"The Straw Hat Pirates invaded G-8 Fortress?" Hisoka stared intently at the intelligence report in his hand, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
"Isn't that where Sir Crocodile is temporarily held? What are they going there for? A prison break?"
As one of the people who knew the truth behind the Alabasta incident, Vice Admiral Hisoka naturally knew that Crocodile had actually been defeated by that group of "evil" pirates.
"Who knows? That pirate crew can't be understood through normal logic," Smoker blew out a smoke ring, feeling immensely annoyed inside.
"What a shame, though! If this emergency muster order had come just a day later, I would've had the chance to capture that Straw Hat kid with my own hands!"
The White Hunter calculated the timing—it seemed the arrival of the Straw Hat crew was just one day after he had left Navarone.
(They actually invaded a Marine fortress?!)
Saga's expression shifted slightly. He truly hadn't expected that the pirate crew his childhood friend was in would be so overwhelmingly audacious!
"To create chaos while escaping, the Straw Hat crew released all the prisoners in the jail. However, aside from a few former Baroque Works officers, none of the other pirates managed to escape."
"Fortunately, the most important prisoner—Crocodile—wasn't broken out. Otherwise, there'd be no way to suppress an incident that brings such disgrace to Marine prestige. Oh, by the way, Tina just passed along a very 'interesting' piece of news via Den Den Mushi."
Speaking up to this point, even Smoker, a Marine Captain who rarely smiled, let out a somewhat gleeful smirk.
"That privileged second-generation official, Rear Admiral Black Crow—Falcone Fred—got himself into huge trouble..."
The White Hunter then briefly narrated the story of how Rear Admiral Black Crow had originally planned to hire people to pose as pirates for a fake prison raid to steal military merits, only for a crew of real pirates to show up instead. Upon hearing this, both Hisoka and Saga were left thoroughly speechless by this story full of coincidences and drama.
"That guy really is unlucky..." Vice Admiral Hisoka muttered under his breath. "Since he caused such a huge mess, he must have been court-martialed, right?"
"Yeah," Smoker nodded. "However, he's the eldest young master of the Falcone Family after all. From what Tina said, the military court's punishment was merely stripping him of his Rear Admiral rank and assigning him under Vice Admiral Garp to serve as a recruit."
The White Hunter had a solemn expression. For an incident with such severe negative impacts, giving such an insignificant punishment was practically mind-boggling!
"Falcone..."
Hisoka glanced at Saga's drive armor that replaced his right arm and continued, "That's hardly surprising. Although that family has been upstaged by Dr. Vegapunk in recent years, they still hold a tremendous amount of sway among the higher-ups."
"Speaking of Dr. Vegapunk, though..." Vice Admiral Hisoka suddenly remembered something.
"Word from Headquarters says that Dr. Vegapunk is extremely interested in that legendary Seven Star Sword. We are strictly instructed to retrieve that sword no matter what."
By now, Hisoka was clear that the Marines' primary objective in this operation was to wipe out the participating pirates. Whether that legendary cursed sword actually existed or not was no longer the main point.
"Lieutenant Commander Saga."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Hisoka! What are your orders?"
Hisoka pondered for a moment before saying, "Once we reach our destination, Smoker and I will be in charge of setting up the ambush to apprehend those pirates. You will lead a detachment responsible for searching for the Seven Star Sword."
"Understood, Vice Admiral Hisoka!" Saga gave a crisp, standard military salute.
The bright light shone on his face; his expression was exceedingly calm, yet his thoughts couldn't help but stir.
As someone who would resort to any means necessary just to become stronger, he was immensely interested in that legendary strongest sword...
After presiding over the pre-race gathering for the Dead End Race, Yaros returned to his residence.
Immediately after, Clayface Basso Karo walked over, holding a tray with a ringing Den Den Mushi on it.
This Den Den Mushi had a very peculiar appearance—black and white in color, wearing a monocle over its eye, resembling a gentleman dressed in a suit.
"Young Master Yaros, this is a call from Mr. Cobblepot."
At the mention of Mr. Cobblepot, even Karo's emotionless face revealed a trace of reverence. He placed the Den Den Mushi in front of Yaros, then turned and walked out of the room, shutting the heavy door behind him.
