In front of Nicholas, there stood a castle towering like those in Western fantasy novels, surrounded by massive walls several tens of meters high. It's hard to imagine how such a small island managed to build such a huge castle.

"This castle must have a history of thousands of years."

As Stussy gazed at the castle full of historical aura, a loud rumble echoed. Then Vista put away his axe and grinned at Nicholas, "Captain, the door is open."

"Then let's go in and see what gives the king of this country such confidence."

Then Nicholas took the lead and stepped into the split castle gate.

Inside the castle, it was eerily silent, as if everyone had vanished into thin air before Nicholas and his crew arrived.

Candles, large and numerous, illuminated the dimly lit castle, brightening it as if it were daytime.

In the spacious hall of the castle, on either side stood guards, either armored models or real individuals. At the end of the hall was a grand staircase, above which was a huge throne. In front of the throne knelt hundreds of armored guards, weapons in hand.

And seated upon that massive throne was a figure clad in heavy armor, holding a sword in both hands. He was none other than Tajji Bais, who had ordered the envoy of the Rocks Pirates, sent as tribute, to be slain, and he was the only king of the Tajji royal family in this generation!

Nicholas walked steadily, reaching the hall, and gazed at the person sitting on the throne.

The person above the throne, perhaps due to Nicholas and his crew's intrusion, raised his head.

"Oh... Rocks Pirates, Captain Nicholas, I didn't expect Rocks to send you. I thought that guy would only send some of his subordinate pirate crews."

Tajji Bais spoke calmly, seemingly unsurprised by Nicholas's arrival.

"You don't seem surprised at all?"

Nicholas looked at Bais, who sat on the throne, and spoke.

"Of course not surprised, it just skipped some steps. In the original plan, we were supposed kill Rocks's envoy first, then step by step lure out higher combat power of the Rocks Pirates."

Bais paused after speaking, then glanced at Nicholas and said, "But I didn't expect it would be you coming. It's a bit troublesome for me."

"I didn't want to come either, but there's no choice. That guy specifically asked me to come. But I'm curious, what gave you the courage to provoke that monster?"

Nicholas was genuinely curious. After all, Rocks's reputation in the New World was immense. Though he demanded tribute from many islands in the New World, it still fell short of the celestial gold demanded by the Celestial Dragons. Moreover, in the New World, as long as tribute was paid to Rocks, protection from the Rocks Pirates could be obtained.

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This was the survival method of many countries in the New World, exchanging money and goods with powerful pirate crews for their protection. Just like the Whitebeard Pirates needing to maintain so many pirates, the protection fees collected within the territory were the main source of income, while the plundered loot was just the tip of the iceberg.

Nicholas couldn't understand why the World Government would risk the wrath of the Sabre of Xebec to punish countries that didn't pay celestial gold.

Why would Bais, risking retaliation from Rocks, do something that posed harm to his own country?

Hearing this, a strange gleam flashed in Bais's eyes. Then, emotionlessly, he said, "Haha, kid, perhaps you're underestimating the World Government's power. And as for resisting the Rocks Pirates, isn't it an interesting thing to do!?"

Saying so, Bais stood up, clenched his fist towards the front, "My soldiers, let them witness your terror!"

Instantly, the hundreds of armored guards kneeling before Bais all tapped their chests in unison with their left hands and bowed their heads, "We pledge to defend the king's honor to the death!"

...

While Nicholas and his crew were inside the castle, a dense white mist suddenly enveloped the entire Tajji Island, spreading rapidly towards the entire island, seeming to engulf the entire island in no time.

"Ha... ha..."

In the foggy alleys of the Tajji Island slums, a little girl ran in panic, her face pale, looking back in fear as if something terrifying was chasing her.

Bang!

Due to not paying attention, she stumbled over a protruding stone and fell helplessly to the ground.

But seemingly without considering the pain that came over her, the little girl just looked at her body in panic, relieved to find no bleeding, and let out a long breath.

Suddenly, footsteps came from behind, leaping on the rooftops.

The little girl's face was full of fear, then she looked at the garbage can nearby, filled with various rubbish emitting a strong stench.

Without any hesitation, she threw herself into the garbage can, continuously moving deeper into it. Soon, the various odors emanating from the garbage covered her entire slender body.

Clatter...

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps moving away.

After a while, when there were no other sounds around, the little girl, Katie, cautiously poked her head out of the trash can, looked around, made sure there was no one, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

This was her chance to take out what she had in her arms. It was a tattered cloth bag containing several moldy bread pieces.

"I'll bring food back for them."

Thinking of someone important, Katie encouraged herself repeatedly.

After all, whether it was the dense fog that made it almost impossible to see a meter ahead or the terrifying scene she had witnessed while looking for food earlier, it all gave her a bad feeling. She wanted to hurry back home and bring the food to her family.

Looking at the somewhat moldy bread in front of her, Katie swallowed her saliva.

"With this food, everyone will definitely survive. They must eat something, or they will die."

Then she carefully put away the tattered bag, tucked it into her arms.

Just as Katie crawled out of the trash can and was about to run towards home, a loud rumbling came from the direction of the castle where King Bais of Tajji Island resided.

This sound caused Katie to slow down her pace. She had thought the gunfire from the port before was caused by another group of pirates. Tajji Island had encountered pirates before. But now, even the safest place on the island was in conflict. Didn't that mean the pirates had successfully breached the defenses on the dock?

Thinking of the various rumors she had heard before about pirates, Katie became even more anxious. Although there was no treasure in her house, facing the bloodthirsty pirates meant danger for her family!

At this moment, Katie had no idea that even if she went back to face the danger with her family, as a child, she would be of little use.