She folded her bat wings and landed silently on the street ahead of the little girl, her form slowly condensing from bat form into a human shape to block her path.
"Hello there, little sister."
Stussy bent down, trying her best to keep her tone sounding gentle.
However, the mermaid little girl's reaction was exceptionally vigilant; the moment she saw Stussy, she took a step back, tightly clutching the crystal ball to her chest, and used a pair of large eyes to size up the strange woman in front of her with caution while asking in a crisp voice, "Who are you?"
"Don't be nervous, I'm just here to look for someone." Stussy maintained a smile with as soft a tone as possible.
The little girl did not relax her vigilance and pursued the question, "Look for who?"
Saying it like that with her mouth, her gaze had already started glancing unnoticeably to the left and right sides, clearly searching for an escape route.
Seeing this, Stussy unhurriedly retrieved a delicate little pastry from her bosom. That was a Fish-Man Island specialty dessert she had casually taken earlier in the royal palace, baked using deep-sea honey algae and pearl powder, its surface further dotted with a layer of translucent sugar glaze, emitting a sweet yet not cloying aroma.
She gently waved that pastry in front of the little girl and tempted her step by step, "As long as you answer a few questions for me, this pastry is yours."
The little girl's gaze was instantly firmly captivated by that pastry.
Although Fish-Man Island produced all kinds of delicious seafood and desserts, those truly exquisite and high-end pastries could usually only be enjoyed by royalty, nobility, and wealthy merchants.
A little mermaid like her living at the bottom of the Fish-Man District usually rarely even got to see one.
She was instantly captivated by the pastry, hesitated for two seconds, and ultimately still reached out to take the pastry, cautiously taking a bite.
The next second, her eyes blissfully squinted into two crescent moons, her cheeks bulging as she chewed, and she vaguely responded, "Mhm... delicious! Go ahead and ask!"
Seeing her relax her vigilance, Stussy took the opportunity to ask, "Have you ever heard of an octopus Fish-Man who ate a Devil Fruit?"
"I have." The little girl took another large bite of the pastry, answering while chewing, "Are you talking about Vander Decken IX? But he rarely stays in the Fish-Man District lately, and I heard he keeps running outside the island not knowing what he's doing."
After a few mouthfuls, that pastry was thoroughly eliminated by her.
She lingeringly licked her fingers stained with sugar glaze, her eyes still carrying a bit of aftertaste and reluctance.
Seeing this, Stussy took another pastry out from her bosom, twirled it at her fingertips, and asked with a smile, "Still want to eat?"
The little girl's eyes lit up at once, and she nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Then come with me." Stussy handed the pastry to her. "As long as you follow me, you can eat as much as you want."
The little girl's outstretched hand paused in mid-air.
Years of life experience in the Fish-Man District made her instinctively realize that she could not easily trust strangers.
Yet the aroma of that dessert continuously drilled into her nasal cavity, hooking her taste buds, and ultimately still defeated that bit of vigilance in her heart.
She reached out and took Stussy's hand.
"By the way, what is your name?" Stussy held her hand, asking casually as they walked.
"My name is Shyarly." The little girl raised her head, revealing a smile.
"Shyarly... what a nice name."
Holding Shyarly's small hand, Stussy walked slowly along the coral-paved road in the direction of the royal palace.
She lowered her head to glance at this little mermaid who obediently followed her, laughing inwardly to herself.
This little girl had guard up in her heart, but not much.
Still, that was fine, saving her from having to go through the trouble of coercing those uncooperative adult Fish-Men.
And inside the royal palace's hot spring bathhouse at this moment, Saint Dio's hot spring trip was also nearing its end.
He lay prone on a wide massage bed, completely relaxed, allowing the warm water vapor to curl in the surroundings.
The design of the massage bed was also quite ingenious; the bed surface was made of soft deep-sea sponge that conformed to the human body's curves, while the leg position specially left a hollowed-out space allowing his giant dragon to hang down naturally without suffering compression.
Mumei was kneeling on his back, her small hands pressing down one by one along the muscle contours on both sides of the spine.
From time to time, she pressed her body weight down, rolling back and forth along the edges of the shoulder blades with her small fists. Although the strength was not considered great, it was neither too light to make people feel perfunctory nor too heavy to make people feel uncomfortable, and every press allowed the muscles on Saint Dio's back to obtain thorough relaxation.
Meanwhile, underneath the massage bed, Hancock was kneeling on a specially placed soft cushion.
With both hands, she grasped that giant dragon hanging down from the hollowed-out spot, her slender fingers alternating back and forth from top to bottom and bottom to top to guide it, sometimes gently rubbing along the surface veins with her fingertips, and sometimes wrapping around the front end with her palms to slowly rotate.
Saint Dio closed his eyes, feeling the pressing sensation coming from his back and the numbing sensation coming from below intertwining together, and couldn't help but emit a sigh of satisfaction.
This was the kind of life a Celestial Dragon ought to have.
