Curiosity

Secrets are rare on the sea.

Even as the Buster Call warships passed, sending three unlucky pirate crews into the sea, they couldn't fully stop the flow of information. That Rebrus, the Hell of a Man and one of the New World's two poles, had mobilized all his Cadres made it impossible to keep things completely quiet.

And when these two sides clashed, it was an event not seen in decades!

From the moment battle erupted, the Great Pirates in the surrounding seas caught wind of it—especially those just below the two poles, who sensed the shift and moved to seize the opportunity.

Would the Hell Pirates suffer heavy losses? Could they snatch the King's throne? Would the Navy be enraged enough to launch a purge?

But even the boldest pirate couldn't have predicted the outcome: the complete annihilation of the Hell Pirates' Cadres and Rebrus himself!

"This sea is about to change. Who's the one who fought Rebrus for a whole day and night? The Navy's been hiding a monster like this?"

Iguain, a Great Pirate with a bounty of 620 million, stood at his ship's bow, his voice heavy with awe.

A nearby pirate asked, "Captain, if we linger any longer, we'll run into the returning Buster Call fleet in about half an hour. Shouldn't we turn back and get out of the warships' path?"

"Yeah, I've seen enough of the show."

Iguain flashed a bloodthirsty grin and turned to bark orders: "Men, set course back! Time to carve up the Hell Pirates' territory! This sea is vast enough—the King of Gluttony can't hold the entire New World alone. He needs someone to share the Navy's pressure! We'll become the new dual poles of the sea! The new Kings!"

"Ooh!" Cheers erupted.

Amid the roar, a discordant voice cut through: "Hey, Captain, look up—someone's flying in the sky?"

"Huh?" Iguain looked up, locking eyes with a small old man soaring high above.

The next second, his smile froze, his pupils shrank, and sweat beaded on his forehead!

The old man descended.

Iguain's legs trembled!

No, don't come near me! I was just here for the gossip, to watch the show!

"Run! Run! That's Fleet Admiral Aokiji! Set sail!!"

Two minutes later, the pirate ship carrying a Great Pirate's dreams sank into the sea, along with everyone aboard, silent forever.

Aokiji soared back into the sky, both surprised and relieved: "He actually won?"

The former strongest Navy man, likely still the strongest in the current Navy—the Glint-Glint Fruit user—

Fleet Admiral Aokiji!

"Hahaha, Aokiji, you old bastard, you got here fast!" Doug's laughter boomed as Aokiji arrived. "Flew at full speed, didn't you? Too bad, too bad—you missed out on a share of the credit for capturing Rebrus."

Aokiji shot Doug a glare. The old man's grin was practically splitting his face.

So what if he'd picked up a talented student? What had he actually taught him? If I'd been in charge of the Elite Training Camp, Figo would be even stronger! He'd call me teacher too—and mean it more!

Ignoring Doug, he first acknowledged the salutes from the Navy soldiers on the ship and nearby vessels. He noticed the lingering excitement on their faces, imagining how loud the cheers must have been after the victory, and how much admiration Figo had earned.

Lucky bastard! That old Doug!

Cursing inwardly again, he looked up at Figo approaching and smiled. "Good work, Figo. How's the injury?"

"Medium rare." Figo was wrapped in bandages too; Rebrus's desperate final blow had left him with no light wounds. "Nothing serious. I'll just eat a couple of Sea Kings to recover."

Aokiji patted Figo's waist, confirming he was still solid and strong. "Honestly, I still can't believe you beat that Rebrus."

"Could these old bones of yours still pull it off? You've held the title of strongest Navy man for over thirty years—maybe it's time for a change!"

Doug's grin stretched ear to ear.

Aokiji shot him another glare and finally couldn't resist needling the smug old man: "You call me old bones? Old bastard, I'm two years younger than you. I've got another twenty years in me! What about you? Don't let catching Rebrus drain your spirit and land you in the ground in two years!"

"Then I'd die without regrets!"

"Your grandson's still young."

