The endless blue sea stretched out in all directions as the Dream sailed toward Clarked Island.
After crying for a long time, the women on the deck finally started to calm down. Only a few, still overwhelmed by sorrow, continued to sob quietly.
"Alright, listen to me for a moment," Ryuen said calmly.
Hearing his voice, the few women still crying fell silent, while the others turned their attention to him.
After scanning the group and making sure they were listening, Ryuen continued, "First, I need to say something—if you return to your village, you won't have any way to protect yourselves."
"As for your future, I see two options."
"First, you stay in your village. But that means you'll likely be targeted by the surviving thugs, as well as other people on Clarked Island who might have the same intentions. After all, you all know that you have… well, quite attractive looks."
"Second, you go back and see if any of your family members survived. If you have no one left, we can arrange for you to go to the East Blue."
"I'm sure you've heard about the orphanages in the East Blue. We're the ones managing them, and if you choose to go, you can live there and work as staff, helping to take care of the orphans."
After speaking, Ryuen quietly waited for their decision.
After hearing Ryuen's words, the twenty or so women began whispering among themselves—some seemed hopeful, while others looked disappointed.
"Hiss—!"
"Ow! Nami, what are you doing?!" Ryuen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side, as if Nami had twisted a chunk of his flesh.
"'Quite attractive,' huh~?" Nami mouthed the words with a teasing smirk.
Ryuen's face froze. He felt completely helpless. "W-wait, you're really going to hold that against me? I was just—"
"Captain Ryuen… um, can we go back to Clarked Island first before making a decision?" Among the women, the one who looked the most mature hesitantly asked.
"Of course, there's still time. But I still suggest you head to East Blue since no one dares to raid there," Ryuen said with a smile, looking at the woman.
"I… We understand~~~ Captain Ryuen, my name is Lucima…" the woman replied, blushing.
"Hehehe, Lucima, nice to meet you..."
"Captain Ryuen, my name is Theresa~"
"I'm Mary~"
"And me, I'm Amanda~"
...
After Lucima introduced herself, the other women started doing the same...
"Feeling happy?"
"You used to say that saving damsels in distress was the heroic thing to do..." Nami whispered in Ryuen's ear, standing on her tiptoes.
"Nonsense!"
"How could you think that about me in such a serious and touching moment..." Ryuen pretended to be offended, keeping a straight face.
"Ahhh~~~ Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
"Hmph~ That's what you get for being so smug!"
Seeing the interaction between Ryuen and Nami, the women covered their mouths and giggled.
As the sun slowly set, its golden light reflected off the sea, casting a warm glow. At that moment, it felt as if all worries melted away with the sunset and the waves.
Meanwhile, the Dream Ship was gradually approaching Clarke Island.
...
At the Marine G9 fortress, Fire Mountain followed the list and eliminated all the Marines loyal to Vice Admiral Boshichi.
They were either dead or crippled, including the recently awakened Rear Admiral and Boshichi's adjutant—both dealt with by Fire Mountain.
Jonathan wasn't entirely pleased with Fire Mountain's actions since some Marines weren't guilty enough to deserve death.
However, since Fire Mountain was now in charge of G9, he chose to stay silent.
"Now, the only one left is Vice Admiral Boshichi… Could Captain Kilago be right? Was he really taken by the Dream Exploration Team?
But the people at the dock and the entire fortress—none of them saw him being taken away by the team..." Jonathan was deeply puzzled.
"No!"
"They definitely took him. One of them has the power of the Door-Door Fruit, which allows them to open a mysterious alternate space. I believe that's how they took Boshichi," Fire Mountain said firmly.
"This…"
"But why would they take Vice Admiral Boshichi?" Jonathan was confused.
"Let's report this to Marine Headquarters first. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others must be waiting for our update." With that, Fire Mountain took out a Den Den Mushi.
*Purururu~~~*
At Marine Headquarters, the once-quiet Fleet Admiral's office was suddenly filled with the ringing of a Den Den Mushi.
Inside the office, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, former Admiral Zephyr, the three Admirals, and of course, meeting regular Brannew, were all present.
Everyone turned to look at the ringing Den Den Mushi.
Brannew walked over and answered, "Moshi Moshi, this is the Fleet Admiral's office."
"Understood!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it's Vice Admiral Fire Mountain." With that, Brannew handed the Den Den Mushi to Sengoku.
Sengoku took the receiver and asked sternly, "Vice Admiral Fire Mountain, what's the situation? Any casualties? Have you taken full control of G9 Fortress?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there are no major casualties. The only ones killed were Marines who were fiercely loyal to Boshichi. I have now fully secured G9 Fortress!
However, it seems that Vice Admiral Boshichi has been taken by the Dream Exploration Team," Fire Mountain reported truthfully.
*What?!*
"They took Boshichi?" Sengoku exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I've searched every corner of Fortress G9, but there's no sign of Boshichi. I suspect he was taken by the Door-Door Fruit user from the Dream Exploration Team," Fire Mountain speculated.
"I see. Fire Mountain, focus on getting Fortress G9 back up and running as soon as possible. As for the rest… you know what to do."
Click— Sengoku hung up.
A bad feeling crept over him.
At first, he thought Ryuen might have simply killed Boshichi. But now, he had been taken away. The real question was—was he alive or dead when they took him?
Sengoku had a strong feeling that he was still alive.
"This is bad!"
"Sengoku, they might use Boshichi for—"
Vice Admiral Tsuru hadn't even finished her sentence before Sengoku reacted, immediately dialing the Dream Exploration Team's line.
————
"We're here—Clarked Island," Nami said softly.
Among the twenty-something women present, some were excited, some remained silent, and others were overcome with sorrow.
At that moment, Ryuen's transponder snail rang.
"So, they finally called," Ryuen smirked, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I've been waiting for this call for a long time…" Ryuen said with a sneer.
"Ryuen, where did you take Boshichi?"
Before Ryuen could even finish his sentence, Sengoku's anxious voice came through. But the people in the Dream Exploration Team looked completely unfazed.
"I took him to where he belongs…"
---
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