Inside the palace of Wano Country.
"Lord Takeda, Lord Takeda! The Celestial Gold fleet has been surrounded!"
A guard rushed into the palace and shouted at a man in his thirties in the main hall.
"What!! The Celestial Gold Armada has been surrounded?!"
The king of Wano Country, Takeda, turned pale in shock.
If something happened to Celestial Gold within their territory, the Celestial Dragons would definitely pursue the matter.
By then, he'd be in serious trouble.
Takeda thought for a moment and asked the guard, "How many people surrounded Celestial Gold?"
"Just one person," the guard replied.
"Just one? That's easier to handle. Mobilize the army,"
Takeda relaxed immediately upon hearing there was only one person.
He immediately ordered troops to assemble and head to the harbor.
About half an hour later, elite soldiers from the capital gathered—roughly two thousand in total.
Looking at the two thousand men before him, Takeda was filled with boldness and immediately gave the order,
"March to the harbor and rescue Celestial Gold!"
With that, the two-thousand-man army charged mightily toward the harbor.
………
"My lord, here are three Devil Fruits and the three young girls from the **Kuja Pirates," the thin man said carefully, drenched in cold sweat.
He was terrified Ye Chen might kill him with a slap if displeased.
"Little Sky, let them come up,"
Ye Chen instructed Sky Dragon.
Little Sky let out a low growl and slowly extended one of its claws.
Hancock and The Three Sisters huddled together, their black eyes filled with fear as they looked at Ye Chen and the Sky Dragon beneath him.
The thin man walked over with a smile on his face and said to Hancock and the others, "This lord is here to take you back."
When he approached, Hancock and her sisters flinched and instinctively tried to dodge.
A flash of awkwardness passed across the thin man's face.
Ye Chen immediately understood that Hancock and her sisters had suffered badly on the Celestial Gold ship.
Seeing this, Ye Chen said gently, "Granny Zha sent me to bring you home. Come on up."
When they heard that, a glimmer of light returned to Hancock's previously lifeless eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, Hancock led her two sisters into Sky Dragon's claw.
She could tell this terrifying beast belonged to the young man in front of her.
"Little Sky, bring them up."
Sky Dragon let out a low growl and gently lifted Hancock, her sisters, and the chest holding the Devil Fruits to Ye Chen's side.
"Come here," Ye Chen said, calling Hancock and the others.
Hancock walked over and sat beside Ye Chen.
Ye Chen gently stroked Hancock's hair and softly said, "I'll take you home soon."
"Mm."
Feeling the touch through her hair, Hancock blushed.
Looks like the young Hancock had none of the icy beauty she would have when she grew up.
But her petite and delicate appearance had its own charm, Ye Chen thought to himself.
Seeing Hancock and her sisters brought to Ye Chen, the thin man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He rubbed his hands and said to Ye Chen, "My lord, now you've got the girls and the items, and since we still need to load goods… could your mount maybe move a bit?"
Sky Dragon was sprawled over the Celestial Gold ship, and under the pressure of its dragon might, the workers below didn't dare move.
And with Ye Chen still there, the thin man felt uneasy.
Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. "No rush, we still have some things to discuss."
"More things?"
The thin man's face turned bitter, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
"If there's anything else, we'll fully cooperate," he said.
"At least you're sensible," Ye Chen muttered to himself.
Originally, he had hoped someone from Celestial Gold would refuse so he could get angry and take the Celestial Tribute by force.
"Ahem."
Ye Chen cleared his throat and said softly, "You kidnapped my people and made me go to all this trouble to fly here—emotional damage, fuel, and my precious time. Total compensation: one billion Beli. Pay up now."
"If not, you'll all end up over there with that guy."
Ye Chen said fiercely.
"One billion?!"
The thin man gasped.
Even including the treasures, they barely had that much. But handing it over would mean the Celestial Dragons would never let them off the hook.
"My lord, that amount is a bit too much," the thin man said with a bitter smile.
"Little Sky."
"ROOOOAR!"
Sky Dragon let out a thunderous roar.
As its roar echoed, an orange, lightning-wrapped sphere began to condense at the edge of its mouth.
Seeing this, the thin man's expression changed drastically. His voice quivered:
"This is the Celestial Dragons' fleet! Aren't you pushing it too far?"
"Too far? So what if I am? I'm bullying you—what are you going to do about it? Prepare one billion Beli, or all of you will be buried."
Ye Chen's face turned icy cold.
Come on, after going through all the trouble to fly from Daughter Country to here, they thought they could send him away with just three Devil Fruits?
If these people didn't bleed, it wouldn't be Ye Chen's style.
And so what if it was the Celestial Dragons?
Their name might scare others, but to Ye Chen, it meant nothing.
"How dare you insult the dignity of the Celestial Dragons! Soldiers, kill him!"
Just as things were getting tense, Takeda suddenly appeared with his troops.
Ye Chen saw Takeda—and smiled.
But the thin man, upon seeing Takeda, didn't look happy at all.
He looked like he wanted to kill him.
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