Garp wanted to recruit the seven members of CP9 into the Neo Marines, and Luffy simply let the old man do as he pleased. As a veteran of the Marines, Garp still maintained a certain sense of decorum—or at least something close to it, by his own chaotic standards.
As long as their hearts remained in his hands, there would be no major problems. No rebellion, no sudden betrayal… at least, not without immediate consequences.
Of course, just to be safe, Luffy still used his mind-reading ability to check their thoughts from time to time.
For now, there was nothing abnormal. Some of them still showed a bit of internal resistance, but nothing truly concerning.
[If I become a secretary… as long as I behave… will I be able to get my heart back?]
The only one who seemed genuinely motivated by something was Kalifa.
Shaking his head, Luffy chose not to dwell on such details. He left Garp to handle everything and calmly returned to the castle.
Under Bartolomeo's enthusiastic leadership, they arrived at a warehouse located beneath the main structure of the castle.
"This is the Poneglyph brought by Jinbei, Luffy-sama!"
Bartolomeo announced with exaggerated pride, as if presenting a legendary treasure—which, in a way, it truly was.
"And the others?"
Luffy frowned slightly. Even using his Observation Haki, he couldn't sense Jinbei's presence anywhere. More strangely… there wasn't a single fish-man on the island.
"Where are Shirahoshi and the others?"
It wasn't just the fish-men who were absent. Shirahoshi, Vivi, Uta… all of them had disappeared at the same time.
"They all went to Fish-Man Island. Jinbei and the others are preparing for tomorrow's wedding."
Preparing the dowry, perhaps?
Luffy complained inwardly. All the ships were still at the port, so they had most likely just swum there.
The straight-line distance between the two islands was less than ten kilometers. For humans, that would already be quite a challenge… but for fish-men? It was practically the equivalent of crossing a small stream.
"That explains why I didn't see the Merry…"
Vivi and the others had probably taken the ship to Fish-Man Island.
"Copy the contents."
"Yes!"
Bartolomeo immediately took out his tools and began carefully copying the inscriptions on the Poneglyph.
After that was done, Luffy returned to the upper floor of the castle.
As he entered the main hall, he came across a surprisingly peaceful scene: Granose and Golden Week were playing poker.
So focused that they didn't even notice his arrival.
Luffy sat down on the sofa in silence, observing the harmonious scene. For some reason… it felt strangely out of place within the chaos of his life.
Miss Golden Week, whose real name was Marianne, was 16 years old. Her ability, known as "Color Trap," worked similarly to hypnosis: through specific colors, she could induce psychological states in others. Interestingly, it was not a Devil Fruit power.
Granose, on the other hand, was 22 years old. Despite her deceptively childish appearance, she possessed a Devil Fruit ability with extremely unstable properties.
Both of them looked like little girls… but their actual ages told a different story.
And both had once served as subordinates of Shichibukai.
One under Crocodile, and the other under Doflamingo.
"Sugar is practically an upgraded version of Marianne…"
Luffy thought to himself.
The similarities between the events of Alabasta and Dressrosa were undeniable. Golden Week and Sugar were just a small reflection of that.
Suddenly—
Puru Puru… Puru Puru…
The Den Den Mushi in his pocket began to ring.
Luffy took it out and answered casually. On the other side, Nami's voice echoed immediately:
"Luffy, where are you right now?"
"What is it?"
"Kaido woke up."
"I see. I'm on my way."
"Hurry up. Even with him restrained by Seastone… I won't feel at ease without you here."
Luffy smiled faintly, said a few reassuring words, and ended the call.
At that moment, Monet entered the room carrying a cup of coffee.
"Luffy, here you go."
"Thanks."
He took a casual sip—more out of courtesy than desire—and stood up shortly after.
Leaving the castle, he found Bartolomeo waiting eagerly outside.
"Prepare transportation. Inform the others—we're heading to Totto Land waters soon."
"Yes, Luffy-sama!"
After quickly organizing everything at the base camp, Luffy headed to the port and boarded the Thousand Sunny.
In the blink of an eye, the ship passed through the space-time channel and appeared near Wano.
In just a few days, the elephant Zunesha had completely removed the natural walls that once isolated the country.
Luffy lifted the Sunny into the air and flew over the former land of Wano.
Below, countless people were working on reconstruction—clearing debris, reorganizing structures, trying to restore life to the former Royal Garden.
Likely under the orders of the new Shogun.
Not paying much attention to it, Luffy headed straight to the Flower Capital.
"Luffy!"
Nami greeted him immediately.
"He's in the prison. Come, I'll take you there."
Shortly after, they arrived at the location.
Kaido had already regained consciousness.
Usopp, with almost frightening dedication, was feeding the Emperor absurd amounts of food.
And Kaido… well, Kaido ate everything without the slightest restraint.
"Where's the sake? Without sake, this prison is garbage!"
he grumbled, clearly dissatisfied.
Then he looked up and saw Luffy outside the cell.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Straw Hat… I lost. What are you going to do with me? My heart is already in your hands."
"Someone must have already told you my intention. I'm waiting for your answer. Depending on it… I'll decide your fate." Luffy replied directly.
"Oh? Straw Hat… if I had won, would you have become my obedient subordinate?"
Kaido provoked, a challenging glint in his eyes.
Luffy actually thought for a moment… and then smiled.
"Yes. If I had lost, I would have married your daughter Yamato and become second-in-command of the Beasts Pirates."
A pause.
"Besides… Yamato is beautiful. It wouldn't be a bad deal."
He shrugged, as if evaluating an ordinary contract.
Judging the situation was essential.
As long as there was life, there was always hope.
A man could bow… and rise again later.
Kaido remained silent for a few seconds, staring deeply at Luffy.
"I am a warrior. And a warrior can only die in battle… never surrender."
"Is that so?" Luffy didn't seem surprised.
That answer had been expected.
"Then you're asking me to kill you."
Kaido smiled.
"If you want this life… then take it. But let my subordinates go."
He spoke of his own death with absurd calmness.
"After killing Devil Fruit users… you can steal their abilities, right? Then take mine. Consider it… my reward to you, as the winner."
His eyes gleamed intensely.
"Straw Hat… I wanted to see your war against the World Government. Too bad I won't get to watch it. Use my power to destroy this boring world."
Another smile.
"If you can use my strength to kill one or two of the Five Elders… I can die satisfied."
Silence filled the room.
All the Straw Hats were shocked by that declaration.
In the same cell, the Three Calamities widened their eyes, completely incredulous at their captain's words.
---
(End of Chapter)