One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

"Tsk, I can't believe you're so young, but you've already been a mother for several years..."

Kaido blew his nose, looking unhappy. Suddenly, he suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly, "Where are the fathers of these little brats?"

"You're quite sensitive! I've had several husbands since I was eighteen, and I loved them all very much..."

Lingling came close to Kaido and smiled maliciously: "It's just that after having children, they are no longer useful! Now I don't know where they are going to get a living! Mmmmm!"

Kaido was frightened by these words and shuddered. He had never expected that Lingling, despite her beautiful and generous appearance, could be so cold and ruthless. Thinking of the reason why she might have brought him here, he took a few steps back and said in a trembling voice, "Are you going to let me..."

Lingling spread her hands: "How is that possible? I don't have any feelings for a kid like you."

She walked up to Kaido, put her arm around his shoulders, and said with a smile, "In my eyes, you're like my own brother!"

"Don't say such cheesy things!"

Kaido shook her hand off reflexively, pointed in a direction and asked, "By the way, is the boy sitting over there also your son? He doesn't look like his son based on his age."

Lingling looked in the direction of his finger and saw a half-open door at the end of the east corridor. There was a faint sound of metal knocking coming from inside, so she smiled and said, "You have a good eye! That guy is a trainee sailor like you. I'll take you to see him now."

Kaido followed her through the long corridor and pushed open the door. A strong and pungent metallic smell hit him in the face, causing Kaido to cover his nose involuntarily. He looked inside carefully and saw that the room was cluttered with all kinds of mechanical products, and even the carpet was made of metal. A figure sat in front of a table and chair with his back to them, holding a screw with a wrench and tightening it in the arm of a robot toy. The noise of children came into the room from time to time, but he seemed to have not heard it at all, concentrating on completing the work at hand.

"Okay... that's it!"

He gently lifted the robot's arm to make sure it moved freely, nodded with satisfaction, stood up and stretched, turned slightly, and noticed the two people at the door.

"Well, well, well! You're still as serious as usual!"

"Ah, Miss Lingling, I'm sorry I didn't notice you coming. Please forgive my rudeness!"

The man hurried forward and bowed politely to Lingling. Compared to a giant like Kaido, he was several heads smaller, and no doubt like a normal person of the same age, with a clean and handsome face, still a little childish, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a giant oval silver helmet, the area above the forehead was covered tightly, wearing a green shirt with the word "MACHINE" printed on it and black shorts, his gentle and friendly tone made people easily like him.

Lingling pointed at the boy and said to Kaido: "His name is Uno, he just turned thirteen this year. Don't look at his young age, he has been a pirate here for two years. He is also your predecessor. He is good at intelligence gathering and mechanical modification. Also, I remind you that he doesn't like others to touch his helmet. You have to remember this, otherwise you will be in big trouble!"

"Really? I was just about to poke his helmet." Kaido muttered.

Uno turned his gaze to Kaido, and politely extended his right hand and said, "Hey, nice to meet you! I heard that you are Mr. Kaido who recently joined the Rocks Pirates. I heard about your outstanding performance from others. I didn't expect that you can even defeat a monster like Siluk. I hope you can give me more guidance in the future!"

Kaido saw that he behaved in a calm and generous manner without any airs, and a smile suddenly appeared on his stern face. He held his right hand and said, "Oh ha ha ha! I am the one! Let's make a big fuss on the sea in the future!"

“Haha… that seems a bit exaggerated.”

Uno smiled awkwardly, picked up the newly assembled robot on the table, carefully held it in his hands and handed it to the female pirate, saying, "Ms. Lingling, this is the mechanical doll you ordered before, a total of 5,000 Baileys, please inspect it."

Lingling took the robot and fiddled with it for a few times. Seeing that it was lifelike and had a brilliant metallic luster on its surface, she nodded and praised, "Wow! Your craftsmanship is more refined than before. I'm sure the Homies will be more agile... I'll give you the money later, don't worry."

"Bulu Bulu..."

Just as she finished speaking, a rapid ringing sound came from her pocket. Lingling took out the phone and answered it, shouting unhappily: "Who is it? I'm busy!"

"It's me! Lingling, there's no one else next to you, right?"

"No one except my two trainee crew members!"

The voice paused and continued, "That's good. My ship was damaged on the way and I am now stranded on a deserted island. I would like to trouble you to pick me up. By the way, I have something very important to give you!"

"Tsk! I'll be right there, just stand there and don't move around!"

"Okay, I'll tell you the address..."

When the Den Den Mushi was turned off, Ling Ling grumbled impatiently: "That guy with the long bread is really troublesome..."

She returned the robot to Uno and said to them in a commanding tone: "I have to go out for something now and won't be back for a while. I'll leave this place to you two for the time being. Don't let me down!"

"I understand, Miss Lingling."

The door slammed shut, leaving only Kaido and Uno in the room. Kaido walked around, looking around with surprise in his eyes.

"Why? Are you also a mechanical enthusiast?"

The gentle and friendly voice brought Kaido back to reality. He waved his hand and explained, "No! This is the first time I've seen such dazzling mechanical parts. I'm just a little curious!

"Haha, relax, we are all partners in the same boat."

Uno smiled leisurely, pointed at the densely packed mechanical products on the table, and said, "Machinery has infinite possibilities. When used in the right way, it can bring many conveniences to people, but when used in war, it can easily take countless lives. It all depends on the attitude of the user. In a sense, observing the fate of a machine is also a very interesting thing."

