On the night the press conference ended.
The lights in the Fleet Admiral's office were not turned on.
Sengoku sat alone on the sofa, one hand raised to cover his eyes, his head tilted back as if he were a lifeless corpse.
The Den Den Mushi by his hand suddenly rang.
He glanced at it, his expression turning gloomy, and slowly answered.
"Saint Saturn..."
"Sengoku, the incident on Star Island has already been learned by numerous media outlets. The World Government has stepped in and managed to silence many of them, but Morgans' World Economy News Paper has refused," the solemn voice of one of the Five Elders, Saint Saturn, came through.
His tone was filled with suppressed rage. "The news that the Marines, including you, the Fleet Admiral, and Admiral Aokiji, were played for fools by Luo Chen is about to spread across the seas..."
Hearing this, Sengoku's hand on the sofa clenched tightly, his face ashen.
Saint Saturn said coldly, "If you cannot capture Luo Chen within thirty days, you will step down from your position as Fleet Admiral."
With that, Saint Saturn hung up.
Sengoku threw the Den Den Mushi, panting heavily in a rage.
Because of Luo Chen, he and the Marines were about to become the laughingstock of the entire world.
And the Five Elders had given him a final, deadly ultimatum.
If he couldn't catch the man in thirty days, he would be dismissed from his post.
How difficult it was to find a single person on the vast seas.
Once he left the position of Fleet Admiral, the personnel he had assigned to investigate the Onigumo incident might be released.
The Onigumo matter could no longer be covered up.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!
Sengoku's aura fluctuated violently. His exhausted eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, making him look haggard and crazed.
...
The Calm Belt, under a high moonlit night sky.
Amidst the ethereal clouds, a dark green dragon approached from the distance, arriving above Kuja Island.
The female warriors guarding the walls of the Amazon Lily kingdom immediately spotted it and blew their horns to sound the alarm.
Luo Chen looked down at the vigilant female warriors below and said in a loud voice, "I am Luo Chen. I have an agreement with your empress, Boa Hancock. I have brought the body of a Celestial Dragon."
As he spoke, he controlled the dragon to raise its left claw.
A headless corpse, dressed in astronaut-style clothing, was faintly visible in the night sky.
The female warriors of Kuja Island were slightly stunned.
None of them could determine if what Luo Chen said was true or false.
But the sound of the horn had attracted one of the three sisters, Sandersonia.
She walked up to the city wall, her gaze locking onto the headless corpse in the dragon's left claw.
Sandersonia's burly body shook. She stared intently at Luo Chen and, after a moment of silence, shouted, "Let this man into the city."
On the wall, the female warriors looked at each other, but they still lowered their longbows.
Luo Chen controlled the dragon to slowly land on the city wall.
He and Robin dismounted from the dragon's back, instantly attracting numerous gazes.
"How come he doesn't look like us?"
"He seems to be a man."
"This is the first time I've ever seen a man."
"..."
The female warriors whispered among themselves, their gazes filled with curious inquiry.
Luo Chen was silent.
He had long known that most of the people in this country of women had never seen a man.
Robin, on the other hand, observed everyone with great interest.
Sandersonia said in a low voice, "Please wait a moment. Her Ladyship is resting in the castle keep and will be here shortly."
With that, she paid no more attention to Luo Chen and walked straight to the dragon's left claw, carefully examining the headless corpse.
Looking at the blood-stained, spacesuit-style clothing, Sandersonia's body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
'Is it really a Celestial Dragon?'
She murmured to herself.
The special style of clothing was indeed unique to the Celestial Dragons, and ordinary people would not dare to imitate it.
But she couldn't rule out the possibility that Luo Chen was putting on an act to swindle them out of their money.
After all, just a few hours ago, Luo Chen had made a deal with her sister.
How could it be such a coincidence that he would run into and kill a Celestial Dragon?
Sandersonia was suspicious.
Before long, Boa Hancock, accompanied by Marigold, hurried over.
She wore a soft, white nightgown with a purple floral border. The buttons in the front were not even fastened, merely covering the essential parts.
Her fair, jade-like feet were bare, stepping quickly across the ground.
It looked as if she had hastily gotten out of bed and had no time to dress properly.
Boa Hancock's gaze swept over Luo Chen, then landed on the headless corpse in the dragon's left claw.
The familiar spacesuit-style clothing, which had appeared in her nightmares many times, made her body, like Sandersonia's, tremble uncontrollably.
The orange-haired Marigold flashed to the side of the corpse and bent down, pinching and rubbing the spacesuit.
