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On the distant sea, warships moved forward with the waves.
Admiral Sengoku stood on the deck, looking at the horizon with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.
"Two months ago, Akira spoke to me about the Marines."
"You know how he described the Marines?"
At the bow, Rosinante's concerned voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Admiral!"
Sengoku continued to speak to himself, "He compared the vast Marine force to a giant."
"Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are the blood, officers and generals are the organs."
"The powerful combat force led by the Admirals is the fist that upholds authority and spreads justice."
"And the most vital part, the giant's brain, is the Fleet Admiral who commands the entire army."
Sengoku sighed softly, his gaze flickering.
At that moment, his mind couldn't help but recall the scene in the Fleet Admiral's office.
Back then, he had scoffed at the metaphor, not fully agreeing with it.
But now...
"Akira said that for one of the most powerful giants to truly be invincible in the world..."
"In addition to having the greatest strength, it also needs the sharpest mind."
"At the time, I dismissed his words as just a far-fetched excuse in his quest for the Fleet Admiral position."
Rosinante listened quietly, not interrupting.
He knew that what his father needed at this moment was someone to be there with him, someone to listen to his thoughts.
As his son, he was the perfect person for that role.
But as Rosinante listened, he couldn't help but show a look of agreement.
Over the past two months, he had seen it with his own eyes and experienced it firsthand.
A Fleet Admiral doesn't need overwhelming strength.
On the contrary, what's needed is more intelligence.
In terms of strength, the headquarters already has Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku, Instructor Zephyr, the three Admirals, and the Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals below, which is enough to maintain the Marine's authority.
No matter how strong the Fleet Admiral is, it's nothing more than icing on the cake.
After all, the Fleet Admiral doesn't need to go out on missions; they just need to strategize from the office.
But he hesitated to speak his mind.
Seeing that his father seemed troubled, Rosinante couldn't say it outright.
"Dad, don't belittle yourself. Your resourcefulness is not inferior to Akira's."
"Hehe."
Sengoku smiled and patted the Den Den Mushi's head.
Filled with gratitude, he said, "You know how to comfort your dad. It seems you've indeed grown up."
"But you don't need to. Dad isn't someone who can't accept defeat."
"I'm in awe of Akira's accomplishments given his limited circumstances during this time."
"After three days and three nights of reflection, I've reached only one conclusion—"
"I'm not as good as him."
"He was right. The position of Fleet Admiral should be held by the smartest person."
"He wins!"
Sengoku sighed again.
But after that sigh of resignation, he felt a sense of relief and clarity in his heart.
His spirit was rejuvenated, and his outlook brightened.
Perhaps his wisdom might be unmatched, as Rosinante suggested.
But when it comes to flexible thinking and a risk-taking mindset, he indeed fell short compared to the younger generation.
To say nothing else, he would never have thought of a plan like giving soldiers wives, and he would never have had the nerve to execute it.
Using impoverished women to bind soldiers so they would also uphold justice, then creating an honorary title of "heroic soldier" so new and old soldiers no longer feared sacrifice, but even embraced it—this was a stroke of genius.
It not only solved the Marine's issue of single soldiers and low morale in the face of pirates but also saved a large number of innocent female civilians.
Then came the establishment of the "Fraud Department" and the creation of the "Marine Bank."
These two initiatives even surpassed the expectations of both Sengoku and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru.
Although what the Fraud Department does isn't exactly... noble.
But Sengoku received the detailed reports from Rosinante, including the financial breakdown and the berries distribution, and had to admit that it brought significant benefits to the Marines.
Moreover, under Akira's guidance, the Fraud Department pushed the limits of deceiving civilians, essentially making them pay an "IQ tax."
The real heavy losses, however, were borne by criminals like pirates, nobles, and the mafia.
As for the Marine Bank, even though Sengoku was slow to grasp its full implications, he's still shocked by it to this day.
Compared to Akira, whose mind is constantly devising ways to save the Marines and uphold justice, Sengoku's focus has always been on simply and directly capturing notorious pirates.
So straightforward, yet so clever.
"So, are you coming back?" Rosinante asked, eyes widening slightly.
"If I don't return, I'm sure Fleet Admiral Kong would be very troubled," Sengoku chuckled.
"Well, during the celebration banquet hosted by Fleet Admiral Kong yesterday, I did inquire about your whereabouts.
"But returning so empty-handed would be a bit embarrassing."
