Hell Pirates!

Marine Headquarters, the Marshal's Office.

Marshal O had no attention to spare for anything else. He stared at the Den Den Mushi on his desk, waiting intently for a call.

Going by the estimated sailing time, the Buster Call warships should have already arrived at Witch Island by now. How were things going? What did that old bastard Doug plan to do? And what about Figo?

Brrruu brrruu brrruu.

The Den Den Mushi finally rang. O picked it up at once. "This is O."

"Marshal O, something's happened."

The voice from the other end of the Den Den Mushi didn't belong to Figo or Doug. O paused for a moment before realizing it was Gandor, one of the Admirals, who had been keeping an eye on the suspicious movements of the Hell Pirates in the New World lately.

"What's wrong, Gandor? Are the Hell Pirates making a move?" O asked in a low voice.

"I lost them. Rebrus slipped away from his Hell Garden without anyone noticing, and he took all the Hell Pirates' officers with him. All that's left in the Hell Garden now are some small fry. Should we clean them up while we have the chance?"

"What?!" O frowned.

What the hell was that bastard Rebrus planning?

His mind raced, and his old face suddenly paled. He asked urgently, "Gandor, can you pinpoint when Rebrus disappeared?"

"Ah, about that... sorry, I can only confirm he was still there three days ago."

O clicked the Den Den Mushi off without another word and quickly dialed another number.

"What is it, O?" The voice of Saint Mendsbin, one of the Five Elders, came through.

"Lord Saint Mendsbin! Is the Hell Pirates' move connected to the Revolutionary Army?!"

"Watch your tone, O." Saint Mendsbin's voice on the other end was calm. "The Hell Pirates? How would I know about something like that? Dealing with pirate crews is the Marines' duty.

However, finding the Revolutionary Army's headquarters was intelligence CP0 gleaned from the Hell Pirates. You know Rebrus has always wanted to defeat Gluttony and become the one and only King among pirates, so he's been eager to recruit the Blind Witch into his crew. You're aware of that, aren't you, O?"

O understood Saint Mendsbin's subtext perfectly. Shocked and furious, he said, "Have you lost your mind?! Saint Mendsbin!"

"You're the one who's lost it, O! Hmph. Get ready to step down from your position as Marshal!"

The Den Den Mushi went dead.

O sat frozen for two seconds, then grabbed the Den Den Mushi again and dialed another number.

Holy Land Mary Geoise. Saint Mendsbin's expression was cold as he tossed the Den Den Mushi aside.

In the Four Seas and the Grand Line, the World Government's intelligence agencies held absolute dominance. But in the New World, where the strongest pirate crews ruled, the local powers were stronger.

CP0 couldn't easily investigate an isolated island in the New World, but the Hell Pirates, one of the two poles of the New World, were a different story.

Where there is existence, there must be traces.

As early as half a year ago, Rebrus, who was actively searching for the Revolutionary Army, had found a clue because a Revolutionary Army member had secretly bought enough food for two hundred people to last a month or two.

A large pirate crew's supply purchase, yet no trace of a large pirate crew's presence—wasn't that strange?

He had wanted to act back then, but the Marines had reacted quickly. Not knowing why he was acting strangely, they had directly dispatched an Admiral to keep an eye on him.

It had dragged on until today.

CP0 had pinpointed the Revolutionary Army's general location from the Hell Pirates' side. Of course, 'inevitably,' this would also let Rebrus know some of the World Government and Marines' movements. And given Rebrus's personality, he would definitely act!

Sending Marine soldiers to their deaths?

No. Not that.

Saint Mendsbin had long guessed, and long known, about the communications between O and Figo. Figo would absolutely appear in the expeditionary force against the Revolutionary Army... whether he agreed or not!

Add to that the Buster Call's lineup, and they wouldn't be without a fighting chance against the Hell Pirates. Both sides would just suffer heavy casualties.

A war. It would eliminate some pirates, kill off a group of disobedient Marine soldiers, and if the disobedient Figo could fall at the hands of Rebrus, the Hell of a Man, that would be even more perfect.

