"Mm... an unfamiliar ceiling."
Lowett's eyes were half-open. Everything was a blur, but the rotten, moldy stench at the tip of his nose told him he was still in a cell.
"But at least I survived."
Massive blood loss and hypothermia had unfortunately given him a raging fever, leaving his head heavy and muddled. Mages were monsters whose minds transcended their bodies, allowing him to remain calm enough to think even in this condition.
A trace of coolness came from the wound where his left arm had been severed. Without looking, Lowett knew that compared to the crude bandaging from before, a professional doctor had clearly treated it properly.
It was a potentially fatal injury!
If he could have survived on his own, Lowett would not have chosen to take that gamble.
Blood loss, wound infection—even without spending half the night soaking in the sea to make matters worse, this frail body might not have held on.
He needed a doctor.
That was why he would rather drag his dying body onward without rest to hypnotize Monka a second time... As the combat hero who had captured Kuro of the Hundred Schemes, Monka's attitude might not change the higher-ups' minds, but it could at least earn Lowett a certain degree of preferential treatment at Branch 153.
At the very least...
They definitely would not let him die.
As for... what if the higher-ups refused to acknowledge his merit in redeeming himself and stubbornly insisted that he was a pirate?
"Heh..."
Lowett grinned and let out a soft chuckle.
All he sought was this period of rest and recovery, enough time to get through the hardest stretch.
As long as he recovered even a fraction of his spellcasting ability, as a Necromancer, Lowett truly did not think he would be unable to survive in the East Blue, the weakest sea.
"Hm? He's awake?"
The chuckle was faint, and to outsiders, it sounded more like an unconscious groan.
The two Marine soldiers assigned to guard the cell exchanged glances. One of them suddenly stood and filled a cup with water.
"Are you crazy? The higher-ups haven't decided what to do with him yet!"
His companion stopped him in surprise.
He fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and stepped past the obstruction. "Since I'm in charge of guarding this cell, I can't just stand by and watch a prisoner die in there... unless he's sentenced to death."
A criminal with a bounty of one million Berries clearly did not fall within the scope of death row prisoners. The wanted poster said "Dead Or Alive."
His companion said nothing more. He knew that this man's older brother had happened to be aboard that warship.
After that brutal battle, although they had successfully captured the Great Pirate Kuro, out of the more than one hundred people aboard from Branch 153, including the branch colonel, only two had survived...
One was a private second class. The other was a wanted criminal.
Disbanding the branch was impossible. Every branch's location had been determined only after careful consideration by the higher-ups, but restoring it to its former state would take a long time.
"Then so be it. Let's be selfish for once."
With a bitter smile, the man shook his head, turned away, and began to doze off.
Meanwhile, on an island within the Iron Triangle of the Great Whirlpool on the Grand Line.
The island's buildings were spread from east to west. Near the Calm Belt was a residential town where the families of most Headquarters soldiers lived.
To the east lay a vast harbor, with warships lined across the sea and banners standing thick, displaying the iron-blooded might of the Marines.
This was Marine Headquarters!
Marineford, the headquarters of the Marines, whose name shook the four seas and who upheld peace upon the ocean in the name of "justice"!
At the island's very center stood a towering, majestic trapezoidal fortress. On its snow-white front wall, the word "Justice" had been painted vertically in bold black brushstrokes. It had stood there for centuries; no matter how difficult the times, Marineford remained as unshakable as that fortress.
The famed Three Admirals of the Marines, as well as Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha, whose battle achievements were countless, were stationed here. Along with the "Hero of the Marines," "Iron Fist" Garp, who was said to have personally captured Roger, this place had become a hopeless forbidden ground for countless evildoers.
In the middle of the fortress, inside a spacious office.
"So... Branch 153 in the East Blue only managed to capture Kuro with the help of a pirate, correct?"
A pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Berries might have been something of a celebrity in the East Blue, but across the whole sea, he was merely a name. He was not enough to alarm a high-ranking Marine Headquarters vice admiral, especially a veteran among veterans like Momonga.
The main issue was that Branch 153 had suffered losses that were far too severe, which was why he had to handle the matter personally.
Under ordinary circumstances, comforting the families of fallen soldiers and handsomely rewarding those with merit was routine work for Momonga. But... how had pirates become involved?
"Y-yes! He really is a pirate."
