Castle Hall.
Ian was languidly leaning on a throne carved from a single piece of gold. To his left, Saint Shalria was feeding him a peeled, glistening lychee, and to his right, Hancock was personally holding a cup of crimson wine.
On the right side of the main hall, Sakazuki sat upright, his usually stern face now filled with discomfort.
He had never imagined he would one day find himself in such a decadent environment.
Everything here was out of place for him.
What met his eyes was extreme extravagance, and what filled his ears were the soft, coquettish voices of women vying for attention—it was truly something else.
There were also various delicacies from all over the world, making him dizzy.
Sakazuki was a bit restless because his usual three meals a day were very simple, mostly white rice with chili. Occasionally, he would enjoy a few drinks with his good brother Borsalino. In his leisure time, he was either tending to potted plants at home or reading news reports about the monstrous crimes committed by pirates on the Grand Line every day.
Now, suddenly being made to experience the joy of the Celestial Dragons, he naturally found it hard to adapt.
The most dreadful thing was that Saint Ian had arranged two charming maidservants for him.
One on his left, one on his right, sitting intimately close to him.
The maidservant on the left was carefully pouring him wine, while the one on the right was very bold, almost pressing half her body against him. The soft touch made his body stiff, and he dared not move.
He could only stare straight ahead, fixing his gaze on the long table covered with a white tablecloth. Only when Ian raised his cup would he, like a puppet, stiffly pick up his own cup and drink it all.
Gringo and Shamrock, father and son, who sat opposite him, were accustomed to it.
Gringo kept winking at Uta, who stood behind Ian, his eyes openly showing anxiety and urgency. Fearing he might disturb Ian, he directly used Observation Haki to transmit his voice, "Silly granddaughter, hurry up! Didn't you see Saint Shalria and Hancock almost clinging to This Young Master? Go fight for him, snatch him!"
However, Uta acted as if she hadn't seen anything, standing side-by-side with Makino, eyes downcast, completely ignoring the'struggle for affection' unfolding before her.
After three rounds of drinks, Ian suddenly chuckled, then waved his hand, signaling the two women in his arms to be quiet.
Saint Shalria and Hancock immediately stopped feeding him, knowing better, and nestled obediently in his arms. However, in their glances at each other, a spark of unwillingness to concede still flickered.
"Sakazuki." Ian's gaze fell on the stiff Sakazuki, "As a Marine Headquarters Admiral, just knowing how to capture pirates isn't enough. You must learn to enjoy life appropriately; it's good for your physical and mental health."
"Now that you're in the Holy Land, and with This Young Master covering for you, feel free to enjoy yourself. Consider it a pre-Marineford War relaxation."
Sakazuki slightly raised his head, skillfully avoiding the topic that made him uncomfortable, and got straight to the point in a deep voice: "Young Master, Fleet Admiral Sengoku said you intend to personally attend the Marineford War?"
"Publicly executing Ace and dealing with the Whitebeard Pirates is enough for us Marines. Rest assured, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and I have made thorough arrangements. The Whitebeard Pirates will surely not return this time!"
Ian smiled, not answering directly, and turned his head to Shamrock: "Stinky Shanks, tell Sakazuki what's happening in the New World right now."
"Stinky... Stinky Shanks?"
Before Shamrock could react, Uta, who had been quietly standing behind Ian, suddenly looked up.
Hearing this, Ian smiled: "Isn't that right? He's Shanks' twin brother; one is fragrant, one is stinky, it's very reasonable."
As he spoke, as if suddenly remembering something, he stretched out an arm and directly pulled Uta from behind him, making her sit on his lap: "Uta, speaking of which, you haven't officially acknowledged your ancestors yet."
"How about raising a toast to your grandfather and your granduncle?"
"With this toast, you will be a member of the Figarland Family, a noble Celestial Dragon. You will enjoy all privileges, just like This Young Master!"
Shamrock's eyelids twitched. He was genuinely afraid Ian would give him another strange nickname like'Sour Shanks' or'Spicy Shanks', so he quickly looked up and said: "Young Master, it's not too late to do this after the war. Since Admiral Sakazuki is here, we can just exchange information."
After speaking, he immediately stood up and looked at Sakazuki opposite him.
"Admiral Sakazuki, according to the intelligence gathered by our God's Knights, the Whitebeard Pirates have mobilized all their members. However, because they are using special navigation methods, we have not yet pinpointed their exact whereabouts."
"Of course, their whereabouts are not important; what's important is that they've all mobilized!"
Upon hearing this, even with Ian as a powerful backer, Sakazuki did not become arrogant. As Shamrock stood up, he also immediately rose, echoing the other's words: "Regarding the encirclement of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marineford has completed its deployment, just waiting for them to walk into our trap!"
"What we are concerned about now is that after the war with the Whitebeard Pirates breaks out, other pirate forces might take the opportunity to emerge, such as the other three Emperors of the Sea in the New World."
"Your concern is already happening." Shamrock's expression turned serious.
"According to our intelligence, Kaido of the Beasts has already begun to gather his pirate crew and has secretly contacted Doflamingo."
"Yes, you heard correctly," Shamrock emphasized, "Doflamingo is not only the King of Dressrosa and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but he also operates a vast Underworld business under the alias 'Joker' and has secretly collaborated with Kaido for many years."
Sakazuki's face did not show much surprise.
As a Marine Headquarters Admiral, he knew all too well what kind of people the Seven Warlords of the Sea were. Since the establishment of this system, those guys had not only failed to contribute anything to the Marine, but had instead become more brazen, leveraging their legal status.
If ordinary Shichibukai were like this, how much more so Doflamingo, a former Celestial Dragon.
Most importantly, he knew very well that Doflamingo's Shichibukai status was not granted by the World Government at all. Instead, Doflamingo had used extreme methods, possibly even holding a shocking secret of the World Government, to force the Gorosei to agree.
However, these were not his current concerns.
Kaido gathering the Beasts Pirates was no small matter.
Sakazuki's expression darkened: "Kaido wants to assist Whitebeard?"
Shamrock nodded, "He might launch a war elsewhere to tie up our forces, or he might directly descend upon Marineford!"
"But you don't need to worry."
At this point, Shamrock suddenly smiled, "Because this is exactly the outcome This Young Master wants."
"What This Young Master wants is not just the annihilation of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Rather, he wants to seize this opportunity to take down three of the so-called Emperors of the Sea in one fell swoop!"
Sakazuki's facial muscles twitched violently, and he said in horror: "Three Emperors of the Sea? Besides Whitebeard and Kaido, you want to drag another Yonko into this war?"
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