Chapter 137: Ike: You Did Very Well! Year 1482 of the Sea Circle Calendar, a New Year
One month passed.
Under circumstances where Athena felt she was about to go insane…
They finally arrived in Wano Country.
"Land!"
Athena looked at the land before her and directly shouted. Of course, tears were already filling her eyes.
Ike said with amusement, "Little Athena, do you still want to secretly follow me out to sea next time?"
"No! No!"
Athena truly had never expected that going out to sea would actually be this boring!
Ike looked at his daughter with a wicked smile.
Artoria and Seimei came to welcome their father.
Only…
Looking at Athena lying on the ground in a defeated posture, her sorrowful appearance almost made people think something had happened.
The two siblings were slightly stunned.
Artoria and Seimei both greeted with smiles.
"Little Athena?"
"Athena?"
"What happened?"
Both of them were extremely confused. They truly did not understand what was going on.
Ike said teasingly, "Just a little girl who wanted to sneak out and play, and ended up suffering."
"Big Sister!"
Athena shot into the sky, directly rushing toward Artoria while crying loudly, "Life on the sea is so boring!"
"Today, I'm going to take your place!"
Athena's crying face instantly turned into a strange grin.
She launched herself forward like a spring.
Her body soared into the air, arched sharply, and then she flew straight over at incredible speed.
Artoria looked at Athena and remained very calm. She only raised her hand.
Boom!
Looking at the rolling dust and Athena, who had been directly smashed into the stone, everyone silently turned their heads away. They were truly too lazy to say anything.
Artoria directly used Haki to knock Athena away.
The two little ones walked over.
Ike smiled as he looked at his two children.
After one year of tempering in Wano Country, the changes in the two siblings were not in their appearance.
Instead!
Their spirit and bearing had become completely different. After experiencing training and hardship, their aura had undergone an earth-shaking transformation. The feeling they gave people was already different.
Maturity!
That was maturity.
Different from growth brought by age, these two children had truly matured inwardly. Looking at his two children, Ike nodded and said, "You did very well."
Both children smiled.
The two of them were very happy.
In reality.
For them, wasn't all of this for recognition?
Especially.
The praise from their father. That was their father's recognition of their hard work and effort.
As for other practical rewards?
For Artoria and Seimei, who were born into the Edward Family, those practical rewards were basically not that important.
Precisely because of that.
This was enough.
"Father."
Ike brought the group into the shogun's residence.
This time.
Ike stood on high ground, looking down at the newly renamed Heian-kyō.
"Seimei." Ike suddenly spoke and said very gently, "You did everything very well. To be honest, it far exceeded my expectations. As your father, no one understands your effort better than I do."
"I know very well that you are only eight years old now."
"A person's growth and development requires time. Your age, your bodily development—these are all still matters of the future. No matter how hard you work, if your body has not developed to that level…"
"And yet, at only eight years old, you have already done so much."
"I heard that many of your orders had problems."
"However."
Ike said very seriously, "Seimei, as a ruler, what you have done is already extremely outstanding. You have already produced a result that far exceeds your age."
"Father…"
Seimei listened seriously. The corner of his mouth could not help showing a smile. Toward this son who was only eight years old this year, Ike's heart was filled with approval and praise.
Only, he did not say everything aloud.
As a child.
At this moment, he was truly very happy.
Seimei, instead, was so happy that he could barely speak.
Kurozumi Yuhua stood behind Ike and said gently, "Seimei, alright, alright. You have been mature since you were little. However! You are still only a child right now."
Kurozumi Yuhua's voice, carrying a gentle smile, was also filled with heartache.
He was only a child.
But!
As his mother, she seemed to have failed to do the things a mother should do. Her child had matured too quickly.
Ike also smiled lightly and said, "Alright, alright. There is nothing much to say about this matter. Next, you only need to pay attention, stabilize your body, and also learn properly from future mistakes. Do not make the same mistake again."
"I will."
Seimei nodded seriously. His eyes flickered with light as he said with great seriousness, "Father, I will definitely turn this place into the true Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."
Ike smiled emotionally, his smile becoming even stronger. He was truly very satisfied with his son.
No need to explain the situation further.
Ike turned his head and looked at his daughter, then smiled and asked, "Lily, how do you feel after this training?"
At that moment, accompanied by a tearing sound, from a distance, Athena once again came flying over.
Whoosh!
Artoria's eyes and hands were quick. She directly caught Athena, then tossed her aside.
Problem solved.
Anyway, Athena could not be killed.
Everyone was already used to it.
"I learned a lot." Artoria thought briefly and said seriously, "Father, I learned a great deal of knowledge. Watching Wano Country's changes, I also studied many things. And through repeated training and battle, I have also been growing. I feel that I have gained a lot."
"That is good." Ike smiled and said, "That is the best thing! What you need to do is learn. That is enough."
In short.
That was all.
Ike was truly very satisfied with his two children.
Whether it was Artoria or Seimei.
Truly.
Truly!
This pair of children had not disappointed him at all. They had both grown wonderfully, becoming two of the most outstanding children. This made him the happiest.
