Chapter 536: Speechless Perona, What an Idiot!!

Chapter 536: Chapter 536: Speechless Perona, What an Idiot!!

As if sensing the confusion in Wicca’s eyes, Zoro said, "I’m not a man-eating Giant. I won’t eat you, so there’s no need to be so terrified."

"Now then, explain to me what’s going on."

"Why did you steal my sword?"

If this little creature gave a reasonable explanation, he wouldn’t mind letting her off the hook.

As he thought this, Zoro glanced out of the corner of his eye toward the direction he had come from, musing inwardly, Why hasn’t Perona caught up yet? Don’t tell me she got lost?

Tch, that idiot.

"A-About that..." Wicca lowered her head and stammered, "I cannot tell you."

"I am forbidden from revealing information to the Giant Race."

"Huh?"

Zoro stared at Wicca with utter bewilderment. What kind of bizarre reason was that?

Ignoring Zoro’s thoughts, Wicca bowed deeply to him.

"I apologize, but I have urgent business to attend to, so please excuse me~"

With that, Wicca swiftly darted off to the side. But after only a few steps, she crashed face-first onto the ground, letting out a painful shriek.

Zoro: "??"

"What now?!"

"I... I sprained my ankle."

Wicca looked up at Zoro with tearful eyes. "I can’t walk anymore..."

"Waaaah!"

"Why am I so clumsy?!"

Bawling her eyes out, Wicca lay flat on the ground and hammered the pavement with her tiny fists over and over. Each strike pulverized the ground, instantly punching a massive crater into the stone and leaving Zoro utterly dumbfounded.

"To smash the ground like that..." Zoro gaped, bewildered. "Just what kind of monstrous strength is that?"

No wonder she had managed to toss him down from a high ledge earlier. Her brute force was truly terrifying.

As if catching the look in Zoro’s eyes, Wicca’s eyes lit up slightly, an idea clearly forming in her mind.

Promptly kneeling in a formal, respectful posture, she pleaded, "I beg of you, Giant Race."

"Please take me to my commander!"

Afraid Zoro might refuse, she immediately added:

"Come to think of it, this is entirely your fault in the first place..."

"Huh?!"

Zoro instantly bristled. "You’re the one who stole my sword, remember?!"

If this pint-sized thing hadn’t stolen his sword, he wouldn’t have chased after her in the first place!

"Stole?"

Wicca looked at Zoro in genuine confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We of the Tontatta Tribe are the green stewards of this land, known to the people of this country as ’fairies’!"

"That is precisely why the Giant Race gives us all sorts of things! It wasn’t stealing!"

Zoro: "??"

What kind of twisted logic was that?

"You call that giving?" Zoro shook his head, scoffing. "No, that’s undeniably stealing!"

"At the very least, I never agreed to give you my sword!"

True, back at the restaurant, someone had mentioned that they offered things to the fairies.

But that was only said because the townsfolk had no way to stop them!

If they could actually retrieve their stolen belongings, not a single one would call it a gift!

"I..."

Wicca opened and closed her mouth, at a loss for words to refute him. After all, he truly hadn’t agreed to give her anything.

No... this isn’t the time to worry about that!

"Setting aside whether it’s stealing or not, I’m really pressed for time!" Wicca pressed her hands together in desperate prayer. "Could you please carry me there?"

"Why should I bother helping you?" Zoro replied, speechless.

The fact that he hadn’t sliced her down on the spot was already sheer mercy on his part.

"I belong to the Tontatta Tribe’s reconnaissance unit—a warrior tasked with gathering intelligence!" Wicca said frantically. "I must inform my commander of the Donquixote Family’s movements as soon as possible!"

"Hm?"

Zoro frowned instinctively. The Donquixote Family’s movements?

If this little creature truly possessed intel on the Donquixote Family, that might not be such a bad thing for him.

"I’m telling the truth!" Wicca insisted. "Right now is the perfect opportunity!"

"What are you planning to report?"

"Just a little while ago, I confirmed that the Donquixote Family is heading out to attack the Straw Hat Crew’s ship! Their officers will be away, so this is the perfect time to strike!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Wicca froze. She immediately burst into tears again, pummeling the ground. "Why did I blab everything out loud again?! I’m such an idiot!"

Zoro paid no heed to her emotional outburst, asking urgently instead, "Hey, are you telling the truth?"

"I’m one of the Straw Hat Crew."

