Gion slept soundly that night, and a smile remained on her lips until morning.
However, the next morning, Gion's smile faded; Hancock had come again!!!
Moreover, knowing Gawain's training schedule, Hancock, wearing a cloak and a face mask, quietly came to Shirahoshi's side at 5:30 a. m. to keep an eye on Gawain.
In addition, Hancock's eyes, hidden behind her mask, were fixed intently on Gion's fist!
Dark energy had been swirling behind Hancock since morning...
He got up, ate breakfast, and continued training as usual. The only difference was that Gion's punches were heavier each day than the day before.
He endured the beating until noon, and sure enough, hundreds more red Cat Claws prints piled up behind Gawain...
Training, getting beaten, eating – these have become Gawain's habits, and besides Gawain, the people around him seem to have developed some interesting habits as well.
When Gawain saw that Kuma was no longer carrying the Bible, he started writing it himself.
Jinbe started to enjoy sleeping in the water, and wherever he went, he wanted to dig a comfortable reservoir first, which he called an armory.
Lucci really started raising pigeons, and in just a few days, more and more pigeons surrounded him. This was because Lucci had long been inseparable from a special pigeon, and they had spent decades together.
Therefore, with the influence of that pigeon, Lucci's pigeon-raising business proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
As for Gion and Hancock...
After lunch, the two of them went to the grove together again. Amidst the soaring sword energy and Haki, the battle between the snake and the rabbit was far from over.
This seems to be some kind of unusual habit...
After Hancock and Gion agreed to leave, Gawain indeed received a call from Shiryu.
Having somewhat adapted to Gawain's style, Kalifa was now able to calmly hand the Den Gawain Den Den Mushi to him. Listening to the constant popping sounds from Den Den Mushi, Gawain answered the call.
At this point, inside Impel Down, Shiryu noticed a change in his Den Den Mushi.
Its Den Den Mushi grew a sharp, slicked-back hairstyle, and at the same time, Den Den Mushi eyes revealed a commanding and authoritative aura.
Feeling the gaze of the Den Den Mushi, Shiryu silent for a moment before speaking.
"Moses, Moses, I am Shiliu. Are you the Holy Priest?"
It's me.
Gawain gave a brief reply, then turned to Shiryu with remarkable decisiveness.
"The reason I contacted you is probably because you've already guessed my purpose: I need some prisoners from Impel Down."
"Call..."
Shiryu a sigh of relief. So this recently famous Saint Gawain was just like the other Celestial Dragon who had linked themselves to him—wanting some so-called limited-edition slave?
With that in mind, Shiryu nodded decisively.
"Absolutely, sir. Every Celestial Dragon family is entitled to two prisoner slots per month. I..."
"Etc!"
Gawain suddenly interrupted Shiryu, saying softly.
"You seem to have misunderstood something, hehe, then listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
First, withdraw the two monthly prisoner quotas allocated to the nineteen Celestial Dragon families. As for the pressure on Mary Geoise, you can shift the blame to my Gawain Family and Donquixote Family!
Secondly, the nineteen Celestial Dragon families, with a total of thirty-eight prisoners each month, are still not enough.
Fifty a month, of which three of them should be low-level criminals, regularly sent to Amazon Lily; they are of particular use to me.
Remember, the bounty for these three criminals should not exceed ten million. If you can't find such criminals in Impel Down, then you'll have to solve this problem yourself. I will submit an application to the World Government requesting that you send the criminals to Amazon Lily to meet me for at least one day each month!
As for the remaining forty-seven prisoners, you can choose forty of them yourself. These prisoners should be as tall as possible. I will arrange for my subordinates to contact them."
"This is impossible, Gawain, Impel Down..."
Shiryu about to retort when Gawain suddenly interrupted him.
"Stop!"
Gawain said in a cold voice.
"First of all, don't Impel Down's rules to me. Those rules were broken the moment you handed over the first prisoner to the Shalria family!"
Secondly, don't talk to me about the lives of criminals. I never think that keeping them well-fed and clothed in prison is a fitting fate for their crimes.
Prisons should not be places for criminals to retire; they should accept a more humiliating end. Depriving them of their freedom is far from enough; depriving them of their dignity and making them slaves is far more interesting than keeping them in Impel Down.
Besides..."
Gawain paused slightly, then emphasized his words and laughed.
"Besides that, the remaining seven people are all yours to choose from. You are free to select your targets."
As for what fate awaits them.
