Upon hearing news from his hometown in the East Sea, Vice Admiral Garp couldn't sit still.
Just as he was about to leave Marinford in a hurry to rush back to the East Sea, Sengoku called out to stop him, "Hey, Garp, make sure not to harm the little guy named Uehara Naraku by mistake. We might be able to extract some intelligence from him!"
"..."
Aokiji couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.
Wait a minute, how did that Uehara Naraku make it here? It's only been a few days, and his reputation has already reached this place?
"Huh, Uehara Naraku?"
Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Garp scratched his head, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Isn't that the very dangerous little guy!"
"..."
Aokiji's face showed a hint of admiration.
As expected of Vice Admiral Garp, he immediately caught the main point!
Unfortunately, this time it was Marshal Sengoku who held Garp back.
Yet, Navy Admiral Sengoku shook his head vigorously and said in a deep voice, "Colonel Tina has reported that the little guy seems to have been forced to do bad things due to fear of the Baroque Works' boss.
In fact, according to what we know, he has secretly saved quite a few Navy lives. Anyway, just capture him first! Maybe we can get the real identity of the Baroque Works' boss from his mouth."
At this stage.
The Navy mostly receives bad news.
The only slightly comforting news for the Navy is probably that there is another bounty hunter named Kakuzu, who's extremely powerful.
Moreover, he's very friendly towards the Navy and extremely hostile towards pirates, having killed many pirates with super high bounties, bringing their corpses to exchange for money at the Navy base.
This vast sea still has many such bounty hunters.
To make use of these bounty hunters, the Navy straightforwardly issued a large batch of new bounty orders with amounts that would definitely tempt anyone!
For instance, the two captains of the Black Spade Pirates, due to Uchiha Sasuke defeating a Navy Admiral and even sinking a small island in Shampodi, their bounties skyrocketed!
Portgas D. Ace, Captain of the Black Spade Pirates, bounty: 950 million Belly!
Uchiha Sasuke, Vice Captain of the Black Spade Pirates, bounty: 920 million Belly!
Ace and Sasuke, who only set sail this year, have become the strongest Super Rookies of this era, attracting the attention of the entire sea.
Even the Four Emperors of the New World have taken an interest in them.
Black Spade Pirates.
This year's 17-year-old Portgas D. Ace, upon seeing his astonishingly high bounty order, beamed like a flower blooming on his face.
Ace turned his head and loudly called to Sasuke, who was standing at the bow, "Hey, Sasuke, let's throw a party! To celebrate our bounties breaking 900 million!"
"Idiot!"
Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but hold his forehead and curse, "The higher the Navy sets our bounty, the more dangerous it gets for us. Those bastards who risk it all for money won't spare rookies like us..."
"Oh, come on!"
Ace leaped beside him, wrapping an arm around his peer and laughing heartily, "Haha, seeing as things have turned out this way, there's no changing it now, so let's have a party to celebrate!"
"Then go prepare!"
Uchiha Sasuke slowly nodded.
Once their Vice Captain agreed to hold a party, the whole Black Spade Pirates erupted in cheers. Ace landed on the deck, loudly commanding the chefs to prepare, while he and others went to get drinks.
Uchiha Sasuke, watching the joyful pirate crew, couldn't help but smile slightly, but his mood was interrupted by the sudden ring of the Radio Snail!
Burulu Burulu!
Burulu Burulu!
Uchiha Sasuke took out his Radio Snail, and upon seeing the face on it, he wanted nothing more than to crush it in his hand!
"That bastard, he wouldn't have his sights on me now, would he!"
After Uchiha Sasuke dialed the Radio Snail, his face grew dark as he spoke, "Hey, Kakuzu, why are you contacting me? I thought you only reach out if something important happens?"
"Now is a necessary time to contact you."
Even as Kakuzu spoke in his ever-calm manner, his voice remained cold, "Sasuke, it's been a while since we last met. I want to see you guys..."
"Damn it!"
Uchiha Sasuke immediately hung up the Radio Snail.
Damn it, he knew it!
This bastard must have seen both his and Ace's bounty over 900 million Belly and considered capturing them for the Navy, or at least one of them like Ace!
All that guy sees is money!
On the other side.
Kakuzu, looking at the disconnected Radio Snail in his hand, frowned, "Is it not convenient for Uchiha Sasuke to talk?"
Kakuzu shook his head, flipping through the bounty orders in his hands.
Besides Uchiha Sasuke and Portgas D. Ace's prominent bounties, there were many new bounties, some of which Kakuzu was familiar with.
Vice President of Baroque Works, Child of the Demon Nico Robin, bounty: 120 million Belly, dead or alive!
