"So that's what happened…" Gion nodded slightly. After sorting out her thoughts, she solemnly looked at Rifan and 'Charlotte Smoothie,' who had left the black threshold and come to Rifan's side to pose for him.
"Rifan, now that you've defeated Charlotte Smoothie."
"Why did you let them all go? That way, you can do whatever you want with them. Even though Nojiko can mimic Smoothie and the others, enjoying them yourself might be more appealing. Plus, if you hand them over to the Marines afterward, your chances of becoming a Shichibukai will increase significantly."
As Gion contemplated, she realized she had missed Smoothie and the Kuja Pirates departing, which left her feeling uneasy. She was now trying her best to get some words out of Rifan.
Rifan, after signaling 'Smoothie' to stand behind him, replied, "You're quite mistaken, Gion. You've forgotten that I won't force women on me. Moreover, even if I capture Smoothie and the others and hand them over to the Marines. Do the Marines even dare to send them to Impel Down right now? Remember, you're currently preparing for a war with the Whitebeard Pirates. Unless you want to fight two Four Emperors simultaneously. Also, for your information, I can secure the position of Shichibukai even without capturing them. As for why I let them go, it's simply because I don't want to start a war with the Big Mom Pirates; that would be very troublesome. Even if I were to imprison or kill Smoothie and the others myself, would my Shichibukai position really be more stable? Gion, do you believe the Marines and the World Government would reward me with the Shichibukai position under such circumstances or take it away from me? After all, if they give me the position, they might provoke a war with two of the Four Emperors."
Gion pursed her lips, understanding that Rifan's reasoning had its merits. Releasing Smoothie and the others might indeed have been a better choice for both the Marines and Rifan.
"Then can you tell me, after Hina and I were petrified, did Mikita defeat Empress Hancock?" Gion inquired.
Although due to petrification, Gion lost part of his memory. But the fight between Mikita and Hancock, she still remembered.
So she wanted to know the outcome of the fight between Mikita and Hancock, especially considering if Mikita had defeated Hancock. This implied that at least three members of the Black Pearl Pirates possessed Shichibukai-level strength. If Gion had witnessed Chopper pushing Smoothie back onto her ship at the end, her attitude toward the Black Pearl Pirates would be even more serious.
But of course Rifan wont give her the answer she wants to hear without a price so he retorted, "You don't need to know about that. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for getting charmed and petrified by the Empress. As a Vice Admiral candidate, you actually got petrified by a Shichibukai. Isn't that a little embarrassing? "
Rifan shook his head feeling the warmth from 'Smoothie' on both sides of his cheeks, and said to Gion.
"I just got careless, ok? Also I was weakened at that time…"
When Gion heard Rifan's words, she couldn't help but grumble inwardly and defended herself.
"Having said that, Rifan, you managed to convince Hancock to undo the petrification of Hina and me. You must have used your strength to make the Empress compromise,"
Rifan's mouth arched but remained silent, waving his hand at Gion. "Let's not talk about it. Gion, now that you've recovered, can you please leave the room? As you can see, I have some important matters to discuss with Nojiko. If you don't plan to join, please leave."
After speaking, Rifan left through the secret door.
Gion lowered her head and sighed,
"What is this?" Upon lowering her head, she noticed various unknown liquids on her body. She touched it and smelled it, then raised her eyebrows and looked at Rifan with interest.
"Rifan, did you secretly lick my stone statue while I was being petrified?"
"Hmm? That's right," Rifan nodded without further explanation.
"It's really interesting. No wonder Hina chooses to take a bath. She must have suffered the same treatment."
"That's right," Rifan still didn't mention the Munch-Munch Fruit.
"Rifan, you would actually do these things to my stone statue… Could it be that the reason why you didn't take Hancock's position(Shichibukai) is because you want to keep me on your ship for a while longer?"
"Why do you think so, Gion?"
"After all, if I stay by your side for a longer period, you will have one more opportunity to continue sweetening me, and you will have more time to attack me."
"I'm sorry; I'm not a tea dolphin, and I'm not your licking dog! I don't want to replace Hancock; I just hope I can confront her in the future. Although you're very beautiful, you're still far from Hancock."
"Rifan, if you're deliberately having Nojiko serve you in my image, I'd be quite upset if you say that."
