Sorting Things Out

This was truly unfair to Robin. Wait, if Ohara had been destroyed four years ago, then the timeline was becoming clearer and clearer. Robin was probably twelve this year, while Boa Hancock was thirteen. By this point, she had already been captured and made a slave.

"After all, the West Blue is our family's territory." Cairns analyzed it and felt there was a trail to follow in this dream. Perhaps Saint Jalmack's Son had been deeply impressed during his travels, which was why the girl from Ohara appeared in his dream. Yet Saint Jalmack's Son's next words left him confused again.

"Following this timeline, Nami and Vivi might not even have been born yet. One would appear in some orange grove in the East Blue, while the other is Princess Vivi of Alabasta." Saint Jalmack's Son continued introducing his dream without restraint.

A thousand horses galloped through Cairns's mind. This dream really was arbitrary. Even with a Celestial Dragon's wishes, how was he supposed to find women who might not even have been born yet? And Alabasta was a major country. Had he started thinking about that nation's princess because he had somehow developed a taste for desert scenery? And what the hell was with the orange grove in the East Blue?

"Cairns, I'm certain that my Boa Hancock has already become a slave here!" Saint Jalmack's Son said excitedly. "Go find her immediately. Her name is Boa Hancock, she's from Amazon Lily, and she was captured along with her two younger sisters! Hurry—!"

"I'll begin searching at once." Cairns thought that the dream might not be real, but the search had to be taken seriously. It was an opportunity to show Saint Jalmack's Son his loyalty.

When Saint Jalmack's Son returned home looking full of high spirits, everyone was greatly surprised.

"Yo, Miming!" Walking toward him was Saint Ni, the new father Miming disliked very much, a whip dangling from his hand. Surprisingly, he was actually this tall. Didn't that mean Miming might grow to over two meters tall someday? Facing such a towering father really did nothing for his mood.

Saint Ni rushed over and punched Miming in the stomach. Miming let out a muffled grunt, clutching his belly as he staggered back several steps. Saint Ni's punch was extremely powerful—at least, it was heavy enough for his small body.

The agents around them watched expressionlessly, secretly sneering. The natural nemesis of a Celestial Dragon was, of course, another Celestial Dragon.

"I heard you beat up Charlos and the others?" Saint Ni demanded furiously. His father-in-law had just called to hold him accountable. Sympathizing with Marines, treating slaves well, beating up his cousins—CP0 had already warned him that Saint Sanming had been acting strangely lately.

"Who told them to call me dirty? If we're talking about it, don't you share some responsibility?" Miming straightened his back and spoke with perfect confidence. With something like a Den Den Mushi, news really did travel astonishingly fast.

"Ha ha ha ha! Well done!" Saint Ni stared at Miming for a moment, then burst into laughter. "When I heard you used precious medicine on slaves, I was worried. I was always afraid you'd turn into a weak fool like Donquixote Homing!"

The Donquixote Family. He had heard that name again.

Saint Homing was not weak at all. He had dared to sympathize with and shelter escaped slaves in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, then brought his whole family to renounce their Celestial Dragon status. For the peace in his heart, he had betrayed the entire class of World Nobles and persisted in doing what was right until his death. How could someone like that be weak?

But Miming did not dare voice what he was thinking, lest he meet the same fate. After all, the Donquixote Family's tragic story had taught everyone that the most miserable people in this world were definitely not poor commoners for three generations, but Celestial Dragons who had fallen to earth.

"Won't there be any trouble?" Miming asked tentatively. Someone had definitely complained about him, right?

"What trouble could there be?" Saint Ni said dismissively. "Actually, hearing about what you did made me very happy! How did it go? Since you drew your gun, you must have been prepared to stake your life on it, right? Wakakaka—! That was absolutely brilliant—!"

Saint Ni happily bounced around while wildly swinging the whip in his hand like a madman. A spray of blood flew from the whip and splattered across Miming's face.

"Hm?" Miming frowned. "Why is there blood?"

