Thanks to the existence of creatures known as Transponder Snails, the transmission of information was incredibly swift.
Upon learning that Sir Crocodile had attacked Marine Base G-17, the "White Hunter" did not hesitate. He immediately led a squad of Marines to turn the desert king's lair, Rain Dinners, upside down. From the belly of a Banana Gator, they dragged out a massive ball of white wax...
After a brief interrogation of Mr. 3, Smoker's expression grew even more grim.
As expected, Crocodile was the one pulling the strings behind everything!
"Take this guy away and interrogate him thoroughly!" Smoker ordered a Marine, pointing a dark finger at the mummified-looking Mr. 3, who was currently guzzling down a bucket of water. Smoker then turned to another subordinate. "Get my motorcycle ready. I'm going to Alubarna."
"Wait, Captain Smoker!" Tashigi interjected, her face etched with anxiety. "Orders from Headquarters were for us to provide backup at Base G-17."
"Furthermore, Vice Admiral Lehman, Vice Admiral Hisoka, and Rear Admiral Alan are the ones tasked with the campaign against Crocodile. If you truly must go, we can at least wait for—"
"I can't wait!" the White Hunter barked, cutting off the blue-haired girl in glasses. "Crocodile dared to openly attack the Marines for the sake of that Devil Child. It means he must have something to fall back on. If we don't take the initiative, we'll only be forced into a defensive position!"
As he spoke, Smoker exhaled a cloud of smoke, his expression solemn. Fragments of intelligence regarding Nico Robin flashed through his mind, and a few drops of cold sweat formed on his brow.
While he didn't fully understand why the higher-ups were so wary of this woman, the White Hunter was certain of one thing: a woman who had carried a bounty of 79 million berries since she was a child twenty years ago was bound to bring immense trouble.
At that moment, a Marine came sprinting in from outside, looking frantic.
"Captain Smoker!"
"The Rebel Army has invaded Alubarna! Since a large portion of the Royal Army was sent on a southern expedition, the capital of Alabasta is in critical danger!"
"..." Smoker's breath hitched. He immediately tossed aside his half-finished cigar and transformed into a plume of white smoke, surging out of the building.
"Captain Smoker..." The Marines stared at the exit, blankly watching the White Hunter's departure. Then, in unison, they turned their heads toward the highest-ranking Marine still present.
"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, what should we do now?" they asked as one.
Being the center of so much attention, the somewhat ditzy blue-haired swordswoman froze for a moment. She began waving her hands in a flustered panic; having always followed in Smoker's wake, she found herself ill-prepared for this sudden responsibility.
(Calm down, Tashigi! Think carefully... weigh the priorities...)
Tashigi forced herself to regain her composure. She lowered her head in deep thought for a moment before addressing the gathered Marines with a serious expression.
"Dispatch a portion of the men on a warship to Base G-17 to pick up Vice Admiral Hisoka."
"The rest of you will come with me to Alubarna to assist Captain Smoker."
"We cannot let the Captain fight this battle alone!"
"Yes, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi!" Every Marine present snapped into a crisp, standard salute.
On a Marine warship currently en route to Base G-17.
"What? Nico Robin was rescued by Crocodile?" A middle-aged Marine with an exceptionally lush beard sat in the captain's quarters. He stared at the report in his hands, his expression one of utter shock.
"Could it be that Crocodile is actually collaborating with the Revolutionary Army?"
"And the higher-ups actually expect me to go and suppress him..." The bearded Marine stroked his long whiskers, muttering to himself, "Even though I can exert incredible combat power under the sun, that 'Sand Crocodile' clearly has the advantage in a desert..."
"Well, with the 'Golden Shura' and the 'Enemy of Nature' there, winning should still be easy enough."
When he mentioned the "Enemy of Nature," the bearded Marine's body visibly shuddered, as if he had remembered something unpleasant.
"Argh, how annoying. We have to capture that Nico Robin. Otherwise, that iron-jawed Spandam will never stop his endless nagging. Seriously, I'm a dignified Vice Admiral—why do the higher-ups make me cooperate with such a cowardly, petty man?"
Feeling frustrated, the bearded Marine slammed the report down onto the desk and stood up abruptly.
Standing over three meters tall and built like a mountain, his muscular silhouette was clearly visible even through his uniform. He radiated a crushing sense of pressure.
He pushed open the cabin door and walked out onto the deck.
The warm sunlight washed over him, and a relaxed expression crossed the bearded Marine's face. A refreshing sea breeze blew against him, making the Marine coat with the word "Justice" printed on the back flap loudly in the wind.
Seeing their commander emerge, the other Marines stopped their tasks and looked toward him.
The latter cleared his throat and announced in a booming voice, "Turn the rudder! We're heading for Alubarna!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Lehman!"
Meanwhile, on another Marine warship that was sailing slowly.
A large group of Marines was huddled off to the side, whispering to one another with their heads down. Every so often, they would glance toward the bow of the ship with expressions of dread and helplessness—like mice watching a cat.
The source of their distress was a cute little girl who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old.
The girl had long twin-tails, but her hair color was most peculiar: the left side was black and the right side was white, split perfectly down the middle in a stark, harmonious contrast.
For some reason, her left eye was covered by a cute, skull-shaped eyepatch, while her exposed right eye was bright and spirited, as clear as a mirror.
Her skin was fair and translucent, and she wore a well-tailored red and black Gothic Lolita dress. From a distance, she looked exactly like an exquisitely crafted porcelain doll.
From any perspective, she should have been a blessing from the gods to any fan of the "cute girl" aesthetic.
However, right now, this Gothic Lolita was sitting on top of the barrel of the bow cannon, swinging her bare white legs back and forth with an air of extreme boredom—all while puffing on a cigar.