Wicca gave no answer, relentlessly smashing the ground in her despair.

Before long, her fists caused a nearby building to groan and collapse entirely.

Zoro: "..."

Seriously, just what kind of terrifying creatures are this Tontatta Tribe? That monstrous strength is ridiculous.

Glancing around, Zoro warned, "Stop destroying everything! You’re going to attract attention."

Hearing Zoro’s words, Wicca’s fists paused mid-air, clearly frightened of being discovered by others.

Yet the moment she remembered she couldn’t deliver the intel to her commander, she burst into tears once more.

Seeing this, Zoro had no choice but to scoop her up. "Hey, is what you said really true?"

"Is the Donquixote Family truly planning to attack our Thousand Sunny?"

"That’s a secret."

Wicca replied with utmost solemnity, "However, I saw it with my own eyes. It’s completely true."

"?"

Freezing again, tears welled up in her eyes. "Why did I let it slip again...?"

Zoro was utterly speechless. It was fortunate for her that he wasn’t from the Donquixote Family; otherwise, this little thing would be dead ten times over.

Shaking his head, Zoro set Wicca down on the pavement, then furrowed his brow as he looked around. "I don’t have a Den Den Mushi, so I can’t contact them... What should I do?"

The three back on the ship were reasonably strong, but against Haki masters, they would be hard-pressed.

Therefore... it was best if he hurried back to check on them himself.

With that thought, Zoro rose to his feet. "I’ll head back to the Thousand Sunny first."

As for Perona?

He would keep an eye out for her on the way back. If he didn’t run into her... with her abilities, returning safely to the Thousand Sunny or finding Meiser and the others wouldn’t be an issue.

Thinking this, Zoro sprinted down an adjacent street.

"Hey, wait!" Wicca yelled. "Take me to the flower field first! I’ll guide you to the coast afterward!"

"Who has time for you?!"

Zoro snapped back, "I’m heading to the coast right now to make sure my crew is safe!"

How could a stranger’s errand ever take precedence over the lives of his companions?

"B-But... you’re running in the opposite direction!" Wicca shouted.

Zoro: "..."

Hearing those words, Zoro stumbled, nearly face-planting straight into the pavement.

Witnessing this, Wicca fell silent for a moment before remarking, "No wonder you got separated from that woman who was chasing me with you earlier."

"You... have zero sense of direction, don’t you?"

Zoro opened his mouth, but found no words to defend himself.

Could it really be his fault that he had lost Perona?

"So take me to the flower field first," Wicca urged earnestly. "I promise I’ll guide you to the coast afterward."

Zoro pondered in silence for a brief moment. Finally, resigning himself to his fate, he walked back to Wicca, snatched her up, and tucked her into the collar of his coat.

"Fine. I’ll take you to the flower field first."

With that, Zoro swiftly dashed off in another direction, quickly leaving the area behind.

After scanning the surroundings and finding no sign of Perona, Zoro turned his attention back to Wicca.

"You said earlier that you overheard the Donquixote Family’s movements, right?" Zoro asked. "Does that mean Doflamingo’s cohorts have been tracking our whereabouts all along?"

"Yes, we’ve been keeping a close eye on them."

"Strange. How did they see through us?" Zoro murmured, puzzled.

They had all put on disguises the moment they landed on the island. How could the enemy have identified them so easily under these circumstances?

Where did things go wrong?

Though he didn’t know the exact details, one thing was clear to Zoro: Doflamingo had probably factored them into his schemes from the very start!

"As expected of one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea... quite a meticulous mind," Zoro frowned.

Pulling off their operation was not going to be a walk in the park.

Still, the thought of Meiser’s presence brought him considerable relief.

Even though Meiser was keeping a low profile to avoid exposure, if an insurmountable obstacle arose, he would step in.

With that safety net in place, the Straw Hat Pirates would never be backed into a corner of utter despair.

Having settled his mind on that, Zoro stopped brooding and focused on carrying out the plan.

Then, recalling something, he looked down at Wicca. "From the sound of it... you have a grudge against Doflamingo too?"

"Yes!"

"Wait, no, that’s a secret!"

"Aaargh... I blabbed again..."

Tears brimmed in Wicca’s eyes once more. Why was she so utterly foolish?

Zoro shook his head at the sight. This little creature was quite the crybaby.

"Hey, stop crying. Are we at the flower field yet?"

