Celestial Dragons

Ye Mu's eyes lit up instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, he wiped the food residue from the corner of his mouth, returned to the cabin, took out a telescope, and then leaped onto the towering mast to look in the direction Enel had pointed.

Within a few minutes, an enormous and luxurious warship appeared on the horizon.

It was more than ten times larger than the Twin Goddess, with a golden dragon's head hanging from its bow. The navy's emblem was displayed on its huge sails as it sailed toward them.

Through the telescope, Ye Mu saw that besides countless Marines wearing cloaks emblazoned with "Justice," the enormous deck also held a disgusting, obese man as fat as a pig. He wore a hood over his head and sat atop a red Fish-Man slave, protected by four men in black suits.

"This is..."

After seeing this scene, Ye Mu drew a deep breath and jumped down from the mast.

But he said nothing. He merely closed his eyes and breathed deeply, taking in the air above the sea.

Enel looked at Ye Mu, whose emotions were clearly off, with some confusion and asked in concern,

"What is it? Ye Mu... Is there something strange about that ship?"

"No..."

Ye Mu spoke softly, then opened his eyes. After taking another deep breath, he finally asked,

"Enel, can you smell it?"

"Huh... Smell what...?"

Enel looked puzzled. Apart from the fishy scent of seawater, there was nothing else in the air.

But Ye Mu's next words left him completely bewildered.

"The scent of fate... Fate is guiding the two of us..."

"Huh!!!"

"Hahahahahahahaha..."

Ye Mu visibly grew excited...

On the deck of the enormous Marine warship...

As a Marine Headquarters rear admiral, Gasparde was broad-shouldered, had golden wavy hair, and a cigar between his lips. He looked disdainfully toward the bow, where the four spies from CP9 stood.

At Marine Headquarters, anyone who reached the rank of admiral was qualified to command a warship of their own along with their own subordinates.

In other words, this warship actually belonged to Gasparde.

They had originally been ordered to head to Maheb, a World Government-affiliated country in the West Blue, and protect the ship transporting Heavenly Tribute from Maheb to Mary Geoise.

Unfortunately, just before they set out, they suddenly received orders from Marine Headquarters to escort a Celestial Dragon to Reverse Mountain.

Then those four bastards boarded the ship with a Celestial Dragon and his Fish-Man slave, occupying the nest and taking over his position as admiral while casually issuing orders to his subordinates.

Gasparde did not dare harbor the slightest resentment toward the Celestial Dragon—not even in his thoughts—but those four lackeys were another matter.

Still, the timing was unusual. If this had happened half a month earlier, a Celestial Dragon would never have dared leave the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, so openly with so little protection. Even if one left, at least a vice admiral would have accompanied them. They would not have had only a rear admiral like him.

But two major events had happened half a month ago.

The first was the capture of Gol D. Roger, the One Piece. The World Government announced that Roger would be publicly executed in Loguetown one month later.

The second was the Flying Pirate Admiral Golden Lion's assault on Marine Headquarters. That battle killed countless Marines and destroyed half of Marine Headquarters.

These two incidents had left the Marines desperately short of both manpower and personnel.

And at such a time, a Celestial Dragon happened to want to leave Mary Geoise and travel to Loguetown to watch Roger's execution. Even more absurdly, the Five Elders actually agreed.

As Fleet Admiral, Kong had no choice but to let the Celestial Dragon travel aboard the Marine warship escorting the Heavenly Tribute.

Fortunately, they only needed to escort the Celestial Dragon to Reverse Mountain. A warship would meet him there.

At their current speed, they would arrive in about five days if they continued at full speed.

Just as Gasparde was lost in thought, a Marine quietly approached and whispered nervously,

"Rear Admiral Gasparde..."

"What is it?"

"A pirate ship just appeared within our observation range, but it disappeared soon afterward. Should we raise our alert level?"

It was no wonder the Marine was so nervous. There was a Celestial Dragon aboard!

If anything happened, everyone would suffer the consequences.

"Which pirate crew was it?"

Gasparde asked as well.

"It isn't in the Marine records. It may be a newly debuted pirate crew."

"I understand."

Gasparde was not surprised. There were simply too many pirates in this world for the Marines to have records of every ship.

"Maintain our current speed and continue forward..."

"Understood..."

But at that moment, a gunshot cracked across the quiet deck.

Gasparde was startled, but he quickly regained his composure.

Looking toward the bow, he saw a fat Celestial Dragon with green hair sticking straight up, holding a jeweled pistol that still smoked from the barrel.

The gun was pointed at a red-skinned, extremely burly Fish-Man. Shackles circled his feet, a collar was fastened around his neck, and his body was covered in wounds and bandages. He lay on all fours like a dog, clutching his shoulder in agony.

Even with blood gushing from his shoulder, the red Fish-Man did not dare let the Celestial Dragon on his back fall off.

Yet the green-haired Celestial Dragon still looked dissatisfied.

"Useless thing. You can't keep steady at all."

As he spoke, he turned to the CP9 agents beside him.

"I've grown tired of playing with this Fish-Man. Once we get back, sell him as a commoner."

"Yes, Saint Mjosgard!"

"I should have brought a few more slaves when I came out!"

The Celestial Dragon called Saint Mjosgard kicked viciously at the Fish-Man's injured shoulder and complained,

"How infuriating. I've trained you for so long, yet sitting on you is still so uncomfortable. You've really made me lose face..."

Under the Celestial Dragon's punches and kicks, the red Fish-Man could only endure the pain. Tears of humiliation streamed from his eyes.

This was not the first time it had happened over the past few days. The bandages wrapped around the Fish-Man's entire body and the scars visible on his exposed skin were proof of the treatment he had suffered.

Some of the Marines aboard the ship could not bear to watch, but most were merely afraid.

As for Fish-Men, those lowly creatures, they felt no sympathy whatsoever. They were only afraid of the Celestial Dragon.

Gasparde was a perfect example...

Seeing the Marine soldiers still standing there in a daze, he shouted angrily,

"What are you looking at? Get back to work!"

"Y-Yes... Yes..."

The Marine soldiers seemed to come back to their senses. Terrified, they hurriedly tried to leave, but at that moment, a strange voice rang in their ears.

"Hey, aren't you Marines supposed to represent justice? How can you watch someone commit violence without punishing them?"