Trouble Brewing

Grand Line, Marine Headquarters.

"Absurd!!"

In the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku slammed a hand on the desk and rose to his feet, glaring at the soldier who had come to report. "A brawl involving over five hundred people—how could there possibly have been no sound at all?!"

"Keep investigating!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier had grievances he could not voice. At the order, his legs stiffened, and after snapping off a loud salute, he hurried out at a jog.

Once the soldier had left, the anger vanished from Sengoku's face, replaced by exhaustion deeply etched into his wrinkles.

"Only one person had a motive."

Not far away, a thin, white-haired elderly woman rested her chin on her interlaced hands and spoke.

"Triangle Spellbreaker, Lowett!"

Justice?

What a fine blood-soaked steamed bun built upon corpses!

Using Marine corpses to carve justice into the walls showed nothing but the culprit's mockery of the word "justice."

After Sengoku had deliberately suppressed the crimes committed by Monka and the others, this incident made it difficult not to think of Lowett, who had still vanished without a trace.

The Marines had not played a glorious role in this matter, which was why Sengoku had strictly ordered the East Blue branches to arrest Lowett.

Yet instead of good news, they received a heavy, forceful rebuttal from him!

It was a bloody, suffocating rebuttal.

It did not merely anger them—it left them deeply unsettled.

"Well, even so, how did he do it?"

Aokiji rubbed his afro and said troubledly, "According to the records, that Lowett did not even qualify as a competent fighter, and his family had no wealth. Saying he could raise an army capable of wiping out Branch 153 is simply too far-fetched."

No matter how weak they were, they were still soldiers.

More than two hundred well-trained Marines armed with weapons could hold back an army of several thousand farmers.

Only an opponent of comparable numbers who were also soldiers could kill them all without letting even one escape.

He had seen the layout of Branch 153. It had two gates, front and back, allowing it to attack when advancing and defend when retreating, while the walls around the training grounds were not especially high.

Unless every opening had been completely blocked and the training grounds thoroughly suppressed, one or two people should have been able to escape no matter what.

The investigation results confirmed that guess. More than five hundred people had participated in the battle that night. Excluding the Branch 153 garrison, the enemy numbered over three hundred!

Three hundred versus two hundred.

With an absolute numerical advantage, Branch 153 had been ambushed by a large force and had no power to resist.

Yet precisely because that had been confirmed, it became impossible to understand.

How could Lowett possibly possess such ability?

Perhaps this force was nothing worth mentioning across the seas, but it was enough to shock the East Blue. It was impossible for no one to have ever heard of it.

And...

The residents of Shells Town had not heard the slightest disturbance throughout the entire night.

Aokiji did not believe everyone in the town would dare unite to lie when questioned by the Marines, so that was another suspicious point.

An unsolved case!

A completely unsolved case!

Even Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Marine Headquarters Chief of Staff and the female soldier idol who had enlisted in the same generation as Garp and Sengoku, had only arrived at her deduction from the motive.

Tsuru could not make sense of it either.

The East Blue was weak. It did not have as many monstrous powerhouses as the Grand Line. Yet precisely because it was weak, this case was filled with doubts.

"We cannot act rashly, or it will make us Marines seem incompetent."

Since they could not prove it had been Lowett, they would admit the truth.

Compared to the repercussions of digging deeper into the matter, failing to find the culprit was not worth mentioning.

After a long silence, Sengoku slowly spoke.

"Has the news been suppressed?"

"It has. Shells Town is not particularly bustling."

Tsuru answered as such.

Because too many people knew about it, the matter could not be completely sealed off. But people were fickle, and time would smooth everything over.

As long as they waited for the storm to pass, the public's attention would soon shift away in search of new gossip, aside from Shells Town's residents.

"Then let's leave it at that. For now, classify this case as unsolved and inform the public."

"Then..."

Sengoku raised his head and looked toward Momonga, who had remained silent at the other end of the conference table.

"Smoker needs to remain stationed in Loguetown. You understand the situation best, so make a trip to the East Blue."

Momonga was one of the Marines' foremost veterans. Only by sending him could Sengoku rest easy.

Even if he could not find Lowett and learn the truth, he still had to convey Marine Headquarters' decision and calm the East Blue's people.

Momonga was not surprised by this outcome.

At this point, whether Lowett had done it was no longer important. The real issue was that Branch 153 had indeed been destroyed!

At a time like this, those pirates would certainly take advantage of the chaos. They had to be punished!

A Headquarters Vice Admiral was still a Marine. There was no such thing as wasting talent; if necessary, even Admirals could be dispatched to the Four Blues.

"Understood!"

Momonga accepted the order and left. Aokiji waited a while before returning to sleep as well.

Looking at Lowett's photograph in his hand, Sengoku remained silent for a long time before speaking. "If I'm not mistaken..."

"No, don't overthink it."

Before he could finish, Tsuru shook her head.

"I also do not believe that child's power would fall into this man's hands."

"This fellow... resembles his older brother more."

"Does he?"

