Chapter 59

"The last sea! Once we're done here, we're heading for the Grand Line! Wi-hahahaha..."

Burgess threw both arms up, his face brimming with excitement as he burst into laughter.

Doc Q gave an eerie grin and added, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. It's finally here, hehehe..."

Holding the Demonic Sword Kikoku in his arms, Law gazed out over the azure sea, as aloof as ever.

"So this is the East Blue, the weakest of the Four Seas."

Hawkins spoke in a low voice. "You won't find any powerful pirates here."

Lafitte stopped training and said politely, "Hopefully, we'll recruit another newcomer here. Then we can finally settle the ranking of the Division Commanders."

"To be honest, I'm rather curious about how that contest will turn out."

Inside the Training Room.

Hearing the shouts from outside, Honey Queen shook her head and said with feeling, "Everyone seems so excited. They really want to reach the Grand Line soon."

Belo Betty took a drag on her cigarette, as calm and composed as ever. "The Four Seas are too weak. There's no excitement here. Of course everyone wants to go adventuring on the Grand Line."

"I'm excited too!"

Carina's lovely eyes sparkled as she said with a grin, "The New World is on the Grand Line. Once we get there, we can find the treasure."

"The great pirate Rocks's treasure! I get so excited every time I think about it."

Perona nodded repeatedly, her little face full of interest.

"I'm looking forward to it too. I really want to see what treasures are in there. This princess loves adventures! Hara-hara-hara~~"

Reiju gently set the newspaper on the table, looked at Baccarat, and said with a smile, "Boa Hancock really is impressive. She's truly famous around the world now."

Baccarat brushed back her deep red hair, nodded, and spoke with a smile.

"First, she killed a pirate with a bounty of over eighty million. Now she's taken down several wanted criminals worth over a hundred million."

"Her fame must be at its peak now. She'll attract the attention of more and more powerful people."

Baccarat shook her head and said with certainty, "If she were plain-looking, it wouldn't matter so much. But with a face that beautiful, she's in danger."

"Chris said she's among the weakest of the Shichibukai. She isn't all that strong."

"So her voyage definitely won't be quite so smooth from here on."

Honey Queen looked at Baccarat, blinked, and gave a small smile.

"Your words carry the most weight. In other words, this Boa Hancock is definitely going to run into trouble. That's inevitable."

Carina looked at the others, confusion crossing her pretty face as she asked, "If that's the case, why isn't Chris doing anything? He doesn't seem to care at all."

Belo Betty exhaled a cloud of smoke and said casually, "If she gets taken out that easily, it just means she never had what it takes."

"That's what Chris said, so why would he worry? Of course, if Boa Hancock calls for help, that's another story."

Reiju touched her delicate chin and spoke with a radiant smile.

"She is a Shichibukai, after all. She can't be that helpless. At most, she'll hit a few bumps along the way."

Suddenly, Baccarat knitted her lovely brows, a puzzled expression appearing on her stunning face.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing the change in her expression, the other women quickly asked.

Baccarat shook her head gently, her brows still furrowed in confusion. "I don't know why, but I feel as though some good luck has appeared."

"But when I try to focus on it, there's nothing there. How strange."

The women exchanged glances, even more at a loss.

Carina shrugged and said with a smile, "Either way, Baccarat's instincts can't be wrong."

"How about we tell Chris and see what he wants to do?"

Honey Queen nodded in agreement. "Baccarat's intuition really is incredibly accurate. It won't be wrong."

Belo Betty took a drag on her cigarette, looked at the figure ahead, and said evenly, "Chris, stop for a moment. Baccarat has noticed something unusual."

Chris did not stop swinging his sword. Without even turning his head, he simply asked a question.

"What did you find?"

The women felt helpless. With a training fanatic like him, there was little they could say.

Baccarat smoothed her deep red hair, looked at his figure ahead, and said with a faint smile, "Chris, I feel as though good luck has come our way."

"But I'm not too sure about my intuition this time. This has never happened before."

This time, Chris stopped training. He stood still and slowly closed his eyes.

Seeing his strange behavior, Carina asked quietly, afraid of disturbing him, "What's Chris doing? Thinking something over?"

"No, he's extending his Observation Haki."

Honey Queen kept her voice just as low as she explained, "Chris is extremely good at this ability. He can sense things from very far away."

"Well, I don't know exactly how far. Just that it's really, really far."

Floating in the air, Perona looked at Chris with envy and murmured, "That ability is so useful. Too bad this princess still can't learn it."

Just then, Chris slowly opened his eyes, looked at Baccarat, and spoke calmly.

"We're surrounded by open sea. There are no islands or ships."

Hearing that, the women were truly puzzled. They could not make sense of it at all.

Belo Betty furrowed her lovely, slender brows and said in disbelief, "Could Baccarat's intuition be wrong? That shouldn't be possible."

Honey Queen shook her head, equally unconvinced. "After everything we've experienced, there's no way Baccarat's intuition could be wrong."

"Then what's going on?"

Carina looked out at the sea through the window, eager to find an answer.

Reiju and Baccarat both shook their heads, unable to come up with any explanation.

