Chapter 79: Arrival at the Flower Country! A New Storm Appears
The silver-haired girl took a deep breath as she looked at the begging pirates, steadying her breathing.
Lotte thoughtfully handed her a knife.
"Deal with these guys."
Olvia nervously gripped the hilt, looked at the pirates, bit her lip, and finally stepped forward resolutely.
Lotte quietly watched the scene.
The reason he chose Olvia
Wasn't just because of the deal with Dr. Clover—he was also making preparations for that missing decade of his.
Though he didn't know why the system had given him the Fruit of Time, there had to be deep meaning behind it. If it would be needed eventually, he had to be ready.
The Imperial Arm Gaia Foundation had never really suited Lotte—he preferred open, large-scale combat. Assassination and stealth weren't his strong points.
Rather than keeping it himself, it was better to give it to the right person.
Olvia's personality in the original story and her current age fit perfectly.
So Lotte decided to give her this chance.
If within this year Olvia couldn't satisfy him, he would take the Imperial Arm back—he had already told her as much.
She surely understood.
The pirates saw the girl approaching with a raised blade and tried to struggle, but Lotte's Conqueror's Haki pinned them down completely—they couldn't move at all.
Olvia stood in front of them, hesitated for a few seconds with the knife raised, then her expression turned resolute.
Swoosh!
With a sudden swing,
The sharp blade sank into the first pirate's body. As he let out a miserable scream, blood splashed across the girl's cheek.
Olvia recalled Lotte's earlier words.
If they didn't have enough strength, the ones dying here today would be her and Mr. Lotte.
A fierce anger surged in her heart.
Swoosh!
She yanked the blade free and sped up, moving toward the next pirate, swinging without hesitation again.
As the sea surface turned red with blood,
The few pirates who had survived by chance were also finished off.
Olvia returned to Lotte's side with the bloodied knife. Her expression now held a trace of confusion.
"Lotte, I've dealt with them."
She said softly.
Her fair fingers, stained with blood, trembled slightly as they gripped the hilt—but her gaze was firmer than ever before.
This was the choice she had made.
Lotte reached out, brushed aside her silver hair, gently stroked her cheek, and smiled.
"Well done. Let's go."
To reach this level of change in just one week—her talent clearly wasn't limited to deciphering Poneglyphs. His initial choice had been correct.
Olvia's cheeks flushed from the touch. She looked up at Lotte with longing and nodded heavily.
"Mm, Lotte—let's go."
Lotte turned and continued sailing the small boat away from the area, heading toward the territorial waters of the Flower Country. They should arrive soon.
As the two sailed onward,
Several days passed like a fleeting white colt.
Finally, Lotte and Olvia reached the Flower Country's waters. Just one glance from afar
Revealed the country's extraordinary beauty. The architecture resembled ancient Chinese buildings, giving Lotte a sense of familiarity. Though rarely mentioned in the original story, it was undeniably a beautiful nation.
When Lotte disembarked disguised as a tourist,
The white cat in his arms—Olvia—jumped down, excitedly scanning the people in different clothing at the port.
Pavilions, towers, carved beams, and painted rafters.
Everything felt exceptionally grand and full of mysterious Eastern charm.
Especially the Happo Building—the second grandest structure in the Flower Country after the royal palace. It was the residence granted to successive leaders of the Happo Navy by past kings.
Olvia took a while to snap out of her awe before planning to follow Lotte.
But she noticed he had suddenly frozen in place.
[Ding! Confirmed Host has arrived at the Flower Country. Would you like to sign in?]
Lotte had thought arriving at the Flower Country wouldn't trigger a sign-in—after all, it was barely mentioned in the original story.
But the system had judged it valid, which surprised him.
He took a deep breath and mentally selected sign-in.
[Ding! Sign-in at the Flower Country completed!]
[Reward obtained: Youth Preservation Pills (5 pills)]
[Description: These pills allow the user to permanently retain the appearance of their youth. For both men and women, they are an absolute game-changer. Used wisely, the results are miraculous.]
[Special Note: You know what to do.]
Lotte's face immediately darkened.
No wonder the system let him sign in here—it was for these.
Though Lotte held some affection for Olvia, he wasn't planning to make a move yet. He was only a few years older—he could wait.
Since there were several pills,
He could give one to Olvia later when the timing was right. They weren't particularly useful to him anyway.
The rest he would keep for now—there might come a time when they were needed. Even if he auctioned them off, he wasn't short on money.
Lotte then pulled up his attribute panel
To check how much his strength had improved since leaving the Rocks Pirates.
[Name: Lotte] [Age: 18] [Bloodline Ability: Hashirama Cells (Mastery: 55%)] [Skills: Wood Release (Current Power Limit: A+ rank), Three-Color Haki (Intermediate 30%), Flame Dance Dual Sword Style (Intermediate 20%), Sun Breathing (Mastery 49%), Voice of All Things (Mastered)] [Inventory: Flame King / Shodai Kitetsu (Supreme Grade Swords)] [Combat Power: 15000–18000] [Overall Evaluation: Even without terrain advantage on the open sea, the Host's strength is sufficient to defeat ordinary Seven Warlords. In direct combat with Wood Release and terrain advantage, he can even contend with Yonko seconds-in-command or Admiral candidates.] [Special Remark: A new storm has appeared—how can one afford to stand still!]
Lotte narrowed his eyes slightly.
This special remark was quite interesting.
In a way, it seemed to urge him to grow stronger quickly.
With his current combat power, he could dominate the West Blue without issue—as long as he avoided drawing Marine Headquarters' attention, this sea was practically his backyard.
His battle power had finally approached the 20,000 mark!
This was undoubtedly good news for Lotte.
He nodded in satisfaction, then snapped back to reality when he noticed the white cat staring at him. He picked her up, held her in his arms, and stroked her head.
"I was lost in thought earlier. Let's go now."
With that, he stepped onto the streets, a slight smile on his face.
----------------------------------------
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield