Hearing Sabo's words, Orochimaru's cheeks suddenly flushed, a surge of inexplicable joy welled up in his heart, and a subtle, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
As he stroked Sabo, his movements involuntarily quickened, as if something particularly exhilarating had just happened, and he was completely immersed in this unique emotion.
Sabo felt like he was going to be rubbed raw. 'Lighter, lighter, you're going to create sparks!' he thought. 'I haven't even adapted yet. What if I turn back to normal later?'
In the arena, Rebecca walked calmly towards Cavendish.
"Thank you for speaking up for me just now."
Rebecca said sincerely.
Cavendish immediately dropped his previous demeanor, swiftly returned to his serious self, and responded:
"It's nothing. I was really angry at the time.
You've had it tough too. Don't dwell on this; just put it behind you.
Don't forget, we're competitors."
Cavendish nodded slightly, indicating he had received Rebecca's thanks, then turned without hesitation and strode away.
As he walked, he muttered softly to himself, his hand shading his eyes as he looked left and right.
"There should be at least one or two news reporters here, shouldn't there?
What if what just happened makes it into the newspapers? That's really troubling.
Though I'd love to be in the papers again and show my face, I really don't want to be listed alongside that crested head guy; that would be so demeaning."
Just thinking about the possibility of appearing in the newspaper, Cavendish's expression became extremely complex. His actions alternated between a shy air, as if he was already seeing himself as the center of attention and feeling a bit embarrassed;
And then his face would cloud over, clearly troubled by the thought of being listed alongside that "crested head."
=_=! Rebecca, watching him from the side, was speechless, the corner of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
The battle in Block D had officially begun. In the arena, Rebecca fully utilized her physical advantages, possessing a unique set of defensive strategies.
Facing her opponents' repeated attacks, she always managed to cleverly neutralize them, firmly holding her ground, earning the admiration of many around her for her defensive capabilities.
In the Dressrosa Royal Palace,
Doflamingo had finally completed the tedious and tricky transfer work. Exhausted physically and mentally, he
longed for a moment of peace. So, he opened the arena live broadcast, ready to enjoy this rare, peaceful time to himself, and to check if the arena was out of control.
He leaned back lazily in his chair, his gaze casually falling on the flickering screen. The noisy scenes from the live broadcast flashed before his eyes.
But just then, a somewhat unusual corner caught his attention; a familiar shadow seemed to be hidden there.
Doflamingo sat up slightly, his long fingers tapping the screen, zooming in on the image little by little, then zooming in further, his gaze becoming more focused.
After seeing the scene on the screen, Doflamingo felt a lump in his throat, filled with the frustrating feeling that he had been made a fool of.
On the screen, Orochimaru was sprawled lazily on a luxurious sofa, his posture relaxed, as if making the sofa appear even softer.
Orochimaru's eyes were slightly narrowed, but his gaze never left the arena screen, an air of contentment emanating from him.
Even more eye-catching was the young dragon nestled in his arms, its scales shimmering with a unique luster in the light.
Completely unlike Kaido's overtly dominant appearance, it exuded a gentle and adorable charm.
At this moment, the young dragon was affectionately nuzzling Orochimaru's neck, a delicate snack in its mouth, gently offering it to Orochimaru's lips.
(Actually, its paw was too far, and he didn't see it.)
Orochimaru's lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. He slightly opened his mouth, took the snack, and his fingers subtly caressed the young dragon's scales.
(Just a normal petting.)
The movement of his fingertips over the scales seemed to carry a hint of ambiguous electricity, making the entire scene feel as if it was permeated with an enchanting atmosphere.
(Actually, it was just normal feeding. There's a misconception called 'Doflamingo thinks.')
Doflamingo's eyes instantly widened, his eyeballs seemingly about to pop out of their sockets, staring intently at the screen with a look of utter disbelief.
"Where did this thing come from?!"
Thinking of Orochimaru's leisurely and somewhat intimate appearance, and then looking at the affectionately nestled young dragon, Doflamingo felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
He subconsciously reached up and touched the top of his head, vaguely feeling as if his head was starting to glow green.
This must be a Devil Fruit! It must be a Devil Fruit! Was he being robbed right under his nose?!
Baby5, who was outside, heard a sound from inside and curiously walked over. As soon as she pushed open the door, the scene on the screen caught her eye.
She saw Doflamingo staring at the screen with an astonished and somewhat exasperated expression, the slightly intimate scene of Orochimaru and the young dragon particularly striking on the screen.
Baby5 first froze, then instantly understood what was likely happening. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, and she quietly closed the door again, muttering to herself as she walked away:
"How come Young Master seems to be regressing? He's getting younger, but his personality is becoming more childish.
It's just Orochimaru-sama holding a pillow; look at that stance, he's actually getting competitive about it. Is it really necessary?
Could it be that he's going through menopause, which is why his emotions are so volatile?"
Lost in thought, Baby5 shook her head helplessly and went back to her own tasks.
Although she was grumbling inwardly, her work couldn't stop. After all, she was very busy right now.
The palace was so large, and there were countless things to pack and organize: all sorts of valuable items, lavish clothes, and endless documents and files, all needing to be meticulously put away.
She and Monet were going crazy with work; they had no time to deal with the Young Master's inexplicable emotions. They had to hurry back and continue with the packing.
Otherwise, they would fall behind, and if anything went wrong, it would be a huge problem.
After all, this was their future property; they were moving, and they absolutely couldn't leave King Riku anything good!!
They wouldn't even give him scrap metal!
Orochimaru-sama had specifically instructed them not to take any of the worthless, broken things that originally belonged to them, to avoid wasting effort and taking up space.
Everyone remembered this, and while organizing and packing, they had to carefully sift through everything to avoid any mistakes that would benefit King Riku.
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