One Piece: Starting with God Valley, intercepting the Dark-Dark Fruit

However, because he acted hastily, the aftershocks of the sword energy still affected Lucia, who was standing next to him, leaving a thin line of blood below her left eye.

Bright red blood flowed from the wound, but Lucia was completely unaware. She clutched tightly at the hem of Garin's clothes, pleading...

"Please, please take Lord Jigsang away! He'll die if this continues!"

Garin, annoyed by Lucia's shouts, shoved her away. Before he could even speak, Gigg, seeing the injured Lucia, suddenly opened his eyes wide, a violent surge of electricity erupting from his body, and roared...

"Lucia!"

Gulando quickly withdrew his hand, staring blankly at his palm, which had turned slightly black from the electric shock, and suddenly fell into a state of frenzy.

"Hahaha, I did it! I did it!"

Garin was stunned by what he saw. He stared intently at Gulando and demanded,

"What exactly is going on? Did you really conduct some kind of experiment on Giger?! You'd better explain yourself!"

Gulando stopped laughing, tilted his head to look at Garin, and said,

"Garin, are you ordering me around, my younger brother? You're not even the head of the family yet!"

Garin pointed his sword at Grando and responded curtly.

"So what? Have you forgotten that as the captain of the Knights of God, I have the power to judge Celestial Dragons? Now, I want you to tell me exactly what you did."

Gulando was stunned for a moment, then he covered his face and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Yes, the commander of the Knights of God, what a magnificent sight!"

As he laughed, Gulando's expression grew increasingly ferocious. He suddenly met Garin's eyes and said through gritted teeth,

"That spot should have been mine. Don't try to show off to me. You want to know what I did? Fine! I'll tell you!"

He looked down at the stunned Gigg and said in a soft, feminine voice,

“I admit that no matter how much I cultivate, it will be difficult for me to surpass you in strength. But I have a good son. His talent is even stronger than yours. Tell me, how can I waste such a body?”

As he spoke, Gulando gently stroked Jig's forehead with his hand. His hand wasn't cold, but Jig shivered.

"Gig's body is like a rough gem that needs careful development, and I've put in a lot of effort for that."

He walked to a table, grabbed a report from it, and threw it at Garin, saying,

"Look at this ingenious design!"

Garin took the report, but after reading only two pages, a chill ran down his spine. He slammed the report to the ground, glared at Gulando, and shouted...

"You're absolutely insane! Giger's just a child, how could he possibly withstand this kind of experiment!?"

Gulando snorted coldly and said,

"My child is none of your business. If you have nothing to say, don't disturb my research."

Garin showed no intention of leaving. He drew his sword and approached Gulando, speaking each word clearly and deliberately.

“You’re not fit to be a father if you hand Gig over to me.”

Despite the enraged Garin, Grando remained remarkably calm, raising his arm and speaking in a flippant tone.

"Oh? I almost forgot, you're going to be a father soon, aren't you?"

Click!

The floorboards cracked under Garin's footsteps. He stopped abruptly, looking at Grando in disbelief, and said...

"You, how did you..."

"How would I know? Haha, my good brother, all you do is cultivate all day long. How much do you know about the big and small things in the family? What little thing can escape my eyes?"

Garin's face turned ugly; he stood there frozen, sword in hand. Guland chuckled a few times and continued...

"I advise you to mind your own business, otherwise if that matter gets out, you might not be able to be a father anymore!"

"you!"

Garin's lips trembled with anger. At this moment, he really wanted to chop Gulando in half with his sword, but Gulando's words had indeed firmly grasped his vital point.

Grando slowly walked to Garin's side, reached out and patted his shoulder, and whispered,

"Don't be so tense. We can completely leave each other alone. Besides, my experiment is of great benefit to Giger. Why would I joke about my son's life?"

Garin gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and said through gritted teeth,

"How much longer is this damn experiment going to take?"

"It'll be soon. Didn't you see the electric current that Giger just unleashed? That proves my experimental direction is correct. Give me a little more time, and I'll be able to create the most perfect body in the world for him!"

At this point, Gulando silently added another sentence in his mind.

"It's also for myself."

Garin closed his eyes, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then turned around, grabbed Lucia, and disappeared from the scene.

Outside the lab, Lucia was still crying and begging Garin to save Giger. Garin turned his head away and said coldly,

"Don't cry. You are very loyal to your master, which is excellent. I will arrange for you to join the guard team. Train hard there, and when Giger returns, you can become his personal bodyguard!"

