[2400 Words]
------------------------------------------
[After 20 minutes]
The secret meeting place was abandoned and hidden away from everyone's eyes, it was an abandoned tunnel in the outskirts of the city.
It was difficult to access and characterized by little activity in that place, There was a secret and hidden entrance accessed by a secret staircase, which increased the secrecy of the meeting and made it safer from the eyes of observers.
The place was characterized by dark and eerie atmosphere, with the smell of moisture and darkness creating an atmosphere of mystery and calm.
Ren descended the stairs of the secret corridor and was still surprised by Tashigi's ability to find such a hidden place.
According to Tashigi, this tunnel was a hideout for criminals in Loguetown decades ago, After the death of these criminals, it remained unchanged and was discovered by Marines, but they decided not to use any human forces to guard it.
It was just a waste of effort and money.
The tunnel walls were covered with old stones and wood, After walking for several minutes, Ren reached his room.
The furniture in the room was simple and old, adding an atmosphere of antiquity and history to the place.
"Yo~ Tashigi." Ren looked at the familiar beautiful girl who smiled at him.
"Hi Captain~ You're a little late." Tashigi greeted him and got up from her seat then approached him.
"I faced some minor obstacles on my way , but I managed to arrive." When Ren saw Tashigi approaching him, he hugged her suddenly.
"Ah!" Tashigi screamed from the sudden hug but didn't resist, instead she smiled.
Ren's other crew members, along with Lorena, were present, Nami looked at their necking scene with envy.
'How many girls does this man have...' Lorena couldn't help but feel surprised.
On the other side, Nojiko and Kaya sat quietly waiting for the meeting to begin.
After the brief hug, Ren sat in his seat on the sofa, and Tashigi did the same.
"I assume you all know each other well?" Ren looked at the girls in front of him, referring to Tashigi and Lorena naturally.
"Yes~ Lorena-san is a very nice person."Tashigi nodded and smiled at Lorena.
Lorena did the same, she was surprised by Tashigi's identity in the Marines, which made her feel Ren's clever methods, His crew managed to infiltrate the Marines as well!
"The main thing we will discuss today is the new Marine Captain in Loguetown, You know her Tashigi, right?"
Upon hearing Ren's words, Tashigi nodded in agreement and said:"Do you mean Hina-san? Yes, she was a famous Marine recruit inthe Grand Line."
"Good, your main interest in gathering information and climbing the ranks is to recruit Hina to our side."
Ren's words surprised Tashigi a little, but she quickly put her hand on her chin and started thinking.
"It will be a bit Hard...Hina-san was an old friend of Smoker-san after all." She frowned.
"I know it's difficult, but it's worth a try, I'll help you if you encounter any obstacles, Can you do it, Tashigi?" He smiled as he held her hands gently.
Tashigi felt her captain's warm touch and tried to focus then said:"Since the captain trusts me this much, how can I let him down? I'll do it!"
"Good! That's my Tashigi." Tashigi tried to ignore the "my" part and focused on Ren's next words.
"After finishing with Hina, we should move on to the main issue."
Everyone listened seriously this time, even Lorena, who considered herself just a temporary passenger on this pirate ship, felt tense.
She had never attended a meeting of outlaws before! She was a princess used to a safe and happy life.
"Our next goal is to overthrow one of the Shichibukai."
As soon as Ren spoke, the girls' expressions changed.
Of course, they knew what the term Shichibukai meant.
These were the "licensed" pirates, chosen carefully by the World Government, either for their strength or for their large armies.
Each one of them was known for their power that ordinary pirates couldn't afford to offend.
They could openly commit acts of piracy without being chased by the Marines, and the bounties on their heads were frozen, and bounty hunters stopped bothering them.
In short, there were many advantages to being a Shichibukai.
Tashigi took a deep breath and said, "Which one of them?"
Everyone looked at Ren waiting for his answer to Tashigi's question.
"It's Crocodile."
"It will be a little difficult..That person is a Logia user after all." Tashigi quickly responded.
Ren laughed lightly then looked at his spy and said:"You're wrong, I can defeat Crocodile with little effort."
He didn't wait for her response and said:"Do you know how I defeated Smoker when he was a Logia user?"
