A pleasant breakfast atmosphere can quickly bring people closer.
Especially after teasing Koala, the little girl was noticeably much livelier.
However, there was still a problem here.
Koala was, after all, too young. Even though Black used his ability card on her, raising her strength to the level of a Paradise pirate captain, she herself couldn't control this sudden surge of power.
In the past few days, despite Koala's best efforts to be careful, the number of things she broke was not small.
So Black had to first help her get used to her increased strength.
The training ground behind the manor.
The oak floor groaned beneath Koala's feet, unable to bear the weight, as she stepped through a floorboard seam for the third time.
This made Black helplessly slap his forehead.
Frankly speaking, the pirate captain who contributed the ability card was not very strong.
It was just that Koala, as a child, was used to doing everything with excessive force.
Thus, she had developed the attribute of a "destroyer."
Now, under the gaze of several people, Koala stood beside the sandpit.
Black handed her a waterskin.
"Hold it above your head with one hand. Don't spill any water."
Koala carefully took the waterskin.
As expected…as soon as she exerted force, the waterskin burst with a "pop," splashing water all over her face.
Black picked up a new waterskin.
"Again. This time be even lighter."
Pop!
"Again!"
Pop!
"Again!"
…After a few attempts, Black began to feel a little bored.
He called over the few little girls who were watching the show, put them in charge of handing out waterskins, and then went to rest on a lounge chair nearby.
Perona glared in Black's direction and pouted.
"This big bad guy! All he knows how to do is be lazy!"
Robin, however, was standing nearby in deep thought.
She remembered clearly that Koala did not possess such superhuman strength when she first arrived.
"So… did that guy do something?"
"Hey! Bookworm! What are you thinking about? Come over and help!"
Perona's shout pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Coming!"
…Meanwhile, in the Room of Authority.
Spandine stood with his head bowed before the Gorosei, his face full of fawning respect.
"My Lords, a year ago your subordinate noticed that the movements of the Ohara archaeological team were somewhat strange."
"Their route of travel was highly consistent with the route once taken by the Roger Pirates."
"After your subordinate's tireless efforts day and night, under the wise leadership of you, my Lords…"
Saturn frowned and tapped the floor with his cane.
"Get to the point."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Spandine dared not continue taking credit for himself and immediately said:
"My Lords! The Ohara archaeological team is exploring the poneglyphs and the secrets of the Void Century!"
"According to your subordinate's investigation, they are already close to the edge of the truth! This… this is simply blasphemy!"
Spandine's tone became increasingly agitated, and Nusjuro sneered.
"Hmph. You are quite diligent."
"But a mere group of scholars are they really worth alarming us?"
Mars, however, did not agree with Nusjuro's view.
"The poneglyphs… the Void Century. What they seek to uncover is a truth that could overturn the entire world."
Saturn nodded slowly.
"In that case, first send CP agents to apprehend them. If they resist, then consider more severe measures."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
Seeing that no one objected, Saturn turned toward Spandine.
"This matter is entrusted to you."
"Yes! Your subordinate will certainly do his utmost and will never disappoint you, my Lords! Your subordinate"
"That's enough. Get out of here immediately!"
Peter impatiently tapped the table, and Spandine hurriedly prostrated himself.
Then he curled his body into a ball and quite literally rolled out of the Room of Authority.
"Sigh… where exactly is Nico Olvia?"
Kovinias Island, port.
A pirate ship slowly sailed into the harbor, its tattered pirate flag hanging limply, while sailors on the deck continued patching the hull damaged in battle.
Aramaki sat inside the captain's cabin with several chests of treasure at his feet, sighing softly.
He had been away from the Holy Land for quite some time.
His main mission this time was to establish an organization similar to CP.
But before leaving the Holy Land, Black had temporarily given him a side mission to find Olvia and secretly bring her back to Mary Geoise.
After drifting at sea for a long time, he finally obtained news of the Ohara archaeological team.
Their last known location was Kovinias.
Aramaki had then randomly selected a lucky pirate ship along the way, killed its captain, recruited the crew who dared not resist, and sailed to Kovinias.
"If there are no clues here, I'll go to Ohara and tie up that Three-Leaf old man for interrogation!"
Just as Aramaki secretly made up his mind, a recruited pirate suddenly rushed into the cabin.
"Captain, the situation on this island is a bit strange."
"Hm?"
Aramaki's high eyebrows furrowed, making his expression look particularly comical.
If the person standing before him were Perona, she would surely burst out laughing.
The young pirate, however, did not dare laugh. Having witnessed the destructive power of a Logia-type ability that resembled a natural disaster, his fear of Aramaki had already reached its limit.
He quickly reported:
"Captain, besides us, there are others on this island inquiring about the whereabouts of the Ohara archaeological team."
Aramaki was somewhat surprised.
Recalling the mission Black had given him, he fell into thought.
But it did not matter.
Since he had already decided to follow Black, Aramaki planned to continue playing the fool.
He stood up, gave the order to "wait for me here," and hurriedly disembarked onto Kovinias Island.
Black appeared to be dozing on the surface.
And in reality, he truly was.
But while in the Holy Land, he would occasionally spread his Observation Haki across a very wide range to observe the Room of Authority.
Because the essence of Observation Haki lies in neural reaction speed and heightened perception, it functions as a non-contact detection method.
Although it became increasingly fantastical in later stages, it was not like the divine senses of fantasy worlds that could easily be discovered by others.
Thus, when Spandine entered the Room of Authority, Black immediately noticed him.
The man's appearance strongly resembled the classic "big fool" characters from Hong Kong films, easily making people mistake him for a fierce figure.
In reality, he and his son Spandam were very similar. Both had risen to the position of CP9 Commander through flattering superiors while bullying subordinates.
When Black saw this man appear in the Room of Authority, he glanced toward Robin, who was currently helping Koala distribute waterskins.
He knew that the Ohara Buster Call incident was about to begin.
"I wonder if Robin can endure it."
Sighing inwardly, Black still steeled his heart and did not alter his original plan.
"The original Robin lived through something far worse than this. Even when she was hunted across the entire West Blue, she still endured until she reached her twenties."
"I believe she will endure this time as well."