Knock, knock, knock—!
A knock sounded at the door.
Luo Chen, who was in the middle of his training, awakened. He stood up and went to open the door.
Boa Hancock wore a magnificent scarlet long dress and red high heels, making her a head taller than the one-meter-eighty Luo Chen.
Her soft lips curled up in a smile that could topple cities.
"Luo Chen, I have seen the news and have decided to give you eighty billion Berries' worth of treasure as thanks."
"Hm?" Luo Chen was surprised, one might even say pleasantly so.
The Empress was truly generous, doubling the agreed-upon reward at the drop of a hat.
A smile appeared on his face. "Please, come in."
Luo Chen welcomed the three sisters into the room and said with a smile, "This is too much, but I am indeed short on money recently. When the opportunity arises, I will take out another Celestial Dragon to make up for it."
The three sisters looked at each other, their expressions strange.
If anyone else had said that, they would never have believed it.
But Luo Chen...
Hancock pursed her lips and smiled. "I believe you, but you must still be careful of your own safety."
She pointed outside the door. "Treasure worth eighty billion Berries. I have had my people place it at the entrance."
Luo Chen smiled and expressed his thanks.
He told the Empress that he and Robin would be leaving shortly.
Boa Hancock urged him to stay. "I was preparing to hold a banquet for you."
Luo Chen politely declined, saying that he had urgent business to attend to.
The Empress could not say more.
The two parties chatted for a little while longer.
During that time, Boa Hancock asked how Luo Chen had learned the secret on the three sisters' backs.
To this, Luo Chen used the deceased Fisher Tiger as a shield, vaguely brushing it off.
Fisher Tiger was the fish-man who had caused a great disturbance in the Holy Land years ago, freeing numerous slaves, including the Hancock sisters.
A moment later, Luo Chen stood up and went to the front of the pavilion to deposit the wealth.
The three Hancock sisters also walked out of the room and happened to run into Robin, who was just coming out.
"Nico Robin, you were also mentioned in the news."
Hancock handed the newspaper to Robin.
After a quick glance, Robin smiled. "This should be the fastest report yet. It was distributed to all corners of the sea in just one night."
Hancock looked at Luo Chen, who was standing by the numerous treasure chests, and said softly, "You two need to be careful from now on. A Marine Admiral will definitely be dispatched."
Robin's expression grew heavy, and she nodded silently.
A Marine Admiral... Aokiji had appeared again after so many years, and the pressure and fear he brought were immense.
She didn't know when she would be able to escape this nightmare of a person.
Hancock said, "If you run into a crisis, you can flee to Kuja Island. I will protect you."
Robin was taken aback and looked at her in surprise.
For her to say this meant that Boa Hancock was willing to help her and Luo Chen fight against the World Government.
'Why? Isn't she one of the Seven Warlords?'
Robin couldn't help but guess that this probably also involved the secret on the three sisters' backs.
Just like their agreement with Luo Chen to kill a Celestial Dragon.
For some unknown reason, the three sisters held a deep-seated hatred for the Celestial Dragons.
So deep that they were willing to pay a price of several billion Berries.
So deep that Boa Hancock's attitude had changed from cold and arrogant to gentle and warm in a single day.
Seeing Robin's surprise, Hancock was also puzzled. "You don't know my secret?"
Robin slowly shook her head. "Luo Chen said he would keep your secret for you."
Hancock was stunned. Her beautiful eyes couldn't help but look at Luo Chen by the many treasure chests.
'He didn't even tell his own companion, but kept the secret for us...' Hancock's heart skipped a beat.
Marigold and Sandersonia were also moved.
When the three sisters had asked Luo Chen how he knew the secret on their backs, it was because they were worried that that dark experience would be leaked.
The dignified Pirate Empress, a Warlord of the Sea, the empress of a country of women, had actually been a slave.
This would be a devastating blow to Hancock and her two sisters.
They had originally thought that since Luo Chen knew, his companion must also know.
But now they discovered that Luo Chen had kept their secret for them.
And not long ago, Luo Chen and they had been nothing more than strangers, and had even had a conflict.
"Let's go, Robin."
Luo Chen shouted. The giant green dragon rose into the sky, its two claws gripping the massive fortune of one hundred and eighty billion.
Robin trotted over and leaped lightly onto the dragon's back.
Luo Chen waved goodbye to Hancock and the others below. "See you again."
Hancock bloomed into a brilliant smile and waved her arm.
Marigold scratched her long orange hair. "Sister, he's a pretty good person."
Sandersonia also nodded in agreement.
Hancock smiled. "The feeling he gives me is different from other men."
...
On the broad back of the Wood Dragon, Luo Chen flipped through the newspaper in his hand and smiled.
"Quite impartial. They didn't distort the facts."
The newspaper was published by the World Economy News Paper.
The president was that unruly big-bird man, Morgans.
In the original story, he had refused the World Government's request to cover up the truth for the sake of reporting the news.
Robin pointed to a report in a column below.
"Look here. It mentions Genzo's matter."
Luo Chen's gaze shifted.
The column at the very bottom of the newspaper mentioned that the Marines had deceived numerous news reporters yesterday by claiming to have captured him.
Since the Marines could even deceive the world about whether they had captured a pirate, Genzo's statement in Loguetown had been denied by the Marines. Could this also be a deception by the Marines?
The content of the report was roughly that.
Luo Chen rubbed his chin and mused, "It's just for grabbing eyeballs. The newspaper didn't intend to really expose the Marines' lies. After all, there's no solid evidence."
Robin nodded. "But this way, the matter of you and Genzo has once again entered the public eye."
"In the future, as long as the Marines show even the slightest flaw, the truth will be revealed," Robin encouraged.
Luo Chen's eyes were cold. "Even if they don't show any flaws, one day I will fight my way to Marine Headquarters and pry open Onigumo's mouth."
He hadn't been able to pry it open last time because Onigumo knew that Admiral Aokiji was about to arrive.
Next time, when he fought his way to Marineford, Aokiji wouldn't be able to protect him.
What's more, within the Marines, Onigumo was probably not the only one who knew the truth.
Luo Chen wanted to see who was hiding it and who was playing dumb.
Hearing the bold statement about fighting his way to Marine Headquarters, Robin's eyelids twitched.
Mr. Captain was always saying shocking things.
Fighting one's way to Marine Headquarters... it might not be possible even after becoming one of the Four Emperors. Who knew how long that would take.
"Robin, I'm going to leave a sliver of my consciousness to steer the Wood Dragon, and then I'll enter a state of seclusion for training."
"If anything comes up, wake me."
As Luo Chen spoke, he used his Wood Style to build a house on the back of the Wood Dragon.
The house was divided into left and right sides by a wooden partition, for him and Robin to live in.
The Wood Dragon was now flying toward the location of Carina's Vivre Card.
It would take at least several days to arrive.
Time could not be wasted.
After all, they could encounter an enemy at any time.
The wooden house was quickly built. Robin looked at the furniture, all made of wood, and after searching for a long time, couldn't find a toilet.
She knocked on the wooden partition connecting to the next room, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "What about the toilet?"
From the other room, Luo Chen's voice came through. "Call me, and I'll let you down."
Before entering his secluded state, Luo Chen created a Wood Clone to control the Wood Dragon.
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