Five days later — Marine Headquarters.

Of course, by this time the Marine Headquarters was already the new base in the New World. Marineford had long since been rebuilt and left behind. Behind the new Marine Headquarters stood a newly established Marine Town, home to countless marines and their families.

That was when Gion returned.

Clad in casual clothes that outlined her perfect figure, draped with a cloak of justice, she radiated both charm and majesty.

She was the goddess of countless Marines — admired by all, feared by many.

"Vice Admiral Gion, welcome back!"

"She's so beautiful!"

"Wasn't she always this beautiful?"

"She really is the Marine's goddess! Even more stunning than Marine Rear Admiral Hina!"

"Of course — and she's far stronger than Hina as well!"

The chatter spread quickly as she passed. Many marines stared at her with shining eyes, but Gion ignored them.

In the past, she might have greeted them with a smile, but ever since becoming Elior's woman, she no longer cared to even speak to men. Her demeanor toward the opposite sex had grown cold and distant.

Five days ago, after consuming the devil fruit, Gion's strength had skyrocketed. Her swordsmanship fused with the fruit's flames, granting her devastating new techniques.

Though she had only just begun to master the fruit, her starting point was already leagues above most. She could unleash overwhelming destructive power — and with her newfound ability to transform into flames, she possessed an extraordinary defense.

Normally, Seastone and seawater were the greatest weaknesses of devil fruit users. But thanks to Elior's ability to erase the side effects, Gion had tested both — and found them useless against her.

Only armament haki could wound her now.

On top of that, Elior had personally instructed her in the use of ryuo, and her natural talent let her grasp it quickly.

For Gion, this was happiness — proof that Elior treasured her, proof that her place in his heart had grown. Even when he slept, he instinctively reached for her, holding her tightly… regardless of whether Reiju was lying right beside them.

It was instinct — and to Gion, it was responsibility. She could not allow herself to let Elior down.

Soon, she arrived at the Fleet Admiral's office.

Inside were Kizaru, Akainu, and Vice Admiral Tsuru.

"Gion, you're back" Tsuru said warmly, treating her like family despite their lack of blood relation.

"Yes. Mission complete. I came to report."

She stood before Akainu and gave her report: four pirate crews eliminated, with captains whose bounties ranged from 420 million to 630 million beli. Altogether, more than two billion beli worth of pirates were gone. Including the rest of their crews, the combined total was at least three billion.

One of those crews, in truth, had been destroyed by Elior himself — but he had told Gion to count it among her achievements. And so she did. Their corpses, no doubt, had been fed to Sea Kings.

"Excellent work, Gion" Akainu said, visibly impressed and without questioning her report. Her reputation within the Marine was solid.

Then Gion asked, carefully probing for information:

"Fleet Admiral, has the Marine taken any action recently against Elior? After all… he killed another Celestial Dragon."

Three of the four Celestial Dragons who died in Gran Tesoro had been slain by her own hands. Yet after the incident, neither the Marine nor the World Government had made a move. They had only retrieved the corpses. The silence was unsettling.

"We were told to wait. To be blunt, there's been no action at all," Akainu admitted, clearly frustrated. Even he couldn't understand the inaction of the World Government's highest authority. Four Celestial Dragons were dead — how could the Gorosei remain calm?

And yet, not only had they stayed quiet, but Tesoro had also publicly declared his allegiance to Elior, vowing that Gran Tesoro would bar Celestial Dragons forevermore.

Akainu, despite his rank, had no way of knowing the secret conversations between the Gorosei and Im.

Those talks carried heavy implications.

For now, the World Government's plan was to maintain stability, avoiding any drastic shifts before the upcoming "sacrifice". After that, new strategies would be enacted.

"I see" Gion replied. Seeing nothing more to gain, she left the office — with Tsuru accompanying her.

"Tsuru, is something wrong?" Gion asked.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to talk. It's been a while since we've had the chance, hasn't it?"

"Mm."

"I only hope you'll start a family one day. Unlike me… I've devoted my whole life to the Marine."

Gion froze for a moment, realizing she was being urged toward marriage. Of course Tsuru was the one most entitled to speak so — she had been Gion's greatest support within the Marine all these years.

But did she need marriage?

Of course not. She already had Elior.

Her path was clear: to fight at his side, to help him achieve dominion.

She offered Tsuru a few polite words, then shifted the conversation elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Elior had returned to Paradise.

His first order of business was to acquire the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia Judge possessed. Though Judge didn't have it at hand, Elior now knew he could claim it whenever he wished.

After greeting Bullet and the others, Elior returned to his residence, where his women and companions awaited: Reiju, Bonney, Hiyori, Yamato, Baby 5, and the two children, Tama and Sugar.

Here, Yamato and Baby 5 were not his women — merely subordinates and attendants. Baby 5 was… uniquely wired, and Yamato, as Kaido's daughter, stirred little desire in him.

Still, he considered whether to release his Absolute Command on Yamato, to see if she might be tamed naturally.

That night, Hiyori once again faced Elior alone. Her heart was heavy. To share her body with the man who had killed someone she once held dear — and worse, to feel herself longing for him — was misery beyond words.

As Reiju had told her: Just stay here. Don't think of anything else.

And so, when Elior embraced her, Hiyori's strength too increased, his strange physique sharing its vitality with her.

Three more days passed.

Then news arrived from Doflamingo: the Revolutionary Army was preparing to liberate a tyrannical nation in the New World.

It was exactly what Elior had been waiting for.

If he wanted to uncover the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, all he needed was to capture a single squad… even a single member.

Until the Revolutionary Army was destroyed, Elior would never feel at ease.