Chapter 150: Tough Woman

"Thank you, my lord," Fujitora said, "but you're much younger than I imagined. To be able to accomplish such feats at your age truly makes me feel like all these years have been wasted!"

Fujitora examined Luo Ning and realized he was far younger than expected. In his mind, Luo Ning should be middle-aged; such accomplishments at a young age were unheard of.

"That's impressive. In that case, Mr. Fujitora, Zephyr will be here soon to collect the Beast Pirates criminals. Please return with him afterwards. With your help, Zephyr's burden will lighten considerably."

Luo Ning smiled. Although Zephyr hadn't complained, Luo Ning understood the pressure he shouldered.

Zephyr enjoyed his work because he felt the Marines' justice didn't align with his ideals. They even turned his enemy into a Shichibukai in the original story. So, he left the Marines and joined the new Marine.

Now, fighting pirates brought him immense satisfaction. After all, with Luo Ning and the Impel Down forces present, he didn't need to follow the Marines' or World Government's face-saving orders. He could simply capture pirates freely.

Furthermore, Luo Ning's decisive actions in the New World directly reduced the Four Emperors to one, stabilizing the region without causing chaos. This was a positive outcome.

In fact, among the former Four Emperors, only Kaido's territory remained significantly chaotic.

Kaido and Big Mom didn't operate that way. Big Mom's forces in Totto Land simply required a period of servitude from citizens. Most were willing to make this sacrifice.

Only Kaido's territory descended into complete chaos. However, Whitebeard and Katakuri had annexed it, and integrating everything would take time.

So, Luo Ning's offensive against the pirates had undoubtedly improved the New World's stability, which greatly pleased Zephyr.

Without the provocation of Weevil becoming a Shichibukai, the current Zephyr wasn't as extreme as his original counterpart. Therefore, he could still accept certain things.

"I've heard of Marine predecessor, Admiral Black Arm Zephyr," Fujitora said with a smile. "I'll do my best to assist him."

"Then take these next few days to rest. After all, you won't have much free time in the future!"

Luo Ning chatted with Fujitora for a while longer before he left. According to Fujitora, he was going to gamble. He was quite the gambler, one might say.

Of course, Fujitora's gambling was usually for amusement. It was an odd habit, and no one knew what exactly went through his mind.

After Fujitora left, Yamato quickly found Luo Ning.

"What's wrong? Weren't you enjoying your stay in the Flower Capital? Why do you need me?"

Luo Ning looked somewhat helplessly at the ironclad woman before him. After spending a few days together, Luo Ning truly felt she was an ironclad woman. However, she shared Luffy's stubborn streak – she was truly immovable once she set her mind on something.

"Well, I want to join your crew," Yamato declared bluntly. "Can you take me with you when you set sail?"

"Why the sudden urge to join me? If you want to sail the seas, you can always recruit your own crew," Luo Ning said. While he had his guesses, he was still curious why this ironclad woman wanted to join him.

Although Luo Ning had some suspicions, he still couldn't help but be curious. Why did this ironclad woman want to join him?

"I thought about recruiting crew members too," Yamato admitted, "but it's incredibly difficult. There are practically no navigators here in Wano Country. Going to sea with me is basically impossible!"

Frankly, Yamato felt helpless as well. Wano Country had been isolated for years. How could there possibly be any navigators? People knew they couldn't leave, so why learn a skill that was completely useless?

Yamato couldn't even find crewmates.

"That's the issue, it is quite troublesome," Luo Ning said. "But you have to understand that if you join my crew, you'll need to follow orders in the future."

"I know, I'm ready for that too! I'll follow orders!" Yamato immediately burst into laughter, making Luo Ning wonder if he'd made a mistake. Would recruiting this tough woman drag down the entire Impel Down's average IQ? That was a big question.

"By the way, Master Luo Ning, can you help me convince Hiyori? I want to be her father, but she's always refused to acknowledge me!" Yamato said with distress.

Luo Ning's eyelids twitched wildly after hearing Yamato's words. Honestly, as long as Kozuki Hiyori wasn't brain-dead, it would be impossible for her to recognize Yamato. It was simply impossible for any normal person to do so.

Yamato was about the same age as Kozuki Hiyori, just a few years apart, and they were both women. There was no way Kozuki Hiyori would ever recognize Yamato as her father.

"Just give up on it," Luo Ning advised. "She'll never recognize you as a father. If you have free time, you might as well learn some things about sailing. You don't need to think of yourself as Kozuki Oden. Wasn't his goal founding the country? Now that that wish has been fulfilled, you don't have to cling to his identity.

"You can change your goals now and focus on going to sea later!"

While Luo Ning had recruited Yamato, he didn't expect much from her. She might be okay in a fight, but putting her in a leadership role would likely lead to disaster. So, Luo Ning was essentially raising a high-level thug.

He unleashed his silver tongue – after all, with his knowledge bombardment from the modern world, wouldn't fooling a simpleton be easy?

However, Yamato's admiration for Kozuki Oden was deeply ingrained. Luo Ning could only try to guide her in a different direction.

She admired Kozuki Oden for his actions. Perhaps he could shift her focus towards the freedom of adventure.

After a wave of verbal persuasion from Luo Ning, Yamato gradually started to change her mind.

The key was that Yamato was a simpleton. To put it bluntly, Kaido had used the wrong approach. Luo Ning could use a different method. After all, Yamato was already a straightforward and simple person.

He could manipulate her with an excuse, so he wouldn't have to worry about the father-daughter relationship.

Furthermore, Kozuki Oden wasn't exactly a good role model. What kind of good example was someone who stole things from people on the street?

So, a little manipulation could change Yamato's perspective.