Calling it "directing the slaves" was a bit of an overstatement. Stella only had to give a simple order and the slaves, long used to running the ship, moved like clockwork. Which was why she very quickly noticed the two figures heading her way.
Perona, with a sulky face and red fingerprints still on her cheeks, stomped over. Stella laughed softly and patted her head.
"You little rascal, did you make His Highness angry again?"
Perona puffed out her cheeks.
"I did not! It was that big bully picking on me!"
Seeing her all puffed up like an angry pufferfish, Stella could not help but chuckle and comfort her a bit.
Perona was still a child at heart. Her attention shifted pretty easily.
Stella did not forget about Nico Robin standing quietly to the side. Seeing the girl hesitate, she asked,
"Robin, what is it?"
Robin glanced at Perona, then finally voiced the question in her heart.
"Perona and Saint Tenryū Yuto… is this really alright? I heard that Celestial Dragons are all pretty…"
She did not finish the sentence, but the meaning was very clear.
Stella took Robin's hand with a smile and led her toward the rail.
"It's fine. His Highness can be a bit domineering in how he acts, but he is a very easygoing person."
Robin clearly did not believe that.
So Stella slowly began telling her own story.
When Robin heard that Stella had originally been a slave that Yuto bought, her eyes went wide.
"To be honest, I was very scared at the beginning too. But His Highness has always treated us well. I have never seen him truly angry with us."
That was not entirely accurate.
When it came to pretty women, especially pretty women who had appeared in the original story, Tenryū Yuto always had a bit more patience.
If it was Aramaki who messed up, Yuto would still punish him.
Yuto's attitude toward men and toward women was absolutely a double standard.
That was right. Tenryū Yuto was a walking double standard.
…
While Stella was unconsciously helping Yuto do ideological work on Robin, Yuto had already called Aramaki over.
"Aramaki, at your current level, you count as a high tier fighter on the seas. I need you to handle a few things for me."
"Your Highness, please give your orders."
Yuto took out a sheet of paper. On it was a drawing of a round, orange red Devil Fruit that looked a bit like a fire dragon fruit.
He handed it to Aramaki and began to explain slowly.
"Near one of the main shipping routes in the East Blue, there is an isolated island."
"A special current around the island drags anything in toward the shore, forming an invisible prison in the sea."
"So almost no one ever manages to leave."
"The sand on the beach is white. The island is full of coconut trees, but there is no other food. Resources are extremely scarce."
He laid out all the features of the nameless deserted island in one go, then finally gave the order.
"I need you to find that island. This Devil Fruit is on it. Bring it back."
Aramaki studied the drawing of the Mera Mera no Mi, hesitated for a moment, but did not ask. He simply agreed.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Yuto could tell he wanted to ask more.
But Aramaki had been born too low, had never seen a Devil Fruit encyclopedia, and did not recognize this particular fruit.
Yuto did not bother to explain. He only added one more instruction.
"Do not make a big production out of it. I do not want too many people to know about this."
"I understand, Your Highness."
Aramaki bowed, then turned to leave.
He would need to find a small boat to separate from the convoy, then sail from the West Blue to the East Blue.
After Aramaki left, Yuto lay back down again.
This was a test.
If Aramaki could complete the mission efficiently and quietly, then he was someone who could be entrusted with greater responsibilities.
If he stirred up a huge commotion or dragged things out endlessly, it would not be too great a loss.
In the end, it was only the Flame Flame Fruit. At worst, Yuto would hand it in as a contribution and make up some story to fob the Five Elders off.
But if it came to that, he would have to consider training talent from the random extras around him. That would definitely cut into the time he could spend on his own cultivation.
"I really hope that guy doesn't disappoint me."
Watching Aramaki pilot a small boat away from the flagship, Yuto's eyes behind his sunglasses grew thoughtful.
…
That month's card draw came to an end again. Maybe because he had just mentioned the Flame Flame Fruit, the system gave Yuto a rather good card.
Portgas D. Ace (Young)
This was already Ace at his strongest. In the original timeline, even at Marineford, Ace had only been in his early twenties.
By now, Tenryū Yuto was no longer who he used to be. He could suppress a young Borsalino. Dealing with Ace might not be trivial, but it would not have him scrambling.
Inside the card space, Yuto held a long Japanese sword. Its handle and blade were almost the same length. Dark red Conqueror's Haki crackled around him.
This was a new function unlocked after he learned swordsmanship. The card space could now provide him with all kinds of weapons.
In front of him, Ace, with an expressionless AI face, stood silently. Conqueror's Haki oozed off him as well, crossing and clashing with Yuto's own.
"Can we talk about this? You are not going to beat me anyway, so why not just drop the ability card for me now and save us both some trouble?"
"Higan."
AI Ace, of course, ignored him and launched his attack.
With his future sight level Observation, Yuto dodged easily.
"Alright then. Looks like I really do have to beat the AI out of you before you cough it up."
His gaze sharpened. In an instant, the intensity of his Conqueror's Haki spiked, temporarily suppressing Ace's.
The simulated battles in the card space felt extremely real. With his Conqueror's Haki pushed down, Ace's movements grew sluggish.
Yuto seized the opening. Armament Haki coated the long blade as he slashed toward Ace.
Yuto had not yet reached the rank of a true swordsman. He could not perform flying slashes, and using a sword actually lowered his combat efficiency slightly.
But fights in the card space did not use up stamina and carried no real danger.
Ace was a convenient sparring partner. Not at the absolute top, not weak either. Perfect for polishing swordsmanship.
Even under the pressure of Yuto's Conqueror's Haki, Ace still chose to meet the slash head on.
"Shinka Shiranui."
Ace's hands turned into flames, embers arcing outward to form a fiery spear that thrust against the falling blade.
The flaming spear clashed with the nodachi, ringing out with a flurry of metallic notes as sparks scattered everywhere.
Yuto did not use his strongest hand to hand technique, and he even restrained his use of future sight. For a while, their exchange was actually fairly even.
Yuto's sword technique had no fancy name. It was simple, direct cuts.
Ace, on the other hand, had a whole arsenal of named techniques.
"Enjōmō."
"Hiken."
"Hidaruma."
"Enkai."
"Dai Enkai, Entei."
…
It was all useless.
With the gap in raw power so large, it did not matter how flashy the move names were.
Tenryū Yuto's strength was not yet truly overwhelming, but he was already at least on the level of an Emperor's right hand man or a top tier Warlord.
Taking down someone like Ace was never going to be a problem.