"Young Master, the warship escorting Dragon has already crossed the Calm Belt."
Gunko, who had just finished her call with Shamrock, the person in charge of escorting Dragon, quickly came before Ian and continued, "The warship arranged by Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters Sengoku will soon rendezvous with Shamrock and his team, then slow down its return to Marineford, giving the Revolutionary Army a chance to stage a rescue along the way!"
"However, despite the Revolutionary Army's frequent movements, there has been no activity so far. Instead, numerous news reporters have gathered in the waters near Marineford!"
Ian nodded, then put down the newspaper and stood up, saying, "Dragon will most likely make some arrangements for the subordinates responsible for transferring Luffy before arriving at Foosha Village. For example, he might keep Luffy unaware of what's happening, or even prevent Luffy from receiving outside news!"
"Luffy is, after all, the one who carries destiny. Even with my ability to foresee the future, breaking destiny is not that simple!"
"But it doesn't matter. Besides the goal of stifling the as-yet unawakened Sun God Nika, Luffy, in his cradle during this trip to the East Blue, we have other things to do. Dragon's matter will be handled by the Chamber of the Five Elders and Marineford!"
"Other things?" Gunko blinked and asked, "What are This Young Master's next arrangements?"
Ian looked back at Gunko, a gentle smile on his face: "Sightseeing!"
Just then, the three maids who had accompanied Ian from the Holy Land approached.
Previously, when Ian went to Foosha Village, he hadn't taken the three with him, so they had remained in the Goa Kingdom Palace.
Now that Ian was returning, they naturally came to serve by his side.
As soon as the three women arrived by Ian's side, Saly Nandcernet also appeared timidly at the doorway. As a princess, she had lost her former arrogance, standing humbly at the door with her head down, not daring to look at Ian.
After glancing at Princess Saly, who had followed but dared not enter, one of the maids naturally linked arms with Ian and said in a saccharine tone, "Young Master, it seems Saly Nandcernet is unwilling to serve by your side."
Hearing this, Saly Nandcernet quickly looked up and said nervously, "No, I didn't..."
"Didn't you? I heard your conversation with your father last night!" The maid directly cut off Saly Nandcernet, then said in a cold tone, "It is your greatest honor that This Young Master has specially allowed you to serve by his side, yet you are still reluctant!"
Before Saly Nandcernet could react, another maid immediately interjected, "Anna, why do you always like to speak ill of others in front of This Young Master? After all, Saly Nandcernet is a princess. How could she accept falling from a princess to a maid!"
"Hmph," the maid named Anna rolled her eyes disdainfully, "Who isn't a princess! But even if she is a princess, what of it? Can she be more noble than This Young Master? Let alone a mere Goa Kingdom princess, which of the women from the nineteen Celestial Dragons families in the Holy Land doesn't consider it an honor to become This Young Master's woman?"
"Saint Ian, it's a misunderstanding!"
Saly Nandcernet was somewhat flustered. Mustering her courage, she quickly walked to Ian, so nervous that her voice trembled: "This concubine is not unwilling. I just don't know how to get along with everyone."
"Young Master, look, look ~"
As soon as Princess Saly finished speaking, Anna immediately hugged Ian's arm and rubbed against him, saying sweetly, "She's clearly just making excuses. Also, she has already become This Young Master's woman, yet she's still unwilling to call you 'Young Master'!"
Watching Princess Anna deliberately target Saly Nandcernet, Ian surprisingly did not stop her. Gunko, even more uncharacteristically, did not utter any warnings like 'Presumptuous' or 'Noisy'!
As his personal maid who had served him since his birth, she knew her Young Master too well. Besides his five main hobbies, one of his favorite things was to watch his maids vie for his favor. Anna evidently knew about Ian's hobby, which was why she dared to be so presumptuous at this moment.
And it was true. Compared to kicking those fat pig Celestial Dragons around like footballs in the Holy Land, or making the Celestial Dragons who provoked him try high-altitude bungee jumping without a rope, his greatest usual pastime was watching his maids compete for favor and engage in palace intrigue.
If the maids were quiet one day, he would actually feel a bit unaccustomed.
Whenever this happened, Gunko would give hints to the maids around Ian.
Over time, Anna became the one who surpassed the others among the many maids. Whenever a new maid was added around Ian, Anna would first give the newcomer a bit of a warning, and incidentally gain some favor from Ian.
However, while Anna was secretly pleased, Saly Nandcernet was so frightened by her words that her legs instantly went weak. She fell to her knees before Ian with a thud, "Yo... Young Master, this concubine is not unwilling. My conversation with my father last night was not about being unwilling to follow you to the Holy Land, but rather about bidding him farewell!"
"Get up," Ian waved his hand and continued, "Tell your father to load this year's tenryūbito tribute onto the ship."
With that, Ian did not linger, turning and walking out.
When Ian arrived at the port with Gunko and the three maids, the King of the Goa Kingdom had already led a group of nobles and ministers to wait at the dock. Each of them was trembling with fear that Ian might suddenly change his temperament and shoot them.
Saly Nandcernet, on the other hand, proactively came forward, and with a nervous heart, silently followed behind the three maids onto Ian's luxurious ship.
"Young Master!"
Just as she followed Ian onto the deck, Gunko suddenly remembered something. Looking in the direction of Foosha Village, she cautiously asked, "Should we take that woman from Foosha Village? Last night, Imu sent a message, saying that if you like her, Young Master, you can give her Celestial Dragons status and have her serve by your side!"
Hearing this, Ian suddenly turned his head to look at Gunko, "How would Mother know about Makino's existence? Are you secretly reporting This Young Master's whereabouts to her?"
As his words fell, an invisible pressure quietly erupted, enveloping Gunko entirely, making her, completely unprepared, feel a sudden suffocation.
"Young Master, please calm your anger!"
Feeling Ian's anger, Gunko quickly knelt on one knee and explained, "Since following Young Master away from the Holy Land, Gunko has not contacted Imu. The reason Imu is so clear about Young Master's whereabouts is that the Gorosei were worried about Young Master encountering danger, so they had CP0 agents secretly accompany you."
"It's best if you haven't!"
Ian raised his hand to signal Gunko to stand up, and said in a cold tone, "Immediately contact the Gorosei and tell them to withdraw the secretly accompanying CP0 agents. When they withdraw, take Makino to the Holy Land. Also, no matter where we go next, you are not allowed to reveal your Celestial Dragons identity before This Young Master reveals his."
"Yes!"
Gunko nodded in agreement.
Ian pulled Anna into an embrace and said decisively, "Hoist the sails, set sail!"
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