While Valthior was still wondering what Saint Saturn was thinking, Garling crouched in front of Shanks with a smile.
"You have suffered all these years, my child. Do not worry. After this, you will return to Mary Geoise with me. I will let you enjoy every luxury this world has to offer…"
Shanks froze for a moment, then said, "But… I still want to keep following Uncle Valthior and be a pirate…"
"Huh?" Garling was stunned when he heard that.
But he quickly adjusted his mood and said, "Being a pirate is too dangerous. You are still young. When you are a little older…"
"Brother Garling, Shanks is a youngster I value very much. His talent is extraordinary. If he is trained properly, he will definitely become one of the top figures on the sea in the future. Taking him back to Mary Geoise now will only delay his growth. So let him follow me. I will take good care of him," Valthior said to Garling.
Garling frowned. "But if he returns to Mary Geoise, he can still receive full training…"
"Forget it," Valthior said with disdain. "I lived in Mary Geoise for eighteen years and was not even qualified to join the Holy Knights. But after only a few years at sea, who on this sea does not take my name seriously? I have the right to speak on this matter. Trust me."
As he spoke, Valthior grabbed Garling's arm and pulled him aside, then lowered his voice.
"You can see it now too, right? What kind of mission the Valthior Pirates carry?"
Although Garling was not very strong, he was still well informed.
And Sommers had a loose mouth. He had long since spilled everything about the Five Elders arranging for the Valthior Pirates to open up the situation from within the pirate world.
So Garling also knew very clearly that the Valthior Pirates were pirates by official order.
"This is an order from the Five Elders, and even from higher above, from that person," Valthior said patiently. "Putting Shanks in Mary Geoise has no real meaning. But if he stays by my side, that is different. Maybe when he achieves something in the future, he will catch that lord's attention. This is a chance to rise in a single step. You do not want Shanks to miss such an opportunity, do you?"
Garling could not help falling into thought.
Indeed, Valthior made a lot of sense.
If Shanks stayed with the Valthior Pirates, then that meant the Figarland family was also serving Imu-sama's plan. What was that?
That was a chance to earn merit.
And Garling could benefit from it too.
Before this, Garling had always wanted to bring Shanks back to Mary Geoise. But it was not because he had some deep fatherly love for Shanks.
This guy was basically a beast. How could he have that much affection?
He had barely even seen Shanks.
Without spending time together day and night, how could there be any real bond between father and son?
He simply did not want the bloodline of the Figarland family to suffer out on the sea. That part was true. It made him lose face. Some high-ranking Celestial Dragons had even teased him at gatherings about losing a son.
At the same time, more importantly, he did not want this child to become a tool others could use to threaten him.
But now, Shanks was following Valthior.
Valthior's status was much higher than his. There was no need for Valthior to threaten him. Shanks had been by Valthior's side for so long, and Valthior had never used Shanks to scheme against him.
So he could feel at ease on that point.
He and Valthior were good brothers.
Valthior had said it himself.
Secondly, just as Valthior had said, if Shanks stayed by his side and did something great in the future, he would instantly enter that lord's sight.
That was an excellent opportunity.
Seeing that Garling seemed shaken, Valthior patted his shoulder.
"We are good brothers. How could I mistreat your son? If you miss him, you can contact him anytime. You are always welcome to visit Frost Island too. And if you feel his living conditions are not good enough, you can directly send money. Later, give him a few tens of billions of Berries as a gift, and I will put in some good words for you. Shanks will definitely be moved to tears. Step by step, the father-son bond you lost can slowly be made up for, right?"
"Then… Then I will listen to you. I will leave Shanks to you. Make sure you give him more chances to show himself. You are his uncle, after all!" Garling finally gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Do not worry." Valthior grinned, showing a satisfied smile. Then he said, "All right, let's leave it there for now. I need to go see my wife and child. What a mess this has become."
"Let's go. We will go together," Garling said.
Soon, this whole group of Celestial Dragons left the harbor in a grand crowd and headed toward the Tree of Knowledge.
Halfway there, Valthior saw Spandine running over. He waved at him but said nothing.
Spandine was very sharp. He quickly fell silent and followed behind Valthior.
As for the other members of the Valthior Pirates, they were already used to this kind of scene.
