Fortress

"Come to think of it, we've been sailing for so long, but has it really only been 28 hours?"

Ma Qiao looked at Vivi, whose figure showed no sign of developing at all, and couldn't help marveling once again at how damn far time stretched in One Piece.

They had passed so many islands, villages, towns, and supply stations along the way, and had even gone ashore to buy some local specialties. Yet only 28 hours had passed.

So the G-2 Branch was this close to Whiskey Peak.

Yet all these years, the Marines had somehow never noticed Crocodile's ambition to overthrow a sovereign Affiliated Nation.

Ma Qiao was at a loss for words.

According to the setting, the World Government in the world of One Piece was certainly unlike the toothless United Nations; it was a powerful regime.

After all, every Affiliated Nation paid so much Heavenly Tribute each year.

The amount was enough to bankrupt many poor nations, or at the very least leave their people struggling to make a living.

That showed that the Heavenly Tribute was no trivial matter like UN dues, but an actual tax, and a heavy one at that.

There was nothing inherently wrong with a government levying heavy taxes, but it should also provide its people with public goods of equivalent value.

Hospitals, schools, railways, bridges, postal services...

And the most important public good of all—peace.

But judging by reality, the World Government led by the Celestial Dragons had made a complete mess of things.

Never mind building hospitals and schools for underdeveloped nations; it had failed even at the basic work of suppressing pirates and protecting ordinary people.

It could collect taxes, but couldn't suppress bandits.

The Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian wept himself unconscious in the bathroom:

"If I could collect the Heavenly Tribute, I'd slaughter the roaming bandits and the Jurchens alike!"

In short, it was the World Government's incompetence that brought the Ming dynasty's loyalists to tears.

That was what had led to an endless stream of ambitious schemers filling the seas, fighting without end for their so-called "dreams."

Of course, Ma Qiao had little standing to complain about the World Government's incompetence, since he himself was a lackey serving the ambitious Crocodile.

Besides, as a Capitalist Devil Fruit User living in a half-feudal, half-slave society, it was impossible for him to have no ambition at all.

The World Government's incompetence was exactly what gave Ma Qiao room to develop on the sly.

If it really were a capable, powerful government, Ma Qiao would certainly have to behave himself, lest its iron fist come down on his head.

Such chaotic times...

Even a salted fish's ambition had grown!

Ma Qiao tightened the red scarf around his chest, reached out and snatched the levorotatory sandwich from Vivi's left hand, and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite.

Morning exercise was over. It was time for breakfast.

Ma Qiao and Vivi fought over the zero-calorie meal, while on the other side:

"Come try this delicious piece of mold!"

Twitch pushed a piece of cheese covered in suspicious spots in front of Garen.

The latter took a step back, pulled out a spray bottle from behind him, and sprayed it with a hiss.

"What a tasteless guy!"

Twitch rolled his eyes and tossed the mold into his mouth, then immediately clutched his throat and screamed, "What the hell did you spray on it?!"

"Rat poison. It should be medicine for rats to eat, right?"

Garen looked at the instructions for the "special insect and rodent spray" and spoke uncertainly.

The G-2 Base commander's office.

Vice Admiral Comil leaned out the window, holding a coffee cup in one hand and a telescope in the other. Smiling, he said to his old classmate, "Looks like Nezumi's made a new friend... cough, cough, cough... It's so bitter!!!"

Comil retched and spat all the coffee in his mouth into the wastebasket, then dumped the rest out the window with a slap.

"Which inconsiderate jerk is throwing hot water around?! Oh, it was you, Vice Admiral. Never mind, then..."

The voice from downstairs was very understanding, demonstrating the noble character of the G-2 Branch Marines.

"The coffee at this base is getting more and more bitter! I've had enough! Isn't there anything drinkable around here?"

Comil cursed as he sat back down at his desk and accepted the tissue Momonga handed him.

"You're as picky as ever..."

"Ah, after getting used to Teacher Zephyr's coffee, I always find other coffee too bitter."

"Are you sure Teacher Zephyr likes coffee?"

"Of course. He made it especially for me..."

Comil rambled on about how Teacher Zephyr had looked after him back when he was a junior student, and how he was much more lovable than that fellow Borsalino (Kizaru), and so on.

Momonga curled his lip. Teacher Zephyr said that to practically everyone. No matter how you looked at it, wasn't Kuzan the one who received the most praise?

"You said Nezumi made a friend?" Momonga found a topic he could use to interrupt him.

"Uh, yes."

Comil nodded. "He's a square young man. He looks like a Pirate Hunter."

"A Pirate Hunter..."

Momonga rubbed his chin, a little worried.

Pirate Hunters were a mixed bunch. Surely Nezumi hadn't fallen in with another bad crowd?

As an uncle who lost his sense of right and wrong when it came to family, Momonga believed Nezumi had turned into a scumbag not because of his nature or any problem with his own parenting, but because he had fallen in with a whole bunch of bad company.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Marine Headquarters Major Kuppas, reporting for duty!"

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the commander's office.

"Kuppas? The former Loguetown garrison commander who was replaced by Smoker when he went to the East Blue?"

"That's right, it's him."

Momonga was intrigued.

Loguetown was a pirate holy land, and the Headquarters officers stationed there were all quite capable.

Of course, sending Smoker there as a Headquarters colonel was rather excessive. His predecessor, Kuppas, had only been a major.

That was mainly because Smoker's unpleasant personality had angered some people, who had then sent him there.

Even Momonga, the commander of G-1 Base, had heard plenty about that troublemaker.

"That's right!"

Comil's eyes suddenly lit up, and he struck his palm with his fist. "Kuppas is a veteran who knows the East Blue well. Why don't we have him..."

G-2 Fortress drew closer and closer.

Facing such a colossal structure, Ma Qiao finally understood just how formidable the Marines' foundation was, to the point that the Affiliated Nations would rather pay the costly Heavenly Tribute than go without their protection.

Beside him, Master Sergeant Qiangsen chattered on about how "G-2 is the strongest branch" and the like, while Ma Qiao merely brushed him off with an "Uh-huh, sure."

Although G-2 was powerful, it was not fundamentally different from the other Grand Line branches.

The G-1 and G-5 Branches in the New World were certainly even stronger than the G-2 Branch.

That was without even mentioning Marine Headquarters in Marineford.

With a force this powerful, Ma Qiao found it hard to imagine how it could possibly be destroyed from the outside.

But...

The stronger the fortress, the easier it was to break through from within.

Just as Nezumi's warship was preparing to dock according to the flag signals, a small black dot suddenly sped toward them from the naval harbor, cutting through the air as it rapidly drew closer.