Holy Land Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders had gathered once again.
"You're saying the Marines have reported that the Kingdom of Trecia has been restored?"
"The Kingdom of Trecia... was that even a member nation of the World Government? I barely remember it."
"It was, over twenty years ago. But they were stripped of that status after they failed to pay the Heavenly Tribute."
"Oh, now I remember. That country. But didn't it fall twenty years ago? If I recall correctly, that place turned into a famous lawless zone. How has it become a kingdom again?"
"The Marines reported that one of the former citizens of Trecia, acting as a pirate, drove out the other pirates on the island and reestablished the kingdom."
"Hmph. A nation founded by a pirate wants to rejoin the World Government? Ridiculous."
"That's not necessarily true. The situation in the New World is becoming more unstable by the day."
"We need to find ways to suppress the pirates. Once Trecia is restored, pirates lose one of their gathering points. That benefits the World Government."
"And at a time like this, rejecting a nation that wants to join the World Government would look bad. Besides, the Kingdom of Trecia has already agreed to pay the required Heavenly Tribute."
"In that case, approve Trecia's return to the World Government."
"Right now, what we need to discuss is the situation in the New World. Not long ago, Red Count Baloric Redfield attacked a warship transporting Heavenly Tribute and stole a massive amount of wealth."
"Then have the Marines capture Baloric Redfield and bring him in."
"That won't work. Whitebeard has been stirring again lately. The three Admirals are fully occupied dealing with that."
"Then what do we do? An attack on the Heavenly Tribute is no small matter. If other pirates start copying this, it will seriously affect the World Government's finances."
Though the Heavenly Tribute was nominally money offered to the Celestial Dragons, the World Government took a considerable portion of it for itself.
It was that enormous stream of wealth that allowed the government to maintain its vast naval forces and continue funding research on a massive scale.
If the Heavenly Tribute was being stolen, the consequences would be severe.
Because in the end, robbing the Heavenly Tribute meant robbing the World Government itself.
"If the three Admirals must remain focused on Whitebeard, then send Kong personally. This kind of robbery cannot be tolerated."
"Agreed."
…
"Teresa, stop already! I can't beat you. Can we stop now?"
Aboard the Good Fortune, Ren spoke through a swollen face, black and blue all over.
As for why he looked like this, it all started after they left Trecia.
Teresa had found the voyage unbearably dull and suggested sparring with him.
Ren had also wanted to improve his swordsmanship, so he agreed.
But since they were still out at sea, neither of them used real weapons. They picked up wooden sticks instead and began exchanging moves.
Ren regretted that decision almost immediately.
From the very start, Teresa beat him like a drum.
Quite literally.
She launched him into the air with a single strike, and after that, he never touched the deck again for a full ten minutes of nonstop aerial combo attacks.
If Teresa hadn't been holding back most of her strength and using only a wooden stick, and if Ren hadn't desperately reinforced himself with Armament Haki and Iron Body the whole time, he was pretty sure he would've ended up as a breathing mummy.
For the first time in his life, Ren felt sincere gratitude toward whoever had invented Iron Body.
At least it had spared him from being bedridden.
Looking at Ren's terribly asymmetrical face, Teresa seemed to realize she might have gone a bit too far, so she finally agreed to stop.
Ren could only sit off to the side and slowly recover.
Thanks to the effects of the Strengthening Pill, his healing ability was far better than that of an ordinary person. It still couldn't compare to someone like Luffy's monstrous recovery, but it was enough.
He had already started thinking that he really needed to recruit a doctor soon.
Otherwise, sooner or later, something was going to happen.
At the same time, Ren decisively used another upgrade card to raise his Armament Haki by one stage. He still hadn't reached the high-tier peak, but at least it would make future beatings easier to survive.
Fortunately, today's lottery was there to cheer him up.
"System, make me happy. Give me a draw."
"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a Pet Egg."
"Hm?"
Ren jolted upright.
A Pet Egg?
That had never appeared before.
Although Husky had technically always been treated like a pet, it had been summoned through a Character Summon Card, so in the System's classification, Husky wasn't a pet at all. It was a summoned character.
Now that an actual Pet Egg had appeared, Ren was genuinely curious what kind of creature would hatch from it.
A moment later, a plain-looking egg appeared in front of him.
He stared at the egg, which looked exactly like an ordinary chicken egg, except much larger.
"System, are you sure this is a Pet Egg and not just an oversized chicken egg?"
Because in Ren's imagination, Pet Eggs should be dazzling. If not glowing gold, then at least colorful and mystical-looking.
"Host, are you questioning the prize provided by this System?"
"No, it's just... this thing looks way too much like a chicken egg. No matter how I look at it, it's still just an egg. Don't tell me there's actually a chick inside?"
"The System does not know what creature is inside the Pet Egg. You will only know after it hatches."
Ren asked, "Then how am I supposed to hatch it?"
"Please consult the attached instructions."
Hearing that, Ren immediately searched for the instructions and quickly found a sheet titled Pet Egg Incubation Guide.
Pet Egg Incubation Conditions:
Temperature must not exceed 50 degrees Celsius and must not fall below 30 degrees Celsius.
Humidity must not exceed 80% and must not fall below 60%.
The Pet Egg must not be placed in soil or water.
After being kept in a suitable environment for one month, the Pet Egg will hatch.
After reading the conditions, Ren became even more convinced that this thing was just a chicken egg.
He was already considering what to do with it for dinner.
Fried egg? Boiled egg?
Tomato scrambled eggs would work too. He remembered there were still quite a few tomatoes in the fridge. An egg this big should be enough for several meals.
"Captain, where did that huge egg come from? Are we eating eggs for dinner?"
At that moment, Xu Nian looked at the egg and asked him.
"Oh, this isn't for eating. It's a Pet Egg."
"Woof! A Pet Egg? Is it going to be another adorable existence like me?"
The moment Husky heard the words Pet Egg, it immediately perked up.
Ever since it had arrived, it had been treated as Xu Nian and Teresa's personal pet. Every day, the two of them took turns petting it.
Especially Teresa. She even liked holding it in her arms at night when she slept.
For an energetic husky that would happily tear off the moment you let go of it, this was nothing less than torture.
The ship was already cramped enough, and it had to lie there all day, acting cute and obedient. Husky felt like it was slowly losing its mind.
But the problem was that neither Xu Nian nor Teresa was someone it could afford to offend.
For the sake of its own survival, Husky had no choice but to endure its daily humiliation.
Now that an actual pet had appeared, did that mean it could finally be free?
If Ren had known what Husky was thinking, he would've strangled it on the spot.
Because the truth was, he had always wanted to be the one in Teresa's arms.
Ren had dreamed of taking Husky's place for a long time.
The only problem was that, unlike Husky, he didn't have the courage.
What Husky didn't know was that every night, while Teresa held it in her arms, Ren looked on with naked envy.