Momousagi, Nowhere to Run

"Momousagi, Momousagi, I'll make sure you have nowhere to run!"

Ye Zhuo had thought he would need to go looking for Momousagi.

He had not expected her to show herself first.

Momousagi, who had been carrying out a mission, wore a graceful dancer's gown, with heavy makeup and crimson lips.

It formed a stark contrast with her valiant, dashing movements whenever she drew her sword.

"Come to sea with me, Momousagi!

My ship urgently needs a dancer.

If one does not watch dancing out at sea, it is hard to maintain one's physical and mental health."

With a casual move, Ye Zhuo blocked Momousagi's sword strike coated in Armament Haki.

"That's a nice sword."

"Don't even think about making me board your ship!"

Momousagi thought, So the rumors really were true!

Was Demon King Ye Zhuo's body really this strong?

Even Kaido would not be able to withstand it.

"You don't get a choice."

Ye Zhuo amplified his entire body's strength, activating the Ox Talisman and coating himself in Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.

"One-Inch Punch!"

There was only a cracking sound.

Momousagi had no idea which one of her ribs had shattered.

"I was careless. I really don't know how to treat a woman gently."

"Damn it!"

Momousagi collapsed to the ground. Just as she tried to rise, she realized that her strength had grown feeble.

"Rest for a while."

Ye Zhuo patted her forehead, and Momousagi completely lost consciousness.

He slung Momousagi over one shoulder.

Then Ye Zhuo swaggered toward the Demon King.

"Vivi, help treat her.

Perona, don't let her develop any psychological problems."

After giving the order, Ye Zhuo tossed Momousagi into a cabin.

The pirates who saw this turned ashen-faced.

How long had it even been?

Ye Zhuo had first snatched a Celestial Dragon to serve as a slave, then captured a long-legged woman and tossed her into a cabin.

"Who was that just now?"

Gild Tesoro asked obsequiously.

"She should have become a pillar of the future Marines, but now she will become a pillar of my Demon King's Grand Fleet."

Ye Zhuo's words left Gild Tesoro completely confused.

He had no way of knowing that the World Military Draft would happen in the future.

Momousagi would also become a renowned candidate admiral.

[ Ding! ]

[ Main quest completed: Invite Momousagi aboard ]

[ Quest reward: Shadowkhan · Mantis Shadowkhan ]

[ Host has assembled the Shadowkhan and obtained the Nine Great Masks · Haki Edition ]

[ The masks may be given to crew members. They will not affect their personalities, but they will bear the host's mark, enhance Haki, and summon the Shadowkhan. ]

Nine masks immediately appeared in Ye Zhuo's hand.

He gave them respectively to the Empress, Kalifa, Vivi, Robin, Nami, Perona, Sadi, Shirahoshi, and Baby 5.

Rebecca and Tashigi were his guardian knight and swordswoman, so they could not leave his side.

Violet, meanwhile, was the lookout and also needed to remain by his side at all times to identify lies.

That way, after it made the newspapers,

Donquixote Doflamingo could get his blood flowing and bruises cleared while reading the paper in Impel Down.

As for Momousagi, she had only just boarded the ship and was still an apprentice crew member.

"Captain, what is this?"

Just as Kalifa was about to speak, an imprint of Ye Zhuo's pirate flag appeared on her arm.

"I have one too!"

The Empress was beside herself with joy. In her eyes, it was something exclusive to her.

It was simply imprinted on her ankle.

Marks appeared on everyone in different places.

"This will strengthen your Haki. There are no side effects, and it can summon different Shadowkhan."

What Ye Zhuo did not say was this:

Everyone's authority over the shadows was inferior to his.

But presumably, no one would dare try anything anyway.

"He really does still have reservations about me."

Tashigi said somewhat sadly.

"But Rebecca and I are Demon King's personal guards, just like Aunt Violet. This position is very important."

Rebecca guarded herself cautiously.

"Being able to protect Demon King is already an honor for us."

Violet said happily as well.

"What Demon King? At most, I'll call him Captain."

Tashigi felt that this meant he did not value her.

"What, are you jealous because you didn't get to command the Shadowkhan?"

Ye Zhuo looked at Tashigi.

Seeing her turn away in anger, he found it rather amusing.

"Protecting me is just as important, Tashigi."

Upon hearing that, Tashigi did not refuse. She simply lowered her head and looked away.

"Shirahoshi and Vivi are little crybabies. You're a little jealous baby."

Joking as he spoke, Ye Zhuo picked up a bottle of liquor and headed into the distance.

The Gold City was not bad. They could have fun here for a while.

[ Main chain quest activated: Conquer one of the Four Seas—the South Blue. Go say hello to Bonney, the future Worst Generation supernova, the Gluttonous Bonney. ]

[ Quest reward: Moon Demonic Energy ]

Ye Zhuo had not expected this quest refresh to take some time.

Now, his Demon King's Grand Fleet could finally be considered truly established.

Crew members capable of summoning the Shadowkhan were equivalent to nine captains of a grand fleet.

"Once all Eight Demonic Energies are collected, will that trigger a reward too?"

Ye Zhuo was very interested in the immense power of the Moon Demonic Energy.

However, it had certain limitations.

He first needed to gain control over the moon's gravity before he could further affect Blue Star.

When that time came, it would be utterly terrifying.

"The South Blue? Fortunately, this quest has no time limit. I'll have fun for a few days first."

Wasn't it just that there were some Sea Kings in the Calm Belt?

Poseidon was still on his ship. He could go wherever he wanted.

If necessary, he could fly there.

And if that still did not work, he could directly use the Water Demon Aura to command the seas.

"Raise your glasses and drink!"

Ye Zhuo cheered. The Demon King Pirates would never lack excitement.

With Amazon Lily, Alabasta, Fish-Man Island, and Dressrosa as their territories,

and his subordinate officers and the complete Shadowkhan,

Ye Zhuo had already reached the level of the Four Emperors in terms of personal strength, forces under his command, and occupied territory.

But just as Ye Zhuo had said,

The Four Emperors?

Were they stronger than his Demon King?

Three days later.

Gild Tesoro gave Ye Zhuo three billion Beli, along with more than a hundred chests of gold.

He greeted him with a smile, but his heart was bleeding.

Only after seeing the Demon King sail away with his own eyes

did Gild Tesoro finally let out a sigh of relief.

He only hoped Ye Zhuo would never come again. His heart could not take it.

When Momousagi slowly awoke from her sickbed and had basically recovered,

the Demon King had already sailed toward the South Blue.

To get there, it would even need to fly over the Red Line.

"You're awake?"

Vivi looked at Momousagi with concern.

"You're the Alabasta princess who was taken by Demon King Ye Zhuo?"

Momousagi had naturally read that intelligence report.

"Actually, I came willingly, though the Captain does not seem interested."

Vivi smiled.

The three-year promise from when she had first gone to sea now worried her.

Would she be able to bear leaving when the time came?

"How could that be? Don't be afraid. I've already contacted headquarters."

After saying that, Momousagi tried to get up and retrieve her sword.

"Be careful. You still need to recover.

The Captain has a bad temper. If you attack again,

he'll feed you to the fish."

Before Vivi could finish speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Not long afterward, a Celestial Dragon maid dressed in a maid uniform entered.

"Do you need food, Captain Vivi?"

"You're that Celestial Dragon!"

Momousagi braced herself against the wall with one hand and looked at the maid before her.

She was actually the Celestial Dragon who had once acted with utter impunity in the Gold City.

At that moment,

Momousagi's mind was filled with countless question marks.

What was going on these days?

Were Celestial Dragons so worthless now?