One Piece: The Celestial Dragons' Self-Cultivation

Page 14

Kerla was terrified. He immediately knelt on the ground, tore off a piece of his trouser leg, and began wiping the deck, repeatedly muttering "I owe you."

"I'm so sorry, I'll work hard and clean non-stop. Please don't hit me, I'm sorry."

"No matter what happens, I will not cry, please don't kill me."

She said these words with a "survival smile" on her face.

Even someone with Blake's typically weak empathy still felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Out of sympathy for her past life and her fondness for the Squirrel Party characters in the story, Black decided to bring Kelra back without much thought.

Now, Robin is eight years old, Perona is three, and Kelra is five—it's practically a kindergarten.

Back at the manor, Blake removed the collars from both of them and instructed Stella:

"Take them to wash up, and tell them about the manor while you're at it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Blake returned to the fish tank, teasing Ida while thinking about what to do with Kelp and Mandy.

Mandy is easy to deal with. We can keep her around for a while, improve her strength, and then let her return to the Kingdom of Wobucondin to build up her power.

Having undergone obedience training by several slave traders, Blake believed she wouldn't easily cause trouble.

Kella, on the other hand, is someone Blake should seriously consider.

Unlike Robin and Perona, Koala can be considered both a combatant and an intelligence agent.

Its positioning is somewhat similar to that of CP0's Stussy.

With proper training and the right ability cards, Kelra can grow into a powerful individual capable of standing on her own.

There's no need to rush.

Kerla is still too young, and her personality is too weak at the moment.

"Hmm...we need to teach her a lesson from that unruly little girl, Perona."

"You're talking bad about me again!"

Perona, who had somehow crept up behind Blake to scare him, heard this as soon as she got close.

He immediately forgot his original plan and jumped in front of Blake to express his dissatisfaction.

Blake laughed and hugged her, giving her a good rub of her pink hair.

"How could I say anything bad about you? I'm just saying that Princess Perona is so amazing that the new girl should learn from you."

"really?"

Perona tidied her disheveled hair while looking at Blake suspiciously, feeling that he was trying to fool her.

Blake, on the other hand, had a face full of sincerity:

"of course it's true!"

"Hooray! I knew it, you finally discovered my shining point."

Upon receiving the compliment, the childlike Perona immediately jumped off Blake and skipped away.

Judging from the direction they're heading, they're probably going to find Robin to show off.

"No wonder Moria, that old nerd, raised Perona like a daughter; her lively personality really brings joy to others."

Not long after Perona left, Stella returned with Mandy and Kella.

Mandy didn't change much; as a showcase of exquisite items, she had already been carefully dressed up by slave traders.

Kella is like a completely different person.

Her fluffy, messy golden hair was neatly combed, and her basketball-style outfit was changed into a dress.

She transformed from a tomboy into a delicate doll.

Blake gave Stella an apologetic smile:

"You'll have to work hard to have another person take care of us."

"Your Highness, please don't say that. If you hadn't bought me back, I don't know what kind of situation I would have faced. Taking care of a few children is nothing to worry about."

Stella responded with a gentle smile, as warm and comforting as ever.

Blake shook his head. He wouldn't treat Stella, who had become his woman, as a dispensable slave.

However, these three children in the manor are Black's future team, so they can't be handed over to maids to take care of. Only Stella can be in charge of them.

Fortunately, Robin and Koala are relatively mature in character.

Stella's approachable and gentle older sister qualities perfectly counter Perona's mischievous and naughty nature.

Taking care of them isn't too difficult.

Chapter 21 The First Granting of Ability Cards

"Mandy, come with me."

Blake gave a shout and led Mandy to the training ground.

The Celestial Dragons, often considered "useless" members of the party, typically don't have training grounds in their homes.

In order to defeat the random player in the card space, Blake trained hard for a period of time and even built a training ground.

He seemed poised to join the elite party.

Only after awakening his Observation Haki did he pretend to be unable to bear the hardship of training and return to the "useless party".

However, the training ground was preserved.

Upon arriving at the training ground, we found it spotless despite its long-standing silence, with all facilities in a state of absolute readiness.

The weapon rack gleamed with silver light, and the sandbags were as full as ever.

The water mist system operates automatically, the testing stone is spotless, and the sound feedback device awaits activation.

