Qiyue's protest ended with her being tied up and spanked by Yayoi.
Having children wasn't in Ren's plans. With the Vampire-Vampire Fruit, he possessed what could be called eternal life, and he had Toki, the Time-Time Fruit user, among his subordinates.
His long lifespan made him disinclined to raise offspring, and he wasn't alone in this thinking.
Yuriko had originally wanted Jasmine to have a child for Ren, but now she was in no rush. They wouldn't age — what was the hurry?
Jasmine and the others felt the same way. Or rather, watching Yuriko, who hadn't aged a day in over twenty years, Jasmine always felt like she was still a child herself.
Have a child?
It just felt too far away.
As for Udon, the status quo could be maintained with subordinates managing things temporarily. With the Great Serpent Mark, there wouldn't be any unexpected problems.
Time passed slowly.
In the New World, Inazuma and Whitebeard had long been firmly seated on the "Emperor throne." In recent years, the status of Buggy, Shanks, and others whom Morgans had commented on was also gaining wider recognition.
With Big Mom and Kaido gone, it seemed easier for pirates to make a name in the New World, so these two groups' territories expanded year by year.
Their development might even be faster than in the original story.
And every time Shanks and Buggy met at sea, they would fight. The two bickered constantly, their strength improving with each clash.
Sea Circle Calendar, 1508.
Fisher Tiger alone climbed the Red Line and freed a massive number of slaves!
Among them, the future Golden Emperor Gild Tesoro was also one of the escaped slaves. But this time, he couldn't steal the Gold-Gold Fruit from Doflamingo, because that fruit had already fallen into Ren's hands.
Ren had initially considered using Tesoro — after all, this man had cultivated the Gold-Gold Fruit to Awakening, clearly possessing great talent. His strength was almost on par with Doflamingo in the original story. And he could even use gold to manipulate the Celestial Dragons.
But on second thought, Ren gave up.
If Tesoro truly had power comparable to Doflamingo, the Great Serpent Mark wouldn't be able to control him.
Doflamingo had been marked since childhood and no longer knew how to resist, but Tesoro might rebel.
A former slave of the Celestial Dragons would absolutely never submit to another person again.
The Holy Land Mary Geoise on the Red Line being attacked — this was the first time in centuries. Even Rocks back then hadn't accomplished such a feat.
Of course, it caused quite a stir, but escaped slaves couldn't be publicly announced. After all, human trafficking was officially prohibited.
The World Government and Marines paid a heavy price to get that bird Morgans to shut up.
It wasn't exactly shutting up — more like banning further reports and covering the story with other news.
But the Sun Pirates' bounties were released.
Other than that, there wasn't much worth reading in the news.
If anything, it was that Crocodile had lain low for several years and finally decided to challenge Whitebeard.
Then he lost his hand…
Hearing this news, Ren wondered — did all the Emperors like chopping off people's hands?
First Crocodile, then Kid — two unlucky bastards.
Crocodile fared better — he lost his palm but got a big golden hook, which was quite pirate-like. If he developed his fruit abilities further, he could probably create a temporary sand hand.
But Kid was much worse off.
So much so that Ren was now wondering if he should follow Whitebeard and the future Shanks and join the Four Emperors Hand-Chopping Squad!
Mihawk, rowing toward Inazuma with his Black Blade as a paddle, inexplicably shivered.
Like Crocodile, after defeating Big Mom, Mihawk had spent years of combat and had tempered "Yoru" into a Black Blade.
He also frequently sparred with Shanks, their swordsmanship often evenly matched.
This made Mihawk feel he was ready.
After all, Shanks was a Yonko on par with Inazuma's Raiden Shogun.
My swordsmanship is on par with Shanks, even slightly better — surely I can go toe-to-toe with that Raiden Shogun?
Mihawk thought to himself.
His gaze turned toward the distant sky, perpetually shrouded in lightning.
Inazuma, also known as the Seirai Islands.
Mihawk took a deep breath.
He felt like a tiny boat before a storm — looking fragile and helpless, yet pressing forward without hesitation.
Hm?
No — it wasn't just a feeling. He really was in a small boat, and ahead really was a violent thunderstorm.
But regardless, his destination was now right before him.
The legendary "Muken no Itto" — let him see just how terrifying it truly was!
Mihawk swung his long blade, releasing a wave of sword energy into the sea behind him.
The powerful recoil instantly propelled the small boat forward like a shooting arrow.
Mihawk didn't hide his presence, and the island generally didn't refuse visitors from other forces. After all, they had business to do — turning people away at the door wasn't an option.
So, as a challenger, Mihawk's treatment was the complete opposite of Moria's.
Moria's provocative act of burning their flag — Ren wouldn't have lost anything by chopping him into onion slices.
Mihawk's small boat gradually approached the shore.
"Hawkeye Mihawk? What brings a Warlord to our Inazuma?" The harbor guard recognized him. His tone wasn't particularly friendly, but for pirates, not opening fire was already tremendous goodwill.
"I'm here to challenge the Raiden Shogun." Mihawk's gaze was sharp, making no effort to hide his purpose.
"Interesting. Inazuma gets plenty of challengers, but you're the first to come straight to the front door." The harbor guard smiled. Not only did he not attack immediately, he picked up a Den Den Mushi to contact his superior.
For enemies they couldn't handle, standing orders were — unless the enemy attacked, avoid direct engagement and report intelligence first for higher-ups to decide.
But this guard's superior wasn't Ren himself, or even Yukiko and the others. It was one of the Fatui Skirmisher captains — Loska, the Paper-Paper Fruit user agent the World Government had sent.
"Lord Loska, a challenger has arrived at the island, intending to challenge the General. What should we do?"
"A challenger? Who? Has he started attacking?"
"It's one of the Seven Warlords, the man called Hawkeye. But he hasn't attacked yet — the guy seems quite polite," the guard replied immediately.
Loska was silent for a few seconds, as if weighing his words, then said, "I'll report to Lady Yukiko. Tell him to wait for now."
[
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