Her body stiffened. Her voice was filled with disbelief. "Sister, it's really the clothing of a Celestial Dragon."
The fabric of a Celestial Dragon's clothing was the most special and precious material in the world.
Marigold had come into contact with this type of clothing many years ago when she was imprisoned in the Holy Land. Even after so many years, she could still identify it.
Boa Hancock's deep blue pupils suddenly constricted. She looked at Luo Chen.
"Where did you kill a Celestial Dragon?!"
Luo Chen smiled. "Star Island. It was quite a coincidence. Just as I arrived, I happened to run into the convoy escorting the Heavenly Tribute, along with this Celestial Dragon named Saint Lorenzo."
Boa Hancock's beautiful almond eyes trembled slightly. She then looked at the giant net in the dragon's right claw.
At this moment, the net was spread out on the ground, revealing countless treasures and Berries that nearly covered the entire city wall.
At a rough glance, the value was definitely over four billion Berries, perhaps even close to ten billion.
Boa Hancock murmured in a daze, "It really is the Heavenly Tribute."
If she had been suspicious before, suspecting that the Celestial Dragon's body was a fake created by Luo Chen, her level of trust was now at eighty or ninety percent.
Luo Chen, a small-time pirate with a bounty of around two hundred million, could surely not produce a fortune of nearly ten billion.
The only explanation was that he had robbed the Heavenly Tribute.
And although the probability of a Celestial Dragon traveling with the Heavenly Tribute convoy was low, it could not be ruled out.
Combined with the corpse and the Celestial Dragon's clothing, Hancock was basically convinced.
Luo Chen said, "The news from Star Island will spread soon. You can pay me after you've seen it."
If nothing unexpected happened, the report about him would spread across the seas by tomorrow.
In that case, Luo Chen was no longer in a hurry to find Nami and the others.
By the time the news spread, he might not even have been able to fly back to the vicinity of Alabasta. He might as well stay here and ask the Empress for the four billion Berries.
At this moment, Luo Chen was also a little excited.
This haul of Heavenly Tribute was worth eighty-five billion Berries.
Plus the forty billion from the Empress.
He was going to be rich!
If the system wasn't too greedy, perhaps after using up this batch of cultivation points, he would have the strength of a Marine Admiral.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to flee in such a wretched state as before. He would have a chance to contend with them.
Luo Chen's confident tone made Boa Hancock's breathing quicken. Her chest rose and fell, and her open nightgown swayed gently.
Disbelief appeared in her beautiful eyes. "I never thought you would have the audacity to kill a Celestial Dragon."
Luo Chen shook his head. "Killing them or not makes no difference to me. A Marine Admiral has already made a move on me."
He said, "Men are forbidden on Kuja Island. I'll wait on a nearby island. I'll leave after I get the money."
With that, Luo Chen took Robin and walked toward the dragon's back.
He would take the Heavenly Tribute with him, but the Celestial Dragon's body would be left in the Amazon Lily kingdom.
Boa Hancock called out, "Wait."
Luo Chen looked back, puzzled.
"Sandersonia, go and arrange for the best guest room."
Hancock urged him to stay. "I am willing to make an exception and let you stay in Kuja City."
She instructed Marigold to take away the Celestial Dragon's body. Then she personally led Luo Chen and Robin into Kuja City, which had not been entered by a man for hundreds of years.
Luo Chen followed behind Hancock, raising an eyebrow.
'Killing a Celestial Dragon really is effective.'
Boa Hancock's attitude had changed in an instant. She was so friendly that it made him and Robin a little uncomfortable.
On the way to their residence, Hancock said softly, "My apologies for my rash actions today."
Robin's eyes showed surprise, and she looked at Boa Hancock with great curiosity.
She really couldn't understand why the body of a Celestial Dragon would cause such a big change in the Pirate Empress's attitude.
Before, even when her sisters' lives were threatened, she had not apologized.
But after Luo Chen had brought the body of a Celestial Dragon, Boa Hancock's tone and expression had immediately become kind and even gentle.
And she had sincerely apologized to the two of them.
Such a transformation filled Robin with curiosity.
...
A moment later, the three of them arrived at the main entrance of a pavilion next to the castle keep.
Boa Hancock turned to face Luo Chen, a smile that could outshine the heavens and the earth blooming on her soft red lips.
"Please rest here for the night. I will have the four billion Berries ready as soon as possible."
With that, she turned and left, her tall and alluring figure entering the castle keep.
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