Chapter 101: Chapter 101
"Yes, sir. We'll be sure to keep a lookout."
Two men dressed as guards stood at the ready in the train station of San Faldo, otherwise known as the Carnival Town. It was an island connected to Water 7 via sea train.
San Faldo is where Eri, Mihar, Kotatsu, and Tanya were going at the request of Eri. It was a place full of smiles, laughter, joy, and merriment.
"What did the bossman say?" the other man asked.
Now that his attention wasn't occupied by the baby Transponder Snail he had on his ear, he turned to his partner.
"The operation has commenced."
"Pfft! I guess the guards we paid to take a vacation will make an early return."
The two men weren't the original guards. In fact, they were undercover government agents. For almost a month now, the two of them acted as guards in the train station of San Faldo, waiting for their call of duty.
"Let's think about that later. We have a mission to accomplish."
"We'll definitely get a promotion after this."
"That'll only happen if we succeed exceptionally. You remember the last briefing, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I graduated from the academy, man. Remembering ten names and faces isn't that difficult."
"...we'll see."
A whistle soon sounded. It came from a great distance, yet it was loud enough to be heard.
Locals would instantly know that it was the whistle of the sea train called the Puffing Tom. In a minute, the sea train arrived at the train station in San Faldo.
Droves of people soon exited the train. The two undercover government agents kept a close eye on the sea of faces, trying to find a match with the faces they had in their heads.
"Man, there's lots of 'em!"
"Shut up and focus."
The crowd of people exiting the train soon thinned down, making it easier to scan their faces. At that moment, the rather laidback government agent was thankful that his partner chose an elevated position to keep watch.
"Oi. Look there."
The two undercover government agents locked their eyes on a small group that just came out of the train. They recognized them.
"That should be-"
"Mihar, the wind girl, Eri… and the monster cat. Oh! Terzo and Soma!"
"...huh. You actually remembered."
"I told you, man! I ain't stupid."
"Whatever you say… y'know what? You go and make the call."
"...really? You… you never trust me with that task."
"Go before I change my mind."
"You got it!"
-----
"You sure you can handle them alone?" Terzo asked Mihar with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't worry, Terzo. I consider Tanya my equal," Mihar said, reassuring Terzo's worries.
"Damn right, you should," Tanya said with a rather proud smirk.
"It's only Eri and Kotatsu I have to look after," Mihar said. "And I've done that long before we joined you guys."
"Plus, I'm strong now," Kotatsu said, joining the conversation. "If any trouble comes, I'll just turn White Tiger Mode!"
"Eri has three babysitters," Tanya said with a rare mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I'm not a baby!" Eri said, rather annoyed.
"HAHAHAHA! Well, you're right about that, Tanya."
"Terzo-san!" Eri didn't like how Terzo agreed with Tanya.
Their conversation was cut short by a loud voice. They recognized it as a part of the announcement system the train uses.
"All aboard! The train will depart shortly!"
"We should go," Soma said to Terzo before turning to the group who'll stay at San Faldo. "You guys have fun at the carnival!"
"You two have fun eating your hearts out at Pucci, too!" Mihar said as he nodded in goodbye at the two.
"Bring back some for us, Soma-san! Terzo-san!" Eri said as she waved goodbye.
"I want meat! Lots of it!" Kotatsu said, stating his cravings.
"Have a separate pile for Ace!" Tanya said with an amused smile. "You know how much our Captain eats."
"We definitely will," Soma said as he and Terzo stepped inside the train just in time as the doors closed immediately after.
The group watched the sea train go before going their own way. Truth be told, Eri was dragging them along. Still, Mihar, Kotatsu, and Tanya couldn't help but be infected by the excitement Eri was exuding.
The moment they left the train station, they were greeted by a sight that surprised them. Everywhere they looked, all they saw was sights one would normally see in a carnival.
Food and game stalls formed a line, making their own streets. Huge attractions like ferris wheels and roller coasters stood over the whole carnival for all to see. People all around were wearing elaborate masks and costumes as if they were celebrating something.
All in all, first timers who come to San Faldo would be blasted by colors, loud music, gleeful shouts, and laughter. It was certainly a sight to see, especially for children as they're easy to get excited about something like carnivals.
Except Tanya. Unlike Eri who immediately had a huge smile on her face at seeing San Faldo, Tanya grimaced. Noise and color assaulted her senses, making her feel overwhelmed.
"Yup, I hate this place," Tanya muttered under her breath.
Before any of them could do anything further, they were interrupted by someone. It was a woman dressed in a respectable suit. She seemed to be a staff member of the carnival.
"Excuse me, sir?" the woman asked Mihar. "Is this your first time in San Faldo?"
"Yes, it is."
"Ahh, I thought so!" the woman said before her smile faltered into an awkward one. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our carnival has rules."
"Oh." Mihar didn't like where the conversation was going. "Is there a problem?"
"Unfortunately, yes," the woman said. "I'm afraid our carnival has a 'One Child, One Adult' policy. This is a safety measure for our carnival-goers, of course. Also… we don't allow pets."
"Kotatsu is our friend!" Eri said, defending Kotatsu. "Can't you just… make an exemption?"