"I've got plenty of students who can look after him—bah! Aokiji, you make it sound like I'm about to kick the bucket!"

The two old men bickered back and forth.

Figo and Miya exchanged a glance and quickly, wordlessly, herded them into the cabin to keep them from shattering their image in front of the soldiers.

Once it was just the four of them, the arguing stopped. They looked at each other, expressions turning serious.

Doug asked gravely, "Aokiji, you contacted me early with the Den Den Mushi. Was there something hidden about this war with the Hell Pirates?"

Aokiji countered, "Heavy casualties?"

Doug fell silent, then nodded.

It was a war, after all—how could there be no losses? The Hell Pirates weren't pushovers. It was lucky the battle hadn't been fought on their turf, or their allied forces would have joined in. Even with Buster Call-level warships, the Navy might not have matched them in numbers.

Among the Hell Pirates' Cadres, both First Mates were SSR1, one of the Four Beasts was SSR1, three were SR9, plus other Ability Users with varied powers. In the high-level fight on the island, despite the Navy's numerical advantage, three Rear Admirals had fallen in the enemy's desperate counterattack.

At sea, four field-grade officers and nearly a hundred junior officers and elite soldiers had been killed or wounded, and that was thanks to Figo's ship-sinking move.

The worst was Miya's ship, which had encountered Rebrus early on, leaving only Miya and a few other high-ranking survivors as prisoners until Figo rescued them.

Hearing this, the lighthearted mood turned heavy. Aokiji glanced at Miya, only then learning how dangerous it had been.

"Fewer casualties than I expected," he said.

Marshal O, who had seen this sort of thing countless times over the decades, said quietly, "The Marines will remember the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers. The new Fleet Admiral, Gandor, will also handle their affairs properly."

"...New Fleet Admiral?!"

In their surprise, Figo asked, "Is it because of me, Marshal?"

O shook his head. "You're only a small part of the reason. Over these decades, Saint Mendsbin has long grown unable to tolerate me.

Hah, even if he hadn't dismissed me, I wouldn't want to remain Fleet Admiral any longer. This time, he went too far!"

"So the Hell Pirates' coincidental attack really was connected to the Five Elders?" Doug's anger flared as he clenched his fists.

O nodded and explained the full story to the three of them. "I think he wasn't just targeting Figo. If it were only Figo, he wouldn't have gone so far as to burn bridges. Perhaps... he wanted you, old Doug, to die here."

Doug thought it over and sneered, "I never expected that this old man, about to retire, who played the coward his whole life, would finally stand firm once and get the Five Elders' attention."

"Marshal O." Figo suddenly interjected, "I've always had a question. What gives the World Government and the Celestial Dragons the right to command the Marine Headquarters and strongmen like you and the three Admirals?"

O was taken aback. "Figo, you..."

Doug couldn't help but laugh again. "The young are bolder. You don't know yet, O—Figo has awakened Conqueror's Haki. He has the makings of a King!"

O's expression shifted in shock.

Figo quickly explained, "No, no, no, it's nothing to do with that. I'm just purely curious."

O was silent for a moment, then warned, "Figo, don't even think about doing anything reckless!

The World Government has 157 member nations under its banner, and that number grows every year. The strong ones aside, the weak ones all rely on World Government troops for protection. That army outnumbers the Marine forces by several hundred times!

If anything happens to the World Government, the entire world will descend into chaos in an instant. You're still young and don't fully understand the global situation. The Marines are just the tip of the iceberg for the World Government!"

An army of that scale on land? Figo thought it over and pressed further, "Do those forces have strongmen like you and the Admirals?"

O faltered, staring straight at Figo.

Figo: "Just curious, just curious. Also, in these seven hundred years, hasn't a single one of the many Kings of the Sea ever charged straight into Mary Geoise, wanting to overthrow the world?"

This time, even Doug stopped laughing. Along with Miya, the three of them stared straight at Figo.

Figo gave an awkward smile.

"Curious. Purely curious."