Target: Arlong
After thinking it over for a moment, Burns asked, "Are you sure?"
Ener replied, "I am!"
"Whew..."
Burns let out a long breath. "Tell your old man honestly—how strong are you now? Otherwise, I won't agree to such a crazy plan."
That was right. In Burns's eyes, this plan was utterly insane.
Ener fell silent for a moment before saying, "I've completely mastered the Six Powers and can use them proficiently. My swordsmanship has also reached the Iron-Cutting Realm... and I've undergone some special changes. Every aspect of my body has been greatly enhanced. Most importantly, I've awakened Observation Haki."
"Taking everything together, I'm roughly on the level of CP9's Kaku and Jabra, equivalent to an elite Rear Admiral from Marine Headquarters."
"What?"
Ener's words truly shocked Burns.
Burns muttered, "Complete mastery of the Six Powers, Iron-Cutting Realm swordsmanship, Observation Haki... you brat has been hiding yourself well."
After recovering from his shock, Burns pressed further. "Wait, what about the Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger I gave you?"
The moment those words came out, Lice, who was still massaging Ener, stiffened.
Ener turned to glance at Lice, then reached back and patted her pert bottom in reassurance.
Then he answered without hiding anything. "I gave it to a girl named Lina. She was already an Iron-Cutting Realm swordswoman, though she was somewhat lacking in strength. Now that she has the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger, she's already at the level of a Lieutenant Colonel from Marine Headquarters. On top of that, she just ate the fruit and is in a period of rapid growth. She'll be coming with me this time. Given her talent, her strength should soar... until she reaches the level of a Rear Admiral from Marine Headquarters."
"And with her talent for the sword, I believe it won't be long before she reaches the level of a Master Swordsman."
"She will be my most capable and trusted subordinate."
"Most importantly, she's my woman."
"You really are generous..." Burns complained weakly.
Although this Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger was merely an ordinary Zoan and nowhere near as powerful as a Mythical Species or Ancient Zoan—
Among ordinary Zoans, it was still a top-tier one.
It was far beyond the two unknown Devil Fruits in his possession.
Still, exchanging a Devil Fruit for a highly gifted daughter-in-law did not seem like a loss.
With that thought, he changed the subject. "What's done is done... but since she's your woman and ate the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger I prepared for you, shouldn't she give me a grandson or granddaughter soon?"
Ener: "..."
He truly had not expected that even in this world, he would not escape being urged to have children.
Lina: "..."
At that moment, her face turned bright red. Even though she and Ener could not have been more familiar with each other, since they already knew each other inside and out.
But who was Burns?
He was Ener's father.
By seniority, he was her future father-in-law.
She had not even met her father-in-law yet!
And he was already urging them to have children. How could she not be embarrassed?
"Ahem..."
Ener coughed twice. "We'll work hard on that together. But now isn't the time to talk about this."
"Hahaha..."
After learning of Ener and Lina's strength, Burns clearly relaxed quite a bit.
However, he did not agree right away. Instead, he said, "Then go on. Introduce your other subordinates and see whether they can convince me to go crazy with you."
Ener said, "Zoro was already a powerful swordsman in the East Blue, and now he has reached the Iron-Cutting Realm as well. He's even a notch stronger than Lina! As long as he doesn't encounter a Logia like Smoker or a special Paramecia, he can fight a Colonel from Marine Headquarters without much trouble. His talent in swordsmanship is absolutely top-tier, and his future is limitless."
"Gin already possesses the strength of a Major from Marine Headquarters. But he has an exceptionally high talent for physical combat and mastered Shave from the Six Powers in a short time."
"And during this period, he's been sparring with Lina, Zoro, and me. His strength has improved quickly, and he has reached the level of a Lieutenant Colonel from Marine Headquarters."
"I think it won't be long before he becomes a Six Powers expert."
"One Rear Admiral from Marine Headquarters, one Colonel from Marine Headquarters, and two Lieutenant Colonels from Marine Headquarters." Burns's eyes could not help lighting up.
After all, the route from the East Blue to the Holy Land only passed through the first half of the Grand Line. In the first half of the Grand Line, such a lineup was already extremely formidable.
They might not be invincible!
But unless they encountered a Shichibukai or a great pirate from the New World, no one could pose a threat to them.
After all, in the first half of the Grand Line, the Marines were still the strongest force.
"Fine, I agree. Your old man will go crazy with you..."
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Ener turned to Lina. "Notify Daniel and have him come here to hold down the fort. Tell him that after he arrives, he doesn't need to concern himself with anything else. He only needs to do one thing: manage Shells Town."
"As for the work Daniel was originally responsible for, hand it over to Johnson. Tell him this is an opportunity for him. Make sure he handles it properly... as long as he does, he'll become the base commander there, and there will be further use for him in the future."
"Yes!"
Lina immediately nodded, her face full of smiles.
In her eyes, Ener's promotion of Johnson was a favor to her and her sister.
Then she very naturally straddled Ener's lap and breathed softly into his ear. "Master... I was ordered to give you a child!"
"So, can I notify him after this is over?"
The fire that Ener had already extinguished instantly flared up again. "Fine, fine, fine... today, I'll have to teach you a proper lesson and make you understand what priorities are."
As he spoke, he directly lifted Lina's tight skirt.
...A hundred thousand words have been omitted here.
Three days later.
The Conomi Islands contained roughly fifty villages and eight towns, including Cocoyasi Village and Gosa Village. All of them fell under the jurisdiction of Marine 16th Branch.
Of course, they were also under the control of the Arlong Pirates.
Marine 16th Branch was the branch where Captain Nezire, the man colluding with the Arlong Pirates, was stationed.
It could be said that under the dual rule of the Arlong Pirates and Captain Nezire, the people of the entire Conomi Islands were living in a living hell.
Their lives were worse than death.
Cocoyasi Village and Gosa Village from the original story were the most typical examples.
Looking at the Conomi Islands, now close at hand, Ener's lips curled up slightly. Arlong had ruled here for so long, so he must have amassed quite a fortune.
Not tens of billions, perhaps, but several hundred million was guaranteed.
After all, even someone as weak as Nami had managed to scrape together one hundred million during Arlong's rule.
Along the way, he had also visited Orange Town.
He had originally wanted to take down Buggy the Clown before dealing with Arlong. But it had to be said that the man was incredibly lucky. He was not there!
Not wanting to waste time, Ener could only let him go for now and set his sights on Arlong...