"Young Master!"
Gunko glanced at Ian, who stood before her, and took a step forward, cautiously saying, "Before we left, Imu personally instructed that This Young Master should go to relatively safer seas for his outing, such as the East Blue."
Ian collected himself and turned his head to look at Gunko's long legs, stating indifferently, "Under the vast heavens, there is no land that is not the king's; within the borders of the land, there is no one who is not the king's subject. As the Young Master of the Nerona Family of the Holy Land, This Young Master can naturally go wherever he pleases!"
"However, Mother truly understands me. She actually knows that This Young Master's target is in the East Blue. Alright, I'll follow Mother's arrangements. We'll go to the East Blue first."
"Yes!"
Gunko nodded slightly, then turned decisively to face the accompanying retainers and crew, saying in a deep voice, "Target the East Blue. Set sail."
At Gunko's command, the dark red ship immediately hoisted its sails and accelerated towards the boundless sea, quickly disappearing from the port.
At the same time.
Marineford, Fleet Admiral's office.
"What?"
Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters Sengoku, who was organizing documents, suddenly stood up, his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared at the den den mushi on his desk. "Saint Ian is going on an incognito visit, and has already departed the Holy Land?"
"Sengoku, why are you so surprised?"
A strong, vigorous voice came from the den den mushi. "The Chamber of the Five Elders just issued a new order, instructing the Marine to constantly monitor the movements of Young Master Ian. If Young Master Ian encounters any accidents on the Grand Line, not only will Gunko, who is accompanying him, be held accountable, but the Marine will also not be able to escape responsibility!"
"Why is Saint Ian going on an incognito visit? Where is he going on an incognito visit?" Sengoku was somewhat flustered.
Although he was the Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters, in front of the Celestial Dragons, he was merely a miserable employee. Every time a Celestial Dragon from the Holy Land went out to the Grand Line or the Four Seas for an outing, the Marine had to bear the responsibility for the Celestial Dragon's safety.
However, under normal circumstances, whenever a Celestial Dragon from the Holy Land went out, they would wear Celestial Dragon attire, and powerful CP0 agents would accompany them. On the high seas, whether pirates or other forces, as long as they saw Celestial Dragon attire, they would generally not rashly provoke them, and danger would almost never arise.
But if Saint Ian were to go on an incognito visit, the chances of encountering danger would increase exponentially. Not to mention anything else, just the luxurious ship they were on would be enough to become a target for the lawless pirates of the high seas.
"That's not a question you should be asking. What you need to do now is immediately arrange for personnel to provide covert protection. Remember, absolutely do not let the Marine appear in Young Master Ian's line of sight, or you will bear the consequences! Also, absolutely do not send female Marine officers, especially Hina and Gion!"
Upon hearing this, Sengoku's facial muscles twitched violently.
It was difficult for him not to know about Ian, the great devil king of the Holy Land. Ian, from the Nerona Family of the Holy Land, was a unique existence; though a Celestial Dragon, he made countless Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land tremble at his name!
Let alone a few female Marine officers, even some attractive female Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land were played with however Ian pleased.
If he were to send female Marine officers to covertly protect him, once discovered by Ian, he could guarantee that these female Marine officers would certainly suffer a terrible fate, possibly even being ruined.
Because he had witnessed the ruthlessness and viciousness of this great devil king of the Holy Land a year ago. A female Celestial Dragon was to marry into another Celestial Dragon family. Just as both families were happily sending the new couple into the bridal chamber, Ian suddenly burst into the wedding, dragged the female Celestial Dragon into a room in front of all the Celestial Dragons, and didn't stop until four hours later.
And all the Celestial Dragons present, for once, did not intervene. What he found most unbelievable was that the groom who was marrying the female Celestial Dragon actually felt honored by it.
It was from that moment on that he truly understood what the name Ian represented in the Holy Land!
Ordinary Celestial Dragons oppressed innocent commoners, viewing everyone outside the Holy Land as ants. But This Young Master from the Nerona Family viewed the Celestial Dragons of the Holy Land as playthings, truly a devil among devils.
Now, this devil among devils had left the Holy Land, and he couldn't imagine what kind of tumultuous waves the Grand Line would stir up next.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, are you...?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded, pulling Sengoku back from his thoughts.
Following the sound, he saw a tall figure had appeared in front of his desk at some point. It was Vice Admiral Gion, a Marine Headquarters Admiral candidate, code-named Momousagi.
"No, it's nothing."
Not expecting Gion to appear in his office at this moment, Sengoku quickly changed the subject, asking, "Is something wrong?"
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Gion blinked, then raised a hand to point at the den den mushi on the desk. "I heard everything. Fleet Admiral Kong told you to arrange for the Marine to covertly protect the Young Master of the Nerona Family. What exactly is going on? Why would Saint Ian suddenly decide to go on an incognito visit?"
"I'd like to know too," Sengoku waved his hand, "but it's best if you don't know!"
No sooner had Sengoku finished speaking than another figure appeared outside the office door.
Before Sengoku and Gion could react, the figure outside the office door entered uninvited. It was Garp, the legendary Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters.
"Sengoku, something terrible has happened!"
As soon as he entered the office, Garp took off the dog-head hat he was wearing and said urgently, "That bastard Young Master Ian of the Nerona Family from the Holy Land suddenly left the Holy Land and went to the East Blue!"
As he spoke, Garp had already reached the desk, picked up the water glass on it, and gulped it down. Then he said anxiously, "We can't let him go to the East Blue, absolutely cannot let him go to the East Blue! If he goes to the East Blue, who knows how many people will die by his hand!"
"Mr. Garp, we can't stop Saint Ian from going anywhere he wants!" Gion glanced at the anxious Garp, her expression calm. "Don't forget, he's a Celestial Dragon, the Young Master of the most powerful Nerona Family in the Holy Land!"
Pausing slightly, Gion turned her gaze back to Sengoku. "Fleet Admiral, let me go covertly protect Saint Ian's safety. Although we have no right to stop Saint Ian from going wherever he wants, I can intervene in time to prevent the situation from escalating if an accident occurs!"
Hearing Gion volunteer to covertly protect Ian's safety, Sengoku's eyes immediately widened. "Nonsense! Anyone can go, but not you! You should be very clear about what kind of person Ian is. If you appear before him, you probably won't be able to get off his ship for days!"
Upon hearing this, even Gion couldn't help but blush slightly.
As a Marine Headquarters Admiral candidate, she naturally knew some of the outrageous things Ian had done in the Holy Land. Things like running off to a female Celestial Dragon's house to spend the night at fourteen, throwing parties with a group of female Celestial Dragons at sixteen, and dragging a bride from someone else's wedding into a room for four hours at eighteen—she had some understanding of all these kinds of incidents.
But this was not a reason for her to avoid it, because she knew very well that if This Young Master of the Nerona Family encountered any accident in the East Blue, the entire Marine Headquarters, from top to bottom, would likely be put through the wringer.
—