The World Government Was Shaken

The next morning, Fleet Admiral Aokiji arrived at Mary Geoise and met with one of the Five Elders, Saint Mendsbin.

Fleet Admiral Aokiji was sixty-nine years old. Most of his hair had turned gray, and he was rather short, standing only 1.6 meters tall—not at all what one would expect of an Admiral or Fleet Admiral. But his features were stern, and he had an imposing air. Even before the highest authority in the World Government, he did not bow.

"Lord Saint Mendsbin, why did the World Government cooperate with the notorious human trafficker Yamauba, while I, as Fleet Admiral, wasn't told a thing?!" he asked bluntly.

"Are you questioning me?" Saint Mendsbin asked in displeasure. "Gaston Figo disrupted the World Government's plan to ally with the Giant race, and I haven't even held you accountable for that. Why did you let him board that warship?"

"You call that an alliance with the Giant race? It was a shameless deception! It'll only bring trouble!" Aokiji said angrily.

Saint Mendsbin frowned at him.

Aokiji met his gaze, his chin held high.

After a long pause, Saint Mendsbin said, "Enough. The plan has already failed, and I won't waste my breath over it. Aokiji, I called you here to inform you of two things."

"Yamauba the human trafficker's Soul-Soul Fruit has many uses. But I'll give you some consideration this time and allow you to lock her up in Impel Down."

Aokiji's expression eased slightly.

"But not the seven members of the Giant race. We can't risk angering the entire Giant race and causing the Giant Warrior Pirates to reform. I'll have them brought to the Holy Land. I have other plans for them."

Aokiji frowned again. But this was within the bounds of what he could tolerate. Saint Mendsbin had given him some consideration, so he had to give a little in return.

After all, even as Fleet Admiral, he was still at a disadvantage when dealing with one of the Five Elders.

He could only bargain. "One of the seven Giants is named Kevin. He has a blood feud with Geld Chuck, the Worry Demon Figo captured this time—Chuck killed his daughter. Kevin also joined the Giant Warrior Pirates relatively recently, and he has no Marine blood on his hands. I'd like to keep him and try to persuade him to become a Marine officer."

Saint Mendsbin considered it for a few seconds.

"Agreed."

"The second matter. The World Government has decided to separate Impel Down from Marine Headquarters and reinforce its forces. We'll establish a new Director position and make Impel Down the third institution directly under the government, after Marine Headquarters and Judicial Island."

Fleet Admiral Aokiji was taken aback. "No!"

He wasn't worried about the Marines losing strength. Instead, he said, "Are you making the undersea prison a World Government institution so you can choose more suitable and powerful slaves for the Celestial Dragons?!"

"This is a notification, not a discussion, Aokiji," Saint Mendsbin said. "You've heard about Saint Cassilia's attack in Sabaody yesterday, I assume."

"As World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons must be given better protection. That's only natural. And Impel Down's current forces are indeed insufficient to handle the growing number of pirates it holds. After the pirate who attacked Saint Cassilia was captured, he couldn't even be transferred to Impel Down because the prison's defenses were considered too weak. Isn't that a joke?"

That was true. Aokiji fell silent.

"Regardless, the matter is settled. Aokiji, you may recommend a candidate for Director of Impel Down. If you don't have anyone suitable, the World Government will appoint someone," Saint Mendsbin ordered without hesitation.

"...Understood." Aokiji knew there was no point arguing further.

Not all Celestial Dragons were useless. When they were young, they were all assessed and trained. The small number with talent received an education completely different from that of the useless majority, with one-on-one instruction from top teachers in various fields. As adults, they occupied some of the World Government's most important positions.

The Five Elders, the highest authority in the World Government, were the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons. They were the five most outstanding of each generation, and naturally, they worked to strengthen the Celestial Dragons' position in turn.

The Celestial Dragons' supremacy was the one thing that could never be challenged. Its importance was worlds apart from that of a trafficker, a nun, or the Giant race. It was not open to negotiation.

