Landing on Philojina Island

Julian never expected that while he was training his skills on the ship, Morgans would be singing his praises. Furthermore, Julian noticed that News Birds were frequently circling around the Flame Dragon Pirates.

Julian asked a News Bird directly for a newspaper. The bird indicated it would cost five thousand Berries, and Julian paid the money right away. He looked at his bounty and saw it had reached five hundred million Berries, far surpassing the Supernovas of this era. Morgans wasn't the "News King" yet, and there were several other news agencies, but Morgans definitely understood public opinion. He was best at offering "tributes" to the living, building people up only to tear them down to create sensational headlines.

Julian thought that he might be able to recruit this guy in the future. Morgans used trained News Birds to capture news, putting him far ahead of other news agencies.

The Flame Dragon fleet had been sailing for nine days. Julian asked his navigator, Garud, how much longer it would take to reach Philojina Island. Garud replied that if the First Mate continued to use his Devil Fruit ability, they would arrive by evening. If the First Mate couldn't keep it up, they would arrive tomorrow morning.

Herbert was at the stern, manipulating a gale to accelerate the ship. Julian said, "He'll have no problem; he can definitely hold out." Meanwhile, the crooked-mouthed Kizaru had already arrived at Philojina Island. Suddenly, he received an order from Fleet Admiral Kong to stop pursuing the Flame Dragon Pirates and Julian. The Roger Pirates were challenging the taboos of the world, and many other New World pirates were attacking Marine bases. Kizaru was ordered to return to Marine Headquarters immediately; to focus on hunting down Roger, the Navy had to stabilize the New World.

Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong said, "These pirates are all dissatisfied with Roger hogging the spotlight. They're all trying to stir up trouble to make a name for themselves and become great pirates, attacking Marine bases in groups. The New World sea is a lawless zone where the Navy basically can't intervene."

In the Great Age of Pirates, the strongest pirate crews would eventually be labeled the "Four Emperors," becoming the Emperors of the Sea in the New World region.

The Navy couldn't rashly attack the Four Emperors' crews, so they let these Emperors rule the New World seas. During the era of the Four Emperors' rule, they did indeed bring order to the seas; other pirates were either killed or recruited by the Emperors, or they simply fled the New World.

Later, in Luffy's era, after Whitebeard was out of the picture and Luffy had defeated the forces of Kaido and Big Mom, the Navy was finally able to move through the New World unimpeded and enter the region.

Even though Akainu moved the G-1 Branch and Marine Headquarters, he still couldn't touch the forces of the Four Emperors; he could only shout slogans. Aside from saving Bonney, who had Celestial Dragon blood, near Marine Headquarters and scaring off Blackbeard, he took no real action.

Blackbeard kidnapped Marines and held them on Hachinosu Island. Akainu didn't dare to go save those Marine captives and wouldn't even allow others to go save them. Garp didn't care about Akainu; he took his Dog-Head Warship and went to save Koby and the other Marine captives. The Four Emperors were all hostile to one another, and it was normal for pirates to fight pirates. But when it came to Blackbeard, the other three Emperors were ganging up on him—Red-Hair, Luffy, and Hawk Eyes were all connected. The only ones Blackbeard could rely on were Shiryu of the Rain and the cripple Aokiji.

Buggy the Clown started the Cross Guild, which really screwed over the Navy. By publicly putting bounties on the heads of all Marines at Marine Headquarters, he made the Marines feel that their job was dangerous and their pay wasn't worth it—you never knew when you might lose your head.

When Kizaru arrived at Philogina Kingdom, his first order of business was to look for Gion. He found a shopping mall and started a shopping spree. He bought a yellow nail clipper and clipped his fingernails while walking, saying "How scary" with every snip. Kizaru muttered, "What was the mission again?" and spent his time strolling around the island, soaking in hot springs, and buying a yellow suit and a gentleman's hat.

Kizaru said, "Time flies too fast. I'm almost forty. This salary isn't enough for retirement. Sentomaru wants to grow up and be a bodyguard; maybe I should take him out to catch pirates and recoup some funds." Kizaru added, "This island really is perfect for a vacation." After saying this, his mouth twitched. Just then, his Den Den Mushi rang, and Steel Bone Kong's voice came through.

