12
Survival Day Twelve: Do You Know Uncle Karp?
Corazon’s decision to speak was made in a moment of desperation.
He didn’t know how Wendy had learned this information, but he knew that if she went and told Doflamingo, it wouldn’t end well for her.
He had also considered that speaking would expose his secret. If Wendy told Doflamingo, he would easily become a suspect in Doflamingo’s eyes.
After only a few seconds of hesitation, Corazon made his decision—based on his observations, Wendy, though somewhat peculiar in her thinking and behavior, was a good girl. She might not necessarily tell Doflamingo. Even if Doflamingo found out, he might not come to harm… But if Wendy went to ask directly, she would likely be affected.
Corazon raised his hand and snapped his fingers, completely isolating the sound in the room. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said with a grave expression, “How much do you know about the Celestial Dragons?”
“The World Nobles, who demand tribute from others, right?” Wendy replied, her tone curious. “Aren’t they supposed to live in Mary Geoise? If Doffy is a Celestial Dragon, then you must be one too, right? Did you run away from home?”
“…No. If I had to say, we were more like… exiled Celestial Dragons.” Corazon looked at Wendy. The blonde girl’s face showed only curiosity, with no other emotions.
Her emotions always seemed so straightforward and simple, and she seemed capable of accepting anything, no matter how significant the issue—treating even the biggest problems as ordinary matters. Perhaps that was why Doffy liked her.
Corazon steadied himself and slowly began to recount the past.
“We were once Celestial Dragons… until later, my father decided to leave Mary Geoise and live among ordinary people.” Corazon paused, as if recalling the experiences of his childhood. Pain and sorrow welled up within him, and a trace of sadness appeared on his face. “However, the hatred ordinary people held for the Celestial Dragons exceeded our expectations.”
After their identities were exposed, his entire family was hunted down by the townspeople. When his father tried to send his wife and children back to Mary Geoise, they were refused. Suddenly, they became outcasts, despised by both sides.
For the first time in their lives, they felt pain. For the first time, they learned what hunger was… and for the first time, they experienced the helplessness of life and death.
They scavenged for food in trash bins, but their mother eventually fell gravely ill from such a life and passed away.
Later, they were found again by those filled with resentment… Doflamingo blamed his father for everything and killed him. The young Rosinante, who was Corazon himself, left because he couldn’t accept this reality.
Thinking back to those scenes from the past, Corazon’s expression grew even more solemn. “Doffy would never allow this part of his past to be dug up or known… not even by you, Wendy. You must not ask him about such things.”
“I understand.” Surprisingly, Wendy accepted this quickly and was very receptive to the advice. She then asked, “But Corazon, why are you hiding the fact that you can speak?”
“Because… because I want to stop Doffy.” Corazon looked at her and asked, “Can you keep it a secret that I can speak?”
After hearing the entire story, Wendy’s emotions barely fluctuated. She appeared exactly the same as before, as if the story she’d just heard was nothing more than an ordinary bedtime fairy tale.
Naturally, Corazon didn’t realize that from Wendy’s perspective, the major revelation he’d just shared could be summarized in one simple concept—[Ah, a new character is starting to deliver plot exposition].
What was a heavy secret for Corazon was merely background story completion for her companion in Wendy’s eyes.
Not only was she not frightened, she even felt somewhat happy. Because her system’s event log, which previously only recorded the [Pirate King’s Execution] incident, had now registered a new event: [Celestial Dragons’ Secret ①: The Donquixote Brothers].
And this was even a series storyline… She wondered if subsequent parts ②③④⑤ would come from these brothers or be triggered by other characters.
“Sure,” she agreed, then curiously glanced around. “What did you do to make everything so quiet?”
The faint noise from the street that was audible earlier had now completely disappeared.
Corazon saw no point in hiding this: “Because I’m a Silence Fruit user.”
Wendy’s eyes lit up.
She knew there wouldn’t be plot progression for no reason!
See, wasn’t it obvious? A key major event character, a Devil Fruit ability user… This was clearly a potential companion candidate!
And he was the one who actively approached her to advance the plot… This must be the hint!
Thinking this, Wendy cheerfully asked: “In that case, do you want to become my companion?”
This abrupt question left Corazon stunned. Looking at the smiling blonde girl, he fell into silence, unsure how the situation had developed this way, or why Wendy would ask such a thing… Did she propose this to everyone who confided in her? Was this how Doflamingo became her companion too?
Harboring some doubt but also curious about what would happen, Corazon slowly nodded: “Okay.”
Then he became the third person, after Dragon and Doflamingo, to be startled by having a heart physically pulled out by bare hands. And he remained stunned for the longest time among them.
