Chapter 17: Catching Up to the Celestial Dragons, Extremely Cruel
After communicating with the nearby sea creatures using the Voice of All Things, Rono confirmed the Celestial Dragon's location.
That guy hadn't gone far!
If he followed this path, he could definitely catch up.
Pushing the Revenge to full speed, Rono took the opportunity to check his system panel.
[Host: Rono]
[Age: 17]
[Strength: (Mid-level Warlord)]
[Speed: (Mid-level Warlord)]
[Stamina: (Mid-level Warlord)]
[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Advanced), Armament Haki (Advanced), Observation Haki (Advanced)]
[Other Abilities: Swordsmanship (Advanced)! Combat Experience (Advanced)!]
[Fruit Ability: Mera Mera no Mi (Absorbed)]
[God-level Ability: Voice of All Things!]
His current self was a significant improvement over when he fought Roger.
First, he had picked up Roger's God-level Observation Haki, the Voice of All Things.
In addition, absorbing the Mera Mera no Mi's power had further increased his destructive capabilities.
He was roughly at the level of Doflamingo or Kuma, almost equivalent to a Yonko Commander.
Plus, he now had a fine sword, Kotetsu, one of the 21 Great Grade Blades. The current Roger might not even be able to defeat him!
Rono was very satisfied with this result.
After all, he had only been at sea for a total of ten-odd days, and he had already jumped from the Lieutenant Colonel level to the Warlord level. His strength had skyrocketed like a rocket; it was just too fast.
"As long as there isn't an Admiral-level powerhouse, I can at least catch up to that Celestial Dragon, kill him, and retreat safely."
"No, even if there is an Admiral, I should still be able to kill that Celestial Dragon, but retreating would probably come at a cost."
Rono had a rough estimate of his strength.
His current self should be able to put up a fight even against an Admiral-level powerhouse, and he hadn't even factored in the system's buffs.
In fact, if he really ran into an Admiral-level powerhouse, not only could he fight, but he might even pick up some powerful abilities and quickly advance to the Admiral level!
Of course, the most likely scenario was that the Celestial Dragon didn't have Admiral-level protection at all, just a few Vice Admiral-level CP0 agents.
After all, Admiral-level fighters were extremely rare in the entire sea. How could they always be protecting a Celestial Dragon?
Only *after* something happened to a Celestial Dragon would the Marines dispatch Admiral-level forces to clean up the mess.
This was also why the Celestial Dragons were so arrogant.
In terms of strength, a single pirate with a bounty over 100 million could take care of these swine-like Celestial Dragons.
But the consequence of doing so would be an endless pursuit by a Marine Admiral. That's why most pirates gave Celestial Dragons a wide berth.
Rono, however, was the opposite. He *wanted* the Marines to hurry up and send an Admiral. That way, his strength could grow substantially again.
After sailing for two days, Rono crossed Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line. He then sailed for another day before catching up to the Celestial Dragon.
The Revenge's speed wasn't particularly fast, but fortunately, he caught up in the end.
At the port of an island, a luxurious cruise ship, tens of meters high, was docked.
Even from a distance, one could see every part of the cruise ship.
Every single part was encrusted with diamonds, jewels, emeralds, and gold!
These gems glittered under the sunlight, a breathtaking display of luxury.
Two flags hung from the cruise ship's mast.
One was the flag of the World Government. The other was the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon," symbolizing the Celestial Dragons.
The Hoof of the Soaring Dragon was the mark of the Celestial Dragons. They would even brand every slave with it to declare their ownership.
Activating his Observation Haki, Rono quickly located the Celestial Dragon.
Coincidentally, this island was named Jaya, and the Celestial Dragon was currently in Mock Town.
Mock Town was a small town on Jaya Island. It was a low-rent version of a lawless zone, teeming with pirates.
The reason the Celestial Dragon docked here was also very simple.
He had received news that the Heavenly Tribute from the East Blue had been stolen!
Not only that, but many rare slaves had also been set free, including many beautiful mermaid slaves.
This put the Celestial Dragon in a foul mood, and he urgently needed a place to vent. So, he chose Mock Town.
The pirates of Mock Town were usually arrogant, but when they saw a Celestial Dragon, they immediately knelt in unison. They didn't want to anger him and summon a Marine Admiral.
At the same time, in the center of Mock Town's streets, a man was particularly conspicuous. He wore a transparent, spherical glass bubble over his head, his face was fleshy, he had a "watermelon" hairstyle, his face was gourd-shaped, and he had snot dripping from his nose.
This was a World Noble, a Celestial Dragon!
This Celestial Dragon was riding on the back of a strong-bodied man who was covered in bruises and wearing an explosive collar.
Upon closer inspection, this man was a rather famous pirate with a bounty of 68 million Berries!
He had now been reduced to the Celestial Dragon's mount.
On both sides of the street, pirates knelt in dense rows.
All these pirates were extremely nervous, looking at the Celestial Dragon's foul face, afraid he would suddenly go crazy.
Soon, the unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the Celestial Dragon dismounted from his "steed." A man in a crisp black suit and black sunglasses immediately stepped forward and asked respectfully:
"Saint Charlos, what are your orders?"
Hearing this, Saint Charlos said, snot dripping, "This mount is already covered in wounds, and I'm tired of playing with it. Let's just pick a replacement here."
Hearing this, the "mount" was overjoyed and immediately knelt to thank the Celestial Dragon. "Thank you, noble Celestial Dragon! Then... may I leave now?"
Saint Charlos's expression suddenly twisted. "Inferior slave! Did I say you could leave?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Saint Charlos immediately ordered the man in the black suit beside him: "Go! Bring me the new torture instrument I prepared!"
Receiving the order, several guards in black suits immediately carried over a large, transparent glass tank covered with a black cloth.
The tank was large enough to hold seven or eight people.
"What is the Celestial Dragon planning to do?"
Seeing this, everyone present was baffled.
However, when the black cloth was unveiled, everyone's expression instantly turned to one of terror—
Inside the transparent glass tank were nearly a hundred venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and other poisonous creatures!
And they were all extremely venomous breeds!
These creatures writhed continuously in the sealed tank. Just looking at them made one's scalp tingle!
The Celestial Dragon, however, looked at this tank with an extremely excited expression.
"Good! Now strip this inferior slave naked and throw him in!"
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