"You're actually pretty good at providing me with emotional value."
That was the thing about Stella's personality Blake liked most.
Call it taking whatever comes. Call it adapting to circumstances. Stella always seemed to be adjusting to her environment—always facing life with an optimistic, upbeat attitude.
But now wasn't the time to tease Stella, because there was someone in the cabin who interested Blake even more.
When he stepped inside, Blake moved as if he knew the layout by heart. He crossed the corridor and stopped in front of a storeroom door.
Aramaki had good instincts. He strode up, lifted a hand, and pulled the door open, standing in front of Blake as he quietly raised his guard.
Blake patted his shoulder.
"Don't be so tense."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Aramaki stepped aside, and Blake entered the room.
They called it a storeroom, but on a ship, commonly used tools were kept where they were easy to reach. There wasn't much piled in here.
Blake walked to a section of flooring, reached down, and flipped up a board—then yelled at the top of his lungs:
"WAAH!!!"
A voice—clearly startled—shot up from beneath the floor.
…
The situation with household retainers was actually similar to the Marines: when facing a Celestial Dragon, they didn't need to kneel.
With the way other Celestial Dragons treated their people, the fact their subordinates hadn't rebelled was purely a testament to how powerful the "brainwashing" was.
"Yes! Your Highness!"
From Aramaki's expression, Blake could tell he hadn't actually taken that to heart.
This guy always wore that same "next time, for sure" look.
But now wasn't the time to fuss over it. Blake's face turned serious.
"Go back to the merchant ship from earlier and search it. See if there's a Devil Fruit onboard. If there isn't, then go check the island ship."
After a brief pause, Blake still added a warning:
"Be careful. The island ship is home to the great pirate Moria. With your current strength, you're more than enough to handle him—don't disappoint me."
Aramaki immediately straightened, solemn.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. This subordinate will do everything in his power."
He bowed deeply to Blake, turned, and left—kicking off into Geppo (Moonwalk) as he flew toward the merchant ship.
Moria was about ten years older than Aramaki, and should have been in his prime.
But Aramaki's talent ceiling was obviously far higher than Moria's. And besides—Moria had just been beaten by Kaido to the point his spirit shattered. There was a decent chance he couldn't even use Haki properly anymore.
Sending Aramaki to deal with him was already overkill.