To Ike, even if Wano Country had failed, it would not have mattered. As long as the two children had grown, that would have been the best result. And the reality was that not only had the children grown, Wano Country had also been perfectly brought under control.
There was no need to say anything more.
Growth and gains were sometimes just like this.
Especially for these two important children.
Ike's smile was truly gentle. He smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.
Next!
It was time to return.
The ship sailed into the distance, leaving Wano Country's sea area.
This time.
Seimei naturally had to stay behind and participate in the banquet remotely.
There was no way around it.
After all, he had just taken control of Wano Country. If he left as well, then any problems would become very troublesome.
So Kurozumi Higurashi also stayed behind.
However!
Kurozumi Daigan went to the Totto Land sea area instead.
Compared to Kurozumi Fukurokuju and Kurozumi Kanjuro, who were somewhat twisted people, Kurozumi Daigan had a much more normal personality. His ability and strength were not particularly outstanding, only that of an average person.
But!
For Kurozumi Higurashi, this was already enough. The Kurozumi clan had already become a prestigious family in Wano Country and had already obtained Wano Country. They did not need a powerful clan head.
Someone like Kurozumi Daigan, who had ability and could preserve what was already built, was the most suitable.
As for someone ambitious?
That would instead be unsuitable!
Although Young Master had the bloodline of the Kurozumi clan, if the Kurozumi clan did not listen, then the ruthlessness with which he would act would absolutely not need to be explained. Precisely because of that, this was the most important point. It was better to behave honestly.
Wano Country was Wano Country of the Kurozumi clan.
There was nothing wrong with understanding it this way.
The true core was that Wano Country was Wano Country of the Edward Family. That was the real core and foundation.
Precisely because of that.
Do not be careless.
And definitely do not do foolish things.
Otherwise…
Something would truly happen.
Very soon.
After one month of sailing.
On December 28th.
The group finally returned to the Totto Land sea area.
Redfield also returned to the Totto Land sea area. Overall, Redfield had not been with the Rocks Pirates for this entire year. Of course, that made people feel strange.
However!
All the missions had been completed by Newgate.
To Rocks, he did not care who completed the missions. As long as he assigned you a mission and you completed it, then that was enough.
That was already sufficient.
As for who exactly completed the mission?
That was irrelevant!
This was the core of everything.
Newgate laughed boldly and said, "You're finally back! Let me see! My eldest niece! My eldest nephew!"
"Good!"
"Good!"
Newgate said happily, "I heard all about it. Your performance was excellent!"
Streusen stood behind Newgate and also nodded in agreement.
Ike looked at his big brother's behavior and complained, "Big brother, the way you look right now is really disgusting! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the one who accomplished something."
Newgate curled his lips and said as if it were only natural, "My niece and my nephew! Is there any difference between what they did and what I did? What do you know?"
"Big brother, you really have no shame!"
"What? I'm a pirate. What's wrong with that?"
Ike and Newgate, the two brothers, immediately began arguing with each other.
However!
Very soon.
Everything returned to calm.
Everyone was extremely happy.
Except for Athena.
Inside the villa, Athena trembled as a figure stood in front of her.
"Mother!"
Athena was so scared she was about to cry. Snake Princess, however, wore a smile. Her whole person displayed a strange smile as she said in an extremely eerie tone, "Little Athena, you've really grown capable! You can even do something like this now, can't you?"
"Gawain."
Gawain, who had been watching the excitement from the side, heard his mother call him. His whole body stiffened, and he quickly walked over in an obedient manner.
Snake Princess smiled and said, "Gawain, go hang your younger sister up. Then go call little Mordred, little Morgan, and little Jeanne over for me. Tonight, we will deal with this right here."
"Huh?!"
Gawain froze. Snake Princess smiled and asked, "Do you have an opinion?"
"No!"
Gawain immediately obeyed.
So scary!
So scary!
His mother was truly too scary!
Gawain was almost frightened to tears.
Of course.
Snake Princess did not actually beat them. After all, for Athena, whether she used gravity or gravity manipulation, it all had a comedic effect and could not be too serious. But under that oppressive aura, the four little girls trembled together.
In the end.
After the two sisters left, Gawain quickly ran away too. He did not dare stay there any longer. This was way too damn terrifying. His mother was truly too frightening.
For Athena, this was only the beginning!
Mordred, Morgan le Fay, and Jeanne had already surrounded Athena.
"Little Athena!"
Mordred's eyes flickered with a terrifying light. "You brat, you actually dared to sneak away first?"
"Sister!"
Morgan le Fay and Jeanne's eyes also flickered with terrifying light. The two little sisters were also extremely unhappy.
Clearly!
Everyone had agreed to go together, yet you actually slipped away on your own. In the end, things became like this. This was truly unacceptable.
Looking at her three sisters like this, Athena turned around and wanted to run.
Unfortunately, by this time, it was already too late.
"It's too late."
"Wait for death!"
A deafening commotion came from inside the villa.
The New Year's banquet.
As always, began lively and warmly. This year's New Year's banquet was especially grand.
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