"Black Knight" was not Black Count Lowett's exclusive creation. Every Necromancer at the level of Official Mage had made one or two; he was simply the one who had played with them best.
He had even created an absurd monster like the Black Dragon Legion.
As mentioned before, mages were more like scholars.
And scholars naturally needed something to prove their academic abilities, something for others to admire and study... papers.
That was right!
Black Knights were, in fact, the papers Necromancers used to demonstrate the results of their training.
It was the collective term for biologically modified constructs that testified to a Necromancer's academic research.
Under the moonlight, a blood-drawn magic circle glowed faint crimson. A one-armed, black-haired man held a terrifying weapon as he picked through a corpse, creating an extremely bizarre sight.
Especially since the corpse occasionally twitched as though electrocuted, while zombies with hollow eyes stood guard nearby. The atmosphere was oppressive.
A few days later, Grand Line, Marine Headquarters.
Knock, knock, knock!
The ten-centimeter-thick bronze doors were knocked upon. Inside the office, a burly old man wearing round spectacles raised his head.
"Come in!"
His voice was booming and imposing, yet even the long black hair hanging from either side of his cap could not conceal the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
"Report! An urgent message has arrived from East Blue's Branch 153 and the Kingdom of Goa!"
Vice Admiral Momonga stopped at the doorway, looking respectfully at the old man seated at the end of the long conference table. He had two thick patches of mustache above his lips and a braided goatee hanging from his chin.
This was the current commander-in-chief of the Marines!
Sengoku the Buddha!
"East Blue? The Kingdom of Goa?"
Hearing Momonga's report, a trace of confusion flashed through Sengoku's wise eyes. He stopped what he was doing and put down his pen. "Sit down and tell me."
"Yes!"
He knew of the Kingdom of Goa, but Branch 153... other than remembering that such a unit existed, Sengoku had no idea what had happened there.
Sitting down, Momonga hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, something went wrong... Princess Sally Nandecanette of the Kingdom of Goa was being escorted to Loguetown by Branch 153 when she was stabbed along the way. She remains unconscious."
"Nandecanette was stabbed?"
Sengoku frowned, then slammed his hand on the table.
"What the hell was Garp doing?!!"
Momonga: "..."
I knew it!
As one of the few East Blue nations important enough for them to remember by name, the Kingdom of Goa's royal family held exalted status and even had ties to the Celestial Dragons. Their security had to be handled with the utmost caution.
If anything went wrong, it would be a major diplomatic incident.
Under normal circumstances, even if Garp was not interested in escorting them on their little "visit," he should have taken them to Loguetown and handed them over to Smoker. After they crossed Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line, the "G" series branches there would personally handle their security.
As for dangerous routes like crossing the Calm Belt, they should not even think about it. Even a Seastone-lined hull would not be enough.
Let alone handing them over to some obscure branch.
So Garp had thrown a tantrum again, hadn't he?!
Momonga's mouth twitched wildly.
Sure enough, that was so like Garp!
After another hesitation, Momonga cleared his throat. "Well... Fleet Admiral, Garp was not with them. After handing them over to Branch 153, he turned directly toward the Calm Belt. He should be close to returning to G3 Branch by now."
This world was divided by the Calm Belt and the Red Line into the four Blues and the first and second halves of the Grand Line. Ordinary ships had to travel along the route of "Four Blues → Reverse Mountain → Grand Line" before heading to their destinations.
But crossing the Calm Belt could save months of travel time. G3 Branch, where Garp was stationed, had been carefully selected by him. It was close to the Calm Belt, and beyond it lay East Blue.
Only a powerhouse like him had the right to be so willful, treating the Sea Kings clustered in the Calm Belt as if they were nothing.
But that was not the point!
Momonga swore it.
Hearing this, the wrinkles on Sengoku's forehead twitched unnaturally twice. It was a sign that his anger had reached its limit.
He silently turned around, handed a document to the goat by his knees for it to chew up, then nodded very calmly.
"Ah, I see."
Gulp...!
Momonga swallowed nervously.
"Get that bastard over here! Immediately! Right now!"
Bang!!
The thick wooden table shattered into pieces. Amid a deafening crash, splinters flew everywhere.
Sengoku panted heavily, his nostrils flaring.
"That bastard! I still haven't settled the score with him over his grandson becoming a pirate!!"
Momonga remained silent, then turned toward the soldiers who had rushed into the office after hearing the commotion and jerked his chin.
"Get out. It's nothing."
Seeing that Sengoku did not seem injured, though his expression was terrifying, the soldiers swallowed and stood at attention.