The Den Den Mushi relayed the East Blue official's nervous reply. Then, somewhere not far away, someone seemed to mutter softly, "He didn't willingly become a pirate."
But soon, there was a crisp sound as the door slammed shut. As expected, the speaker had been kicked out.
Momonga was not surprised that someone supported that pirate. Before he had arrived to take over this matter, someone had already prepared all the relevant documents.
Honestly, well done!
Momonga strongly approved of Lowett's actions.
But...
The key was not whether he had been wronged, but his current identity.
A pirate!
A pirate whom the World Government had declared to be one after attacking a government official!
The World Government's authority could not be challenged, and the sea's current stability was inseparable from that authority. Therefore, even if it was wrong, they had to swallow it and call it right.
Not to mention...
As Marines, they had no way to change the World Government's mind.
Momonga had a terrible headache. Why did he have to be a pirate?
If this matter was not handled well, it could become even more destabilizing than Kuro had been.
"Hold your position for now. I'll consider it furth—"
Mid-sentence, Momonga suddenly put down the receiver, stood, and saluted. "Admiral Aokiji!"
The newcomer was one of the current Three Admirals, a monster in the eyes of the world: Admiral Aokiji, Kuzan!
Aokiji was tall and lean, but unlike Kizaru's sleazy air, his blue shirt and white coat gave him a refreshing appearance.
A mass of fluffy black hair sat atop his head, with a bright green... frog sleep mask wedged into it?
Momonga's mouth twitched. He did not want to comment on it.
With his own purple sausage-shaped mohawk, he did not seem to have much right to speak.
"No need to be so formal, Vice Admiral Momonga. Um... what was I going to say again?"
Aokiji yawned carelessly, resting one hand on his waist while rubbing his hair. A moment later, he suddenly remembered. "Oh, right... The Fleet Admiral wants you to make a trip to Alabasta. Things have been a little unsettled there lately, and he suspects pirates are behind it."
"Alabasta? Understood."
Momonga's gaze turned cold as he nodded.
When the Shichibukai Crocodile had entered Alabasta years ago, it had caused a huge uproar within the Marines. Momonga had been among those firmly convinced that Crocodile was up to no good.
And here it was.
"But... why are you the one notifying me?"
Momonga asked curiously. Did a deployment order really require an Admiral to deliver the message in person?
"Oh, well... I was heading home to sleep and happened to pass by..."
Aokiji answered indifferently as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Momonga: "..."
All right, that was very Aokiji.
"Come to think of it, I heard you discussing the East Blue. Did something happen?"
Given an Admiral's sharp Five Senses, it was not strange that Aokiji had overheard Momonga through a wall. Momonga immediately explained the matter.
"Mm... that really is troublesome!"
Aokiji sat in a nearby chair, propping his chin on a hand resting against his knee.
On one side was the soldiers' morale. On the other was the government's dignity.
It was only natural that Momonga could not make up his mind.
But leaving it to Sengoku to decide would be too troublesome. That would mean forcibly suppressing the matter with orders, something neither of them wanted to see.
Aokiji's view of justice held that different people had different interpretations of justice, so he was accustomed to putting himself in others' shoes when viewing the same matter.
Even when it came to themselves: the Marines.
In Aokiji's eyes, the Marines' current justice was merely justice belonging to the World Government.
"How is that official doing?"
Aokiji suddenly asked.
Momonga was startled, then quickly replied, "He has already been secretly recalled."
After all, it was an incident that had embarrassed the government. It could not be made public, nor could they allow him to remain in the East Blue and continue making a fool of himself.
To put it bluntly, even the strict order for the Marines to pursue Lowett had likewise been meant to prevent the news from spreading and causing a bad impact.
"Then isn't it simple? Let the two of them... disappear from the world together!"
Aokiji clapped his hands and looked at the stunned Momonga.
"Disappear" was obviously not meant literally here, making Aokiji's idea perfectly clear.
Momonga was utterly taken aback. Then he gave a thumbs-up, flashing brilliant white teeth.
"Understood!"
Yesterday, I posted at the wrong time. It was six in the evening, and the editor had already gotten off work. I also hadn't contacted my former editor in advance, so it wasn't approved until two-thirty this afternoon. [Vomits blood manually]
If you think this book is good, please add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.
Before you continue