The Rocks Pirates sailed across the sea as usual, while Patri Vic leaned against the railing and enjoyed the sea breeze.
Their next destination was an island where they planned to hold a party.
The weather was clear, and the warm sea breeze left Patri Vic feeling wonderfully relaxed.
"Step! Step! Step!"
Footsteps sounded beside him. Whitebeard came over and leaned against the railing.
"Time flies. It's been several years since I joined the Rocks Pirates."
Whitebeard pulled out two bottles of fine liquor and handed one to Patri Vic.
"Yeah. Your bounty's already reached a billion Berry," Patri Vic said with a smile as he accepted the bottle.
Whitebeard was terrifyingly powerful, and he possessed a Devil Fruit capable of nearly destroying the world.
His fearsome strength had drawn the Marines' attention early on, earning him a bounty of a billion Berry.
"Gurarara... A few years ago, you didn't even have a bounty on Hachinosu Island. Now yours has reached a billion Berry, Vic!" Whitebeard laughed.
Seeing Patri Vic's bounty rise by a billion Berry naturally made Whitebeard happy for him from the bottom of his heart.
After all, in the Rocks Pirates, a bounty was a measure of one's standing aboard the ship.
But Patri Vic didn't care much about his bounty. The higher it was, the more attention it attracted.
He only wanted to keep a low profile and avoid drawing the Marines' special attention.
"Time really does fly..." Patri Vic sighed.
A few years ago, he'd been nothing more than a waiter in a tavern on Hachinosu Island. Now, he was a great pirate with a bounty of over a billion.
After a brief silence, Whitebeard suddenly spoke with a grave expression. "Vic... There's a mole on the ship."
"Hm?" Patri Vic paused slightly, then turned to look at Whitebeard's solemn expression and asked in confusion, "You mean me?"
"Damn it, why would I suspect you?" Whitebeard scowled.
"Who's the mole?" Patri Vic asked curiously, furrowing his brow.
The Rocks Pirates often had fights among themselves.
Every day, some of the crew's apprentices—
as well as full-fledged crew members—
died in the fighting.
The officers also clashed with one another in secret. The Rocks Pirates were chaotic from top to bottom.
But at the very least, they still listened to Captain Rocks, so he turned a blind eye.
He didn't care if the crew fought, as long as none of the officers died.
But having a mole was different. Once discovered, even an officer would be eliminated without hesitation.
"I don't know who it is, but Captain Rocks spoke with Shiki and me today," Whitebeard said gravely.
A few days earlier, Rocks had killed a Marine spy who'd been hiding aboard the ship, and Whitebeard had begun to sense that something was wrong.
Every time they attacked a World Government Member State, they inexplicably lost a number of crew members.
At first, he hadn't given it much thought, but as time passed, more and more things seemed suspicious.
He suspected that one of the officers had secretly allied with the Marines.
"A mole?"
Patri Vic turned around and scanned the officers aboard the ship with interest.
"Don't let anyone know. Just keep a close eye on the officers around you. Anyone could be the mole," Whitebeard warned him.
"Got it," Patri Vic replied with an easygoing smile.
A mole aboard the ship was, in fact, something Patri Vic had expected.
After all, the officers who'd joined the Rocks Pirates had no real friendship with one another. They were all in it for their own gain.
If the Marines offered an officer enough, it was only natural that someone aboard the ship might betray them.
The Rocks Pirates reached an island in the New World and held a party.
The party lasted until nightfall, and by then many of the crew members were drunk.
Under cover of darkness, one of the Rocks Pirates' officers sneaked out of the tavern and went into the forest, where he made a call on a Den Den Mushi.
"Buru buru..."
"Buru buru..."
"Hello. Where are you now?" the Fleet Admiral's voice came from the other end.
"We're in the Olama Nation," Ochoku replied with a grin.
That's right. The Rocks Pirates' officer Ochoku was the traitor secretly working with the Marines.
He had betrayed the Rocks Pirates.
"Once this is over, you'll get your reward," the Fleet Admiral replied in a low voice.
A year earlier, the Marines had run into Ochoku while he was out during one of their missions and captured him.
In the end, they'd successfully recruited him as their spy.
But their relationship was purely transactional. Ochoku provided the Marines with information about the Rocks Pirates and the abilities of each officer.
He told them the Rocks Pirates' routes, as well as which Affiliated Nations they planned to attack. He told them everything.
By now, the Marines and the World Government had a thorough understanding of the Rocks Pirates. That was one reason they dared to make their move.
"You'd better hurry over while it's still dark. A lot of the crew got drunk today. This is your chance, Marines," Ochoku urged in a low voice.
He didn't care whether the Rocks Pirates survived. All he wanted was to profit.
As a Marine spy, all he had to do was provide information to obtain a fortune in treasure.
On top of that, he received a share of the spoils every time the Rocks Pirates attacked a World Government Member State.
Ochoku was now the richest person in the Rocks Pirates after Rocks himself.
Once the Rocks Pirates were destroyed, he could use his wealth to buy a huge stockpile of weapons and recruit countless crew members.
Then he'd become a great pirate in his own right and never have to live under someone else's thumb again.
"Understood," the Fleet Admiral replied coldly.
The Marines were already sailing across the sea.
Earlier that day, while at sea, Ochoku had given them the route.
But even Ochoku hadn't known which island the party would be held on, so he hadn't been able to tell the Marines that they would be heading to the Olama Nation.
The Fleet Admiral stepped onto the deck and ordered the Marines, "Our destination: the Olama Nation!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine at the helm shouted.
The night was pitch-black, without a glimmer of light. Gusts of wind swept in, as if unknown terrors lurked in the boundless depths of the dark sea.
Several Marine warships sailed nearby, forming a magnificent sight.
The Fleet Admiral folded his arms across his chest. His Justice cloak billowed behind him, and a cold smile played on his lips. This time, the Marines would be victorious.
·······
·······
Please send flowers, vote, and support in any way you can.
Before you continue