Seeing her older sister return in low spirits, and Saeko still not back, Haruno guessed what had happened.
She wanted to comfort her, but recalling how smug Haruno had looked when she left, Yukino couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Yukino!"
Haruno snapped.
"S-sorry, sister."
Yukino waved her hands frantically, but her face was a picture of barely suppressed amusent.
She couldn't help it. The contrast between Haruno's earlier bravado and her current defeat was just too funny.
"Mm... mm... ah... why... why didn't he want ..."
In the middle of the night, Yukino was woken by her sister's sleep-talking.
Watching Haruno writhing around like a grub, Yukino felt her soul leave her body.
Seriously, even if you failed, do you have to squirm like that right next to ?
The sounds her sister was making made Yukino increasingly irritated.
...
The next morning, the broadcast crackled with Erina's voice, calling everyone to the dining hall for breakfast.
The cooking duties aboard the ship were now split: mornings handled by Erina and Hisako Arato, evenings by Alice, and lunch alternated between the two cousins.
As for why Erina covered mornings and Alice covered evenings?
Alice had proposed it herself.
She'd gone straight to her cousin and pointed out that Erina wasn't having sex anyway, so she'd be up early. Might as well handle breakfast.
Erina had nearly torn her cousin apart on the spot.
Fortunately, the various wives who'd also been dragged into this world, Mafuyu Kirisu and Senzaemon's wife Leonora, had rushed in and pulled the two apart.
Even Mafuyu and Leonora, the two mothers, were a little annoyed at Alice's words.
No sex life? Wasn't that dragging them into it too?
Alice remained utterly oblivious to the fact that she'd offended yet another batch of people, including her own mother.
...
After breakfast, Yu Ishigami reported to Makoto. "Sir, this ship is too small. We can't do our daily training with this many people cramd on board."
Everyone under Makoto's command had training regins.
After losing to Roger yesterday, Yu was especially motivated. That humiliation will never happen a second ti.
But when he woke up this morning, the deck was packed with people. No room to train at all.
Utaha chid in. "I need a private study too. I can't write otherwise."
The others echoed the sentint.
Naturally, the ones bold enough to speak up were the won who'd been intimate with Makoto, or at the very least soone like Leonora, who was practically a mother-in-law.
Girls like Moeha Fujiwara, whose relationship hadn't reached that stage yet, wanted their own rooms too. Teenage girls needed their privacy, after all.
But they didn't have the standing to ask.
Soone like Miyuki Shirogane? Forget about it.
Makoto saw the logic.
At minimum, they needed a ship as big as Whitebeard's Moby Dick.
If he had Shiki's Float-Float Fruit powers, it'd be even easier. He could just grab an entire island and settle down on it.
While Makoto was mulling this over, Comil's Den Den Mushi started ringing.
Everyone fell silent as Makoto pressed the button on the snail's back.
The Den Den Mushi's eyes snapped open, morphing into Kong's stern features.
"I've relayed your demands to the World Governnt."
"And?"
"They agreed. Marine Rokushiki training manuals, the Mag-Mag Fruit, and the Shodai Kitetsu in exchange for Roger and Rayleigh. The handoff will take place at Marineford."
Makoto smiled. "I'm not interested in any rundown Marine base. Let's do it at the Sabaody Archipelago instead."
Kong blinked, then nodded. "That works."
Then Kong noticed the Den Den Mushi's expression shifting into Makoto's smirk, and asked, "You're not planning to set up an ambush at the exchange point, are you?"
Kong's expression darkened as he forced his voice to stay steady. "Why would you think that? You're overthinking it."
Damn it, he actually guessed it.
Handing over a beloved personal blade to the Five Elders? How could there not be a trap?
The Den Den Mushi's lips curled as it relayed Makoto's words. "I could send all you garbage and lapdogs to the afterlife whenever I please. I don't mind taking my ti playing with you, but if you actively seek death, I'm happy to oblige early."
Kong's face went dark.
This brat was too arrogant. He beat Roger and thinks he's invincible? Who does he think he is? Rocks?
Even Rocks wouldn't dare talk like that.
Before Kong could respond, Makoto continued. "Alright then. Let's et at the Sabaody Archipelago in one month. Feel free to bring as many reinforcents as you like. It'd be a sha if there weren't enough to kill."
Click!
The Den Den Mushi let out a strange chirp and shut its eyes, signaling the call had ended.
Kong stared at the sleeping snail, unable to snap out of his daze.
He was debating whether to petition the Five Elders to abort the operation entirely.
The things Makoto had pulled off at Malad Island through Shakky, Kong had already heard about.
At the ti, he'd figured Makoto's strength was roughly on par with Roger's crew, maybe slightly stronger at best.
But after that phone call, Kong's assessnt had changed completely. The way Makoto spoke wasn't bluster. He genuinely wasn't afraid of a Marine or Governnt ambush.
What should he do...
"Makoto, will the Marines set a trap for us?"
