In the brightly lit castle, a long, wide table stood at the center with smaller tables arranged on both sides.
Noyer sat at the head, raising his wine glass high and addressing the crowd, "From today on, we live only for ourselves! Cheers!"
His crew, Ace's crew, and the people who had escaped from Mary Geoise raised their glasses together, laughing and shouting, "Yeah!"
A chorus of gulping sounds followed as everyone downed their drinks. Then they began devouring the feast like a storm.
In the kitchen, children and women bustled about, constantly bringing food to the table. Clumsy zombies served as assistants, much to the disdain of many chefs. At the dining table, people cheerfully accepted the dishes, gathering in small groups to chat.
Ace's crew played curiously with the bumbling zombies, watching them dump food on their own heads, and burst into laughter.
Those who had escaped from Mary Geoise happily shared their food with others while calling out for the busy workers to sit down.
Enel got into it again with Wyper, fighting over a plate of giant Sea King meat, shouting and rolling up their sleeves for a life-or-death battle.
Jabra, Blueno, and others clapped their hands, sitting in a row to watch the excitement.
Lucci elegantly held his knife and fork, enjoying his steak while looking down on these crude people — until a plate of salad, casually thrown by Wyper, smacked right into his face.
The former CP9 members let out an "Ooh", thinking, "we're done for…"
The disheveled Lucci lost his composure, transforming into a leopard and roaring as he jumped into the fray, trading punches and kicks with the food-fighting duo.
Over in the girls' group, Conis and Kalifa had stars in their eyes, along with other rescued girls, as they gathered around Robin and chattered away, whispering about who knows what.
In this harmonious atmosphere, Noyer and Ace stood arm in arm, clinking glasses and chatting. In men's conversations, there are always those few topics that never change.
Noyer said thoughtfully, "So there's a Marine girl named Isuka who keeps chasing after you?"
Ace quickly waved his hands in distress, "It's literally chasing — as in pursuing. She can't beat us, but she's really annoying."
Hearing no response, he turned to look and saw Noyer's eyes curved into crescents, giving him a gossipy once-over.
He glumly ignored him, but Noyer leaned in with an air of mystery and whispered, "So… do you like that girl?"
Ace got even more worked up, standing on the table with a flushed face and shouting, "How could I?! I'm a free-spirited pirate!"
Noyer put on the manner of a cunning strategist, "Love knows no status. As a man, you've got to be brave and seize your opportunities, so you won't have regrets…"
Ace gave him a strange look, "So you're saying you're brave, huh…"
Noyer confidently nodded without hesitation. Ace immediately pointed to Robin in the distance, looking at him teasingly.
Silence spoke louder than words.
Noyer awkwardly scratched his head, "Well… the situation's a bit different."
Ace burst out laughing, then pulled him back to serious matters, "Sabo and the others have already arranged our share of the Heavenly Tribute. They're just waiting for you to come see it."
Noyer's face lit up. After the Heavenly Tribute mission, he had made an impromptu trip to Mary Geoise, so Ace had been holding his share of the resources.
This time Ace had been quite reliable, placing a large batch of gold and various resources in the castle. Noyer was too lazy to check how much he'd gained — after all, he had subordinates to handle that.
Ace slapped his forehead and pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, "This is from Sabo. He says if you want to work together again in the future, just call him directly."
Noyer took the Den Den Mushi and put it away, smiling, "Got it."
After the drinking had gone on for a while, the quiet Thriller Bark grew even more silent. Even the tireless zombies retreated into the graveyard.
At the banquet, people lay sprawled everywhere, sleeping peacefully. Snoring rose and fell in waves. Enel, Wyper, and Lucci all lay on the ground with black eyes and swollen faces — whether asleep or knocked unconscious was anyone's guess.
Ace slept soundly, hugging Noyer's foot. Noyer had drifted into sweet dreams with his head pillowed on a beautiful lap.
Robin's beautiful eyes were like water as she gazed at him sleeping on her lap. Her delicate hands gently ran through his black hair and caressed his cheek. Then, with a smile on her lips, she too slowly entered a peaceful dreamland.
