Chapter 16: A Visit to Marineford?

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: A Visit to Marineford?

In the Claudius Palace, within the large pond in the courtyard, two incredibly beautiful mermaid women were swimming gracefully. They seemed quite happy in the water.

These mermaids were slaves, a gift from Doflamingo to Claudius when he left Mariejois two months ago. Claudius had kept them here mainly for the sake of appearances.

Over the past two months, the two mermaids had begun to adjust to their new surroundings. They'd come to realize that their new master wasn't someone who enjoyed torturing slaves for amusement. He was even somewhat handsome and treated them with more kindness than they had expected.

Compared to their previous lives, though they still hadn't gained their freedom or left Mariejois, things were much better. They no longer had to wear the collars of slaves, weren't locked in giant fish tanks on display, and no one tossed vicious piranhas into the water to torment them for sport.

At that moment, not far from the pond, Claudius was sparring with a few men wearing slave collars, as if he was honing his combat skills against real opponents.

The two mermaid girls lay by the edge of the pond, watching the scene with curiosity.

"Mero, why do you think His Highness Claudius is doing this?" one of the mermaids asked her companion. "Isn't he one of the Celestial Dragons?"

Sori, the other mermaid, shook her head in confusion and replied, "I have no idea. Maybe he's just bored. When I first came here, I was terrified. I never imagined a Celestial Dragon like Claudius could be so strange. Not only does he not torture us, but he even removed our slave collars..."

A glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes as she asked quietly, "Lenny, do you think there's a chance he might let us go home someday?"

Lenny was silent for a moment, hope also flickering in her gaze. "I don't know, but... I have a feeling there's a chance."

"If we could go home, that would be wonderful," Sori said softly. "I miss Fish-Man Island."

In the past, when they were in Doflamingo's hands, simply staying alive had been their only hope. But after two months here, the idea of going home no longer seemed like an impossible dream. If Claudius knew about their secret hopes, he might even find it amusing. Could they really be mistaking him for a kindhearted man?

At that moment, Claudius threw a punch and sent one of the gladiator-like slaves flying. His expression darkened.

"I told you, you don't need to hold back," Claudius said, frowning. "You're not going to get in trouble if you hurt me, so why are you still being so cautious? Do you think I'm just playing games here, pretending to fight?"

The slaves, trembling in fear, knelt down in the courtyard. Their bodies were drenched in cold sweat, too terrified to respond.

Watching this, Claudius felt a wave of disgust.

These slaves had been broken stripped of their courage and hope. Especially the ones with some fighting ability, they'd been rigorously trained for Celestial Dragons, conditioned never to resist or show aggression. They'd been taught to fear causing any harm, lest they pay with their lives and bring ruin upon their fellow slaves.

"What's going on, Zephyr? You look... unusual," Kong remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something strange has happened. A Celestial Dragon from Mariejois is coming to visit us here at Marineford," Zephyr said, still sounding puzzled.

Kong blinked, searching through his papers. "What? I didn't receive any notice about that."

While it wasn't unheard of for Celestial Dragons to visit Naval Headquarters, it was a rare occurrence, often happening only once in a decade. And when it did, it was usually with a lot of pomp and ceremony, something the Fleet Admiral would definitely be aware of.

Zephyr chuckled. "No, this isn't an official visit. He contacted me privately."

"Privately? You have a direct line to a Celestial Dragon?" Kong asked, surprised.

But then he paused, a thought crossing his mind. "Wait... is it that Claudius from the Donquixote family?"

Zephyr nodded. "Yes, that's him. He called me out of nowhere, saying he wanted to visit, but asked that we not go overboard with preparations. He even said he'd be coming incognito and didn't want anyone to know he was a Celestial Dragon."

Kong let out a slow breath, shaking his head in disbelief. "A private visit, disguised? This Claudius really is unlike any other Celestial Dragon I've ever heard of."

Zephyr scratched his head. "I know, right? He said he wants me to arrange for some Marine recruits to spar with him. Apparently, he wants to test his skills."

Kong stared at him, speechless. "A Celestial Dragon wants to come here, to Marineford, just to fight? What happens if he gets hurt? We'll be the ones in trouble!"

"This is definitely unexpected," Kong finally said, still trying to wrap his mind around it.

After thinking for a moment, he sighed. "Alright, pick a couple of recruits who can put on a good show, but make sure they don't embarrass the Celestial Dragons. If we make them look bad, it'll cause us all sorts of problems."

Zephyr smiled and shook his head. "I don't think that's the best approach, sir. You don't know Claudius like I do. He's not like the others. I think he genuinely wants to test his abilities. If we handle this seriously, it could be beneficial."

Kong gave Zephyr a strange look. "Why do you say that?"

Zephyr didn't hold back. He nodded and said, "Well, for one, he's sort of like a disciple of mine. I've been working with him on some combat techniques, and I'd like to see for myself how far he's come in the last six months."

Kong sat in silence for a moment, then finally nodded. "You've always had a good eye for people, Zephyr. I'll trust your judgment on this one. But if anything goes wrong, don't expect me to go to Mariejois to clean up the mess."

Zephyr chuckled. "Don't worry. Leave it to me."