One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 97 Rejecting Cyrus

The waiter quickly brought the wine and peanuts, but You didn't want him to leave right away. "By the way, I have something to ask you."

"..." The waiter didn't speak, but his continued presence indicated that he was waiting for You's question.

Yu thought the waiter was quite temperamental. "Is there any way to get tickets to tomorrow night's auction?"

Upon hearing this, the people at the nearby tables stopped talking and all eyes turned to You.

The soldiers were terrified by the stares.

But the next second, everyone around started talking at once about the auction, and they were all talking to You.

Yu dealt with each person one by one, but did not forget to observe the expressions and demeanor of the people around her.

After finally finishing and leaving, it was already dark outside.

However, Yu had no intention of leaving. After the number of people in the tavern gradually decreased until it closed, Yu led the soldiers to the back door of the tavern.

"what are you up to?"

"Combating counterfeits."

The soldiers didn't understand why drinking a beverage had turned into an anti-counterfeiting campaign.

Yu didn't let the soldiers follow her, but waited for her at the front door of the tavern. But the soldiers still secretly followed her.

There was a faint candlelight at the back door, and figures could be seen busily moving things around, apparently emptying something.

"I was wondering during the day why a bar waiter would have a faint smell of gasoline on him. So, you were changing the drinks." Yu leaned against the bar wall like a bear, watching the waiter from earlier in the day with amusement.

The waiter was spotted, but upon seeing that it was the silly bear from daytime, he showed no fear.

Instead, he clenched his fists behind his back, ready to strike at any moment. "The boss told me to change this. It has other uses."

"Other uses?" Others might believe it, but Yu didn't. "These wines are going to be taken to the arena for tomorrow's auction, right? What use are you to gasoline them? Blow up the auction house?"

During the day, I saw people transporting wine into the arena in truckloads. I glanced at them and noticed the markings on the barrels, so I looked around for them.

She was also quite lucky; being a skilled cook, she was very sensitive to smells. And coincidentally, this waiter had a slightly unusual odor on him.

Most importantly, when Yu asked about the auction, the waiter didn't say anything. In any case, people in this kingdom would know something, so it would be strange if he knew nothing.

So, Yu came over to check late at night, and to her surprise, it really was true.

"You want to blow up the auction and then take the Devil Fruit in the chaos?" Of course, this is just speculation, and he might be acting under someone else's orders, but none of that matters.

The waiter was visibly flustered, after all, his entire plan had been revealed.

I never expected this bear-like guy to be so smart.

You slowly walked up to him. "You don't need to attack me. I'm not here to stop you or report you, because I don't want the auction to go too smoothly either."

"What do you mean?"

"Doflamingo's auction of the Devil Fruits is just a smokescreen, so the only way to get them is through drastic measures," Yu said truthfully.

The waiter clearly didn't know that he only wanted to make things difficult for the wealthy people at the auction; he hadn't really thought about the outcome.

"Devil Fruits have nothing to do with me."

Yu hadn't expected this. "That's perfect. Let's cooperate. My goal is the Devil Fruit. You cause a disturbance, I'll take the fruit, and afterwards I can help you escape."

"Why should I trust you?" The waiter was tempted, because he didn't yet have the most reliable route for his escape plan.

“Because my ultimate goal is the same as yours—I don’t want them to have an easy time.” Yu’s tone made it inexplicably difficult to question him. The waiter covered his face and laughed loudly, then brushed aside his bangs and nodded in agreement, “My name is Gilde Tezzolo.” He had helpers, but one more wouldn’t hurt.

"Just one character, You." You was certain that he had given her his real name, so she wouldn't hide it. "By the way, your voice is very nice."

Tesoro paused for a moment, then said nothing.

Yu helped Tezzolo put the remaining gasoline in, making sure to cover up its smell.

"I'll arrive at the venue early tomorrow. Wait until the fruit auction starts, then you can make your move. We'll meet at the arena entrance near the coast," Yu instructed before leaving.

Tezzolo indicated that he understood.

Yu didn't return to the ship, but instead stayed at Rebecca's house. Although she felt a little embarrassed, she chatted with the soldiers on the way and eventually arrived, where she was invited inside.

I don't know why, but the soldiers suddenly became so enthusiastic towards You.

After Rebecca fell asleep, the soldier came to talk to Yu.

“My original name was Cyrus, and I was the captain of the army of the King of Liku in this country. However, after the kingdom was invaded, I was turned into a toy.”

Yu was genuinely surprised that this soldier had previously been someone of great importance, but why was he telling her all this now?

Wait, Cyrus, that name sounds familiar. I think I saw it on a statue in the arena during the day.

Cyrus...

That statue is inscribed with the name of the legendary hero, Cyrus, who boasted an incredible undefeated record of three thousand matches?!

"You are...the statue in the arena?" Yu felt as if she had discovered some incredible secret.

The former captain of the royal army, whose country was overthrown, could he be secretly plotting against Doflamingo?

"Yes, but now no one in this kingdom remembers me anymore," Cyrus said, his tone full of helplessness.

"why?"

"I don't know. Ever since I became a toy, it seems like nobody remembers me, not even my daughter."

"Daughter?" Could it be...?

"Rebecca is my daughter, and all I can do now is stay by her side and protect her silently."

Yu hadn't expected it to be like this; he had practically told him he was dead during the day. It turned out he'd been forgotten.

But thinking about it, forgetting versus dying, death is actually easier to bear.

"Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you afraid I'll tell the Don Quixote family?" Despite this, Yu was still wary.

“I believe you share my dissatisfaction with the Don Quixote family, and I hope you can join me in planning to rescue King Riku and restore freedom to the country,” Cyrus confessed his thoughts.

This idea has never disappeared since the country was occupied and the King of Riku was imprisoned.

Yu hadn't expected Cyrus to be so direct and frank. "You overheard my conversation with Tesoro?"

"Well, so what do you think?" Cyrus, as a toy soldier, had no other expression, but his tone made Yu sigh.

After a long silence, he let out a long sigh, "I refuse."

"Why?!"

"First of all, you are right, I am dissatisfied with the Don Quixote family, but I am only targeting them."

"Secondly, I'd like to ask the Royal Army Captain, since you're going to rebel against Doflamingo, do you know how many people are in his family, and what their individual strengths are? Also, what is your complete plan? With your officers spread throughout the kingdom, do you intend to defeat them one by one, or all at once? And how many rebels like yourself do you currently have?"

These questions stumped Cyrus. He simply wanted more help, but he hadn't really considered these things. Just like before, when he single-handedly stormed the palace to try and save King Riku, only to be countered and end up like this.

Seeing Cyrus's predicament, Yu continued, "You don't have to answer this question, because there is a third one."

“I’m not from this country.” Yu stood up, drew the curtains around him, and took off the bear headgear. “I’m a pirate, just like them. And I used to be a member of the Donquixote Family.”

Cyrus picked up a toy gun and aimed it at Yu.

"I joined for other reasons back then; you could think of it as an undercover agent, but that's no longer the case. I'm unhappy with Doflamingo because he killed my brother. I want revenge, but I'm clear that I don't have the strength right now. All I can do is cause him some trouble and make him unhappy."