It had been a long time since things were this peaceful. Noyer hadn't slept this soundly in ages.
Tonight, the Thriller Bark was not so terrifying.
◇◆◈◆◇
At the edge of the Devil's Triangle waters, a nimble little boat was pushed along by the waves. A girl on board directed a fat man to row.
These two were none other than Perona and Hogback, who had finally found their way out of the waters after wandering for several days.
Hogback rowed miserably while Perona urged him on, "Hurry up, Hogback, we're almost out!"
Perona's face bore deep-seated hatred, "Lord Moria was killed by that demon!" She said through gritted teeth, "We must find a chance for revenge!"
Hogback rowed hard, hesitating, "But even Lord Moria was no match for him. Just the two of us…"
Perona shouted at him, "I know! You don't need to say it!"
Just as the two were bickering, the sound of water sliding came from in front of the boat. Perona immediately tensed.
Had the demon's subordinates caught up with them?!
Hogback raised his hands, trembling. Perona summoned her ghosts, preparing for battle.
In the thick fog, a black cross shape loomed faintly. That man who uses a black blade as an oar made his entrance once again with world-shaking BGM!
Golden pupils coldly surveyed Perona and the other, "Who are you?" he asked indifferently.
Hogback looked at that distinctive cross-shaped black blade and pointed at him with a trembling voice, "The… the World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Hawk-Eye Mihawk!"
Their former leader Moria had said that among the Seven Warlords, when it came to pure killing power alone, this man was unquestionably the strongest!
Perona whispered to Hogback, "What luck — we just escaped from the demon, and now we've run into another terrifying guy."
Mihawk's keen hearing caught this. His golden eyes turned toward them, "You know Noyer?"
Perona and Hogback froze. Then they realized something. A devious idea popped into her head.
Perona said urgently, "That's right, Lord Mihawk! That demon is on Lord Moria's ship, boasting that he's going to teach you a lesson!"
Mihawk looked at her wordlessly.
On Moria's ship, challenging him? Such terrible lying skills — was she treating him like an idiot?
Besides, wasn't this woman one of Moria's subordinates? How had she ended up like this?
◇◆◈◆◇
Early in the morning, Thriller Bark welcomed a distinguished guest.
Noyer walked out of his room bleary-eyed. Upon seeing the man standing before him, he immediately perked up.
"Mihawk! What brings you here?" he said in delighted surprise.
Mihawk nearly couldn't hold back from giving him a slash, "I was just passing through, but I heard you were here, so I came to check it out."
His golden eyes swept to Noyer's side. Aside from Robin, whom he'd met before, the others were all new faces.
"Looks like you've built up your own force."
Noyer smiled proudly. He had met Mihawk before going to Skypiea, when it was just Robin accompanying him.
Mihawk suddenly pointed behind him, "Ran into two people on the road who said they escaped from you."
Noyer turned his head and immediately burst out laughing — wasn't this Perona and Hogback? According to Jabra's report, those two had escaped because he himself had been playing around at the time.
Noyer's order had been to place them under house arrest, and Jabra and the others couldn't keep that tight a watch. But unexpectedly, these two had been caught and brought back by Mihawk.
Perona spat and cursed, "You're in cahoots! None of you are good people!"
Hogback hastily pulled her back, trying to keep her from acting rashly.
Noyer alone was difficult enough to deal with, let alone with Mihawk added to the mix.
Noyer looked at her with a smile, "Are you trying to avenge Moria? Do you think you can do it?"
Perona's eyes reddened as she glared fiercely at him, unable to say anything.
The gap in strength was like an insurmountable chasm. She wasn't like those training freaks from the Worst Generation — she'd never catch up to Noyer in her lifetime.
Mihawk picked up on something and frowned, "You killed Moria?"
Noyer nodded, "Yeah, killed him. His territory's vacant now."
Mihawk nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder. I heard the Marines were looking for a Warlord candidate."
Noyer asked curiously, "They found a replacement that quickly? Who?"
Mihawk said flatly, "There are two — one is Fire Fist Ace, and the other…"
Seeing him look his way, Noyer said in surprise, "Me?"
