Dawn's Concerns: Countermeasures Against the Supreme Hostage Tactic

The weather in the New World changed without warning. Lead-gray storm clouds hung low over the horizon like rags soaked in ink, while fierce winds whipped up waves several meters high and smashed them viciously against David's Revenge with deafening roars.

Yet this colossal warship, comparable to the standard sailing ships of the Giants, remained as steady as level ground. Its dragon-headed prow, like the fangs of some great beast, easily split the churning waves and carved a straight path through the sea.

Inside the captain's cabin, warm golden light dispelled the gloom beyond the windows. Scarlett had just removed her transparent combat suit and let out a long breath, her tense shoulders and neck finally relaxing. She carefully folded the suit, which could suppress her presence and block Observation Haki, and placed it inside a custom storage case. Her exquisite face still carried the soft warmth of reuniting with family.

Violet beside her also removed her thin mask, gently rubbing her slightly reddened cheeks with her fingertips. Yet the smile in her eyes could not be hidden.

Even when returning to their own country, they had not dared reveal the slightest trace of themselves. Even their meeting with King Riku had been held in a secret chamber deep within the palace. Yet even such a painstaking reunion was enough to leave the two sisters, long separated from their homeland, completely satisfied.

Dawn leaned back in his leather chair, his gaze passing over the sisters' lovely figures as his thoughts, which had drifted along with the ship's course, gradually settled.

He knew better than anyone that the World Government rulers entrenched in Mary Geoise had always been the sort who would stop at nothing to win.

Slaughtering cities and destroying nations were nothing more than casual acts to them. Afterward,