"Rono, the Wolf Family is about to gain another member," someone said, their voice filled with joy.
Dazhiki ducked behind Sairona, too embarrassed to face anyone. Nami rolled her eyes. She'd seen this coming.
"Oh, is that so? Then let's eat." Rono's expression stayed blank. This didn't matter to him at all. What could possibly be more important than food?
A vein bulged on Sairona's forehead, but he kept a straight face as he told Rono earnestly, "Don't worry. I'll tell Mo everything you've been up to lately. I hope he doesn't beat you to death."
"Someone as foolish as me shouldn't be allowed to live. Please forgive my ignorance, Lord Sairona." The moment Rono heard Mo's name, his expression changed, and he promptly bowed to the powers that be.
"Gelu Gelu. Daddy's such a wimp." Gelu gave him a scornful look.
Since Rono had nearly finished the main course, Sairona didn't make him another serving or prepare any special dishes. Everyone was hungry, except Rono and Dazhiki. Nami wanted to give her portion to Rono, who was sitting beside the table with his eyes fixed on the food, but Sairona stopped her. "Nami, if you don't eat, your boobs will get smaller. Some people like big boobs." At that, Nami immediately abandoned the idea of feeding Rono. Right! One missed meal won't kill him. Besides, he's already eaten plenty of meat.
Rono watched Nami's plate draw near, then move away again. Pouting, he grumbled, "I'm not playing with Sairona anymore." Then he ran back to his room to train. The system hadn't paid him any attention in ages, but Rono still stuck to his daily workouts.
"Brring, brring..." The Den Den Mushi rang. Rono stopped exercising and picked up the receiver. On a whim, he lowered his voice and said, "Moshi moshi, who's calling?" He couldn't help congratulating himself on that brilliant move.
"Rono—" Spandam cut off his scream and asked, "Huh? Who is this? Where's Rono?" It was a private Den Den Mushi that could only connect the two of them, so there was no need to worry about anyone eavesdropping.
"Rono? You mean the beloved, drop-dead gorgeous Shichibukai, Red Devil... Wolf Rono?" Rono shamelessly sang his own praises.
"Rono, this is you, isn't it...?" Spandam phrased it as a question, but his tone was certain.
"Ah! Spandam. What's up?" Exposed, Rono finally got to the point.
"Our cargo was hijacked! That shipment of Dancing Powder. CP4 says it was probably the Revolutionary Army. Damn it! You think I wouldn't recognize that face of the Okama King, Ivankov?" Spandam cursed.
"Looks like CP4 needs a new crew." Rono narrowed his eyes, killing intent flickering in them. CP9 was in charge of the CP series, and Spandam was in charge of CP9. Someone had dared to falsify an intelligence report. Either the Revolutionary Army had an inside man, or one of Spandam's rivals had planted a spy. Whatever the case, they'd need a thorough purge.
"How did the Revolutionary Army find our ship? Weren't we taking a secret route?" Rono asked, puzzled. Hadn't this been a covert smuggling operation? How had they figured out which ship it was?
"I can't figure it out either. I even wrote on the ship—'This is an ordinary merchant vessel. It definitely isn't carrying contraband.' And they still found us. Could there be a spy among the merchants, too?" Spandam stroked his chin. Only a handful of people knew about the shipment. Even CP9 didn't know, let alone the rest of the CP series. He wouldn't have sent CP4 to investigate if the ship hadn't been hijacked.
"..." Rono was suddenly at a loss for words. What can I even say? Anyone there? "How did you get past the customs checkpoints?"
"Obviously, I flew your flag!" Spandam replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Few people dared to rob the Red Devil Pirates. Otherwise, a Shichibukai who loved hunting pirates would chase them to the ends of the earth. Plenty of pirates had learned this the hard way, at the cost of blood and tears. They couldn't outrun him or beat him, and the Marines would help him, too. The pirates could only think: What the hell is this?
"No, I mean, you wrote those words and the Marines and customs officers didn't search the ship?" Rono was speechless. What a useless idiot.
"Ahaha, those words are exactly why they didn't search the ship." Spandam was clearly proud of his own cleverness. Rono almost believed him. Only later, when he asked Xil about it, did Xil tell him bitterly, "If I hadn't bribed people the whole way, even the Red Devil Pirates' flag might not have gotten us through three countries."
"The Revolutionary Army, huh? Give Sairona the intelligence. We'll make them pay. They touched what's mine, so they'll have to pay a price. Heh heh heh." Rono's gaze shifted as he changed the subject. The important thing came first, after all, and he was dependable when it came to business. As the youngest Shichibukai, Rono had his own pride. Even if one of the affiliated pirate crews under the Red Devil Pirates got into trouble, Xil had to handle it. If outsiders interfered, then too bad for them—Rono would show them what cruelty meant.
"Anything else?" Having dealt with the main issue, Rono asked out of habit. Spandam was the sort who always forgot things.
"Oh, right. If you hadn't asked, I really would've forgotten." Sure enough, Spandam had forgotten something again. Seeing the light bulb flash above the Den Den Mushi's head, Rono suddenly had a bad feeling. He felt as if he were about to die.
"Mo wants you to return to Enies Lobby and then head to the Red Line Continent. He said there are some things he wants to ask you about. Um... his expression was kind of scary, so you'd better be careful." Spandam had delivered news that made Rono's heart tremble. Given how fiercely Mo was protective of Axia, he might chase Rono down for blocks with a knife just for talking to a girl for too long—never mind going away and returning with two girls. What? You say Sairona asked him to do it? Doesn't matter. Who's the captain, you or him? Any possibility of an affair had to be nipped in the bud.
"Uh... I've gotta go. See you." Rono slapped the receiver down and rushed off to find Sairona.
"Sairona! Help me!" Rono rushed into the dining room looking as if he'd seen a ghost. Without another word, he grabbed Sairona's leg. Sairona took a deep breath, wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth with his napkin, then asked, "What happened?"
"Mo's going to kill me!" Rono still clung to his leg, making it clear he wouldn't let go unless Sairona came up with a solution.
Sairona set down his napkin and tapped his forehead with his right index finger as he thought for a while. Then he guessed the reason. "Is it because of Dazhiki and Nami?"
Rono nodded. Sairona stroked his chin and thought in silence. No one else spoke, afraid of interrupting him.
After about ten minutes, Sairona looked up at Rono. "I have an idea, but it depends on what Axia thinks. I'll write you a script in a moment. Memorize it, then recite it when you see Axia. Otherwise, you can look forward to being fed to the fish."
At the thought of memorizing lines, Rono's face fell. Nami couldn't help asking, "Is it really that scary? Nothing happened between us."
"If anything had happened, Mo would've already sunk Rono's body in the sea with his partner." Sairona answered calmly.
"..." That's terrifying. Nami imagined the scene and shuddered.
Before you continue