Chapter 2

"Steal?"

Although he had just eaten a Devil Fruit, Rosvandi felt a burning sensation in his stomach, a signal from his intestines demanding more "food."

At the same time, his mouth kept producing saliva, but there was no food left, so he could only keep swallowing dryly.

"It's not that simple."

In response to Rosvandi's suggestion, Doflamingo frowned and shook his head.

"To reach the kitchen where the food is, we need to pass through the sailors' hammock area and the boatswain's room, and get the key from the head chef."

"The head chef and the boatswain sleep in the same room. Stealing from them is too dangerous!"

Since their identities as "Celestial Dragons" were exposed, Doflamingo and Rosvandi had been living on the run, no longer naive children but ruthless individuals who had learned to steal, rob, and kill without a teacher.

Otherwise, they would have been killed by the commoners long ago!

So while "working" on this ship, Doflamingo had quietly memorized the ship's structure and personnel relationships, especially the kitchen where the food was stored, which was crucial for their survival.

Without food, they would starve to death!

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to walk straight to the kitchen."

Rosvandi waved his hand.

He had eaten the "Silence Fruit," not the "Invisibility Fruit."

To cross half the ship to steal food from the kitchen... the difficulty was too high. For a regular child, it was no different from courting death.

This was an "armed merchant ship."

When facing pirates, it was a merchant ship; when facing a distressed merchant ship, it could also play the role of a "pirate"!

Without a skull flag, can't they still rob?

It was now the year 1474 of the Marine Calendar. Although Roger had not yet shouted his world-famous line, "My treasure, if you want it, come and take it!" the chaos at sea was no less than in the future.

If they were discovered, Rosvandi and Doflamingo might not even have the chance to walk the plank; they could be stabbed to death and fed to the sharks directly!

"What if we climb over from the outside of the ship?"

The kitchen where the food was stored was located in the rear half of the ship, diagonally below the captain's cabin.

The area where Rosvandi and Doflamingo were staying was at the very bottom of the ship's center: a small, cramped cabin originally used to house poultry and pigs, where the ship's rotten food was consumed.

Now, the captain had "generously" sold this space to the two of them for shelter!

"If we climb out through the gunport, use a grappling hook to grab the right rear side of the ship, and swing over—"

Stimulated by hunger, Rosvandi's brain worked at high speed, drawing a rough "sketch" on the floor with his fingernails. Doflamingo, wearing his sunglasses, pushed them up and began to add details to this bold plan.

"The grappling hook can be stolen from the storage room, where no one will be watching..."

"Although I haven't been near the kitchen, I saw the windows at the back of the ship often open, with smoke coming out..."

The so-called "scraping" was the task of cleaning the barnacles, oysters, and algae from the ship's hull. It was a dirty and exhausting job, naturally assigned to Doflamingo as free labor.

The intense "hunger" burning in Rosvandi's mind made him focus solely on the immediate need to eat, regardless of any dreams or future plans.

Doflamingo, of course, would not oppose. In his mind, there was no concept of "good" or "bad."

There was only the determination to survive and the ruthless principle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!

"Rosvandi, you—"

But Doflamingo instinctively marveled at his brother's series of actions.

"You've changed."

"People always change. Let's start."

Silently, the two children's figures emerged from the lowest deck of the ship. They did not attempt to cross the sailors' hammock area but came to the cold gunport.

As the wooden gunport, which would normally creak, was pulled open, the narrow opening was just right for two children who had long been struggling with hunger.

"Give me the grappling hook."

Using gestures to communicate, Rosvandi signaled Doflamingo to pass him the grappling hook attached to a rope. With half his body out of the gunport, Rosvandi spun the grappling hook a few times—

Embarrassingly, he found he had no "throwing" skills.

A light tap came from behind, and Doflamingo, wearing his sunglasses, took the grappling hook with a "let me do it" expression.

Cough, cough, indeed, practice is the only way to test the truth.

Stepping aside, Rosvandi used the Silence Fruit to eliminate the sound of the grappling hook spinning through the air and the noise of it catching on the right side of the ship as Doflamingo threw it.

"I'll swing over next."

Tying another rope around his waist and biting a small knife, Rosvandi waved to the worried Doflamingo.

The "Silence Space" created by the Silence Fruit was not large, so Rosvandi had to do it himself.

It must be said that this behavior was very dangerous. A slight mistake could result in falling into the water and becoming a weight, and at any moment, they could be discovered by the sailors on the ship, leading to their doom.

