"Of course your Uncle welcomes you bringing your talents to the New World, Doffy. Back then on Sabaody Archipelago, although you were naughty, I could tell at a glance that you were different from everyone else. With so many Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, why did I hit you instead of them? That proves your Uncle had high hopes for you!" On the deck, Valthior was basking in the sun as he spoke to the Den Den Mushi.
"Wasn't it because I sealed off the port and didn't let you in?" Doflamingo asked in some surprise.
"That was only an excuse. Don't worry, even if you hadn't sealed off the port, if I had run into you, I still would have hit you," Valthior said with complete confidence.
Doflamingo: "???"
Am I supposed to thank you for that?
"However, although your Uncle thinks very highly of you and looks forward to your future, as a man of the sea, how can you see the rainbow without going through the storm? Your Uncle went to sea to carry out missions at fifteen, and at eighteen, during the chaos of God Valley, I boarded the ship of the Roger Pirates. After six and a half years of traveling everywhere and going through countless major events, I finally achieved what I have today. As for you, Doffy, this sea is the best place to temper a person. I hope to see you ride the wind and waves on this sea, not shiver under my protection. Do you understand?" Without waiting for Doflamingo to speak, Valthior continued in a sincere and serious tone.
Those who did not know better might really think he was Doflamingo's good uncle.
Doflamingo's feelings were somewhat complicated.
You went to sea at fifteen, but I was driven out of Mary Geoise before I was even ten!
In truth, he especially wanted to go to the New World right now. He wanted to follow by Valthior's side and witness the surge of this great era.
But Valthior's words, which could be considered spoken from the heart, also made him hesitate and think.
"Then what must I do before I can be considered tempered by this sea, Uncle?" Doflamingo asked again.
"Whether as a pirate or through your reputation in the underworld, when the day comes that I can hear your great name even here in the New World, that will mean this sea has acknowledged you. At that time, you will have the right to step onto the stage of this era," Valthior said without hesitation.
In the end, Doflamingo let out a soft sigh, then said in a firm tone, "In that case, I will not disappoint you, Uncle. In this great era, I will definitely board your ship!"
Valthior somehow felt that Doflamingo's current state was a little like Bellamy in the original story, who was determined to board the great ship of the Donquixote Family no matter what.
Was that just his imagination?
"Ahahahahaha, I look forward to your arrival. When the time comes and we uncle and nephew join hands, who on this sea could possibly be our opponent!?" Valthior said with loud laughter.
Not far away, Buggy poked Shanks and said, "Don't you think that sounds kind of familiar?"
"Of course it's familiar. Did you forget? When we were drinking a couple of days ago, Big Brother Valthior said that once the two of us grow up, if we join hands, who on the sea could possibly be our opponent?" Shanks complained.
Sphinx, who was off to the side wiping oil on her gun barrel for maintenance, froze for a moment and said in surprise, "You guys have heard those words too?"
"What's wrong? Did he say it to you too?" Shanks asked curiously.
"Yeah. Two days ago, when I was scrubbing the deck here, the captain just happened to be fishing. While we were chatting, he said that my marksmanship was sharp, his strength was powerful, and if the two of us joined hands, who on the sea could possibly be our opponent..." Sphinx said with a somewhat strained expression.
At the time, she had thought that Valthior, the captain, valued her. After hearing those words, she had been happy for quite a while.
Now she understood. Damn it, Valthior said that to everyone he met!?
It was as if no matter who he joined hands with on this sea, no one would be their opponent!
Was he just drawing big promises?
Just then, Sunbell, who was at the helm, shouted loudly, "Everyone, hold steady! We're about to ride the current up to Wano!"
Valthior didn't move an inch. He simply generated ice beneath his feet to anchor himself to the deck, while simultaneously speaking into the Den Den Mushi, "You heard that, right? My main base of operations in the New World is Wano Country. Come find me here when the time comes!"
Without wasting more words, Valthior bid him farewell and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Very soon, the Oro Jackson rushed up the sea current and entered Wano's inland sea.
Wano's inland sea was not very large; at the very least, the coastline could be seen at a glance.
This was not their first time coming to Wano, but compared to last time, even though they had only just entered the inland sea, they could already see the huge changes in Wano.
First was the increase in the number of ships. Originally, Wano was a closed country, and almost no one knew how to reach Wano's inland sea, so there were very few outsiders. Only some local ships handled the traffic back and forth.
But now, on the sea near Habu Port, large engineering ships could be seen everywhere, and all of them were flying the family crest of the Jaygarcia family.
