"What? Missing?" Ye Chen blurted out.
Granny Zha nodded.
Ye Chen could tell that Granny Zha wasn't lying, which meant Hancock truly had gone missing.
But with Hancock's strength, there were very few people in the world who could do anything to her. With mastery over all three types of Haki and a Devil Fruit, she could even go toe-to-toe with an Admiral.
Unless… this was Hancock's childhood version.
Only as a child had Hancock ever been abducted and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons.
Ye Chen's expression turned strange. He looked at Granny Zha and asked, "Is Hancock only twelve years old right now?"
Granny Zha coughed lightly. "Yes."
Hearing that, Ye Chen looked a bit embarrassed. He had originally thought Hancock was already the Pirate Empress. He hadn't expected her to be only twelve.
In other words, he had traveled back to a time not long after Roger had launched the Great Pirate Era.
"Do you know where Hancock is now?" Ye Chen asked.
Granny Zha shook her head.
Seeing that, Ye Chen felt somewhat disappointed. But he quickly realized—if Granny Zha knew where Hancock and the others were, the Kuja Pirates would've already gone to rescue them.
They wouldn't have waited until Hancock escaped on her own later.
"Then do you have any leads on Celestial Gold?" Ye Chen asked again.
Granny Zha's eyes narrowed. She asked urgently, "You're saying they were captured by Celestial Gold?"
Ye Chen nodded.
"Granny Zha, let's not wait any longer! We must set sail now and rescue Hancock and the others!"
"Damn it! If Celestial Gold really took them, they must be tired of living!"
The warriors of the Kuja Pirates were enraged, demanding to go out to sea immediately and save Hancock and her companions.
They all knew that if the Celestial Gold ships took them, they would surely be delivered to the Celestial Dragons. After that, trying to rescue them would be like reaching for the stars.
"Silence!" Granny Zha barked at the crowd behind her.
She frowned deeply, her aged face as weathered as withered wood.
Celestial Gold operated under the Celestial Dragons. If they launched an attack now, they would be making enemies of both Marine Headquarters and the World Government.
With Kuja's current power, they clearly couldn't stand against such a monstrous force.
But if they did nothing, the hearts of Daughter Country's people would surely be filled with bitterness.
To act or not to act—Granny Zha was torn.
If they acted, they'd offend the World Government.
If they didn't, it could cause internal chaos and even lead some to defect.
Either choice was bad for the current state of Daughter Country.
"As long as you can provide the location of Celestial Gold, I can help you," Ye Chen said calmly.
He could see Granny Zha's inner struggle clearly, and he understood just how bad both options were for them.
Granny Zha's eyes lit up. Looking at Ye Chen seated atop Sky Dragon, a sense of hope bloomed in her heart.
But why would he be so willing to help them? That she couldn't figure out.
"Is there… anything else you want in return?" Granny Zha asked.
Ye Chen thought for a moment. "I want a Devil Fruit."
Granny Zha gave a bitter smile. "At the moment, we don't really—"
Just then, someone whispered into her ear:
"Granny Zha, we did obtain a Devil Fruit on this last mission."
Hearing this, Granny Zha brightened and turned to Ye Chen.
"We do have a Devil Fruit. As long as you bring Hancock and the others back safely, it will be your reward."
"Deal," Ye Chen said.
…
"This is the route map for Celestial Gold," Granny Zha said, handing Ye Chen a newspaper.
"Heh. They're bold enough to brast their movements like this? Seems like Celestial Gold isn't afraid of getting robbed."
"There aren't many in this world who would dare steal from the Celestial Dragons," Granny Zha replied with a bitter smile.
"No one?" Ye Chen smirked. "Starting now, there is."
Granny Zha couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for Ye Chen.
After all, there were very few people in the entire world who dared to challenge the Celestial Dragons.
It was precisely because of the fear instilled by the World Government that no one resisted. That's why whenever Celestial Dragons traveled, their Celestial Gold ships would publicly reveal their routes—
a demonstration of arrogance and dominance.
"Prepare the Devil Fruit. I'll come back for it later," Ye Chen said as he tucked away the newspaper and issued orders to Sky Dragon.
"ROOOOAR!!"
Sky Dragon let out a thunderous roar. Its blood-red wings unfurled as it soared into the sky, heading toward the open sea.
Like a streak of crimson lightning, it vanished across the ocean horizon in an instant.
Granny Zha gazed at the fading figure of Sky Dragon, and murmured,
"This world… is about to change."
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