Chapter 49:
Seeing the Devil Fruit given to Xiao Wu, some crew members who didn't receive one made up their minds.
They were determined to train hard and fight for the next Devil Fruit.
In an instant, the training rooms on the ship were packed full.
Everyone was pushing themselves to improve their strength.
Vilin watched this scene with great satisfaction.
He deliberately awarded the Devil Fruit in front of all the crew to the one who fought bravely and performed outstandingly — he had a clear purpose.
He wanted to create a healthy competitive environment among the crew.
This way, everyone could progress faster.
Their future safety would also be much better guaranteed.
Vilin absolutely did not want to see any of his beautiful crew members die in front of him.
On Long Ring Long Land,
after Vilin left, a huge storm erupted.
Early the next morning, the servants and retainers of the nobles and merchants killed by Vilin discovered their masters had vanished.
This plunged everyone into panic.
Finally, after some investigation by interested parties, they realized all the missing people were those who had bought slaves the night before.
All eyes turned suspiciously toward the Gem Auction House.
Many suspected the auction house was stealing from itself — seeing the slaves sell for sky-high prices, they wanted another cut.
After receiving this news,
the Gem Auction House immediately mobilized all their informants to investigate.
When they discovered the Aitrias Pirates had secretly left the island overnight,
the auction house suspected Vilin had abducted all the slaves.
This gave them a massive headache.
The Gem Auction House didn't dare offend a powerful pirate crew like Vilin's that could repeatedly escape Navy pursuit.
They could only quietly spread the rumor that the Aitrias Pirates had left the island secretly last night.
The rest they left to people's imagination.
They didn't dare openly accuse the Aitrias Pirates.
In the end, the nobles' servants also guessed it was the Aitrias Pirates.
But they didn't dare do anything about it.
They could only use their connections to pressure the Navy, hoping they would capture Vilin and avenge their masters.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside a solemn office,
Fleet Admiral Kong was rubbing his forehead, feeling extremely tired.
First, the Roger Pirates kept escaping the Navy's relentless encirclement.
They were still running wild in the first half of the Grand Line.
Then, just when he thought the Aitrias Pirates would lay low, they jumped out again and killed over a dozen nobles from various countries.
Looking at the countless complaints from allied nations piled on his desk, he felt a massive headache coming on.
At that moment, a young man with purple long hair and a resolute face stepped forward.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, leave the pirate Vilin to me!"
"I've recently felt my strength can no longer improve through training alone. Let me go meet this recently famous pirate!"
Hearing Zephyr's words, Kong fell into deep thought.
Soon Kong made his decision.
"Zephyr, the pirate Vilin is yours."
"Your only task is to drive him into the New World."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral Kong."
After receiving Kong's approval, Zephyr turned and headed straight for the port.
The current Zephyr — before his family was killed by pirates — was still full of vigor and fighting spirit.
Watching Zephyr leave, Kong let out a heavy sigh.
He picked up the Den Den Mushi on his desk and dialed a number.
Bru bru bru~
The call was quickly answered.
A strong, booming voice came through.
"Moshi moshi, this is Garp?"
"Garp, how's the encirclement of Roger going on your side?"
"Oh, it's Fleet Admiral Kong!"
"You'd better let Sengoku tell you about that."
As soon as Garp heard Kong asking about Roger's pursuit,
he immediately shoved the Den Den Mushi into Sengoku's hands.
"Damn it, Garp!"
So Kong's ears were filled with arguing noises.
Kong's face instantly darkened.
"This is Sengoku."
"Pirate Roger's talent is simply too strong."
"Every time he fights Garp, he makes huge progress."
"Add Rayleigh and Gaban to the mix — top-tier fighters."
"It's extremely hard for us to achieve a decisive victory."
"And somehow he always manages to escape in the most inexplicable ways."
Hearing Sengoku's explanation, Kong fell silent.
He had a premonition: if they couldn't take down Roger now,
Roger would one day unleash an even greater tsunami across the world.
"Sengoku, remember — you must eliminate him."
"If necessary, coordinate with CP0."
"Fleet Admiral Kong, we will definitely suppress this man's growth."
After ending the call, Kong turned his gaze to the map of the New World, staring at Beehive Island in the second half.
Something calculating flickered in his eyes.
On the route to Water 7, the Aitrias Pirates had encountered quite a few pirate attacks.
Against these weak foes, Vilin didn't participate in the battles.
He simply watched as the crew he had trained easily wiped out the attackers.
They hadn't disappointed his careful nurturing.
Especially Hu Yue, Haidi, Annie, and Xiao Wu — all Devil Fruit users — had seen qualitative leaps in strength.
All of them had now reached Navy Headquarters Rear Admiral level.
Watching the crew carry box after box of treasure and supplies onto the Flying Bird, Vilin gave them words of encouragement.
"Hehe, Vilin, guess what I found?"
Seeing Annie run toward him excitedly, holding a Devil Fruit she'd looted from the enemy ship, Vilin's eyes lit up.
But he had never seen this Devil Fruit before.
Vilin could only store it away for now, planning to identify it later before giving it to the crew.
By now, Vilin had four unidentified Devil Fruits in his possession.
He really wanted to get his hands on a Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
But in every major force, only the highest core members had access to one — this gave Vilin a headache.
To shift his focus, Vilin headed straight toward the rooms of Rouge and Olvia.
He also wanted to spend some quality time with his born child and the one yet to be born.
Because life at sea was too boring,
Vilin once again fell into the monotonous routine of training and child-rearing.
In the captain's quarters, Vilin was resting.
Suddenly Aurora burst in and threw herself into his arms.
Looking at Aurora's alluring blue eyes, Vilin's gaze filled with intense heat.
After a long while~
Vilin gently fixed her slightly disheveled blue hair.
Looking at Aurora's flushed face still lingering in afterglow, Vilin showed a touch of tenderness.