Chapter 61: One shot makes one clear-headed and refreshed, Stussy takes in Shyarly
Subordinates were responsible for doing things for him while he himself was responsible for enjoying it. This was Saint Dio's ideal life.
If he had to do everything personally, wouldn't he be worked to death alive?
Since he had strength and status, he should learn to rationally utilize resources and let others worry and solve problems for themselves, while he only needed to control the overall situation and enjoy the fruits of victory.
Just as he was immersed in this cozy relaxation, the gentle voice of a maid came from outside the door, "Lord Saint Dio, dinner has been prepared for you."
Hancock stopped the movement in her hands, raised her head, and acknowledged it, "Got it."
The maid acknowledged the order and retreated, her footsteps gradually fading away.
Hancock lowered her head to glance at that giant dragon in her hands that was still spirited, and then looked at the time, knowing she needed to speed up the progress.
Her gaze moved upward along that thick column, landing on those two plump dragon nests at the base. They hung there heavily, their surfaces bulging slightly, clearly having accumulated quite a bit of essence.
Hancock tucked the falling strands of hair behind her ears, lowered her upper body slightly, and brought her cheeks close to that dragon nest.
She recalled the techniques Stussy had once taught her.
The instant she took it in, her oral cavity was filled to the brim with that plump tactile sensation, the warm weight pressing against the surface of her tongue carrying a scent that belonged exclusively to Saint Dio.
First, she cautiously used the tip of her tongue to gently lick a circle along the edge, feeling the smooth and taut texture under her tongue, and then gradually increased the strength, slowly circling with her tongue and wrapping around it entirely with the surface of her tongue to carefully savor the flavor within.
Subsequently, Hancock gently spat out that dragon nest that had already been meticulously cleaned by her, a wisp of transparent saliva drawing a slender silver thread between her lips and teeth and the tip, before quietly snapping.
She tilted her head slightly, her pair of pitch-black pupils shrouded in a hazy layer of mist, and her gaze landed on the other one to the side.
She lowered her upper body once more, opened her soft lips, and slowly took the other one into her mouth as well.
Next came repeating the same method, the warm tip of her tongue like a little snake swimming briskly over the top.
Saint Dio was immersed in that cozy relaxation when he suddenly felt a warm, soft tactile sensation probing in slowly from below.
His body tightened slightly, then relaxed again.
That was Hancock's tongue tip, skillfully winding and wandering along his vital spot, sometimes gently spinning and sometimes probing into the most secret crevices, performing poison dragon for Saint Dio and bringing waves of bone-numbing stimulation.
"Mhm..." Saint Dio's sense of bodily relaxation accumulated gradually, piling up layer by layer.
He closed his eyes, feeling that warm current rise slowly from the base of his spine, spreading along the nerve endings to his limbs and bones.
Gradually, the giant dragon in Hancock's hands swelled a bit larger.
Her fingers rippled with increasing dexterity, the speed gradually accelerating, and the friction temperature between her palms and the shaft rose accordingly.
Saint Dio finally stopped enduring, and a milky-white liquid gushed out from the tip of the giant dragon, splashing heavily all over Hancock's hand, flowing down along her wrists, and dripping onto the ground, quickly accumulating into a large puddle on the smooth coral floor.
Hancock pulled back her hands stained with milky-white, lowered her eyelids, extended the pink tip of her tongue, and slowly licked along the lines of the back of her hands, rolling those viscous liquids bit by bit into her lips.
Saint Dio sat up from the massage bed, stretched his muscles and bones, and only felt clear-headed and refreshed, every pore on his entire body radiating signals of satisfaction.
At dinner time, Saint Dio sat in front of the exclusive dining table prepared for him by Ryugu Palace, facing a table full of sumptuous dishes.
Truth be told, the culinary skills of the palace chefs were truly far beyond comparison with those restaurants outside; whether it was the freshness of the ingredients or the refinement of the cooking, both obviously exceeded a grade.
Having just vented once, Saint Dio's appetite opened wide, and he leisurely tasted each dish, in a rather pleasant mood.
Right at this moment, Stussy walked in from outside.
Following behind her was also a small figure, which was a mermaid little girl wearing a dark blue cloak, timidly following behind Stussy, looking around at the gorgeous furnishings around her with curiosity and caution.
"Master, clues have been found." Stussy walked up to the table and slightly bowed. "There indeed is an octopus Fish-Man who ate a Devil Fruit, named Vander Decken IX. However, he rarely stays in the Fish-Man District and frequently runs outside the island, with his specific footing not yet certain."
She stepped aside, yielding the little girl behind her. "This is Shyarly; the intelligence was obtained from her."
Shyarly was pushed forward by Stussy, awkwardly bowing toward Saint Dio.
She never imagined that this older human sister who treated her to pastries on the road would actually bring her into Ryugu Palace.
This was a place she had only ever looked up to from afar in the past.
Saint Dio put down his chopsticks, his gaze landing on that little mermaid holding the crystal ball.