Sengoku suddenly shifted the conversation, his voice now firm and resolute: "It's been nearly two months since I set out, and although I've sent many pirates to Impel Down, the results haven't been impressive enough."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to capture a real big pirate before heading back, so I can hold my head high in front of Akira."
"This... so you've already found a target?"
"Indeed! I've actually spotted him."
Sengoku stared straight ahead at the sea, where an island was slowly coming into view.
The distance between them was gradually closing.
What was shocking, however, was that the island was floating in mid-air, casting shadows that blocked out the sun.
The pirates guarding the shore saw the warship but didn't react like ordinary pirates.
Instead, they stood in place, arms crossed, looking down.
"Sengoku, long time no see. Are you here waiting for me on purpose?"
"Just a few warships? Oh~~~ There are three familiar faces!"
A bearded captain flew out, carrying an axe several times taller than himself, his voice booming like thunder.
He glanced at the warship and spoke with disdain.
"This voice..."
Rosinante on the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to recognize the voice's owner, his face filled with shock.
"Heavy Axe Gage..." he asked in disbelief, his voice trembling.
"It's him," Sengoku nodded calmly, stepping forward to pick up the Den Den Mushi.
"No, Dad, pick another target! This one is more than you can handle..."
Before Rosinante could finish his anxious plea, the line went dead.
Sengoku handed the Den Den Mushi to a soldier and looked up at the floating island.
"Gage, I've let you roam free for too many years, but today, I'm here to capture you."
"Ohohohoh... I just gave you a hard time back then, and you've held a grudge all these years? How narrow-minded, Sengoku!"
Boom!
There was no room for idle talk. Sengoku wasn't here today to reminisce.
Conqueror's Haki surged forth, pressing down on his opponent.
The wind picked up, and black lightning crackled in the air as their auras clashed.
"Also, it's been about ten years since our last battle. I wonder if you've improved since becoming an Admiral."
"You'll find out soon enough, Gage."
The two figures vanished from sight.
They reappeared in mid-air the next second, colliding with a tremendous impact, like a meteorite slamming into the earth.
The first half of the Grand Line.
A dilapidated ship was sailing unsteadily, and a heated argument was taking place on the deck.
"Trebol, didn't you say that deal was secure? So why did Admiral Zephyr show up?"
"Hey, hey, Diamante, I swear, I don't know! The previous deals were always smooth, and those Marines really seemed like pirates."
"Then how do you explain us being ambushed by the Marines?"
"I-I can't explain..."
"If it weren't for Doffy giving it his all to get us out of there, our Donquixote Family would have been captured."
"Alright, enough arguing. You know the young master is seriously injured and needs rest. Who's gonna take responsibility if he wakes up?"
Diamante, with his red cloak and facial lines, grabbed Trebol by the collar, demanding answers in a rage.
The other officers rushed to break up the fight.
Everyone was in a sorry state, their clothes not only stained with their own blood but also reeking of gunpowder.
A look of terror was etched on all their faces.
It was as if they had just narrowly escaped a devastating defeat.
And in truth, they had.
Acting Fleet Admiral Akira devised a plan targeting the Mafia across the Four Seas and the underground world,
Great Staff Officer Tsuru designed the supplementary strategies,
And Admiral Zephyr personally carried out the operation.
With such a well-coordinated effort, and the element of surprise on their side, no mafia group from any part of the world stood a chance.
It's a testament to their luck and Doflamingo's desperate efforts that they even managed to escape.
Cough cough cough...
At that moment, a coughing sound came from the cabin.
Doflamingo's tall figure emerged, supported by others.
His condition was far worse than the others—his face was ghostly pale, drained of blood, his body wrapped in thick bandages, and fresh blood still seeping through.
The usual wild, wicked grin and arrogance had vanished, replaced by an expressionless face.
Zephyr's lesson had been very effective.
It had beaten Doflamingo into temporary humility.
The arguing officers fell silent.
"Doffy, why are you out here? You need to rest more right now."
"Get a chair, quick!"
"Doffy, be careful."
The officers rushed to Doflamingo's side, carefully helping him.
Doflamingo was their backbone; anyone else could fall, but not him.
"I just woke up. Tell me how our operations in the North Blue are going, cough!"
Doflamingo sat in the chair, coughing heavily as he spoke.
The officers exchanged uneasy glances.
It was Trebol who finally stepped forward, his voice filled with concern: "Doffy, maybe you should rest first and wait until you've recovered."
