News of the Marines returning to the Kingdom of Magiatsuka spread throughout the land that very same day.
Just when everyone thought the Dream Exploration Group might clash with the Marines—when people were getting worried—Queen Angela quickly stepped forward to explain things to the citizens.
She clearly stated that the Marines were only there to guard against the threats from the New World pirates and had no authority to interfere with domestic matters.
This calmed the people down a bit, but many still remained cautious.
After all, the Kingdom of Magiatsuka was now under the protection of the Dream Exploration Group, and the relationship between them and the Marines was complicated. Even the smallest issue could spark a major conflict.
That night, the rest of the Dream Team returned.
"So tired! Ryuen, guess what? We had so much great food in the other cities today~" As soon as she got back, Daisy flopped down onto the couch.
The others also sat down to rest. Some were on the couch, some just lay on the floor—no one cared about looking proper anymore.
"You didn’t bring anything back for us?" Ryuen glanced at Daisy, who was now showing her pale belly.
"Of course it’s with Nami." Daisy rolled her eyes at him.
Nami casually pushed her hand to the side, opening a space portal. "It’s all in there. Help yourselves."
In an instant, Reina, who had just been lying on the floor, dashed inside. Sugar quickly followed. "Reina, didn’t you already eat...?"
At that moment, a door in the suite opened, and Sugar’s older sister, Monet, walked out.
Seeing her, everyone who had been lying around quickly got up. All eyes were now on Monet.
"So she’s Sugar’s sister—Miss Monet. She’s agreed to help us manage Sky Island," Ryuen introduced her to the group.
"Nice to meet you all~"
"From now on, I’m one of you too—a member of the Dream Exploration Group. Also, thank you for taking care of Sugar all this time." Monet smiled warmly as she walked into the group.
As she stepped into the room, everyone could feel the air suddenly turn cooler. Just a moment ago, it had felt a bit hot—now it was perfectly comfortable.
"So you’re Sugar’s big sister, Monet! You’ve got such a great figure!"
"No need to be so polite, we’re all one big family now..."
"Welcome to the team, Monet!"
For a moment, everyone was warmly welcoming Monet. At that time, Reina and Sugar came out carrying piles of food.
And just like that, the welcome party began!
"Ryuen, today Angela asked Liv to talk to me—when is that plan of yours actually going to start?" Robin asked, setting down her drink and looking at Ryuen.
"It’ll take at least a couple more days."
"Let Smoker get used to the vibe here first. Otherwise, he might not be able to wrap his head around what’s going on," Ryuen replied after thinking for a bit.
"Even if he can’t, it’s not a big deal."
"Angela told us herself—this time she picked a bunch of criminals, but they’re all willing to do anything for the Kingdom of Magiatsuka," Nojiko said calmly.
"Angela’s pretty smart," Ryuen said casually, then went back to enjoying the food.
Monet, who didn’t know what was going on, looked confused. Seeing that, Sugar leaned in and explained the whole plan behind their Dream Exploration Group.
"You guys actually..." Monet was totally shocked.
This Dream Exploration Group plan—they were basically going out of their way to provoke the World Government, and not in a small way either!
"There’ll definitely be more things later, so you’d better get used to it soon," Sugar said calmly.
You could tell that after traveling with the Dream Exploration Group for a while, she’d gotten a lot bolder. Provoking the World Government? They’d done that so many times already.
They even fought with the Marine Fleet Admiral!
"M-More things ...?" Monet stammered.
She knew just how terrifying the World Government—and more importantly, the Celestial Dragons—could be. Her former young master had once been one of them.
Seeing the look on Monet’s face, no one really found it strange.
Especially Nami and the others—after following Ryuen for so long, they had completely lost their fear of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
Even in the New World, the Four Emperors still had to think twice before going against the Celestial Dragons.
But this group didn’t think like that at all.
Celestial Dragons? They’d already taken out a few back at Sabaody Archipelago. Those guys were just people—not some kind of creators!
It’s just that over the past 800 years, the World Government had built up so many resources that powerful people just kept popping up among the Celestial Dragons.
Monet had just joined the Dream Exploration Group, so it was totally normal for her to react . She’d get used to it with time.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
These past three days had been peaceful on the surface, but under that calm, something seemed to be quietly stirring.
The sun still shone down warmly like always, and the breeze rustled gently through the treetops.
In the port city, people moved busily through the streets and alleys, going about their normal, fulfilling lives.
But for some people, these three days were anything but ordinary—they were filled with nervousness and anticipation...
All of a sudden, four pirate ships with skull flags appeared, heading straight toward the harbor!
"The pirates are here!"
"Everyone, stay calm! The Dream Investigation Group is still here, and the Marines are still here too!"
"They wouldn’t dare mess with our country!"
At the Marine base, the moment they heard there were pirates, loud sirens went off all over.
Every Marine at the base grabbed their weapons and quickly rushed out in formation. Leading them were Smoker and Tashigi!
"We can’t let pirates land here and rob the place! If that bastard Ryuen hears about it, he’ll never let me live it down!" Smoker shouted in anger.
"Rear Admiral Smoker!"
Suddenly, all the Marines moved much faster.
Smoker himself turned into smoke and sped toward the harbor.
Meanwhile, at the harbor—
Everyone finally got a clear look at the people on the pirate ships, and for a moment, it was like their face-blindness vanished.
"Wh-what the hell?! It’s you guys?!"
"You’ve been gone all this time... and you became pirates?!"
"So it was you all along!"
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