Shyarly? He had an impression of this name; that mermaid in the original work who possessed divination abilities, able to predict the future through a crystal ball, and moreover, her prophecies were said to have never missed.
"You can divine?" Saint Dio asked with interest.
Shyarly nodded, her voice tiny. "I can... but my prophecies are all bad things, so I rarely use them anymore."
"That's just right." Saint Dio leaned back into his chair. "Prophesy for me once. It doesn't matter even if it's an unfortunate prophecy."
Shyarly hesitated, and ultimately still nodded.
She climbed onto a chair opposite Saint Dio, carefully placed the crystal ball in her arms onto the table surface, suspended both hands virtually above the crystal ball, and slowly closed her eyes.
The interior of the crystal ball began to suffuse with a hazy layer of mist, the vapor roiling for a moment before gradually condensing into a blurred image.
A sky filled with drifting smoke, a burning earth, countless human figures slaughtering each other in the firelight, massive warships sinking amid the waves-the entire world seemed to plunge into an apocalyptic scene.
Shyarly stared blankly at the imagery within the crystal ball, her voice carrying a trace of trembling. "I saw it... eighteen years from now... there will be a war that sweeps across the entire world."
Hearing this, far from revealing the slightest worried expression, the corners of Saint Dio's mouth instead slowly hooked into a hint of a smile.
"Is that so?" He chuckled lightly, "A good prophecy."
He stood up, walked over to Shyarly, reached out, gently pressed down on her small head, and ruffled that soft hair of hers.
Then he turned his head to look at Stussy, asking, "That target, where is he now?"
Stussy was slightly startled, answering truthfully, "Currently we only know he frequently haunts the seas outside the island, with no specific location yet--"
"No need." Saint Dio interrupted her words, stating with a firm tone, "I know where he is. I'll make a trip myself."
With that, without even waiting for Stussy to reply, he strode out of the restaurant, leaving Stussy and Shyarly looking at each other in dismay.
Shyarly's gaze swept back and forth between Saint Dio's departing back and those delicious dishes left over by more than half on the table, and then she cautiously raised her head to look at Stussy, her eyes carrying a trace of anticipation and yearning.
Stussy read her gaze, couldn't help laughing out loud, and said, "Eat, they're all yours."
Shyarly's eyes instantly lit up, responding cheerfully before crawling onto the chair, picking up chopsticks, and happily eating her fill.
Stussy stood to the side, watching that small back, and pondered inwardly-Divination... this really was a rather good ability.
As a key official in charge of intelligence under Saint Dio, although she could utilize the abilities of the Bat-Bat Fruit: Vampire Form to create blood thralls to serve as her own intelligence network, these blood thralls after all were merely tools lacking independent consciousness, only able to execute simple surveillance and message-transmitting tasks, and couldn't truly share the work of analysis and decision-making for her.
Hancock's three sisters were pure combat personnel, quite adept at charging into battle, but when it came to intelligence work, they couldn't insert a hand at all.
And that child Mumei was too simple-minded, with a personality and abilities entirely unsuited for engaging in espionage work.
Yet Shyarly before her eyes was different; this little girl possessed prophetic abilities.
Although she could currently only passively see fragments of the future, if this ability were cultivated and guided, it could entirely become the most powerful sharp weapon in intelligence work.
Just imagine, if one could foresee the trend of the future before taking action, then whether it was laying out plans or handling contingencies, one would occupy absolute initiative.
If such a good sapling were left to fend for herself and rot away in a place like the Fish-Man District, it would simply be far too much of a pity.
Stussy's mind was made up, a gentle smile surfaced on her face, and she walked to Shyarly's side, calling out softly, "Shyarly."
Shyarly was biting into a piece of coral pastry drizzled with honey syrup. Hearing Stussy call her, she raised her small face stained with crumbs, blinked her large eyes, and responded vaguely, "Mhm?"
Stussy sat down beside her, saying gently, "Would you like to follow me to learn more things and see a broader world?"
"A wider world?" Shyarly swallowed the food in her mouth, tilting her head to look at Stussy.
"That's right," Stussy nodded, "You just need to listen to my words."
Chapter 62: Taking action personally, heading to Noah
After learning that Vander Decken IX frequently left Fish-Man Island to go outside, Saint Dio roughly had a direction in his heart.
If nothing unexpected happened, that octopus Fish-Man should be lingering around the waters where "Noah" was located, and as long as he could find "Noah", he should be able to find the other party.
He took out a coral-shaped blowpipe, raised it to his lips, and blew gently. A transparent bubble floated out from the blowpipe, growing larger as Saint Dio continued blowing into it, ultimately reaching the same height as Saint Dio and floating around leisurely in the air.
Saint Dio stepped inside, and the bubble membrane naturally enveloped his entire body, isolating him from the seawater.
In this way, he could move freely in the deep sea without needing to worry about the influence of the seawater.
He popped the bubble, walked out from it, and then headed toward the royal palace hall to find Neptune, who was handling affairs of state.
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