Chapter 420: Even Artificial Humans Want to Progress

Redland, Holy City Sky Castle.

Inside the governor’s mansion uniquely belonging to Seven.

Jade pavilions and crystal towers flicker amid drifting clouds and radiant light; the courtyard blooms year-round with rare flowers and exotic herbs, springs murmur softly, and petals scatter in the breeze.

Lightning Squirrel Tie Lei lounges lazily on the grass, his fluffy fur soft as a cushion.

Seven lies atop Tie Lei’s round, plump belly, surrounded by elegant figures: Yamato, Robin, Hancock.

Yamato massages his legs, Robin rubs his back, Hancock kneads his shoulders, while Xia Ni and Xia Lu, the twin sisters, serve tea, pour water, and pass pastries.

Time flows quietly; Seven is now twenty-four, the perfect age to enjoy life.

The first cohort of Takumi Kindergarten children have grown: Hancock is sixteen, Robin fifteen, Yamato thirteen.

They graduated successfully.

Perona has become the new leader of the kids, leading Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and the rest in wild running and play.

Peace and tranquility reign; the years flow gently.

Nearby, Shiryu had intended to report to Seven: the Black Ice Platform had located Elaine’s whereabouts—but seeing this scene, he silently withdrew.

Shiryu didn’t want to be written down in the little book.

Over these years, Fours had repeatedly failed to master Armament Haki and was constantly recorded in the captain’s little book—truly pitiful.

He was directly exiled to Impel Down.

“I’ll go myself.”

After making his decision, Shiryu teleported to the Interior Affairs Hall and found Bear discussing work with Tenghu.

“Bear, Island One of Sabaody.”

Bear asked no questions; he simply raised his hand and lightly tapped Shiryu’s shoulder—in the blink of an eye, he sent Shiryu to Island One of Sabaody.

Under normal circumstances,

Starlight Corps officers only sought help from Bear, Jin Ni, Bre, or Seven—whose combined teleportation ability was strongest—when on urgent missions.

Over time, a tacit understanding formed.

First call “Brother” or “Sister,” then state the destination.

At this moment, near the coastline of Island One of Sabaody, Blackbeard and his two crewmates—Rafelt and Wapol—were gnawing on bread bought from Wapol.

Rafelt silently resolved: I’ll treat myself to a feast soon, to make up for this half-year of misery.

Roadside, ever vigilant for Elaine, suddenly gasped in horror.

“Shit. The Born Killer’s here.”

As the saying goes: a man’s name, a tree’s shadow.

Shiryu’s strength is unknown, but his reputation is immense.

He ranks among the Union Kingdom’s most terrifying top-tier experts, second only to the World King Seven Saint and the world’s greatest swordsman, Mihawk.

The skull towers of Fish-Man Island and Beehive Island are the most authentic testament to his title: Born Killer.

Blackbeard froze in fright, silently picked up the black bread that had fallen from his hand, and shoved it into his mouth.

He thought Shiryu had come to execute Elaine.

How could that be allowed?

As he chewed the black bread, Blackbeard gave tactical orders to his crew.

“Brothers, I’ll hold off Shiryu; Rafelt, take Elaine and retreat; Roadside, you and Wapol prepare the ship to pick up Rafelt.”

“Yes, Captain.”

If he could choose, Blackbeard truly didn’t want to fight Shiryu.

Once he fought, his strength and whereabouts would be exposed to the Union Kingdom—and he’d face a siege by multiple Admirals.

But Elaine concerns—

whether the Blackbeard Crew gains Stussy’s approval, and thus funding from her and the Old Era remnants, the key to growing strong and reclaiming glory.

He absolutely could not let Shiryu execute him.

Blackbeard was about to move when Rafelt grabbed his arm with lightning speed and gestured toward a direction.

One glance, and Blackbeard’s forehead broke into cold sweat.

“Garp… Senku…”

Impossible!

Blackbeard was not so arrogant as to believe he could fight Garp, Senku, and Shiryu alone—he gritted his teeth and retracted his orders.

“Brothers, we’re pulling out!”

After six months of waiting on Sabaody Archipelago, just as they were about to capture Elaine and seize their chance to grow, it all vanished.

Blackbeard didn’t understand.

Why would executing a mere ordinary Celestial Dragon require three top experts: Admiral Senku, Hero Garp, and the Born Killer Shiryu?

Does Whitehair’s subordinates have so many top-tier experts that they don’t know what to do with them?

Blackbeard’s mouth dripped with unmanly tears.

The four Blackbeard crewmen entered a nearby restaurant to hide from Senku and Garp, occasionally glancing toward the shore where Shiryu was conversing with Elaine.

Seeing this, Wapol whispered.

“Captain, I’ll go find out what’s going on.”

Blackbeard ignored Wapol’s suggestion and turned to Roadside.

“Roadside, you go.”

Then he added:

“Kid, don’t think meeting an Admiral means you can escape—give up that idea now. One day a pirate, always a pirate.”

Escape? Not a chance.

Soon, Roadside returned, face twisted in conflicted frustration.

“Captain, they’re not here to arrest anyone. They’re preparing the first Martial Arts Tournament—the Paradise branch is being set up on Island One…”

Hearing this, Blackbeard grunted.

Such bad luck? Damn it.

Just when they were about to capture Elaine, they missed by a hair’s breadth—and now watched helplessly as Shiryu took Elaine and his wife away.

“Captain, what do we do?”

Rafelt was also puzzled. Logically, the captain wouldn’t make such an arrangement—so the problem must lie with Stussy.

Could it be that capturing Elaine was Stussy’s last-minute decision?

“For now,” Blackbeard paused, “we must contact Stussy and report what happened here.”

“Alright.” Roadside pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed: “Something went wrong—the target was taken by Shiryu.”

The Den Den Mushi mimicked Stussy’s voice.

“Congratulations—you’ve passed the trial. In half a month, someone will contact you in the Flower Country of the West Blue.”

Staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi, Blackbeard stood frozen in shock, wondering if he’d misheard.

“Brothers… did we succeed?”

“Yes, Captain,” Roadside couldn’t hide his excitement: “I get it now. Whether we found the target doesn’t matter—it’s our six months of relentless effort that counts.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Blackbeard waved his hand.

“Brothers, let’s go!”

Meanwhile, in the Black Ice Platform of Sky Castle.

Stussy compiled all intelligence gathered over the past six months on Blackbeard and prepared to personally report to Seven Saint.

She did this partly to gain recognition from the Old Era remnants for Blackbeard’s perseverance, and partly because Vegapunk told her that Seven Saint and Blackbeard strongly disliked each other.

Stussy hoped that by recounting her six months of tormenting Blackbeard, she could make Seven Saint laugh.

Because Vegapunk had once told her: “If you want to become truly human, I can’t help you—but Seven Saint absolutely can.”

Though she is an artificial human, she too wants to progress.