Sengoku froze for a second. Looking at Lowett in the photo, draped in a Marine coat, with that calm yet confident expression and those profound eyes that seemed capable of seeing through people, he indeed felt something unfamiliar.

"Why do I feel that they do not resemble each other at all?"

For the time being, no one could understand the mysteries of spells. That was only natural.

An ordinary Spell Apprentice needed more than a decade just to learn the process of understanding magic. Becoming a Mage Apprentice before the age of twenty was already something to be proud of.

When the news spread across the seas, the people of the East Blue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Marine Headquarters had actually dispatched a Vice Admiral?

That was no small matter!

Ordinary people in the East Blue could not understand what a Headquarters Vice Admiral represented, but through stories told by officers from the Grand Line, Momonga's strength filled them with longing.

He was one of the true pillars of the Marines!

Even for something as significant as the execution of Pirate King Roger, aside from the Admiral leading the operation, the escort had consisted only of people like them.

For a time, before the terror caused by Branch 153's destruction could fully develop into chaos, the entire East Blue fell silent, tense and fearful.

At that moment, Momonga had only just set out.

Branch 16 waters, Cocoyasi Village, Arlong's Territory.

"Enough. How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do it."

Under the eaves, a blue-skinned fish-man lounged in a beach chair with an impatient expression, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

He was still enjoying the stage of ruling over more than twenty villages. Why would he go all the way to the neighboring waters to wipe out Branch 153?

Even if he wanted to use humans as targets...

Grrr!

His beastlike, narrow eyes shifted.

Wasn't there a better choice right here?

Beside him, Colonel Rat, who was shorter standing than Arlong was sitting, shuddered. Then he pursed his lips, causing his whiskers to curl upward on both sides.

"That's wonderful!"

"This time, Headquarters issued a strict order for us to cooperate with the investigation. As long as it wasn't you, everything on our side can be cleared completely."

"Oh!! As expected of my good friend!!"

Arlong laughed sinisterly, while Hatchan, Kuroobi, and the other fish-man subordinates beside him burst into laughter as well.

Would Arlong ever admit that a human was his friend?

What ridiculous nonsense!

Rat knew that, so his expression became somewhat awkward. But he did not give up and continued, "But there is still one problem."

"Oh?"

Arlong's expression turned playful as his laughter stopped.

"Momonga may be coming to investigate the culprit, but his real purpose is to clear out East Blue pirates and calm the people."

"Even if I pretend not to know, your existence... is known by quite a few people."

As the current highest-bounty pirate in the East Blue, the captain of the Arlong Pirates with a bounty of twenty million, Arlong would certainly be Momonga's target if he wanted to establish his authority!

Even if Rat said nothing, someone would inform on them after a few casual questions.

"Tch. Momonga, huh? He's a troublesome fellow."

Arlong recalled some unpleasant memories, then leaned closer to Rat, his sharp nose brushing across Rat's face.

"But since you brought this up, Rat, I assume you have a solution?"

"O-of course I do."

Arlong's nose was not merely there for decoration. It was as sharp as a dagger.

Rat swallowed and said, "Aren't you fish-men? The ocean is your home ground. As humans, it makes sense that we cannot catch up to fish-men in the sea."

"Puhahahaha, not bad!"

"Humans can never defeat fish-men in the ocean!"

Arlong laughed heartily, then gave a look.

Soon, Chew, one of the officers and a kissing fish-man, carried over a suitcase and placed it on the table. Hearing the heavy thud as it landed, Rat's eyes gleamed.

"Then I'll leave this matter to you, Colonel Rat."

With that, Arlong pushed the suitcase forward.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

After Rat left, Arlong stood and slowly walked toward the swimming pool.

"Boss, Rat still thinks we were behind the Ghost Ship Incident!"

Kuroobi crossed his arms, his face full of disdain.

Coming here to extort them at a time like this, Rat clearly believed they had found plenty of treasure on those ghost ships.

Did he not stop to think about it? Ever since they came to the East Blue five years ago, when had they ever dared show their faces after doing something?

"I know, but it doesn't matter."

Splash!

Arlong leaped into the pool. His movements were light and fluid, completely at odds with his huge, muscular frame.

Splash, splash!

A few seconds later, Arlong surfaced.

"Money is merely a number to us. If he wants it, give it to him. Consider it feeding a dog."

Then Arlong's expression turned cold.

"But causing trouble on our turf and framing us for it... that is unforgivable!"

More than Momonga's imminent arrival in the East Blue, Arlong cared about that little thief!

"Intensify the search. The moment you find him, notify me... I'll personally snap every bone in his body, understand?!"

"Yes!"

The destruction of Branch 153 appeared to have been suppressed, but an even greater storm was gathering in the shadows.

I've been busy with the cover lately. Qidian contracts do not automatically release covers now, and the artists for my previous books did quite a good job.

Then Big Tree found an image himself, but couldn't find the original artist to ask for permission.

I went to TB and paid for one, but it turned out ugly as hell.

I can only use the image library included with the Writer Assistant for now. Please bear with it. I... did my best.

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