Setting Sail

"This is the World Government's final bottom line." Sengoku sighed.

A seemingly casual meeting had decided Smoker's fate for the next twenty years.

Sengoku's expression suddenly turned solemn. "Compared to the next two matters, Smoker's case is insignificant."

Garp set down his donut, Kizaru uncrossed his legs, and the atmosphere in the meeting room grew heavy.

"I believe some of you already know that Mary Geoise was attacked last night and a large number of slaves were freed."

"But what you don't know is that Celestial Dragons died last night. Nine Celestial Dragons, in total!"

Whenever he thought of it, Sengoku found it utterly shocking.

Nine Celestial Dragons had died all at once. Honestly, Sengoku would have been more surprised if the World Government had not gone mad.

"Gasp—nine Celestial Dragons?!"

Everyone present drew in a sharp breath.

Some found it immensely satisfying, while others thought it was terrifying.

Even Akainu's expression froze.

He had long been fed up with those Celestial Dragons, yet even after becoming an Admiral, he still had to put up with their nonsense.

Sengoku placed two photographs beside Smoker's photo. Only then did everyone see that they were wanted posters.

Captain of the Sun Pirates, the Fish-Man Fisher Tiger. Former bounty: 1.58 billion Berries.

Man in black, Fist Sword Night Hawk. Bounty: 1.13 billion Berries.

As soon as the two bounty posters were displayed, the room erupted in commotion.

Bounties were not yet as exaggerated as they would become in the future. Anyone with a bounty exceeding a billion was already a super Great Pirate renowned across the seas.

Everyone could understand Fisher Tiger's bounty. As the leader of the operation, it was hardly surprising.

But what the hell was this Fist Sword Style Night Hawk?

It was one thing for him to be dressed entirely in black, but even his hair and face were wrapped in black cloth, leaving only a pair of narrow eyes exposed.

Wasn't that being a little too cautious?

With only a pair of eyes visible, how the hell were they supposed to find him? Was this wanted poster even meaningful???

The Marines were utterly powerless to complain.

"Ahem." Sengoku knew what they were thinking, but all the World Government wanted was to make a statement.

If the deaths of the Celestial Dragons were not so difficult to make public, Sengoku estimated that the two men's bounties would have been doubled.

"You are all familiar with Fisher Tiger, so I won't go into him. This time, I mainly want to tell you about Night Hawk."

"In fact, Night Hawk was the one who covered the Sun Pirates' retreat. He stopped nearly a thousand CP Organization members almost single-handedly."

"This man's strength must not be underestimated. If you encounter him in the future, be extremely careful."

"Even after an intense battle and the resulting exhaustion, he was still able to briefly fight a CP agent with the strength of a Vice Admiral. I estimate that he is at least Admiral-level, perhaps even at the threshold of Vice Admiral."

As he listened to Sengoku passionately recount his own "heroic deeds," Lin Qi was panicking inside.

Listening to his own bounty being discussed at Marine Headquarters was fucking exhilarating.

He secretly glanced at Kizaru several times and confirmed that the man really had not recognized him.

"Are you alright?" A soft hand clasped Lin Qi's from beside him. Momousagi smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Sister Momousagi."

Momousagi looked around, then leaned close to Lin Qi's ear and whispered, "Did you do something to your sister while I was asleep last night? When I woke up this morning, I smelled you on my bed."

Lin Qi: "..."

A certain Rear Admiral with excellent hearing shuddered from head to toe. Lin Qi had done something to Rear Admiral Momousagi at night.

This... was explosive news!

Later, Sengoku assembled a force to pursue the Sun Pirates. It included three Vice Admirals and five Rear Admirals—an exceptionally lavish lineup.

Unfortunately, Sister Momousagi was among them. He probably would not see her for quite some time.

Once the gathering ended, Lin Qi went to Sengoku and stated that he wanted to set sail as well.

"As agreed, I want to travel through the Four Seas. The Marines can assign Smoker to me, and I'll drop him off in Loguetown on the way."

Why did he want to go to the Four Seas? Besides earning Points, he also wanted to see where would be suitable for overthrowing a country.

He had not forgotten about the system that had yet to be activated. He had to become the ruler of a country within two and a half years.

As for why he chose the Four Seas rather than the Grand Line, there were two reasons.

Whether it was the first half or the second half of the Grand Line, he would have to live at someone else's mercy.

The first half was too close to Mary Geoise. If they wanted to deal with him, it would take only minutes.

The second half was even more dangerous. Even the Marines could barely move through it.

The second reason was stability.

For the training of the strong, the more dangerous a place was, the better. But the development of a nation was the exact opposite.

With the New World's damned weather, not to mention Pirates who carried out massacres at every turn, he would rather forget it.

"The Four Seas... very well. They are also where Pirates originate. As long as you can effectively suppress piracy, I will support all your actions."

"To make things easier for you, I'm assigning you to the LCN Department." Sengoku said excitedly.

"LCN? What is that?"

"The LCN Department is a division I wanted to establish years ago. Its members do not need to report to the Marines and may freely attack any Pirate except the Four Emperors. Its purpose is to reduce the number of Pirates and bring stability to the world."

"Unfortunately, we have always been short on manpower. The Admirals cannot spare the time, and we have lacked anyone capable of inflicting large-scale damage on Pirates—until we encountered your extraordinary Conqueror's Haki."

"Yes. I will devote myself to the cause of fighting Pirates and will not disgrace the name of justice!"

"Good, very good." The more Sengoku looked at the young man before him, the more satisfied he became. "Take my authorization and go claim a Warship."

Before leaving, Lin Qi visited the two teachers who had taught him for half a year: Zephyr and Garp.

As Zephyr looked at the disciple before him, who seemed to have grown taller again, he seemed to see the child Pirates had cruelly killed. Fire ignited in his eyes.

"Though I have already taught you everything, I will teach you one final thing now: always protect your family."

"A man who cannot even protect his family is worse than trash."

Lin Qi's lips moved a few times. "I understand, Teacher Zephyr."

"Go. You are the future of the Marines."

Zephyr patted Lin Qi on the shoulder and brushed past him as he left. He did not want his negative emotions to taint his disciple.

"Teacher Zephyr..."

"Ha ha ha ha! You're going to the East Blue, kid? Perfect, bring some gifts to my useless grandson." Garp leaped straight up from his seat.

"Vice Admiral Garp, you have a grandson?" Lin Qi put on a surprised expression.

"Yeah, but I haven't visited him in a long time." Garp rarely showed such nostalgia. "If I've counted right, he'll turn four in a few days. His name is Luffy."

"Luffy..."

After living in this world for so many years, hearing that name again gave Lin Qi a strange sense of time and space being out of place.