Leno glanced at the people standing behind Dragon.
The outspoken, purple-haired Belo Betty in her red leather suit; the giant, Morley, in his 'short skirt'; the 'Mask Man,' Karasu; and Lindbergh, who was right beside him.
Good grief, the four commanders of the Revolutionary Army plus the big boss Dragon were all present.
"Mr. Leno, I finally get to see you again!" A pleasant call rang out, and a young girl wearing a hood came up to Leno, her face full of happiness, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
"Ohya! So this handsome guy is the Mr. Leno that Koala keeps talking about." Belo Betty came to her side, looked Leno up and down, and immediately started teasing Koala.
"Sis Betty, don't talk nonsense!" Koala blushed, turning her head to glare at Betty for exposing her in public.
"Koala?" Distant memories surfaced in his mind. Leno remembered that night, among the crowd fleeing on the ship, that thin little girl with a stiff smile on her face.
Looking at the girl before him now, full of vitality and gracefully poised, he could vaguely see a shadow of her former self.
"Oh! it's this little girl. She's grown so much? Looks like life has been good to you these years!"
"Mr. Leno, you... you remember me?" Starlight instantly lit up in Koala's eyes, and she was a little excited.
"Mhm! Your smile is much more natural now! Only a smile that comes from genuine happiness is the most beautiful!"
"You really do remember me! That's wonderful, thank you! Mr. Leno." When Leno mentioned the sensitive word 'smile,' Koala was sure he truly remembered her.
After all, back when she was a slave in Mary Geoise, Koala had forced herself to always keep a 'smile' on her face to avoid being beaten. In the end, it was her other benefactor, Mr. Fisher Tiger, who freed her.
Composing herself, Koala quickly began making introductions for Leno. "Mr. Leno, this is the leader of our Revolutionary Army, Mr. Dragon!"
Looking at the figure before him, who exuded a domineering and fierce aura, Leno calmly extended his hand. "An honor to finally meet you, Mr. Dragon !"
Dragon also looked at the young figure before him, sensing an aura as wild and powerful as a beast. He solemnly extended his hand and shook Leno's. "The honor's mine. To be a renowned powerhouse across the seas at such a young age, truly impressive!"
"Not at all, not at all, you flatter me. Compared to you, Mr. Dragon, I am still just a novice!"
...
Seeing the two start to exchange pleasantries, Koala interrupted somewhat exasperatedly: "You two can stop flattering each other. Let's head back first."
The group then headed inside. Along the way, Koala introduced the others to Leno. Leno had a deep impression of the commanders, but he couldn't very well say so. He could only pretend to be meeting them for the first time, greeting each of them.
When everyone arrived at the reception hall, Leno couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Dragon, with all the commanders gathered, are you planning some big move?"
He paused, afraid they might misunderstand, and added, "Of course, I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious." As for gathering them all just to welcome him, Leno didn't think he was that important.
"There is indeed some movement. We are preparing to liberate several countries..." Ignoring the surprised expressions on Leno and the others' faces, Dragon continued, "I presume you are all curious about the purpose of inviting you here."
Without any unnecessary words, Dragon got straight to the point and explained the reason. "First, we hope to establish a friendly relationship between our two sides through this exchange and mutual understanding."
"Second, we in the Revolutionary Army would like to ask for your help. Specifically, Ms. Robin's help."
As he spoke, Dragon turned his gaze to the astonished Robin and continued. "Over the years, we have collected many ancient documents, and we would like to trouble Ms. Robin to help us with them."
'So that's it,' Leno understood inwardly. 'This must be the main purpose of their invitation. They want Robin to help translate ancient documents.'
'Still, Robin should be very interested. She often refers to herself as an archaeologist and is obsessed with ancient documents.'
Leno turned his head and, just as he expected, saw Robin looking very interested. She then looked at him, her eyes asking for his opinion. Leno shrugged and said casually, "Whatever makes you happy. Do what you want! I support you!"
Hearing Leno's approval, Robin, also being impatient, immediately asked to see these so-called ancient documents. After someone came and led Robin away, Nami and the others started complaining.
"Seriously, Robin is just as always. As soon as she hears anything about history, it's like she becomes a different person."
"Yeah, as Luo would say, that's called 'career focus'!"
"Right! Just like how Nami looks when she hears about gold!"
"Hey! Chopper, everyone's talking about Robin, why are you dragging me into this?"
Nami, who had been minding her own business and secretly observing their surroundings, was innocently caught in the crossfire. She immediately vented her dissatisfaction at Chopper. When Chopper saw Nami glaring at him, he timidly scurried over to Leno's side, though he still muttered defiantly.
"But it's true! When you see gold, Nami..."
"You're still talking!" Nami, annoyed and embarrassed, lunged over, intending to rough up Chopper for exposing her weakness.
Seeing Nami coming, Leno again wore a 'nothing I can do to help' expression. Chopper, terrified, turned tail and ran.
"Help! Nami, I was wrong!"
"Hahaha..."
Everyone watched the two's antics with amusement. Then, Dragon spoke. "Mr. Leno, are you interested in a tour of our place?"
"Eh? Is that allowed?" Leno was a bit surprised. "Of course. After all, translating the documents won't be finished in a short time. We can't just have you sitting around."
Just then, Betty, wearing sunglasses and with a cigarette in her mouth, came up to Leno's side. She put a hand on his shoulder and said with a smile. "Hey, handsome, want me to show you around?"
Leno glanced at the round fullness visible beneath Betty's open collar. Just as he was about to speak, a furious shout shattered his fantasy.
"Hey! You damned woman, get away from Lord Leno!"
Bang!
Kicking the unprepared Betty aside, Hancock came to Leno's side, her face ashen, glaring furiously at her. At this moment, Hancock was radiating an orange-yellow fire of fury, her face contorted in anger.
Seeing this despicable hussy shamelessly try to seduce Lord Leno, Hancock's reason was instantly overwhelmed by rage.
"Perfume..."
"Hancock! It's not necessary... really, it's not..." Leno, snapping back to reality, quickly grabbed the rampaging Hancock and tried to calm her down.
"Mm Leno, my lord" Hancock, who had been in a state of pure rage, instantly turned into a docile kitten.
Across from them, Dragon and the others watched Hancock's mood swing in the blink of an eye, completely dumbfounded. Even Dragon, who had seen his share of storms, couldn't help but feel his lip twitch.
"This... This Empress..."
"Hm?!"
"..."