The world of pirates.
Mary Geoise, the Land of Gods.
A distinguished young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, accompanied by two guards, openly walked towards the forbidden area of the Land of Gods—the House of Flowers.
"Young Master, why have you come?"
As soon as the young man entered the fragrant garden, a beautiful figure materialized out of thin air, standing respectfully before him.
The newcomer was a woman wearing a cloak and a newsboy cap, with long legs exposed because she was only wearing underwear.
The woman had bandages wrapped around her nose and mouth, obscuring her face, revealing only her eyes with black and white pupils and the golden short hair peeking out from under her newsboy cap.
Manmaya Gunshikyu.
A member of the God's Knights from the Celestial Dragon Manmaya Family of the Holy Land, an Arrow-Arrow Fruit Ability user, and also a servant of Imu, the unknown master of the House of Flowers.
Normally, even the Gorosei, the highest authority of the World Government, would need Imu's permission to enter the House of Flowers, otherwise they might face very serious consequences.
But this was not a normal situation, because the young man who walked into the House of Flowers had a very special identity.
The young man's name was Nelona Ian, from the Celestial Dragon Nerona Family of the Holy Land. He was Imu's biological son, the purest and noblest Celestial Dragon Young Master in the Holy Land.
Ian glanced at Gunko's long, fair legs that stood before him, and said seriously, "Gunko, I am an adult now. If you always dress like this, it will easily make This Young Master make mistakes!"
"Or rather, you are doing it on purpose, wanting This Young Master to know your depth?"
"Huh?" Gunko's beautiful eyes widened instantly. She subconsciously looked down at her long legs, and her cheeks flushed red in an instant.
"Don't worry, This Young Master is not interested in old women!"
Seeing Gunko's reaction, Ian waved his hand lightly, "Although you look very young."
With that, Ian walked past Gunko towards a pavilion in the garden.
"You two, retreat!"
After Ian walked past her, Gunko immediately changed to a cold gaze and looked at the two guards still standing there, saying coldly, "Next time the Young Master comes to the House of Flowers, you just wait outside the House of Flowers gate!"
"Yes!"
The two guards dared not linger and immediately ran out of the House of Flowers.
In the pavilion, Imu, completely shrouded in a black robe with only her eyes visible, showed a hint of imperceptible tenderness in her normally cold, dark red pupils the moment she saw Ian appear, much like a loving mother.
"Mom, are you sitting in the pavilion daydreaming again?"
Ian walked into the pavilion and casually sat opposite Imu, picking up a photograph placed in front of Imu to look at it.
"Huh?"
When Ian saw that the photograph showed a beautiful young woman with long, light blue wavy hair and a graceful figure, his eyes immediately lit up. "This is Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom! As expected, Mom loves me the most. I just became an adult, and you're already arranging a match for me!"
Hearing this, Imu's eyes narrowed slightly, not hiding her doting affection for Ian.
Although Ian was nineteen years old now, not many people knew that he was her son.
Because Ian's appearance was too unusual, even somewhat mythical.
Nineteen years ago, she had a premonition that Nika might be born, and she was inevitably anxious.
However, at this moment, she had a very strange dream.
In the dream, a mysterious person appeared to help her fight against the reincarnated Sun God, helping her secure the Empty Throne while also preventing the destruction of the Third World.
When she woke up from the dream, she strangely found herself pregnant.
Getting pregnant directly from a dream without experiencing human relations deeply shocked her at the time, but also secretly delighted her.
In her opinion, what happened in the dream was very likely to become reality, and the child she was carrying was probably the chosen one sent to help her defeat the Sun God.
Finally, after eighteen months of pregnancy, the baby was born smoothly.
Because she became pregnant in a dream, Imu named him Ian, meaning "God's grace."
What she did not expect was that Ian awakened Conqueror's Haki immediately after birth. The terrifying Conqueror's Haki directly knocked out all the guards responsible for the safety of the House of Flowers at the time, and even she herself, having just given birth, almost fainted on the spot.
She reaffirmed her suspicion and poured all her love into Ian.
Ian did not disappoint her. Not only did he awaken a shockingly powerful Conqueror's Haki at birth, but he also mastered Armament Haki at the age of three, and at five, he could cover the Holy Land with Observation Haki, listening to everyone's inner thoughts.
At the age of seven, under the tutelage of Gringo, the commander of the God's Knights, he mastered swordsmanship comparable to a master swordsman. Afterward, in just five short years, he surpassed Gringo, outperforming him in swordsmanship to the point where Gringo could not even lift his head.
Although Gringo dared not fight with full strength due to Ian's identity, it was enough to prove that her precious son was the chosen one sent by heaven.
However, because the news of her dream pregnancy and childbirth was a taboo in the Holy Land, only her loyal servant Gunko, the God's Knights, and the Gorosei knew Ian's true identity.
As for the other Celestial Dragons residing in the Holy Land and the World Government agencies stationed there, they only knew Ian as the Young Master of the Nerona Family.
In a blink of an eye, nineteen years had passed since Ian came to this world.
During these nineteen years, Ian not only elevated his three types of Haki to unprecedented heights, but his physique was also monstrously strong. Smashing a mountain with his bare hands was like playing house, and his swordsmanship completely crushed Gringo and Nasujuro, the financial warrior god among the Gorosei who was most skilled in swordsmanship.
Seeing Imu just looking at him without speaking, Ian blinked and tentatively called out, "Mom?"
Imu collected her thoughts, then scanned Princess Vivi in the photograph, and subconsciously said, "Do you like women like this? Purely in terms of bloodline, Princess Vivi is qualified to be your woman! However, because Princess Vivi is a descendant of Nefertari D. Lily, you can only treat her as a plaything and cannot marry her!"
"Marry?"
Ian blinked, then shook his head and said, "Marriage is impossible! The reason I like her is simply because I think the flower is blooming beautifully, and if I don't pick it and take it home, it would make me seem a bit insensitive!"
Hearing this, Imu did not hesitate at all. She turned her head to look at Gunko, who was standing outside the pavilion, and commanded, "Immediately lead the God's Knights to Alabasta and capture Princess Vivi!"
Before Gunko could react, Ian promptly interrupted, "Mom, arranging it like that would take away a lot of fun. Most importantly, Princess Vivi is not the only beautiful flower blooming on the sea. I must personally experience the joy of picking them."
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