Fleet Admiral Kong asked, "Where have you reached?" Kizaru replied, "I'm getting ready to head back." Kong asked, "Have you found any traces of the Flame Dragon Pirates?" Kizaru said, "Haven't found any, oh." Kong added, "Go check on Commander Gion." Kizaru replied, "Received, Fleet Admiral Kong."

And so, Kizaru went to the Marine base on the island. He prepared to ask his junior, Gion, what the situation was and if she had successfully gone undercover. The same two Marine soldiers were standing guard.

Kizaru walked over. When the two soldiers saw Kizaru's attire—a Marine Vice Admiral—they immediately saluted and said, "Vice Admiral, sir!" Kizaru asked, "Is there a girl here who claims to be a Commander from Headquarters?" The lead soldier reported, "Vice Admiral, the civilians on this island are quite poor. Many of them like to come to our base to scam free food and drink. Every day, several people come by claiming to be Marine Major Generals."

Kizaru said, "I see." The second soldier added, "A few days ago, someone even said his uncle was Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong. He wanted me to give him five hundred thousand Berries so he could use his connections to promote me to Admiral at Headquarters. He even had a name picked out for me: Admiral Fat Dragon. Five million Berries a month! I gave him a few slaps to help him remember his place." The lead soldier added, "There was also a young man who said he was the Marine Hero, Garp the Fist. He said he'd teach me the Iron Fist for one hundred thousand Berries. I ended up punching him until he cried." Kizaru's mouth twitched as he said, "How scary. Are the civilians on this island all such good scammers?"

Kizaru looked at the two talented soldiers and asked, "Where is your base commander?" The soldier replied, "He went out at night; we don't know where he is." Kizaru asked, "Does he have a Den Den Mushi?" The soldier said, "Don't know." Kizaru thought to himself, Then I'll rest for another day and look for her tomorrow. With that, he prepared to leave.

Another disheveled young man walked over and said to the two soldiers, "I am a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters. I need to enter the base." The two soldiers glanced at Kizaru, who just twitched his mouth and stayed silent.

The two soldiers looked at each other, walked over to the young man, and one punched him while the other slapped him, driving the guy away. Kizaru said, "How scary. Is everyone on this island using the title of Marine Vice Admiral just to get a free meal?"

Gion had been cleaning and working as a waitress at a hotel for five days. Because she was hungry, she went to a restaurant to eat. Having no money, she prepared to run a tab, telling the waiter, "I am a Commander from Marine Headquarters. I don't have money on me right now. Can I pay later? I'll come back and settle it once I get paid."

The waiter's smiling face instantly turned dark. He shouted to the kitchen, "We've got a runner! Guards, handle it!" And just like that, Gion was put to work as a waitress to pay off her bill. She tried to explain to the boss that she really was a Marine Headquarters Commander, but the boss was furious and said, "I get seven or eight people a day trying to eat for free. They either claim to be Marine Vice Admirals or say they're from the Whitebeard Pirates. I've already sold them all to the slave market."

A middle-aged man who was trying to eat for free said, "My uncle is Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong. Forget about this meal. When I talk to my uncle, I'll have him make you the Head of Logistics at Marine Headquarters. Four million Berries a month, how about that?"

The boss had his security guards take him to the slave market. Gion said awkwardly, "Boss, I'll just work to pay off the debt!" With that, she picked up a mop and started mopping the floor.

At this moment, another young man spoke up, "Boss, my uncle is the Marine Hero Garp. If you give me this meal for free, I'll teach you my uncle's invincible Iron Fist. How about that?" Even Gion, who was busy cleaning, was dumbfounded. They were trampling on the dignity of a Marine Hero. Just as she was about to retort, a guard punched the young man, knocked him out, and dragged him off to the slave market.

Gion shook her head. Why was this island so poor? Was it because the corruption of the nobles and the king made it impossible for the common people to survive? Would they rather become slaves than struggle to survive in such hardship? Gion stopped thinking about it and continued cleaning.

