"'D'?" Both Maria and Haruko looked at her with genuine surprise. Was a simple middle initial really that significant?
Looking at their curious expressions, Yamato lowered her voice, speaking slowly to emphasize the weight of her words. "In Mary Geoise, those World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons—call people with 'D' in their names the natural enemy of God!"
The natural enemy of God!
Hearing those words, both Maria and Haruko shuddered, their faces pale with disbelief. In this world, who else would dare call themselves gods besides the Celestial Dragons? The phrase "natural enemy of God" was short, but it held a terrifying amount of weight.
"Although I don't know exactly what the 'D' stands for or what its true meaning is, these people are definitely not ordinary. Of course, it doesn't have much to do with us right now," Yamato said, casually shaking her legs as she sat on the edge of the porch.
Maria and Haruko exchanged a glance. "Yamato, how do you even know about things like that?"
"I managed to decipher it from some intelligence reports I came across. However, that's as far as I could get; I couldn't dig up anything deeper," Yamato said, spreading her hands honestly.
"That's truly impressive," Maria and Haruko said, looking at her with newfound admiration.
"Haha, that's a given!" Yamato wasn't embarrassed by the praise at all. After all, no one here could possibly know how she had actually acquired that information.
"In any case, Lord Hana Fuda was killed because he was defeated by this Ace and then betrayed by his own crew. Once this newcomer enters the New World, Lord Kaido definitely won't let him off," Haruko said after thinking it over.
Maria nodded in agreement. "Given Lord Kaido's temperament, that's exactly what will happen. As soon as that kid crosses into the New World, Lord Kaido will go settle the score personally."
If the Governor-General himself took action, Portgas D. Ace would have nowhere left to run.
"We'll just have to see when the time comes. My Idiot Old Man is currently on an expedition, so he won't be free to hunt rookies for a while," Yamato said casually. She knew that by the time Kaido returned, Ace would likely already be under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates, leaving Kaido to do nothing but stare helplessly from across the sea.
"I hope this newcomer has good luck. He doesn't seem like a bad kid," Maria said with a small smile.
"Lady Maria, that has nothing to do with whether he's a good kid or not in this business," Haruko reminded her.
Maria nodded. "That's true. After all, he's the reason Hana Fuda is dead."
"Anyway, let's not talk about other people's problems. I actually have something to ask you two. Why have I been feeling so strange whenever I sleep lately? You two haven't done anything to me, have you?" Yamato asked, shifting the topic abruptly.
She wasn't joking. Lately, when the three of them shared a bed, she felt odd after drifting off. Sometimes it felt like sleep paralysis, and other times it felt like she was floating on clouds. When she woke up the next morning, everything seemed normal, making her think she was just having vivid dreams. But it only started happening once she began sleeping with Maria and Haruko.
"Ah, Yamato, you finally brought it up yourself. You probably don't realize how terrible your sleeping habits are. You're constantly climbing onto us and burrowing into our arms like a child," Maria said, her smile beaming with secret amusement.
"That's right, Young Master. Your sleeping habits are actually quite poor," Haruko echoed, keeping a straight face.
Yamato was dumbfounded. "No way... are they really that bad?" She had always slept alone before, so no one had ever complained, and she had no idea she was such a restless sleeper.
"Yes, truer than gold," Maria and Haruko said, nodding in unison.
"Ahahaha! I'm so sorry. How have you two even been resting lately? Have I been bothering you that much?" Yamato scratched her head awkwardly, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Seeing her reaction, Maria and Haruko were both laughing hysterically on the inside. She was so easy to fool.
"No, it hasn't been a problem," they said, shaking their heads.
"That's good. It wouldn't be right if I ruined your sleep. I should probably go back to sleeping by myself from now on," Yamato suggested.
"Young Master, don't you want to deepen our bond anymore?" Haruko asked, her voice tinged with mock disappointment.
"Of course I do! But didn't you just say I was a nightmare to sleep next to?" Yamato countered.
Haruko gave her a look. "Wasn't it the Young Master who brought it up first? Lady Maria and I were just being honest."
"Uh... okay, then I take back what I said. Let's still sleep together. Anyway, you two can handle me, right? Hehe," Yamato laughed, regaining her usual boisterous energy.
"That's a phrasing that could lead to some major misunderstandings," Maria said, shaking her head with a smile. She really was hopeless. Yamato clearly understood nothing about the implications of her words, yet she spoke with such confidence.
"Is that so? If I were a man, maybe it would be a misunderstanding, but I'm a woman through and through. There won't be any confusion, right, Haruko?" Yamato laughed heartily.
Haruko just blinked. She really wanted to point out that the "woman through and through" part was still a topic of debate for some, but she kept it to herself.
That same day, a pirate ship appeared on the coast of Kuri. It looked battered, as if it had survived a shipwreck before being washed ashore by the tides. A few days later, an emergency Den Den Mushi call arrived at the palace.
"Report, Lady Maria! It's bad! We've been invaded!" shouted the guard stationed at Bakura Town.
Maria was surprised. "Invaded? By whom? Is it those stubborn samurai again?"
"No, it's a strange man, and he's a Logia-type user!" the subordinate reported, panic clear in his voice.
"A Logia type?" Maria's interest was piqued. Logia fruits were rare throughout the entire Grand Line. How could one just show up in Wano?
"Yes, he has the ability to turn into flames!" the guard continued.
"Flames... Could it be that rookie, Portgas D. Ace? We were just talking about him. I didn't expect him to stumble into us so soon," Maria said, genuinely shocked by the coincidence. "What's the situation now?"
"After the man destroyed the outpost, he snatched all the food supplies and vanished," the subordinate answered.
"Oh? Going for the food... Was he trying to help the people in Kuri? He really is a good kid," Maria laughed.
The guard's voice crackled through the receiver. "Lady Maria, what are your orders? How should we handle this?"
"Don't worry about that man for now. You're no match for a Logia user of his caliber. I'll handle it myself," Maria instructed.
"Yes, Lady Maria!"
Maria called for Haruko, and together they went to find Yamato. They found her in the garden, fiddling with some plants as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"Yamato, what are you doing?" Maria asked curiously.
Hearing them, Yamato turned around, holding a watering can. "Look! I'm watering the flowers. Aren't they pretty?" She gestured to the floral arrangements she had made, looking incredibly proud of her handiwork.
While Yamato played gardener, a pirate with a bounty of 550,000,000 was running loose in her backyard.
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