The Navy had sent Vice Admiral Momonga.
Maud was not surprised in the slightest.
Rather, it was Aokiji...
A full-fledged Marine Admiral had no business coming after a pirate with a bounty of just over 300 million instead of staying at Marine Headquarters to protect those lofty Celestial Dragons.
That was going too far.
However, Maud had no need to fear this time.
Issho was in front of him, and Kuma behind him.
Even Aokiji could not do anything to him.
Without paying attention to the battle between Issho and Aokiji, Maud and Lafitte returned directly to the village.
As soon as they reached the village entrance, they saw Kuma standing beside the road, as though waiting for them to return.
"Kuma, what are you doing here?"
Maud looked at Kuma, who stood by the road like a statue, somewhat surprised.
Kuma lowered his head to look at Maud and countered, "What happened?"
His Observation Haki could not detect what was happening beyond the coastline, but he had seen the meteorites Issho had pulled down with his ability.
That alone explained a great deal.
Worried about Maud's safety, he had come outside the village.
He had originally intended to head straight to the coastline, but after sensing Maud's presence approaching the village, he gave up on that and waited for Maud by the road instead.
"A group of Marines came, and... Aokiji." Maud gave him a brief explanation.
"Aokiji?"
Kuma's eyes flickered. He was quite surprised by Aokiji's arrival.
Could Maud have become important enough for an admiral to come personally?
At that thought, Kuma could not help looking Maud up and down.
In truth, Aokiji had merely happened to be passing by. In this case, "passing by" was measured in islands...
Moreover, on his way to Lor Island, Aokiji