Baroque Works, Shark-man Hoshigaki Kisame, bounty 115 million Belly, dead or alive!
Baroque Works, Intermediate Agent, Uehara Naraku, bounty 30 million Belly, capture alive only!
Kakuzu thought for a while, then dialed someone else on the Radio Snail and asked, "Nico Robin, where are you now... Are Uehara and Hoshigaki Kisame with you? We want to meet with you..."
"..."
Near the Sea Restaurant Baratie.
Nico Robin sat on the frigate's railing, hung up the Radio Snail with force, and couldn't help but rub her forehead: "Mr. Kakuzu said he hopes to meet us and plans to send us to the Navy and then let us escape..."
"Ignore him."
Uehara Naraku took a sip of juice.
"Hehe..."
Hoshigaki Kisame looked through his bounty order and couldn't help but grin, showing his full mouth of shark teeth: "For us, the higher the bounty, the more troublesome it is..."
The main concern is to be wary of Kakuzu.
This guy is ruthless when it comes to making money.
Bloop bloop...
Bloop bloop...
Just then, the Radio Snail in Nico Robin's hand rang again, and Crocodile, the president of Baroque Works, finally called: "Nico Robin, are you alone?"
"Yeah..."
Nico Robin glanced at Uehara Naraku and Hoshigaki Kisame present and responded slowly: "Does the president have any orders?"
Crocodile's voice suddenly grew louder, with a hint of dissatisfaction: "You seem to have made quite a stir, the Navy is searching for Baroque Works members everywhere... What's going on now?"
"A small issue has come up."
"What issue?"
There was a cold edge to Crocodile's voice: "Our plan to annex Alabasta hasn't even started yet, and Baroque Works is already exposed. Nico Robin, what exactly happened?"
After a moment of silence, Nico Robin glanced at Uehara Naraku and Hoshigaki Kisame and said quietly: "This time it's my mistake for recruiting a member with some problematic thoughts, which led to this situation..."
After speaking, Nico Robin thought for a while and softly explained: "The one we recruited, Hoshigaki Kisame, is not satisfied with just staying at Whiskey Peak. His ambition is to become a great pirate and make a name for himself.
I think he probably believes Baroque Works is very powerful and wants to use its strength to return to Fishman Island in the future and compete with another Warlord, Jinbe, for the leadership of the Fishman Pirates. I've already found him and have been waiting for the chance to eliminate him!"
"..."
After a silent moment, Crocodile suddenly chuckled sinisterly: "Looks like we've accidentally caught a big fish!"
After a chuckle, Crocodile coldly stated: "There's no need to eliminate him. If he really has the power to overthrow Jinbe, I might even secretly support him to take over Jinbe's position as a Warlord!"
"Huh?"
Nico Robin was taken aback for a moment, then quickly urged: "That doesn't quite fit with our plan. That Hoshigaki Kisame is too active and could easily draw Navy attention to us; my bounty has already been updated twice by the Navy!"
"It doesn't matter!"
Crocodile coldly cut off Nico Robin's words and continued sternly: "I've said it before, the people of Baroque Works are just disposable tools for us. As long as my identity isn't leaked, nothing else matters!"
"Mr. Crocodile..."
Nico Robin's voice slowly lowered, with a hint of persuasion: "Don't you want to get Pluto? If we get the Navy's attention..."
"Only children make choices!"
A trace of impatience was in Crocodile's voice: "And since Baroque Works has already caught the Navy's attention because of that bastard, this matter is already settled, so we must find a way to create an even bigger spectacle!"
Crocodile's voice gradually regained control: "When we implement our plan in the future, as long as that Hoshigaki Kisame challenges and topples Jinbe, he will attract the entire Grand Line's attention for us!
When everyone is focused on the change in Warlords, I will have already acquired the hidden Pluto of Alabasta!"
Crocodile arrogantly hung up the Radio Snail.
Nico Robin fell into silence.
Hoshigaki Kisame and Uehara Naraku exchanged glances, proving just how devious the Sand Crocodile is. Who would have thought Crocodile really had the brains to scheme and use Kisame like this?
But, this is all fake!
This whole thing was just Nico Robin fabricating a story to deceive him!
"I truly envy Mr. Crocodile's confidence!"
Uehara Naraku sipped his drink through a straw and sighed wistfully: "As a mastermind, I always feel like I'm walking on thin ice..."
"..."
Nico Robin remained silent.
To be honest, she really hadn't noticed.
Uehara Naraku took another sip of juice and continued: "Every day, I fear that if I slip up, I'll be forced to rule the world..."
"..."
Nico Robin was even more silent.
Others become masterminds to rule the world... How come you don't even want to rule the world just to remain a mastermind?
Isn't your order a bit off?