Cudius sighed in frustration. As much as he wao visit Little Garden to capture some dinosaurs, an urgent summons from Mariejois left him no choice but to abandon his pns. Occasionally, he couldn't help but think about how easy life would be if he were just a typical, pampered Celestial Dragon, living idly without a care in the world.

  But, of course, that was just a fleeting thought. He couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of it. The reality was that an order was an order, and he had no iion of testing the limits of the higher-ups' patience.

  Rushing baariejois, Cudius didn't want to risk arriving te. After all, many iial figures would be present. It wouldn't do to appear disrespectful by showing up st, as though he thought himself above everyone else.

  When the ship docked at the port, Hancock, still pouting, voiced her displeasure. "I thought we'd have more time to enjoy ourselves. We didn't eveo see any dinosaurs! And now we're heading back to the cage?"

  Cudius g the young Hancock, her face still carrying traces of childhood innoce despite her growiy. Amused, he replied, "In this world, once you step into the fray, you don't get to make all your own choices. Work hard and grow strong, and maybe one day you'll be able to live as freely as Enel."

  That's right Enel had stayed behind in Abasta, eager to learn from Crocodile. His goal? To uand what it meant to be a great pirate.

  The thought made Cudius ugh to himself. Was there really a o seek guidan how to bee a pirate? Still, it wasirely surprising. Crocodile had pyed something of a mentor role for Enel, even teag him the finer points of fishing. So, for now, Enel inteo study under Crocodile before setting out on his own.

  As for Hancock, her retionship with Cudius had improved during this trip. Though she was still somewhat guarded, she had grown to aowledge that Cudius wasn't like the other Celestial Dragons she had entered.

  However, her defiance hadirely faded. Hearing Cudius' words, Hancock scoffed, "I won't let myself bee one of your pawns like Enel."

  "'Pawn'?" Cudius echoed, knog lightly on her head with his knuckles. "Don't talk about him like that. Enel isn't a pawn, he's one of my precious subordinates. And who knows? Maybe you will be, too, one day."

  Hancock swatted Cudius' hand away. "Don't t on it. I'm the heir to Amazon Lily's throne. I'll bee the empress of the Kuja Tribe. I'm not one of your subordinates."

  "Is that so?" Cudius teased with a grin. "I thought I was quite generous to my subordinates. If you joined me, perhaps Amazon Lily would thrive like never before. But, never mind you 't force these things, you?"

  Hancock froze for a moment, then g Cudius. She wao retort but hesitated, feeling trapped by her own earlier defiance.

  She couldn't deny the truth in his words. Cudius wielded wealth, influence, and es that could undoubtedly be Amazon Lily. If she were willing to lower her pride a little, she could potentially secure immense advantages for her people.

  "Should I really lower my head for the sake of Amazon Lily?" Hancock wondered silently, flicted.

  But Cudius paid her no further attention. As the ship docked, he disembarked quickly. Not far away, he spotted a warship, and to his surprise, Sengoku was stepping off it.

  Cudius decided to put the Hancock situation aside for now. After all, the duck was already in his grasp. It wouldn't fly away so easily.

  As Sengoku approached, Cudius waited, greeting him with a smile.

  "Yhness, what a ce! I didn't expect to run into you here at the port," Sengoku said, his tone warm and cordial.

  "Indeed," Cudius replied with a smile. "I rushed back as quickly as I could and managed not to be te."

  Despite the fact that Sengoku had pnted an undercent in Dofmingo's operation, Cudius bore him no personal grudge. He uood that Sengoku had been forced into a difficult position. There was o hold it against him.

  The two exged casual pleasantries as they walked. Soon, a few other Marine officials joihem, and the group headed to the Wover's headquarters in Mariejois.

  Without even stopping by his residence, Cudius went straight to the familiar feren. The room was already filled with figures from both the Marine and CP agencies. Cudius took his seat, with Sengoku sittio him.

  Looking around, Cudius noticed that the Five Elders had yet to arrive. Figuring it would take some time before the meeting begauro Sengoku and asked, "So, what's the rush this time? Why the urgent summons?"

  "What else could it be?" Sengoku said with a bitter smile. "Yhness, you must have heard about it. Whitebeard—Edward e—has more influen the New World than our Wover. His fg alone offers more security than the franchise agreements of the Wover."

  Cudius chuckled lightly. "Isn't that old news? Everyone knows the Wover's trol over the New World is weak. It's ."

  "It's true that this has always been the case," Sengoku admitted. "But until retly, it was a quieter reality, hidden from the public eye. Now, with the rumors about a so-called 'Pirate Emperor,' Whitebeard's dominance has been thrust into the spotlight. It's being a matter of public perception, and that's bad for the Wover's image."

  Cudius smirked and teased, "Well, it sounds like the Marines are about to take the brunt of the criticism for this. Pirates are your jurisdi, after all. I'm sure the CP agents will have a field day mog you."

  Sengoku sighed, his expression bitter. "As if I don't already know that. Yhness, you'll o speak up for us ter."

  Cudius burst out ughing. "Oh, no, no—I wouldn't dare cross those five old men. You'll have to fend for yourself, Sengoku. Good luck."

  Shaking his head, Sengoku sighed again. He knew Cudius was only teasing. Regardless, he couldn't escape the iable scolding from the Five Elders.

  After a moment, Cudius raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you have any crete termeasures in mind?"

  "Against the Wover ainst Whitebeard?" Sengoku replied with a wry smile.

  Before Cudius could answer, Sengoku tinued, "For the Wover? The only 'termeasure' we have is to keep pretending to be humble. What else we do? Refuse their funding?"

  Cudius ughed again, finding Sengoku's hoy amusing. Beh his serious exterior, Sengoku clearly had a sharp sense of humor.

  "We're used to being scolded, beaten down, and then being the oo up the mess. It's just how it is," Sengoku said. "As for Whitebeard…" He trailed off, his expression growing serious.

  After a brief pause, he shook his head. "There's not much we do. The tide has already turned. If we're being ho, this all traces back ter and his parting words before his execution. That bastard…"

  Cudius nodded in agreement. Wither, there would have been no Great Pirate Era. The Marines' carefully id pns to suppress piracy had been thrown into chaos, and now they were struggling just to maintain bance.

  The inal Marirategy had been straightforward: eliminate Roger and his poraries to strike fear into the hearts of pirates everywhere. With that fear, they'd up the remaining majures like e, Kaido, and Linlin.

  But Roger's decration of the One Piece had turhe seas into a chaotic free-for-all, rendering those pns irrelevant. Now, the Marines were just trying to hold the line.

  "It really is a tough situation for you," Cudius said sympathetically, shaking his head.

  ***

  Support me on patreon to read 45+ advanced chapters: patreon./Blownleaves.