Yes, you did not see that correctly—she wasn't sucking on a lollipop or anything else that suited her image. Like the middle-aged men Smoker and Crocodile, she was smoking a cigar!
And judging by her practiced movements, this seemingly young girl was already a veteran smoker...
"Really, this is so boring~" The little girl blew a smoke ring, then took the cigar out of her mouth with a look of disgust. She muttered to herself:
"That bastard Yamakaji... he actually dared to lie to me. I saw him smiling so happily and thought he was smoking some high-quality cigar, but this tastes awful! Is that guy an idiot?!"
Her voice was incredibly cloying—soft and "moe"—but her words left the nearby Marines with sweat-drops on their heads.
(Vice Admiral Yamakaji is always smiling! And clearly, you're the one who forcibly snatched it from him, aren't you?! You can't be this shameless...) the Marines thought to themselves.
"Look at Smoker—his cigars are the real deal. I smoked one once and never forgot it. Ah! I really want to try one of those 'Goldglint Trading Company' premium cigars again!"
"And garbage like this belongs in the trash!"
The Gothic Lolita grew more irritated the more she spoke. She gripped the cigar—which was less than a third burnt—in her dainty hand and made a move to toss it into the dark opening of the cannon muzzle beneath her.
"DON'T DO IT!!! REAR ADMIRAL ALAN!!!!"
A group of Marines nearly fainted from fright at their commander's alarming action. Tossing a lit cigar into a cannon muzzle couldn't even be described as a death wish—the bow cannon was connected to the ship's ammunition depot! If that place caught fire, the entire crew would probably be sent to meet the Pirate King.
A young, pink-haired Marine wearing glasses rushed forward, snatched the cigar from Rear Admiral Alan's hand, and hurled it into the sea with all his might.
The glowing cigar traced a graceful arc through the air.
Plop. It hit the water, creating a tiny splash.
"Phew..."
Every Marine on deck let out a collective sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from their brows.
Man... the most eccentric Rear Admiral in the Navy certainly lives up to her reputation!
"Rear Admiral Alan..." The brave, pink-haired Marine looked at his confused commander sitting on the cannon barrel and mustered his courage to speak up. "Headquarters has issued the order. We should probably make the ship go a bit faster."
"At this rate, there's no telling when we'll reach Alubarna."
The little girl's exposed right eye blinked. Her long eyelashes fluttered like tiny fans, making her look incredibly cute.
"But I lost my shoe..."
"Huh??" The pink-haired Marine froze, not understanding what she meant.
"I said, I lost my shoe," Rear Admiral Alan repeated, pointedly lifting her two crystal-clear, snowy white feet. Her ten toenails were painted a pale red, resembling ten tiny flower petals.
"How can I run fast if I don't have shoes?" The little girl's face was full of serious conviction.
"..." The young Marine was nearly choked up by this nonsensical statement. He wanted to say they were trying to make the ship go faster, not her, but he quickly realized that normal communication was impossible with this eccentric officer. Thus, he asked patiently:
"So, Rear Admiral Alan, where did your shoe go?"
The Gothic Lolita didn't speak. Instead, she pointed toward the nearby ocean with a calm expression.
The pink-haired Marine looked like he was in physical pain.
The Marines in the distance all wore expressions of having cheated death, then looked at the pink-haired youth with deep sympathy.
(He's new, he doesn't have the experience...) the Marines who had been with Rear Admiral Alan for a long time prayed silently for the "sacrificial lamb."
"Uh... Rear Admiral Alan, you didn't happen to... drop your shoe into the sea, did you?"
"Mm-hmm." Alan nodded her little head. "You know, I'm a 'hammer'—I can't swim. So..."
"But the ocean is so big, how am I supposed to—"
"Is that a 'no'? I really liked those shoes..." The little girl's expression shifted instantly. She looked pitiful, her watery eyes shimmering with tears, her soft, sweet voice enough to melt anyone's heart.
"..."
Even though he wasn't a "lolicon"—and he had already heard from Vice Admiral Garp that this "legal loli" was old enough to be his grandmother—the young Marine's face still turned an unbidden shade of red.
(That expression is just cheating!)
"Is it really... not okay...?" Alan dialed up the power of her "Masterful Charm" technique.
"I'LL GO FIND IT RIGHT NOW!!!"
The pink-haired Marine couldn't take it anymore. He gave a loud roar and plunged headfirst into the sea...
"Heh, idiot~"
Watching the pink-haired Marine splashing around in the water, Rear Admiral Alan flashed a mischievous grin of success. Then, without any haste, she pulled a pair of black leather boots out from the cannon muzzle and leisurely put them on.
"Full speed ahead! Target: Alubarna!" the little girl commanded with an air of absolute authority while tying her shoes.
"Yes, Rear Admiral Alan!" All the Marines offered a pained salute to their loli commander.
As the crew began to busily carry out their duties, a Marine who looked like a squad leader stepped forward and asked respectfully:
"Um, Rear Admiral Alan... don't we need to fish the boy Coby out?"
"He hasn't been in the Marines for very long, and his physical foundation is quite poor. Plus, he is one of Vice Admiral Garp's people..."
"No need, no need." Alan shook her head, her black and white twin-tails swinging like a rattle.
"Old Man Garp specifically asked me to train the kid for a while. Let him swim for a bit. Just keep an eye on him—pull him up when he's about to die."
"Understood, ma'am."
The Marine captain finished and cast a pitying glance at the young Marine struggling to keep up with the warship in the water. He sighed in his heart:
(Kid, between the most eccentric Vice Admiral and the most eccentric Rear Admiral in the Navy, your luck is truly the worst...)
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