Escorting Celestial Dragon Slaves

When Gion spoke, Sengoku, sitting at his desk, slammed his hand on the table in excitement. He was deeply moved.

At that moment, he really wanted to call Karp, Kizaru, and Aokiji over to see what a real Marine was!

Here he was, a Fleet Admiral, working 365 days a year without a break, starting early and finishing late every day, dealing with all sorts of matters, and still having to clean up messes for others like a subservient grandson.

And yet, none of the scoundrels under him were easy to deal with. They even found ways to slack off every day.

Looking at Gion's resolve now, Sengoku felt that she was the true benchmark of the Marines!

In reality, it wasn't that Gion was particularly diligent or wanted to work overtime.

It was because, compared to the original story, Gion here had met someone named Wood.

Originally, there was no problem with that. After all, one encounters countless people in life. Only one in a hundred might speak to each other and get to know each other, and only one in ten thousand might influence your life's trajectory.

But unfortunately, Wood had probably forgotten about Gion, while Gion considered Wood that one in ten thousand person.

This wasn't to say Gion liked Wood; it was because of her strong competitive spirit that she could never forget the strength Wood had displayed before her half a year ago.

Previously, Gion had seen Wood as her rival. After parting ways half a year ago, Wood was determined to follow his own comfortable, conventional path, but Gion had never forgotten her goal of catching up to Wood.

Admittedly, Gion acknowledged that six months ago, her strength was no match for Wood's. However, she had experienced so much in the past six months that her strength had improved by more than just a little.

But given Wood's personality and talent, Gion believed that even if Wood was hiding in a corner right now, his strength wouldn't have remained stagnant over the past six months.

To catch up to Wood, and even surpass and defeat him, Gion didn't want to miss any opportunity to become stronger. That's why she decided to refuse Fleet Admiral Sengoku's offer to rest.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku didn't know Gion's true thoughts. He only felt that Gion had high aspirations, and he had no reason to refuse a Marine who wanted to work hard and improve. Thus, he quickly handed Gion another document.

"Escort slaves to Marie Geoise?"

Looking at the mission document in her hand, Gion couldn't help but furrow her beautiful brows.

As everyone knew, Marie Geoise was where the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, resided, and it was also where the World Government's real power lay.

In other words, the Celestial Dragons were essentially the direct superiors of Marine Headquarters.

However, anyone who had met a Celestial Dragon would have a bad impression of these so-called "World Nobles." Even the Marines disliked dealing with them.

Having known Wood for two years, Gion considered Wood to be shameless. But compared to the so-called World Nobles, Wood was at most a bit of a rogue. These Celestial Dragons of Marie Geoise were the real scum of the sea, utterly depraved and degenerate!

Seeing Gion's expression, Fleet Admiral Sengoku showed a look of helplessness. He was well aware of what kind of people the Celestial Dragons were.

However, the Marines were under the command of the World Government, and the World Government was the lackey of the Celestial Dragons. The Marines were powerless against these Celestial Dragons.

The Celestial Dragons were the descendants of 19 of the 20 kings who formed the World Government 800 years ago, claiming to be descendants of the "Creators." They enjoyed all privileges.

Legend had it that they were descendants of those who saved the world, but whether that was true was impossible to verify, as that period of history had completely vanished.

However, the Celestial Dragons had stood for so many years that their influence had long been deeply entrenched across the seas.

From the salaries of every soldier in Marine Headquarters to every Cannon, every warship, all were funded by the World Government. The Marines truly lacked the ability to defy the Celestial Dragons.

Karp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others were undoubtedly true Marines with justice in their hearts. But why did they obey the World Government?

It was because they had no choice! Without money, they couldn't wage war, and with individual strength alone, they couldn't suppress the pirates rampaging across the seas.

The Celestial Dragons were scum, the World Government was a so-called lackey, and even within the Marines, there were many scoundrels.

But it was undeniable that the existence of the Marines did, to a certain extent, curb the spread of evil on the seas.

Karp, Sengoku, and the others valued the future of the Marines, so they chose to endure the humiliation.

As for Luffy's father, Dragon, and the others, they saw that the World Government was beyond saving. Rather than hoping for a vague future change, they decided to work hard to change the current situation and create a new future!

We cannot say that Karp and Zephyr were wrong. We can only say that their choices were different. If we must categorize them, Karp and the like belonged to the conservative faction, while Dragon and the Revolutionary Army belonged to the radical faction.

Of course, whether they were the so-called conservative or radical factions, they both hated the Celestial Dragons.

It was precisely because of this that Gion furrowed her brow upon seeing the mission document.

Undoubtedly, she also hated the Celestial Dragons. Furthermore, the mission required her to escort slaves, and she strongly disliked the idea of people being treated as slaves.

"I know this mission might put you in a difficult position, but I'm also uneasy about letting anyone else handle it."

Originally, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had intended to assign this mission to Rear Admiral Kadaru. Although Kadaru wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he was resourceful and, crucially, good at flattery. He probably wouldn't cause any conflict with the Celestial Dragons.

The decision to have Gion undertake this mission temporarily was due to her outstanding performance in handling the rebellion in the kingdom, her extremely tactful handling of affairs, and unlike hot-headed individuals like Karp, she wasn't prone to impulsive actions.

Moreover, this mission perfectly suited Gion's own requirements. Since the number of slaves to be escorted was not large, it didn't require a large contingent, only a few skilled Marine officers.

Gion's current rank was Captain. To ensure she had a leading role in this mission, Fleet Admiral Sengoku generously offered to help her gather any officers below the Admiral rank if she needed them.

"Any Marine below the rank of Admiral can be transferred to serve under me?"

Gion, who had initially intended to politely decline the mission, paused her hand, which was about to put down the document, upon hearing Fleet Admiral Sengoku's words.

"Of course. After all, I am the Fleet Admiral. It's within my capabilities to assemble an elite team to assist you in completing the mission.

However, the individuals you choose must belong to our Marines. And if they are from special units, it might take a little time."