"moshi moshi? Daijobu?"
Nero stood outside, gently tapping on the glass, curiously observing the pink-haired woman inside.
As Nero spoke, the woman inside also saw her. Her eyes clearly recognized Nero, and her struggles became more violent.
"Mmm… mmm mmm!"
However, because her mouth was also bound, she could only emit muffled whimpers, but even if Nero didn't understand her words, she understood her meaning from her eyes.
"Mhm, do you want to come out?" Nero blinked. "I plan to wander a bit longer. This place will get chaotic around evening, so you can just run with everyone else then."
Her finger pressed against the glass, and a crack spread.
"Mhm, this way, even in your current state, you can break the glass. But I don't recommend coming out now; if you're discovered, you're dead!"
The pink-haired woman inside quieted down considerably at her words, nodding gratefully at Nero, seemingly still crying.
But she was submerged in nutrient fluid, so Nero couldn't see clearly; only the woman's eyes were very sad.
And she didn't look like she had long to live, but the child in her belly... Nero could only sigh. She had seen countless scenes more tragic than this today, and by now, she was somewhat numb.
The city of the Celestial Dragons was like a convergence of all possible human evils; life here had no dignity.
"That's that then! I have other places to see. You just wait quietly and conserve your energy."
Nero waved at her, adjusted her own aura, and then left the place.
It was already dark when she left. Calculating the time, Fisher Tiger should be arriving soon. Before that, Nero planned to go as deep as possible.
It would be even better if she could see uranus, the ancient weapon; then it wouldn't be a wasted trip... An hour later.
"Mhm, this damned place is really big, and the buildings are almost identical!"
The Emperor, who didn't know where she was, grumbled as she looked at a familiar crossroads.
"It seems I won't be able to see uranus this time. However, for basic intimidation and crude intelligence gathering, it can be considered an over-fulfillment of the mission."
"As for Tiger... Mhm, has he already come up? It seems this adventure ends here. I'll turn back after walking a bit further."
However, the moment Nero took a step, an undeniably strong gaze fell upon her.
The indifferent gaze, devoid of any emotion, instantly put Nero's body into a state of alert.
That look seemed to say, 'No thoroughfare ahead.'
Her raised foot lingered, not falling, and the intense sense of threat ultimately made Nero retract her step.
She retreated a few more steps to indicate that she had no intention of being an enemy at the moment, and only then did the owner of that gaze seem to withdraw their attention, and the intense feeling of being watched slowly receded from her body.
"Was that Imu just now? The legendary king of the celestial dragons?"
Nero stood there for a while longer. It was just a gaze, yet that profound malice, like tiny insects crawling all over her body, was almost overflowing.
And Imu, on the flower-adorned throne, had a solemn expression. Did that monster just try to come over? Was its target Imu?
Nero was shocked by Imu's strength; she still had a long way to go to reach her level.
Imu, on the other hand, was surprised by something deeper within Nero. If that thing were provoked, she might not be able to escape unscathed.
Even if she narrowly won, she would surely lose against the impending Joy Boy.
Fortunately, that monster retreated.
Imu closed her eyes again. Joy Boy, will you truly return again?… Nero walked unhurriedly back the way she came. Feeling Imu's presence for the first time, she was somewhat silent now.
She wasn't aware of Imu sensing her true essence or anything, but she had a vague feeling about it.
She just felt, after many years, that perhaps Roger was right back then.
If they had followed her idea back then, gathered forces to attack the World Government, and ushered in a new era... they might all be dead by now!
In an instant, she understood. Imu, the owner of that gaze, was definitely not someone the Roger Pirates of that year could have challenged.
Even with the current Four Emperors, it would be the same, not to mention some ancient weapon uranus.
Such a truth made Nero somewhat displeased, as if she had been acting childishly back then.
Walking forward with her head down, the area ahead suddenly became noisy.
Nero looked up. Mary Geoise was burning; Fisher Tiger's operation had begun.
Continuing to walk, after leaving the Celestial Dragons' residential area, the streets also became lively.
Slaves were fleeing everywhere, their numbers... Nero swept her Observation Haki around. Approximately a few thousand people!
Just as Fisher Tiger had said, he came for freedom and liberation. The fleeing slaves were of all races.
Fishman, humans, Longarm Tribe, Mink Tribe, pirates, commoners, nobles... Everything was meticulously planned by Fisher Tiger; it was clear he had also prepared their escape routes.
Flames gradually ignited the Celestial Dragons' residential area as well. Nero sensed that most of the high-level combatants here were guarding the Celestial Dragons.
"Mhm, indeed! In their eyes, the life of one Celestial Dragon is far more precious than the lives of these mere few thousand slaves."
Nero stood in a secluded corner, no longer hiding her presence, but in the chaotic Holy Land, no one discovered her whereabouts for a while.
"Ne... Nero?" Someone suddenly called out to her.
Was she still too conspicuous after all?
Without surprise, Nero turned around and saw a disheveled, seaweed-haired man.
"Mhm, you are... are..."
"Tesoro! Gild Tesoro!!!" The seaweed-haired Tesoro roared, his eye twitching.
"Mhm, that's it! I remembered too!" Nero nodded, indicating that his reminder was unnecessary.
"Heh heh~" Tesoro was noncommittal about this.
"Why are you here? Back then, you refused to go to Nicuss with me, saying you wanted to make a name for yourself."
At this, Nero looked around and suddenly understood: "Mhm! I see, this is indeed a good place to make a name for yourself!"
"But, mhm... you also... mhm!" Nero didn't know what to say: "Tesoro, you truly are a character!"
A cross-shaped vein appeared on Tesoro's forehead, but he couldn't tell Nero directly.
Tell her what? Would he tell Nero that after they made their grand pronouncements and parted ways, he was captured five minutes later?
And then he'd been working black jobs here for all these years?
To be honest, he didn't want to see Nero at this time, but he had news he absolutely needed to know, and this was the motivation that sustained him in this hell.
"Ste... Is Stella doing well?"
"Mhm, she's alright! It's just that when I married Stella, I couldn't find you, so the wedding invitation couldn't be delivered to you."
"..."
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