Because his body had yet to recover, by the time Leo woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. Lying on the soft bed and recalling yesterday's farce, he could not help but laugh.
Sure enough, some things could never be approached with the wishful thinking of a modern person. His way of thinking was fundamentally different from that of the people in the One Piece World.
Still, it was fortunate that he had seen Empress's feelings for him. In fact, if he had not tried to be clever and told her One Thousand and One Nights, Empress might have left with him yesterday.
He was actually somewhat anxious. Thinking carefully about the timeline, Enel on Sky Island might not have eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit yet. If he could eat the Rumble-Rumble Fruit before Enel did, then even if he could not fight in the future, he would at least be able to protect himself.
But during his ten years with the Celestial Dragons, if there was one thing he had mastered, it was accepting things as they came. Since matters had already been decided, there was no point resisting too much. He had to learn to enjoy them.
And in truth, he was enjoying himself quite a bit.
Yesterday, he had returned with Empress to her sleeping quarters under the reluctant gaze of Ren, the innkeeper.
After repeating his earlier explanation to Sandersonia and Marigold, the two girls accepted him.
The pain among slaves was always deeply shared, especially for the Gorgon Sisters, who had grown up under the Celestial Dragons. Those sufferings were carved into their bones.
Nor did Empress have Leo stay outside her chambers. Otherwise, a helpless Leo would probably have been forcibly taken by curious—or desperate—Amazon warrior women that very night...
Living within the chambers, at the very least, allowed him to protect his chastity...
However, starting today, he would have to get busy. Though he was supposedly resting on Nine Snake Island, he also wanted to witness Empress being granted the title of Shichibukai. As for who would dare come to Nine Snake Island, that was even more intriguing. It would have to be a Marine officer who was bold, meticulous, and powerful.
Perhaps it would be one of Kizaru, Aokiji, or Akainu. Or perhaps someone from the older generation, like Tsuru or Marine Vice Admiral Garp—or even the younger middle generation of Marine Vice Admirals...
All of it was worth looking forward to.
The arrival of the Marines and the granting of the Shichibukai title would not make Empress grateful to the Marines. Under Leo's analysis, this Shichibukai system was merely a delaying tactic. And that was indeed the case: the Marines only wanted the Shichibukai to buy time before the new generation of Marines matured.
Just look at what kind of people the Shichibukai were.
Crocodile, entrenched in the first half of the Grand Line, fed nearly every pirate who provoked him to his crocodiles. Thus, the first filter appeared.
Gekko Moria, entrenched in the middle section of the Grand Line, constantly cut away pirates' shadows to bolster his own forces. The second filter was only natural.
The third filter was "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe, who occupied the waters below the Sabaody Archipelago. The Sun Pirates under his command were powerful enough to hold off the Big Mom Pirates for a time. Any pirate crew that passed through Sabaody Archipelago and laid hands on the merfolk would be mercilessly wiped out by him.
The fourth filter was "Flamingo" Doflamingo, who had once been one of the Celestial Dragons and occupied the latter half of the Grand Line. To be honest, even if Crocodile and Gekko Moria were losers in the New World, they were still unbeatable opponents to rookies newly entering the Grand Line. Even when the Straw Hat Pirates fought their way through them with protagonist plot armor, they had still ended up battered and reduced to a ragtag force.
As for ordinary Pirate crews, they should not even dream of confronting the Shichibukai head-on and breaking through. Many pirates had no idea of their own limits. Take East Blue Admiral Krieg, for example. He was practically the overlord of East Blue and commanded an entire fleet, yet he did not value high-end combat strength. He dared invade the Grand Line without even a single subordinate who had eaten a Devil Fruit, only to be driven back by Hawk Eyes alone. As long as they dared challenge the Shichibukai, death was their only path. This was the Marines' open scheme. No matter how annoyed the Shichibukai became, they still had to deal with them.
The Kuja Pirates were the only pirate crew capable of entering and leaving the Calm Belt, and they might even threaten Impel Down. Before the Marines possessed Seastone warships capable of annihilating the Kuja Pirates, recruiting them was the natural choice.
As for Hawk Eyes and Kuma, they were the sort who possessed tremendous strength and could be either righteous or evil. To prevent them from causing immense destruction and damage to the Marines, recruiting them was also only natural.
Thus, the seven Shichibukai had basically been decided.
Leo reasoned backward from the future, so naturally everything he said made sense. But from another perspective, not everyone could understand this sort of Marine strategic deployment.
Yet as Leo explained it in detail, it was refreshing and made the Marines' arrangements clear at a glance. This delighted Gloriosa immensely.
What the Amazon Lily Kingdom lacked now was precisely such a strategist. Though she still had some wisdom, she was already over eighty and nearing ninety. How much longer could she continue making decisions for the Amazon Lily Kingdom?
Once she died, Empress would likely start acting recklessly.
Though she was already quite reckless now, it seemed Empress had acquired a limiter...
"So before the Marines arrive, examine my body first. Though it may be presumptuous, there seems to be something wrong with me..."
Leo did not treat himself as an outsider and simply spoke bluntly.
He was not afraid to make demands, because the intelligence he had revealed earlier was enough to pay any price.
Amazon Lily's doctor was a middle-aged woman with a headscarf. Though she still possessed some charm, her lips were too thick and her figure could not compare with the others. So although she dressed even more revealingly than everyone else, she could not arouse even the slightest interest in Leo.
In fact, this female doctor named Belladonna had also treated him while he was unconscious.
She had indeed examined him thoroughly from head to toe.
Of course, Leo, who was now valued by Empress, was different from the rootless Leo of before. After carefully and meticulously examining him from head to toe, Belladonna finally reported under Empress's worried gaze, "Lord Leo is merely somewhat weak. He is weaker than an ordinary Amazon warrior woman. As for any other issues, I have found none."
"Is that so?" Leo frowned and stroked his smooth chin. He subconsciously searched for his beard, but all he felt was smooth skin.
"Perhaps once my body recovers, I can try training Haki?" Though he seemed to be speaking to himself, his gaze was directed at Empress.
Clearly, they were the experts when it came to Haki.
But Empress's face grew redder and redder beneath his gaze. Clearly, she was completely unable to help him plan any training goals...
With great helplessness, he turned his head and looked at that old fox, Gloriosa. She was someone he did not particularly want to deal with.
But at this stage, it seemed she was the only one who could help him...
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