Yeah…
Ozz casually killed a Celestial Dragon, so of course the Holy Land was displeased. Even the God's Knights had to follow procedures when carrying out an execution.
But as the Gorosei argued back and forth, no one could come up with a concrete plan on what to actually do about Ozz.
Arrest him?
Send the Marines?
Or dispatch the God's Knights?
Even if Figarland Garling went personally now, it probably would not end well.
The thing that made Ozz most terrifying, aside from his still uncracked combination of the strongest Observation Haki and the Teleportation Fruit, was that ridiculously young age of his.
Many years ago, when Ozz was just in his early twenties, he could already cross blades evenly with Saint Garling, one of the top forces in the world. At least on the surface, he had never shown any sign of being on the losing end.
So what about now?
All these years had gone by and nobody had truly managed to force out the limits of Ozz's power.
They had no idea that in another world, Ozz had once gone all out alone against a full lobby of peak monsters and fully showcased the true extent of his strength.
In their eyes, however, it simply looked like this.
No one had ever been able to push Ozz to his limits.
Every time a battle ended, Ozz always walked away relaxed and unruffled, barely wounded at all.
And that was only his "youth." What would happen once he reached his true physical peak at thirty or forty?
Even Rocks, who had once soloed a Marine Headquarters admiral, might not have a higher ceiling than Ozz.
Just as the discussion hit a dead end, the one who had recently dealt with Ozz, Saint Saturn, finally spoke.
"Strictly speaking, Ozz no longer participates in the struggle for supremacy over the seas, and he clearly has no interest in finding so called One Piece," he said slowly, his expression as calm as an ancient well, though a flicker of dread surfaced in his eyes. "But his attitude is clearly no longer the same as before."
He explained the sequence of events to the others.
"If the old Ozz was just a young man who occasionally got impulsive and liked to maintain some semblance of face on the surface, then now he has started to ignore our dignity altogether.
"I do not know whether it is because his strength has improved, or for some other reason."
"But it is hard not to suspect that Ozz has already prepared himself, mentally, to become an enemy of the World Government."
Just for Bartholomew Kuma, he had threatened to butt heads with the World Government. To Ozz, it was a small matter, a passing thought at most.
To the World Government, however, it was a very real possible starting point for open conflict.
In the past, it had been simple.
You give me face, I give you face, everyone smiles, everyone lives well.
Now?
Ozz no longer bothered pretending.
If you are unhappy, hold it in. I am going to do whatever I want.
They had no idea that this shift in mindset did not come from any particular grudge Ozz had against the World Government.
He simply wanted to sharpen his own will.
And if he wanted to cultivate that will, he could not accept anything that restricted his freedom or happiness.
Even if Imu stood right in front of him, Ozz would still dare to poke and prod.
The whole "Dark Sun God" idea was, in the end, something Ozz wanted to prepare as a nice little "surprise" for Imu.
Otherwise, why would he go collect Luffy's genes and a giant's physique template? Was he not just trying to make the appearance as close to the original as possible?
Imu trembling in fear…
Just thinking about it made him feel amused.
Faced with an Ozz who had completely lost any sense of fear or restraint, the World Government truly had no practical solution. In the end, they simply dumped the problem onto the God's Knights.
And the final result?
Nothing happened.
The matter was quietly shelved.
…
Elsewhere, someone else was also paying close attention to Ozz.
The Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village.
"Shanks, I wanna drink too!"
"No way. Brats only get juice."
At the bar counter of Makino's tavern, Shanks was drinking, while Luffy sat beside him with his cup of juice, sharing the same hobby as Ozz.
Only this time, Shanks had lost his usual easygoing smile.
"Boss, when are we setting sail?" a crew member could not help asking.
Shanks did not answer. He only said they were not in a hurry.
With the Gum Gum Fruit already snatched away by Ozz, where else could he go if he did not wait here?
He was afraid.
Afraid that this unpredictable man named Ozz might one day decide to simply hide that fruit away and never take it out, even when the destined moment arrived.
People said that Devil Fruits carried some kind of will, that they chose a host they acknowledged.
In other words, Nika would naturally come to the one who inherited the will.
But how could some vague, mystical "will" compete with a broken, cheat level ability?
If Ozz refused to let the Nika Fruit go, nobody would be able to steal it.
Even if the Fruit left his body, it could instantly teleport back.
Unless someone defeated Ozz thoroughly enough that he could not use his ability.
But was that even possible?
All Shanks could do was wait here and hope that Ozz still remembered his deep bond with Captain Roger, and would not crush the new era in its cradle.
…
"So, you're Shirahoshi?"
In the royal palace of Dularmos, countless guests had gathered.
Sitting atop the high platform, Ozz had stepped down and come to the reception hall. At a glance, his eyes were immediately drawn to the huge mermaid girl with pink hair.
"Yes, Lord Ozz!"
A rare glimmer of genuine interest flashed through Ozz's eyes.
When you had enjoyed far too much, and far too well, your threshold for "fun" naturally rose.
Right now, Shirahoshi had not yet grown into the fully mature figure she would have in the future, but she was already a gigantic, adorable mermaid loli.
Soft, shy, trembling.
Very much in line with Ozz's tastes.
Maybe pink hair really did match Ozz's preferences.
From the white moonlight of his youth, to the adorable Shirahoshi before him, they all had something in common.
A body close to a giant's size, a womanly figure, long pink hair…
Seeing Ozz's relatively gentle attitude toward Shirahoshi, and already grateful for Ozz saving her from the Celestial Dragon, Neptune was more than happy to see his daughter getting close to him.
Shirahoshi's special identity had always made Neptune uneasy.
Now that they owed Ozz a huge favor, he felt that, in the future, if something unexpected happened, they would have an extra layer of protection.
"Relax. I really do like this child Shirahoshi very much."
Standing on the Seagull King's back, Ozz floated in the air and reached out to gently pat Shirahoshi's head.
In that moment, everyone present straightened subconsciously, especially those ambitious types.
Ozz did not hand out promises lightly.
But once he did, it was a one hundred percent ironclad guarantee.
If he said he would protect you, then even the World Government and the Celestial Dragons would not be allowed to touch you.
Vinsmoke Judge immediately started plotting.
He looked at Shirahoshi, who seemed to have caught Ozz's special favor, then turned to glance at his eldest daughter, Reiju.
If only the one who received such a promise from Ozz had been his daughter…
As for Shirahoshi, having heard tales of this heroic figure Ozz ever since she was small, and now finding that he had literally saved her life today, the little mermaid who was sensitive and timid by nature could not control her emotions.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around Ozz.
"L Lord Ozz!!!"
Ozz was a little helpless and simply tried to calm Shirahoshi down, while a nagging thought surfaced in the back of his mind.
Had he forgotten something?
Forget it…
If he could not remember it right away, it probably was not anything important.
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