On the deck of the Gale, the moment Leno appeared, Yamato rushed over impatiently, staring at him with an excited expression.
"Leno, how about it? Let's go wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates!"
As Yamato shouted, the others who had gathered around also looked at Leno with burning eyes. The meaning behind their gazes was obvious.
If a fight really broke out, none of them would back down.
What the other side did this time had gone too far. It was clearly a deliberate provocation to start a war.
Seeing the eager expressions on their faces, Leno couldn't help but laugh helplessly. He flicked Yamato on the forehead.
"What are you thinking? We don't do things that cost a lot of effort with no reward."
After a pause, he added, "Besides, we won't even need to make a move. Before long, the Whitebeard Pirates will cease to exist."
With the strength of their adventurer crew, destroying the Whitebeard Pirates was entirely possible.
But there was absolutely no need.
First, the other side didn't have anything they wanted. Second, there was no deep hatred between them.
If they went through all the trouble of wiping them out and gained nothing from it, it would be a huge loss if any of their own crew got hurt.
Beside him, Yamato immediately wilted after hearing there would be no fight. She covered her forehead and looked a little depressed.
In her mind, since the Whitebeard Pirates had provoked them like that, they should at least beat them up badly.
Robin's eyes flickered, and she asked in surprise,
"What do you mean? Other than us, who else could wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates? Tell us the details."
"Yeah, you big idiot, hurry up and explain!" Nami and the others nearby were also extremely curious.
From the way Leno said it, it sounded like the Whitebeard Pirates were already doomed.
Which force was planning to attack them?
Just as everyone looked at Leno expectantly, hoping he would tell them the truth, Leno casually waved his hand and turned to walk toward the parasol.
"When the time comes, you'll know. Saying it now would ruin the fun."
"You annoying baka! Always saying half of the story!"
Nami stomped her foot angrily and ran over, immediately launching a barrage of punches and kicks at him.
The others behind them exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.
Their captain was being mysterious again.
After the commotion settled, Nojiko looked at Leno lying on the lounge chair and asked hesitantly,
"Leno, where are we going next?"
"Hmm... let's follow the original plan. Next, we're going to find Shanks."
Leno patted the restless Nami in his arms and said leisurely after a moment of thought,
"But there's no need to rush. We'll wait until we get the information from Morgans first."
If Shanks didn't have the Poneglyphs, then their only option would be to go to the giant kingdom, Elbaf.
In Leno's memory, the Poneglyphs were only located in a few places. There shouldn't be any surprises.
And if something unexpected did happen, wasn't there still Luffy as a backup?
Just as he was thinking about the next step of the plan, Nami suddenly raised her head from his arms and asked excitedly,
"baka, when are we going to retrieve the Ancient Weapons?"
She had always been curious about the thing Leno had mentioned for so long. Now that they had the ignition source, she couldn't wait to finally see what it was.
Chopper and Carmen beside them instantly lit up with excitement. The two quickly moved closer, staring eagerly at their captain.
"An-Ancient Weapon?! We're going to retrieve it?"
"Honestly, you two jump to conclusions way too easily," Leno said helplessly as he glanced at the two drama queens. He smacked Nami lightly on the backside and said irritably,
"And you too, Nami. Shouldn't we finish dealing with Shanks first?"
He paused, then looked at everyone before continuing,
"You all know our relationship with the Red-Haired Pirates."
"This visit will probably end in another fight, so you'd better be mentally prepared."
"Yes! Ready at any time!"
Yamato, who had just lain down, instantly jumped up again and shouted loudly toward Leno.
Leno completely ignored this troublemaker. She hadn't learned anything useful, but she had perfectly memorized all the slogans he casually said.
He turned to look at Uta, who was drinking tea with Robin, thought for a moment, then said,
"Uta, we're going to see Shanks this time. Do you have any thoughts about that? Do you want to avoid it?"
"Ah?" Uta paused with her teacup in hand and turned around with a puzzled look. "That's not necessary. I already have nothing to do with them anymore."
"I see. In that case, we'll make it quick."
Leno tightened his hold on Nami and took a deep breath near her neck. Just as he was about to reach out to grab the Den Den Mushi in the distance, it suddenly started ringing.
"Buru Buru..."
"Heh, what a coincidence. Who's calling us at a time like this?"
Looking at the ringing Den Den Mushi in his hand, Leno laughed and answered the call.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Ya-ha-ha-ha! Mr. Leno, congratulations! You've taken down another emperor. You're now truly the king of the seas!"
The Den Den Mushi instantly formed the image of a sharp-beaked bird as Morgans' excited voice rang out.
"Pfft—"
Nami couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw the exaggerated expression on the Den Den Mushi.
The other girls nearby also smiled slightly, somewhat impressed by Morgans' intelligence network.
Leno raised his eyebrows in surprise, silently thinking that this guy really was something. His real-time information was incredibly fast.
"Oh, Morgans. I was just about to contact you."
"Mr. Leno, you're looking for Shanks' location, right? I've already prepared the information for you."
"...Good. You've done very well. That's exactly what I needed."
Leno licked his lips with a pleased tone, feeling quite satisfied with Morgans' initiative.
This guy was really useful. Leno had only mentioned it casually before, yet the moment things ended on his side, Morgans had already arranged everything.
Who knew how many news birds this guy had stationed around him to report everything happening in real time.
After getting Shanks' location and giving the news-obsessed Morgans a few more instructions, Leno finally hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Then he seemed to remember something and turned toward the small rabbit who was drinking carrot juice.
"Carrot, come here."
"Big bro will show you a big treasure."
"..."
Hearing that, the experienced girls immediately widened their eyes and stared at Leno like he was a pervert.
He wasn't even pretending anymore, was he? Acting shameless in front of everyone?
Carrot was still so young. This was too much!
The gentle Nojiko instantly turned red with anger and rushed to Leno's side, glaring at him furiously.
Robin, Kuina, and the others also stared at him with unfriendly expressions, waiting for an explanation.
Leno had just taken a Devil Fruit out of his backpack when he looked up and saw everyone glaring at him angrily.
He looked around in confusion and asked nervously,
"W-What's wrong with all of you? I was just planning to give Carrot a Devil Fruit."
"?!!!"
...
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