Pirates: How Many Divisions Do the Five Elders Have? A Satisfying Conclusion

Ma Qiao squinted as he stepped out of the cave. The sunlight was a little harsh.

Clearly, Twitch, the sewer's happy beast, didn't like sunlight either.

He limped along beside Ma Qiao and pulled his hood a little lower over his head.

It wasn't a deliberate attempt to hide his face; he simply wanted to shield himself from the sun.

With his fur shaved off, Twitch looked exactly like Nezumi, enough to give Lieutenant Nezumi himself a terrible fright.

Besides, the world of pirates was even more absurd than a martial arts world where foolish boys could never recognize a woman disguised as a man.

Everyone here was face-blind.

The fake Straw Hat Pirates on the Sabaody Archipelago had all sorts of bizarre appearances. The fake Chopper was even a freaking fox.

Yet they had fooled not just a huge crowd of pirates, but also senior Cipher Pol agents, an elite Marine squad, and even Luffy and Chopper themselves.

In the end, it took the facial recognition function of the war weapon "Pacifista" to expose the fake Luffy's true identity.

Ma Qiao was confident that even a Pacifista would be helpless against Twitch and Nezumi's once-in-a-millennium faces.

Besides, Kuma was still alive and well. Development of the Pacifista probably hadn't even begun.

"Lord Nezumi!"

The Marines crowded around Twitch and loudly professed their loyalty, acting as though they weren't the ones who had abandoned their commanding officer and fled just moments ago.

Sure enough, they hadn't noticed anything amiss.

A few of Nezumi's trusted lackeys even sensed that familiar, sleazy air coming from Twitch.

"Men, hurry and get the warship ready!"

Twitch gave the order. "We need to get back to the branch as quickly as possible and report the troublesome pirate crew to our superiors!"

"Uh, Captain, what about that Devil Fruit User?"

Only then did the Marines remember that there was still a big boss they hadn't dealt with. They all stared nervously at the cave entrance.

Twitch explained, "Santini used the Drill-Drill Fruit's power to dig his way out of the cave and escape. Mr. Ma Qiao and I weren't able to stop them."

One Marine who had just arrived from the warship and hadn't witnessed Ma Qiao's generous offer to "go to his death" shouted, following Lieutenant Nezumi's usual temper:

"What are you saying, Captain? We clearly saw you fighting the treacherous, cunning great pirate in a bloody battle. It was only because this brat held you back that he managed to escape! This brat should pay a penalty of 10,000 Beli, or he's an accomplice of the pirates!"

"Bastard!"

Before the Marines who had been "reformed" could say anything, Twitch suddenly sprang into action and struck the babbling Marine on the head, raising a lump. He said sternly:

"If it weren't for the help of Master Ma Qiao, the negotiation expert, I would have died long ago. I, Nezumi, may not be some bleeding heart, but I wouldn't go so far as to slander the man who saved my life!"

"Huh? Y-yes, sir!"

All the Marines were badly startled.

They truly hadn't expected Lord Nezumi, whose scumminess usually knew no bounds, to have such a manly side.

Chief Petty Officer Qiangsen, who had been worried that Lieutenant Nezumi would hold a grudge against Ma Qiao, led the cheers. "Long live Lord Nezumi! Long live Master Ma Qiao!"

Nezumi and his men declined Mr. 8's invitation to stay and set sail from Whiskey Peak without even eating dinner.

Although the pirates' escape from prison had introduced an unexpected complication, Captain Nezumi had finally been sent on his way.

Half a year ago, Ma Qiao had given up on recruiting Teemo to grow mushrooms because he had discovered the astonishing resemblance between Twitch and Nezumi.

That was when a plan to swap one for the other and plant an undercover agent had appeared in Ma Qiao's mind.

Of course, Ma Qiao wasn't doing this because he wanted to do anything to the towering tree that was the Marines. At least for now, a single insignificant headquarters captain could hardly play a decisive role.

But for Ma Qiao, it was a deal that was guaranteed to pay off.

Based on Ma Qiao's assessment, Nezumi was an expert at amassing wealth and extremely stingy in his daily life. He had surely accumulated a considerable fortune.

The money pouch they had just found on Nezumi alone contained nearly 1.5 million Beli.

And that was merely what he had pocketed on a casual trip out.

Ma Qiao and Santini had even disrupted his plans. Otherwise, his half of the bounty would have come to at least two million.

For this trip to G-2 Base, Twitch had specifically brought a scanner to find the wealth Nezumi had squeezed from the people through years of extortion and corruption, truly taking it from the people and using it for the people.

And as a private-sector corporate drone outside the system, Master Ma Qiao was, of course, one of the people.

Aside from this one-time haul, Nezumi's identity was also a key factor that could help Ma Qiao's business plans.

Although Nezumi himself was only a captain, for some reason he had a warship with a Seastone base, the kind normally reserved for headquarters field officers. It could conveniently enter and leave the Grand Line through the Calm Belt.

Reverse Mountain could serve as an entrance and exit between the four seas and the Grand Line, but it was simply too dangerous.

That was naturally no problem for the strong, but for ordinary ships, a fifty percent survival rate was completely unacceptable.

For trade, even if a company were lucky enough to pass safely over Reverse Mountain every time, the wear and tear on its ships would be a cost no company could bear.

The Going Merry had eventually fallen into ruin, and Reverse Mountain had been the first straw on its keel.

In short, anyone wanting to do business between the four seas could do no better than get in with a Marine force to help smuggle goods and protect the shipments.

If the Marine officer in charge was also their own undercover agent, that would be even better.

Of course, Nezumi's current Seastone-base warship was only a small one.

It was nowhere near comparable to the enormous fleet Garp brought when he returned home to visit his family.

A small warship had very limited capacity for smuggling and protecting shipments, but as Twitch took Nezumi's place, climbed the ranks, earned more and reached the pinnacle of rat life, the warships under his command would surely grow larger and more numerous.

Watching Nezumi's Ship sail away and gradually vanish over the horizon, Ma Qiao raised his cola and murmured, "Here's wishing Officer Twitch smooth sailing at the Marine Branch..."

"Uncle, what are you mumbling about?"

Vivi looked at Ma Qiao curiously.

"Nothing."

Ma Qiao smiled and turned his head, finding that the girl seemed especially soft and beautiful in the evening light.

"Why aren't you calling me stinky uncle anymore?"

"Hmph, I just forgot!"

A blush flashed across Vivi's face. She grabbed a corner of Ma Qiao's red scarf and ran toward Middle Finger Mountain like a young deer. "Come on, we're going home! Stinky uncle, hurry up and take a bath. You reek of blood. You stink!"

Ma Qiao smiled, shook his head, and hurried after her.

Beside them, Karoo the duck scratched his head in utter bewilderment.

Why was his back empty, yet his master wanted to walk?

After exchanging a glance with the equally puzzled big guy, Garen, Karoo waddled slowly along behind them.

In the evening light, the young man and woman and the enormous duck cast long shadows across the gravel beach.