Mihawk chuckled, "But it's unlikely now. The Heavenly Tribute robbery — that was you and Fire Fist, wasn't it?"
Noyer paused, "You know about that too?"
"Can't hide it." Mihawk said, "You two partnered up and pulled off something big. They probably won't consider either of you anymore."
Noyer laughed mockingly, "Not necessarily. I pulled off another big job that might force them to reconsider."
Mihawk looked at him questioningly, saying nothing.
Noyer was somewhat surprised, "You don't know about the Mary Geoise incident?"
Mihawk shook his head, "What incident?"
Something as huge as burning Mary Geoise hadn't leaked out? Impossible — even if the freed slaves hadn't been taken away like during Tiger's incident, there were still so many people there that day!
Noyer briefly recounted what he'd done.
After hearing it, Mihawk said calmly, "It's perfectly normal for the government to cover this up. Mary Geoise being burned again would make the world think they're easy to bully. Even the World Economy News Paper wouldn't dare publish something like this. But once your bounty goes up, you won't be able to hide it from those with keen senses on the seas. The Sabaody Archipelago is full of all sorts — even the government can't completely control it."
Learned something new. Noyer scratched his head, "And here I thought pulling off this job would make me completely famous."
Mihawk and Noyer entered the castle. His eyes immediately caught sight of the wine cabinet, and he quite naturally helped himself to two bottles of red wine.
"You're already famous enough. At least among the Warlords, aside from me being alone, the others should know about the situation."
The people who'd awakened tidied up the room and brought out fine food and wine to entertain Mihawk.
Mihawk elegantly lifted his wine glass and took a few delicate sips. Noyer watched, somewhat dumbfounded. Drinking this early in the morning felt a bit… off.
Mihawk looked at him, "So, are you going to make this place your base?"
Noyer shook his head with distress, "Can only count it as a temporary base. I want to find an island in the New World to be my territory."
Mihawk glanced at him, "Looks like you have a target in mind?"
Noyer nodded, "I'm looking for a place called the Noytemus Kingdom."
Mihawk froze, "The great nation with the D name, Noytemus?"
Noyer was stunned. He asked urgently, "You know this place?"
Mihawk seemed to sink into distant memories, "Once, while honing my swordsmanship at sea, I saw some things related to Noytemus."
Noyer was delighted — this guy really was a treasure trove!
Last time he'd run into Mihawk, he'd received an Eternal Pose that let him reach Skypiea. This time Mihawk had come to him and brought good news again.
Noyer asked eagerly, "What did you find?"
Mihawk shook his head, "It was a stone wall with inscribed text, recording some of Noytemus's history. The kingdom was founded by people with the D name. Its most distinctive feature was that they raised dragon-like creatures. Every noble had to undergo a coming-of-age ceremony, choosing one dragon-like creature to become their lifelong companion, never to be replaced. Because of this, Noytemus was called the 'Ancient Dragon-Raising Kingdom', and its national power was extremely strong."
After listening, Noyer questioned, "If Noytemus was so strong, why was it destroyed?"
Mihawk shook his head and sneered, "Don't know, but the only one capable of such a thing would be the World Government."
Noyer sighed with regret, then asked, "So do you know where Noytemus is?"
Mihawk narrowed his eyes, "Don't know, but someone should know."
Someone? Who?
Noyer looked at him questioningly.
Mihawk continued, "When I discovered the inscription, I also wanted to find Noytemus. However, I was constantly obstructed by a group of people. I estimate they're an organization of the kingdom's survivors."
Noyer's face fell — this was as good as saying nothing. Finding people was much harder than finding a place.
The Grand Line was vast — where was he supposed to find a group of survivors from over twenty years ago?
Surely that group wouldn't come looking for Noyer themselves…
And you know what? He'd actually hit the nail on the head.
◇◆◈◆◇
Out on the Grand Line, the Marines frantically searched for traces of Noyer, with wanted posters flying everywhere.
In a hidden corner, a burly man held a wanted poster in his hands, his face showing delight as he murmured:
"After parting at Water 7, I've finally found traces of His Highness! The Marines want to move against His Highness? Don't even think about it!"
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem! They are also on my website for $5 and $1.5, respectively!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)