"You said it again—these three girls were brought down from the pirate ship?"
Michael pointed at the three girls who were still fast asleep and calmly asked Hina once more.
"Yes!"
"We did indeed find them on the pirate ship!"
After Stella and the others intercepted the pirate ship, they went to rendezvous with Michael.
But before they had time to formally report the spoils, Michael had already taken them straight to the island designated for the exchange.
"Alright, that's all for now. This doesn't concern the rest of you."
"Everyone out, except for Issho-san."
Michael waved his hand, and the members of the SWORD Secret Special Force filed out without hesitation.
Over the past two years, if they'd learned one thing, it was that Michael's orders must be obeyed with 100% compliance.
After all, if you disobey Sengoku, he'll lecture you.
If you disobey Garp, he'll laugh and say you've grown up.
If you disobey Aokiji, he can't be bothered with you.
If you disobey Kizaru, not only will he not bother, he'll goof off with you.
If you disobey Akainu, you'll end up half-cooked.
But none of them compare to Michael's punishments…
Smoker had already been stripped down to his underwear and hung from the ship's prow like a human figurehead for some time.
Now that they were being dismissed, it also meant they could finally take Smoker down.
After all, he was a Navy prodigy—his future minimum was Rear Admiral. A little dignity had to be preserved.
Once the members left, Michael turned to Issho.
"Issho-san, any unusual movements from Mary Geoise?"
"None so far. Same as the past two years—no changes whatsoever."
Issho's absolute Admiral-level strength hadn't been much use under Michael's command for the time being, so he had temporarily left the team to take on a more critical task...
Monitoring Mary Geoise.
This was something only his terrifyingly wide-range Observation Haki could manage.
Right now, Michael only had Issho's power as a fallback plan—if their identities were ever exposed, he could escape the God's Knights or even the Five Elders.
Luckily, Issho hadn't been exposed at all over the past two years.
"Excellent. But from now on, come back to base, Issho-san."
Michael gave a warm smile.
"The situation with the Celestial Dragons has completely stabilized. There won't be any more surprises in the short term."
"Good timing. I just got blacklisted from all the nearby casinos on the islands around Mary Geoise."
"...I told you—your gambling luck is enough to bankrupt entire casinos."
Michael shrugged.
"But I quite enjoy seeing casinos brought to ruin by pure luck."
Issho ignored Michael's teasing, tapped the floor with his Supreme Grade Great Blade, and found a chair to sit on.
Then, with eyes he had deliberately closed, he "looked" at Michael.
"These girls—what's their story?"
"They're from Amazon Lily. And that black-haired one—she's the future empress of Amazon Lily."
"...So you're telling me, a pirate with a 76 million Belly bounty braved the Calm Belt, and snatched the crown princess from the Kuja Pirates?"
Even the always-composed Issho couldn't help showing a look of shock.
"Has the Kuja Pirates really become that weak?"
Michael nodded first, then shook his head.
"Weak? Certainly. Their previous empress died of illness just last year. In desperation, they had to ask the empress before her to temporarily handle national affairs."
"But the guy who got one-shot by Smoker? Thinking he could beat the Kuja Pirates head-on? That's a joke."
"He just snuck the girl off the ship when no one was paying attention."
Hearing Michael's explanation, Issho nodded.
That made sense.
"So what are you planning to do with these kids?"
"What am I planning? I'll say this—they couldn't have arrived at a better time."
Michael's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"That dream I painted for Gloriosa before—now it can finally come true... Since I'm a man of my word, I guess I'll reluctantly go ahead and annex Amazon Lily."
"Yare yare... Michael, you really are a shameless bastard."
"...Says the guy who calls his Gravity Fruit powers 'gambling luck.' You're in no position to call anyone shameless!"
...
"What! The three little Hancock sisters disappeared from the ship!?"
Shakky suddenly looked up, staring at Gloriosa, who had arrived at the bar in disguise.
According to the original timeline, Gloriosa should have already begun to shrink into a short old lady around this time, slowly losing most of her strength.
But right now, she still looked like the stunning beauty from two years ago. Only a few fine lines had appeared at the corners of her eyes, as if to say to the passage of time, "Is that all you've got?"
Even Gloriosa herself found it strange. Originally resigned to her fate, she had sensed that her aging would come early.
But after teaming up with Rayleigh and Gaban—and even occasionally sparring—she'd actually grown stronger.
At first, she thought it was the fighting that was keeping her body in shape.
But later she realized...
It must've been because of Michael!
Michael's Holy Light was the only unknown power she'd come into contact with in the past two years.
That power was likely what helped her resist aging—it was the only reasonable explanation.
But she didn't have time to dive into research with Shakky about Michael's Holy Light right now.
"That's right. By the time the Kuja Pirates contacted me, the girls had already been missing for almost half a day!"
"Sigh… The empress had just passed, and the Kuja Pirates instantly fell into disarray."
Shakky rubbed her temples.
"Gloriosa, don't panic. I'll notify all our intelligence channels immediately and have them focus on tracking down the Hancock sisters."
"Before I came, I also asked Rayleigh and Gaban for help. Though they're not exactly great at gathering intel, the Cross Guild has plenty of manpower. If nothing else, they might still be useful."
Inside the tiny bar, the former empress of Amazon Lily and her predecessor sat in heavy silence, waiting for new intel to come in.
Nearly half a day passed before a coded knock—three longs and two shorts—sounded from the back door, a signal only allies would know.
Gloriosa hurried to open the door, only to find a group of Marines standing outside.
Just as she instinctively prepared to defend herself, she saw the person in front.
It was Michael.
"Michael!"
"Please stay calm."
Michael calmly placed a hand on Gloriosa's shoulder and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"They don't know your identity. They think you're just a family member."
"Family!? You found the sisters!?"
"Mm. The little sisters got lucky."
Michael nodded, his smile radiant.
"And I got lucky too."
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