Only Yaros was left inside the room, along with that weird "Puru puru puru..." ringing sound constantly echoing in the cavernous space.
The ringtone was no different from an ordinary Den Den Mushi, but upon hearing it, Yaros felt as though the entire room's temperature had dropped abruptly, as if a glacier had been dragged inside.
Sigh... What must come will come after all...
The blonde youth swallowed his saliva. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and picked up the receiver.
"..." A moment of enigmatic silence ensued, and the atmosphere in the room instantly grew suffocatingly oppressive.
Cold sweat trickled down his cheeks, which were as delicate as a woman's. Yaros's hand holding the receiver trembled slightly. The room was quiet enough that a pin drop could be heard, and he could even clearly hear his own anxious heartbeat.
After a long while, the monocle-wearing Den Den Mushi finally moved its mouth, uttering a slightly raspy voice:
"I already know about what you've been up to recently. You've done fairly well."
"As expected of my son."
Yaros froze entirely as if a Stun Spell had been cast on him, his ice-blue eyes widening in shock.
He had originally thought that because he had sneaked out of home without permission, what awaited him would surely be a ruthless punishment. But he never imagined his father's very first sentence would actually be a compliment!
"No, no, no, this is all as it should be, Father!" Yaros's face flushed red with excitement.
"I received word that the hardliners in Marine Headquarters, led by Admiral Akainu, have all indicated that as long as we can assist in clearing out the trash of the seas, they'll be more than happy to help us deal with 'Silver Hair'!"
"I... although I'm not as powerful as the other cadres in the family, I have the ability to serve the family too!" In his emotional state, Yaros voiced the feelings he had kept bottled up for a long time out loud.
"So I beg of you, Father—do not use me as a sacrifice for a political marriage!"
In truth, a political marriage wasn't necessarily a terrifying thing; what was terrifying was a political marriage with the Charlotte Family.
Yaros had some understanding of that sole female member among the Four Emperors.
That woman, who possessed terrifying abilities, was notoriously fickle and extremely cruel. If one displeased her even slightly, even her own husband or biological children would hardly escape death—to say nothing of a live-in son-in-law.
Yaros was utterly convinced in his heart that if this marriage actually went through, within less than a year, he'd be dragged out by BIG MOM to have his life harvested by her ability.
"Heh heh, I am glad you think this way," Mr. Cobblepot chuckled softly, his habitually cold tone softening slightly.
"Rest assured, this matter isn't as simple as you think. At least until you reach adulthood, you won't need to worry about the marriage issue. As for after you come of age... that will depend on your performance over these next two years."
Hearing that there was actually room for negotiation, Yaros instantly grew thrilled. Just as he was about to say a few words to show his resolve, he was cut off by Penguin's next words.
"I heard from Karo that Silver Hair's younger brother—that non-silver-haired Sarsalian—is currently in Hannabal."
The Den Den Mushi's monocle gleamed with a white light, and its tone suddenly turned dangerous.
"You didn't do anything 'unnecessary' in secret, did you?"
"No, no!" Yaros shook his head frantically. Although he was deeply puzzled by this in his heart, he still explained: "Because you've never made a move on him, I didn't dare act rashly."
"Hmph, smart of you," Penguin snorted softly and said, "I haven't made a move on him? My child, do you think I am such a merciful person?"
"Remember this, Yaros: even if certain things aren't permitted to be done openly, as long as you ensure that once done, it isn't discovered and won't arouse suspicion, that is enough."
"According to my perfect plan, that precious younger brother of Silver Hair should have been fed to the fishes in that attack a year ago!"
"???" Yaros was stunned. Out of curiosity, he had previously used various channels to thoroughly investigate the Sorcerer's past experiences.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, the instigators of that attack were supposed to be the corrupt Marines in the East Blue and the Kohler Trading Company, while the betrayal of that private secretary had also played a crucial role.
But now, hearing what his father meant, did that attack that shocked the East Blue a year ago actually have hidden details behind it?
"Don't overthink this matter, and don't meddle in the affairs of Silver Hair's brother either. Because people from his own family have already set their sights on him now."
"The situation in the New World has been extremely chaotic lately. You just stay in Hannabal for now. I will instruct Karo to keep a close eye on you."
Although Yaros was somewhat reluctant, he still nodded helplessly.
"Yes, Father."
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