Golden Lion Shiki didn't press Leno about how he had managed to do it.
Everyone had secrets.
And people with secrets were far more intriguing.
He simply burst into laughter and slapped Leno heavily on the shoulder.
"Jie hahahaha! Well done, kid! That's impressive!"
His eyes were full of admiration.
No one would refuse the fruit of the world's strongest man.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit and Whitebeard had elevated each other—
But no one could deny that the fruit itself was among the very top tier.
Now Shiki fully understood why Leno had risked everything to snatch back Whitebeard's corpse.
"If I had that ability, I'd steal it too," Shiki muttered inwardly.
He recalled Blackbeard's earlier expression—so certain of success, only to end up empty-handed.
Clearly, Leno wasn't the only one who had his eyes on that fruit.
But in the end—
Leno had been a step ahead.
A perfect interception.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was now his.
Blueno, meanwhile, had not witnessed any of this.
The moment he placed Whitebeard's body down, he had been dismissed.
Some abilities could be shown to someone like Shiki.
But absolutely not to a "tool" like Blueno.
Leno carefully put away the newly reborn Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Let's head back," he said, satisfaction evident on his face.
This Marineford War—
The harvest had been excellent.
He'd seen Garp's powerless, regret-filled expression.
He'd thoroughly beaten down his "unfilial junior brother."
It wasn't that he couldn't kill him—
Leaving him alive was simply more cost-effective.
Ordinary enemies could just be eliminated.
But for someone like Garp or Koby—
Wouldn't it be more fitting to crush their spirits instead?
Besides, their strength and potential had basically been crippled by him.
They posed no real threat anymore.
What was there to worry about?
If one were to uproot everything, they'd have to wipe out the entire Monkey family anyway.
And from the very beginning, Leno hadn't even planned to take in the Whitebeard remnants.
Now they had been incorporated into his Grand Fleet, strengthening his forces.
"Kid, judging from your performance, you're probably not weaker than any of the Four Emperors now," Shiki said, cigarette in his mouth, glancing at Leno.
He had witnessed Leno's performance during the war.
The improvement was frighteningly fast.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why the Marines would expel someone like him.
"No idea," Leno shrugged. "Never fought one. Hard to say."
But—
During Marineford, he had feasted.
He had absorbed Haki to his heart's content.
Once he fully digested and refined it as his own—
His strength would rise even further.
Time passed in conversation.
Soon, they returned to the remote, nameless island.
When everyone saw Leno return safely, seemingly unchanged—
They were full of questions, but too tired to think much of it.
Marco approached with Jozu, Vista, and several other division commanders.
"Captain Leno," Marco said, "we've discussed it. We plan to head straight to the New World—to Pops' hometown, Sphinx Island."
Leno did not try to stop them.
He simply nodded and signaled Blueno to open an air door.
When Whitebeard's body appeared before them—
The entire beach fell silent.
Then—
The silence shattered into heartbroken cries.
"POPS!!!"
All the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates broke down instantly.
Only now did they understand why Leno had suddenly left.
He had risked everything—
Returned to Marine Headquarters—
Just to bring back their father's body.
He really… we're going to cry.
In that moment—
Their recognition and gratitude toward Leno skyrocketed.
Marco's eyes reddened, his voice choked.
"Captain Leno… we… we were even thinking of just returning to Sphinx Island. Was that too selfish? After what you've done for us…"
Jozu and Vista nodded vigorously, faces full of guilt and emotion.
Leno coughed lightly.
He hadn't even realized he was this noble.
So he simply waved his hand casually to interrupt them.
"No need. I don't need that many people following me right now. Too conspicuous. It's inconvenient."
He looked at Whitebeard's body, his tone calm.
"Bury him properly. Let him return to his roots."
Seeing how considerate Leno was—
Marco and the others no longer insisted.
But in their hearts, they had completely acknowledged him as their captain.
Representing them all, Marco made a solemn promise.
"Captain Leno, this kindness—our Whitebeard remnant crew will never forget it!"
"From this day forward, if you or the Leno Pirates ever need anything—"
"No matter what we're doing, no matter who the enemy is—even if it means immediate death—"
"We will come without hesitation!"
"That's right!" Jozu, Vista, and the others echoed in unison.
Their eyes were as resolute as sworn believers.
Their vow even made Leno feel a twinge of guilt.
He could only laugh it off and tell them not to overthink it.
Soon after—
With hearts full of gratitude—
The Whitebeard remnants boarded their ships with their captain's body.
They raised their sails and headed toward the New World.
After they departed—
Leno began considering his next destination.
He couldn't stay on this barren little island forever.
At that moment—
A graceful figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
"Lord Leno~"
Boa Hancock stood before him, her cheeks flushed shyly.
Leno was slightly surprised.
He had assumed the Pirate Empress had long since returned to Amazon Lily.
He hadn't expected her to follow his crew all the way here.
To be honest—
He hadn't paid much attention to her earlier.
But—
Seeing her starry-eyed, heart-shaped gaze filled with adoration—
He couldn't be bothered to say much.
A love-struck brain…
Was easier to handle—
Ahem. More obedient.
Hancock bowed slightly and extended an invitation.
"Lord Leno, if you have nowhere to go for now, please accompany me to Amazon Lily as my guest."
For some reason, Leno suddenly felt like a live-in son-in-law… or a captured village bride.
Then Hancock pointed at Shiki.
Her soft tone instantly turned icy and full of disgust.
"But that man cannot come! The Land of Women is forbidden to men! He is not allowed to step foot there!"
Golden Lion Shiki was completely stunned by the sudden double standard.
Question marks practically filled his head.
He pointed at Leno, then at himself.
"Insolent Empress! What do you mean by that? Isn't this brat a man too?!"
Hancock shot him a glance as if looking at something filthy—
Then quickly looked away.
With absolute conviction, she declared loudly:
"How dare you! Lord Leno is naturally different!"
"I—"
Shiki was so enraged by her unreasonable logic that he almost lost his breath.
He ended up laughing from sheer disbelief.
"Fine! I'm leaving!"
He waved at Leno. "Kid, contact me if you need anything!"
With that, he activated the Float-Float Fruit and drifted away, grumbling curses under his breath.
Leno couldn't help but find the scene amusing.
After thinking it over—
Staying temporarily at Amazon Lily wasn't a bad idea.
The island was remote, easy to defend, and hard to attack.
And if he remembered correctly—
There was a "Beast Island" somewhere nearby, filled with powerful wild creatures.
Perfect.
Domino, Bonney, and the others could train there.
Get familiar with their newly acquired abilities.
Increase their strength as quickly as possible.
After all—
He still had two Devil Fruits that hadn't been assigned.
Leno glanced at his rather underpowered crew.
Now the question was—
Who should he give them to?
After all—
They were still far too weak.
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