"25 million Beli is not a small amount, but there are things more important than Beli."
"Plus, we managed to get a ship this time, so we can put off the matter of getting a new one for now."
Hearing what Wood said, Russ was momentarily stunned. Then, he looked at Wood with a serious expression, as if he was seeing him in a new light.
Wood's recent actions, especially what he did on Asuka Island, left Russ puzzled. Why would someone like Wood, who clearly has a strong sense of justice, choose to betray the Navy?
There was no doubt in Russ's mind anymore—Wood was definitely a person with a heart of justice. After spending this time together, Russ and the others were now 100% sure of this.
Given his inherently just nature, the fact that he had a mentor like Admiral Zephyr in the headquarters, and friends like Gion, Wood should have had a bright future ahead of him. So why would he do something as foolish as releasing the prisoners from Impel Down?
At first, Russ thought Wood was motivated by money, which fit his character perfectly.
But then Wood left the bounty of One-Eyed Bebbart on Asuka Island, and Russ started to notice something.
Certainly, Wood loved money, but Russ realized that Wood had his own bottom line.
The fact that Wood was willing to forgo the bounty of One-Eyed Bebbart to let the souls on Asuka Island rest in peace made Russ believe that Wood wouldn't release criminals just for the sake of treasure.
There had to be some secret behind Major Wood's betrayal of the Navy!
Maybe Major Wood had become disillusioned with certain actions of the Navy, or perhaps he had been framed by some powerful individuals?
Russ let his imagination run wild but didn't ask Wood for the reasons.
He figured that since Wood hadn't confided in them, it must be because they hadn't earned his trust yet.
However, after this incident, Russ knew at least one thing for sure—they were following the right person.
Even if they had become pirates, they were pirates with a sense of justice!
"Captain, since we left One-Eyed Bebbart behind on Asuka Island, why are we still heading to the Navy branch?"
When Russ asked this, he already had a rough idea of the answer, but he still wanted to confirm whether Wood's intentions matched what he was thinking.
"Our pirate crew is newly formed, so if we want to make a name for ourselves quickly, we need to do something big.
That's why I plan to attack the nearby Navy branch. If we can take down the captain stationed there, I think our pirate crew will quickly gain a reputation in this area."
Hearing Wood's plan, Russ was stunned. He had thought Wood was just planning to rescue the son of the old town chief who had been captured.
But he never expected that Wood wasn't just planning to save someone; he intended to wipe them out completely!
"Attack the local Navy branch? But our pirate crew only has about ten people…"
Even though it was just a Navy branch, as a stronghold of the forces of justice, every Navy branch had at least one captain and several thousand Navy soldiers as basic protection.
Unlike the ragtag "Cyclops Pirate Crew," even the weakest Navy branch had warships and cannons.
With the strength of just a dozen people, attacking a Navy branch was basically a suicide mission!
"If this Navy branch is so afraid of a group like the 'Cyclops Pirate Crew,' then it either lacks strength, or the captain in charge is a useless fool.
And as the Navy, if they fear pirates and refuse to help ordinary people in distress, what kind of justice is that?
They're trash, and since we want to make a name for ourselves, why not help clean up the trash while we're at it?"
Wood suddenly realized that being placed as a pirate undercover might actually be a good thing.
After all, if he were still a Navy officer, he wouldn't be able to handle this kind of situation. Even if it were just a Navy branch, they still outranked him.
Even as a Major from headquarters, Wood would be two ranks below the captain stationed there.
Two days later, at the Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
In the office of the Navy Admiral, Sengoku looked at the report in his hand, and in a fit of rage, smashed the recently replaced desk to pieces.
"What the hell is Wood doing?! Is that bastard really acting like a pirate now, doing something like this!"
The report in Sengoku's hand had just arrived from the West Blue. The X3 Navy Branch near Asuka Island had been completely incapacitated.
The original captain stationed there was dead, and now the branch was being managed by a mere lieutenant.
Two days ago, a pirate crew called the 'Nirvana Pirates' attacked the X3 Navy Branch, and the captain of the X3 Branch, Rock, was killed in the process.
To be precise, when the X3 Navy Branch was attacked, there was only one pirate, but his strength was overwhelmingly powerful.
Even though the X3 Branch had thousands of Navy soldiers defending it, the attacker cut through them like a hot knife through butter, going straight to the back of the branch and killing Captain Rock.
According to the gathered intelligence, the captain of the 'Nirvana Pirates' was actually former Navy Major Wood.
And during the battle with Captain Rock, Wood killed him with just one strike, before leaving as if nothing had happened, with almost no one able to stop him!
The number of casualties included nearly a thousand injured Navy soldiers, but the only fatality was Captain Rock…
The X3 Branch reported the incident to headquarters, requesting the deployment of a more capable captain to stabilize the situation.
First, there was the slave revolt incident in Mariejois, followed closely by Shiki the Golden Lion's escape from prison. Now, the sea was practically on fire with pirate activity due to these two major events.
Most of the Navy headquarters' top officers were working tirelessly, and receiving this kind of news at such a critical time only made Sengoku more frustrated.
It wouldn't have been so bad if the branch captain had been killed by an enemy, but the fact that he was killed by one of their own made Sengoku feel utterly dismayed.
"Hahaha! Maybe that brat Wood thinks you set his bounty too low, and it didn't match his reputation, so he decided to betray the Navy altogether."
Sengoku was fuming, but someone next to him was laughing heartily, even as he casually munched on senbei.
Unable to tolerate Garp's nonchalant attitude, Sengoku snatched the senbei from Garp's hand and poured them all into his own mouth.
"Those were my senbei…" munch munch