Yotsuba asked curiously.
"At the very least, the World Governnt will. You think the Five Elders would hand over their personal blades that easily? They'll definitely use them as bait."
Makoto stretched as he spoke.
The mont Kong agreed to give up the Shodai Kitetsu, Makoto knew sothing was off.
Given the World Governnt's resources, finding another Supre Grade sword wouldn't be difficult. But this wasn't about a sword. It was about face.
"This World Governnt seems a bit underhanded," Yukino murmured.
The Kuja Pirates nearby couldn't help but smirk at that.
A bit?
Sure, their daily expenses were funded by piracy, but compared to the World Governnt, they were practically saints.
The Libido Devil blinked. "So, boss, what should we..."
Makoto stood and announced, "Comrades, I've got Roger's crew in hand and a deal with the World Governnt lined up next month."
He tugged at his collar, rolling his neck. "But here's the problem. The World Governnt wants to screw over, so naturally I can't let that slide. But I also can't just hand over Roger's crew. What to do?"
Everyone fell into thought.
It was a tricky situation.
The original plan was to trade Roger's crew to the World Governnt for the goods.
Now that the Governnt was clearly setting a trap, handing over the prisoners was off the table.
But releasing Roger's crew was equally unacceptable. That would be letting them off too easy.
A deadlock.
"So what should we do?"
Makoto prompted with a smile.
Yu scratched his head and pointed at Fuutarou Uesugi, who was leaning on his crutch and clearing dishes. "Him!"
"Huh? ?"
Fuutarou was dumbfounded. He scratched his head. "I, I didn't say anything..."
Smack!
Yu slapped Fuutarou clean across the room. "No als for you from now on. Eat shit!"
"Ah!"
Beam pointed at Miyuki Shirogane. "Him!"
Miyuki, who'd been wiping down a table, froze. Wait, what does this have to do with ?
"W-well... I, I think we could send a small team ashore first, pretending to make the trade, while keeping our main force outside the island. When they ambush us, the outer force swoops in. We ambush their ambush!"
Miyuki's brain went into overdrive.
"Idiot! You think the Marines are blind?"
Beam, imitating Yu, slapped Miyuki upside the head.
Kei Shirogane imdiately looked at Makoto with teary eyes.
Makoto made a gesture, and Beam quickly backed off.
Hachiman chid in. "U-um, we could use Shadow Clones plus the Transformation Jutsu to easily fool them. Then we spring a trap of our own, wipe out every last World Governnt and Roger Pirates mber!"
Hachiman and Miyuki were on decent terms.
Beam and the others perked up. "Now that's a solid plan."
"Alright, alright."
Makoto waved them off. "No need to overcomplicate things. Bottom line: we take the goods, and when the ti cos, we kill every World Governnt and Marine operative on the scene. As for Roger's crew, we box them up and ship them to Impel Down. Can't just let them go. That'd make yesterday's work a complete waste."
"Ohhh! As expected of you, sir!"
Yu and the others cheered wildly.
Fuutarou, clutching his swollen face, was practically in tears. Wasn't he just going to brute-force everything? Why did he even ask...
...
When Gloriosa and Shakky learned that the World Governnt planned to double-cross Makoto, they'd felt a flicker of hope. After all, the Governnt's betrayal ant the deal was off.
But to their dismay, Makoto had no intention of releasing Roger's crew regardless.
In Makoto's eyes, both sides were trash.
Being at odds with the World Governnt didn't make him friends with Roger's crew.
That afternoon, in the Kuja Pirates' quarters.
Gloriosa and Shakky, captain and vice-captain of the Kuja Pirates, sat together discussing their options.
"Lady Gloriosa, isn't there anything we can do?"
Shakky asked.
"What can we do? One wrong move and the entire Kuja tribe gets dragged into this."
Gloriosa, who had feelings for Roger, naturally wanted to help. But she cared about the Kuja more than Roger.
Damn it, Makoto doesn't even fear the World Governnt. What could we possibly do?
And that's not even counting Nayuta, who's just as terrifying as Makoto himself.
Shakky thought it over. "What if we wait until Rayleigh is locked up in Impel Down, then break him out?"
If there was one silver lining, it was that Makoto didn't plan to slaughter Roger's crew outright.
He intended to dump them in the underwater prison. It wasn't a great fate, but at least they'd stay alive. A slim chance was better than none.
She could wait until Roger was imprisoned, then raid Impel Down.
Gloriosa stared at her junior in disbelief.
The empresses of the Kuja had always been hopeless romantics, but Shakky was on another level entirely.
Impel Down is a public restroom to you?
Just waltz in and out?
Breaking into a prison? The Kuja Pirates didn't have that kind of power.
Unless soone on the level of Rocks, or at least Whitebeard, was willing to help, there was no way the Kuja could pull off a prison break.
Gloriosa thought Shakky's idea was terrible, but Shakky saw an opening. At the very least, this approach wouldn't antagonize Makoto.
