Chapter 33 (1/2)

Grandline, Paradise, Drum island

The three rigid figures remained standing there in the entrance for a while longer, everyone seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts. Soon though they returned to the present. Kuleha, with an unreadable expression on her face turned around first and walked back up into her laboratory, closing the door behind her, seemingly not wanting to talk with anybody and wanting to keep to her thoughts in silence.

Chopper was the next one, and with a determined expression on his face, stepped back into the castle, taking one look at the footprints and following the larger ones, up the stairs and to the corridor that was home to the now ex-kings privat chambers, including his study.

Following Chopper, though with a few seconds buffer, was Sanji, having dropped his cigarette and for the first moment in a long time didn't feel like smoking.

The last one was surprisingly Luffy. What he was thinking about? Nobody would know. Maybe he was just sorting his feelings concerning his rather new aquaintance, or maybe it was something wholy different all together. He too went up the stairs, following after the reindeer.

Azul meanwhile had found the kings study and was searching through a whole pile of doc.u.ments. Finances, Laws, Regulations until finally he came upon something he thought looked like something similar to what he had hoped he would be finding in a nobles study. Locations and contact information. As he read through the list he saw one contact that made him pause in thought. Could it work? Maybe...

With the sudden thought he had had with the appearance of said contact Azul choose to try. Later though when he had found a transpondersnail.

And so he continued through the doc.u.ments and found suprisingly few things he would consider even remotely important to his cause. Though what he found important was a map. A map to an island that housed a certain group of people he still had a bill to settle with. Cipher Pol.

With a satisfied smile Azul shuffled and rolled the few doc.u.ments together and was about to stand up when Chopper entered the study and having the feeling Chopper wanted to talk, Azul sat back down with a patient face, accented by a kind smile.

”Why did you do that?” Chopper asked just as Sanji and soon after Luffy entered the study behind the doctor, seemingly wanting to know as well.

”You mean why I ripped his soul from his body and burned it?” Azul asked back, his kind smile never leaving his face, which sent a small shiver up Sanjis spine.