Luo Chen looked at the Pirate Empress and asked, "Are there any Celestial Dragons around here?"
Boa Hancock was taken aback. He made it sound like he was asking if there were any wild beasts in the area.
She shook her head. "The most likely place for them to appear is the Sabaody Archipelago, which is about a four-day voyage from here."
Luo Chen frowned.
He had an impression of the Sabaody Archipelago. It was the place in the original story where Luffy had punched a Celestial Dragon.
But four days was too long. And he might miss them, which would be a further delay.
He needed to be on the news by tomorrow.
Luo Chen asked again, "Is there a Marine base nearby?"
Hancock raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and pointed into the distance. "There's an island over there called Star Island. The Marine G-7 Branch is stationed on it."
"How long would it take to fly there?" Luo Chen asked.
"Two or three hours." Boa Hancock seemed to know what he was going to do. She waved her hand, and one of her subordinates brought over a Log Pose.
"A Log Pose for Star Island. Fly in the direction of the needle, and you won't get lost."
Hancock threw the Log Pose to him.
The reason she was helping him was that Luo Chen had released Sandersonia, and he also seemed to intend to kill a Celestial Dragon. This had dissipated much of Hancock's hostility toward him.
"Thanks," Luo Chen said, catching the Log Pose. He raised his hand and created a Wood Dragon.
He took Robin, boarded the Wood Dragon, and flew in the direction recorded by the Log Pose.
On the Perfume Yuda, Boa Hancock and her crew watched Luo Chen's retreating back.
Sandersonia had already returned to her human form from the large green python. She asked, puzzled, "Sister, what is he going to a Marine base for?"
Hancock shook her head. "I don't know. Let's go. We'll return to Kuja Island. I want to see for myself if Luo Chen can really kill a Celestial Dragon."
Marigold snorted coldly. "How would he dare? His bounty is only a little over two hundred million. If he dares to offend a Celestial Dragon, not even his bones will be left."
Hancock nodded slightly, turned on her high heels, and returned to her cabin.
...
Star Island, Marine G-7 Branch Base, Vice Admiral's Office.
"Vice Admiral Doberman, the Heavenly Tribute convoy escorted by CP0 is about to arrive in the waters near Star Island," a young-looking Rear Admiral reported.
Behind the desk sat a woman with black hair and blue eyes. She wore a spiked collar, a dark-colored short-sleeved shirt, and leather pants and boots, giving off a capable, punk-like vibe.
The woman had a cigarette in her mouth, and her voice was quite magnetic. "Do they need us to escort them for a while?"
The Rear Admiral nodded. "Yes. However, this time, there is a Celestial Dragon in the convoy, Saint Lorenzo. He wishes to land on Star Island to view Star Lake."
Vice Admiral Doberman's expression changed slightly, and her brow furrowed. "Saint Lorenzo is landing on the island?"
She stood up and said in a low voice, "Immediately clear a path straight to Star Lake and set up a security perimeter. There can be no carelessness whatsoever."
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
With that, the Rear Admiral turned and left.
Vice Admiral Doberman also grabbed her "Justice" coat from the coat rack and walked out the door.
With the arrival of Saint Lorenzo, she needed to personally greet and escort him.
...
Two hours later, at the port of Star Island.
The Marines of the G-7 Branch had already taken full control of the port.
All merchant ships, large and small, had been cleared to the sides, and the entire port was unobstructed.
The merchants and tourists on the shore were cordoned off to one side of the road by the Marines and were not allowed to approach.
Luo Chen, now wearing sunglasses, blended into the crowd with Robin.
He chuckled in a low voice, "What a coincidence. A Celestial Dragon is about to land on the island."
Luo Chen had originally planned to come to Star Island and destroy the G-7 Marine Branch here to get on the news.
But he had accidentally overheard that a Celestial Dragon was about to land on the island.
It was a case of someone sending a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
'I hope this Celestial Dragon is an irredeemable bastard...' Luo Chen prayed internally.
If he were a good person, he really wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it. But the probability of a good person appearing among the Celestial Dragons was too low. It was as unbelievable as finding a drop of white in a pool of black ink.
Robin pressed down the brim of her cowboy hat and said with concern, "Are you really going to make a move on a Celestial Dragon? You'll be hunted endlessly by the Marines and the World Government afterward."
If the main force hunting Luo Chen before had been the Marines, then once he killed a Celestial Dragon, the World Government would absolutely send out its powerhouses to hunt him down like a mad dog. At that time, Luo Chen would have to face two behemoths: the Marines and the World Government.
"Let them hunt me. It's not like my situation now is much better," Luo Chen said with a grin.
If he didn't take out a Celestial Dragon and get some money, how could he improve his strength?
Even a Marine Admiral had been dispatched now. If he didn't level up soon, he would be finished.
He had originally wanted to follow the Straw Hat crew to Skypiea to find the City of Gold. But with Aokiji's appearance, a strange twist of fate had brought him so far away, and the trip to the sky island had to be postponed for now.
Robin sighed lightly. "I feel like I can already see our end, being torn to shreds by a Marine Admiral and the World Government."
Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh. "How could that be? It won't be long before even Aokiji is no match for me."
Robin rolled her eyes. She didn't believe that for a second.
Who was Aokiji? A Marine Admiral, one of the highest combat powers of the World Government. Just a few hours ago, he had been chasing them all over the sea, and now suddenly he was no match?
"You're very humorous, Captain," Robin said with a slight smile.
Luo Chen pouted, said no more, and focused his gaze on the coast in the distance.
On the sea, the shadow of a fleet of ships gradually became clear.
Luo Chen's eyes shifted, and he lowered his voice. "Why are there thirteen warships? Does a Celestial Dragon travel with such a large escort?"
He remembered that in the original story, when the Celestial Dragons had appeared in the Sabaody Archipelago, they hadn't had thirteen warships as an escort.
They only had two CP agents in black suits as guards.
Now there were a full thirteen warships, and on the deck of each were at least a hundred World Government agents.
This force was clearly not what a single Celestial Dragon should have.
Luo Chen would have believed it if it were an entire Celestial Dragon family.
Robin's face also grew solemn. "This isn't normal. Either there's more than one Celestial Dragon, or this one has an exceptionally high status."
As if remembering something, she added, "It could also be the convoy escorting the Heavenly Tribute. I've heard that each Heavenly Tribute fleet is equipped with at least ten warships."
Luo Chen's eyes lit up.
Heavenly Tribute?
That was the wealth the Celestial Dragons collected from all over the world. How much money would that be?
Robin was about to advise Luo Chen to think twice and act with caution. But when she turned her head, she saw what looked like a golden glint in Luo Chen's eyes, as if reflecting the light of a chest of gold.
The corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She said, speechless, "Mr. Captain, are you so broke that you're going to rob the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Tribute?"
Seeing Luo Chen's expression, she knew it was impossible to talk him out of it.
"The Heavenly Tribute is exactly what I'm going to rob," Luo Chen nodded.
He had been thinking about the Heavenly Tribute for a long time. It was just that its route was a closely guarded secret, and it was generally impossible to know its course. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Robin sighed silently and could only give a final reminder. "The escort force will surely be extremely powerful, with no shortage of experts comparable to a Marine Vice Admiral. You must be careful."
"Okay. When the fight starts later, you hide and don't show yourself," Luo Chen instructed.
He wasn't yet sure how many experts were in the fleet.
Once they had all docked and couldn't run away, Luo Chen would use his Observation Haki to scout them out. Although his Haki's range was not as far as Admiral Aokiji's, it was no problem to cover the port in a radius of several hundred meters.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]