Gion smiled lightly and shook her head while looking at the black threshold erected beside her.
"How about this, Rifan. I can do a little dance using the black threshold."
"How about I dance a song for you and tell me what happened after Hina and I were petrified?"
As Gion moved toward the black threshold, her jacket slipped off and fell to the floor.
"Sorry, your price is too low, and I'm not interested. Besides, when Nojiko becomes like you, she will dance much better than you~"
Rifan shook his head lightly, looking at Gion directly, shamelessly.
"Is that so…" Gion pursed her lips, and as she observed Rifan's growing impatience, her mood became more serious. She understood Rifan's emotional changes, realizing that no one liked being constantly interrupted and questioned while trying to have some fun…
"Rifan, can't you really tell Hina and me, Vice Admiral Gion, what happened after we were petrified?"
At this point, Hina, who was watching on the side also joined her, asking for information, coming to Rifan's side. She took Rifan's hand and placed it on her thin waist, demonstrating bolder behaviour and more allure than Gion.
Gion discreetly nodded to Hina.
Unfortunately, Rifan still had no intention of revealing the truth.
"Even if it's you Hina, unfortunately, I'm not in the mood to recall it now. I'd rather have fun than remember. Nojiko, since Gion Vice Admiral doesn't intend to leave, let's begin."
"It will also be a chance to experience the Long-Leg Tribe's women."
"Let's leave Gion Vice Admiral and Hina here to rest."
"Come on, Nojiko, we'll go to my private kitchen and make some juice while we're at it."
Rifan's interest wasn't solely in the emotional effect of squeezing fruit; he was genuinely curious about the quality of the smoothie brand juice that satisfied so many guests invited by Big Mom.
However, he didn't want Hina and Gion, being Marines, to observe his and Nojiko's activities when it came to Nojiko using her Devil Fruit powers to mimic Smoothie.
Hina felt a sense of panic when Rifan was about to leave.
Hina, who has been completely obsessed with things between men and women, looks calm now.
But her heart has long longed to embrace Rifan!
Now she sees Rifan getting up and planning to leave.
She thought she made Rifan angry, so he planned to keep her in the personal consultation room.
Therefore, Hina quickly took Rifan's hand between her chest and said with pleading tone.
"Rifan... Please, please take Hina with you, okay?"
Hearing this, Rifan raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Hina.
After a moment of thought, Rifan shook his head. "Hina, you should rest. I'll come to you after having a private discussion and dealing with some private matters with Nojiko."
Rifan patted Hina on the shoulder, leaned on her ears and whispered that made her earlobe red, 'Don't worry, I will come and satisfy you alone~' then he removed his hand from her grasp, and left with Nojiko.
'Is he really going to leave Hina behind?'
'Could it be that he is really impatient?' Gion frowned, contemplating a solution. She realized the significance of the situation and that it would be more challenging to seek information if Rifan left at this point.
A little later, as Rifan was about to pass by, Gion instinctively reached out and grabbed Rifan's right hand.
"Gion, is there something else?" Rifan frowned and looked at Gion.
"That... Rifan, there shouldn't be a genuine sweet person inside the sweet stone statue, right?"
"No, it's better if you allow yourself to sweeten me for real."
"Then tell me if Mikita defeated Empress Hancock, okay?"
After Gion finished speaking, her body seemed to lose strength. Having said that, since the words have been spoken, Gion does not intend to take them back.
"If it's just sweetening, it's not a big deal. After all, you sweetened me while I was petrified. If you leave now, it will be even more challenging to obtain information later."
Thinking this, Gion's gaze became more determined.
"Rifan, just tell me if Mikita defeated Hancock. I can provide this opportunity. I genuinely mean it. As for your life principles, my actions won't contradict them. So, will you make an agreement with me, Rifan? Maybe you think that simply touching isn't such a beautiful thing. Nevertheless, I didn't agree to give everything to you, and I didn't ask you to reveal everything after we were petrified. Presumably, the price is also reasonable."
With a charming smile, Gion buried her head in Rifan's arms while speaking. But knowing how to captivate a man, she pulled away Rifan's after a moment.
"Hey, Rifan, what do you think?" Gion laughed.