As for the Golden Lion, he was not wasted. Although Shin extracted his Devil Fruit, he also immersed himself in modifying the Golden Lion, directly turning his soul into a pulp and then manipulating his body with an implanted chip to repair his wounded body.
Although this caused his level of Haki to drop significantly, the truth was that, due to the rudder lodged in his head and the toll of aging, the Golden Lion's original mastery of Haki had already dwindled. By the end of his life, his Haki was practically nonexistent.
Now, with the help of the electronic chip, he was at least able to regain a basic level of Armament Haki, which could even be considered an enhancement.
A fully healed Golden Lion, with peak-level Life Return and a foundational Armament Haki, still surpassed many ordinary elite vice admirals in combat power.
However, this level of strength was of no use to Shin. More importantly, the Float-Float Fruit, which accounted for seventy to eighty percent of the Golden Lion's power, had been taken by Shin.
Therefore, he simply repurposed him as a bodyguard, escorting researchers and classified information to Punk Hazard.
Additionally, Shin used the Munch-Munch Fruit to alter the Golden Lion's appearance. His previous features were too recognizable, and even in perfect health, he might still be identified.
After half a month of effort, everything was finally settled. During this time, Ryuma had left for Shimotsuki Village, where his descendants resided, while Shin prepared to regroup with his subordinates.
Although Shin had been absent, he maintained daily communication through the Den Den Mushi. Because of this, he was aware that the Azure Dragon had almost reached Drum Kingdom, where he first resided.
After some teleporting, Shin reappeared in the cabin of the Azure Dragon. Almost immediately, he heard the sounds of clashing weapons and shouting.
"What's going on? Someone dares to cause trouble for us? This is still the first half of the Grand Line. Even the weakest among us, Violet, could sweep away most of the pirates here." Curious, Shin turned his head to look, only to find the entire crew standing at the edge of the deck, watching a battle unfold.
Now that he focused, he could see two towering figures engaged in a fierce battle. Their colossal weapons clashed with a deafening roar, which was what had initially made Shin think a fight had broken out on the ship.
"What massive giants... This is Little Garden, isn't it? The island where Luffy encountered those two dueling giant warriors?"
Little Garden was an interesting side story in One Piece. Two giants had been stuck there for centuries, engaging in daily duels over a trivial matter that even Shin could barely remember. They had fought thousands of times over hundreds of years.
It was fortunate that they were giants with long lifespans—an ordinary person wouldn't have lived long enough to duel as many times as they had.
"Captain Shin, you're back!" Violet, who had been using her Clairvoyance, was the first to notice Shin's return.
"What's going on? How did we end up here?" Shin asked curiously.
"We didn't follow the Log Pose. Little Garden is actually a shortcut," Violet explained. With her ability to see nearly 4,000 meters in all directions, she was far more reliable than any Log Pose.
Shin nodded and looked at the two giants, who were completely absorbed in their duel and paid no attention to the Azure Dragon.
However, Shin had no desire to interact with them. Giants were simple-minded and stubborn. Even in a world where people tended to have straightforward personalities, giants were known for being particularly headstrong.
Shin felt he had nothing to discuss with these two warriors, who had spent centuries fighting over an argument long forgotten.
After what Shin considered a rather monotonous battle, but what the two giants found exhilarating, they finally turned to look at the Azure Dragon.
Violet and the crew had stopped at Little Garden mainly to restock supplies. Of course, hunting and foraging on the island would have been troublesome, so trading with the giants was a more convenient option.
Having spent centuries on Little Garden, the two giants had amassed a large stockpile of food, including dried meat, fruits, and vegetables.
However, since they had no concept of money, they had no use for currency.
In the end, Shin used the Munch-Munch Fruit to repair their nearly broken weapons, which the giants considered a valuable gift. Overjoyed, they provided an enormous amount of food—so much that it nearly sank the Azure Dragon.
Fortunately, the crew managed to store everything properly, and without any encounters with the infamous Island-Eating Goldfish, they departed from Little Garden without incident.
"Captain Shin, that ship has been following us for a while now."
Violet, watching from a distance, pointed toward a vessel trailing them.
Shin glanced at the ship but remained unconcerned. "Ignore it. It's probably just another group of brainless pirates on the Grand Line. Damn the World Government. Ever since they tightened their control over information, people have no idea who we are. That's why so many fools keep throwing themselves at us."
Throughout their journey, they had encountered many ignorant pirates who failed to recognize the Azure Dragon and foolishly attempted to attack them.
The real problem was that these low-level pirates didn't even have Devil Fruits, making them entirely uninteresting to Shin.
"I don't think so. They don't have a pirate flag," Violet noted.
Shin raised an eyebrow. "No pirate flag? Then they aren't pirates?"
In the One Piece world, pirate crews held their Jolly Rogers in extremely high regard. Throughout the entire story, there were almost no instances of pirate groups willingly hiding their flags.
After contemplating for a moment, Shin finally shrugged. "Forget it. As long as they just follow us, I don't care. If they have any funny ideas, I'll deal with them then."
"For now, let's focus on reaching Drum Island."
However, Shin overlooked an important detail—while many low-level pirates didn't recognize the Azure Dragon, the ship wasn't completely unknown. Some people had heard about it.
For example, Brook, who had searched for Laboon, had shared his past experiences. As a result, some individuals were aware of the Azure Dragon's existence.
And the ones following them now weren't enemies—they were people seeking Shin's help.
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