When the Time Is Right, Heaven and Earth Work Together

When Gawain returned to the family mansion, he saw a large round table set up in his banquet hall, Gion and Brooke were drinking and joking around.

Jinbe, the old man who Jinbe eats, was seriously dealing with a giant crab claw on the round table, which was a full three meters long, with a knife and fork in his hand.

As for Shirahoshi...

She wasn't in the banquet hall, but in the reception room, lying on the sofa watching the maids grope her.

She held a small brush in her hand, and every now and then she would dip it in various paints and splash ink onto the scales of her tail...

Seeing this, Gawain was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected that his house would become so lively in just a few tens of minutes after he left.

"That's fine, a lively atmosphere means more people," Gawain smiled knowingly, then quietly walked through the door and approached Shirahoshi's sofa.

The maids on either side of the sofa were still nestled against Shirahoshi's soft body, whispering explanations.

"Guest Shirahoshi, here's how you use the brush: gently wipe along the texture of your scales with coconut oil. Choose a brush that's the same size as your scales."

"Yes, after wiping with coconut oil, you can apply the paint. Without coconut oil as a base, the paint on the scales will be very difficult to peel off, making it more troublesome to change the pattern later."

"Oh, not bad, you guys are teaching Shirahoshi nail art... I mean, Mirin?"

Gawain chuckled and interjected, his words immediately eliciting surprised looks from the maids.

"Gawain!"

"The master is back!"

"Haha, it's alright, you guys continue. I thought Shirahoshi would be more interested in the forest and small animals, but girls really are girls~."

Gawain chuckled and muttered something, then leaned closer to Shirahoshi's scales for a second look.

Seeing his reaction, Shirahoshi nervously flicked her tail.

"Gawain, you can't look there! It's not finished yet, and it looks terrible!"

"No, the color of your scales is amazing, so pink. What is this painting of? Is it a squid?"

"It's a rabbit!"

"A rabbit... so it's a sea hare?"

"Waaaaah, adults are bullying me!!!"

"Haha, you can continue, I'll go check on Gion and the others."

Gawain smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Shirahoshi and the others should continue with Mei Lin, while he himself walked towards the banquet hall.

Shirahoshi blushed as she watched Gawain leave. Gawain was gone, the maids sighed and gathered back around Shirahoshi.

"How kind you are, sir."

"Yes, I really envy you, Shirahoshi, being able to stay by your side all the time."

"Our Lord is the best Celestial Dragon, and I absolutely refuse to acknowledge that there is a better one."

"Also, this sea hare does have some flaws. Don't worry, I'll fix them for you."

Leaving aside the girls' interactions, when Gawain entered the banquet hall, Brooke had just lost again.

She gulped down another glass of strong liquor, and when she put the glass down, she exhaled a strong breath of alcohol.

Just as she was exhaling, she saw Gawain enter, so she abruptly broke free from Gion and stood up.

"My lord, you're back!"

After giving a greeting, Brooke immediately tried to walk towards Gawain, but perhaps she got up too quickly, or perhaps she was too drunk.

She took seven steps in a row, each one more unsteady than the last, as if she were using an immature, untrained Lingbo Microsteps style, before finally slamming her hand hard onto the food cart with a loud thud...

"Hiss!"

Gawain felt embarrassed for the head maid. He approached her, burying his face in the food cart, and helped her up, feeling too ashamed to get up.

At the same time, he summoned the other maids standing in the banquet hall and handed Brooke over to them.

Supported by her subordinates, Brooke was in tears and too ashamed to speak, so Gawain smiled and patted Brooke's head.

"I didn't expect you to be such a good drinker, haha."

After ruffling Brooke's hair a couple of times, Gawain felt great. Everyone in this world was so tall that Brooke was the only subordinate he could pat on the head.

Hearing Gawain's words, Brooke was in the maids' arms, turned her head away in shame.

"I... I only had three drinks. It was my first time drinking alcohol. I'm sorry, I..."

"Haha, there's no need to apologize if you have a low alcohol tolerance. You can just practice more in the future."

Let everyone take you back to rest; you can barely stand.

When I have time to come back later, we can have a drink sometime. Let's skip it today.

"Sir, you're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry? You're not drinking with other people. Can't you have a little drink occasionally at home?"

