Blake was a little surprised.
Whether in Mary Geoise or out at sea, he was practically a transparent figure. Who would be using a Transponder Snail to contact him?
Even so, he still took the snail and answered.
"Hello?"
"Saint Blake, my apologies for disturbing you."
The Transponder Snail's face shifted into one that looked very much like the Golden Lion's, then spoke in a grave voice.
"A directive has just come down from Marine Headquarters. All high-ranking officers are to return to Marineford immediately. At the same time, word has also arrived from Mary Geoise. The Five Elders hope that you will return to Mary Geoise for the time being as well."
Blake froze for a moment.
That certainly made it sound as though something major had happened.
So he asked,
"Vice Admiral Gion? Do you know what happened?"
The man on the other side fell silent for a moment, as if the matter were a little difficult to explain, but in the end he still answered.
"Your Highness, according to the information I've received, Fleet Admiral Kong encountered the great pirate known as the Solitary Red, Balorick Redfield, in the New World."
"The two of them fought for ten days. Although Vice Admiral Garp arrived in time and captured the Solitary Red, Fleet Admiral Kong remains unconscious even now."
"I see. So it was that."
Blake let out a breath of relief. For a moment, he had thought the plot might have veered off in some major new direction.
The game had never given a precise date for when Redfield was captured by the Navy, and Blake had never paid it much mind.
After all, a man like Redfield was the sort who would never submit to anyone. Even if someone pulled him out of Impel Down, it would be useless.
Still, he had not expected the matter to blow up this badly.
"But that makes sense. Even though the game clearly treated Redfield as the winner, it never actually explained the battle damage on either side."
"Now it seems Kong was beaten badly enough that he still hasn't woken up."
"Redfield probably didn't come out unscathed either. Otherwise, a top-tier powerhouse who truly wanted to leave would be incredibly hard to stop. He wouldn't have been so easily picked off by Garp."
After thinking it through, Blake spoke into the snail again.
"In that case, we'll turn back."
This was not as simple as one man losing a duel.
As Fleet Admiral, Kong represented the highest combat power of the Marines. For him to be defeated one-on-one by a great pirate was a major blow to the prestige of both the Marines and the World Government.
From this moment on, pirates' fear of the Navy would be greatly weakened, and it would take a long time to recover.
And all of this was happening only one year after Roger had ushered in the Great Pirate Era. Pirates eager to set sail in search of the great treasure were already as numerous as fish crossing a river.
It was entirely possible that within the next few days, some pirate out there would decide the Marines were nothing special after all, lose their fear of the Celestial Dragons, and attack Blake's convoy.
Even if Blake himself escaped unharmed, that would still deal another blow to the World Government's authority.
That, more than anything, was why the Five Elders were in such a hurry to recall the Celestial Dragons currently outside Mary Geoise.
Once he understood all of that, Blake had no intention of standing out.
If they wanted him to return, then he would return.
His guiding principle in life was simple enough: be obedient when obedience was the smart choice.
"Stella, pass the order along. We're turning back. We're returning to Mary Geoise."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Stella went to relay the order to the slaves, while Perona blinked up at Blake with wide eyes full of curiosity and longing.
"We're going back to the Holy Land? I've been curious about it for ages. They say it's where the gods live."
"You could call it the dwelling place of gods, sure. But Mary Geoise isn't as wonderful as you imagine. Once we get back, behave yourself. If the guards of some other Celestial Dragon seize you, I won't be responsible."
Blake said it casually, mostly to scare her a little.
But it was not entirely false.
Once they returned to Mary Geoise, he would not be able to fool around with Perona the way he did now. At the very least, outside the estate, appearances had to be maintained.
Robin added in her calm, scholarly tone,
"The Holy Land, Mary Geoise, is the seat of the World Government. Countless high-ranking government officials live there, while the inner city is the residence of the Celestial Dragons."
"As descendants of the gods, the Celestial Dragons enjoy every privilege under the law. We must be extremely careful in both word and conduct."
"If we offend them, the lightest punishment would be to be reduced to slaves. In more serious cases, we could simply be shot on the spot."
Robin's explanation truly seemed to frighten Perona. A mist immediately gathered in her big eyes as she looked at Robin in horror, clearly unable to understand how an older-sister figure barely older than herself could say something so terrifying in such a matter-of-fact voice.
Perona clung to Blake's leg, tears welling up, and pleaded,
"Ah?! The Holy Land is that dangerous? Then can't we just not go back?"
"Haha. Now you know how to be scared? Weren't you always the brave one before?"
Blake was thoroughly amused by the sight.
The little girl who had spent the last month mouthing off to him at every opportunity had suddenly been scared silly.
"But... those are Celestial Dragons!"
Blake crouched down and stretched her cheeks out to both sides.
"Waaah... it hurts! Damn it! Let go of me already!"
The pain of having her face kneaded diluted her fear, and the absurdly fearless Perona returned once again in full.
Blake could not help but laugh. Then he asked,
"Did you forget? I'm a Celestial Dragon too. Be careful, or I'll make you a slave."
Perona visibly froze.
Over the past month, all the bickering and horseplay with Blake had nearly made her forget who he was. She had even forgotten that she had originally been brought onto the ship against her will. She had once been determined to escape.
So how had things somehow turned out like this?
Her tiny little head filled with enormous confusion.