That day, a large portion of Area 42 in the Sabaody Archipelago was destroyed.
Yet no one dared place the blame on Is.
He spent the entire day shopping with Rem, Ram, Tatsumaki, and Unohana Retsu, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted.
Night fell.
The divine moon hung high overhead.
Is and the others had already returned to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
At last, the day's journey was over.
"I swear, I'm never going shopping again, even if it kills me," Is complained.
Truthfully, this shopping trip had exhausted him more than combat.
It was pure hell.
His entire body was covered in sweat.
After soaking in an artificial hot spring and having maids help him relax, he returned to his room and went to sleep.
…
The next day, breakfast was already prepared by the time Is woke up.
As he ate, a maid handed him the latest newspaper.
"So the news still got published after all."
Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Is took a sip of tea, a smile unconsciously appearing on his lips.
The news had indeed been released.
However, the blame for the destruction in Sabaody wasn't placed on Is—
It was pinned on the Red Count instead.
The newspaper even carried a picture of the Red Count.
The general story was that the Red Count had attempted to destroy the Sabaody Archipelago, but Is had stepped in and stopped him.
The article used the opportunity to praise Is once again.
"Twisting right and wrong… as expected of your World Government."
Is chuckled teasingly.
"You fought someone yesterday, Is?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni glanced at the newspaper in his hand before looking toward Is.
Is flipped through the paper and nodded.
"What a shame. If I'd known earlier, I would've gone too."
Acnologia spoke regretfully.
He knew anyone capable of fighting Is wouldn't be ordinary.
Had he gone, he could've exchanged a few blows with the opponent too.
But in the end, he never did.
Ah…
That cursed sun.
"Wait… didn't you go too, Acnologia?"
Madara Uchiha reminded him while eating.
"When did I go?"
Acnologia looked puzzled.
"Look."
Madara unfolded the newspaper and showed Acnologia the picture of Is in his Black Dragon Form.
"I went…? No, something's wrong, Madara. Weren't we sleeping in the backyard under the sun yesterday? When did I go?"
Acnologia frowned and thought seriously.
"You two didn't even read the headline?"
Tatsumaki covered her mouth and laughed.
Hearing this, both men looked toward the headline.
"Celestial Dragon Is Transforms into a Black Dragon!"
They muttered the title aloud.
"You can actually use my abilities too, Is?!"
Acnologia finally reacted and exclaimed in shock.
"What's strange about that? My True Several Thousand Hands was learned by Is ages ago."
Hashirama Senju shrugged calmly.
Back during the God Valley war, it was Is's Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands that had defeated Rocks.
And throughout the entire Naruto world—
Only Hashirama himself could use that technique.
Even in his world, experts proficient in Wood Release found learning True Several Thousand Hands extremely difficult.
Because Sage Mode was also required.
Yet somehow—
Is had mastered it.
Just as everyone was eating breakfast and discussing the newspaper—
A maid suddenly rushed in, looking flustered.
"Master, someone has broken in!"
"What?"
Is frowned.
Someone actually dared invade his castle?
Could pirates have infiltrated the Holy Land, Mary Geoise?
But that didn't make sense.
Rocks was already dead.
How would other pirates dare invade?
"There's an intruder? Perfect."
"I haven't stretched my body in a while, so leave it to me."
Acnologia stood up immediately, smiling.
"Who's the intruder?"
"The Roger Pirates? Or the World Destroyer, Bondi World?"
Is asked carefully.
Among the major pirate forces in the New World, very few still dared remain active.
Most pirate groups had kept a low profile after Rocks's death.
Only those two remained particularly active recently.
"N-No, it's not…"
"It's a Celestial Dragon."
The maid hurriedly shook her head.
"A Celestial Dragon?"
Is froze.
The Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise all knew his identity.
No matter who wished to enter his castle, they needed permission.
Who would dare break in directly?
"Yes."
"He also brought several bodyguards."
The maid nodded.
"Heh…"
"So Celestial Dragons have become this bold nowadays?"
Is let out a cold laugh.
As someone crowned with the title of God—
His status throughout Mary Geoise was second only to Imu and the Five Elders.
For another Celestial Dragon to invade his castle without warning—
That took courage.
"Tch. I thought it was a strong opponent."
Upon hearing it was a Celestial Dragon, Acnologia spoke disdainfully.
Though he respected Is—
He genuinely looked down on other Celestial Dragons.
"Let's go."
"I want to see who's bold enough to trespass on my territory."
Is stood and instructed the others.
Everyone rose and walked outside.
…
In the castle courtyard—
A fat man wearing a bubble helmet was chasing a maid throughout the grounds.
The terrified maid fled in panic while several black-clothed guards stood nearby watching with their hands behind their backs.
But when they noticed Is emerging from deep within the castle—
Their entire bodies trembled.
Dense sweat formed on their foreheads.
"B-Aurelius D. Virel Is Saint!"
They called out his name with trembling voices.
Bang!
Just as the Celestial Dragon was about to grab the maid—
Is suddenly appeared before him and punched him directly in the face.
The Celestial Dragon was sent flying, crashing heavily into a wall and ending up half-dead.
"You people truly have some nerve."
"You break into my castle…"
"And dare lay hands on my people."
A cold smile hung on Is's lips as he looked toward the black-clothed guards.
The rescued maid hurried behind Is in fear.
"S-Sorry…"
"B-Aurelius D. Virel Is Saint…"
"We… we didn't know this was your castle…"
The black-clothed guards bent over immediately, their voices stuttering with fear.
They genuinely hadn't known.
Previously, they had lived in God Valley.
After God Valley sank—
The Celestial Dragons had relocated to Mary Geoise.
The Celestial Dragon Is had just punched away was someone with relatively high status back in God Valley.
Today, while wandering around Mary Geoise, he had found Is's castle impressive and decided to visit.
Then he saw a beautiful maid.
He wanted to take her back.
But instead—
He got sent flying by Is.
As a fellow Celestial Dragon, that man had assumed he could do whatever he wanted without consequence.
Yet he never expected—
The castle he trespassed into belonged to Is.
And Is had no intention of indulging him.
"A broken arm…"
"Or a broken leg…"
"You choose for him."
Is spoke with what sounded like kindness.
Trespassing into his castle was one thing.
Trying to seize one of his maids was another.
Did they really think he was easy to bully?
Even if he couldn't kill the man—
At the very least, a price had to be paid.
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