Holy Land Mary Geoise.
It stood at the very top of the Red Line. After the twenty kings formed the World Government 800 years ago, they moved their entire families there to make it the Celestial Dragons' home.
Pangaea Castle was the seat of the World Government's power. It hosted World Government meetings and served as the Gorosei's daily workplace and residence.
Watching Kizaru leave, Saint Saturn rubbed his temples.
They had paid five Devil Fruits to buy back Saint Elaine, a descendant of Imu.
"Everyone, I suggest raising Beelzebul's Bounty. Ever since he stole the Op-Op Fruit user, there's been no trace of either of them. He may have already gained immortality."
"As for whether we should launch a Buster Call..."
Saint Warcury, with his handlebar mustache, cut him off.
"Beelzebul isn't part of the D Clan. And judging by what we know, he hasn't revealed the secret of Final Island, just like the other Roger Pirates."
"We can try to bring him over to our side."
"Our top priority is to contain the news and minimize the impact. If it spreads, those pirates out on the sea... will be a serious problem."
If everyone started kidnapping Celestial Dragons, it would throw the World Government's plans into disarray.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Saint Saturn changed the subject. "Should we send someone to reassure Saint Elaine? Or keep him from leaving Mary Geoise for a while?"
"Keep him under house arrest."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Sabaody Archipelago, offshore.
On the deck of a luxury cruise ship, Seven casually stowed away the ransom and tossed the pig of a Celestial Dragon toward Kizaru.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
With that, Seven shot straight into the sky.
A proper fight with Kizaru would have to wait. Right now, Seven urgently needed somewhere quiet to put the ransom up on the Trading Platform.
Watching the direction Seven had vanished in, Kizaru sighed. "How scary."
He had no idea what Seven and the Gorosei had discussed, but judging by their attitude afterward, the matter was over.
Since when had the Gorosei been so easygoing?
Or was it that their hardline stance... was only aimed at the Marines, while they went soft on pirates?
No wonder Seven had said, "From another angle, the Marines are the World Government's lackeys."
"Moshi moshi." Kizaru called the Gorosei and Fleet Admiral Sengoku to report on the operation.
"Saint Elaine has been safely recovered."
Sengoku: Thanks for your hard work. I'll submit a promotion recommendation for you.
Gorosei: Escort Saint Elaine safely back to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, and we'll approve your promotion recommendation.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Kizaru's expression turned wonderfully complex. He thought he'd found a way to get promoted and a pay raise at Marine Headquarters.
Too bad he'd met Beelzebul so late.
If they'd met a few years earlier, he might already have been a Marine Admiral.
But Admiral was as far as he could go. Fleet Admiral, a job that worked you to death, wasn't something just anyone could handle.
Kizaru tossed Saint Elaine onto the deck, then sat down by himself to wait for the unconscious Marines to wake up. Going back to Marineford would mean sitting through a meeting anyway, so he might as well take the chance to slack off in the open.
Meanwhile.
Seven returned to the hotel room, picked up Tesoro and Stella, and flew toward Skypiea.
The haul from this trip was astonishing.
Five Devil Fruits, five Good Fast Swords, and, most precious of all, two talented people: Tesoro and his wife.
The only thing Seven regretted was that, apart from the Door-Door Fruit and the Mythical Zoan he'd specifically asked for, none of the five Devil Fruits had powers of strategic importance.
The five Devil Fruits were--
Paramecia: Door-Door Fruit.
Paramecia: Power-Power Fruit.
Bear-Bear Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Thunder Giant Bear form.
Zoan: Ox-Ox Fruit, Ox form.
Zoan: Bird-Bird Fruit, Owl form.
Back on Skypiea, Seven told Shani to arrange lodgings for Tesoro and Stella, then flashed alone to the dome of Thunder God Palace.
The Door-Door Fruit had immense strategic value.
If Saint Elaine hadn't been a descendant of Imu, the World Government would never have handed him over.