Chapter 45 Return

Lucia accepted Garin's arrangement and joined the Figarando family's guard, training relentlessly every day.

Her idea was simple: if Giger couldn't get out by then, at least she could still do something on her own.

But Gigg ultimately couldn't hold on and died in the laboratory at the age of eight. Naturally, this kind of thing wouldn't be publicized. Only a few people within the Figarand family and a few other heavyweight figures among the Celestial Dragons knew about it.

Lucia was unaware that Gigg was dead, but this was a good thing for her.

Jig was the driving force behind her relentless training; if Jig had known, she probably wouldn't be alive today.

The happiest day of her life was when Garin returned from God Valley and told her that Giger had been released, but due to some special reasons, he was still unable to return to Mary Geoise for the time being.

Although somewhat disappointed, Lucia felt a huge weight lifted from her heart upon hearing the news, and she became even more motivated to cultivate. She looked forward to the day she would meet Giger again.

Six years later, on this day, Garin found her again and told her that Giger was coming back. Now the captain, she was overjoyed and brought her men to wait for Giger before dawn.

When the elevator doors opened, she immediately saw Giger standing in the center. The little girl who used to call her Sister Lucia had now grown into a tall and handsome young man.

Perhaps because so much time had passed, Gigg didn't seem to recognize her after she took off her helmet. But it didn't matter; Lucia felt that her years of waiting had been worthwhile, for her Holy Gigg was standing before her once again.

......

As the memories of Lucia in his mind gradually became clearer, Giger's gaze towards Lucia softened, and he remembered the girl who had followed Garin into the laboratory years ago.

He raised his hand and gently stroked the scar below Lucia's left eye. Lucia's body trembled, and she stared blankly at Giger.

"Lucia, I'm back."

Giger's voice wasn't loud, but it struck Lucia's heart like a hammer blow, filling her large amber eyes with tears.

Because this was the strictly hierarchical Mary Geoise, she suppressed the urge to hug Gigg and said with a smile,

"Young Master, welcome home!"

Giger nodded slightly, and the two stared at each other for a long time. The golden-armored guards that Lucia brought did not move and none of them looked up.

Spandam behind them didn't even dare to breathe, let alone the other men in suits. Anyone with a bit of sense would know that at this moment, keeping their heads down and counting ants was the wisest choice.

Giger reached out and wiped away Lucia's tears, whispering,

"Take me to see Uncle Garin."

Lucia gave a soft "hmm," but as she turned around, her expression instantly turned cold, and she gave orders to the kneeling guards.

"Line up and escort the young master home!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards stood up and lined up in two rows behind Giger, maintaining perfect order throughout.

Spandam swallowed hard, then jumped and shouted behind the guards.

"Lord Giger, I'll be waiting for you on the ship!"

By this time, no one responded to him; Giger and his group had already marched far away.

Celestial Dragons riding slaves passed by from time to time, and upon seeing this spectacle, they immediately began to discuss it.

"Hey, isn't that the Figarando family's personal guard? Who's the leader?"

"Who knows, hehe, isn't that Lucia? She's getting prettier and prettier. I wish I could have her by my side."

"You're just dreaming. Garin Saint has publicly stated that the woman was intended for his nephew, Gige Saint."

“Gig Saint? I almost forgot about him if you hadn’t mentioned him. He’s supposed to be a direct descendant of the Figarando family, but we haven’t seen him show his face yet. We don’t even know if he exists.”

"That's true. My father told me that the Figarando family hasn't had a single heir yet. Saint Garin and Saint Grando don't seem to be very interested in women either. If this continues, the Figarando family might disappear."

"It would be best if they disappeared! Then all their resources would be given to us, right?"

The arrogant voices of several Celestial Dragons rang out, but Giger remained unmoved. Lucia scoffed disdainfully, thinking to herself that even if the Figarand family had fallen into decline, it was not something a bunch of good-for-nothings like you could covet.

Having spent so many years in the Figarando family, she still feels that what she has seen is only the tip of the iceberg of this family.

And now that Lord Giggs has returned, as long as he's there, the Figarando family will continue to exist. Unfortunately, I can't help with that...

A somber look appeared on Lucia's face as she thought of her status as a slave.

"Lucia, you don't look well. What's on your mind?"