Lily looked at the corpse of the Sea King and said, "We must first ensure that the ship is safe, Moriah, can you stay on watch?"
"Heh heh heh, as long as I'm waiting on the ship, I have no problem," Moriah laughed.
He's just a lazy guy, it's unrelated to willpower. He's happy not to interfere with things that others can handle.
"Letti, Hawkins, Urouge, you also stay on the ship to ensure it won't be attacked, otherwise we'll have to stay on this island," Lily said.
"Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"
Sage was startled for a moment, "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and three Super Rookies, we could destroy a country."
"It's to prevent more Sea Kings. Moriah as a Warlord can serve as the ultimate force, Hawkins can predict the chances of the ship's destruction, Letti can provide additional power for the ship, and Urouge serves as an additional mobile force," Lily said.
"This way, we can ensure to the greatest extent that your luck...ensure the ship's safety."
"Are you trying to say to ensure my luck?" Sage asked suspiciously.
"..."
Lily looked ahead, "Sage, someone's coming."
Ahead, a boy dragging an injured leg cautiously approached, looking eagerly at the gradually coming down crowd.
This boy had tea-colored hair, a frail figure, wearing tattered clothes made of burlap, barefoot on the sand, cautiously asked:
"Are you here to bring us freedom?"
"Freedom?"
Sage chuckled: "Freedom can't be brought, kid... hmm, nice eyes, who are you?"
"My name is Robby... the ones with the black Skull Flag in the legends will surely bring freedom!"
Robby showed a disappointed look and unwillingly asked again, "Can't you really bring freedom?"
"Oh? Why do you think so, isn't it possible to go to sea here?" Sage smiled and asked.
Of course, he wasn't asking about the Calm Belt, this cursed place can easily be devoured by Sea Kings, it's unlikely to sail from here.
But...
He looked up at the re-gathering figures in the distance, those... were the Navy.
"Stop, who are you..."
The leader was a Vice Admiral, about to ask loudly, but upon seeing the newcomers, he halted his steps, showing an incredulous expression.
Amidst the wind and rain, the outlines of those people gradually became clear, showing shock on each person's face.
The war scene called the 'Summit War' had just ended, and those who watched the live broadcast would never forget the madness that burst onto the battlefield, executed the Heavenly Celestial Dragon on live TV, and destroyed Marineford!
"Disaster!"
The Vice Admiral instinctively drew his blade, trembling as he spoke, "What are you doing here!"
"What's that kind of talk..."
Sage sneered, "What do pirates do here, of course, robbery. I don't want any trouble, hand over the Mother Steel, it's already formed...hand it to me, and I'll leave immediately."
"Mother, Mother Steel..."
The Vice Admiral's eyes widened, "How do you...no, no! We can't make that decision, Disaster, this escort mission is handled by Admiral Aokiji himself, he's here, you don't want to face Admiral Aokiji, right!"
"Kuzan? He's here? Pretty free...with the World Government so close, they still need an Admiral escort? The materials must be really nice."
Sage laughed heartily, not caring at all, and then he paused, pointing at Robby and said to the Navy:
"What's up with this kid? You guys aren't here for me, are you? A Vice Admiral to catch a kid? Did he kill a noble?"
"These white-clothed guys are bad people!"
Robby shouted, "These guys stop me from seeking freedom! I managed to escape from underground, evaded the guards, and just saw the ocean in the book, then they appeared! Why does the book say the white-clothed guys are good people too!"
White-clothed?
Even the Navy doesn't know?
"Oh... Information blackout."
Sage glanced at Robby, smiling: "Then you know where you escaped from, right."
Robby nodded.
"Good, then you lead the way. Whether it's being imprisoned or some strange reason for not knowing the ocean, it doesn't matter, once I'm done robbing this place, you can all leave, ha ha ha ha!"
Sage waved, "Hogback, heal his injuries, Moriah, you stay on watch."
Moriah grinned, folded his hands behind his head, and returned to the ship.
"Eh? I can't go?"
Renedia pouted but then smiled, "Then let's fry some fish! There are a lot of big fish in the Calm Belt!"
"Remember to leave some fish, remember, if the whole is fish-shaped, take from the belly area. If the upper body is beast-like, then take the part where the beast and fish connect," Marika smiled.
"Okay!" Renedia gestured.
Sage cast an annoyed glance at her, "Frying fish is illegal!"
"I'm a pirate, naturally illegal." Renedia giggled, sticking out her little tongue.
The Vice Admiral in front slowly retreated, seeing that Sage's attention seemed not on him, he was about to lead the Navy to withdraw, but at this moment, that voice reached his ears.
"Did I say you could leave?"
The Vice Admiral froze, sweat dripping from his forehead, as Sage slowly approached, grinning: "Tell me, what's the situation on this island..."
...
Columbus Company.
A giant steel company in collaboration with the World Government, based on Columbus Island, it has existed for over three hundred years and is a well-known enterprise at sea.
Not because this is some Iron Ore Island, no matter how rich the iron ore is, after three hundred years of mining, not much would be left.
The company's main business now is importing a large amount of iron through World Government channels for refining and re-exporting refined steel.
Unlike Wano Country.
In the channels controlled by Doflamingo, Wano Country produces weapons and Seastone.
Columbus Company doesn't make weapons, only exports materials, as a materials provider it occupies a significant portion of the market, many nations purchase steel from here, not only for producing their own weapons but also for other needs.
This was the Vice Admiral's version.
Sage wasn't interested in doing anything to the Vice Admiral, after gathering information, he allowed them to withdraw, after all, knowing some intelligence was good enough.
Of course, there was another version...
From the boy, Robby's version.
To them, Columbus Company is known as the Iron Felt Kingdom, since the logo is an iron anvil, a symbol they've seen since childhood.
From birth, they've never seen the sun, living underground, facing furnaces and molten iron, continuously refining raw iron into steel in huge blazing furnaces, and then sending it back.
From young to old, a unique underground kingdom has formed, where life continues without end.
The people there have never contacted the outside world, and don't know where the exit is. If anyone becomes curious, they disappear after a while, returning as a silent person.
But it wasn't always like this...
Robby once got hold of a book with pictures and text. Decades ago, this wasn't the Iron Felt Kingdom but had its true name — Columbus Company.
Even though it was still refining steel, the book at the time recorded the wonders of the sea, people's freedom, and stories of how they relied on steel to gain wealth.
That book even recorded how they came, how they discovered this island, and how magnificent the ocean was.
"I told my parents..."
Rapidly healed by Hogback, with bandages applied, using a cane, Robby walked alongside Sage, dejectedly saying:
"But after my parents heard the news, a few days later they got a mysterious illness, but they clearly weren't old..."
"Mysterious illness?" Sage asked, "What's that?"
"It's an illness, once people start aging, they catch this illness. They can't go outside because it's colder out there, and exposure to cold causes this illness too."
Robby said matter-of-factly, "With this illness, people lose their emotions, just like those grandparents, who, when they reach a certain age, catch the mysterious illness, and then they don't recognize people anymore, only existing as a sort of comfort."
Hearing this, Lily's face turned serious, subconsciously gripping the hilt of her sword.
"Heh heh heh..."
Sage let out a low laugh, "Even knowing the symptoms, why do you still want to come out?"
"I want to see the outside!"
Robby took a deep breath, gazing with determined eyes at Sage, "Even if it means death, I want to see... freedom!"