Green Bit Eight Hundred Years Ago, and a Conversation with Ganlin

They had little choice anyway. Now that Imu had them, they could only accept their fate.

Meanwhile, Caius and Toki kept moving through the passage in time. After about half an hour, they finally emerged eight hundred years in the past.

Sea Circle Calendar, Year 658.

They had arrived on Green Bit.

Neither moved far at first. Caius surveyed the surroundings with Observation Haki, then smiled after a couple of seconds.

"Toki, I think we've landed in the dwarves' kingdom. Have you been here before?"

He turned to his wife.

If he remembered correctly, the Donquixote family would soon enslave the Tontattas. Their labor would be what made Dressrosa truly prosperous.

The powerful families of this era pursued their own advancement relentlessly. Their efficiency was beyond anything the later Celestial Dragon families could imagine.

He knew too little about the present state of this age, though. Toki was the one to ask. Her family had been nobles here, after all.

"The dwarves' kingdom? Green Bit?"

"We ended up here? This power really is unstable."

"But I've never been here either. I lived in the capital. I never visited small kingdoms like Green Bit, so far from the Great Kingdom."

Toki looked around with interest and answered honestly.

"Never mind, then. Let's look around and see what this place is like."

Caius led her into the forest.

The island had no human settlement, and the two made their way through its woods without difficulty.

Before long, a voice brought them to a stop.

"Hey! Who are you?"

"Humans don't live on this island. You're brave, wandering around out here! Good thing you met me. A little farther on and you'd have run into some ferocious beasts."

A dwarf had appeared on the ground a short distance away. He studied the two humans in puzzlement.

"Ha! A beast is still just a beast, however fierce it is. We're not afraid. But what about you? Aren't you worried we might hurt you?"

Instead of answering, Caius asked a question of his own, intrigued.

He really was curious. The dwarves were kind, even in this era, but kindness did not make them fools.

The question caught Ganlin off guard. He had spotted the pair by chance and come out only to warn them. The danger Caius mentioned had never occurred to him.

Now it did. Humans who could stroll so easily through this forest had to be strong. He immediately grew wary.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

"I'm warning you, I'm strong! Stay back, or I'll... I'll..."

He trailed off, unable to come up with a threat.

Caius and Toki laughed at his predicament.

"Hahaha! Relax. I'm not going to attack you. I've no interest in it. There's no need to look so worried."

"As for how we got here, we're not sure ourselves. My wife and I were walking around the capital when there was a flash of white light. Next thing we knew, we were here."

"Could you tell us where we are?"

Caius could not help laughing, but once he had finished, he pretended not to know their location.

"Oh, I see! That explains it."

"My name's Ganlin. You're a very long way from the capital. This is Green Bit, the home of the Tontattas."

Relieved, Ganlin spoke with renewed enthusiasm.

"So this is Green Bit. That really is far from the capital. It looks interesting, though. We might stay a few days before we leave."

"Would you mind if we spent some time here, Ganlin?"

Caius asked gently.

"I... I think that's all right. I'm not sure. But you both seem strong. So, yes. As long as you don't damage anything, we won't stop you."

Ganlin scratched his head, then remembered how unconcerned the two seemed and gave his answer.

Plenty of people used to visit. But ever since word spread that the Donquixote family intended to move against the Tontattas, visitors had become rare.

Thinking of that family filled Ganlin with anger. He and his people hated Donquixote Duflamingo.

Over the past few years, the man had repeatedly attacked them in the name of developing Dressrosa. Many Tontattas had already been taken captive.

That was their quarrel with the Donquixotes, however. It had nothing to do with these two humans, and he would not blame them for it.

"No problem. As long as no one attacks us, there won't be any trouble."

Caius nodded with a smile.

He could resolve the dwarves' situation simply by stepping in. The trouble was that he saw no reason to do so.

They would have to ask him, and offer something valuable enough in return.

"Good! Oh, I still don't know your names. Would you tell me?"

"I'm Caius. This is my wife, Toki Amatsuki."

"Hello, Ganlin. I'm Toki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The two introduced themselves without hesitation.

"Then have a wonderful time in the Tontatta Kingdom, Caiusland and Tokiland! I'll leave you to it."

Ganlin smiled.

He sensed no ill intent from them, so he was content to let them be. Anyone who came here without the slightest fear had to be exceptionally strong.

"The dwarves haven't changed much. But they seem far stronger than the Tontattas eight hundred years from now."

Caius sounded impressed.

If the later Tontattas had possessed this kind of strength, Doflamingo could never have done anything to them.

That also suggested just how powerful Dressrosa was in this era. It was, after all, the realm of one of the Twenty Kings.

None of them amounted to much beside Caius's current strength. If all nineteen kings attacked together, however, he would still have to avoid a direct confrontation.

That assumed they were already as strong as they would be when they overthrew the Great Kingdom. Otherwise, their numbers would make no difference. He could crush them all.