Unfortunately, the hunger burning in their stomachs and the tight belt around Doflamingo's waist forced the newly arrived Rosvandi to take the risk.

Whoo—

Gripping the rope with ten fingers, Rosvandi kicked off with his feet and swung toward the back of the ship in the sea breeze.

Bang—

Under the effect of the Silence Fruit, Rosvandi swung in a long arc and collided with the back of the ship without making any sound.

Before he could feel the pain, half his body lost all sensation. The impact point turned from numb to hot, and finally, intense pain radiated in all directions!

Click, click, click—

Gripping the rope with ten fingers, Rosvandi instinctively wrapped his feet around the rope and clenched his teeth. After a few seconds—maybe a few minutes—Rosvandi finally caught his breath.

The rope around his waist trembled slightly. He turned his head and gave Doflamingo, who was peeking out of the gunport, a "I'm fine" smile. He removed the small knife from his mouth and forcefully inserted it into the ship's hull, then slowly moved toward the window.

This wasn't a movie where one swing would land you at the kitchen window.

—The small knife was a tool for climbing.

The cold, bone-chilling wind of the North Sea made his thin clothes bristle with goosebumps.

With the ship's sturdy structure, Rosvandi's climb was very difficult. A few hours earlier, he would never have believed he would dare to engage in such "extreme sports."

But now, for survival, he had to push himself to the limit!

Fortunately, although this body was full of scars and malnourished, it was surprisingly resilient. With the will to survive, Rosvandi finally managed to move to the kitchen window.

Climbing onto the window sill, he used the small knife to pry open the window and fell into the kitchen. His body felt like it no longer belonged to him, and he could barely move a finger, except for the rising and falling of his chest!

After a while, Rosvandi got up, untied the rope from his waist, and tied it firmly in the kitchen. He then gave Doflamingo, who was guarding the gunport, an "OK" sign.

Unlike Rosvandi, who had struggled to "pave the way," Doflamingo hung from the rope and climbed over like an agile monkey.

Jumping in from the window, his gaze, hidden behind the sunglasses, was fixed on the food on the nearby shelf, unable to look away.

"Here,"

Rosvandi handed a piece of bread to Doflamingo and took a big bite of the dried fish, crunching the fish bones.

"Hmm—?!"

"What's wrong? Your ability is failing?"

Facing Doflamingo, who was shocked and speaking in a low voice, Rosvandi shook his finger.

"Don't panic, listen carefully."

Apart from the sound of chewing the dried fish, there was no sound of the "waves" that should be everywhere, which calmed Doflamingo down.

"Your ability—"

"That's right, this is called a 'Soundproof Wall.'"

Although the Silence Fruit was very "useless," it had one advantage: it was easy to develop.

"Unlike simple range silencing, the soundproof shield I've set up can block the sound between this kitchen and the outside world."

"Ha ha ha, well done!"

"Rosvandi, your ability is amazing!"

Doflamingo, who was malnourished and short, laughed excitedly, taking a big bite of the bread without fear of attracting attention from others on the ship.

Pouring a cup of liquid from a nearby barrel, Rosvandi tilted his head back and drank it down, the warmth spreading from his stomach, giving him a long-missed feeling of "happiness."

"Don't focus on one type of food."

"Let's take a little of each, so it's less likely to be noticed—"

As the two hungry children took a little of each type of food and feasted under the moonlight, they didn't notice that the kitchen door was trembling, as someone was turning the key from the outside.

Empty,

The kitchen door opened silently,

?!

In an instant, the two children stuffing food into their mouths and the fat man at the door were all stunned.

—

The next second, the fat man, who had silently "shouted," rushed into the kitchen, quickly drawing a sharp knife from a nearby shelf and slashing at Rosvandi's head!

?!

The bright blade reflected in Rosvandi's pupils, making him instinctively use his ability to the fullest. However, the Silence ability had no offensive power, and just as the metal weapon was about to strike his head—

The tall, fat man suddenly fell backward, and a splash of red and white bloomed in the air.

Then, the massive body fell silently, causing the entire kitchen to tremble, and the sharp knife landed on the floor, silently bouncing.

"——"

?!

Turning his head, Rosvandi saw Doflamingo, holding a flintlock pistol, mouthing "Are you okay?"

Biting into the dried fish splattered with blood, Rosvandi, who had just experienced a series of shocks, silently muttered.

This damn world!