Blake picked up a rapier from the weapon rack, tested its weight in his hand, and tossed it to Mandy beside him.

Something unexpected happened: Mandy didn't even move, and was almost pierced by the longsword.

Upon seeing this, Blake slapped his forehead.

"It seems this woman will need a long time to readjust to a normal life."

"I need to keep him by my side for a while."

"If we release them now, they might be captured by some slave trader again."

Thinking of this, Blake had no choice but to say:

"Pick up your sword and attack me. Let me test your strength."

Mandy then picked up the longsword, but did not attack.

Blake's head began to throb.

At that moment, he suddenly understood the irritable behavior of the other Celestial Dragons.

After much coaxing and cajoling, Mandy finally believed that he wasn't testing her.

Mandy thrust her sword straight forward, her movements extremely precise, even somewhat rigid.

Blake easily deflected Mandy's incoming sword, frowning as he said:

After a few more rounds, Blake had a good grasp of Mandy's strength.

Just as the slave traders said, Mandy's strength wasn't particularly great.

Dealing with a navy like the Rat is no problem, but defeating Morgan would probably be a bit difficult.

Her physical abilities are stronger than most ordinary people in the world, but they don't reach the level of a monster.

The biggest problem lies in her swordsmanship.

The good news is that she has a very solid foundation and her basic skills are very well practiced.

It is evident that Mandy put in considerable effort to improve his swordsmanship while in the Kingdom of Wobcondin.

Once such a person grasps the concept, they can easily grow in strength rapidly in a short period of time, just like Zoro.

As for the bad news, there's quite a bit.

Like many court sword masters, Mandy's swordsmanship was too rigid and focused on aesthetics, neglecting the ability to adapt to actual combat.

It's likely that her swordsmanship teacher didn't intend for her to have strong combat skills.

Having probed Mandy's background, Blake had already planned out a path for Mandy's improvement.

"For the next period of time, you will practice swordsmanship with the guards in the manor."

"First, I have to forget all the routine sword techniques I've learned before."

"You need to develop your own swordsmanship through sparring with the guards."

Mandy's problems cannot be solved in a short time. Both her fighting skills and personality need to be reshaped, and this must be done step by step.

After completing the training plan for Mandy, Black resumed his decadent and corrupt Celestial Dragon life.

During the day, he teases Perona and the others, and at night he rests with Stella.

Another month passed just like that.

In February, Blake's performance was not ideal.

Blake wasn't very lucky; he drew a minor role, and the ability card only improved his physical attributes.

He thought about it and didn't use it on himself.

With Blake's current physique, this level of ability card is practically useless.

He called Kerla to his side:

"How are things? How are you getting along with Robin and the others?"

Kella still wore her usual smile:

"Thank you, Your Highness. Your manor is the most comfortable place I have ever lived."

"Sister Robin and Perona took good care of me, and Sister Stella was also very patient and gentle."

Blake shook his head and chuckled.

It's possible that Robin is taking care of her, but it's good enough that Perona isn't causing trouble.

However, Kella has high emotional intelligence, so it's not surprising that she only says the nice things.

“You don’t need to be afraid. You, Mandy, Robin, and Perona are all the wings that will help me fly to the top of the world. I will not punish any of you.”

Blake spoke as softly as possible to avoid upsetting the sensitive little girl.

Although he knew that even if he said that, Kerla wouldn't change his mind anytime soon.

But it's okay, as long as you remind her often, you can leave a mark on her heart.

Over time, Kerla will naturally get used to it.

Blake is actually a selfish person.

He would definitely keep the best and the only thing for himself.

However, he doesn't mind using ability cards that are no longer of much use to him and can be obtained repeatedly to build up his power.

Seeing Kelra's slightly unnatural smile, Black gently placed his hand on her head and activated the ability card in his hand.

Instantly, Kera felt a warm current surge through her body, causing her to unconsciously let out a whimper like a kitten.

Immediately afterwards, Kerla's eyes widened, and she felt a surge of power throughout her body.

I jumped instinctively and somehow ended up five or six meters in the air.

When she fell from the sky, Kerla was clearly frightened and flailed her arms and legs, losing her balance.

Blake smiled, caught her, and put her on the ground.

"Your physical fitness has improved a lot; you need to adapt as soon as possible."

"Also, this is a secret between us."