"Oh, I was just too happy!" Saint Ni seemed to recall something and tossed away the whip in his hand. "I was playing with those new slaves just now. They really are a precious breed; they won't die so easily. Since expensive medicine was used, wouldn't it be a waste not to take the chance to discipline them? Come with me! It's time I taught you the true essence of disciplining slaves."

Miming's heart tightened. He hurried after Saint Ni into the courtyard, where he saw a blood-covered girl lying unconscious on the ground, barely clinging to life. She was the black-haired girl he had ordered people to take good care of before he left. Beside her stood two little girls, perhaps not even ten years old, their bodies covered in blood as they huddled together before a vicious dog taller than they were. The dog barked madly, while the two girls clung to each other.

Every hair on Miming's body stood on end, and his face turned extremely ugly. All his earlier happiness vanished in an instant. How could this have happened? He had given her medicine, only for her to suffer even more torment.

Saint Ni did not notice the change in Miming's expression behind him. He snapped the whip through the air, and with a crack, the dog immediately fell silent.

Saint Ni glared viciously at the two little girls. "Stand up!"

The two little girls trembled as they forced themselves to their feet, as though their bodies would not obey them.

Saint Ni pointed at the unconscious girl. "Your sister failed to finish today's work. You know what you should do, right?"

"Ah..." The green-haired girl's eyes had completely lost their light. She raised her foot and kicked her sister.

"No!" The blonde girl threw herself forward, shielding her sister as she cried, "We can't do this, even if it means dying!"

Saint Ni said irritably, "Hey, what's this supposed to be? Can't you understand what I'm saying?" The dog immediately began barking wildly again.

The green-haired girl shuddered all over. With all her strength, she shoved the blonde girl aside and began kicking and hitting her eldest sister while crying, "Do you think I want to do this? But if I don't, this punishment game will never end! Not only Big Sister, even you, Sander, will be punished! Since that's the case, it's better if I do it myself!"

"Stop it!" Miming's face turned extremely ugly as he tried to intervene. But an agent immediately scooped him up and carried him back to Saint Ni's side.

"Saint Sanming, you can't go over there yet!" The agent kept smiling no matter how Miming's fists struck his face.

Miming felt as if the man's face was steel wrapped in rubber. His strength could not harm him in the slightest.

"Why are you still so useless?" Saint Ni slapped Miming, making him quiet down and learn properly. Held by the agent at Saint Ni's side, Miming was like a prisoner locked in an iron cage, with no chance to resist. He could only watch helplessly.

The blonde girl threw herself in front of her sister again, and the green-haired girl began striking both of them indiscriminately, letting out heart-wrenching cries as she hit them. "Sob... ahhh—!"

"Wahaha, see? This is what makes buying biological sisters so entertaining." Saint Ni looked utterly delighted, though still somewhat unsatisfied. He cracked his whip against the dog, and the vicious beast immediately lowered its head, stopped barking, tucked its tail, and sat obediently in front of Saint Ni.

"You have to train slaves to be like this dog. As long as their master gives an order, they'll obey without hesitation. This green-haired one is almost there." Saint Ni handed the whip to Miming. "You have to make them fear you enough, or they'll make all kinds of unreasonable demands! Give it a try, Miming. Swing your whip!"

Miming's face darkened as he swung the whip, producing a sharp crack against the ground.

Though it did not hit them, the two little girls shuddered and reflexively stood ramrod straight. They even forgot their fear of the dog and the pain in their bodies, lining up neatly beside it as they waited for their master's orders.

Saint Ni was very satisfied and burst into laughter. "Do you see the fear in their eyes? At a time like this, they'll do anything you tell them to! Remember, once that expression disappears from their eyes, you have to punish them properly. Things like, 'Please spare me,' or 'If you want to beat someone, beat me and spare my child'—they'll dare make every kind of outrageous demand!"

"But I still think doing this is so boring." Miming tossed aside the whip and calmly positioned himself between the girls and Saint Ni, racking his brains desperately for a way to make the enthusiastic Saint Ni spare them.