Azure Dragon

"Is this the new ship those people built? It looks pretty good."

A small vessel about the same size as the Going Merry floated on the sea. However, its prow bore a dragon-head sculpture, giving it a rather imposing appearance.

During the battle at Holy Land Mary Geoise, Yota had not only used up one of his lives, but had also smashed the warship he had seized from Zephyr to pieces. Naturally, he needed a new ship.

Fortunately, there were quite a few skilled shipwrights among the Celestial Dragons’ slaves. Although the lack of factories and the harsh conditions made it impossible for even the cleverest woman to cook without rice, preventing them from building a truly large ship, constructing a smaller vessel like the Going Merry was no problem.

Moreover, Yota had Dark Space for storing items, and he only had a few subordinates. A small ship like this was more than enough for him.

"We can finally leave. I’m getting sick of staying on this deserted island." Charlotte Pudding stretched and spoke.

Kyros asked worriedly, "Will the slaves be all right staying here?"

"Anyway, I don’t have time to send them home one by one, and who knows what they might face after they return?" Yota rolled his eyes. Helping out now and then, lending a hand to free these slaves, was no issue. But if he had to personally escort these ten thousand-plus people from all corners of the world back home, Yota truly would not be able to handle it.

"At worst, if we run into the Revolutionary Army or some other force resisting the World Government in the future, we can tell them about this. I’m sure plenty of these Celestial Dragons’ slaves would be willing to join the Revolutionary Army."

"That’s all we can do," Kyros sighed.

Violet reassured him, "Brother-in-law, you don’t need to worry so much. These Celestial Dragons’ slaves all have their own skills, and they aren’t weak either. This is only the first half of the Grand Line. With their strength, they won’t have any problems staying here."

That was true. Although there were practically no pirates with bounties over a hundred million among the Celestial Dragons’ slaves, pirates with bounties in the tens of millions were everywhere. Taken together, this group’s strength was no less than that of many nations.

Ever since Yota had rescued these slaves, Violet’s opinion of him had changed considerably. She had initially joined him only because she had no choice, but now she was starting to truly accept him.

In truth, the people under Yota could only be considered ordinary companions, nowhere near the level of Ace and Yamato. At first, only Charlotte Pudding had been somewhat close to him; the rest regarded him much as ordinary subordinates regarded their boss.

However, this operation had clearly changed the opinions of upright people like Violet and Kyros. Violet in particular had frequently been using the Glint-Glint Fruit’s ability to observe the seas and provide intelligence lately, rather than merely following orders as she had before.

"All right, mark down this location first. If we get the chance later, we’ll come back and deal with it," Yota said to his subordinates. "Now, it’s time for us to begin a new journey."

"Where are we going next?" Charlotte Pudding asked excitedly. "Also, Captain. Even if we’re still considered part of the Whitebeard Pirates and can’t use a new name yet, we should at least give our ship a resounding name."

"This is a new ship, after all. It’s different from that Marine warship we captured before."

Yota frowned slightly, then said, "In that case, let’s call it the Azure Dragon."

"What a perfunctory name… Captain, you change Devil Fruits all the time, so it doesn’t represent you at all! You really didn’t put any thought into it!"

"How is that not thoughtful? When the heavens are clear as water, the flying dragon rises to the sky—Azure Dragon is a very noble name!" Yota said, rolling his eyes. Although he had indeed come up with the name on the spot, no one in the Pirate World could outmatch him when it came to twisting words.

As for "when the heavens are clear as water, the flying dragon rises to the sky," it seemed to be something about a mysterious organization from some martial arts novel. In any case, Charlotte Pudding did not really understand it, only feeling that it sounded impressively profound.

Thus, the name was settled. The group boarded the Azure Dragon and began their new journey.

"First, we need to determine our location. Without a Log Pose, we can only rely on you, Violet. Can you see where the nearest ship is?"

As soon as the Azure Dragon set sail, Yota turned to Violet and asked.

"The closest ship should be a pirate ship. But beside them, there’s a vast sea covered in shadow. That should be the legendary Florian Triangle, right? And that sea is chasing after the pirate ship!"

Violet answered immediately.

"The Florian Triangle? It can move around and chase people?" Charlotte Pudding’s heart trembled. She pressed herself against Yota and said, "I think I’ve heard about it before. They say it’s a death sea where anyone who enters can never get back out!"

"What death sea?" Ulti glanced disdainfully at Charlotte Pudding. "Three-Eyes, did you get scared stupid? As far as I know, that’s the territory of Kaido’s defeated underling, Gecko Moria, the guy who plays with shadows!"

"A pirate too scared to even set foot in the New World—if you’re afraid of someone like that, you might as well go home and nurse!"

"You stubborn idiot, what did you say?"

"I said go home and nurse, Three-Eyes!"

"Here they go again!" Yota sighed, then turned to Page One. "Page One, take the helm! Violet, guide us. Head straight for the Florian Triangle!"

"I’m going back to rest for a while. When you spot either the pirate ship or the Florian Triangle, come notify me!"

With that, Yota turned and headed back into the cabin.

Seeing Yota leave, Charlotte Pudding and Ulti glared at each other and snorted twice before parting ways.

Under Violet’s guidance, Page One began steering toward the Florian Triangle.

Yota claimed that he was returning to the cabin to rest, but with the Electronic Chip regulating his body, he only needed two hours of sleep every day to fully recover his energy.

So naturally, he was not resting in the cabin during this time. He was carrying out his Devil Fruit fusion plan.

However, even now, Yota still had quite a few unresolved issues with Devil Fruit fusion. By his estimate, it would take another year or two before he could fuse Devil Fruits. Only then would his Munch-Munch Fruit and Dark-Dark Fruit be able to awaken.