Only Sphinx, Rengar, and Tofu walked among the Marines and CP agents, looking left and right with great curiosity. Their whole bodies were filled with a fresh feeling they had never experienced before.
"Celestial Dragons… They really are Celestial Dragons…" Tofu muttered in a daze.
Meanwhile, Valthior was also asking Garling and the others about the situation.
"My old man wants to take my daughter to Mary Geoise? What is going on?" Valthior asked casually.
"What is strange about that? Other than you and my son, does everyone else not live in Mary Geoise?" Garling said calmly.
"Don't forget the few weirdos from the Donquixote family who live down in the lower world," Sommers added offhandedly.
"I am just a little confused. How did such a small matter alarm my old man…" Valthior clicked his tongue.
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Sommers.
Compared to Garling, Sommers clearly had more access to information at the level of the Five Elders.
Sommers noticed Valthior's gaze and immediately cursed, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did you forget that on Cake Island, you split me in half with one axe? You still have not apologized to me!"
"Think about it more carefully," Valthior said, raising his brow.
"Think about what?" Sommers asked in confusion.
"Even Gunko, who has an engagement with me, I crushed into a mess. My respected Brother Garling, I cut into pieces. Maffy, my devoted admirer, I also beat half to death. But only you. I merely gave you one axe strike. Does that not count as giving you face?" Valthior forcefully explained.
Sommers froze.
Wait.
Now that he said it…
"Who is your devoted admirer, bastard?" Maffy cursed.
"Are you not interested in my body? I was originally thinking of stopping by your place tonight. Since that is how it is, forget it…" Valthior said, pretending to be disappointed.
"You had better keep your word. I will leave the door open for you tonight!" Maffy immediately changed her attitude.
Listening to this ridiculous conversation, Buggy hesitated and said, "Brother Valthior said all that, but in essence, did he not still beat them nearly to death?"
"Shh. Do not talk. Learn properly. Valthior is training dogs," Spencer kicked Buggy lightly and whispered.
After talking nonsense for a while, Sommers finally said, "I think your old man is simply very interested in little Robin. Anyway, that is what my old man said. Before we left, your old man even specifically showed off this matter in the Room of Authority…"
"What is there to show off?" Valthior still did not quite grasp the point, his face full of doubt.
"Old Saturn said Robin strongly resembles you when you were young. Early intelligence," Sommers said softly, raising his brow at Valthior. Clearly, he had guessed something.
This time, Valthior immediately understood.
The old man had taken a liking to Robin's talent.
"Tch… I came here this time to bring my wife and child back to Frost Island," Valthior said after a moment of silence.
As soon as he said that, Sommers immediately reminded him, "From what I know, your old man gave Sengoku a strict order. It is one thing if the few of us get cut down, but are you sure you can handle this many Marines and an Admiral?"
To be honest, Sommers was a very twisted and despicable person.
But in Mary Geoise, he could still be counted as one of the few people who genuinely had a decent relationship with Valthior.
Back on Cake Island, Valthior had only cut him once. There really had been some meaning behind it.
"Valthior, Lord Saturn specifically instructed me. If you refuse, we are to form a pentagram array, and he will personally come to talk with you…" Garling also reminded him.
This was also why Saturn had first arranged for Sengoku to come, then immediately ordered the Holy Knights to follow.
He was worried that Sengoku would not be able to control Valthior. After all, Valthior had the status of a Celestial Dragon. If he truly acted unreasonable here, Sengoku really had no good way to deal with him.
But if the Holy Knights were also present, then things were different.
As the head of the Jaygarcia family, Saturn could descend on Ohara at any time and deal with Valthior, that rebellious grandson, himself.
While Valthior was thinking about all this, the distant Tree of Knowledge gradually came into view.
Then Robin, who was holding Olvia's hand, suddenly noticed Valthior.
On her cute little face, there was surprise at first, then confusion. But very quickly, it turned into joy.
She called out in a sweet voice, "Dad!"
Then she immediately ran toward Valthior.
When Valthior heard that word, emotions that had always been rather faint in this area suddenly surged inside him.
A gentle smile appeared on his face. He bent down, opened his arms, and walked forward quickly.
"My precious daughter, come here and let Dad hug you!"
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