The Radiant Eclipse returned to Foosha Village.
After Makino packed her belongings, her tavern officially closed.
With Luffy in a confused state, the Radiant Eclipse sailed along the inland river toward the center of the island—the Goa Kingdom's capital city.
They needed to replenish supplies.
They also needed to gather information: specifically, finding potential crew mbers in East Blue, like Kuina.
After months at sea, their ti ashore was limited, and the crew mbers—especially the won—were inevitably tired, so they decided to rest for a few days.
Even if the Navy and the World Governnt were aware of the Radiant Eclipse's presence here, they would need ti to mobilize and travel. Any attempt to launch an attack would take a long journey, so it wasn't an imdiate threat.
The bustling inland port was filled with ships, and crowds moved along the shore. The sight of the massive city unfolded before the crew.
"Koala, Makino, follow when we get off the ship. The rest of you are free to do as you like," Kuke said, directing his attention to the only two won on the ship without combat skills.
He would personally protect them.
"I want to go with Kuke too," Hancock said, clinging to Kuke's arm with a pitiful expression.
In the end, they all went together, disembarking as a group.
They walked along the bustling streets.
"The Goa Kingdom has such strict rules?" Gion wondered aloud, taking in the environnt around her.
It was incredibly clean—almost unnaturally so.
If the ground was even slightly dirty, soone would imdiately kneel down with a cloth and clean it.
There were no stalls lining the streets either.
Everyone carried towels and water, wiping down their hos until they were spotless.
Even the won in the crew who liked cleanliness were careful, worried they might dirty the streets.
"Is there so kind of big event happening?" Hancock guessed.
"No," Kuke shook his head. "If there were a festival, everyone would be smiling and celebrating, but instead, they all look miserable. Even the well-dressed wealthy people seem the sa."
Gion quickly approached an old lady to inquire.
"The Celestial Dragons are coming," she said.
The mystery was solved.
The Celestial Dragons were coming.
Facing these world nobles, even the wealthiest residents—even the king of the Goa Kingdom—had to tread carefully, fearing they might offend them.
Hancock and her sisters' eyes turned icy.
That vile scum.
Because Kuke had killed a Celestial Dragon right in front of them back at the Holy Land, Hancock and her sisters no longer had the sa fear toward the Celestial Dragons that they had in the original story.
"A bunch of useless trash. Wherever they go, they bring suffering to the people," Hancock scoffed.
They hadn't even arrived yet, and already the people here were struggling under the pressure.
Once they did arrive, who knew what insane things the Celestial Dragons might do?
"Lord Dracula Roswald cos every three years. I wonder how many people will starve to death this ti," soone sighed.
Hosting the Celestial Dragons was exhausting and costly.
And it was always the commoners who bore the brunt of the hardship, with many starving as a result.
The wealthy were also worried. "My daughter has co of age, and she's very beautiful. What should I do?"
"I wanted to secretly send her away, but the military has already sealed off the ports. You can only enter, not leave. If the kingdom's army finds out, they execute the entire family."
"Every ti Lord Roswald cos, all the young won in the city have to kneel in the streets. If he takes a liking to one of them, they are taken away by force. What should we do?"
A sense of dread lood over the entire Goa Kingdom.
"A few years ago, even one of the king's concubines was taken. All we can do is pray our daughters and wives aren't chosen."
When it ca to the Celestial Dragons, there was no way out but to endure.
People only dared complain in private, and only when no one else was around, for fear that soone might hear them.
The streets were filled with patrolling soldiers.
Anyone who spoke ill of the Celestial Dragons would be arrested imdiately.
...
Koala's small body was trembling.
She clung tightly to Kuke's hand.
Makino's face was pale with fear. "What do we do? The Celestial Dragons are coming. We need to leave quickly."
The Celestial Dragons were infamous for their vile reputation.
Everyone knew of them, and everyone dreaded them.
With the Navy and World Governnt backing them, no one dared defy the Celestial Dragons—not even show anger in front of them.
All people could do was kneel in submission.
"Makino, there's no need to be afraid. The forces of the sea, including the Emperors, might fear the Celestial Dragons, but that doesn't apply to us," Gion reassured Makino.
"???"
Makino blinked, confused.
"Don't forget what our captain has done," Gion said, a proud smile on her face. Hancock and the others also smiled, their expressions filled with pride.
Makino finally rembered.
That's right.
Kuke had invaded the Holy Land and freed all the Celestial Dragons' slaves.
Makino looked at Kuke with admiration in her eyes.
But soon, her brows furrowed.
Freeing slaves was just defying the Celestial Dragons, but it wasn't the sa as actually confronting them, was it?
"Since the Celestial Dragons are coming, we'll wait here for ten days," Kuke decided.
Gion, Hancock, and the others stared at Kuke, understanding what he intended to do.
"Kuke, are you going to help the people? Are you going to free the slaves again?" Makino asked, both anxious and excited.
It was sothing she would never have dread of before.
"No, I'm going to kill the Celestial Dragons."
Makino's eyes widened in shock, and she froze on the spot.
Her lips trembled as she stamred, "K-kill... kill the Celestial Dragons?!"
Many people had thought about it. So had even been tempted to act.
But no one ever dared.
"It's not like I haven't killed them before."
"What? Kuke, you've killed Celestial Dragons before?" Makino was astonished.
There was nothing about it in the papers!
Kuke had killed more than one Celestial Dragon during the raid on the Holy Land.
But the World Governnt had covered it up, not wanting news of the world nobles being killed to spread. It would be a huge blow to the centuries-old prestige of the so-called gods.
Even the Navy was unaware of it.
"How many achievent points would killing a Celestial Dragon earn ?" Kuke wondered aloud.
After his battle with Shanks, Kuke's achievent points had reached over 160,000.
He was very close to 200,000 points.
Kuke hoped to reach 200,000 achievent points before reentering the Grand Line. That way, each of his crew mbers would receive a revival reward every month.
With the ability to revive, they could take bigger risks.
...
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