Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
With that, Crocodile turned to hang up the phone, but then suddenly paused. "Wait…that archaeologist, what has she been doing recently?"
"Nico Robin? She's in the library…still reading those history texts."
Crocodile snorted coldly, his gaze falling on the phone lying face down on the table.
The faint glow of the screen came from the edges. He hesitated for a second, then finally reached out and put the phone into his coat pocket before leaving the room.
…...
In the Marine Headquarters Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku sat behind a desk piled high with documents.
His phone was playing a video of the Beast Pirates getting ready for a grand live party.
"What in the world is Kaido up to!" Sengoku slammed his hand on the desk, making a few drops of tea splash out of his teacup and stain the documents.
"Pretending to drop a Devil Fruit, is that thing so easy to drop!"
Sengoku didn't know what plan Kaido was making, but it was definitely nothing good.
Vice Admiral Tsuru walked in with freshly made tea. Seeing the scene, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Oh? You saw it too?" She gently placed the teacup beside Sengoku's hand. "That old guy Garp just sent a message saying his grandson Luffy also saw this video in East Blue and said he wants to hold a party too, hehe."
Sengoku's temple throbbed, and he held back his anger. "This is not an ordinary entertainment live stream."
He pointed to a quick glimpse of a weapons storage in the corner of the screen. "Do you see those new cannons? And…" The screen suddenly switched to a full view of the party hall. He slammed the pause button. "Here, they even carelessly pretended to drop a Devil Fruit. Such bad acting makes it hard not to believe there's something fishy going on."
"Even if there's a problem, there's nothing we can do now but wait and see."
Sengoku sighed. "That's all we can do. I hope no major trouble breaks out."
....
Amazon Lily,
Ron was leaning against the railing of the palace corridor, scrolling through TikTok.
TikTok trending topics:
#BeastPiratesPartyFeast#Breaking!
"This Queen fellow…he's truly a talent. A singing, dancing, and rapping special, very much like an old friend."
But then Ron noticed that the comment section was filled with mockery.
"Plague Queen, although your bounty is higher than mine, if it comes to singing, dancing, and rapping, I'd like to compete with you."
"I'm dying of laughter, can Queen even dance? It's like a pig climbing a tree, hahahaha!"
"Stop singing and dancing, I want to laugh just seeing you stand there with a microphone!"
"..."
Ron looked at these comments.
Originally, Queen had the potential to be an entertainment streamer, but he was wrong. It was clear that Queen was the Sea's recognized comedy streamer.
Ron couldn't help but chuckle, and he also saw that everyone in the Beast Pirates in the video had a phone.
"This Giberson does have some skill. Wano Country has been closed off for so many years, and he managed to open up sales channels so quickly."
Just then, the noise of merchant ships unloading cargo came from the distant port. It was the third batch of cargo ships carrying clothing raw materials to arrive today.
Ron turned and walked towards the palace hall, each step making soft sounds on the red carpet covered with petals.
In the hall, several Kuja female warriors were counting accounts. Seeing Ron enter, they immediately bowed respectfully.
Ron waved his hand casually, his gaze sweeping over the thick stack of financial reports on the table. The Empress's clothing business was already on track, the assembly lines of the contract factories were running day and night, and the daily revenue was calculated in millions of Berries.
Just then, the system's prompt suddenly sounded in his mind,
[The number of TikTok users has exceeded ninety million. After reaching one hundred million users, the system will undergo its first upgrade!]
"Finally, an upgrade!"
Ron was a little excited. After waiting so long, he was finally getting the first system upgrade. He wondered what new things would appear this time, and the system store would also update. He hoped some good things would show up.
Outside the window, the sunset over Amazon Lily blazed like fire, painting the entire sky a brilliant orange-red.
"It's time…" Ron murmured softly, his fingers tracing the edge of his phone.
He turned and told a maid, "Prepare a ship, I'm going on a long journey."
With that, his gaze turned to the distant horizon, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "It's about time I caught up with old friends."
The maids exchanged glances, but soon they quietly left the hall.
A short while later, Hancock ran over, her bare feet making hurried sounds on the marble floor.
"Ron-sama, are you leaving so soon?"
Her eyes, like autumn water, were filled with tears, and her thin fingers tightly held Ron's sleeve, her knuckles turning pale.
"….Yes, Hancock, I…I…" Ron had just opened his mouth when he was stopped by a rich, sweet fragrance.
Hancock stood on tiptoe, her red lips pressing against his without warning. The soft touch made Ron's eyes widen slightly. She closed her eyes, her long lashes shaking, as if she had used all the courage in her life.
Ron felt the warmth on his lips, and the tension that had been tight in his heart for many years suddenly loosened.
When he was in the Marines, he was surrounded by fighting day and night. Later, he exhausted himself trying to overthrow the World Nobles, and his health got worse. How could he have the mind to consider matters of love?
But now, his body was restored, his strength was restored, and the beautiful woman in his arms breathed like flowers. If he continued to pretend to be deaf and dumb, what kind of man would he be!
"Ah!" Hancock suddenly cried out, as she was lifted into his arms.
Ron's strong arms held her steadily as he walked towards the sleeping quarters.
"Ron-sama, you…you, you, you…" She was so shy that she buried her face in Ron's shoulder, her earlobes red enough to drip blood.
"What me, me, me," Ron chuckled softly, his voice filled with unprecedented tenderness and playfulness. "Today I'll teach you the essential lesson of becoming a woman."
He kicked open the carved door of the sleeping quarters, and the glow of the sunset cast spotted shadows on the floor through the thin curtains.
"Ron-sama, I..."
Hancock shyly held his shirt, but then she heard Ron whisper in her ear. "Don't call me Ron-sama anymore. From now on, just call me Ron."
"...Mm-hmm."
The sea breeze gently moved the wind chimes by the window, their tinkling sounds mixing with the distant ocean waves.
The maids had long since quietly moved to the farthest reaches of the palace, leaving only the garden full of roses quietly blooming in the twilight.
....
On Winter Island, where cold winds howled, mountains of thrown away metal gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Wapol pulled his worn fur coat tighter, squatting by a garbage heap, his rough fingers tightly holding his phone. On the screen, the comments in Queen's live stream were still scrolling wildly.
"It's really him…it's really Plague Queen…" Wapol muttered to himself, his lips shaking uncontrollably from excitement.