"Understood. Take me to meet your king. I'll convince him to give up the ship," Norton said with a slight nod.
"Can you really do that?" the duke still asked anxiously.
"Of course." Norton smiled. "Fate, in front of me, is nothing but something fragile."
The duke still couldn't relax.
"Whatever you do, do not recklessly attack His Majesty! Otherwise I'll immediately—"
He stopped halfway through the threat.
Because with Norton's strength, if he really decided to act, there didn't seem to be anyone in this kingdom capable of stopping him.
"In any case, don't use force rashly!"
That was all the duke could manage in the end.
"You nag like an old woman. Lead the way," Norton said casually.
"All right. This way, please…"
"My lord, do you require me to accompany you?" Sanosuke asked.
"No. Stay here and keep an eye on the remaining pirates. Don't let them cause trouble—but don't let them die either," Norton said meaningfully.
Sanosuke's heart skipped a beat.
"Understood!"
The group immediately set out for the royal palace.
After thinking it over, the duke also decided to have the White Pearl transported toward the palace as well, as an extra precaution.
"Father, I'm coming too!" Funing hurried after them. She still couldn't feel at ease leaving the White Pearl in someone else's hands.
But if the king wanted it, there was no refusing—she could only surrender it.
At this moment, Funing felt like a mother sending her daughter off in marriage… except the "groom" was utterly unsatisfactory.
His Majesty cannot protect the White Pearl.
Last time already proved that, Funing thought.
"All right."
After a moment's consideration, the duke agreed.
They left the duke's castle by carriage and followed the main road through the town until they entered the royal palace grounds.
"That's strange. Why are there so many guards on duty today?"
The duke lifted the carriage curtain, puzzled by the unusual scene.
The palace was always heavily guarded, but never to this extent.
Today, there were more than three times the usual number of guards.
"Maybe some important person came to visit," Nami said casually.
Even the duke's carriage was stopped upon entering the palace.
Under the escort of the palace guards, the entire group had to continue on foot.
When they reached the main entrance to the royal audience hall, a man in a white suit and dark tie, wearing a bizarre black chrysanthemum-patterned mask, stood blocking the doorway.
Norton lifted his eyes and looked the man over.
He seemed strangely familiar.
"It's CP0!" the duke broke into a cold sweat.
Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, or CP0, was the organization directly under the authority of the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons.
They were known as the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons and the strongest intelligence agency in the world.
If CP0 was moving openly, it meant something major was happening.
A terrible premonition rose in the duke's heart.
"Oh? Interesting." Norton smiled, and his gaze grew a little more excited.
He could sense how strong this CP0 agent was—far stronger than any opponent he had faced so far.
The only question was whether someone that strong could take one of his serious punches.
"Wait here. I'll go negotiate first," the duke said, turning back to Norton and the others.
The three nodded and remained where they were.
The duke stepped forward, while the CP0 agent remained standing motionless.
Only when the duke drew close did the agent finally speak in a low voice.
"You must be the duke. Have you brought the White Pearl?"
"Yes, sir."
The duke paused, then cautiously asked, "His Majesty summoned me. May I enter?"
"Of course." The CP0 agent pointed toward Norton and the others. "Are they with you?"
"Yes."
"Then please, go in."
The duke returned to Norton and the others, hesitated, then said to Funing, "Funing, perhaps you and Miss Nami should stay outside. Mr. Norton and I can go in."
"No, Father. I'm going in too!" Funing shook her head.
She could vaguely sense that something was wrong as well, and she wanted to stand with her father.
"We've already come this far. Let's all go," Nami said too.
The duke sighed helplessly, but in the end still led the three of them into the royal audience hall.
The CP0 agent followed them inside as well, trailing behind Norton, Nami, the duke, and Funing as they walked across the red carpet.
With CP0 following behind, the duke grew visibly tense. Noticing that, Funing quietly took his arm.
Nami, too, instinctively moved a little closer to Norton.
Only Norton wore a smile, showing not the slightest trace of unease or tension, as if he were merely taking a leisurely stroll through his own garden after dinner.
Then the duke stopped.
He looked toward the throne above—
And his expression changed drastically.
Dragging Funing down with him, he fell to his knees. Funing looked confused.
"Your Majesty… I have brought the White Pearl," the duke said, bowing low, his voice trembling.
"Excellent!"
Standing before the throne, the king revealed a delighted smile.
"My loyal subject! Quickly present the White Pearl to Saint Ari!"
"When you're acting as a mount, don't talk! It ruins the fun!"
The Celestial Dragon Ari, sitting atop the king's back while wearing his bubble helmet, complained loudly.
"Do you still want to earn the right to attend the Reverie or not?"
The king bent his back even lower in flattery.
"I understand, Saint Ari! I'll perform properly!"
The sight of a king, ruler of an entire nation—crawling on the ground like a dog to farm favor with another man shattered the duke's entire worldview.
He could hardly believe that this was the king he had served all his life.
But what terrified him even more was the ultimate authority the Celestial Dragons held above all things.
It was impossible to resist.
The duke remained prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head. Fear wiped everything else from his mind.
Norton, however, didn't care in the slightest.
"So you're the king?"
He looked directly at the king.
"Hm? And who are you?" The king, still crawling on the floor, raised his head.
"A king who fawns over a piece of trash like a damn puppy trying to please its master…" Norton said indifferently, "is not worthy of knowing my name."
"All you need to know is this—"
"The White Pearl belongs to me."
The instant those words were spoken, the air froze.
The atmosphere solidified like ice.
Cold sweat instantly soaked through the duke's back.
Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he still wouldn't dare speak to the king that way.
Much less insult a World Noble by calling him trash.
The duke, terrified, tightened his grip on Funing's hand and pulled her behind him.
At this moment, the ownership of the White Pearl no longer mattered to him.
All he wanted was to get out alive and protect Funing.
Fate… this is fate! On the very day Funing's ship reaches completion, calamity is bound to descend! This is the misfortune brought by the ship she built!
That thought filled the duke's mind, and he sank into despair.
After everything that had happened recently, he now believed in fate without reservation.
The king's face darkened.
"How dare you! Who let you in here?! Guards! Drag this silver-haired brat away and execute him at once!"
Saint Ari, perched atop the king's back with snot running from his nose, pointed at Norton.
"You're trying to steal my ship?"
"Saint Ari," the CP0 agent flashed forward and appeared beside the Celestial Dragon, "he also called you trash. Shall I handle this personally?"
"Hm? He called me a garbage?"
Saint Ari's face immediately twisted with rage.
"Kill him!"