Habu Port had once looked shabby and small-minded because there had not been much demand for it, but now, it had been transformed into a super-large port. Judging from its appearance, it was a cargo port. The docks were very flat, and neat warehouses stood in rows.
It suited Valthior's future need to export weapons very well.
Looking at this scene, Spencer said in surprise, "Is the World Government's efficiency really this high? We only left Wano for about two years, and this place has already been transformed into this?"
"It's not that the World Government is efficient. It's that the Jaygarcia family is efficient. Can the efficiency of handling public affairs and the efficiency of handling private family matters be the same?" Valthior said very calmly.
It was the same in any world. When you handled matters for your own home, you moved fast.
But if you were working a job, then not slacking off would be an insult to your salary.
What efficiency? We are making a careful and orderly choice to slow down in order to better, more maturely, and more steadily promote the development of the plan, all right?
If the project could not be completed according to schedule, then there must have been a problem with the original plan. It did not match the actual situation and was disconnected from the people.
How could that be called low efficiency?
Very soon, the Oro Jackson arrived at the port in a grand and open manner.
And when Valthior had seen the situation here earlier, the people at the port had naturally also noticed that the family's young master had arrived.
So as soon as the ship was properly docked, the honor guards on both sides were already in place, and a red carpet had already been laid from the town inside the port all the way to the side of the ship.
There was also a special banner team holding up a banner that read, "A Warm Welcome to the Great Captain Valthior Upon His Arrival in His Loyal Wano Country."
The rest of the crew had already witnessed Valthior's 'Celestial Dragon flair' before, leaving only Sphinx and Rengar staring at this scene with thoroughly shocked and incredulous gazes.
"He really is a Celestial Dragon!?" Sphinx cried out.
"Yeah. Didn't we already tell you?" Spencer said very calmly as he lit a cigarette.
"We thought he was joking. What kind of Celestial Dragon goes off to become a pirate? Isn't that like your left brain fighting your right brain?" Sphinx said, unable to understand it.
As everyone knew, pirates were criminals, and the reason they were criminals was because they violated the laws of the World Government. Meanwhile, Celestial Dragons were the highest ruling class of the World Government. A Celestial Dragon becoming a pirate? What was that if not brains at war with themselves?
"In short, you don't need to be so surprised. Follow Lord Valthior, and in the future, you'll have more blessings than you can enjoy," Spencer joked with a smile.
He was not saying this blindly either. Take the Roger Pirates for example. If Valthior had not joined them, would everyone have been able to take at least several billion berries each when they split up?
"A Celestial Dragon wants to become the king of the world, yet instead of working hard in Mary Geoise, he chooses to set out to sea and become a pirate. If there's nothing fishy behind this, I wouldn't believe it even if you beat me to death," Rengar said with a serious expression.
Clearly, compared to Sphinx, whose shock was written on her face, Rengar thought much deeper.
"There are indeed many fishy things behind it, but right now, you two are not qualified to know them yet," Spencer said without hiding it.
Sphinx and Rengar did not mind. They knew very well that although they had gotten along fairly well on the way to Wano and had no conflicts, and although they themselves truly did not harbor any bad intentions, everyone had still only just begun to get along. More time was needed to build trust.
There was no way any deep secrets would be explained clearly to them right now.
After the gangway was put in place, Valthior led the group off the ship first.
And the one waiting below to welcome him was Lincoln, who had once served as the Jaygarcia family's overseas manager on Sabaody Archipelago.
"Young Master, it has been a long time. Seeing that you are still so spirited and mighty is truly wonderful," Lincoln said with a smile as he stepped forward to greet him.
As he spoke, he prepared to kneel, but Valthior raised his hand and stopped him. "There's no need to bring the Mary Geoise customs here, Lincoln."
"This..." Lincoln looked troubled. He had already grown used to this kind of etiquette, and besides, just because the leader said there was no need for that, were you really supposed not to do it?
That did not seem right, did it?
"I'm serious." Valthior patted his shoulder and said, "Also, don't arrange these honor guards, red carpets, and things like that in the future. As long as you put your heart into your work, I will see it all. These flashy things—I don't like them anymore."
Valthior used "I don't like them anymore" as his reason, and that immediately put Lincoln at ease.
If he did not like them anymore, then they would not do them. Simple, direct, and acting according to his wishes; Celestial Dragon lords were like that.
But if Valthior had said something like "extravagance and waste," then Lincoln would definitely have thought too much about it, wondering whether he had done something wrong.
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