"But... this is your home..."

"It's your home too, go and rest."

Gawain patted Brooke's maid headdress one last time and said gently.

Upon hearing Gawain's words, Brooke became completely drunk. Her eyes darted around in a daze, and she was helped to her room by the other maids to rest.

And the banquet hall.

Gion and Jinbe stood up simultaneously and bowed to Gawain.

"Grown ups!"

"Sit down, let's continue. Is Gion putting on Drinking Game? How about we play some dice?"

"Of course, no problem!"

Gion's eyes lit up, and then she picked up the dice with a smile and gently shook them at Gawain.

Gawain nodded and sat down between the two.

As he sat down, Jinbe was sitting next to him, struggled to avoid the delicious roasted scorpion and asked Gawain in Gawain.

"My lord, please forgive my unease, but I would like to know, have you received the Five Elders' approval yet?"

"No, I never intended to ask the Five Elders for any approval when I went to the Chamber of Authority."

Gawain answered softly, taking the dice and gently shaking the dice cup.

Beside him, Jinbe stared blankly, his mouth agape.

"This... this... this..."

"Don't worry, such a trivial matter does not require the consent of the Five Elders and the World Government. Your Ryugu Kingdom is one of the World Government Member States, and from a certain perspective, you have your own basic rights."

It's just that some of your residents want to move. The only problem is where you'll move to. After all, every island in this ocean has an owner. If you move without permission, it might trigger a war between nations.

But now that I've designated this territory for you, you can simply follow my instructions."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Jinbe was initially relieved, but then he continued to ask with a puzzled look.

"It's truly hard to fathom your magnanimity. The most important issue in the hearts of us Fish-Man is nothing more than a trivial matter to you."

"Now that's the case, I'm quite curious. If even the relocation of my Fish-Man Kingdom is a small matter, then what important matter did you discuss with the Five Elders, sir?"

As Jinbe spoke, Gawain gently shook the dice cup.

Gawain casually placed the dice cup on the table and gave a nonchalant reply.

"I demand the right to unify the Shichibukai, the right to move freely across every island and current of the Grand Line, and the right to amass wealth on a massive scale and restart the Sea Train project!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain smiled and lifted the dice cup.

"Ha, not bad, three sixes!"

"I'll drink it!"

Gion excitedly drank a large glass of sake, then pursed her lips and said excitedly.

"I never imagined that you would obtain so much power from the Five Elders in just half an hour."

No wonder you didn't take the Fish-Man Island issue seriously!

You can do whatever you want on every island along the Grand Line, so carving out five Tree Island from Sabaody Island is a trivial matter!

After saying that, Gion covered the dice and shook them with great interest.

"Continue, sir."

"Um."

Gawain shook the dice cup twice, and at the same time spoke to the dumbfounded Jinbe.

"So, are you relieved now? You'll have to get used to these things from now on."

"I have truly broadened my horizons. In just about half an hour, the situation on the sea has undergone tremendous changes!"

As a member of the Shichibukai, the new era you are about to create is right before my eyes, and this feeling... fills me with boundless pride!

"But we must proceed slowly and steadily, without being too hasty. The greater the power, the more cautious we must be in taking steps!"

Thump!

Gawain put down the dice cup and lifted the lid.

Gion across the way frowned. The master still had three sixes!

I'll drink it!

Gion downed another large glass of sake, then shook the dice again and asked with a smile.

"Did you train before, sir? After two consecutive giant leopard attacks, I almost couldn't resist using my Observation Haki."

"I haven't practiced it, but some things don't need to be practiced!"

After responding, Gawain casually shook the dice twice and then slammed the dice cup onto the table.

Gion curiously opened the dice cup, and sure enough, there were three sixes again, so she gave a thumbs up.

"Sharp!"

"Hehe."

Gawain smiled meaningfully, then picked up his wine glass and took a full gulp.

Gawain put down the cup and gently clapped his hands.

"It's not surprising. When the time is right, everything works together. What we need to do is avoid or even reverse the trend of our luck going out of control."

Now, it's time for us to get moving!

I'll eat something too, and then we'll leave immediately.

"Yes, sir!"

Gion and Jinbe nodded in unison, and then began to devour the food and drinks on the table.