The Protheus continued to glide smoothly through the deep sea as Claudius chatted casually with the girls around him. At that mont Nia approached with a Den Den Mushi in hand, saying, "Your Highness, it's Enel."
"Oh? The Thunder Lord?" Claudius asked with a chuckle.
Nia smiled as well, handing him the Den Den Mushi. "Yes, it's our very own Thunder Lord."
Taking the receiver, Claudius smiled as he greeted, "Enel, is that you? How are things lately? I hear you're going by the na 'Thunder Lord' now."
The voice on the other end of the line practically buzzed with excitent. "Your Highness! Are you paying attention to ? I'm so happy!"
Claudius couldn't help but laugh at Enel's enthusiasm. The guy really was like a loyal little puppy—eager to please, ecstatic at even the smallest bit of praise. Compared to Crocodile, who always acted like a stubborn, arrogant tsundere, Enel was oddly refreshing.
"Hahaha, of course, I'm paying attention. You're my favorite subordinate, after all," Claudius said, lying through his teeth without the slightest hesitation.
Truthfully, he hadn't been keeping track of Enel's pirate activities until Sengoku Admiral had casually ntioned them a few days ago. But hearing the excitent in Enel's voice, Claudius resolved to give him a bit more attention in the future.
"Your Highness, guess where I am right now!" Enel said, his excitent mounting.
Claudius tilted his head, trying to piece it together. Based on his earlier conversations with Sengoku, he had a rough idea of where Enel might be. "Let guess... You're near Water 7? Or maybe you've taken one of the other routes?"
"Wrong, Your Highness! You'll never guess it! Hahaha!" Enel replied gleefully.
Claudius raised an eyebrow. "Alright then, where are you?"
"I'm in the White Sea!" Enel declared.
For a mont, Claudius was stunned. The White Sea? How in the world had Enel ended up back in the sky?
"The White Sea? How did you end up there?" Claudius asked, now genuinely curious.
"Well, it's like this—I was originally heading toward Water 7 along the Alabasta route. But then I stopped at Jaya Island. Have you heard of Jaya Island, Your Highness?" Enel asked, his voice brimming with excitent.
"Of course. That's the starting point for the Sky Island route, with the infamous Knock-Up Stream. Did you... Did you take the ocean current to get back into the sky?" Claudius asked, his tone a mixture of surprise and amusent.
"That's exactly what happened!" Enel said proudly.
Claudius couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. Only soone like Enel would casually take such a dangerous and unpredictable route as the Knock-Up Stream and live to tell the tale.
"Well, considering you're talking to right now, I assu you survived the trip unscathed. You've got so luck, I'll give you that," Claudius said, shaking his head with a wry smile.
"It was amazing! The Knock-Up Stream shot us straight into the sky! Your Highness, it's incredible up here," Enel said.
"So, what brought you to the White Sea? Feeling nostalgic for your old ho?" Claudius teased.
"Not at all! The place where Your Highness is, that's my ho now," Enel replied with surprising sincerity. "Didn't you always say, 'This peace of mind is my hotown'?"
Claudius raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He had indeed quoted that phrase from Su Shi, a poet from his previous world. It seed that his random musings had left an impression on Enel.
"Well, I didn't expect you to rember that," Claudius said with a laugh. "Alright, then—what are you up to in the White Sea?"
"Your Highness, I've made a huge discovery!" Enel said, his voice dropping to an excited whisper. "I think I've found a great treasure!"
Claudius's curiosity was piqued. "A treasure? Tell more."
Excitedly, Enel launched into the story of his latest adventure. As it turned out, Enel had stopped at Jaya Island on his way to Water 7. He had heard rumors about the fabled City of Gold—Shandora—and beca intrigued.
Apparently, Enel recalled stories from his ti on Birka about a mysterious "land" in the White Sea. Piecing everything together, he theorized that the City of Gold had been launched into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream centuries ago.
Unable to resist the allure of such a grand treasure, Enel had used the soaring current to reach the White Sea. Once there, he began exploring and soon confird the existence of the Golden City near Angel Island.
"I knew it, Your Highness! The Golden City is real! There's gold everywhere, but it seems like it's been in the middle of so war for centuries. But I'm sure we can take it all!" Enel said excitedly.
Claudius was equal parts amused and impressed. He had considered searching for the City of Gold years ago during his visit to Sky Island but had ultimately been too busy to follow through. Yet here was Enel, stumbling upon the treasure almost by accident.
"Well, well. It seems you've had quite the adventure, Enel. I'll figure out how to send so people up to help you," Claudius said with a smile.
After a bit more conversation, the call ended, and Claudius leaned back, deep in thought. The Golden City, Shandora... This could turn out to be a massive haul.
Enel might have stumbled into sothing extraordinary, but now Claudius had to figure out how to capitalize on it. With a smirk, he began planning his next move.
***
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