"Whew—"
After settling onto the sofa, Meiser let out a long sigh and said, "Ah, it really does feel good to be home!!"
To avoid being spotted during the journey, he had rarely emerged from the mouth of the Hippopotamus Sea Kings—an experience that had been far from pleasant.
Granny Nyon, who was holding Merry as she sat on the sofa, glanced at Meiser and asked, "Have you gone days without sleep again?"
"Pretty much."
If he had slept, the Hippopotamus Sea Kings might have been devoured by the larger Sea Kings, so he had no choice but to stay awake.
"Then maybe you should rest first," Hancock said, her voice filled with concern.
The conversation could wait; it was more important for Meiser to get some proper rest.
"No need," Meiser waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not that tired."
It wasn't as if he had rushed back immediately after the battle, so he wasn't completely exhausted.
Seeing Meiser's insistence, Hancock didn't press further.
"If you're not resting, then," Granny Nyon nodded, "let's talk first."
She then asked, "How did you manage to evade the World Government's pursuit?"
"Faked my death."
"Faked your death?"
Granny Nyon was taken aback. Meiser had the ability to fake his death?
"Mm." Meiser nodded. "I made the World Government believe I was truly dead, then had the Sea Kings I'd prepared beforehand appear and swallow my body whole."
"That's how I successfully deceived the World Government."
Granny Nyon fell silent for a moment before sighing in realization. "No wonder you were so confident you could fool them. So this was your plan."
First, faking death, then having the Sea Kings consume the "corpse"—even if the World Government suspected Meiser was still alive, they couldn't confirm it. After all... the body was gone!
"Then, Brother-in-law, what exactly did you do in Mary Geoise?" Sandersonia asked curiously.
Meiser didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced toward the end of the hallway.
Hancock reassured him, "Don't worry, as long as we don't shout, they won't hear us."
She understood that what Meiser was about to say might involve the Celestial Dragons, so she had dismissed everyone else when they entered.
Meiser nodded and said, "It's nothing much. Just acquired some valuable things in Mary Geoise, freed the slaves there, and killed a few Celestial Dragons."
"Wha—"
Hancock and her sisters' eyes widened in shock.
"You actually went through with it," Granny Nyon gulped.
"Of course," Meiser replied. "Didn't I say before I left? I was going to kill a few Celestial Dragons to avenge Hancock. That wasn't just empty talk."
If the circumstances hadn't been so particular, he would've killed more than just those seven!
Upon hearing Meiser's words, Hancock's eyes instantly welled up with emotion.
Eventually, tears began to glisten in them.
"Thank you, Meiser..."
Meiser smiled gently and replied, "There's no need for formalities between us."
Feeling the warmth in Meiser's voice, Hancock's eyes brimmed with even deeper gratitude.
With a soft chuckle, Meiser then pulled out the photos of the seven slain Celestial Dragons and placed them on the table.
"Did you like this gift?" he asked.
Hancock glanced at the photos in her hands, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She then threw her arms around Meiser and cried, "I love it!"
"This is the best gift I've ever received!"
Meiser smiled and patted her back gently. "I'm glad you like it."
"Mm!"
Watching the two embrace, Marigold and her sister also had tears shimmering in their eyes.
"How wonderful~"
Granny Nyon observed their reactions with a look of wistfulness.
This is what love truly is... she thought. What a shame I never got to experience it in my lifetime.
With a quiet sigh, she shook her head to dispel her thoughts and spoke up. "Meiser, did the newspaper go out?"
If the papers hadn't been distributed, the Straw Hat Pirates would do everything in their power to return to Sabaody Archipelago—and by then... a trap would likely be waiting for them!
Hancock also lifted her head at this moment. "Meiser, you—"
"Don't worry, the papers were sent out," Meiser reassured. "They were published the morning after the incident."
Hancock let out a relieved breath. As long as the news had spread, Meiser's goal would be achieved.
Meiser chuckled before asking, "It's been so many days... Hasn't the newspaper reached you here?"
Granny Nyon gave a helpless smile. "The Calm Belt rarely gets visits from News Birds, so obtaining newspapers is difficult for us."
"That's true," Marigold added, wiping her tears. "News Birds seldom come to the Calm Belt, so most of the time, our Kuja Pirates have to buy them outside and bring them back."
"I see..." Meiser frowned. "That's troublesome."
If that were the case, staying updated on outside events over the next two years wouldn't be easy.
After a moment of thought, he mused, Well, it doesn't matter. We don't plan on leaving for the next two years anyway, so whether we get newspapers or not isn't a big deal.
"It's fine, we're used to it," Marigold said.
This time, Meiser simply nodded without further comment.
"Thankfully, you faked your death to deceive the World Government—otherwise, those bastards would never let this go!" Granny Nyon remarked.
Not only had he done the same thing as Fisher Tiger, but he had also killed seven Celestial Dragons afterward... To the World Government, such a man was nothing short of a heinous criminal!
There was no way they would ever let someone like him walk free!
Fortunately, in the eyes of the World Government, Meiser was currently considered dead, so there was no need to worry about what they might do.
"I considered that point, which is why I chose to fake my death to resolve the issue," Meiser nodded.
Otherwise... the crazed World Government would undoubtedly go after his other companions!
To prevent that, he had no choice but to "die" first.
"What did you do with the slaves you freed?" Granny Nyon asked.
"I sent them to the front of Mary Geoise, where some ships were docked," Meiser replied. "If they're lucky enough, they might escape Mary Geoise alive."
"Brother-in-law, you didn't leave with them?" Marigold asked curiously.
"No."
Meiser shook his head. "How could I leave with them when my goal hasn't been achieved?"