"...well, your friend is still an animal. Some carnival-goers may feel threatened," the woman said. "I really am sorry, but rules are rules. We cannot let you roam the carnival as you are now."
"No way…"
Eri was visibly sad. It was at that moment that Kotatsu nuzzled up to her to comfort her. Then, his head changed into a small white tiger's so he could speak to Eri.
"Sorry, Eri. But, I'm kinda with the lady over there," Kotatsu said, much to the shock of the woman that spoke to them.
"Why? Don't you wanna have fun with me, Kotatsu?" Eri asked.
"I do, but it's just that-"
A firecracker exploded near their vicinity. Kotatsu jumped up in fright and was surprised at hearing it.
"Eating the Devil Fruit that Hepha fed me made me… stronger," Kotatsu said to Eri. "My senses are getting stronger each day. Being here… I don't feel comfortable. It's unbearably noisy and everything is bright…"
"Is… Is it painful?" Eri asked, to which Kotatsu answered with a hesitant nod. "Sorry, Kotatsu! I didn't know!"
Eri hugged Kotatsu, which unfortunately made the big cat more guilty. Kotatsu nuzzled closer to Eri.
"It's okay, Eri."
"I'll take Kotatsu with me," Tanya said before turning to the woman that was still staring at Kotatsu with her mouth wide open. "One child and one adult right?"
"Ahh, yes," the woman said, taking her attention off Kotatsu.
"Great. I'll take our friend lynx with me," Tanya said. "I assume you have a place where we can wait?"
"Of course!" the woman said before turning her body to the side as if leading the way. "Do you see that tall building there? The one near us."
Mihar and Tanya looked at the building the woman specified. There was indeed a tall building near them. Judging by the look of it, the tall building was in the middle of the carnival.
There was another tall building in the distance. After taking a closer look, Mihar and Tanya realized that the two buildings looked identical. More than that, the two buildings seemed to be connected.
There was a cable system on top of each building. On it were gondola lifts traveling in a clockwise manner through both buildings along the cables, making it look like a horizontal ferris wheel.
"Those two buildings are hotels," the woman said. "The one near us is specially reserved for staff and carnival game winners. The one it's connected to is for commercial use."
"So… where do you exactly want us to wait?" Tanya asked.
Before answering, the woman gave Tanya a card. The card was rather simple. Printed on it was a large and bold 'visitor discount' text.
"As a visitor to San Faldo, you have a fifty percent discount in the San Faldo Heights Hotel. When you arrive at the hotel on its top floor, go down to the ground floor and show the receptionist that card. A standard room will then only cost 20,000 Berry."
"Nice," Tanya said with a smirk, already looking forward to the unique silence only a hotel room can provide.
"What do you think, Tanya?" Mihar asked.
"I think I'll take it," Tanya said before turning to Kotatsu. "How about you?"
"I… I don't know," Kotatsu said. He then turned to Eri.
"It's alright, Kotatsu!" Eri said, patting Kotatsu's head. "You're in pain right now… don't worry! I'll bring back lots of prizes for you!"
With the matter settled, the group was then able to go ahead and start enjoying their stay in San Faldo in their own ways; Mihar and Eri at the carnival, Tanya and Kotatsu at the hotel.
But before they went their separate ways, Mihar stopped Tanya. He then gave Tanya a wad of extra cash.
"Rent a big room," Mihar said. "I feel like Eri will be bringing back… a lot."
Tanya took the cash Mihar offered wordlessly. She then gave him a smirk.
"The extra cash wasn't necessary, but thanks!" Tanya said. "Me and Kotatsu can splurge on room service without a care now."
"Don't feed him anything we wouldn't," Mihar said with a small smile, humoring Tanya.
The Royal Aces were rich. They may not be as wealthy as royalty, but common merchants would definitely drool at their cash supply.
Due to the number of pirates, bounty hunters, and marines the Royal Aces fought and plundered as they sailed the seas, their wallets naturally thickened. Every 'deadly encounter' so far has only brought them wealth and fame.
In a way, Ace was right. Having an infamous reputation like being the son of the King of the Pirates has its advantages.
For a time, the Royal Aces were confused at how their bounties never increased. Ace's meeting with Aokiji answered their questions.
Their bounties never increased because the Navy was confident that they would soon be caught. Only time will tell if the Navy was correct…
-----
Admiral Akainu felt his eyebrow twitch as he watched the Transponder Snail in front of him ring. He was making a call, but the other side was taking too much time to pick up and respond.
Just as his patience was about to boil over, the other side picked up. A rather laid-back voice spoke.
"Oi, what is it? I'm busy!"
"Kuzan!" Admiral Akainu spat out the name out of sheer annoyance at his fellow admiral.
"Ahh? The hell? It's just you, Saka-chan." Admiral Aokiji seemed to be equally annoyed.
"What took you so long to pick up?" Akainu questioned Aokiji angrily. "We're in the midst of a vital mission! Your indolence has no place here!"
"Woah! Calm your tits, Saka-chan!" Aokiji seemed to be having fun annoying Akainu. "Like I told you, I was busy!"
"Report!" Akainu decided not to let Aokiji control the conversation.
"Fine, fine! Contact has been made."
"Good. Keep me up to date."
"You do know we're the same rank, right?" Aokiji asked.
Akainu ended the call.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone