"Whew—"
After settling onto the sofa, iser let out a long sigh and said, "Ah, it really does feel good to be ho!!"
To avoid being spotted during the journey, he had rarely erged from the mouth of the Hippopotamus Sea Kings—an experience that had been far from pleasant.
Granny Nyon, who was holding rry as she sat on the sofa, glanced at iser 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 iser to get so proper rest.
"No need," iser waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not that tired."
It wasn't as if he had rushed back imdiately after the battle, so he wasn't completely exhausted.
Seeing iser'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 Governnt's pursuit?"
"Faked my death."
"Faked your death?"
Granny Nyon was taken aback. iser had the ability to fake his death?
"Mm." iser nodded. "I made the World Governnt 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 Governnt."
Granny Nyon fell silent for a mont 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 consu the "corpse"—even if the World Governnt suspected iser 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.
iser didn't answer imdiately. 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 iser was about to say might involve the Celestial Dragons, so she had dismissed everyone else when they entered.
iser nodded and said, "It's nothing much. Just acquired so 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," iser 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 iser's words, Hancock's eyes instantly welled up with emotion.
Eventually, tears began to glisten in them.
"Thank you, iser..."
iser smiled gently and replied, "There's no need for formalities between us."
Feeling the warmth in iser's voice, Hancock's eyes brimd with even deeper gratitude.
With a soft chuckle, iser 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 stread down her face uncontrollably. She then threw her arms around iser and cried, "I love it!"
"This is the best gift I've ever received!"
iser smiled and patted her back gently. "I'm glad you like it."
"Mm!"
Watching the two embrace, Marigold and her sister also had tears shimring 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 sha I never got to experience it in my lifeti.
With a quiet sigh, she shook her head to dispel her thoughts and spoke up. "iser, 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 mont. "iser, you—"
"Don't worry, the papers were sent out," iser reassured. "They were published the morning after the incident."
Hancock let out a relieved breath. As long as the news had spread, iser's goal would be achieved.
iser 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 co to the Calm Belt, so most of the ti, our Kuja Pirates have to buy them outside and bring them back."
"I see..." iser frowned. "That's troubleso."
If that were the case, staying updated on outside events over the next two years wouldn't be easy.
After a mont 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 ti, iser simply nodded without further comnt.
"Thankfully, you faked your death to deceive the World Governnt—otherwise, those bastards would never let this go!" Granny Nyon remarked.
Not only had he done the sa thing as Fisher Tiger, but he had also killed seven Celestial Dragons afterward... To the World Governnt, such a man was nothing short of a heinous criminal!
There was no way they would ever let soone like him walk free!
Fortunately, in the eyes of the World Governnt, iser 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," iser nodded.
Otherwise... the crazed World Governnt 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 so ships were docked," iser 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."
iser 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, iser chuckled. "The Celestial Dragons were already dead before I freed the slaves."
He didn't know how many high-level fighters the World Governnt 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," iser said.
"Then what?"
Granny Nyon was puzzled. If not for those reasons, then why?
"To make my fake death seem more convincing, of course," iser 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 iser? How could those Celestial Dragon scum possess it?
They don't deserve it!
"To be precise, it's Super Regeneration with an undying trait," iser corrected.
Hancock froze for a mont before falling into deep thought.
anwhile, rry spoke up, "Is there any difference?"
"Of course there is," iser said. "My Undying Body instantly revives my body, so I don't have to worry about soone taking advantage during that mont."
"But those guys are different."
Recalling the God's Knights' Super Regeneration, iser continued, "Their Super Regeneration rapidly heals damaged bodies. Even if it's fast, there's still a chance for soone 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!
Rembering how furious she was after being sealed, iser 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 sowhere before?
"You probably saw it at God Valley," iser said.
"God Valley?"
Granny Nyon froze for a mont before her expression cleared with sudden realization. "Now I rember! That Shiki guy did ntion sothing about encountering an unkillable opponent when he left."
So they had already encountered mbers of the God's Knights back then.
"Is there really no way to counter their Undying Body?" Sandersonia asked.
"Not that I know of," iser 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 sothing," 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," iser 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?" rry said.
"Exactly."
iser 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 Governnt that he had genuinely been "killed" by them, allowing him to finally relax.
"Only you could co up with sothing like that," Granny Nyon sighed in admiration.
Truly, no one else would think of such a thod.
"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 ti he returned, so... surely this was it!
Marigold also looked up at this mont, her eyes shining with anticipation, clearly waiting for iser's gifts.
"Oh, that?" iser 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 iser had used before, Sandersonia nodded before asking, "Then what's in this bag?"
"This? It's full of Devil Fruits!!"
iser 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 iser, then at the box on the table, and said, "Don't tell you robbed a Celestial Dragon?!"
She recalled iser'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," iser 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," iser explained. "They were: Zoan-Bug-Bug Fruit: Mantis Form, Zoan-Pig-Pig Fruit: Boar Form, and Paracia-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..."
iser 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 iser's hand and asked, "What ability is this?"
"Logia type—Cloud-Cloud Fruit!"
"What?!"
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