Chapter 55 - The Truth in Few Words! A Kneeled Request for Help!

In an area by the river that flows through Cactus Island, a group of people was gathered.

Noah, Nami and Nojiko were sitting on some wooden crates, not seeming to care that a few moments ago they were fighting against several bounty hunters who wanted their heads. Meanwhile, Vivi and Igaram, with Mr. 9 and Miss Monday sitting quietly behind them, were standing a few steps from them. As for Ryu? He had reluctantly let go of his dinner (Karoo) and was slowly digging a hole in the ground with his claws.

It is also important to note that Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were present.

"Hee..." Miss Valentine tried to say something, but all that came out of her mouth was a strange sound of helpless moaning with absurd weakness.

Tied up by their arms with ropes, which in turn were tied to two wooden stumps nailed to the ground, the two Baroque Works agents had their bodies submerged in water, with only their heads out. Thanks to this, besides not being able to use their Devil Fruits, they also couldn't even move their eyes properly.

"You may continue." Noah casually waved his hand for them to keep talking, "A princess in a criminal organization. And I thought the world had few stories."

"It's not what you think!" Vivi shook her hands with an exasperated expression. After taking a deep breath, she looked him right in the eyes, "I presume you already know about the Arabasta Kingdom, right?"

"Never seen, just heard. All I know about it is that it's a rich country and has a beautiful princess." Shrugging, he suddenly felt two murderous gazes fixing on him, but decided to ignore them for the sake of his own life.

"A-Alright..." Vivi tried to hide her blushing cheeks by lowering her head and continued, "The Kingdom of Arabasta is a peaceful kingdom, known for being a great nation and civilization. Or it was until recently."

"And this organization has a hand in ruining all of this, I presume?" Nami squinted her eyes, connecting the dots. But, despite it becoming a little obvious why the princess had joined the organization, she wanted to know more.

"Exactly." Assuming a serious expression, Vivi did not stop anymore, "We are in the middle of a civil war, and for years we have been suffering from signs of a revolution. The people rebelled and the kingdom is immersed in chaos."

She paused for a moment, her body trembling a bit as she spoke of it. As she was, it really seemed like she cared about her kingdom, showing how this chaos not only affected the people, but also the ruling family.

"Until one day, I heard the name of an organization that could be behind this. The Baroque Works!" Her gaze intensified, and she displayed the anger building up inside her. "I found out that this group was manipulating the population, and we couldn't do anything. That's when I turned to Igaram, who has always been there for me, for help. I asked him to find a way to infiltrate the Baroque Works and discover their objective."

“And it is an honor.” Igaram merely bowed slightly, not daring to interrupt his princess any further.

"So you went there and joined their ranks, helping them with murder and deception so you could find out their goals?" Nojiko felt a little urge to laugh at the girl's innocence, but that could hurt her feelings, 'It's the same as wanting to steal money from a bank by working in it every day.'

"I didn’t do any of this!" Vivi looked at her a little irritated, but soon realized how she acted. "I'm sorry. I didn't engage in anything that hurt my principles or that could somehow harm the kingdom. I won't say that I never did things that I disliked, but that was always for the greater good. "

'Greater good my ass…' Noah felt like spitting on the ground when he heard that phrase, holding back a lot to not do it. He hated when someone says something like that.

"And have you been able to find out anything?" Nami asked curiously.

"Yes. Their goal is to create an ideal nation. He says he wants this, but-"

"He wants a nation where the royal family does not exist. One that is totally under his control, even if you all became his walking puppets." Noah interrupted her, looking at her with some contempt for her intelligence, "As now, Miss Princess."

"What?" Vivi was a bit shocked by what he said, and looked at him without understanding. But when she saw his face, she felt her heart beat heavier for some reason, 'Is this... contempt?'

"You tell us that for years your kingdom has been showing signs of revolution, and that a secret organization is behind it. One that you initially didn't know the name, purpose, cause, leader, or anything useful about. Yet, you dove headfirst into it, joining their ranks. Now tell me..." Revealing a somewhat mocking smile, he continued, "Did you ever imagine that the commander of this organization would find out about you? Or even worse, that from the beginning he expected the Royal Family to make a similar move, using you as his little puppet till he was tired and kill you?"

"That... makes sense..." Vivi was about to object and deny the things he said, but unfortunately they were all true. In the heat of anger and impulse years ago, she relied on her abilities and Igaram to try to find out what she needed.

"If it weren't for me today, you two would be dead. The Captain of the Royal Guard and the Princess of the Kingdom would die on the same day because of your foolishness." Standing up from where he was, Noah threw something from his pocket towards Vivi, "I thought you were smarter… and I was wrong."

With the silence that followed, Vivi picked up the log pose that was previously hers and kept looking at Noah, noticing how that warm look and playful smile on his face had turned into a contemptuous look with a serious expression.

"Mr. Every, I demand that you take back what you said about Princess Vivi!" Igaram suddenly took a step forward and looked at him threateningly.

But he shouldn't have done that.