It wasn't just about maintaining his own authority.

Over the past half year, the more Saint Mendsbin understood, the more serious he realized the situation was.

Figo alone wasn't a problem. No matter how strong an individual's combat power was, it couldn't truly shake the World Government's rule. But if you added Doug, who was influenced by Figo, it would create some major trouble.

Doug's position in the Marines was too special.

The man who pioneered and systematized the Six Powers was a teacher to countless people. The Inspire-Inspire Fruit had also inspired too many young Marine soldiers who had been lost.

If such a force had a leader like Figo raising his arm and rallying them, it would pose a huge hidden danger to the World Government's control over the Marines!

So it was best to have a batch of them die in battle.

As he thought about these things, the Den Den Mushi he had put down started ringing again.

"Lord Five Elder! Lord Five Elder! Terrible, terrible news! Figo, Figo has disappeared! No one knows when!" Rado's panicked, tense voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

As expected. Saint Mendsbin let out a faint, low snort and spoke into the Den Den Mushi. "The last time anyone saw him was yesterday morning, correct?"

"Huh? You... you know?"

Yes, I know. You just found out? Saint Mendsbin's eyes narrowed.

Rado was in for it again!

On the other side, the Revolutionary Army's large ship had been forced back to shore by ten warships, and one by one, Revolutionary Army members were being shackled and escorted onto the naval vessels.

"Saintess! Why is this happening?!"

"Have you betrayed the Revolutionary Army?!"

It wasn't that no one resisted, but those who did were easily struck down by Figo. The only Revolutionary capable of holding Figo off, Sapphire, was instead helping him subdue the resisters.

Betrayal? That was an interesting way to put it.

Figo couldn't help but laugh. Before him, only a group of children remained, along with four Revolutionary members with complex expressions whom Sapphire had singled out.

The Prison Archives enjoyed a bountiful harvest, flipping open hundreds of blank pages. Most Capture Participation rates fell between 60% and 80%. Four had a Crime Index below 3, about twenty ranged from 4 to 10, and the rest were all above 10.

The highest even reached 80 points—he wondered what identity that one had held before.

But since he was letting four go, and there were four in the Revolutionary Army who could be called innocent, Figo was willing to trust that releasing the four Sapphire had chosen was the right call.

He signaled for Sapphire to make some final remarks to these four and the children, but Sapphire suddenly looked surprised and asked him, "Besides you all, did Marine Headquarters also dispatch an Admiral... and a ship full of elites?"

"Huh?" Figo froze, then quickly caught on, gazing toward the horizon.

A massive ship, pitch-black and even larger than a giant warship, gradually rose from the edge of the sea. Atop its mast, a dog-faced skull flag flew high!

Clearly, this was a pirate ship!

"That's..."

"Could it be?!"

More naval officers spotted the pirate ship's appearance, their expressions shocked. The next moment, they roared, "All hands! On guard!"

"That's... one of the New World's two poles, the Hell Pirates' emblem!"

"Why are they here?!"

The Hell Pirates? Doug clenched both fists tightly. Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on him rang. He answered, and Marshal O's voice came through: "Doug, be careful..."

"I already see him!" Doug the Vice Admiral growled, then hung up the Den Den Mushi!

On the distant pirate ship, a figure over six meters tall, immensely muscular, appeared at the forefront of the deck. A booming laugh echoed across the sea, carrying an oppressive aura. Conqueror's Haki, he released it without restraint!

"Quite the setup, Marines! Delayed by some minor troubles—has the Blind Witch been captured yet? Hahaha, how about a prisoner exchange? I like the Blind Witch's personality. Join my pirate crew!"

A prisoner exchange? Figo's expression turned grave.

"Is that... Vice Admiral Miya?!"

A new book period averaging 5,000 words a day is already plenty—it's not like I can go to publication at 400,000 words. Er Yang has to make a living and needs to secure recommendation slots.

Follow-through reads are very important. Please, I beg you all, don't start the rhythm of calling it short or saving chapters. I'm begging you.