"..."
On the streets of Mary Geoise.
A light breeze swept across the excessively clean white stone pavement, swirling a few fallen leaves, but it carried no sound of living things. Along the entire street, guards and slaves—along with Doflamingo himself—lay scattered on the ground like dolls with their souls extracted.
The sunlight remained bright, but it only illuminated a cold silence.
Marcus Mars stood before the unconscious Doflamingo and said softly:
"Is it Conqueror's Haki?"
Although Doflamingo had released his Conqueror's Haki, he had lost consciousness immediately afterward. It was likely that the pressure Liltotto applied was so immense that once it suddenly vanished, his spirit could no longer endure the relief and he blacked out.
"Awakening Conqueror's Haki at this age... he is a promising seed," Mars said indifferently.
Doflamingo was only six years old. To awaken Conqueror's Haki at six meant that with proper training, he could rank among the top of the Holy Knights in the future.
He turned around, looking in the direction Liltotto had departed.
That woman... does she also possess Conqueror's Haki?
Although Liltotto had only used a standard application of Reiatsu, that method of pinning people to the ground and exerting endless pressure was indeed similar to Conqueror's Haki. Mars, viewing this through surveillance without feeling it firsthand, mistook Liltotto's ability for Conqueror's Haki.
However, it was different; she seemed to control the power perfectly, ensuring only Doflamingo felt the crushing weight.
But then again, if she has the qualities of a king, her betrayal of the Ancient Kingdom is understandable. People like that always harbor rebellious hearts.
His trust in Liltotto grew a fraction stronger.
Stroking his long white beard, Mars commanded: "Tell Saint Homing that his son, Doflamingo, is a talent. We shall focus on cultivating him."
News of the Ancient Kingdom was surfacing again; they could no longer be as complacent as in the past. It was time to recruit new combat power. Harald's Shallows Mark had already been engraved; in another year, it would be converted into a Depths Covenant, and then Elbaf would be firmly in their grasp.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The sea breeze at the port carried the salty tang of iron. Early that morning, Admiral Sengoku and Navy Hero Garp received the notification that made their heads ache.
Instead of inspecting World Government affiliated nations, a Celestial Dragon was coming to Marine Headquarters!
Garp, munching on rice crackers, walked across the plaza. He couldn't help but pick his nose as he muttered, "Honestly, why would a troublesome brat like a Celestial Dragon come here?"
"Hey, Garp! Watch your mouth!" Sengoku clamped a hand over Garp's mouth, looking around nervously. He only pulled his hand back when Garp looked like he was about to suffocate.
Disrespecting a Celestial Dragon was a capital offense.
"I heard it's a female Celestial Dragon," Garp said after catching his breath. "That's even weirder."
Celestial Dragons did have a tradition of inspecting various countries, but it was usually to act like tyrants, and typically it was the males. Marine Headquarters had no special products or entertainment; it was full of rough men training, smelling of sweat and gunpowder. What was there to see?
In all his years in the Navy, this was the first time Garp had seen someone want to "inspect" the headquarters.
"Forget it. Since they're interested, we follow orders," Sengoku said. "You'd better hold your tongue. If you say something stupid, even I can't save you!"
"I know, I know," Garp said impatiently. "Since you became an Admiral, you've gotten so wordy."
"Speaking of which..." Garp popped another cracker into his mouth. "I heard that Dragon attacked Kaido and Big Mom again."
Sengoku's face darkened. "We still don't have a single lead on him. Every time he appears, he's a dragon. We don't even know what his human form looks like. He's appeared in the South Blue multiple times, so he's likely from there."
Beltz had indeed been spotted in the South Blue frequently. Sengoku was also from the South Blue, but he had never heard of anyone that powerful from his home.
"Are you two hiding here?! Are you fat pigs afraid of the butcher?"
Fleet Admiral Kong approached, dressed in his commander's uniform. Seeing the two chatting leisurely, he barked, "Saint Liltotto will be here soon! Don't you dare mess this up!"
Not long after the God Valley Incident, Kong had been promoted from Admiral to Fleet Admiral, and Sengoku had naturally taken the Admiral position. The Navy was a rigid hierarchy; it wasn't just about ability, but seniority. You either needed world-shaking achievements or you had to wait your turn.
Many people with average strength reached high ranks through seniority, while talented individuals were stuck as Rear Admirals or Vice Admirals because they hadn't "done their time." Even before God Valley, Sengoku and Garp had the strength of Admirals but remained Vice Admirals because Kong was still an Admiral. They had to wait for him to move up first.
"There's no need for us to go, is there?" Garp saw his crackers were gone and tossed the bag aside. "Just take the little princess to see the recruit camp, or have tea in your office and send her away. I don't need to show my face, right?"
"I agree," Sengoku chuckled. "If she asks, just say we're out on a mission, how about it?"