Hmm?
Doflamingo frowned, looking up at their faces.
After a moment of silence, he laughed.
"Fufufufufu, it seems things are going badly."
"So bad that you all think it's better if I don't hear it, which makes me even more curious."
"Trebol, speak!!!"
Doflamingo's tone turned cold as he issued the order.
Trebol's heart raced. He had known Doffy for decades, and he knew better than to hesitate. He quickly pulled out a report from his pocket.
"When we and the other mafia were fighting Admiral Zephyr, Vice Admiral Tsuru led the Marines and confiscated all our assets."
"Not only that, but the banks and money houses we established to serve the underground world and its clients have also been shut down."
"All the berries we accumulated over the decades have been seized."
The veins on Doflamingo's forehead twitched, and his clenched fists creaked.
Suppressing the murderous intent in his heart, he asked in a deep voice, "...They shut down our own bank. Has the Marine thought about how they're going to explain that to those kingdom nobles?"
Gulp!
Trebol swallowed hard before responding: "Vice Admiral Tsuru issued a notice to North Blue, declaring our bank an illegal money-grabbing organization, not recognized or protected by the World Government."
"As for the deposits of the kingdom nobles, they were fully refunded and transferred to the Marine Bank."
The princes and nobles get their full refunds, and the pirates and mafia take all the losses?
Damn it, isn't this just blatant bullying?
Doflamingo's eyes turned red with rage.
This was the second time he'd felt such humiliation and anger since being rejected when he tried to regain his noble status from the Holy Land.
The entire ship went deathly silent.
No one dared to make a sound.
Only Doflamingo's heavy breathing filled the air.
More blood seeped from his bandages, staining his entire chest red.
In this suffocating atmosphere, Doflamingo managed a strained grin.
"Fufufufu, so the righteous Marine robs us out in the open—what's the charge?"
"No matter how evil we are, isn't that why those idiot kings of North Blue came after us?"
"Where does the Marine get off doing something like this?"
"I haven't even gone to sea yet!"
Swish.
Trebol pulled out another stack of bounty posters from his pocket, his voice laced with frustration: "We've been forced to become pirates. After Admiral Zephyr took action, Marine Headquarters put bounties on all of us."
"The charges are: stealing Marine weapons through illegal means for resale, secretly engaging in piracy to frame the Marine, and destroying the entire North Blue branch."
"And we just found out that the World Government has given the Marine a lot of power, including the authority to replace North Blue's leadership against us."
Doflamingo's breathing grew more ragged.
What the hell?
None of these charges were actually done by us!
He instinctively accepted the bounty posters and looked through them one by one.
"What about Lao G? Why isn't he listed?"
"He was captured while covering the retreat of the others."
Pfft~~~
Doflamingo's breath hitched, and blood gushed from his chest like a fountain.
He collapsed backward.
"Doffy! Doffy, what's happening to you?"
"Ship doctor! Ship doctor, hurry!"
"Get Doffy inside, quick!"
The officers were in a panic.
---
Late the next night.
Inside the captain's quarters.
"Doffy, did you want to see me?"
A man with a bowl-shaped hairdo and crumbs from his last meal stuck to his face walked in.
Doflamingo, who was awake and lying on the bed flipping through some documents, looked up at him.
"Vergo, this is a conspiracy, a complete conspiracy."
"Huh?" Vergo tilted his head in confusion.
Doflamingo spoke, more to himself than anyone else: "The Marine didn't target us on a whim—this was definitely planned for a long time."
"Otherwise, how could they have known so much about our assets and our underground banking operations?"
"They didn't even give us time to move our funds; they seized all the berries at once."
Vergo nodded in agreement. "Yes, a conspiracy against us."
"They've been making moves behind the scenes, but we didn't get any information about it."
Doflamingo pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Not knowing the Marine's various movements is... very dangerous for our family's business."
Vergo stood there silently.
Even if they hadn't been forced into piracy, they would have soon left North Blue.
But even when the Donquixote Family set sail, they wouldn't be living like typical pirates, robbing day in and day out.
They were going to be "business pirates."
This type of pirate needs to have a firm grasp on intelligence and the movements of various forces.
That's crucial.
"Vergo, I just checked again. The Marine's bounties are only on those who fought during the attack."
"And you were on a family mission elsewhere at the time, so you weren't given a bounty."
"So I want you to infiltrate the Marine as an undercover agent."
"For me, and for our family."
Vergo: "..."