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"Watch your attitude, Moria!" Gion crossed her arms, and the sword pressure emanating from her body appeared again, rushing toward Moria.
Moria's face trembled as he thought of the slash Gion had just used against him.
"Sit down quietly, Moria," Sengoku said calmly, knocking on the table. "As for whether your subordinate was captured by Ikki, you can go to him to verify it yourself. Rather than this, let's talk about business. You were defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, which brought shame to the Shichibukai name. If you don't perform well next time, we'll have to consider whether you're worthy of the Shichibukai title."
Moria glanced at Gion with fear, took a deep breath, found a seat and sat down.
Although he was eager to know about Perona, Moria also understood that he wasn't in a position to give orders to Sengoku. As the Fleet Admiral had said, it was more important to hold onto his Shichibukai position at the moment.
However, Ikki's name was now deeply imprinted in Moria's mind.
About ten minutes later, after the conversation ended, Moria and Kuma were led by two Marine soldiers to the restaurant specially prepared for the Shichibukai.
In the conference room, only Sengoku, Gion, and Tsuru remained.
"Ikki recruited Hancock and Moria's subordinate as partners," Sengoku said, putting his hands on his chin and looking at Tsuru. "He seems to take any beautiful woman as his partner. I now suspect that the two masked women next to him in our intelligence reports are criminals with bounties on their heads. Tsuru, what do you think about this?"
Hearing this, Tsuru and Gion looked at each other. Others didn't know, but they both knew that one of the masked people beside Ikki was Nico Robin, the Devil Child who had a bounty on her head.
"Sengoku, I think it doesn't matter," Tsuru said after pondering for a moment. "You probably know Ikki's character. He's just a man who appreciates beautiful women too much. At the same time, he's also a man with a sense of justice. He possesses powerful strength and exceptional swordsmanship teaching ability. I think it would be a big loss for us if Ikki was wanted just because he had some female bounty criminals around him. Especially now that we plan to have him train Tashigi, Hina, and other Marines."
Regarding Nico Robin's identity, she decided to keep it secret from Sengoku for the time being. After all, Ikki had fulfilled his promise – not only had he cured Gion, but he'd even made her stronger. As her sister, Tsuru was happy with Gion's growth.
However, Tsuru had many things she wanted to discuss with Ikki regarding him capturing Gion's heart. She understood his character well – there were too many women around him. It was really hard for her to be sure that Ikki could truly respond to Gion's feelings, especially since he seemed to have become attached to Empress Hancock again. That woman was too dangerous for Gion.
"Yeah, I thought so too," Sengoku replied. "As long as he doesn't do anything too extreme, the rest won't be pursued. When Moria is stripped of his Shichibukai position, there will be no bounty on that ghost girl. Speaking of which, Tsuru, do you think the Marines can use this incident as a condition to invite Ikki to become the new Shichibukai?"
"It's unlikely," Gion spoke up this time. "Shichibukai are still pirates. Nami, Nojiko, and the others around Ikki really hate pirates. Vivi is the princess of Alabasta. Ikki is very considerate of his crewmates' feelings. I don't think he'd become a Shichibukai."
Having spent time on the Explorer, she knew Ikki and his partners better than anyone.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I once interacted with the two masked women next to Ikki," Gion continued. "I don't think they're dangerous. Ikki kept them on the ship just because he liked their beauty."
Hearing Gion's words, Sengoku nodded secretly and gave up on the idea of Ikki becoming a Shichibukai.
"In that case, let's not discuss this matter for now," he said. "However, we still need to pay attention to the identities of those two women. Gion, Tsuru, you should go about your own business first. I still have some things I need to take care of."
"Wait, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I have another question," Gion said.
"What else do you want to ask?"
"You just mentioned Ikki's birthday party. I want to know whose birthday this is?"
"It's his birthday. Because of this, Hancock and Doflamingo may be a little late, which is really troublesome. Hmm? Gion, what's wrong with you?" Sengoku looked over in confusion as Gion suddenly stood up from her seat.
Tsuru, on the other hand, understood Gion's thoughts perfectly.
"Gion, there's still time today, and then Ikki will go to Impel Down," Tsuru said gently. "It's not too late for you to go to Impel Down after the Shichibukai meeting is over. And if you go over now, the birthday party will be over."
"I understand, Sister Tsuru," Gion replied, pursing her lips. There was a hint of blush on her face as Tsuru saw through her thoughts.
Explorer, deck
"Ikki, can I not leave? I want to stay longer!" Hancock said, pursing her lips and looking directly at him.
"Hancock, it's almost time," Ikki replied with a smile, patting her on the shoulder. "And we're going to Impel Down later too. We'll meet again when we're free. If you have time, let me visit your country."
"Yes! Please come visit Amazon Lily!" Hancock nodded eagerly, beginning to imagine in her mind the scene of Ikki coming to her palace and marrying her.
After chatting with Ikki for a few more words, Hancock jumped onto the deck of the Marine warship with Onigumo under his gaze.
Ikki, meanwhile, turned around and took Kalifa's hand, leading Nami and the others to Smoker.
After a brief exchange, Smoker ordered the Marine soldiers to set sail, and took the Explorer toward the direction of Impel Down.