Shakky said, "I think I can convince Makoto to keep Rayleigh behind. Once Roger is imprisoned, Rayleigh and I can break him out together. Better odds, no?"
Shakky figured heavyweights like Rocks or Newgate were extrely unlikely to help with sothing like this. The only option was Roger's own crew.
If she could persuade Makoto to release one of the Big Three, their chances would improve significantly.
Gloriosa was speechless. So after all that, you're just trying to save your boyfriend?
Why would Makoto release anyone specifically for you?
You want Rayleigh kept behind, not Roger. Well, Roger was the captain, so releasing him was a non-starter anyway.
"Let go talk to him at least."
Shakky was a woman of action. She got up and headed straight for Makoto's office.
"Hey! Don't do anything rash!"
...
It was afternoon. Makoto's wives were all busy with their own things.
Utaha was writing her novel. Yotsuba was training combat techniques with Ran. The other girls were flipping through Devil Fruit encyclopedias, or listening to Kuja pirates explain the basics of Haki.
After all, they had lives beyond Makoto. They couldn't spend every waking hour in bed.
Even so, there was one girl in Makoto's office right now: Tritoma.
And she wasn't there for anything innocent.
"A more advanced form of Armant Haki can strike opponents without making contact, damaging them internally. I've heard that in the Wano Country, this high-level Armant is called Ryuo."
Tritoma, who'd taught Makoto the basics of Armant Haki, was now explaining the higher-level training thods.
She hadn't actually mastered the technique herself, just knew the theory. She was sharing the principles with Makoto, nothing more.
Makoto chuckled. "So you're saying even if I don't go in, I can still poke through from a distance?"
After all, the defining feature of Ryuo was attacking without contact.
Remote poking should be feasible too, right?
Tritoma's face went beet red. "Lord Makoto, what are you saying?!"
Even as she protested, Tritoma was getting worked up.
There were two stages in a woman's life when her desires were strongest: the legendary thirty-like-a-wolf, forty-like-a-tiger, fifty-sucks-the-earth phase, and the other was right after her first ti, when the novelty made it impossible to resist.
Tritoma fell squarely into the latter category.
She bit her lip and pressed herself against Makoto, only to hear a knock at the door behind her.
"Lord Makoto, may we intrude?"
"It's, um, we have sothing to discuss."
"Lady Gloriosa. Lady Shakky."
Hearing the voices of her captain and vice-captain, Tritoma panicked, unsure what to do.
Makoto pressed down on her head and pushed her under the desk.
"Co in."
Click.
Zzzzp.
Along with the sound of the door opening ca the distinct sound of a zipper being pulled down.
Makoto pressed down again, then addressed the two Kuja empresses walking in side by side. "What is it?"
Shakky was about to speak when Gloriosa cut in first. "Lord Makoto, you don't actually intend to exterminate Roger's crew, do you?"
Makoto blinked. "So what if I don't?"
Truth be told, he wasn't planning to kill Roger. At least not yet.
If Roger died, the Great Pirate Era might never begin.
So Makoto's current stance on Roger was: play with him all you want, but try not to play him to death.
Gloriosa pressed on. "I don't an to ddle in your affairs, my lord, but would you consider releasing one of Roger, Rayleigh, or Gaban? We plan to break them out of Impel Down after you're done with them."
Shakky stared at her senior in shock. Wait, you just ca right out and said it?
But Gloriosa figured this was the optimal play. Scheming against soone vastly more powerful was pointless. Better to be straightforward from the start. Maybe he'd take pity and throw them a bone.
And it worked.
"A prison break, huh?"
Makoto couldn't help but laugh.
Honestly, he'd already decided to make enemies of the Marines and the World Governnt.
He didn't have to hand over a single mber of Roger's crew. But he couldn't just release them either. That would render the whole capture pointless.
So tossing them into Impel Down seed like the cleanest solution.
He hadn't expected Shakky to attempt a prison break, though. That was interesting.
But the Kuja Pirates lacked the strength to pull it off, which was likely why Shakky was here, begging Makoto to at least release one of the Big Three.
"And why should I agree?"
Makoto said with a smile.
Shakky hesitated for a long ti. "I, I can help..."
Knock knock knock.
"Sir, may I..."
At that mont, Yu's voice rang out from behind the door.
Shakky and Gloriosa jumped.
They absolutely could not let Yu find out what they were doing. In so ways, Yu was even more terrifying than Makoto and Nayuta combined.
As Shakky and Gloriosa looked around frantically for a hiding spot, Makoto waved them over, then grabbed them both and shoved them down.
Under the desk, three generations of Amazon Lily empresses stared at each other.
After a long mont of stunned silence, Tritoma looked at her two superiors and generously offered to share.
"Would, would you two like so as well?"
Feeling the pressure from three directions, Makoto's breathing shifted slightly.
Well damn. Sharing a al, are we, ladies?
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