Whenever some reckless fool dared to attack a Celestial Dragon, it caused a major uproar. If the Laughing Pirates hadn't been so powerful that they were discovered in advance, yesterday's incident wouldn't have been so easy to put behind them.

Knock, knock, knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the meeting room door. After Saint Mendsbin called for them to enter, a CP0 agent wearing a peculiar mask stepped inside and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Five Elder, Saint Cassilia's party, which was scheduled to return to the Holy Land this morning, has still not arrived. The Golden Den Den Mushi used to contact the Silver Den Den Mushi assigned to Saint Cassilia has also stopped working," the agent reported.

"What?!"

Saint Mendsbin frowned and rose to his feet.

Fleet Admiral Aokiji, standing below, also changed expression. Had something happened to Saint Cassilia again? If even the Golden Den Den Mushi had stopped working, then it was highly likely...

"Please forgive our negligence. We didn't discover the Den Den Mushi had stopped working until four in the morning, so we can only narrow down the time to between midnight and four. We immediately sent CP1's armed forces out by ship, but they still haven't found any trace of Saint Cassilia's vessel. We can say with near certainty that Saint Cassilia and his party have been killed!"

Saint Mendsbin's face darkened. He asked in a low voice, "Any leads?"

CP0 lowered his head. "None. We've contacted the stationed personnel in Sabaody as well as several nearby islands. No suspicious vessels could have appeared along Saint Cassilia's route at that time, and no one should have been able to find his exact location.

"At present, we can only suspect that some Fish-Man had been following Saint Cassilia's ship since Sabaody, that a pirate with a flying Devil Fruit ability was responsible, or that the slaves aboard the ship rioted and destroyed it themselves!"

"A slave riot? They were attacked by pirates during the day, and the slaves rioted that very night? If they were going to rebel, why didn't they do it during the pirate attack?" Saint Mendsbin immediately ruled out one possibility and snorted. "Keep investigating! Aokiji, return to Headquarters at once. The entire Navy will assist CP0 with the investigation!"

Aokiji didn't want to waste Marine resources over one Celestial Dragon, but he couldn't refuse at a time like this.

"Understood."

"Also..." Saint Mendsbin paused, then continued, "Aokiji, check whether any of your warships left port without authorization last night. And give me a list of every Marine with a flying ability or a similar Devil Fruit ability, along with their whereabouts last night!"

Aokiji's eyes widened. "Lord Saint Mendsbin, what exactly are you suggesting?!"

Saint Mendsbin looked at him impassively, then sat back down. "Aokiji, if you still want to be Fleet Admiral, follow orders!"

While the World Government was shaken by the mysterious death of a Celestial Dragon, the culprit, Figo, had gone home, gotten some sleep, and woken up refreshed. Now he knocked on Vice Admiral Doug's door.

"Ha ha ha! Fizz, you're here! Come on in!" Vice Admiral Doug's hearty laughter rang out again. He showed no sign of the anger he'd displayed yesterday.

"...Sir, it's Figo."

"Ah, right, right. Sorry." Vice Admiral Doug apologized readily. "Figo, I lost my temper a little yesterday. I didn't get the chance to ask how you were doing. What are your plans now?

"Now that you've been awarded the rank of Vice Admiral, you can choose to remain at Headquarters and command a massive warship, patrolling the Grand Line from time to time. You can also choose one of the Four Seas and become the highest-ranking Marine in charge of a particular area. Or you can go straight to the New World, take charge of a branch base, battle the Great Pirates there, and capture those criminals!

"Each option has its pros and cons, but with your talent, I'm sure you'll keep growing rapidly no matter which one you choose! In ten years—or even less—you'll be a candidate for Admiral, then become an Admiral and make your mark in Marine history!

"I, Doug, believe that with all my heart!"

The Inspire-Inspire Fruit's power took effect.

Figo smiled. "Sir, you've got me feeling fired up."

"So, which one are you going to choose?"

"I want to go back to Impel Down."

Doug froze. "...Huh?"