As the dust before him settled.
Kong Tai then stepped onto the iron gate and entered the room.
His vision went black, then brightened.
It was a dimly lit, circular hollow room.
A corridor circled the room, with railings along the outer edge of the walkway.
Beyond the railings was a dark, deep chasm.
"What is this?"
Everyone who followed Kong Tai into the room leaned over the railing, their heads peering down into the abyss.
"Kong Tai, what's down there?"
Gui Na leaned over the railing, a spark flashing in her eyes. In her perception, there were many people below.
"This place?"
A cold glint flashed in Kong Tai's eyes. He looked down into the hollow and said in a low voice, "This is where the arena disposes of waste."
"Waste?"
Everyone was startled. The waste from the arena should be the pirates who, after losing, were crippled and could no longer entertain the audience!
"Although they are waste, waste still has its uses."
Kong Tai withdrew his gaze, turned, and leaned his back against the railing, looking at the three people—King Riku, Rebecca, and Kyros—walking in from the door.
The corners of his lips turned up, and he chuckled, "I thought you would take a long time to talk, but I didn't expect you to be here so soon."
King Riku looked at Kong Tai's young face, and a brilliant light appeared in his aged eyes.
It was the light of hope, and the light of gratitude.
At this moment, he did not linger in sentimentality with Kyros and Rebecca. He quickly learned everything from the father and daughter and then led them directly here.
"Mr. Kong Tai, can you tell us your purpose now?"
Kyros stepped forward, looking at Kong Tai, and asked in a serious tone.
"Haha!"
Kong Tai laughed heartily, "Actually, you don't need to be so serious."
He looked at the three serious faces and then stated his purpose.
"I've come to find the three of you because a great battle will break out here shortly. You can stop the citizens of Dressrosa and have them evacuate this place."
"A great battle, evacuation?"
Astonishment appeared on the faces of the three.
"Mr. Kong Tai, can you tell us about this great battle?"
"And, with our current identities, the citizens of Dressrosa will no longer listen to us."
As he said this, King Riku's upright posture seemed to bend slightly, and his spirit and vitality dimmed considerably.
In the past, the citizens of Dressrosa certainly trusted him, but now, let alone organizing an evacuation, if he were to show his face outside, those citizens who once trusted him would immediately subdue him and claim the reward from their new king, Doflamingo.
"The great battle is because two Yonko will be coming here soon to fight me."
"Yonko?"
If their previous reaction was surprise, it was now outright fear.
The three were not ignorant people; they naturally knew what the Yonko meant.
They also knew what it meant for a battle between Yonko to take place in their Dressrosa.
"Yonko, Yonko, so Kong Tai can fight the Yonko."
Thinking this, the three looked up at Kong Tai, their eyes filled with shock.
So young, and yet able to fight the Yonko.
As if sensing their thoughts, Kong Tai continued, "As for whether I can fight the Yonko, you don't need to worry."
"And regarding your identities, after I resolve the matter of the person who turned the people of Dressrosa into toys, and once the memories return and countless citizens regain their human forms, you will once again earn the trust of the people of Dressrosa."
"This, this, this..."
Kong Tai spoke a lot, leaving the three somewhat bewildered.
It was King Riku who recovered first. He stepped forward, grabbed Kong Tai's shoulders, and said excitedly, "You said, you said, you said you can resolve the person who turned the citizens into toys."
"Mm!"
Kong Tai paid no mind to King Riku's excited grip on his shoulder. He could feel how tense the old man was at that moment.
He looked into the old man's eyes, nodded affirmatively, and then chuckled, "Let alone the guy who turns people into toys, I'll even take care of Doflamingo while I'm at it."
"Alright."
Kong Tai pushed the old man's hand away, turned, and looked at the hollow below, saying, "I know you might not believe me right now, but it's alright. I'm just here to inform you."
"There will be chaos here soon. I hope you can step forward then, quell the chaos below, and then lead the people down there, and the people on the island, to evacuate to the nearby Green Bit."
After speaking, Kong Tai no longer paid attention to the three behind him and took a step forward.
As he stepped forward, the railing before him twisted and broke, creating a passage.
He continued forward, and thus, before the shocked eyes of King Riku and the other two, he floated in mid-air above the hollow.
"Let's go! Below is Doflamingo's weapon factory. From here, we can directly reach the underground of the royal palace."
He stepped down into the void, step by step, as if stepping on real stairs.
With his steps, ripples appeared on the void. The ripples spread out, becoming transparent, yet allowing people to see clearly.
These were void stairs that Kong Tai had manifested for the convenience of King Riku and the other two.
Otherwise, they would not have dared to step onto the void.
"Truly magical."
Morgans stepped onto the void stairs, looked down at his feet, at the transparent, glass-like, twisting spatial stairs, and his face was filled with amazement.
King Riku and the other two exchanged glances. Although they had many doubts in their hearts.
Kong Tai's appearance was now their greatest hope.
Regardless of whether Kong Tai's words were true, they had to grasp this hope tightly, even at the cost of their lives.
Nodding firmly, the three lifted their feet and followed everyone, stepping onto the void stairs and gradually disappearing into the dim room.
As everyone descended, soon they reached the underground of the black hole.
It was now completely dark, and only the faint blue glow occasionally emanating from the pile of garbage before them allowed everyone to see their surroundings.
"This is the toy factory, the dumping ground for broken toys."
Before anyone could ask, Kong Tai provided the answer.
His companions were already accustomed to Kong Tai seeming to know everything.
Although Morgans and the Firebird were journalists, they didn't know much about Kong Tai. They assumed he had obtained a map of the place before they came, so they weren't surprised by Kong Tai's familiarity with it.
As for King Riku and the other two, they had only just met him and naturally didn't understand why Kong Tai was so familiar with this place.
Looking at the garbage mountain before them, a deep sadness flashed in the eyes of King Riku and the other two.
They now understood what toys were.
To them, the broken toys on this garbage mountain were not toys, but living people.
It was just that these people had been turned into toys, and the toys were completely broken and became garbage.
Looking at the garbage mountain, truthfully, even Kong Tai felt a trace of surprise. He hadn't expected that the ability of the Hobby Hobby Fruit, even when the toys were broken, could not be undone.