Freeing those slaves was already giving them a chance at freedom—whether they could escape depended on their own luck.
"Goal?"
Granny Nyon raised an eyebrow. "What goal? Killing Celestial Dragons?"
"No."
Following Granny Nyon's gaze to the photo on the table, Meiser chuckled. "The Celestial Dragons were already dead before I freed the slaves."
He didn't know how many high-level fighters the World Government had, so to avoid complications, he had to act preemptively.
"Then was it to take photos for Morgans?"
"That was also done during the chaos," Meiser said.
"Then what?"
Granny Nyon was puzzled. If not for those reasons, then why?
"To make my fake death seem more convincing, of course," Meiser spread his hands. "To achieve that, I fought them for nearly a full day and night."
He then explained the enemies and events he encountered, helping them understand his reasoning.
"Undying Body..." Hancock frowned. "Why would anyone else have such an ability?"
Shouldn't that be unique to Meiser? How could those Celestial Dragon scum possess it?
They don't deserve it!
"To be precise, it's Super Regeneration with an undying trait," Meiser corrected.
Hancock froze for a moment before falling into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Merry spoke up, "Is there any difference?"
"Of course there is," Meiser said. "My Undying Body instantly revives my body, so I don't have to worry about someone taking advantage during that moment."
"But those guys are different."
Recalling the God's Knights' Super Regeneration, Meiser continued, "Their Super Regeneration rapidly heals damaged bodies. Even if it's fast, there's still a chance for someone to exploit a weakness."
Take that Kirin, for example—didn't he get subdued with Seastone Handcuffs?
And that Arrow Woman...
If not for that thorn-wielding guy, she wouldn't have broken free from the Sealing Technique!
Remembering how furious she was after being sealed, Meiser couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Super Regeneration..." Granny Nyon murmured, lowering her head. "Why does that sound familiar?"
Had she heard about this somewhere before?
"You probably saw it at God Valley," Meiser said.
"God Valley?"
Granny Nyon froze for a moment before her expression cleared with sudden realization. "Now I remember! That Shiki guy did mention something about encountering an unkillable opponent when he left."
So they had already encountered members of the God's Knights back then.
"Is there really no way to counter their Undying Body?" Sandersonia asked.
"Not that I know of," Meiser shook his head.
At the very least, his Eight Trigrams Seal couldn't kill them. As for the Reaper Death Seal...
No, that technique was completely out of the question.
"Maybe Rayleigh would know something," Granny Nyon suggested.
After everyone turned to look at her, she continued, "He's been there too. He might know how to deal with enemies like that. You could try asking him when you get the chance."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Meiser nodded.
But there was no rush. He could always visit their island again after resting properly.
"So you fought those guys for a full day and night before faking your death to escape?" Merry said.
"Exactly."
Meiser nodded. "If the battle hadn't lasted long enough, they'd never have believed I was truly exhausted."
Only by doing so could he convince the World Government that he had genuinely been "killed" by them, allowing him to finally relax.
"Only you could come up with something like that," Granny Nyon sighed in admiration.
Truly, no one else would think of such a method.
"By the way, Brother-in-law, what's in that bag you brought in?" Sandersonia asked eagerly. "Is it a present for us?"
He had promised to bring them gifts the next time he returned, so... surely this was it!
Marigold also looked up at this moment, her eyes shining with anticipation, clearly waiting for Meiser's gifts.
"Oh, that?" Meiser glanced at the snakeskin bag nearby. "No, your presents are stored inside a Sealing Scroll."
There were too many items to fit in that bag.
"A Sealing Scroll...?"
Recalling the Scroll Meiser had used before, Sandersonia nodded before asking, "Then what's in this bag?"
"This? It's full of Devil Fruits!!"
Meiser stood up from the couch, walked over, and pulled several boxes out of the snakeskin bag, placing them on the table.
Staring at the boxes, Sandersonia gasped in shock. "Th-These four boxes... all contain Devil Fruits?"
"Yep!"
Sandersonia was speechless.
To obtain four Devil Fruits at once—Brother-in-law was simply incredible!
"This is truly astonishing," Marigold gulped.
After sailing for so many years without encountering a single Devil Fruit, their brother-in-law had managed to secure four in one go... It was beyond unbelievable!
Granny Nyon looked at Meiser, then at the box on the table, and said, "Don't tell me you robbed a Celestial Dragon?!"
She recalled Meiser's earlier words and felt this was highly possible.
"Correct. I did rob a few Celestial Dragons, and these Devil Fruits were obtained from them," Meiser nodded. "I originally got seven, but I handed three over to Shakky to handle."
"Shakky, huh..."
After considering Shakky's ability to handle such matters, Granny Nyon nodded. "Entrusting her with them was a good choice."
That girl had been an information broker for many years and was exceptionally skilled at dealing with black-market goods, making her the perfect person to handle them. Hancock glanced at the boxes on the table, opened one, and asked, "What abilities do they have?"
"Only one is known. The others are unclear."
"Out of seven, only one is known?" Granny Nyon said in surprise.
Hadn't Shakky seen the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia? How could she only recognize one?
"Not exactly. The three I gave to Shakky were identified," Meiser explained. "They were: Zoan-Bug-Bug Fruit: Mantis Form, Zoan-Pig-Pig Fruit: Boar Form, and Paramecia-Brick-Brick Fruit."
"I felt those three abilities weren't particularly useful, so I left them for Shakky to deal with."
"As for the four on the table..."
Meiser casually picked up the Cloud-Cloud Fruit and said, "Only this one is known. The rest are completely unknown."
Granny Nyon glanced at the Devil Fruit in Meiser's hand and asked, "What ability is this?"
"Logia type—Cloud-Cloud Fruit!"
"What?!"