"Hmm, the person on that ship is Little Crane, right?" Nero sat on Doflamingo's flamingo ship, gazing at the relentlessly pursuing Marine behind them.
"Yes, as for Elder Sister Tsuru, I heard she has always been pursuing us," Monet, who had recently joined the Donquixote Family, nodded behind Nero.
"Oh? I'm impressed! To be constantly pursued by Little Crane with just these few nobodies, your intelligence department is doing quite well!"
"Thank you for your praise!" As if not hearing the sarcasm in Nero's words, Monet bowed in thanks.
But Nero didn't pay her any mind, because the warship had closed the distance, and she could now see Vice Admiral Tsuru at the bow.
"Hmm, Tsuru-chan! It's me!!!" The emperor's majesty instantly dropped to zero, as Nero bounced and waved her hands at the stern of the ship.
Tsuru at the bow also saw Nero's figure, covering her face with one hand and raising the other to signal a stop to the cannon fire.
"Stop attacking, don't waste cannonballs!"
Seeing Tsuru's helpless expression, Gyon looked at the bouncing figure and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Elder Sister Tsuru, is that person Nero, one of the Four Emperors?"
"Ah, yes!"
"She looks really young and… lively!"
Gyon was a bit at a loss for words. Nero was also very famous in swordsman circles, especially in recent years, as her title of Worlds Greatest Swordsman had gradually gained widespread recognition.
The mystery of being elusive, coupled with the title of Emperor, gave Nero extremely high prestige.
And it was said that another strong contender for the Worlds Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk, had also been defeated by Nero.
"Sigh~" Tsuru sighed helplessly; encountering Nero meant this mission was a failure.
"Then, Elder Sister Tsuru, what should we do next?" Gyon knew that this mission would likely be abandoned, but she was still a bit unwilling.
"We have an undercover agent infiltrated in the Donquixote Family; at least we need to rescue that person."
Tsuru closed her eyes: "Go forward and try to negotiate! Also, inform Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the current situation."
"Yes!"
...The pink flamingo pirate ship sailed parallel to the warship on the vast sea.
On the pirate ship, the two groups of people were clearly separated. On the sofas on either side of a white square table, Nero and Tsuru sat opposite each other.
"Tsuru-chan, how about it? Why don't you leave the corrupt Marine and come to Nicuss, to work under me?"
Nero picked up her red tea and took a sip, then forked a small strawberry cake into her mouth, asking somewhat indistinctly.
"Thank you for His Majesty Nero's kindness, but I have no plans to leave the Marine for now." Tsuru's reply was formal and even somewhat respectful.
She knew a little about some internal intelligence regarding Nero from the World Government, and understood that His Majesty Nero was about to become very different.
So, regarding some detailed issues, she adopted a cautious attitude, hoping to avoid any mistakes.
"Mwahahaha, how prim! Hmm, if Little Crane were twenty years younger, no, even ten years younger, I would marry you!"
Nero gazed at Tsuru with appreciation. Although she had aged a lot, her youthful grace and beauty were still discernible.
"Don't joke, Your Majesty Nero! If Princess Stella heard that, she would be angry."
"Hmm, it's fine! Stella is very generous in this regard; sometimes I even think she's too generous!"
Nero puffed out her cheeks, huffing: "Listen to me, sometimes I feel like Stella treats me like a child! Even though I've long been a qualified adult…"
Both sides were speechless. Why did it suddenly turn into family gossip?
Seeing that Nero was about to go on endlessly, Tsuru quickly interrupted: "Wait, we are here to discuss serious matters!"
"What I'm saying are also very important serious matters!"
"Then, Your Majesty Nero, can we discuss my serious matters first? After that, I will accompany you for as long as you wish."
"Hmm… alright then!"
Tsuru's expression was normal, but inwardly, she already felt exhausted even before the negotiations began.
"Then, His Majesty Nero, we hope you can return Lieutenant Commander Rosinante."
Tsuru got straight to the point; she knew this was the most efficient way to deal with Nero.
"Rosinante, huh! Hmm, Xilainai (I don't know who that is)!"
Nero thought for a moment and confirmed that she didn't know this person.
"He's Corazon…" Gyon reminded her.
"Neo is Neo! I've never even heard of this person!"
Nero shook her head, her cowlick swaying along with it.
"He is the younger brother of Doflamingo behind you, he likes to wear clown makeup, and he wears the same black feathered cloak as Doflamingo."
"Doffy? Where is he?"
After this brief interaction, Doflamingo had somewhat learned how to deal with Nero.
So, facing Nero's question, Doflamingo answered directly: "Your Majesty Nero, as for Rosinante, he is the one taken by General Loerke."
"I see! Hmm, then Tsuru-chan, you can just assume he's already dead."
Nero's matter-of-fact attitude made Gyon behind Tsuru widen her almond-shaped eyes, instinctively placing her hand on her sword hilt.
"You say that again…"
Before she could make another move, Tsuru stopped her.
"His Majesty Nero, is there still a possibility of negotiation?"
"Hmm, I'm sorry, Tsuru-chan! You know, I never interfere with these matters." Nero's expression was indifferent.
Although she also admired Tsuru, this admiration was far from enough to make her personally harm the interests of the nobles.
"Is that so? I understand…" Tsuru closed her eyes. She also understood that even though Nero usually appeared friendly towards her, their respective stances had always been very clear.
If Nero said so, there was no room for maneuver.
"In that case, we won't bother you any further."
"Hmm, then I'll see you later!"
Nero waved her hand and didn't try to keep them. She planned to rest for a while and then fly directly back to Nicuss.
"Elder Sister Tsuru! Are we just going to…" Gyon frowned and lowered her voice.
"Silence! Who do you think is opposite us? A Four Emperor! If we go to war with such a person, even the Fleet Admiral cannot act unilaterally!"
Tsuru looked around and saw that most of the others shared the same thought, and she sharply reprimanded them.
Perhaps Nero's overly approachable demeanor had made them lose their sense of awe; the person in front of them was not just some random nobody that a few of them could arrest.
If a fight broke out, even if all of them died, Nero wouldn't suffer the slightest harm… The pirate ship in the distance gradually disappeared from sight. Gyon stood beside Tsuru, still somewhat unwilling.
"Elder Sister Tsuru, do we really have no chance of winning at all?"
Tsuru was silent for a moment, as if recalling something: "I once used my Devil Fruit ability on Nero. Do you know what the result was?"
"Elder Sister Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit, I remember it also creates an urge for a change of heart. Did it not work on Nero?" Gyon asked curiously.
Tsuru's eyelids drooped, still feeling a chill even now: "It had no effect whatsoever. Nero didn't even use Haki. What I touched at that time was a depravity more profound than darkness… depravity!"
"…Depravity?" Gyon's brows furrowed into a knot upon hearing this.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!