The Mythical Zoan Thunder Giant Bear should have something to do with lightning. It looked like a pretty decent combat asset.
The Owl form and Power-Power Fruit might also come in handy. Owls could fly, and the Power-Power Fruit was perfect for someone built like an ox.
"Ox form... What the hell!"
As everyone knew, Devil Fruits came from humanity's desire for power. These collective desires took physical form as fruits, granting superhuman abilities to those who ate them.
So... it wasn't that hard to understand why someone might want to become an ox.
After a little thought, Seven put the Owl Fruit and Ox Fruit up on the Trading Platform.
[Owl Fruit: 3,000 points. Made for night owls. Essential for gaming all night.]
[Ox Fruit: 5,000 points. If you love them, put them to work in the fields!]
Even as he listed them, Seven could already see users from other worlds complaining about the Fly-Fly Fruit he'd put up earlier--
[Buying: Offering 20,000 points for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Pirate Profiteer King, stop dumping trash.]
[Buying: Offering 20,000 points for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. Profiteer King, what the hell is the Fly-Fly Fruit?]
[Buying: Offering 20,000 points for the Float-Float Fruit. Digging Rat... I'm dying.]
"Tch." Seven closed the system window. "Those idiots. Do they have any idea how valuable the Fly-Fly Fruit is?"
Turning your enemy into a fly was incredibly satisfying.
If he weren't short on points, Seven would definitely have kept the Fly-Fly Fruit for himself, to shove into an enemy's mouth someday.
The four Devil Fruits he'd listed in total were worth 16,000 points. If they sold, he'd have 14,400 points after taxes.
That would be enough to buy his dream ship: the East Blue Emperor.
Compared to Sky Island Shells, selling Devil Fruits on consignment clearly earned points much faster. Maybe he wouldn't even need two years to get Conqueror's Haki Defense.
Seven currently had--
Slippery-Slippery Fruit, Power-Power Fruit, Door-Door Fruit, Mythical Zoan Thunder Giant Bear.
He'd already decided how to distribute these four Devil Fruits: give the Power-Power Fruit to Calpa, the Shandia warrior, and the Slippery-Slippery Fruit to Shani...
As for Gan Fall, there still wasn't a suitable Devil Fruit for him.
The Mythical Zoan Thunder Giant Bear would be best suited to a crew member with a strong enough body.
As for the Door-Door Fruit, a Devil Fruit with such strategic value had to remain in the hands of someone he trusted.
For now, he needed to find crew members as soon as possible.
Thunder God Palace · Side Courtyard
The evening breeze swept past the wind chimes hanging beneath the corridor. Amid their clear, tinkling notes, Tesoro and Stella leaned against each other.
The upheaval of the past few days felt like a dream they couldn't wake from.
Just a moment ago, the Celestial Dragons had torn them apart. Then, in the blink of an eye, Lord Thunder God had rescued them and brought them to this place, cloaked in clouds and mist, like heaven itself.
"Miss Shani said this is Skypiea."
Stella's voice was as soft as a feather, with a trace of dazed disbelief still lingering in it.
"Mm," Tesoro replied.
The painful ordeal had worn away much of the boyishness in Tesoro's features.
He understood that kindness never came without a reason. Lord Thunder God had surely rescued him because he wanted Tesoro to do something for him.
But before that, Tesoro felt there was something more important he needed to do.
"Stella, will you marry me?"
Only after facing despair could he truly understand what it meant to cherish someone.
If Lord Thunder God hadn't rescued them, what would have become of them?
Stella would have been taken away and turned into a Celestial Dragon's plaything, while he would have been branded as a slave and suffered until his last breath.
How could he have stood here, making a lifelong promise to the woman he loved?
Stella looked at the light in Tesoro's eyes. Tears welled in hers as she nodded hard, her voice choked with emotion but perfectly clear.
"Mm!"
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