Tashigi's expression didn't change when she heard about Smoker; instead, she focused on Ren's words, After thinking for a moment, she replied:"In the battle, He mentioned something about Haki."
Ren nodded to her, about to explain Haki to her, when he heard her voice again: "I've been doing some research in the past few days about Haki, and I found out that it's a power that can harm Devil Fruit users, especially Logia, and negate their advantages."
"Your research is almost successful, but that's just Armament Haki. There are many types of Haki..."
As Ren explained Haki and its types to Tashigi, something interesting was happening elsewhere.
.
Marineford.
In Vice Admiral Garp's office.
A tall, old man with gray hair and blue eyes, tan, broad-chested, muscular, with a beard and a scar above his left eye.
This was The Vice Admiral Garp, also known as the Marine Hero.
The Marine Hero currently held a wanted poster and looked angrily at the smiling face.
"Luffy!! That brat! He became a pirate when I was away for a few months!" he shouted, and cookie crumbs flew out of his mouth.
The Marines didn't know why their hero was angry when he saw a wanted poster for one of the East Blue's small pirates, and no one dared to ask.
For Garp, when he returned to Goa Kingdom, he swore that he would teach these criminals a lesson they wouldn't forget.
"First Ace, now Luffy...These brats!" he shouted again like an angry gorilla.
After calming down, he returned to his desk and picked up his biscuit, starting to eat.
"I heard that Sengoku is very angry cause of a certain pirate in the East Blue...What was his name again?"
Garp tried to remember the pirate who put his friend in a bad mood, then called one of his subordinates.
"Bring me a copy of that pirate's file...the Black Death Ren, Yes! that's his name! My memory is still good."
Ignoring the assistant's strange behavior, Vice Admiral Garp complied with the orders ,After a few minutes, he returned from the Chief of Staff Tsuru's office with a file in his hand.
Garp opened the file and saw Ren's picture, "He looks young" he said casually.
"Place of birth unknown... Age unknown...Current location East Blue...Crimes: Destruction of a Marine branch in Cocoyashi Village...Killing the branch commander, killing the Logia user Smoker and his soldiers..."
Garp looked at the information gathered by the Navy's intelligence with a sigh. "Pirates are becoming bolder day by day."
He put the file aside and decided to keep a copy, then his expression became a little worried.
"I hope Luffy doesn't meet that troublemaker...Otherwise, things will get messy." Garp could only wish.
He couldn't rush to East Blue right now; he needed a good excuse for Sengoku to allow it. Also, he had just returned from his vacation and had accumulated duties.
"Sight..I don't know why I have this bad feeling" Garp sighed again and stuck his finger in his nose. It wasn't his habit to think too much about things, He ate his rice cake and biscuits, then quickly fell asleep.
In Sengoku's office.
The Fleet Admiral was currently talking seriously with Hina in Den Den Mushi.
"You haven't found any trace of him even after nearly 20 days of searching?" he asked calmly, but anger could be seen in his tone.
Hina, who was on the other side of the Den Den Mushi, answered: "Yes...It seems like the earth split open and swallowed him."
Sengoku sighed, then quickly gave Hina the next plans:
"He will appear sooner or later in the Grand Line; maybe he's sailing in the opposite mountain to enter."
Hina nodded on the other side, and Sengoku's voice returned again: "As for you, I'll arrange for you to return to your original Marine base, The person who will replace you has already set sail and is likely to arrive in a few days."
"That's all for now."
Hina's voice came: "Understood, sir!"
*Catcha~*
After the call was closed, Sengoku ordered one of his subordinates:
"Summon The Vice Admiral Doberman here!"
.
In an unknown sea.
An Hitsugibune sailed alone in calm waters, with only one person on board.
Hitsugibune was a small boat used by Warlord of the Sea Dracule Mihawk.
Hitsugibune resembled a coffin with illuminated candles on its edges burning with green fire, The ship was large enough for only one person, with a mast in the middle resembling a large cross, resembling Mihawk's sword, with black sails and a seat for himself.
The person sitting on the seat was as calm as the surrounding water.
It was Dracule Mihawk, also known as Hawk-Eye!
He was a tall, slim, muscular man with black hair, a short beard, and mustache, with strands pointing upwards.
His nickname comes from his strangely colored red eyes, resembling those of a falcon.