"Yes!"
When Momonga turned back, Sengoku was glaring fiercely at him.
"Why are you still here?"
"Uh..."
Scratching his itchy scalp, Momonga licked his lips and said, "There is more than that. The pirate Lowett, who accepted the Government's amnesty under Admiral Aokiji's instruction last time, and Branch 153 Commander Monka also have... a very complicated situation."
"Oh..."
Sengoku's gaze was full of resentment. Perhaps he had been angered beyond anger; there was no greater sorrow than a dead heart.
He tried to sit back down, only to discover that his chair had also split apart under the burst of his Haki just now. Three of its four legs had broken.
So he dropped onto the floor, pulled his feet back, and sat cross-legged.
With an expression that said, "Go ahead, I'm listening," Sengoku propped his chin up with one hand.
"After Princess Nandecanette was attacked, her fiancé Sterley demanded that Monka and the others arrest the culprit..."
Momonga recounted everything that had happened aboard the ship that day in meticulous detail, making one wonder whether he had been there himself.
Yet that was only natural.
The Marines might have lost the initiative in the New World. The strength and stability of the Four Emperors left them with little energy to gather intelligence there. But on the Grand Line and in the four Blues, no one could escape the Marines' eyes and ears.
Especially when the target itself was a Marine branch.
Without even that level of intelligence capability, how could they maintain the overall peace of these seas?
After hearing it all, Sengoku remained expressionless.
"From what he said, all the blame lies with Lowett still harboring evil intentions and trying to drag him down with him?"
"Yes."
"Idiot!"
Sengoku gave a soft laugh and said nothing more.
With his wisdom and experience, how could he fail to see through such an obviously flawed explanation?
The logic was simple. What was there to gain?
The Black Cat Pirates could not figure it out.
Jody could not figure it out.
Sengoku could not figure it out either.
So the question was, what was he after?!
First, he sacrificed an arm to infiltrate the Marines. Then, before he had even warmed his seat, he chose to leave. If he truly intended to be a spy, then even if Monka abandoned him, he would still find some way to frame a criminal.
It did not matter whether it was true or false. All that mattered was whether there was one or not.
At that point, as a meritorious official with the Marines backing him, who would he have to fear?
Taking it a step further, what if he had orchestrated this assassination himself?
Since it made no sense, that meant someone was lying!
Knowing that Sengoku had formed an opinion, Momonga continued, "And that is not all... The next day, using Branch 16's Den Den Mushi, a lieutenant colonel named Jody under Monka's command accused Monka and gave an entirely different account."
It was a shocking statement.
It not only branded both Lowett and Monka as having ulterior motives, but even directly claimed that the arrested Kuro was suspicious and demanded that the case be retried.
By this point, Sengoku could no longer get angry.
He looked up at Momonga and grinned. "What a place... tiny temple, big demons; shallow water, plenty of turtles!"
Unforgivable!
"Let me go, Fleet Admiral!"
Seeing the killing intent in Sengoku's eyes, Momonga stood up, his rough, dry fingers closing around his sword hilt.
"No, there's no need."
Under Momonga's astonished gaze, the coldness vanished from Sengoku's face, replaced by solemnity.
"Tell that Jody that casually slandering his superior is unacceptable."
"Fleet Admiral?"
Momonga froze for a second.
"Then tell Monka that Headquarters believes in his record and believes in his character."
"Finally, notify the East Blue branches that Triangle Spellbreaker Lowett is already dead. Do not publicize this matter. Have them hunt for him in secret."
Peace and stability were the most important things in this Great Pirate Era!
Everything else was insignificant.
The truth was not important.
What mattered was that the World Government could not have a stain, and the Marines could not have a stain.
Justice could not have a stain!
Momonga felt a little heavy-hearted and took a deep breath.
"Understood!"
"A cat mourning a mouse is false sympathy, but if fear can keep a cat from eating meat for the rest of its life, then I ought to thank this Lowett instead."
Sengoku stood and brushed the dust from his backside.
"Go. Get Garp over here!"
"Yes!"
Momonga said no more. He nodded and turned away.
So the question was, did a cat that did not steal food truly exist?
His hand tightened around his sword.
"Ah!"
With a long sigh, his retreating figure stretched out. On the white Marine coat, the two characters for "Justice" seemed ever more deeply inked.
The second thing was that I forgot the second thing.
I went out to buy cigarettes and chatted with someone for a while, then—whoosh—what was I going to say again?
Age waits for no one!
Take care and cherish the journey!
Before you continue