You should know better than I do!
"I...?!!"
In that instant, Shiryu's pupils lit up, and then he immediately frowned warily.
He looked around carefully, and at that moment he couldn't help but feel that Gawain's mole had infiltrated his prison!
Otherwise, how could anyone other than Magellan know about his habit of secretly torturing and killing a few death row inmates every month?
On Amazon Lily, seeing the Den Den Mushi fall silent, Gawain smiled with satisfaction.
"It seems you understand what I mean. Very good. The first batch of prisoners will be transferred starting tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you on Amazon Lily."
In addition, I wish you continued enjoyment of life in Impel Down, if one day Impel Down is no longer a place you can enjoy.
So... feel free to mention my name to those who try to stop you.
I believe that by then, my name will be enough to make those who are blocking your way clear a path for you to reach me.
After speaking, Gawain hung up the Den Den Mushi, leaving Shiryu in endless silence.
As the Den Den Mushi slowly faded, Gawain's slicked-back hair disappeared, Shiryu a long puff of his cigar.
Such a decisive speaking style, such a sharp commanding tone, and... he's so confident!
But after savoring the aroma of the cigar repeatedly, Shiryu finally sighed.
The prisoners were handed over to the Celestial Dragon of each family, and then each Celestial Dragon came to Impel Down prison and caused trouble, demanding more prisoners.
It seems better to simply send a slightly larger number of prisoners to Saint Gawain alone.
Since the rules of Impel Down have already been broken by the Descendants of God, it's much better to let the Celestial Dragon bear the burden on Saint Gawain alone than to let the entire prison take on the responsibility!
Especially...
Shiryu chuckled wickedly as he stroked the hilt of his sword.
If I agree to Gawain's conditions, then can I openly and legitimately slaughter them?
Seven per month is a good number, but it's still far from enough!
Once his deal with Gawain is finalized, will Magellan be able to find out exactly how many prisoners he has killed?
With that thought in mind, Shiryu his sword and went out; now it was time for him and Magellan to argue.
That guy's mouth was full of venomous saliva, it was truly disgusting!
On Amazon Lily, after hanging up the phone, Gawain handed the Den Den Mushi to Kalifa and then continued eating.
Standing to the side, Jinbe asked Gawain, Jinbe puzzled.
"Sir, is that enough? Will he cooperate with us?"
"Sure."
Gawain swallowed the steak and then laughed.
"After all, the rules they had always upheld had long been worn away by Shalria. When I was trying to seduce Shalria, I never expected her to be so quick."
As soon as he finished speaking, Grandpa Rayleigh let out a long sigh.
"You're really going to be the death of the pirates, Little Gawain!"
"If the pirates of the next era are captured, even Impel Down won't be their worst punishment. Once this news gets out, sigh..."
At this point, Rayleigh took a big gulp of wine, then couldn't help but shake his head.
"The rules have been maintained for so many years that prisoners sent to Impel Down will never come out."
And yet, right before your eyes, such rules have vanished without a trace! What a filthy ocean!
"Ha ha!"
Hearing Rayleigh's words, Gawain chuckled contentedly, putting his arm around Rayleigh's shoulder as he laughed.
"Old man, neither the ocean nor the world is as dirty as you say!"
As for rules, haha, what kind of rules can shackle the rule-makers?
At this point, Gawain warmly put his right arm around Rayleigh, while patting Jinbe's arm with his left.
"The real problem with this ocean has never been its supposed filth; the problem is that there are far too many people qualified to set the rules for it!"
When there are too many rule-makers, the inevitable result is that rules will be changed frequently.
The more chaotic and disorderly the rules are, the less credible they are, and the more likely they are to be changed or even reversed at any time, the more harm they will cause to the civilians on this sea!
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain released Rayleigh and Jinbe, then smiled, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
Setting down his wine glass, Gawain leisurely stood up.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's get back to training!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain, along with Kuma and Rayleigh, were about to leave when Kalifa approached them again.
"Excuse me, sir, please wait a moment."
I also have call requests from Mr. Iceburg, as well as from Kaku and Wanze.
You see..."
"Connect it and get it sorted out as soon as possible, so as not to delay training time."
Although the training process was extremely painful, I absolutely loved the feeling of constantly growing stronger through suffering!
Time flies.
Three months later, at dawn, Shiryu of the Rain a group aboard a super-large ship provided by Water 7 to Amazon Lily.
