Chapter 117: Mr. Vergo? (Part II)

Monet curled her body tightly, sheltering her nine-year-old sister, Sugar, in her arms. At this moment, an unexpected intruder had already inflicted a deep, bone-exposing wound stretching from her shoulder to her waist, and the next strike seemed poised to sever her neck.

Yet, the sound of the blade never came. Instead, with a sharp clang, the long sword fell right before her eyes.

“Big brother, don’t you get the atmosphere? Over there, I’ve already put on my ‘everything’s fine’ act, but you’re still doing your own thing. Are you forcing me, Xiao Qiu, to play judge and executioner here?”

The abrupt halt and the entirely unfamiliar voice made Monet cautiously lift her head.

The man’s body blocked the bulky pirate, but one of his arms was wrapped around the pirate’s neck from behind. The pirate struggled, repeatedly slapping the man behind him, but no matter what he did, the arm remained immovable. Eventually, he gave up on life and began foaming at the mouth.

“Bang.”

Feeling it was about time, Xiao Qiu released his grip, letting the pirate collapse naturally. He was a perfectionist who wouldn’t tolerate any loose ends. Upon hearing the scream, he had almost teleported into this residence.

“Excuse me, young ma’am, are you alright?” The woman before him seemed more like a mother than an elder sister, but his question was amateurish—no one could be okay after being slashed like that; it was almost certainly life-threatening.

She was marked by blood streaming down her back and a pale face.

“Huh… a little one with moss-green hair?” Coincidentally, Xiao Qiu immediately recognized the child the young mother was holding—the same child he had just asked directions about.

“Thank you…” The young mother tried to speak but seemed to have trouble.

“Little one, quickly call a doctor for your mother,” Xiao Qiu said as he began to leave, not forgetting to drag the pirate outside.

Regrettably, he recognized neither Monet nor Sugar. Sugar’s appearance was too different from what he knew, and Monet—who could recognize her? Her current hairstyle was the classic rustic braids of a village girl, and perched on her nose was a pair of thick glasses that obscured the upper half of her face like the bottom of a wine bottle, making it impossible to discern her features.

So she was not only rustic but appeared older, which was why Xiao Qiu mistook the seventeen-year-old Monet for Sugar’s mother—in reality, she was her sister.

Of course, this was partly because Xiao Qiu’s mind was entirely focused on the Operation Fruit at the time; he had no awareness that he was encountering two sisters here.

Thus, feeling he had done a good deed, he quietly withdrew without revealing his identity.

By now, Rossi Nandi should have completed his task. After all, slipping the Operation Fruit into Rossi’s mouth wasn’t that complicated.

Xiao Qiu then turned back toward the Ghost Town. If Donquixote Doflamingo ever learned of Xiao Qiu’s audacious moves, he’d be furious enough to strangle him. Eating others’ food but doing nothing useful—that was exactly Xiao Qiu.

“Xiao Qiu, are you sure this won’t cause problems?” Even Peppo, the simple-minded bear, began to worry about Xiao Qiu’s maneuvers.

After such a long time, Peppo had a rough grasp of what kind of man Doflamingo was, but he was utterly clueless about what went on inside Xiao Qiu’s head.

“What problems could there be? As long as I keep my mouth shut, theoretically, there’s nothing wrong with my approach,” Xiao Qiu replied, treading unevenly through the snow.

He wasn’t wrong. Failure was always a possibility, but theoretically, his actions were sound. Moreover, he wasn’t in charge of this operation; the responsibility, execution, and ultimate accountability rested with Doflamingo. If it failed, it was Doflamingo’s fault—at least he shouldn’t have shared the matter with Rossi Nandi, so Xiao Qiu’s role was negligible.

Still, Doflamingo’s suspicion and resentment toward him would inevitably grow, and one day, it might all come to a head. Until then, he had to remain calm.

“Wait!” As Xiao Qiu carefully gauged Doflamingo’s tolerance, someone suddenly entered his field of vision.

A lone Marine.

Upon spotting Xiao Qiu and his companion, the Marine approached directly.

“Xiao Qiu?” The two stopped about ten meters apart, and the man with a bowl-cut hairstyle, like the most devoted follower of the “Super Bowl Cut Cult,” accurately called out Xiao Qiu’s name.

“Who are you?” Xiao Qiu asked rhetorically. He hadn’t recognized the moss-green-haired sisters, but forgetting someone as important as Vergo was impossible—especially with that unforgettable bowl cut.

“Vergo. You should have heard of me… Have you seen Rossi Nandi? I already beat him half to death, but he vanished in the blink of an eye.”

It was unlikely that Rossi had mistakenly shared information about Rossi Nandi with Vergo, as Rossi Nandi never received such intelligence. Yet, he couldn’t avoid his half-dead fate because Vergo acted under direct orders from Doflamingo.

“Well then, Vergo, Rossi Nandi isn’t the priority now—the Operation Fruit is. Did you get it?” Xiao Qiu was genuinely worried. If not, his entire act would have been for nothing.

However, this question angered Vergo. His focus wasn’t on the Devil Fruit.

“The family has new members lately… V-E-R-G-O, sir. At least show some respect to your seniors.”

“Understood, Vergo. So where’s the Operation Fruit?”

This deliberately provocative remark made the veins on Vergo’s forehead bulge instantly. Xiao Qiu’s mockery was too crude.

“Just kidding,” Xiao Qiu seemed to want to explain, dropping his playful demeanor to speak seriously. “I’m the type to go west when told east. Your attitude is a bit off. Honestly, I have no obligation to show you respect, and I still don’t know what you’ve done to earn any.”

“I’m just following Doflamingo’s orders. There’s no reason for me to play nice and pretend everything’s fine.”

“And seriously, worrying about titles at a time like this? Get some perspective.”

Even Xiao Qiu could call others out on their lack of big-picture thinking.

“So, if you still don’t get the point, I’ll ask again… Vergo, where’s the Operation Fruit?”

Mr. Senior, Mr. Rossi Nandi, even Mr. Torebol weren’t an issue for Xiao Qiu, but Vergo was different—he was the type who only responded to gentle handling.

Faced with such heavy mockery, Vergo instantly went as black as night—not just his face, but his entire body:

Fully armored.

So, to buy time for Rossi, Xiao Qiu really pushed himself to the limit. Only a true father would go this far for his son… though it couldn’t erase the suspicion that his meddling was nothing more than needless trouble and eccentricity.

But, at least his intentions were good…

Do you realize how hard he’s trying?