"is it?"

Kaido didn't understand the meaning of his words for a moment, and asked with another doubt in his mind, "Why did Lingling ask you for a robot? Does she have a hobby of collecting machines?"

Uno shook his head. "That's not the case. Miss Lingling is the user of the superhuman Soul-Soul Fruit. She can manipulate other people's souls at will, letting the souls reside in objects to make them human. These humanized objects are called 'Homies' and they obey her orders unconditionally. The creatures whose souls are deprived will have their lifespans reduced accordingly. The robots I made will also become like that in the future."

"I see. I never asked her about her abilities before..."

Hearing this, Kaido suddenly realized what was going on. Thinking back to the miserable state of Xiluk at that time, he couldn't help but feel nauseous. Suddenly, he said "Huh", pointed at something on the table and asked, "What is that?"

"You mean this photo?"

Uno walked to the table and picked up a metal box at the innermost part. The surface of the metal box was sealed by a glass, and inside was a somewhat old photo. Kaido took a closer look and saw that the photo was a headshot of a woman with wrinkles all over her face. She was obviously old, wearing nun clothes, holding a cigarette in her hand, showing a kind smile, and asked: "Is this your grandmother?"

"You're a little too old to be my grandmother."

Uno smiled teasingly, pointed at the person in the photo and said, "That's a photo of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Miss Lingling asked me to keep it. I only know that she was kind to Miss Lingling. In the past, she was a devout believer who specialized in helping children. She was respected by many people. It is said that she disappeared later."

He put the photo back in place and said, "But perhaps the facts and rumors will be completely different."

Kaido sensed the bitterness in his words and asked hurriedly, "What do you mean?"

Uno yawned lazily, held up the robot in his hand and said, "What do you think of this robot?"

"Just like Lingling said, it's made very delicately. It's hard to imagine that it was made by someone of your age." Kaido answered without hesitation.

Uno hummed, put the robot back on the table, and curled his lips casually: "But the material of this robot may surprise you."

His right hand gently touched the robot's body. Without any movement, the robot's body trembled slightly and immediately fell apart. The mechanical parts looked crooked, like a pile of scrap copper and iron, extremely unsightly. Kaido smacked his lips and said, "What are these...?"

"They are all scrap metals I collected from the sewers, things that other people don't want."

Uno seemed to see through his thoughts and slowly replied, "No one would have thought that my exquisite robots were filled with these materials. The same is true for this world. Under those seemingly glamorous countries, there may also be ugly things."

When he said this, there seemed to be sadness in his eyes, as if he was recalling something painful.

Although Kaido was a rude person, he could read people's expressions to some extent, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "This robot has become like this, aren't you afraid that Lingling will come back and blame you?"

"Don't worry, this period of time is enough for me to finish it again."

Uno sat down, picked up the mechanical parts on the table and assembled them one by one, and said slowly, "I'll warn you in advance that Miss Lingling is not an easy person to deal with. I've suffered a lot from her before."

Kaido was stunned, touched the back of his head and asked: "Did she take away part of your lifespan?"

"That's not the case."

Uno turned around, put the wrench on his fingertips and turned it in a circle, blinked his right eye and said with a smile, "You will understand later."

As night falls, the sea breeze blows gently, and the sparkling sea and the bright moonlight complement each other, outlining a flowing picture.

On a deserted island, two people were sitting under a tree and whispering.

"You really kept me waiting, Lingling!"

"It's because you got the wrong location of the island, and I went there without even having dinner!"

"Sorry, sorry, I'll make you something delicious right now!"

"Forget it, I'm tired of what you've made... Tell me, what was the information you wanted to tell me before?"

"Hehe, we've encountered some big prey this time."

As the man spoke, he took out a roll from his arms. Lingling took it, unwrapped it, and looked at it for a while before suddenly laughing out loud: "Well, well, well! Isn't this a fortune? But you used Den Den Mushi to notify me alone, is there any purpose?"

The man gave a thumbs up and praised: "As expected of you, Lingling. You figured it out so easily."

He leaned close to Lingling's ear and whispered, "When we succeed, we will take the money and leave the Rocks Pirates, run to the sea where Rocks can't reach and dominate the world. Then we won't have to rely on others anymore!"

"How daring..."

Lingling stared at him blankly for a while, with a greedy look on her face. "Well, that's a good idea. I'll place the children on the boat in advance to prevent them from being taken hostage."

"Okay. By the way, you just said there were two trainee crew members next to you? Besides Uno, whom I trust, who is the other one?"

"It's Kaido who just joined recently. I'm sure you've heard of him."

"It turned out to be him. I have read about his deeds in the newspaper. He is said to be the culprit who destroyed the Woka Kingdom."

The man said excitedly, "What good luck! Lingling, if he can join, this operation will be much smoother!"

"Don't be too happy yet. That guy is not as easy to fool as I thought. He may not necessarily help us."

"What should we do? How about we both take him out first?"

"There's no need for that..."

Lingling shook her head, a sneer on her lips looked even more eerie in the darkness. "If he is willing to team up with us, that would be great. Otherwise... I will have to use the soul spell to make him my slave for life. After all, I treat him as my own brother! It's not a bad thing to have him stay by my side forever, ma ma ma!"