One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 169: A Debt of Love?

"Huh? Oh..." Bepo hadn't seen enough yet. He hesitated for a long time before going up to chat, but before he could do anything, the captain appeared.

Shaki and Peggy wanted to join in, but Law said it wasn't a big problem and told them to keep playing.

Law wasn't gone for long. When he returned, one or two seats in the room were unchanged, and Ace was still asleep, looking like he'd taken a large dose of drugs. "PayPal, translate," Law said, pointing to Sweet.

"Awoooooo! Awoooooo! Awoooooo!"

Bepo listened attentively, nodding occasionally and furrowing his brow, before suddenly understanding. "It said, over there," Bepo pointed to the water dispenser, "there's someone else's scent, very faint, a scent it's never smelled before. However," Bepo's gaze shifted to Katakuri, "that scent is also on you."

"Are you telling the truth?" Katakuri asked Sweet seriously, and Sweet nodded.

"Have you encountered this person? Do you know him?" Luo pressed, as he had some leads offline, but they weren't complete.

Katakuri didn't answer Law's question, because searching for someone based on this limited information was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He had been to many places and met many people today. "Have these cups left your sight?" Katakuri asked Baccarat.

Bakara stood leaning against the sofa, and when asked, she thought seriously. "I poured three glasses first, but then I thought of Sweet and Miss Yu, so I poured two more. I went to find the plates then." That's what she said, but the place where she went to find the plates was only three steps away from the water station. If someone had walked by, it would have been impossible for them not to notice.

Ross pondered Bakara's words. She could use them to exonerate herself, but there was no one else to testify to the truth. However, Bakara's demeanor didn't seem to suggest she was afraid of being misunderstood, which made it seem as if she was telling the truth.

On the other side, Katakuri's brows were furrowed. Law felt he seemed to know who had done it. "Do you know something?"

Katakuri nodded. "The person who changed the water was Sora Mingwei. She's an Ability User; she can travel through space." Considering what Bakura said—that she could appear and disappear without being detected over such a short time and distance, and that she was someone Katakuri had met earlier that day—only Sora Mingwei could appear and disappear out of thin air.

Why did she give him the underwater drug? What was she trying to do?

"Who is Kong Mingwei? Your enemy?" Luo had never heard of this name before, but the fact that she would target Katakuri meant she was definitely not a friend.

If she were an enemy, Katakuri wouldn't be so puzzled. "Not really. I only met her twice." The first time they met, Sora Mingwei spoke gently, introducing herself and telling him about Yu's situation; the same was true this time, even in the face of his neglect, she didn't seem angry.

However, this conversation didn't make Katakuri as comfortable as before; there was a lingering sense of unease. This feeling wasn't unfounded; it was an intuition that had developed over many years of experience at sea. And now, it seemed to be coming true. But not entirely. If they really wanted to harm him, why would they try to drug him instead of something else?

If he wanted to know the answer, he'd probably have to ask her in person, but she's hard to find. Katakuri thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. When he looked up, he only found Law staring at him meaningfully, as did Baccarat.

That look made Katakuri feel very uncomfortable, and he was completely baffled.

“Kong Mingwei… judging from the name, she’s a woman…” Bakala said slowly, drawing out the last syllable, “Could it be… a romantic entanglement?”

Katakuri, upon hearing this, thought it was insane and pretended not to hear or understand, but when he met Luo's scrutinizing and even secretly approving gaze, his face darkened. "She has a husband."

Bakara wasn't about to dismiss her suspicions. Having a husband didn't stop her from having a lover. Of course, she didn't dare say it aloud, since Miss Yu was still unconscious. If she really offended this woman, she wouldn't die, but she'd be badly injured. "Just kidding. Maybe there's something on you that she needs, so she's planning to drug you and do it."

Law directly refuted this, "The timing is wrong. The dosage she used would only take twenty minutes for the Fire Fist Master, and even for Katakuri Master, it wouldn't take more than an hour to take effect." Law had a very accurate grasp of drug dosages, and he could figure out the approximate time it would take to take effect for people of different physiques. "At that time, even if we weren't there, Nai-san would definitely be by Katakuri Master's side, and she wouldn't have had a chance to make a move."

Even though Naisan was somewhat exhausted, faced with the suddenly unconscious Katakuri, he would only come to him or be on high alert. If Sora were to intervene at that time, she would definitely be discovered. Such a thankless and arduous task would certainly be ruled out.

Yes, Luo understands this, and so do Baccarat and Katakuri.

The little idea I finally had has led me into a dead end.

"and many more!"

"No, she has a chance!"

Katakuri and Law suddenly spoke at the same time.

"Why is it happening again all of a sudden?" Bakara was surprised by the sudden change in their thinking, simply because she didn't know what that opportunity was.

Luo looked at Katakuri, only to see the latter's eyes briefly meet his before shifting to Naisan in his arms.

Yes, the opportunity lies with Nesang! "The one who attacked Nesang just now was probably her. She must have possessed Nesang's body." This wasn't hard for Luo to understand.

His surgical ability can achieve this effect: within the ROOM area, he can create chaotic space and freely swap his personality and body. This results in a body with completely different behaviors and habits. "Kong Mingwei can manipulate space and enter another person's body, which is also a form of spatial invasion."

"She even knows when it's easier to infiltrate Nesang. It seems she's been monitoring your and Nesang's every move for a long time." She deliberately chose to do it after Nesang used her ability, when she was exhausted and it was the easiest time to succeed.

Bakara felt goosebumps rise all over her body. The thought of someone else taking over and invading her personality made her feel uncomfortable all over. "Is she still inside Miss Yu's body?" If so, she wouldn't be able to leave on her own, or even take any action.

Nobody knows the answer to that question.

"We'll only know when Nessan wakes up." Law sat back on the sofa, glancing helplessly at the soundly sleeping Ace, feeling that he was somewhat superfluous. But he couldn't just leave him in his room now; if he were alone, something unexpected might happen.

After thinking it over, Law put down the wailing and went to get two blankets. He handed one to Katakuri. As for the other, he covered Ace with it and even put a pillow under him.

Bepo watched the captain's actions and gave a simple "Oh."

Actually, his exclamation wasn't anything special; he was simply stunned. After all, it was quite different from the captain's usual demeanor, and during the day, the captain and Ace were like oil and water.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Luo immediately retorted, "I was just afraid that Nesang would wake up and worry if he saw this, so I didn't intend to take care of him!" His tone was completely different from before, and his emotions were fluctuating greatly.

Bepo felt it was his fault, so he lowered his head and obediently said, "I'm sorry..."

As for Katakuri and Bakura, they stared at the man and the bear, especially the man, speechless. Even Sweet was somewhat speechless, letting out a soft "whimper."

Having already made a fool of himself by protesting, Luo, feeling somewhat guilty, immediately noticed the other two gazes. A little embarrassed, he froze on the spot, realizing that saying anything would be superfluous, especially since he had already done it. Luo reached up and pulled at his hat, then sat down with his arms around Ghost Cry, head bowed.

The living room was eerily quiet, which Bakala found unsettling, especially since she felt superfluous. She didn't know exactly why, but it felt strange nonetheless. Besides, staying here meant nothing but waiting; she figured she might as well go and discuss a possible solution with Mr. Tanaka.