"Don't worry, you're married; the Celestial Dragon won't fall for your looks," Kong told Garp. "They won't drag you off to be a consort."
"Hey, hey, watch it," Garp said, dark lines appearing on his forehead. "I have a son."
"You seem to be talking about me."
Suddenly, a woman's voice drifted over. The three looked over in surprise to see a young girl with short yellow hair and straight bangs floating down from the sky. She was small and held a parasol, which she used to slow her descent. As she landed, she had a lollipop in her mouth.
Liltotto looked at the three. In her perception, these were the strongest people at Marine Headquarters.
"Who are you?" Garp asked bluntly.
But Kong recognized her. As Fleet Admiral, he had already received Liltotto's portrait. He quickly stepped forward. "Saint Liltotto! Why did you come directly here? We were preparing to greet you at the docks!"
Saint Liltotto?
Sengoku and Garp were surprised. This little girl was the inspecting Celestial Dragon? She looked like she hadn't even reached adulthood. And why wasn't she wearing the signature bubble helmet?
"That's too much trouble. I don't like big spectacles," Liltotto said, her toes touching the ground lightly. She closed her parasol and looked at them. "You're 'Navy Hero Garp,' right? I heard you saved the Celestial Dragons at God Valley."
Garp's lip twitched. He didn't like talking about God Valley. Sengoku nudged him with an elbow, and Garp said reluctantly, "According to the World Government propaganda, that's correct."
"Impressive," Liltotto praised expressionlessly. "You don't have to follow me around. I'm just here to look."
Her words shocked the three. In their experience, Celestial Dragons were arrogant tyrants who looked down on everyone. Usually, they'd be pointing fingers and demanding slaves or executions. How was there such a "normal" one?
"Ah, of course not," Kong said, maintaining a polite facade. "We sincerely welcome Saint Liltotto."
They truly didn't want to follow her, but ignoring a Celestial Dragon was too risky. If she got offended, she'd cause trouble.
"Tch. I can sense if you're telling the truth or lying," Liltotto said flatly. "Forget it. You three don't need to come. Just find a random Marine to show me around."
"Ah... well, alright," Kong said, acting slightly disappointed. "Come with me, I'll assign an elite officer to guide you."
As Kong led Liltotto away, Sengoku and Garp breathed a sigh of relief.
"She doesn't seem as unreasonable as the legends say," Garp said in disbelief. "Could there actually be a normal Celestial Dragon in the world?"
"You and your big mouth," Sengoku muttered. "But... it is strange."
It wasn't just that she was "normal." There was a presence about this girl that felt very foreign to them. She wasn't an ordinary Celestial Dragon, but she wasn't a Holy Knight either. There were many Celestial Dragons, and while most were "consistently ugly," they didn't remember every face. But the Holy Knights were few enough to recognize.
"Celestial Dragons..." Garp thought of God Valley—the clearly mutated Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders. That monster had taken hits from him, Roger, and Rocks and walked away fine. There were many monsters in that group.
"By the way, where's Tsuru?" Garp looked around to change the subject. "I haven't seen her."
"You didn't know? She's out at sea..."
Liltotto didn't want those three following her. They were too strong; if they were around, she couldn't make her moves. She had come to Marine Headquarters to carve out a Schatten Bereich within the Navy's shadows, facilitating Beltz's future infiltration.
She asked for a common Rear Admiral to guide her. Quietly, she used the Mirror-Mirror Fruit. She created a mirror-image of herself to fool the Rear Admiral while her main body hid in a restroom. From there, she entered the Mirror World within Marine Headquarters.
She knew the Lunarian, Alber, had been brought here, but she didn't know exactly where. She observed the outside world through the mirrors. However, it seemed Saturn was cautious; she saw many places but never Alber's location.
Tch... how careful. But it's useless. Even if the lab had no mirrors, the layout of the base was now imprinted in her mind. By eliminating the explored areas, the remaining section was likely where Alber was held.
She emerged from the edge of a shadow and began constructing the Schatten Bereich. You can hide from mirrors, but can you hide from shadows?
Liltotto carved out the space within the shadows. With her mastery over Reishi, her manipulation of shadow power was far superior to Beltz's. Her control was like a fine scalpel, silently eroding and expanding the shadows of the base. Soon, a shadow domain—overlapping with yet independent of reality—took shape beneath the foundations of Marine Headquarters.
Looking out from the shadow, she finally spotted a laboratory filled with researchers and subjects. Under cold lights, personnel in white coats hurried about among flickering instruments. She didn't know which one was Alber, and she didn't care. She wasn't the one who would act; she was just the support. Beltz would be the one to snatch him.
After opening the space, she extended it to the edge of the island. Beltz could enter directly from there and exit the same way. The space was a bit unstable due to the haste, but it was enough.
Once the task was complete, she secretly located her mirror-image and swapped back.