Ren finished speaking, and then Otohime began to speak: "Everyone, with Lord Ren's support, my dream is no longer just a fantasy, but a goal I will pursue for the rest of my life."
Otohime's words no longer sounded weak like before, they carried confidence. Her words were no longer idealistic, shaped by all that Ren had done for her.
At noon, in Ryugu Palace.
At the dining table, Neptune bowed his head to Ren, sincerely grateful: "Lord Ren, thank you for saving Otohime."
If he had any doubts before, they were gone now. He was completely in awe of Ren.
"Next, Fish-Man Island is my territory." Ren put down his utensils.
During this time, Neptune had come to understand Ren's character. He didn't say this was Whitebeard's territory; he said directly: "Alright, from now on, Fish-Man Island will fly Lord Ren's flag."
"Mm, I'll handle the trouble. I suppose you've learned about this place by now."
"Mm." Over this time, Neptune knew all too well. On Fish-Man Island, wherever someone tried to harm a mermaid or a fish-man, they were wiped out. Not a single one escaped.
This made the slave traders understand that as long as Celestial Dragon Ren was on Fish-Man Island, it was forbidden territory. Even pirates didn't dare cause trouble.
"Good, it seems I need to make a name for myself here again. Until then, CP will protect Fish-Man Island." Ren glanced at the guards nearby.
The guards immediately understood and disappeared in a flash.
"Ren, thank you for saving me, and my child." Otohime now showed the gentle warmth of a mother.
"No problem. Your child will definitely be adorable." Ren smiled.
"Then, why not have the child call Lord Ren their godfather?" Otohime suggested.
Neptune stared at Otohime, then looked at Ren. Without a doubt, those words were an attempt to make connections, and he was a little afraid Ren might get angry.
Ren's gaze was strange, but then he smiled and accepted, "Fine. When that child is born, I'll be her godfather."
Neptune's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to actually establish a connection with a Celestial Dragon. "Um, Lord Ren, is that really okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. Tomorrow, I'll head to the New World." Ren planned to resign.
"You could stay a bit longer." Neptune tried to persuade him. It came from the heart—ever since Ren had arrived, there had been zero slave capture incidents on Fish-Man Island.
His powerful strength, combined with his status, directly deterred those people. As long as Ren stayed, they didn't appear.
"There's something I need to take care of." Ren said softly.
"In that case, I won't stop you." Neptune felt a little regretful. Before, he would never have imagined that he'd actually want a Celestial Dragon to settle on Fish-Man Island.
…
News Birds carried the news to all corners of the world.
On the Moby Dick.
"Haha, old man, this Celestial Dragon is challenging you again!" Marco laughed loudly at the news.
"His status is high. Could this cause trouble?"
"Gururururu! I'm Whitebeard. Sons, let's pay a visit to Fish-Man Island!" The blond Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"Really arrogant. Are they starting a war with the underworld?" Thatch looked at the newspaper with a sigh.
"He's a Celestial Dragon, with the CP organization backing him. You never know, hahaha." Marco didn't think it was that simple.
Fish-Man Island was Whitebeard's territory. What the Celestial Dragon did was an open provocation. As Whitebeard, he needed to fight to prevent other islands under his protection from losing faith.
On Future Whole Cake Island, a battle raged on the sea. A woman giving birth glanced at Ren's news. "Mama, the bloodline of the Celestial Dragon has come to this sea."
Charlotte Linlin's eyes sparkled. She wanted to collect all races.
Among them, there were two that were difficult to obtain: one was the Giant Tribe, and the other was the Celestial Dragon bloodline.
Moreover, the target was a powerful Celestial Dragon.
As a former Rock Pirates member, she was fully aware of the strength of the Pirate King's deputy.
The opponent could defeat Rayleigh; their strength was undeniable.
"Mom, several people from the underworld want to see you," Perospero reported to Big Mom.
"Mamama, let them come," Big Mom said.
She had been unsure how to approach the Celestial Dragon, but now the bait had come straight to her.
In the underworld, in a certain room, it was filled with Den Den Mushi.
"That Celestial Dragon has their eyes on us," someone said.
"Evade them," another replied.
"They have intelligence from the World Government CP. We're exposed," someone panicked.
"Damn that Celestial Dragon," another cursed.
"We can't take action. If we hide, we might survive. If we fight, we will definitely die."
"Haha, then may the best person win," someone laughed.
The meeting via Den Den Mushi ended.
Even the underworld operators felt helpless against the Celestial Dragon.
Now, the Celestial Dragons no longer seemed like easy targets.
Yet they shared one thing in common: they were not willing to give up the slave trade.
It was an extremely profitable market.
With a small investment, profits could be multiplied hundreds or even thousands of times.
No one would let that go.
North Blue.
"Grrr, really can't stay idle, huh, Ren, you bastard," Doflamingo said, veins bulging.
"So, what about the slave trade?" someone asked.
"Grrr, give a fellow of the same surname some respect, and abandon the slave trade," Doflamingo replied, clearly irritated.
Judging by Ren's track record, he wasn't a match.
He didn't want to face that Celestial Dragon—someone from his own family who also held real power.
Marine Headquarters.
"Ha ha ha ha, this kid suits my taste." Garp laughed heartily as he read Ren's news.
"Garp, didn't you say the Celestial Dragons are all trash?" Sengoku looked at Ren with newfound respect.
The others didn't comment on the Celestial Dragons, but only Garp and Sengoku dared to speak like this because of their strength.
The New World.
Ren, along with his all-around bodyguards, the mermaid Resha, and the furry tribe, set out directly for the island where Big Mom was.
The CP's intelligence had informed him that the Underworld Emperors had gone to Big Mom.
The current situation in the New World was chaotic. The Navy could barely hold their ground.
The sea was divided among former Rocks Pirates, with Big Mom, Whitebeard, and Ochoku standing out most prominently.
The Navy also had a plan to stir chaos, letting pirates kill each other to reduce their numbers.
"How many times has it been today?"
"Lord Ren, this is already the fifth attack." The bodyguard answered respectfully.
The New World naturally had people unafraid of death, seeking fame. When they saw Ren's ship, they didn't avoid it—they boldly charged.
The result was predictable: Ren cut them all down in one strike, treating famous and unknown pirates the same.
"Do we have the route to Zou?"
"Yes, the Vivre Card to go back." The dog-girl from the furry tribe dug through her fur for a long time and finally pulled out a tiny paper no bigger than a fingernail. When she was made a slave, she had gone to great lengths to hide it.
The reason she was helping Ren go back was simple. On Fish-Man Island, she had seen his actions and decided to trust her master.
"Good. First, we deal with the slave traders. Then, our target is Zou." Ren quickly arranged the plan, and the group moved swiftly toward the island where Big Mom was.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24