Mihawk wears elaborately decorated black and red clothes with a cross necklace hiding a small dagger, giving him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman.
His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat adorned with a large plume, a long black coat open to reveal red velvet inside with no shirt underneath, and red flower-embroidered sleeves and collar.
He wears white trousers secured with a decorated belt and tucked inside oversized boots compared to the size of his legs.
Mihawk wears his katana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross necklace with a dagger that seems to match his larger counterpart, Yoru, and carries his sword, Yoru, on his back when not in use.
Mihawk looked towards the horizon and saw a island; his expression unchanged, he continued to drift towards it.
On the island.
A random pirate raised his binoculars and looked at the strange boat.
"Oy! That's...That's! It's Hawk-Eye Mihawk!"
"Quick, Tell the captain!"
.
Mihawk sat across from a man with red hair; the first thing noticeable about the red-haired man was that he only had one arm.
This was Shanks, the Red-Haired, Emperor of the Sea!
Shanks always wears a long black cloak over his shoulders, along with a white shirt with only half of its buttons done, leaving part of his chest exposed.
A large red sash is tied around his waist, and he carries his sword on his right side. He also wears sky-blue patterned short trousers and sandals.
Mihawk met with Shanks and informed him about Luffy, then they started a drinking contest. Everything seemed calm, but...
Mihawk took out another wanted poster and said;"The Kid you're betting on might face some trouble, Shanks."
Shanks, who was almost drunk, looked at the wanted poster in Mihawk's hand and took it, then said: "Who's this?"
"He's a New pirate, interestingly, his bounty is high compared to the weaklings in the East Blue, and he killed a Logia user."
"Oh? So he's likely a Haki user" after hearing Mihawk's explanation, Shanks nodded his head and started laughing.
"Hahaha! this will be Luffy's first test in this sea; he'll fight stronger enemies in the future, so he must gain experience before entering the new world."
After finishing his speech, he turned to his crew members, "Isn't that right, guys?!"
"Yes!!"
"Hahaha!"
"Drink and enjoy more!"
"We're counting on you, Luffy!"
Shanks' crew cheered loudly as they drank heavily.
Mihawk looked at this scene without changing his expression and muttered, "I hope things go as you wish..."
.
Loguetown, in the secret hideout.
Ren explained Haki and its abilities to Tashigi; after understanding this part, Ren told her about Crocodile's plan to take over Arabasta.
The girls were shocked to learn that this Warlord had the audacity to think about ruling a kingdom, and Ren dropped another bombshell, telling them that there was another Warlord in the new world who had already done this.
However, he quickly asked them to forget about that matter; they needed to focus on Crocodile now.
"I always felt that this Warlord system was just nonsense!" Tashigi gritted her teeth.
"Allowing pirates to do as they please will only make them greedier for more, Didn't the World Government think that this system would have opposite results?" Nojiko said sarcastically.
Lorena remained silent; she was scared and finally felt the extent of the pirates' terror.
Nami enjoyed the side and was ready to fight if Ren asked her to.
"How did you know all this, Captain Ren?" Kaya asked the question on everyone's mind.
Ren laughed and said,"Special sources as usual~"
They didn't delve further into this matter and listened to Ren's next words, "We will take down Crocodile, and I6 take his position as one of the Warlords..This will help me carry out my plans without interference from the Marines."
Ren turned to Tashigi and continued, "This will also be a good opportunity for you, Tashigi, to rise in rank, Once I get evidence implicating Crocodile, I'll give it to you and you must deliver it to the Marines, claiming it to be the result of your research after you felt something was wrong."
The girls weren't surprised by Ren's desire to become one of the Warlords, but Tashigi asked another question,"But how will I interfere in Grand Line affairs while I am just an officer in Loguetown Marine branch?"
Ren anticipated her question and quickly answered:
"That's because of Hina; she will likely return to her Marine branch, which is on one of the islands near Arabasta, She will take you with her since you were Smoker's subordinate, Because of her friendship with Smoker, so she will help you in this matter."
Tashigi nodded in understanding and said: "This is a really deep plan."
Ren laughed, then got up from the couch and said:"That's all for now."
------------------------------------------
Author's gossiping.
What do you think about this story's update rate?"