Water 7 (Please Read On! Just Move Your Finger to Turn the Last Page!)

A few more days passed. As the ship drew closer and closer to Water 7, Dragon finally made up his mind.

"Is that so? You're going back to Marine Headquarters?"

"That's right. I've been gone for so long. The old man must be worried. I need to let him know I'm still alive."

Countless Marines had died in the God Valley Incident. As for those missing Marines whose bodies had not been found, once no news came for a long time, they would also be declared "dead."

Dragon did not want Garp to worry, so he decided to disembark first and return to Marine Headquarters.

Although he had shot a Celestial Dragon, he had only used tranquilizer rounds. The Celestial Dragon he shot had not seen his face clearly, so there was naturally no way to identify him.

The God's Knight pursuing him would care even less about a nobody like him and would not specifically order anyone to search for him.

After all, in the eyes of the God's Knights, Garling's child had ultimately been taken away by Lilith.

Moreover, although Dragon suspected that Garp was one of the higher-ups who knew the truth yet did nothing, they were still father and son. No matter what, a child had to let his parents know he was safe.

Besides, Dragon wanted to return to Marine Headquarters and see whether everyone had turned a blind eye to the God Valley Incident.

"Fine. In that case, get off at Long Ring Long Land."

"You're not going to try to keep me?" Dragon had not expected Annus to agree so readily.

"Don't think too highly of yourself, Dragon. I only think you have some potential and are worth investing in, but the position of 'messenger' isn't irreplaceable."

Dragon's expression changed. "You—"

"Get off," Annus said with a wave of his hand. "The ship is about to dock."

When the ship approached the coast of Long Ring Long Land, Dragon left alone in a lifeboat.

"You're really just letting him go?" Rocks teased as he watched Dragon's retreating figure.

Annus fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Let's make a bet, Rocks."

"Hm? Bet on what?" Rocks was intrigued.

"Whether Dragon will come back to find me."

"You think that after letting this brat return to the Marines, he'll come back? Fine, a bet it is. I bet he'll never come looking for you again! But gambling is no fun without stakes..." Rocks grinned.

"If you win, I'll give you the Devil Fruit I took from God Valley," Annus said with a smile. "If you lose, let me be your child's 'godfather.' How about it?"

"Wahahaha! Fine! It's a deal!"

As Annus and Rocks gradually approached Water 7, Lilith, Kuma, and the others were also sailing toward the meeting point along another route.

After Kuma used his ability, Lilith and the others had been sent flying from the West Blue to the Calm Belt.

Because they had vanished in an instant, even Imu believed they had long since died and did not send Cipher Pol agents after them.

However, even without agents hunting them down, their escape had not been easy.

Kuma's ability had sent them to an island in the Calm Belt teeming with ferocious beasts. They had been attacked repeatedly, and only through Lilith and Yale's many interventions had they survived the dangers.

This had to do with Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit ability...

In the original timeline, Kuma had demonstrated the ability to send the Straw Hat crew flying to designated islands. However, those were all islands Kuma himself had visited and left "coordinates" on.

In the current timeline, Kuma had never been to those islands. After he used his ability, those sent flying by his paw-shaped bubbles would be randomly transported to different islands.

After that beast-filled island in the Calm Belt, Kuma used his ability again, taking Lilith and the others through several more islands before they entered the first half of the Grand Line and acquired a ship.

And because their agreed meeting place was Water 7, Lilith and the others, unable to use Kuma's ability to arrive there precisely, had no choice but to travel the old-fashioned way.

By the time they arrived at Water 7, two months had already passed since the God Valley Incident.

"Thank goodness! We finally made it!"

The journey had been unimaginably difficult, especially the time in the Calm Belt... The beasts themselves had not been much of a problem. Lilith and Yale were strong enough to handle them.

The real issue was feeding the infant pair, Shanks and Shamrock. Lilith had no breast milk, and Alice had long passed the stage of producing such things, so they had no choice but to capture nursing beasts and feed the twins their milk...

Teach, on the other hand, was not hard to care for. Two-year-old Teach could drink and eat meat just like the adults.

"What a gorgeous beauty!"

"She has wings? She looks like an angel! Just like that group of travelers who came before!"

"She's holding two babies! Damn it!! What a pity! She's already someone's wife?!"

"And there's that perverted old man who isn't wearing any clothes. What the hell is going on with this group?!"

The moment they disembarked and stepped onto the pier, they were met by a crowd of onlookers.

The Grand Line's seas were far harsher than those of the Four Blues, and sailing was extremely difficult. As a result, interaction between islands was very limited.

Passing travelers and pirates were also uncommon. Sometimes, not even one group would pass through in an entire week.

Thus, the island's residents were highly sensitive to the appearance of outsiders, to say nothing of a stunning beauty like Lilith and a towering, absurdly built pervert like Yale.

Even harder to ignore were the pure white wings on both their backs. Such distinctive features were very similar to those of the travelers who had arrived over a month ago.

The stares made Lilith deeply uncomfortable. Just as she was about to lose her temper, a figure shrouded in a black robe stepped out of the crowd.

"Come with me."

"Diumil?"

The familiar voice made Lilith instantly recognize the mysterious figure before her.

"That's right, it's me. Lord Annus has been waiting for you for nearly several days. Why did you only arrive now?"

As he spoke, Diumil took out several robes he had prepared in advance and wrapped them tightly around Lilith and the others, not even sparing two-year-old Teach.

Alice warily pulled Teach to her side and looked at Lilith. "Is he your companion?"

Lilith sighed at that. "Yes. He's used to being cautious. He only put robes on us because he's worried there might be World Government spies nearby. Don't worry too much."

Because of his identity as a Lunarian, Diumil had spent nearly every day on the run before meeting Annus. There were more Cipher Pol agents hunting him than Marines hunting pirates with bounties over a hundred million, and so he had developed a cautious habit.

"Don't stay here too long. Get on the fish boat. Were you followed?"

As he spoke, Diumil led Lilith and the others onto the fish boat.

Water 7 was a city built on water, with a dense and intricate network of canals, so its transportation methods differed from those of ordinary islands.

The locals raised creatures called Yagara Bulls. These fish were a kind of swordfish, measuring between five and ten meters long. The locals used them as waterborne transportation, and their carrying capacity was immense. They were often used to help people move house.

Even with Yale's size, there was no risk of sinking while riding one.

Diumil guided the Yagara Bull through the canals in several loops, changing routes multiple times. Only after ensuring that no one was following them did he take Lilith and the others on a wide detour back to the shipyard where they were hiding.