At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong spoke into the Den Den Mushi. "Marine Headquarters has received orders from Lord Gorosei. All our elite forces are stationed in the New World, guarding against the Whitebeard Pirates and other pirate crews. Garp is hunting Roger in the New World. Marine Headquarters can't spare any top-tier fighters to deal with the Flame Dragon Pirates."
Jimiel said, "I truly am no match for that guy. Unless you dispatch an Admiral, Fleet Admiral, it'll be difficult to capture Flame Dragon Julian." Fleet Admiral Kong replied, "Leave him alone for now. Lord Gorosei has other arrangements for Flame Dragon Julian." He hung up the Den Den Mushi and fell into thought.
Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong thought to himself, I want to send out an Admiral too, but Sengoku has to remain at headquarters on standby to protect the Celestial Dragons. Zephyr has already stepped back from active duty to focus entirely on training recruits at the Naval Elite Training Camp. He won't obey deployment orders, and he refuses to serve the Celestial Dragons. As for Garp, he's even more direct. He openly shouted in public, "Who would want to protect that trash?" Then he repeatedly refused promotions to Admiral.
A Marine Admiral earned five million Berries a month, a Vice Admiral earned four million, and a Major General earned three million. The pay was indeed high, but the price of being an Admiral was frequently remaining on standby at Marineford. Whenever there was no major incident at sea, they had to obediently stay at Marine Headquarters and protect the Celestial Dragons. Every Celestial Dragon had the authority to command an Admiral.
Even after Akainu became Fleet Admiral, he was looked down upon at Holy Land Marie Geoise by the Celestial Dragons, treated even worse than elite CP0 agents. During Kuma's rampage at Holy Land Marie Geoise, Akainu had gone to protect the Celestial Dragons, only to be poked in the head and cursed at. "Akainu, did you skip a meal? You useless piece of trash!" Admiral Ryokugyu was cursed at even more directly. "Ryokugyu, you worthless thing! If any of us gets hurt, you'll be sentenced to death!"
Fleet Admiral Kong fell into thought again. If our Marines had one more Logia Devil Fruit ability user, we'd at least gain the combat power of another Vice Admiral. If we had one more top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability user, we'd at least gain the combat power of another Admiral. If those two Devil Fruits were combined, that would be truly terrifying.
Fleet Admiral Kong thought to himself, We still need to deal with Flame Dragon Julian. As for the South Blue... After thinking it over, he decided to send Kizaru, a Headquarters Vice Admiral, there. This would count as Marine Headquarters providing high-level combat support to the South Blue. He could also see whether Kizaru could help Colonel Gion infiltrate the Flame Dragon Pirates.
Fleet Admiral Kong took out a Den Den Mushi and called Kizaru's. A truly sleazy-looking man counting money picked up. "Moshi moshi." Kizaru crooked the corner of his mouth and said, "Fleet Admiral, what are your orders?" Fleet Admiral Kong said, "The Flame Dragon Pirates in the South Blue have repeatedly attacked World Government member nations. Go provide support."
"If possible, capture them and wipe them out in one go. Flame Dragon Pirates captain Julian is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability user with both Fire Dragon Form and the Earth-Earth Fruit. Be careful." Kizaru crooked his mouth even further and replied, "How scary~ A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, and a dual-Devil Fruit ability user too."
Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong continued, "Also, find Colonel Gion and help her infiltrate the Flame Dragon Pirates. She didn't bring any communication equipment, and we've lost contact with her." Kizaru indicated that he understood, then hung up. He took out the key to his safe and put all his Berries inside.
Crooked-mouthed Kizaru possessed the Logia Glint-Glint Fruit and could fly, so he planned to use his Devil Fruit ability to travel there. Then Kizaru thought again. How much was the Flame Dragon Pirates' bounty again? Five hundred million? Thinking of his savings, he already had five hundred million Berries. He needed to work harder. He was nearly forty, and this amount of Berries didn't seem enough for retirement. He also had to raise Sentomaru. That little guy ate far too much. Kizaru thought to himself, I really need to work harder. He began fantasizing about ways to make money.
Meanwhile, Julian had already begun taking inventory of the supplies. This haul was massive. There was treasure from more than ten castles. Julian wrapped it in earth and stored it on his body. There was so much stored stuff that even his body had become heavier.
Julian also obtained a Fine Grade Sword and thought about giving it to Allison. Allison's sword truly wasn't a Fine Grade weapon. As for Herbert, he already had the Great Grade Sword Phantom and the Great Grade Sword Windcutter. Julian had also obtained 1.7 billion Berries, along with various gold and silver coins. He gave one hundred million Berries to each of the eight Division Captains and another two hundred million to Herbert.
Julian had the divisions distribute the Berries among their own brothers. As for the First Mate, he could give money to whoever he wanted. What made Julian happy was that Herbert's Armament Haki had just awakened. Though its color was still faint, Herbert intended to pursue the path of a black blade. Julian had given Herbert that beginner Armament Haki Training Manual, and Herbert had practiced for quite some time. This operation had finally borne fruit.
Julian had people copy that beginner Armament Haki manual into a hundred copies. Every Division Captain and Squadron Captain received one. Squad Leaders had not yet reached the level needed to train Haki. Julian himself had not awakened Armament Haki, but he had awakened Conqueror's Haki, so his daily training focused mainly on Conqueror's Haki.
Julian looked at the slaves, maidservants, and household servants before him. They had all been rescued from those nobles' castles and several nobles' dungeons. There were more than two thousand slaves in total, all imprisoned in the dungeons.
