With that,
Crocodile turned to hang up the phone, but then suddenly paused, "Wait…that archaeologist, what has she been doing recently?"
"Nico Robin? She's in the library…still reading those historical texts."
Crocodile snorted coldly, his gaze unconsciously falling on the phone lying face down on the table.
The faint glow of the screen seeped from the edges. He hesitated for a second, then finally reached out and tucked the phone into his coat pocket before leaving the room.
…...
In the Marineford Marshal's office, Sengoku sat behind a desk piled high with documents.
His phone was playing a video of the Beasts Pirates preparing for a grand live banquet.
"What in the world is Kaido up to!" Sengoku slammed his hand on the desk, making a few drops of tea splash out of his teacup and stain the documents.
"Pretending to drop a Devil Fruit, is that thing so easy to drop!"
Sengoku didn't know what conspiracy Kaido was brewing, but it was definitely nothing good.
Vice Admiral Tsuru walked in with freshly brewed tea. Seeing the scene, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Oh? You saw it too?" She gently placed the teacup beside Sengoku's hand. "That old guy Garp just sent a message saying his grandson Luffy also saw this video in East Blue and said he wants to hold a banquet too, hehe."
Sengoku's temple throbbed, and he suppressed his anger: "This is not an ordinary entertainment live stream."
He pointed to a fleeting glimpse of a weapons depot in the corner of the screen, "Do you see those new cannons? And…" The screen suddenly switched to a full view of the banquet hall. He slammed the pause button. "Here, they even inadvertently pretended to drop a Devil Fruit. Such clumsy acting makes it hard not to believe there's something fishy going on."
"Even if there's a problem, there's nothing we can do now but wait and see."
Sengoku sighed: "That's all we can do. I hope no major trouble breaks out."
....
Amazon Lily,
Ron-sama was leaning against the railing of the palace corridor, scrolling through TikTok.
TikTok trending topics:
#BeastsPiratesCarnivalFeast#Breaking!
"This Queen fellow…he's truly a talent. A singing, dancing, and rapping special, very much like an old acquaintance."
But then Ron-sama noticed that the comment section was overwhelmingly filled with mockery.
"Plague Queen, although your bounty is higher than mine, if it comes to singing, dancing, and rapping, I'd like to compete with you."
"I'm dying of laughter, can Queen even dance? It's like a sow climbing a tree, hahahaha!"
"Stop singing and dancing, I want to laugh just seeing you stand there with a microphone!"
"..."
Ron-sama looked at these comments.
Originally, Queen had the potential to be an entertainment streamer, but he was wrong. It was clear that Queen was the Sea's recognized comedy streamer.
Ron-sama couldn't help but chuckle, and he also saw that everyone in the Beasts Pirates in the video had a phone.
"The Sea King Kibosen does have some skill. Wano Country has been closed off for so many years, and he managed to open up sales channels so quickly."
Just then, the clamor of merchant ships unloading cargo came from the distant port. It was the third batch of cargo ships carrying clothing raw materials to arrive today.
Ron-sama turned and walked towards the palace hall, each step rustling softly on the red carpet strewn with petals.
In the hall, several Kuja female warriors were tallying accounts. Seeing Ron-sama enter, they immediately bowed respectfully.
Ron-sama waved his hand casually, his gaze sweeping over the thick stack of financial reports on the table. The Empress's clothing business was already on track, the assembly lines of the contract factories were running day and night, and the daily revenue was calculated in millions of Belli.
Just then,
The system's prompt suddenly sounded in his mind,
[The number of TikTok users has exceeded ninety million. After reaching one hundred million users, the system will undergo its first upgrade!]
"Finally, an upgrade!"
Ron-sama was a little excited. After waiting so long, he was finally getting the first system upgrade. He wondered what new things would appear this time, and the system store would also update. He hoped some good things would show up.
Outside the window, the sunset over Amazon Lily blazed like fire, painting the entire sky a brilliant orange-red.
"It's time…" Ron-sama murmured softly, his fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of his phone.
He turned and instructed a maid: "Prepare a ship, I'm going on a long journey."
With that, his gaze turned to the distant horizon, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, "It's about time I caught up with old friends."
The maids exchanged glances, but soon they quietly exited the hall.
A short while later, Hancock ran over, her bare feet making hurried sounds on the marble floor.
"Ron-sama, are you leaving so soon?"
Her eyes, like autumn water, were filled with tears, and her slender fingers tightly clutched Ron-sama's sleeve, her knuckles turning pale.
"….Yes, Hancock, I…I…" Ron-sama had just opened his mouth when he was stopped by a rich, subtle fragrance.
Hancock stood on tiptoe, her red lips pressing against his without warning. The soft touch made Ron-sama's pupils contract slightly. She closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling, as if she had used all the courage in her life.
Ron-sama felt the warmth on his lips, and the string that had been taut in his heart for many years suddenly loosened.
When he was in the Marine, he was accompanied by slaughter day and night. Later, he exhausted himself trying to overthrow the Celestial Dragons, and his health deteriorated. How could he have the mind to consider matters of love?
But now, his body was restored, his strength was restored, and the beautiful woman in his arms breathed like orchids. If he continued to pretend to be deaf and dumb, what kind of man would he be!
"Ah!" Hancock suddenly exclaimed, as she was lifted into his arms.
Ron-sama's strong arms held her steadily as he strode towards the sleeping quarters.
"Ron-sama, you…you, you, you…" She was so shy that she buried her face in Ron-sama's shoulder, her earlobes red enough to drip blood.
"What me, me, me," Ron-sama chuckled softly, his voice filled with unprecedented tenderness and playfulness, "Today I'll teach you the essential lesson of becoming a woman."
He kicked open the carved door of the sleeping quarters, and the lingering glow of the sunset cast mottled shadows on the floor through the gauze curtains.
"Ron-sama, I..."
Hancock shyly clutched his lapel, but then she heard Ron-sama whisper in her ear: "Don't call me Ron-sama anymore. From now on, just call me Ron."
"...Mm-hmm."
The sea breeze gently stirred the wind chimes by the window, their tinkling sounds intertwining with the distant ocean waves.
The maids had long since discreetly retreated to the farthest reaches of the palace, leaving only the garden full of roses quietly blooming in the twilight.
....
On Winter Island, where cold winds howled, mountains of discarded metal gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Wapol pulled his worn fur coat tighter, squatting by a garbage heap, his rough fingers tightly clutching his phone. On the screen, the bullet comments in Queen's live stream were still scrolling wildly.
"It's really him…it's really Plague Queen…" Wapol muttered to himself, his lips trembling uncontrollably from excitement.
...
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