The Kind Celestial Dragon

"Whoa, sorry!" Miming clumsily apologized as he hurried to unlock the heavy shackles.

The black Seastone shackles clanged onto the deck, nearly smashing Miming's feet and making him jump.

Under the disdainful gazes of the surrounding marines, Miming picked up the Seastone shackles curiously. They were so heavy he could barely lift them. So this is Seastone?

Come to think of it, Hina was a Devil Fruit user, which was why she could wield such incredible power. In this world, there was something called a "Devil Fruit." Eating one granted incredible abilities. Shackles made of Seastone could seal away Devil Fruit powers, making them specially designed for dealing with Devil Fruit users.

"Miss Hina!" Miming became excited. "I have an unreasonable request..."

Here it comes!

Hina swiftly drew a knife from the side and held it against her neck. "I'd rather die than become your slave—!"

"Could you demonstrate your abilities for me? Huh?" Miming had not even finished speaking when he was left dumbfounded. He could understand someone hacking at him out of anger, but there was no need to slit her own throat, was there?

"Demonstrate... my abilities?" Hina was dumbfounded too. He only wanted her to demonstrate her abilities? What was there to show? The Cage-Cage Fruit wasn't particularly powerful.

"Yes, please, Miss Hina." Miming spoke earnestly. "I want to witness the power of a Devil Fruit."

To dispel everyone's doubts, Miming adopted a friendly attitude and solemnly announced to those around him, "Everyone, please rest assured. I, Saint Jalmack's Son, will never forget your kindness in saving my life."

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

What kind of bizarre development was this? Ever since Saint Jalmack's Son had awakened, there had been a strange sense of unreality to it all. A Celestial Dragon had actually started reasoning with people.

At the words "kindness in saving my life," Hina's face quickly flushed red, though there was less anger this time.

Hina looked at Saint Jalmack's Son before her. He had a slightly plump build, made even more bloated by the loose, potbellied robe popular among Celestial Dragons. His ordinary face had originally looked rather foolish, but now that he had started reasoning with people, he no longer seemed so unpleasant. At least compared with most Celestial Dragons, Saint Jalmack's Son was fairly easy on the eyes.

In this world, commoners could not refuse any request from a Celestial Dragon. They could not show the slightest defiance or resistance, or they would die. In the eyes of Celestial Dragons, everyone in the world except themselves was a slave. No matter what tone the Celestial Dragon before her used, Hina had only two choices: submit or die.

Hina gritted her teeth and cast aside her unrealistic fantasy. There were no kind Celestial Dragons in this world. Saint Jalmack's Son's goodwill was merely an impulse that had emerged after he had narrowly escaped death.

"Black Cage—!" Hina swung both arms, and two pitch-black iron bars spread out from beneath her arms like black wings, trapping Miming between them.

"Whoa!" Miming exclaimed in amazement. Figurines certainly didn't have effects this realistic! This wasn't a dream. This was real—the genuine ability of a Devil Fruit! Bars harder than steel had grown from beneath Hina's soft arms, and she could control their shape at will, like living branches.

"May I touch them?" Miming actually asked for permission before reaching out. For a Celestial Dragon, that was absolutely an extraordinary attitude.

Hina wrestled with herself for a while before nodding amid the strange gazes around her. "Go ahead."

But Hina regretted it the next moment, because the bastard caressed the strands of Black Cage as if he were stroking a young girl's arm.

"Haha! This is incredible!" Miming was so delighted that he could barely speak coherently.

An agent nearby offered him a steel blade and ingratiatingly said, "Saint Jalmack's Son, it'll be more satisfying if you hack at it with a sword!"

Hina remained expressionless. Given the pitiful physical strength of a Celestial Dragon, no matter how he swung the blade, he could never damage Black Cage. What did the agent beside her mean by repeatedly winking at her? Was he asking her to cooperate so Saint Jalmack's Son could enjoy himself?

Hina snorted and deliberately raised Black Cage's hardness to its maximum—enough to shatter the blade.

However, Miming did not pick up the sword.

"Put it away. I could never swing a blade at the person who saved my life." Miming's face was filled with satisfaction, and even gratitude. "That will do, Colonel Hina!"

Zephyr, standing nearby, promptly broke into a violent cough.

Hina withdrew her ability and said awkwardly, "I'm only a Senior Chief Petty Officer."

Zephyr said, "Senior Chief Petty Officers Domino and Hina are both still recruits."

Miming could not help feeling embarrassed. He had blurted it out because the Hina he knew was the grown-up version, whose rank was already that of a colonel. But the Hina before him was only fourteen or fifteen years old, merely a cute rookie marine.

To conceal his embarrassment, Miming waved his hand grandly. "Senior Chief Petty Officer is too low a rank! For the achievement of saving me, Saint Jalmack's Son, she should be promoted by at least two ranks, shouldn't she?"

"That still wouldn't make her a colonel." Zephyr was extremely surprised by Miming's goodwill. However, the foolishness of Celestial Dragons was the norm. Since he could not determine what sinister motive lay behind it, Zephyr patiently said, "But please rest assured, Saint Jalmack's Son. The Marines speak through strength. I will do everything in my power to train them."

And so, a calamity that could have shaken the heavens was settled in an unbelievable manner.

When Marine Admiral Kong received the report, his furrowed brows drew even tighter than before.

He had already picked up the Gorosei's Den Den Mushi and was preparing to beg humbly for mercy. A Celestial Dragon had died—and it was Saint Jalmack's Son, who had been eaten by a Sea King while riding aboard a Marine warship. It was only natural for every marine aboard the ship to lose their head. To protect Domino and Hina, he had already mentally prepared himself for early retirement.

"Promoted?" When Admiral Zephyr's call came through at just the right moment, Kong thought he had misheard.

"You're saying that Saint Jalmack's Son, who had already stopped breathing, was actually revived by Domino and Hina?"

"Yes." Zephyr also found it unbelievable.

Both men breathed a sigh of relief, but Kong's brows never relaxed.

"Don't let your guard down. Have Domino and Hina lie low for a while." Marshal Kong did not believe in such luck, because no one in the Bird Family was any good. Saint Jalmack's Son's father was Saint Ni, the head of the Bird Family—a cruel man who enjoyed collecting slaves and torturing them.

"I was thinking the same thing." Admiral Zephyr agreed.

Thus, an order of promotion was issued, and both Domino and Hina were promoted to ensign. Domino was transferred to Impel Down, the deep-sea prison, to guard criminals, while Hina was sent to the Marine Academy for further training. Both places could be considered extremely safe. Even Celestial Dragons would find it difficult to exert much influence there.

However, no one expected that Saint Jalmack's Son had simply wanted to thank them.

As the former royal family of the Kingdom of Flowers in the West Blue, the Bird Family had always been one of the more powerful clans among the Celestial Dragons. Saint Jalmack's Son's mother was Xia Luqianqian, the eldest daughter of the Charlos family, another family of world nobles. Only senior officials of the World Government could understand how powerful such a marriage alliance was and what kind of influence it could have over the World Government.