"And what will happen if I don't take it back?" Noah asked, adopting a mocking look as he looked at him,"Are you two going to join my crew to try to find my weakness and kill me? Or are you going to try to get me drunk so you can throw me to the marine's execution as before? Spare me your ridiculous bravado and gather enough courage to tell your king that his daughter was only not killed because a pirate saved her.”

His words, which were as sharp as knives, hit Igaram and Vivi right in the heart. He showed in a short time that all the effort they had for years was dumb and dangerous, all at no cost. Information? What could they do with that? Knowing or not who your killer is at the time of death doesn't matter. You're going to die and that's it.

Nami and Nojiko, who weren't used to this side of Noah, were a little taken back by his words. Previously, during the trip, he always treated the princess well and seemed to like her, much to the anger of the two. So seeing this difference in treatment was somewhat shocking.

But after thinking about it, it wasn't shocking at all. In the first place, even after spending days on his ship, eating his food and sleeping in a comfortable place, Vivi still had the audacity to raise her weapon to threaten his crew. She may have spoken in principles, but it seemed that gratitude was not one of them.

Besides the fact that, even knowing they were not a threat, and that Noah had saved her life in the attempt of Mr. 13 and Miss Friday (The vulture and the otter), she did not try at all to even warn them that the place could be dangerous.

Being honest, the only reason Noah saved the two's lives was purely because of the plot. His knowledge, albeit limited, of the future would be of great help, and his presence here might even have sent the new Straw Hats to another sea route in the Grand Line. So there was no guarantee at all that by some miracle Arabasta would not fall into Crocodile's hands.

And his interest in Vivi? He had two heads, and was not always thinking with the lower one. Knowing or not whether she is going to do something against them does not lessen the pain of being betrayed.

"We've wasted too much time in this place." Noah huffed, giving Vivi one last look before walking towards his ship, "Nami, is the new Log Pose already registered?"

"Yes. And things are already on the ship, so we just need to hoist the sails when you want." Simply nodding her head, Nami checked her new Log Pose, that she had stolen it from one of the bounty hunters during the party About what was happening, she was on Noah's side. Besides him being her Captain, he was also her man and she should always support his decisions.

"Alright. Let's go."

Vivi and Igaram, as well as the silent Mr. 9 and Miss Monday, watched in shock as he walked away as if nothing had happened.

The little princess, in particular, seemed to feel a deep sting in her heart, more painful than anything she had ever felt. She didn't know why or how, but her throat closed up the moment she wanted to call out to him, and tears were already forming in the corner of her eye.

"Well, good luck to both of you. It's going to be quite a journey, especially when the whole organization is already wanting to kill you." Nojiko stayed a little longer to tell them this, and then pointed to the two agents who were in the water, "And I think you'd better get rid of them, if you don't want to die sooner. Bye bye!"

"I forgot one thing." Noah suddenly came back and went to Miss Valentine, "Her power will be useful for my training. We'll deal with her still wanting to kill us later."

Easily pulling her out of the water, Noah picked her up in a princess carry and continued walking to the ship. As she had spent a lot of time in the water, exhaustion took over her and she had already fainted.

"Well, it's easier for you then." Nojiko smiled at them and also left.

Just like that, they were leaving, and even Ryu seemed excited to go. A little more and he might not be able to hold himself from eating that dumb duck.

But just a few moments had passed when, as Noah expected, a tall figure ran up to them, his head full of blonde hair hitting the ground as he knelt.

"Please! Please, Mr. Avery! For my honor, I ask you to take Princess Vivi safely to Arabasta!" Igaram shouted loudly while his forehead kissed the ground, "I know I'm not worthy to ask you this, but I have no hopes of protecting her as before. For the sake of my kingdom, I beg you to help us! We will reward you with anything you desire, but please, help us!"

He was desperate. No matter how much he thought, there was no way for them to escape when Baroque Works wanted them dead. This powerful pirate crew helped them get rid of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, but what about when more powerful pairs appeared? What could he do other than fail in his mission and eventually cause the fall of his beloved Kingdom of Arabasta?

But that was not the only reason why he had knelt down to beg. This crew, or more specifically, the pirate Noah D. Avery, carried a bounty that symbolized his power. Even so, he was not arrogant and presumptuous, let alone a bloodthirsty and out-of-control man. During the party, he was actually a great man who liked to smile and tell stories of his journey so far. And even after the entire town turned against him, he was magnanimous enough to leave everyone alive, as well as having saved them when Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine appeared.

When despair hits, one must cling to what can get you out of the situation. And Noah was exactly the salvation that Vivi needs now, that his kingdom needs.

Vivi, not far away, gaped in shock after hearing her protector's words. And after everything was said, her eyes ran to Noah's lips, wanting to know his response. She needed his answer, as this would define the next course of action in her life. Or death.

"Alright. Get on board." Noah only paused a little in his steps and soon after continued. As he passed by Igaram, he easily lifted the man from the ground by his shirt and stood him up, "I admire your attitude, but never kneel to a man if not your King."

“…”

And everyone was, again, shocked by what he said.