"Saint Blake! You've finally arrived!"
"It is the utmost honor for Red Port and for this subordinate to welcome you here!"
As soon as Blake led his group to Red Port, a figure slid to his knees before him. It was Oswald, the Red Port guard.
Since this fellow had the Celestial Dragons' permission to leave Red Port, the Gorosei ultimately didn't criticize him too harshly.
Therefore, Oswald and the subordinates he took out that day became the few survivors among the Red Port garrison.
Even Admiral Iron Wall had fallen, but this fellow was largely unharmed.
"Perhaps this is what they call a fool's luck," Blake thought to himself, and then kicked Oswald, who was about to pounce on his leg.
"Stop the nonsense. Is my ship ready?"
Oswald almost pressed his head to the ground, his face full of wrinkles from his smile, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement, carrying an almost fanatical fawning.
It was as if personally arranging Blake's journey was the pinnacle of his life's work.
In reality, although Oswald was full of respect for Blake and had the idea of clinging to a powerful figure, he wouldn't be so undignified.
What truly made him act this way was what happened in Mary Geoise that day.
The garrison left in Red Port that day was almost completely wiped out, and even an Admiral was killed in action.
Oswald felt that if he hadn't been sent out for a public-funded trip... scratch that!
If he hadn't been sent out to test ships, he probably wouldn't have survived either.
Thinking this way, the fellow even felt that Blake had saved his life.
Blake naturally understood Oswald's thoughts.
He didn't care about the other party's intentions, merely nodded slightly, as if responding to the overly eager greeting.
Blake strode at the front, followed closely by his increasingly large entourage of beautiful women.
Oswald cautiously followed half a step behind Blake and to his side, continuing to fawn, "Saint Blake, merely hearing of your impending arrival has made the sea breeze in the port sweeter!"
"Tsk!" Robin, behind him, curled her lips, finding it a bit too much, but didn't say anything further.
The people around Blake, though sometimes informal in private, knew how to distinguish between occasions.
Especially in front of outsiders, they usually didn't draw too much attention.
Blake ascended the gangplank and stood on the deck, saying to Oswald, "You've been very diligent this time. I'm very satisfied."
This statement successfully halted Oswald's attempt to further flatter him.
Stella stepped forward at the opportune moment, a warm, ice-melting smile on her face.
"Your Highness, everyone is ready."
Her gaze swept over Perona and Robin, who were already preparing to frolic as soon as they boarded the ship, a gentle warning in her eyes.
The long-standing suppression immediately quieted the two considerably.
Kalifa, Alpha, and Hiyori, these young girls who hadn't been out to sea much, curiously looked around.
Mandy subtly adjusted her stance, shielding them from the somewhat boisterous sea wind.
Scarlett, on the other hand, bowed slightly, asking softly with an innate elegance, "Your Highness, the wind at sea will grow colder. Shall I prepare a cloak for you?"
Not far away, Hancock held her arrogant head high, seemingly disdainful of everything around her, followed by Marigold, who was like her attendant.
But her peripheral vision never left Blake's figure.
Seeing Scarlett's actions, Hancock couldn't help but grit her teeth, feeling a strong urge to rush over and replace her.
She secretly cursed herself, thinking she should have thought of it sooner.
Blake gently stroked Scarlett's pink hair.
"You're becoming more understanding."
"But no need, I'm not that fragile."
After the Slaves moved the necessary supplies onto the ship, Blake ordered to set sail.
Oswald and the Red Port guards knelt together.
"Farewell, Saint Blake!"
The sanctuary slowly sailed away. Blake's destination for this journey was the Grand Line.
Last time he returned from West Blue, he took the Sky Island route above.
This time, Blake decided to randomly choose one of the seven paths to go to Reverse Mountain.
From Mary Geoise to Paradise, the first stop was Sabaody Archipelago.
As usual, Blake still chose to circle through Area 16.
Just then, he suddenly felt a gaze fixed on him.
Blake subtly activated his Observation Haki and immediately found the source of the gaze.
"Ah... this..."
Seeing this person, Blake immediately understood the other party's intention.
The one secretly observing him was none other than Shakky, who lived in seclusion on Sabaody Archipelago with Rayleigh.
After so many days, Shakky had accepted the fact that Rayleigh couldn't return.
But she noticed a detail.
There was no news of Rayleigh on any newspaper, as if what happened that day had nothing to do with him at all.
As an information broker, Shakky immediately sensed something was wrong.
Logically speaking, with Rayleigh's strength, no matter how an accident occurred, he shouldn't have disappeared without a trace.
It was this discovery that invigorated the previously dejected Shakky, prompting her to investigate further.
And the direction of the in-depth investigation was naturally Blake, who had Hancock with him.
Fortunately, it had only been a few days, and Blake had already arrived at Sabaody Archipelago with a group of people.
However, Shakky did not act impulsively.
She wasn't sure if Rayleigh's disappearance was related to the person in front of her, and rashly approaching might alert him, so she decided to observe first.
But what Shakky didn't expect was that Blake's Observation Haki had already reached an astonishing level.
Even when Imu contacted the Gorosei through telepathy, he could vaguely sense something was amiss.
Even though Shakky was far away from him, that substantial gaze was still precisely captured by Blake.
Blake tapped his fingers a few times. He really hadn't decided how to deal with this... widow?
Shakky's age was simply too great, and her looks had plummeted, so she definitely couldn't be taken back as a Slave.
Kill her directly?
He felt it wasn't necessary to go to that extent.
Moreover, although Shakky had extensive connections, they were all friendships from over thirty years ago.
After so many years, those people wouldn't come running to help investigate Rayleigh's matter just because of a word from her.
Plus, her own strength wasn't top-tier, so she wouldn't cause Blake any trouble.
Blake ultimately decided not to deal with Shakky for now.
As an information broker, this woman might be useful for spreading some news in the future.
Blake's eyes flickered with an inexplicable light, a smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, right, isn't the Ope-Ope no Mi about to appear?"
"She really might be able to realize some remaining value."
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