Chris looked up at the sky outside the window and said with absolute certainty, "Then there's only one possibility. It's in the sky."

(Everyone, can you guess what this stroke of good luck is? Leave a message in the review section and let's see who knows. Looking forward to your comments ︿(￣︶￣)︿.)

Chapter 59

In the sky??

At Chris's words, all the women looked out the window.

All they saw was blue sky, white clouds, and bright sunshine. The weather was perfectly clear.

Was this the supposed good luck?

"Have any of you spotted anything? All I can see is blue sky and white clouds."

Standing by the window, Carina peered hard at the sky with her lovely eyes, but she could not see anything at all.

Honey Queen shook her head and said with a wry smile, "What is there to spot? I only see clouds drifting past."

Belo Betty furrowed her graceful, slender brows and took a drag on her cigarette. "What sort of good luck could be in the sky? I honestly can't figure it out."

"Chris, did you find something?"

Reiju propped her fair chin on one delicate hand, her beautiful eyes resting on Chris and a faint smile gracing her elegant face.

Chris withdrew his gaze and swung Blood Red as he said calmly, "Golden Lion Shiki. I don't know whether you've heard of him."

"Oh, him? I have. He's a big name."

Carina caught on at once. Her lovely eyes lit up as she said in disbelief, "Chris, are you saying Golden Lion is up in the sky?"

Belo Betty leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "A great pirate from the same era as Pirate King Roger. Of course we've all heard of him."

"Sure, we've heard of him, but why would he be in the sky?"

Honey Queen knitted her lovely brows, her pretty face full of confusion.

Chris patiently explained in detail.

"Golden Lion Shiki has the powers of the Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit. He can make himself and objects fly through the air."

"Over twenty years ago, he fought Pirate King Roger in the waters of Edd War. The Roger Pirates were nearly wiped out."

"Later, when he heard that Pirate King Roger had been arrested, he stormed Marine Headquarters alone. He ended up imprisoned in Impel Down."

"But he's ruthless. He cut off both his feet and escaped from Impel Down, then vanished without a trace."

Chris continued swinging his fine blade and said calmly, "The Marines have been searching for him ever since. Who would have thought he was hiding above the East Blue? No wonder they never found him."

Silence.

After hearing what Chris had to say, the women fell quiet.

They had all heard of Golden Lion Shiki to some extent, but they knew little about him and had no real understanding of who he was.

Only now did they realize that he was far, far more formidable than they had imagined.

"He really is incredible!"

Carina looked out at the sky, admiration shining in her lovely eyes as she said with feeling, "He nearly wiped out Pirate King Roger's entire crew. Just how strong must he be?"

Honey Queen shook her head in disbelief. "The real shock is that he escaped from Impel Down. Isn't that terrifying?"

"He must have been the first person to escape from there. No one had ever managed it."

Perona flew through the air, her pretty face full of interest as she said cheerfully, "That's wonderful! Just wonderful!"

"He can fly through the sky too, and he can even make things float. That sounds so fun! Hara-hara-hara..."

Belo Betty folded her arms, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and asked a question.

"Chris, since we've found this big shot, aren't we going to do something?"

Reiju blinked her lovely eyes and said with a smile, "You've always loved working with others, Chris. Why aren't you taking action this time?"

Chris gave a direct answer. "He's already finished."

"After cutting off his feet, he used the renowned swords Oto and Kogarashi as prosthetic legs."

"His strength has diminished greatly. He no longer has the spirit or courage to make the Four Seas tremble and set his sights on conquering the world."

"It's time for the curtain to fall on this relic of the old era."

Chris put Blood Red away and said calmly, "Once some time has passed and Lafitte and the others have grown stronger, he'll make a good opponent for them to practice on."

"He was once a great pirate. He's bound to have Devil Fruits in his possession. He must even have Mythical Zoans."

Although Chris spoke calmly, his words still left the women utterly stunned.

He intended to hunt down the great pirate Golden Lion!

To challenge a former overlord of the seas!

"I've realized something. Chris really does think big."

Carina shrugged and said with deep feeling, "That's someone who once ruled the seas. Even with both feet gone, he must still be incredibly powerful."

"The fact that Chris plans to challenge him really is shocking."

Perona flew through the air and said with a grin, "If Chris says so, there definitely won't be a problem."

"I wish we could fight him right now. I really want to see what Golden Lion looks like. Does he actually look like a lion? Hara-hara-hara~~"

Honey Queen brushed back her pale golden hair and said with conviction, "Chris may be young and belong to a later generation."

"But he's definitely stronger than Golden Lion. There's no doubt about how this battle will end."

Belo Betty took a drag on her cigarette, as unruffled as ever. "I'm more curious about how many Devil Fruits Golden Lion has. His collection must be quite impressive."

Reiju looked at Baccarat, her brows curving as she said with a gentle smile, "Your intuition really is incredibly sharp."

"You can even sense something that high up. That's truly amazing!"

Baccarat picked up the newspaper and spoke with a radiant smile. "All I can say is that we're lucky."

"If we hadn't passed beneath him, I never would have sensed it."