Calm Belt, Daughter Country.
"Granny Zha, Granny Zha… they're back!"
A female palace guard dressed in the standard three-piece uniform rushed to the balcony of the palace.
"Hmm?"
Granny Zha abruptly turned around and grabbed the guard by the shoulders. "Where are they now?"
The guard, panting heavily, pointed to the sky. "Up there."
Granny Zha looked to the sky. Moments later, a thunderous, majestic roar echoed across the heavens.
Lightning crackled as a red blur flickered high above. In the blink of an eye, the red light halted above the palace.
"Roarrr!"
Sky Dragon let out a powerful roar. The divine aura surrounding its body shattered as its massive, imposing form appeared in the sky.
Its serpentine body, several hundred meters long, hovered in midair. Its wings spread wide, blotting out the sun.
"Go down, Little Sky," Ye Chen, standing atop Little Sky's head, gave the command.
Little Sky growled low and slowly descended.
Ye Chen held Hancock's hands and walked down. Behind them, Hancock's two younger sisters followed closely.
When Granny Zha saw Hancock and The Three Sisters descending from Sky Dragon, she was immediately overwhelmed with emotion. Tears welled in her eyes as she stepped forward and grasped Hancock's hands tightly. Her voice trembled. "As long as you're back."
Ye Chen could tell this was a genuine emotional reaction—nothing forced.
Daughter Country was very different from other nations; its people were truly united, unlike other places full of schemes and backstabbing.
"Granny Zha…"
Tears filled Hancock's pearl-black eyes as she looked at the aged face before her.
She had thought she would never see Granny Zha or the people of Daughter Country again.
She knew all too well what the Celestial Dragons represented in this world.
At first, she held out a sliver of hope. But as time dragged on, even that hope faded.
Aboard the Celestial Gold ship, she had nightmares every night.
But just as that last bit of hope was about to vanish, Ye Chen appeared—he saved them.
He even risked becoming an enemy of the Celestial Dragons for their sake.
"Thank you, Lord Ye Chen."
Hancock turned around, eyes brimming with tears, and bowed deeply to Ye Chen in gratitude.
She knew perfectly well—without Ye Chen, they'd already be lost.
Ye Chen gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and said softly,
"Alright, don't cry. You won't look pretty if you cry."
"Mm."
Hancock wiped her tears hard and nodded firmly.
"That's better."
Ye Chen smiled, then turned to Granny Zha.
"Granny Zha, let them go rest. They're probably exhausted."
"Understood."
Granny Zha nodded and ordered the guards,
"Take them to rest properly."
"Yes, ma'am."
…………
Once Hancock and her sisters had been escorted away, Granny Zha took a deep breath and said to Ye Chen,
"Thank you, Lord Ye Chen."
"No need for that. It was just a transaction. Have you prepared the payment?"
Ye Chen waved it off.
He didn't care much for verbal thanks. Their relationship was essentially a commission, and a Devil Fruit was worth far more to him than words.
"We've had it ready all along."
Granny Zha picked up a box from the table on the balcony and handed it to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen took it and, without even checking, casually tossed it onto Little Sky's back.
He knew Granny Zha wouldn't dare cheat him.
Granny Zha took a deep breath and asked,
"Lord Ye Chen, do you have any plans from here? If not, you're welcome to stay with us for now."
"Don't you guys normally not allow men in?"
Ye Chen asked with a smile.
Granny Zha chuckled. "Normally, yes. But Lord Ye Chen brought Hancock back for us—that makes you an exception."
Granny Zha understood clearly:
While it might've looked easy for Ye Chen to retrieve Hancock and her sisters, it was anything but.
Taking them back from Celestial Gold was the same as slapping the Celestial Dragons in the face.
Only two types of people dared do such a thing:
those who had something to rely on, and those who feared nothing.
From what she had seen so far, Granny Zha believed Ye Chen was the first type.
What she didn't know was—Ye Chen was both.
Ye Chen thought for a moment, then said,
"Alright, then I'll rest here for a while."
He had nowhere else to go right now.
And on top of that, Little Sky was carrying the treasure looted from the Celestial Gold Armada, which he hadn't yet figured out how to deal with.
"Very well. I'll make the arrangements right away."
Granny Zha smiled with genuine joy.
She had invited Ye Chen not just out of gratitude—
the real reason was to win him over.
Having a beast like Sky Dragon at their side was a powerful deterrent.
"Oh, right—do you know where I can offload some stolen goods?" Ye Chen asked.
Although he'd grabbed a lot of loot from Celestial Gold, he was new to this world and didn't know where the black markets were.
Granny Zha, as the ruler of Daughter Country, would likely know.
"Stolen goods?"
Granny Zha's face showed a hint of confusion, but then she suddenly turned pale.
"You… robbed Celestial Gold?"
she asked in shock.
Ye Chen answered calmly,
"Yeah. Took some stuff along the way."
Granny Zha couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
She had already thought Ye Chen was bold, but she hadn't expected him to be this bold—
and still look so calm about it.
She didn't even know what to say.
But then she thought about it:
rescuing Hancock and her sisters was technically stealing too,
so taking some extra loot made sense.
Without hesitation, Granny Zha said,
"If you're trying to cash out that treasure, your best bet is the Sabaody Archipelago.
It's full of all kinds of people—everything goes, no questions asked."
"I see. Then I'll pay a visit to the Sabaody Archipelago sometime soon."
Ye Chen stroked his chin as he spoke.
The things he'd seized from Celestial Gold this time were worth a fortune—
likely enough to exchange for several Devil Fruits if converted to Beli.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]