“This is the Telltale Heart, equivalent to my actual heart. It can only be entrusted to companions I acknowledge. If I die someday, you can use this to revive me.”
Wendy presented the Telltale Heart again, her words unchanged from before. However, the listener’s shock remained equally profound.
Unlike Doflamingo who mistakenly believed he was the first to receive her heart, Corazon as the younger brother understood much better. He immediately realized why Doflamingo was so indulgent toward Wendy…
He felt suddenly enlightened. Looking down at Wendy’s pale but expectant face and her still-outstretched hands holding the heart, his emotions became complicated—well, it seemed Wendy herself probably hadn’t given it much thought.
For a moment, the heaviness in his heart faded, replaced by a sense of helplessness and concern over Wendy’s behavior.
He accepted the heart and placed it into the backpack—a specially crafted item distributed by Wendy, limited to one per member of the Donquixote Family. With a grave tone, he advised, “I understand, but you mustn’t tell Doflamingo about this, nor should you mention that you can create multiple revival hearts.”
Even though he knew he wasn’t the first to be entrusted and felt that Wendy was far too trusting of others, Corazon still felt a warmth in his heart, moved by the trust and reliance she had placed in him.
He didn’t believe such an act came without a cost—Wendy’s visibly haggard face made that clear. Before this, he hadn’t spoken much with her and had even secretly observed and doubted her character… Yet now, she had instantly trusted his words and given him something so significant, a symbol of that trust.
Of course, he was unaware that Wendy could produce as many of these as she wanted, as the materials were simple. The only precious resource was her own blood, and she had plenty of means to restore it. The 40 health points required for one Telltale Heart could be replenished by eating just one fish steak or a serving of dumplings.
Listening to Corazon, Wendy nodded. “I understand.”
From his words, she immediately grasped that Doflamingo and Corazon represented two separate paths! This was a classic setup—likely, they would become two distinct factions later in the game. Once she completed the shared storyline, a choice would surely appear!
Seeing the system prompt—[You have requested to add Donquixote Rosinante (Corazon) as a companion. The other party has accepted your request]—Wendy felt satisfied.
Noticing a Cartography Table nearby, Wendy pulled out a blank map scroll and handed it to Corazon, urging, “As a new companion, you should give me a welcome gift. Draw me a map!”
This time, she had learned her lesson and wouldn’t directly ask to share the map—she’d just have him draw it instead!
Corazon, always even-tempered, didn’t question her request and amiably agreed. He settled before the Cartography Table and began sketching, even asking which parts of the map she wanted.
In this world, any pirate capable of sailing alone had to master certain nautical skills, including steering and cartography. At the very least, they needed to know how to read maps. Only those exceptionally strong could afford to be directionally challenged and still venture out solo.
After receiving the map, Wendy chose to “read” it, opening her system map. She was pleased to see another section had been illuminated.
And the largest portion of it was… Hm? A Marine base?
Wendy glanced between her system map and Corazon.
Although Corazon and Doflamingo were brothers, aside from their hair color and build, they didn’t look very alike. Especially since Corazon covered his face with greasepaint and a clown makeup to conceal his appearance, making his true features hard to discern.
Studying him, Wendy showed a flicker of confusion before understanding dawned—so they were in different factions! Doflamingo represented the pirates, while Corazon must represent the Marines!
Just like Uncle Garp, whom she had met earlier, who was also a Marine.
It seemed this faction setup had been foreshadowed all along… She wondered what plot points she would need to navigate later.
Thinking this far, Wendy asked, “Do you know Uncle Garp?”
Corazon was momentarily stunned—there was only one Garp he knew…
“You mean Vice Admiral Garp of the Marines? You know him?”
“Yes, I stayed at his place before. When I first arrived in this world, Uncle Garp took care of me.” Wendy nodded, feeling somewhat sentimental as she recalled the past. Thinking carefully, it had been a long time since she last saw Uncle Garp…
“If you happen to see him, remember to say hello for me.” After saying this, Wendy felt she had accomplished one thing. Following her own pace, she simply walked away.
Left behind, Corazon stood there dumbfounded, his brain seemingly crashing and rebooting as he tried to sort out the current situation.
Wendy said she was taken care of by Vice Admiral Garp when she first arrived in this world… which likely meant she was adopted by him…
If she was once a noble, she might have had a similar experience to his—leaving the nobility and being adopted… And she seemed like a genuinely good kid; today’s events further confirmed this speculation…
But why was she with the Donquixote Family, and why did she seem to trust Doffy so much…
Wendy… Could it be that she was tricked into coming here by Doffy?!
Author’s Note:
Doflamingo: ??? Who are you saying tricked whom?!