Nearly another month passed.
Black had been back in Mary Geoise for almost half a year this time.
A few days ago, Aramaki bid him farewell once again and headed out to sea to carry out his main mission.
The Devil Fruit Black drew this month belonged to yet another minor pirate.
This time, he planned to use the ability card on Mandy.
After this period of interaction, Mandy's face had gradually begun to show more smiles, and she occasionally helped others with various tasks.
She was clearly integrating into the group.
Although she still didn't talk much, everyone could feel the changes in Mandy.
Koala could now fully control her strength, and Black had no intention of giving her another card for the time being.
For a five-year-old Koala, possessing the physical strength of an adult pirate was already more than enough.
What she needed next was to learn martial arts and combat techniques.
Black remembered that Koala had decent martial arts talent in the original story.
She was one of the few humans who had systematically studied Fish-Man martial arts and successfully mastered Fish-Man Karate.
However, the upper limit of Fish-Man Karate was limited.
It would be better for her to learn from Garp and Aokiji instead, focusing on refining punching power, combat techniques, and Armament Haki.
Robin's progress could only be described as decent. She should be slightly stronger than her counterpart at the same stage in the original story. At the very least, she already possessed the resolve to fight.
In the early stages of being wanted in the original story, Robin had almost no combat awareness and had only mastered the art of escape.
Ever since their conversation that day, Robin had been unable to bear being separated from Olvia and kept a close watch on her.
She did not want the Mama she had finally managed to reunite with to leave her again.
Robin had almost completely integrated into the life at Black Manor.
Here there was Perona, who loved to play pranks but always ended up frustrated; Stella, the gentle older sister who often took care of everyone; Mandy, who always kept a straight face but was meticulous and dependable; and Koala, who was strong yet timid and kind.
And there was Black the Celestial Dragon with a terrible personality who nevertheless indulged them greatly.
Robin could not imagine how she would face everyone in the manor if Black were to kill Olvia.
Olvia herself felt rather helpless about Robin's thoughts.
Right now, her mind was not focused on the poneglyphs.
Compared to the poneglyphs, Olvia wanted to know more about the situation of the archaeology team and Ohara.
However, ever since that day, Black had treated her as if she were invisible.
He neither restricted her freedom within the manor nor assigned her any work.
Olvia could only stand near the training ground every day, silently watching Black train the girls.
As the impact of Kong's defeat gradually faded and the situation on the seas stabilized, the Celestial Dragons' travel ban was finally lifted.
A group of restless Celestial Dragons immediately began organizing trips to the Sabaody Archipelago.
Although Black was also a member of the so-called "waste party," he had no intention of associating with those people.
Their ways of thinking were completely different, and conversing with them would be extremely troublesome.
However, he had indeed instructed his guards to prepare his sanctuary.
After being idle for so long, it was finally time to travel across the seas again.
Mary Geoise, Red Port.
The dock's surface was so clean that it reflected people's images, and the guards knelt in two orderly rows with their heads lowered.
Black arrived at the port riding his eight-meter Slave, followed by Stella and the others.
Olvia was mixed among the maids at the back, not standing out at all.
Perona quietly tugged at Robin's sleeve.
"He looks so scary right now."
"Shh! Don't talk."
Robin warned her softly, then lowered her head and continued walking.
Being relatively more mature, she clearly understood that no matter how indulgent Black was toward them in private, the dignity of a Celestial Dragon had to be maintained in public.
The officer in charge of Red Port was still Oswede, whom Aramaki had mentioned before.
He was already kneeling in front of the sanctuary, waiting for Black's arrival.
As the Slave stopped in front of Oswede, he pressed his forehead against the ground.
"Saint Black! Your loyal servant Oswede, together with all my colleagues at Red Port, humbly welcome your arrival!"
"Heh."
Black let out a soft chuckle and did not make things difficult for him.
"Get up."
"Aramaki told me about you. Not bad you're quite sensible."
Oswede was overjoyed.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness! I merely did what I was able to do."
Black nodded slightly and no longer paid him any attention.
For a Celestial Dragon, such a casual compliment was already more than sufficient.
Black turned and called to Stella.
"Tell the Slaves to quickly move the supplies onto the ship. We're departing."
He also glared at Perona, who was looking around curiously, frightening her into shrinking her neck.
Stella hurried to relay the order to the Slaves.
Seeing this, Oswede immediately summoned more than twenty soldiers to help with the work.
Black did not stop him from currying favor.
To plant a dormant chess piece, one must first make the piece believe it already belongs to you.
Oswede was probably extremely happy now, believing that he had successfully established a connection with a Celestial Dragon.
Logically speaking, an officer guarding Red Port should have seen many Celestial Dragons and would not be so eager to please.
However, not many Celestial Dragons frequently left Mary Geoise.
Even those who did were usually the cruel nobles who traveled to the lower world only for entertainment, and Oswede would never dare approach them.
But Black had shown a hint of goodwill through Aramaki earlier, and the man had immediately taken the bait.
After boarding the ship first and dismissing his mount Slave, Black reclined leisurely in a lounge chair.
As soon as Black relaxed, the oppressive aura that had weighed on everyone instantly disappeared.
Perona cautiously approached him and extended a small finger to poke him.
Even when Black glared at her, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she muttered to herself.
"Strange… why don't I feel that pressure anymore? Did he change places with someone?"
Perona stared intently at Black's face, as if she wanted to reach out and pinch it.
However, Black grabbed her by the collar and lifted her into the air, sneering.
"If you cause any more trouble, I'll stuff you into a cannon and fire you out to sea!"
With that, he tossed Perona toward the others.
Mandy calmly reached out and caught her, gently placing her back on the ground.
Perona stuck out her tongue at Black.
"Remember to find me a golden cannon!"
Black ignored the mischievous little girl.
He was busy planning his itinerary for the upcoming voyage.
This trip to sea involved serious matters.
Black intended to retrieve several Devil Fruits that had not yet been eaten in the original story.
Aramaki's current mission was already troublesome enough; he couldn't be expected to search all four Blues for Devil Fruits as well.
Furthermore, Black planned to find some of the future powerhouses from the original story and send them to Aramaki.
With Aramaki alone, building up a force was simply too slow.
And finally, he needed to make a trip to the Wobkandin Kingdom in the South Blue so Mandy could establish contact with Aramaki and set it up as their main base.
Thinking about all this, Black sighed inwardly.
"Still not enough people…"
Still not enough people…
{ 🥳 Enjoying the chapters? 🥰 Support me on Patreon and unlock 30+ advance chapters with 3 new chapters released every two days!! 🎉
✨ Available by subscription or as a one-time purchase for lifetime access—no membership needed!
👉 patreon.com/Oreski}