At the boss's counter, she saw a newspaper with Flame Dragon Julian on the cover. The bounty for Flame Emperor Julian had reached 500 million Berries. The second newspaper featured Morgans hyping Julian up as the strongest Flame Dragon.

Gion muttered to herself, Another World Government member nation has been plundered. I still need to go undercover in the Flame Dragon Pirates. For the sake of justice, I must bring them to justice. I need to retrieve the Marine Rokushiki and uncover the secret of how Flame Dragon Julian ate a second Devil Fruit.

The Flame Dragon Pirates seemed to be arriving at this island soon. I'll go undercover then. Just then, a young man who had eaten a "diner's dash" meal said, "I am Julian, captain of the Flame Dragon Pirates. Put this meal on my tab. Next time, I'll give you all the treasures I plunder from the kingdom."

Then, this youth was also knocked unconscious and dragged to the slave market. The restaurant owner said angrily, "Whoever tries to eat without paying, I'll sell them to the slave market immediately!"

At this time, Kizaru was also on the street and had picked up this newspaper. Plundering the Flame Dragon Pirates, 500 million bounty. Plundering another World Government member nation. Kizaru looked at the paper and said, "What a terrifying ability." He then saw the information on the other members. The First Mate, Herbert, was a master swordsman who could control hurricanes, nicknamed the Hurricane Swordsman. Herbert had been reported by the News King Morgans a long time ago.

Kizaru kept saying "how terrifying" over and over. Julian's bounty poster had also been updated; it was previously 100 million Berries, but now it was in the 500 million bracket. Meanwhile, because Julian had been traveling at full speed, he had already reached the island. Julian said to the Navigator, "Everyone, prepare to land." Julian said to the Division Captains, "We are landing on the island. Everyone, be careful."

Immediately, twenty-two ships docked neatly at the pier. Julian, accompanied by Alice, Beatrice, and Marlena, slowly disembarked. Julian had the logistics department manage the ships, while the rest of the crew went ashore to spend some money. Julian had the Seventh Division follow the logistics procurement department. Julian asked Pablo to select some people from the logistics department to form a procurement division.

This way, Julian wouldn't have to go buy things himself. If he paid them every day without giving them something to do, wouldn't he just be raising idlers? Managing the finance department was essential. There were over four thousand people on the ships, and the monthly payroll was over 100 million Berries. Even Julian felt that was expensive. Julian slashed the logistics department's budget—5,000 Berries a month. The division members remained unchanged.

Julian said, "A logistics worker getting two hundred Choppers a month? Isn't that corruption?" Julian and the three women walked from the pier toward the city, which took over thirty minutes.

This island wasn't very large, only about thirty thousand square kilometers, roughly the size of Taiwan, but the population was quite large—over one million people. The king, Philogi Gardes, was skilled at exploitation and indulgence. All the land in the country was in the king's hands, and the citizens were extremely poor.

Beggars could be seen everywhere on the streets. This area was a slum, with people begging and lying on the streets everywhere. Julian, Alice, Beatrice, and Marlena all felt the atmosphere was lifeless. Julian was speechless and asked, "What is going on here?"

Julian took out a large handful of Berries and gave them to an elderly person. Julian asked, "What happened to you all? Why is everyone begging on the streets?" The old man said with a sorrowful face, "The king demands we pay the expensive Heavenly Gold. We can't afford it, so he reclaims all our land."

Julian asked, "Why don't you work for the nobles?" The old man looked indignant. "Working for them pays no wages at all. Everything is given to the king as Heavenly Gold. They even condone their minions bullying us commoners." Julian said, "Why don't you clear your own land?" The old man said, "The land we clear is seized by the kingdom."

The king claimed that all that land belonged to them. Julian now understood the situation on this island. The nobles collectively controlled the central land of every region, and the king needed to pay the expensive Heavenly Gold, all of which was scraped from the commoners. These people begging were basically the elderly or children who couldn't pay the Heavenly Gold. Life was truly miserable.

A dozen miles past the center of the island was the commercial street of the central city. That area was overflowing with wealth.