Chapter 1099: Marshall D

After acquiring three Devil Fruits, the three Kuja sisters became extremely excited and grew even more reverent toward Lu En.

"Let's go."

"It's time to take you home."

Once the three sisters had fully adapted to their Devil Fruits, Lu En brought them back onto the merchant ship's deck.

He prepared to steer the helm…

Toward the nearest island.

The closest island in this sea area is…

The Sabaody Archipelago!

Yes,

Lu En planned to send them to the Sabaody Archipelago.

"My ship will be stored temporarily in the merchant ship's cargo hold."

He gazed toward the single-masted sailboat moored just beyond the merchant ship's vicinity—the very vessel he had sailed all the way from Water Seven.

After prolonged sailing, the single-masted sailboat, gifted by Lucci, remained in excellent condition with no significant wear.

At this moment,

Lu En intended to store the single-masted sailboat inside the merchant ship.

The merchant ship's hull was enormous; storing a small single-masted sailboat posed no problem whatsoever.

But just then,

Only Boa Han Ku Ke, beside Lu En, suddenly pointed toward the endless sea ahead and spoke in a clear, melodious voice: "Ahead, it looks like a ship is approaching us."

"A ship?"

Lu En was slightly surprised.

Then,

He followed Han Ku Ke's pointing finger and gazed in that direction.

As expected.

"Two-three-zero," he saw a faint, distant black dot.

The black dot was steadily growing larger.

If he wasn't mistaken,

This was a ship drawing near!

But was it a Navy warship?

Or a pirate ship?

Or perhaps a CP organization merchant vessel?

That remained unknown.

Upon seeing the ship, Lu En immediately abandoned his plan to steer the merchant ship away.

Before identifying the vessel's identity, he would not act rashly.

So,

He chose to stand quietly on the deck, waiting for the sailboat to draw closer.

……

Meanwhile,

About five kilometers away from Lu En's merchant ship,

In the blue sea,

A gentle breeze brushed the waves, which rolled and surged.

Splash!

The calm sea surface rippled under the wind's pull, forming waves.

Ripples spread outward.

Waves crashed against each other.

The crisp, melodious sound of the current echoed like a clear spring.

A small single-masted sailboat cut through the ocean.

It was roughly the same size as the sailboat Lu En had been steering.

Not large in area,

Yet fully equipped.

At this moment,

On the deck,

A silver-haired middle-aged man, wearing glasses, his eyes sharp and bright, with a beard, slender frame, yet radiating a powerful, oppressive aura.

He wore casual attire: a brownish-yellow shirt, crimson pants, and a gray-white cloak stained with dirt and torn with ragged holes.

At his waist,

He carried a sword.

Clearly,

He was a swordsman!

A swordsage!

Though he deliberately suppressed his energy, the sharp aura emanating from his body could not be concealed—it slowly spread, piercing and intense.

"Mr. Lei Li…"

"Can we go any faster?"

"Han Ku Ke and the others were definitely captured by those hateful bastards!"

"If we don't hurry, those hateful bastards will slip away completely."

Beside the middle-aged and elderly people stood a tiny old woman, leaning on a cane, appearing to be in her sixties or seventies, her face lined with wrinkles and her hair snow-white.

The old woman's face was filled with anxiety, her cloudy eyes fixed intently on the endless sea ahead.

She was named Boa Han Ku Ke.

Han Ku Ke also called her Aunty Po.

Former former Emperor of Amazon Lily.

Since retiring,

she had served as the Emperor's personal steward, aiding every Emperor in managing Amazon Lily and ensuring the island's people lived prosperous lives.

Therefore,

in Amazon Lily, Aunty Po's status and position were extremely high.

She was deeply respected by countless subjects.

Every Emperor regarded Aunty Po as a teacher.

Since learning that Han Ku Ke and her two sisters had been kidnapped by traffickers, Aunty Po had barely slept a night, tirelessly striving to find Han Ku Ke.

In the end—

she could only grit her teeth and come to the Shichibukai Islands to seek out the legendary Sea King, Lei Li.

Sea King Lei Li was the strongest ally she could possibly reach.

She could only beg for his help.

Only if he personally intervened did she believe there was a real chance of rescuing Han Ku Ke and her two sisters.

Otherwise,

Amazon Lily had too little influence over the seas.

If Sea King Lei Li refused to act,

Han Ku Ke and her two sisters would face an extremely dire situation.

Fortunately,

Lei Li had a good nature and was willing to help Amazon Lily.

This filled Aunty Po with gratitude.

Now,

Aunty Po sailed with Lei Li aboard a single-masted sailboat, seeking the traffickers who had kidnapped Han Ku Ke and her two sisters.

According to the intelligence she had obtained…

At this moment, they were very close to that gang of traffickers.

If they pushed just a little harder,

they would successfully locate Han Ku Ke and her two sisters.

And rescue the three sisters.

Han Ku Ke, as the next Emperor of Amazon Lily, was someone Aunty Po could not bear to see harmed by traffickers.

It could not be allowed!

She swore.

She would make these traffickers pay a terrible price.

She would rescue Han Ku Ke and her two sisters at all costs.

"Don't worry—they won't get far."

"The rest of this…"

"is up to me."

Standing beside Aunty Po, the silver-haired Lei Li smiled with confidence.

Given the bond between him and Aunty Po,

doing this for her was a trivial matter, effortless.

Moreover,