Though it was said she was commanding Slaves, Stella merely gave a command; the Slaves were already very familiar with sailing, so they easily noticed the two people walking towards her.
Seeing Perona's unhappy expression and the red mark on her face, Stella smiled and patted her head:
"You little imp, did you make His Highness angry again?"
Perona pouted:
"No way! That big bad guy was bullying me!"
Seeing Perona's puffed-up look, Stella chuckled and comforted her for a few moments.
Perona, being childlike, was quickly distracted.
Stella didn't forget Nico Robin, who was standing beside her. Seeing her look as if she wanted to speak but hesitated, Stella asked:
"Robin, what's wrong?"
Robin glanced at Perona before asking:
"Is it really okay between Perona and Saint Black...? I heard Celestial Dragons are quite..."
Though her words were unfinished, her meaning was very clear.
Stella smiled, took Robin's hand, and led her to the ship's rail:
"It's alright. Though His Highness can be a bit overbearing in his actions, he's actually a very easygoing person."
Seeing Robin's disbelief, Stella slowly began to tell her own story.
Robin's eyes widened when she heard that Stella was actually a Slave bought by Blake.
"To be honest, at first I was very scared too, but His Highness has always been very good to us. I've never seen him get angry with us."
Stella's statement was actually not entirely accurate.
For beautiful women, especially those who appeared in the original story, Blake always had a bit more patience.
If Aramaki made a mistake, Blake would punish him all the same.
Blake had a double standard for how he treated men and women.
That's right, Blake was a hypocrite... Just as Stella was unconsciously helping Blake to do ideological work on Robin, Blake had already called Aramaki to his side.
"Aramaki, your current strength can be considered a top-tier powerhouse even across the seas. I need you to help me with a few things."
"Your Highness, please command."
Blake took out a piece of paper with an orange-red spherical fruit drawn on it, shaped like a dragon fruit.
Handing it to Aramaki, Blake slowly said:
"Near the main shipping lanes of the East Blue, there's an isolated island."
"Around this island, there are special currents that drag objects towards the island, forming an 'invisible prison in the sea.'"
"So, few people can leave there."
"The beach is white, and the island is full of coconut trees, but there's no other food; resources are very scarce."
Blake clearly described the features of the unnamed desolate island in one breath, then commanded:
"I need you to find that island. This fruit is on the island; bring it back."
Aramaki took the paper with the Mera Mera no Mi drawn on it and looked at it. He hesitated for a moment but did not ask any questions, instead directly agreeing:
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Blake saw Aramaki's hesitation and knew that because of his low origin, he had not seen a Devil Fruit encyclopedia, and therefore did not recognize this Devil Fruit.
Blake did not offer much explanation, but instead instructed:
"Don't investigate with too much fanfare. I hope not too many people know about this."
"I understand, Your Highness."
Aramaki bowed, turned, and left.
He needed to find a small boat to leave the fleet and then travel from the West Blue to the East Blue.
After Aramaki left, Blake lay down again.
This was a test.
If Aramaki could complete the mission covertly and efficiently, it would indicate that he was a subordinate who could be entrusted with important tasks.
If he made it widely known or dragged his feet, Blake wouldn't lose too much.
After all, it was just a Mera Mera no Mi. At worst, he could offer it up and concoct a plausible excuse to fool the Gorosei.
However, in that case, Blake would have to consider cultivating talent from among these minor characters around him, which would inevitably affect his own training speed.
"I hope this guy doesn't disappoint me."
Watching Aramaki sail away in a small boat, Blake's eyes behind his sunglasses were thoughtful... This month's card draw had ended again, and perhaps because the Mera Mera no Mi was mentioned, Blake drew a good card this time.
Portgas D. Ace (Youth)
This was already Ace's strongest stage; after all, in the original story during the Marineford War, Ace was only in his early twenties.
Blake was no longer what he used to be. He could even suppress a young Borsalino, so dealing with Ace, if not effortless, would at least not be chaotic.
In the card space, Blake held a Japanese long scroll, with the hilt and blade almost the same length, and dark red Haoshoku freely released.
This was a new system function Blake gained after learning swordsmanship; the card space could provide him with various weapons.
Opposite Blake, an AI-faced Ace stood expressionlessly, his Haoshoku clashing directly with Blake's.
"Can we make a deal? You can't beat me anyway, so just drop the ability card."
"Fire Gun!"
AI Ace naturally ignored Blake and unleashed a skill on him.
With his future-seeing Observation Haki, Blake easily dodged:
"Alright, it seems I still have to defeat you, AI person."
Saying that, his eyes sharpened, and the intensity of his Haoshoku instantly increased by a notch, temporarily suppressing Ace's Haoshoku.
The simulated combat in the card space was extremely realistic. With his Haoshoku suppressed, Ace's movements became sluggish.
Blake seized the opportunity, his blade imbued with Armament Haki, and slashed towards Ace.
Blake had not yet reached the level of a master swordsman and could not use flying slashes; in fact, using a sword would even reduce his combat power.
However, battles in the card space did not consume stamina and were not dangerous.
Ace, as a strong individual who was more than capable but not quite top-tier, was perfect for helping Blake hone his swordsmanship.
Even when affected by Haoshoku, Ace still chose to clash head-on with Blake's slash.
"Shinka: Shiranui!"
Ace's hands turned into flames, and after throwing out embers, they formed a spear, meeting Blake's blade.
The flaming spear and the long scroll collided, making "ping-pong" sounds, and sparks flew.
Blake did not use his strongest close-quarters combat and even restrained the use of his future-seeing Observation Haki, so for a time, he and Ace fought back and forth.
Blake's sword style had no name; it was simply chopping and slashing.
Ace's techniques, however, were diverse.
"Enjōmō!"
"Fire Fist!"
"Hotarubi: Hidaruma!"
"Enkai: Hibashira!"
"Dai Enkai: Entei!"
...But it was all useless.
With a huge disparity in strength, no matter how flashy the technique names were, it made no difference.
Blake's strength was not incredibly overwhelming, but he possessed the combat power of a Yonko commander or a top-tier Shichibukai.
Dealing with a mere Ace was naturally no problem.