It had been nearly a month since returning to Cocoyasi Village, and Ryuen had been busy with the matter of finding a volcano.
He had Captain Gulachi ask around with the king of Clover Island, and Nami had searched through tons of records about East Blue, but there was no sign of any volcanoes there.
"Nami, hand me the Transponder Snail that connects to Lindgas. It looks like we'll need to go through the World Government to find one."
Early in the morning, Ryuen skipped his training and headed straight to Nami's workspace.
Today, Nami wore her little tiger outfit, with cute tiger ears, bracelets, a strap top, and a short skirt—all made from the big tiger pelt they'd gotten before. She looked adorable.
"Um... Ryuen, are you really planning to go into a volcano? That's super dangerous..." Nami said, looking a bit worried.
Then, with a small pout, she opened her pocket dimension and took out the special Transponder Snail for Ryuen.
Volcanoes were extremely hot, and although Ryuen kept insisting he wasn't afraid, Nami—who'd been with him the longest—couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry, Nami. Volcanoes may be dangerous, but that's for others. You know my abilities. I wouldn't risk my life just for a thrill," Ryuen said softly.
With that, he picked up the receiver and started dialing Lindgas's number.
Meanwhile, in Mary Geoise, Lindgas had slowly adjusted over the past month to life without his heart in his chest.
At this moment, he was entertaining himself among various slaves, finding that only through these distractions could he momentarily forget his own status as a slave.
*"Pururururu~"*
"Lord Lindgas, your Transponder Snail is ringing. Would you like to take it now?" A servant held the snail beside Lindgas.
"Idiot!"
"Can't you see I'm busy? I'm not taking it!" Lindgas shouted, not even glancing up, and continued playing with the little one on his lap.
The servant trembled immediately. A celestial dragon's anger could mean death, but Lord Lindgas had ordered that this Transponder Snail must be brought to him no matter what.
Gritting his teeth, the servant knelt before Lindgas and said, "But, Lord Lindgas, this Transponder Snail is…"
"Idiot! Are you asking for death? Someone…"
Lindgas angrily interrupted the servant, but when he saw the ringing Transponder Snail, he froze, his throat tightening and leaving him speechless.
"Lord Lindgas, do you have any orders?" As soon as Lindgas called out, the CP agents quickly rushed in.
The scene was chaotic: beaten slaves, favored slaves, and some who were…
But as the dogs of the celestial dragons, the CP agents were long used to these sights, so they remained unfazed.
"Nothing!"
"Get out! All of you, get out now!" Lindgas snatched the Transponder Snail and shouted.
[Lindgas, Saint of the Holy Order...]
In an instant, all the maids, slaves, and the CP organization agents who had just rushed in quickly left.
Once everyone was out, Lindgas hurried into a private room to take the call.
"Honored Master... do you have any instructions for me?" Lindgas said in a fawning tone.
"Lindgas, looks like you've gotten bolder, taking so long to answer my call. Seems you've forgotten how that feels..." A young yet cold and commanding voice rang in Lindgas's ear.
"No, no, no... Master, I wouldn't dare ignore your call! It was just that too many people were around..." Lindgas quickly responded.
The feeling of his heart being crushed was too painful and terrifying; he had no wish to ever experience it again.
"Hmph!"
"I'd better hope so. I need you to use the World Government to locate a volcano in East Blue. If there's none in East Blue, then search around it. Either way, find one quickly, understand?"
"Understood, understood! I'll give the orders right away to make sure we locate a volcano as soon as possible!"
"Good. Notify me immediately once it's found."
*Click*
The call cut off, and Lindgas, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed to the floor, completely drained. But as soon as he remembered something, he scrambled to his feet, shouting, "Someone get in here! Where the hell is everyone?!"
...
In Cocoyashi Village, Ryuen seemed very pleased with Lindgas's attitude. Holding a Celestial Dragon's heart like this was truly satisfying. Being able to wield the World Government's power whenever he wanted was exhilarating.
He suddenly recalled Law, the Ope Ope no Mi user. If Law could have thought of using this method to control the Celestial Dragons, Doflamingo wouldn't have had a chance at being a Warlord, right?
"Ryuen, why are you smiling like that?" Little Nami tilted her head curiously.
"Ahem... nothing. By the way, once Lindgas finds the volcano and sends the location, could you record it for me? I'm heading out to train." Ryuen touched his nose and handed the transponder snail back to Nami.
"Okay, got it!" Nami obediently put the transponder snail away. After Ryuen left, she went back to drawing and studying.
Back in the training room, Ryuen reattached the seastone cuffs, and the feeling of his body wanting to transform faded.
"Ryuen... you're back?" Daisy asked, doing her own exercises.
"Daisy, where are Kuina and Nojiko?" Ryuen curiously asked the little girl, who was focused on her physical training.
"They... they went to help... Bellemere train the guard squad..." Daisy replied, gritting her teeth as she lifted the heavy barbell.
"Oh~ I see, Daisy. Isn't that too heavy for you?" Ryuen looked at Daisy, feeling a bit worried as she struggled.
"No problem! I can handle it!" Daisy replied without even looking back.
Seeing this, Ryuen decided not to say more and started his own training. After all, it wouldn't hurt them; they'd just get a bit tired. As long as they ate and slept well, they'd be full of energy again the next day.
Two days later, Lindgas finally called, saying that the volcano had been found, but it wasn't in the East Blue—it was in the Calm Belt!
The news was surprising, but it made sense. If there were a volcano in East Blue, they would have found some clue on such a big island like Clover Island.
"Ryuen, the volcanic island Lindgas found is near the Calm Belt area close to the Kingdom of Oikot we visited before. The exact location should be here..." Nami confirmed the island's position using the coordinates Lindgas provided.
Thanks to their previous trip to the Kingdom of Oikot, they were already familiar with the maps and weather patterns there.
"I understand. I'll go on my own this time. You all should stay home and keep up with your training," Ryuen said softly.
Ryuen was thrilled they'd finally found the volcanic island. Just thinking about soaking in the volcano filled him with excitement!
"No way!"
"We're coming too. From the map Lindgas provided, there's a small island not far from the volcano where we can wait for you," Nami quickly protested.
"That's right, Ryuen. We want to come too! Besides, we haven't been to the Calm Belt yet!"
The other three girls agreed as well.
"Alright, let's go together then," Ryuen thought for a moment and agreed.
"Yeah!"
"Let's get ready!"
"I'll go tell Bellemere and Genzo!"
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