Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Located at the very top of the Red Line, it was built 800 years ago by the 20 Kings who founded the World Government and moved their entire families here as the residence for the Celestial Dragons.
Pangea Castle, the power center of the World Government, is where world conferences are held and where the Gorosei work and rest.
Watching Kizaru leave, Satan Saint rubbed the bridge of his nose.
It cost five Devil Fruits to ransom Saint Elaine, a descendant of Lord Imu.
"Everyone, I suggest raising Barzeb Seven's bounty. The Ope-Ope no Mi user has vanished after being kidnapped by him; he might have already attained immortality."
"As for whether we need to launch a Buster Call..."
Saint V-Mercury, who sported a handlebar mustache, interrupted:
"Barzeb is not of the Clan of D, and from what we see, like the other members of the Roger Pirates, he hasn't leaked the secrets of the Final Island."
"We can try to win him over."
"The priority is to suppress the news and minimize the impact. If word spreads, those pirates on the sea... will be very troublesome."
If everyone started kidnapping Celestial Dragons, it would definitely disrupt the World Government's plans.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Satan Saint changed the subject: "Regarding Saint Elaine, do we need to appease him? Or should we tell him not to leave Mary Geoise for a while?"
"Confine him."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Sabaody Archipelago, sea area.
On the deck of the luxury cruise ship, Seven casually put away the ransom and tossed the Swine Celestial Dragon toward Kizaru.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
With that, Seven soared straight into the sky.
Having a proper fight with Kizaru would have to wait. Seven now urgently wanted to find a quiet place to list the ransom on the trading platform.
Looking in the direction Seven disappeared, Kizaru remarked with feeling, "How scary."
Although he didn't know what Seven and the Gorosei had discussed, based on the Gorosei's subsequent attitude, the matter was over.
When did the Gorosei become so easy to talk to?
Or was it that the Gorosei's toughness... was only for the Marines, while they became gentle when facing pirates?
No wonder Brother Seven said: from another perspective, the Marines are the World Government's lackeys.
"moshi moshi." Kizaru reported the progress to the Gorosei and Fleet Admiral Sengoku respectively.
"Saint Elaine has been successfully rescued."
Sengoku: Good work, I'll write a promotion report for you.
Gorosei: Escort Saint Elaine safely back to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, and we'll approve your promotion report.
Hanging up the den den mushi, the expression on Kizaru's face became quite interesting. He seemed to have found a way to get promoted and a raise at Marineford.
Unfortunately, he met Barzeb too late.
If he had met him a few years earlier, maybe he would already be an Admiral.
However, Admiral was the end of the line. A job like Fleet Admiral, which worked one to death without thanks, wasn't something an ordinary person could handle.
Kizaru tossed Saint Elaine onto the deck and sat down, waiting for the unconscious Marines to wake up. Returning to Marineford would just mean more meetings; it wasn't like he was taking the opportunity to slack off openly.
On the other side.
Seven returned to the hotel room, took Tesoro and Stella, and flew toward Sky Island.
The harvest from this trip was astonishing.
Five Devil Fruits, five Skillful Grade Swords, and the most precious talent: the Tesoro couple.
The only thing Seven regretted was that these five Devil Fruits, except for the Gate-Gate Fruit and the Mythical Zoan he specifically requested, had no strategic-level abilities.
The five Devil Fruits were—
Paramecia · Gate-Gate Fruit.
Paramecia · Riki Riki no Mi.
Kuma Kuma no Mi · Mythical Zoan · Model: Thunder Bear.
Zoan · Ushi Ushi no Mi · Model: Ox.
Zoan · Tori Tori no Mi · Model: Owl.
Returning to Sky Island, Seven instructed Shani to arrange accommodation for Tesoro and Stella, then flickered alone to the dome of the Thunder God Palace.
The Gate-Gate Fruit had immense strategic significance.
If Saint Elaine hadn't been a descendant of Imu, the World Government would never have handed it over.
The Mythical Zoan Thunder Bear should be related to lightning, making it a good combat asset.
The Owl form and the Riki Riki no Mi were somewhat useful; the owl could fly, and the Riki Riki no Mi was a natural beast of burden physique.
"Model: Ox... What the hell!"
As everyone knows, Devil Fruits are born from human desires for power; this collective desire condenses into a physical fruit, granting the eater superpowers.
So... it's not that hard to understand if someone wanted to become an ox.
After a moment's thought, Seven listed the Owl Fruit and the Ox Fruit on the trading platform.
[Owl Fruit: 3,000 points, exclusive for night owls, a must-have for staying up late gaming]
[Ox Fruit: 5,000 points, if you love him, let him plow the fields!]
Just as he was listing them, Seven saw the complaints from users in other worlds about the previous Fly-Fly Fruit—
[Wanted: 20,000 points for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Pirate Merchant King, please don't throw away trash]
[Wanted: 20,000 points for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Merchant King, what the hell is a Fly-Fly Fruit?]
[Wanted: 20,000 points for the Float-Float Fruit. Mole... that's hilarious.]
"Tch." Seven closed the system interface. "These idiots, do they even understand the value of the Fly-Fly Fruit?"
How satisfying it would be to turn an enemy into a fly.
If he weren't short on points, Seven would definitely keep the Fly-Fly Fruit to stuff into an enemy's mouth in the future.
The four Devil Fruits listed before and after totaled 16,000 points. If sold successfully, after tax, 14,400 points would remain.
Enough to buy the ship of his dreams: the east blue emperor.
Compared to Sky Island Shells, selling Devil Fruits for points was clearly faster. Perhaps in less than two years, he could obtain Conquerors Haki Defense.
Seven currently possessed—
Sube Sube no Mi, Riki Riki no Mi, Gate-Gate Fruit, and the Mythical Zoan Thunder Bear.
Seven had already decided how to distribute these four Devil Fruits: the Riki Riki no Mi could be given to the Skypiean warrior Kalpa, the Sube Sube no Mi to Shani... as for Gan Fall, there wasn't a suitable Devil Fruit for him yet.
The Mythical Zoan Thunder Bear would be best eaten by a crew member with a sufficiently strong physique.
As for the Gate-Gate Fruit, such a strategic-level Devil Fruit must be held by one of his own.
The current plan was to find crew members as soon as possible... Thunder God Palace · Side Courtyard
The evening breeze brushed past the wind chimes hanging under the eaves. Amidst the crisp tinkling, Tesoro and Stella snuggled together.
The wandering and displacement of these days felt like a dream they couldn't wake up from.
One moment they were being torn apart by Celestial Dragons, and the next, they were saved by Lord Thunder God and brought to this mist-shrouded place that looked like heaven.
"Miss Shani said this is Sky Island."
Stella's voice was light as a feather, with a trace of lingering daze.
"Yeah," Tesoro replied.
This heart-wrenching experience had worn away much of the youthfulness from Tesoro's brow.
He understood that kindness didn't come without reason. That Lord Thunder God was willing to save them because there must be something he wanted him to do.
But before that, Tesoro felt he had something more important to do.
"Stella, will you marry me?"
Having experienced despair, one understands how to cherish things more.
If Lord Thunder God hadn't rescued them, what would have awaited them?
Stella would have been taken away to become a plaything for the Celestial Dragons, and he would have been branded as a slave, exhaling his last breath in endless torture.
How could he be standing here, making a lifelong promise to the girl he loved?
Stella looked at the light in Tesoro's eyes, and tears gradually filled her own. She nodded vigorously, her voice choked with emotion but incredibly clear.
"Yes!"