After that brief interlude, Rosinante led everyone all the way to the Sky-Shrouding Hall behind No Night City.
The so-called Sky-Shrouding Hall was, in truth, the imperial palace of the Gray Kingdom.
It was not only the residence of Rosinante, the king of the Gray Kingdom, but also the headquarters of the Gray Kingdom and the workplace of No Night City's upper administration. At the same time, it was the palace specially prepared for hosting the tribute ceremonies of the Gray Kingdom's vassal states.
The name "Sky-Shrouding Hall" originated from Rosinante's ability. When his Devil Fruit awakened, it could dim heaven and earth alike, giving people the sensation that even the sky itself had been covered. Thus, the palace was named Sky-Shrouding Hall.
In truth, Rosinante only learned of this name later on. Had he known earlier, he would never have chosen something so embarrassingly edgy, especially since it shared a name with a certain novel.
After finding out, he had wanted to change it and even came up with several alternative names for Katakuri and the others to choose from. But after seeing the names Rosinante proposed, Katakuri and the rest rejected them outright, citing Rosinante's closed-door cultivation and absence from affairs as the excuse.
The Sky-Shrouding Hall was located in Area 1 of what had once been the lawless zone, essentially the very center of the Sabaody Archipelago. However, in terms of No Night City itself, it was now considered somewhat remote.
The true center of No Night City had become Area 15, the region that had once been completely destroyed during Rosinante's battle with Kaido. Yet with the establishment of the Sea Paradise, and with merfolk visiting daily to play and relax, this area had gradually become No Night City's entertainment hub.
"You've finally shown your face. If you hadn't, even I would've thought you died in there," Katakuri said the moment he saw Rosinante.
"Uh, heh. I really didn't expect this round of training to take so long," Rosinante replied with an awkward laugh.
"Wasn't it because you were indulging yourself in gentle pleasures every day, unable to pull yourself out?" Katakuri said flatly.
Hearing that, Rosinante became even more awkward, a faint flush rising to his face.
Not only Rosinante, but Shaxia behind him also turned bright red, while on the other side, Robin and Laki quietly covered their mouths and snickered.
The truth was that during those three years, after one training session ended, Rosinante had been in an exceptionally good mood and held a banquet.
Naturally, banquets involved drinking. Shaxia normally never drank alcohol, but that day Rosinante was in high spirits because the ability he had been researching finally made progress, so he urged Shaxia to drink with him.
At first, Shaxia refused, but Rosinante kept coaxing her. No one expected that her alcohol tolerance was extremely low. After just a small amount, she was completely drunk.
Worse still, her behavior when drunk was terrible, bordering on wild.
With no other choice, they had to help Shaxia back to her room to rest.
Because Shaxia was making such a scene, neither Laki nor Rosinante could support her properly, and Moria and the other men obviously could not be asked to help. In the end, Rosinante had to do it himself.
But after Rosinante helped Shaxia back to her room, she refused to let him leave. Riding the momentum of her drunkenness, she suddenly pushed him onto the bed and reversed him instead.
Being pushed down by a girl left Rosinante feeling extremely embarrassed, so he pushed back in return.
In the end, no matter how one put it, the two of them crossed that line.
As a lifelong virgin up until then, Rosinante had always been dull when it came to matters of the heart. After truly experiencing intimacy with a woman, he finally understood what romance under moonlight meant.
So although he claimed it was for training, the reason he had stayed in seclusion for such a long time this time was indeed partly because of that incident.
"Well then, it seems our vice captain is craving women," Rosinante said with a laugh. "Ryan, you can't neglect this matter. I'll leave it to you. Remember to carefully select a few beauties for our vice captain."
Once someone had experience, they truly became dangerous. After a moment of awkwardness, Rosinante immediately counterattacked.
"Yes. I will definitely treat this as the most important mission," Ryan replied at once.
"Bastard, who's craving women!" Katakuri shouted, a rare flush appearing on his face.
After taking a deep breath, Katakuri quickly changed the topic. "All divisions have reported in. They've carried out major purges within their respective forces. It shouldn't be long before everything is fully cleaned up."
There was no helping it. When facing an experienced man, a virgin like him simply could not hold his ground.
"That's good. Before entering the Grand Line, we should clean up our internal issues first. Only with a stable rear can we pursue greater development," Rosinante said.
"This purge caused heavy losses to the strength of the divisions," Katakuri said solemnly. "A number of elite members were eliminated."
"A group of rebellious 'elites' would only make the divisions worse," Rosinante replied calmly. "If they're gone, then they're gone. It's beneficial to the Gray Kingdom's development."
Katakuri nodded after hearing this and did not refute Rosinante's view. On this matter, he agreed completely.
At this moment, Katakuri suddenly became serious again.
"However, this Marine invitation is probably not going to be simple. You should be careful."
"Oh? Did you discover something?" Rosinante's expression also turned serious.