At this point, Ian's eyes gradually narrowed.
According to Gunko, Dragon had suddenly summoned wind and rain and left after Borsalino struck down a Revolutionary Army commander.
This meant that whether in Foosha Village or during the initial stages of the Revolutionary Army's rescue operation, Dragon could have broken through the encirclement and left calmly. The fact that he chose to escape only after Borsalino, a Marine Admiral, appeared, clearly wasn't entirely to sow seeds of doubt within the Marine, but rather because he wasn't fully confident he could fight his way out of the encirclement by three God's Knights members and the Marine!
Could it be that Borsalino was truly an undercover agent for the Revolutionary Army, planted in Marineford, as analyzed by various 'know-it-alls' on the internet before I transmigrated?
"Young Master, what do we do next?"
Seeing Ian suddenly go silent, Gunko, who was kneeling, carefully raised her head to look at Ian after feeling the invisible pressure above her disappear, "Do we need to dispatch all God's Knights members for the pursuit?"
Ian didn't answer immediately, silently picking up his wine glass and draining it in one gulp.
Although Dragon's escape from Shamrock, Kilingom, and Somaz, three members of the God's Knights, was hard for him to accept, in terms of the fatalism of the Pirate World, Dragon had been at large for all these years, leading the Revolutionary Army to gradually grow stronger, bearing some destiny on his shoulders. How could he be so easily captured and executed by the God's Knights?
"No need for a blind pursuit!"
After handing the wine glass to a maid beside him, Ian turned to Gunko, saying lightly, "The main reason the Revolutionary Army hasn't been annihilated all these years is that the World Government's dispatched agents haven't found their headquarters!"
"Young Master knows where the Revolutionary Army headquarters is?" Gunko's eyes lit up.
Ian nodded, "The Revolutionary Army headquarters is located in Baltigo, known as the White Clay Land. Dragon's escape this time, in all likelihood, means he will return to the Revolutionary Army headquarters! Because of my appearance, they must change their strategy as soon as possible!"
"Order Shamrock to lead the God's Knights members who participated in the God Valley incident that year to immediately depart for the White Clay Land and seize the spring!"
"Additionally, order Sengoku to secretly investigate Borsalino. Although I can't confirm whether Borsalino is a Revolutionary Army undercover agent right now, Dragon's escape this time should be related to him!"
Gunko dared not delay, immediately rising and walking to the side to contact Shamrock and the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters.
During this time, Kaya, who had been feeling uneasy, didn't dare to breathe loudly. She sat upright on the swing opposite Ian, holding a literary book, eyes downcast, as if seeing no evil and hearing no evil.
Previously, she had some doubts about Ian's identity because, besides being strong and overbearing, Ian was almost a different kind of person from the Celestial Dragons she knew.
But now, Ian's conversation with Gunko left her with no doubts. Not only did she not doubt, but she also understood why Ian was different from the Celestial Dragons she knew. Because the Ian sitting before her now was not only of noble status but also held great power, actually able to casually issue orders to the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters!
"Kaya, are you very nervous?"
Seeing Kaya's reaction, Princess Anna, who had wisely kept her distance from Ian while he was discussing serious matters with Gunko, first blinked, then rose and sat beside Kaya, saying mysteriously, "Or rather, are you also feeling stirrings of love for the Young Master? This is very normal, after all, to this day, I haven't seen any young maiden in love who can resist the Young Master's charm!"
"Eh?"
Kaya blinked. If she could, she would have wanted to immediately distance herself from Ian.
Putting aside everything else, could she, a mere commoner girl, listen to the content of Ian's conversation with Gunko just now? If Ian hadn't told her to leave her room more often to get some air and sun, she would have long since hidden in her bedroom. How could she dare to feel stirrings of love!
Although she thought this in her heart, Kaya dared not show it. Moreover, after secretly glancing at Ian and seeing that he didn't mind Princess Anna's open discussion, she plucked up her courage and cautiously asked, "Miss Anna, how... how did you meet Saint Ian?"
"I'm not as lucky as you," Anna smiled alluringly, "Two years ago, I accompanied my father to the Holy Land for the Reverie, and as soon as I passed through the moving walkway, I was abducted to the Young Master's room!"
"Ah?"
Kaya's beautiful eyes widened, "Ab... abducted?"
Anna smiled and pointed to the two noble young ladies opposite, "They were too."
Kaya's expression immediately became wonderful. Compared to Anna and the other two's experiences, she seemed truly somewhat lucky.
However, she immediately noticed a problem, staring wide-eyed at Anna, "Accompanying your father to the Reverie?"
Before she finished speaking, Kaya suddenly jumped off the swing, saying incredulously, "You're a princess of a country?"
"That's right, that's right!" Anna nodded like a pecking chick, then pointed to Princess Sally, who had received the Young Master's favor these past few days, "You should know this one; she's the Princess of Goa Kingdom. Compared to us, she's the luckiest one!"
"The... the luckiest one?" Kaya blinked.
"Before becoming the Young Master's woman, she had an fiancé, who was vulgar and ugly. If not for the Young Master, Princess Sally would have suffered! Don't you think she's lucky?"
"So lucky that I'm a bit jealous, because she..."
At this point, Anna suddenly leaned into Kaya's ear and whispered, "She's received the Young Master's favor these past few days!"
"But you don't have to worry, I can feel that the Young Master treats you differently from us. Of course, you also have to learn to please the Young Master! As long as the Young Master is happy, you will become one of the freest, most favored, and most powerful women in this world."
Hearing this, Kaya's face instantly flushed, and she weakly said, "I... I don't know what to do?"
"I can teach you!"
Anna said with a smile, "When the Young Master is in a bad mood, extinguish his anger immediately, no matter when or where!"
"Also, get used to the Young Master talking back!"
"And be tolerant of the Young Master's sudden intrusions..."
"In short, one phrase: thunder and rain, all are grace!"
...Holy Land, Chamber of the Five Elders.
The news of Dragon's escape reached the Gorosei immediately.
Upon learning that Dragon could still escape despite three God's Knights members and two Marine Headquarters Admirals being present, the Gorosei immediately convened an emergency meeting.
However, the main point of their meeting was not to immediately dispatch more people to pursue Dragon, but to discuss who would die first!
The reason was simple: Ian certainly wouldn't take Dragon's escape lightly.
Once Ian returned to the Holy Land, the first thing he would definitely do is punish the five of them. They were certainly going to die, so as for who would take the blame and how many times they would die, they had to check the ledger to see whose turn it was this time.
"Nasujuro, it's your turn this time!"
Finally, after flipping through the ledger, Saturn felt relieved and then gloated as he looked at Nasujuro, the Warrior God of Finance holding a samurai sword, "When the Young Master returns to the Holy Land, you should immediately go and beg for forgiveness. That way, you might die fewer times!"
—