"Climb those stairs over there," Wicca said, poking her head out of his collar and pointing at a nearby staircase. "After that—"

Before she could finish, Zoro bolted straight in the opposite direction without looking back.

Wicca: "??"

"Didn’t I tell you to climb the stairs?!" Wicca cried in disbelief. "What on earth are you doing?!"

Zoro: "..."

Grinding to a halt, Zoro stood silent for a second before turning around and heading toward the staircase she had pointed out.

"Are you an idiot?" Wicca asked with dead seriousness.

"Shut up!"

Wicca pouted. He really was an idiot—an idiot even dumber than her!

Soon enough, though, Wicca realized she had been far too naive.

This Giant was far more directionally challenged than she could have ever conceived!

When she told him to go left, he insisted on turning right.

When she told him to go up the stairs, he headed down instead.

As they progressed, Wicca felt her mind going completely numb.

"I give up on you," Wicca groaned. "There has to be a limit to having no sense of direction!"

"S-Shut up!"

Zoro stubbornly retorted, "It’s just a tiny detour!"

"’Tiny’?!"

"What part of that was tiny?!"

Wicca pointed ahead, shrieking, "You ran the complete opposite way from where I told you, taking the wrong path twenty-seven times!"

"And instead of going up the steps like you were supposed to, you’ve somehow managed to head downward thirty-one times!"

"You call that a ’tiny detour’?!"

"What part of that makes any sense?!"

"The flower field is getting farther and farther away!"

"Could you please take this seriously?!"

Wicca was practically fuming; she had never seen someone so absurdly hopeless.

"Shut up already!" Zoro snapped back, irritated. "It’s your fault for being a lousy navigator!"

"It is not... it is not!"

"It’s entirely your fault!"

Driven to tears of pure frustration, Wicca threw a punch straight into Zoro’s face. The blow sent him flying, crashing heavily onto the pavement.

Passersby stopped dead in their tracks, utterly bewildered.

"What’s wrong with that guy?"

"Hey, why did he just launch himself into the air?"

"No idea..."

"Let’s just stay away from him."

Though they couldn’t fathom what had just occurred, their instincts warned them to keep their distance from the bizarre man.

Ignoring the onlookers, Zoro roared, "That hurt! What was that for?!"

"I need to report the Donquixote Family’s location to my companions immediately! Please take this seriously!"

As she spoke, Wicca hammered Zoro’s chest with several more punches, nearly causing him to cough up blood.

"You’re going to break my ribs, you little brat!"

Grabbing Wicca to restrain her, Zoro growled, "Stop throwing tantrums with that monstrous strength of yours!"

Did this tiny creature have no awareness of how terrifying her own power was?

Scrambling up from the ground with an annoyed scowl, Zoro said, "You aren’t the only one in a hurry! I need to alert my crew as soon as possible too, you know!"

Until he confirmed the situation back on the Thousand Sunny, he couldn’t put his mind at ease.

"Huh?"

Seeing the stubborn, defiant look on Wicca’s face, Zoro snorted coldly. "Since you have such an attitude, go find an alley cat to carry you instead."

With that, Zoro dropped the defiant little creature into a nearby flowerbed and marched away without looking back.

"Hey!"

"Please wait...!"

Watching Zoro’s figure rapidly recede into the distance, tears welled up in Wicca’s eyes once more.

What... what was she going to do now?

"Where on earth did that guy run off to?" Perona muttered in pure exasperation. "Don’t tell me he got lost again."

Honestly, she had only looked away for a split second, and that idiot had vanished into thin air...

Perona was at a complete loss for words.

"Great. Where am I supposed to find that directionally challenged fool now?" Perona grumbled, clutching her head in frustration.

Without using her Devil Fruit Ability, locating Zoro anytime soon would be practically impossible.

Yet activating her Devil Fruit Ability risked exposing the Straw Hat Pirates’ presence on the island.

Damn it, what was she supposed to do?

Should she just head back to the Thousand Sunny and regroup with Nami and the others?

But without her around to guide him, could that hopeless wanderer Zoro even make it out of Dressrosa alive?

Just then, a timid voice piped up from the flowerbed beside her:

"A-Are you... a companion of that directionally challenged man?"

"Hm?"

Hearing the voice, Perona blinked, instinctively glancing down into the flowerbed. There, looking up at her with tear-brimmed eyes, was a... dwarf?

"?"

"!!!"

Staring at the member of the Dwarf Tribe, Perona froze completely.

What kind of creature is this?!