call me stupid?"
Leo muttered, "Clearly, you're the stupid one."
But Mansherry heard him.
In an instant, she became like an enraged little lioness, her hair trembling slightly.
"How dare you call me stupid!"
"Stupid Leo! Stupid Leo!"
Bang!
A sound from the horizon reminded everyone that this was still Doflamingo's territory.
"We should evacuate first. It's too dangerous here," an older Tontatta said worriedly.
Mansherry, Leo, and even the current Axel did not object.
At a time like this, retreating was the best choice.
Axel estimated that when Doflamingo came down and saw this scene, his rage would probably be immeasurable.
He had already been furious before.
Now, it would likely go straight through the roof.
"You want to leave?"
A sticky voice came from the ruins.
"It's not that easy."
Trebol walked out slowly, strands of snot dangling from his nose.
.....
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