Those slaves had been tortured beyond recognition. Julian selected some of the younger ones to board the ship. As for the old, weak, sick, and disabled slaves, he gave each of them ten thousand Berries and told them to leave this place quickly. The elderly were immensely grateful to Julian, while most of the slaves bowed to him. Julian waved his hand and said, "Everyone, leave this place quickly! Find some remote village and live well!"
The old, weak, sick, and disabled slaves formed groups and left with their Berries. Julian had the logistics personnel move all the books from those castles onto the ship. He intended to let the Division Captains and officers gradually become educated.
Several thousand books were transported onto the ship. Julian looked at the empty castles, where only some buildings remained. Julian and all the crew returned to the ship. Every crew member had gained richly from this operation, and Julian prepared to continue toward the Grand Line.
Everyone had gained a great deal along the way, and many people sang loudly. Julian was also extremely happy. Nothing felt better than reaping rewards. They had even obtained two more treasure maps.
Julian already had more than two billion Berries and at least one billion worth of gold. Adding another billion or so meant he now had more than three billion. Julian thought to himself, How many Devil Fruits could that buy? He was no longer very interested in Berries. If it were Devil Fruits, that would be truly satisfying. Julian returned to the Flame Dragon and put all the treasure into the treasury. He thought to himself, These Berries are too heavy.
Once all the crew had boarded, Julian ordered the navigator, "Raise the sails and set off." Julian returned to his room, where three women were waiting for him. When they saw Julian, all three approached him with broad smiles. Alice asked, "Did the operation go smoothly? How many Berries did you get?" Julian led the three of them to the treasury. The sight was truly shocking: more than three billion Berries, gold worth over one billion Berries, and various other jewels. It was impossible not to be stunned.
Alice said, "Is all this yours? Did you distribute Berries to the other Division Captains?" Julian said, "I already distributed them. One hundred million for each Division Captain. You didn't think I'd make a fortune alone, did you?" Alice asked again, "What about Mr. Herbert?" Julian said, "I gave him two hundred million. He's worrying about money now too. He doesn't even know how to spend it. Old Sen is probably going to weapon shops to buy Famous Swords, but Famous Swords are indeed hard to come by."
Julian said to the three women before him, "Aren't you going to rest? Are you planning to stay here and experience the scent of gold?" Beatrice hurriedly shook her head. "I'm going back to sleep." Alice said, "Rich people really do talk differently." Julian said, "If you like it, I'll give it to you." Alice smiled at Julian. "You really are generous! You won't even spare a glance at that much money?" Julian said, "Money is just paper. If you can't spend it, it's useless."
Colonel Gion had already arrived on Philojina Island, wearing an innocent expression. Gion said, "I came to infiltrate the Flame Dragon Pirates, but they didn't even give an undercover agent expenses. They dropped me off, and the navigator just left. Whoever was steering that ship was completely unreasonable."
Gion had followed a Marine ship to Philojina Island in the South Blue. The warship dropped her at the dock and immediately turned around for the Red Line. The navigator said with a disgusted look, "There's no profit in this trip. It's unpaid overtime. And she even tried to tempt me, asking to borrow money. Pah! I only make ten thousand Berries a month. The last undercover agent who asked to borrow money ended up as ashes. I'll never lend money in this lifetime. These days, nine out of ten undercover agents turn to ashes, and she still wants money from me? Dream on."
Gion had only just arrived on the island and had no money on her. She had never expected Marine undercover agents to pay out of pocket, with no hope of reimbursement after returning. Gion didn't know what to do. Should I rob some pirates? She then touched the sword at her waist and said, "I didn't even bring my sword. I'm only a swordsmanship expert. I'm not very skilled in Body Techniques."
Gion said, "I wonder when the Flame Dragon Pirates will arrive. If I become a slave too early and get sold, wouldn't the infiltration fail?" After thinking it over, Gion decided to go to the Marine base in this kingdom.
After saying that, Gion began asking for directions on the streets. Once she learned where the Marine base was, she headed there. Along the way, she looked at the shops and vendors before her. Gion said, "Just looking at all this has made me hungry. The main problem is that I didn't bring any money."
Gion arrived at the Marine base and said, "I'm an elite Marine Colonel from Marineford Headquarters. They should show me some respect, right?" Gion encouraged herself and walked to the entrance. Two Marine soldiers stood guard there. Gion directly said to them, "Hello, hello. I'm Colonel Gion from Marineford Headquarters. I need to see your base commander." The two Marine soldiers on guard stared at her.
The leading Marine soldier said, "You're a Headquarters Colonel? You look like an ordinary little girl, yet you dare impersonate a Colonel? Where's your Colonel's uniform? Don't tell me you're planning to infiltrate some great pirate crew, then borrow money from us. To be honest, we encounter at least five people like you every day. The most outrageous one was a young man in his twenties who told me he was Marine Hero Iron Fist Garp. He said that if I gave him one hundred thousand Berries, he'd teach me Iron Fist. I punched him once and made him cry. Get lost. If you don't leave, I'll punch you until you cry too."
Gion stared blankly. "Teach Iron Fist for one hundred thousand Berries? How dare those people impersonate Vice Admiral Garp, the hero? Vice Admiral Garp is one of the people I admire most." The second guard said, "The day before yesterday, someone told me his uncle was Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong. He wanted fifty thousand Berries and said he'd make me a Marine Admiral at Headquarters. He even said I was pretty fat, so I should be called Admiral Fat Dragon. I slapped him twice to wake him up. If you don't leave, I'll slap you twice to wake you up too." Gion shook her head. "The people on this island are fierce."
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