He stood at the bow of the enormous ship, gazing intently at the group of people waiting on the distant shore.
Even now, Shiryu of the Rain still remembers the look of shock on his face when he first arrived at Amazon Lily!
It was one thing to just see Saint Gawain and Gion, but even with Jinbe, he found clues through his investigation of Saint Gawain that he had followed Gawain.
But to his utter surprise, a true legendary figure was standing beside Gawain.
Dark King Rayleigh!
"Call!"
Thinking back to this, Shiryu a heavy sigh. Even now, he still couldn't understand why a legendary pirate like Rayleigh would gamble the rest of his life on a Celestial Dragon!
Even a powerful figure like Shiryu, though bound by rules, had to bow down to the Celestial Dragon.
But how could they not know what the Celestial Dragon were!
And Rayleigh!
To say something the Navy might not like to hear: a great pirate like Rayleigh will always live on in children's stories!
He is a true legend.
It's unclear whether it was the Rayleigh effect at work, or whether Gawain's smile pleased Shiryu.
From that day on, for the next three months, Shiryu would make a special trip to Amazon Lily for a feast every two weeks.
Even today.
Today's situation is actually a bit special. Just two days ago, Shiryu had started arguing with Magellan about transporting three small-time pirates to Amazon Lily.
But when Shiryu heard that Water 7 developed an unimaginably large ship, almost the size of a small island...
Moreover, this large ship was specially commissioned for Saint Gawain and will be heading to Amazon Lily today to serve under Gawain.
Once again, the sounds of the warden and deputy warden spitting out food at each other echoed through the Great Impel Down prison.
And so, Shiryu finally boarded the ship beneath his feet.
This ship was of terrifying size; in terms of size alone, it was at least many times larger than Whitebeard's Moby Dick.
Shiryu had never seen the Gild Tesoro, but he felt that even the Gild Tesoro's renowned super-ship, famous Four Blues and the New World, might not be larger than the one beneath his feet.
At this very moment, standing at the bow of the ship, Shiryu leaned against the figurehead with the Dark Bird pattern, gazing out at the sea.
His altitude gave him a vague feeling that he was standing in the sky!
The only downside is that the sky here is incredibly noisy...
Thinking of this, Shiryu his lips and looked towards the baseball field a hundred meters away on the deck.
In Shiryu's eyes, Franky, with his loud voice, was playing baseball wildly with Kaku and the others.
While playing, Franky even had time to brag.
"Even with my personal involvement, it took a full three months to barely finish this ship, haha!"
How about that? To make such a huge ship reach top-notch speeds at sea, that's absolutely incredible, right?
And this isn't even my secret weapon yet, haha, I've prepared a whole series of super jet devices!
I call that device the Armstrong Cyclone Super Armstrong Jet!
Snap!
With a dull thud, the baseball struck Franky squarely in the face, and Kaku cursed under his breath.
"Can't you just play basketball properly?!"
Beside him, the referee, Iceburg, announced with a loud laugh.
"Home run!"
Looking at this group of people, Shiryu's brows furrowed so deeply they seemed to encompass the entire universe.
This... could he really be one of Gawain's most serious subordinates?
On the other hand, in the dense forest of Amazon Lily, Gawain, shirtless and wearing only a pair of beach shorts, held a long knife and smiled as he looked at his opponent in front of him.
Opposite him, one of the pirates sent by Shiryu a few days ago was glaring menacingly at Gawain.
In the distance, deep within the dense forest, Hancock stared intently at Gawain's figure.
"Why does he always take such risks?"
"Because adults harbor fierce desires, how could someone like you possibly understand!"
Gion scoffed at Hancock, and the two women stared at each other again.
Leaving aside the argument between the two women, Rayleigh chuckled and said.
"Don't worry, Hancock. This pirate only has a bounty of a few million. He should be dealt with in no time."
Otherwise, Little Gawain would be letting down the sword Teuchi!
"Uh... Uncle Rayleigh."
Jinbe rolled his eyes.
"When you say 'Teuchi,' you mean borrowing a rusty blade from Amazon Lily warrior and then casually sticking it into a wooden handle you found by the roadside?"
That's way too casual!
Haha, three months have officially passed, and Gawain's strength will gradually improve from that of an ordinary person to the point where he can face the entire ocean!
Let's celebrate! Haha!
Also, we've already climbed into the top 60 on the category monthly ticket ranking! Keep going, don't stop! Give my fingers more motivation! Long live writing, haha!
Love you all.