Just as the seas were about to churn with change, the deck of the sanctuary presented a lively scene.
"Ah! Damn it! Let me go!"
Perona screamed, having been lifted up by Blake with one hand, her short legs kicking wildly in the air.
She had just tried to leave some marks on Blake with her paintbrush, only to be caught red-handed.
Blake was currently rubbing Perona's small face with his other hand until she made muffled sounds of protest.
Although the little girl was already eleven years old, her mental age was still about the same as when he first picked her up.
However, considering Perona's behavior in the original work, where she still acted like an overgrown child despite being over twenty, Blake felt relieved.
Robin, not far away, closed the book in her hands and said in her characteristic, slightly teasing tone:
"Treating a lady like this doesn't quite suit your noble status."
Blake glanced at her, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth:
"A lady? Where is she? Are you referring to her or yourself?"
Blake casually put down the dizzy and disoriented Perona, and the little girl immediately hid behind Robin, sticking her tongue out at Blake.
Olga also ran over to support her little friend, sticking her tongue out along with Perona.
"Saint Blake! Do you need me to help you teach these rude people a lesson?"
Hancock suddenly spoke, her gaze sweeping over the three of them.
Robin met her gaze without flinching:
"Speaking ill of others behind their backs isn't exactly noble either, is it?"
Hancock acted as if she hadn't caught the sarcasm in Robin's words, lifting her chin slightly:
"My beauty is meant to please Saint Blake, so naturally I am much more useful than someone who only knows how to run her mouth!"
"Truly useful abilities should be employed in clearing obstacles for His Highness!"
Kalifa, never missing an opportunity to criticize Hancock, interjected from the side.
With her arch-rival appearing, Hancock instantly forgot her confrontation with Robin and turned to glare angrily at Kalifa.
Everyone on the ship was long accustomed to the feud between Hancock and Kalifa.
Marigold and Alpha stood behind their respective sisters like little sidekicks, glaring at the opposing party as well.
Monet, who had only recently joined the ship, was now gradually adapting to the environment on the sanctuary and had joined the Kalifa faction, whose personality matched hers, glaring at Hancock alongside them.
Blake admired Hancock's personality, which allowed her to argue with anyone, but he did not stop them; they argued a few times every day anyway.
He turned his attention to the several people currently training on the deck—
Mandy held her sword in both arms, watching Kuina practice her swordsmanship.
Whenever the angle of her slash deviated, Mandy would simply raise a finger slightly, and a blast of extreme cold air would accurately condense along the trajectory of the blade, making the little girl instantly understand how to correct it.
There was almost no verbal communication needed between the two of them.
Koala was practicing martial arts on the other side. She had just completed a set of high-difficulty kicks and gasped softly as she landed.
"Koala is so amazing!"
Kaya couldn't help but shout out, her eyes full of envy.
Sugar also nodded vigorously nearby, pulling Kaya to start imitating the movements.
Koala smiled sweetly:
"It's still too early for you two to learn these."
Saying this, she demonstrated a few basic movements, allowing the two of them to start exercising with those.
Not far away, Stella and Scarlett, along with Rami, Hiyori, and the recently joined Baby5, had prepared refreshments for everyone...
After several days of sailing, Barrels' pirate ship was approaching Minion Island. He gathered his crew together once again.
Slap!
A newspaper was slapped onto the table in front of everyone. Barrels pointed at the bounty listed on it, his tone solemn:
"The Ope-Ope no Mi, bountied at six billion Berries. As long as we take it to any Marine base, we can exchange it for this money."
The breathing of the crew members became heavy. One of them, his face flushed, said excitedly:
"Captain! Why are we running off to this godforsaken place? Let's just go straight to a Marine base!"
Barrels' gaze swept over the crew members before him, who were burning with greed. His voice was very low:
"A bunch of idiots!"
"We are pirates. Go directly to a Marine base?"
"Are you out of your mind? Or do you think the Marines are all out of their minds?"
"Even with the World Government's bounty, can you guarantee that the Marines inside the base won't get ideas?"
"When trading with the Marines, they might just snatch the fruit, pin some random crime on us, and sink us into the sea?!"
"Six billion! That is six billion Berries!"
"If the Marines were all obedient little babies, would I have bothered running away to become a pirate?"
These words suppressed the crew's excitement.
That's right, their Captain himself had defected from the Marine.
Who could guarantee that other Marines wouldn't also defect for the massive sum of six billion Berries?
"This..."
The man who had just spoken was speechless. After a long pause, he finally asked:
"So what should we do now?"
"Unless we can contact the high-ranking officials of the World Government directly, dealing with anyone else carries a risk, right?"
"Therefore, we need to find an intermediary!"
Barrels' tone regained its calmness, and he spoke with deeper calculation:
"Find someone... whom we cannot afford to offend ourselves, and who also wouldn't dare to play tricks on us because they cannot afford to provoke an even greater trouble!"
He slowly uttered a name:
"Donquixote Doflamingo!"
The crew members were completely unable to understand Barrels' decision:
"This... How is this different from dealing with the Marine? Wouldn't a person like him be even more likely to double-cross us?"
"It's different!"
Barrels shook his head and explained:
"Doflamingo is JOKER, a big shot in the underworld."
"Six billion Berries is certainly a lot, and it's important to him, but it's not that important."
"For the sake of long-term interests, he won't ruin his reputation over a six-billion-Berries deal. That would be completely unprofitable for him."
Seeing that everyone nodded slightly, he continued:
"Most importantly, Doflamingo has extensive connections and can directly relay the message to those big figures in Mary Geoise."
"Only through him can we trade with the people who can truly call the shots."
"The high-ranking officials of the World Government won't ruin their credibility for a mere amount of Berries."
Barrels looked around, and finally stated in a deep voice:
"This is the only way for us to pocket the money and survive!"
The ship's cabin fell silent, with only the sound of waves hitting the hull.
After a long time, one crew member slapped the table:
"Let's do it!"
"Right! We all follow Captain!"
"Captain is truly brilliant!"
"Awooo!"
Everyone chimed in agreement, and a smile finally appeared on Barrels' face.
"Perfect plan! Initiate!"
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