News from Sengoku, Conomi Islands

"Brother Jinbe, it's the Marines!"

A Fishman shouted at Jinbe.

"I see them!"

Jinbe watched the approaching warship and leaped onto the bow of his ship.

A moment later, both the pirate ship and the warship ceased movement, standing in a standoff.

"Shichibukai, why have you come to the East Blue?"

The speaker was a Marine Commodore, likely the commander of Loguetown, who stared at Jinbe with a grave expression.

Because of his status as a Shichibukai, the Marines could not attack him without cause; this was an order from the higher-ups and the World Government.

However, he could not simply watch a Shichibukai enter the East Blue like this.

"I am here to find someone, and I will not attack the civilians of the East Blue!"

Jinbe thought for a moment before speaking.

"Finding someone?"

Jinbe's answer immediately made the Marine Commodore think of the group of Fishmen who had recently escaped from a naval encirclement.

If not for that incident, the warships would not have been gathered here.

"Make way!"

The Marine Commodore pondered for a moment before issuing the order directly.

There was no other choice.

The Shichibukai were all powerful pirates, and he, a branch Commodore, was no match for one.

Moreover, he had no authority to take action against a Shichibukai.

The warship slowly turned to clear the path, and Jinbe turned his head to issue an order.

"Brother Jinbe, Hatchan says Arlong is preparing to attack an island."

A Fishman leaned in behind Jinbe and said.

Jinbe's expression tightened, his heart filled with worry and a sense of exhaustion.

The death Shyarly had prophesied would likely occur during that attack.

Thinking of this, Jinbe ordered them to increase speed.

The Marines watched the Shichibukai's ship depart, and the Commodore immediately took out a Den Den Mushi to report to headquarters.

This was no small matter.

A Shichibukai had run off to one of the four seas; he had to report this, and it would be up to headquarters to decide how to handle it.

Headquarters.

The intelligence officer who received the news did not dare to delay, hurrying toward the Fleet Admiral's office.

"Come in!"

Sengoku was buried in paperwork and spoke without looking up when he heard the knock.

"Fleet Admiral, Commodore Tibus of Loguetown in the East Blue reports that the Shichibukai Jinbe has traveled from the Grand Line to the East Blue."

Sengoku, who had been busy working, suddenly looked up, his eyes sharp.

"Jinbe went to the East Blue? What is his objective?"

Sengoku understood Jinbe quite well.

Or rather, among the Shichibukai recruited so far, Jinbe was the one he approved of the most.

Compared to the other vicious and bloodthirsty individuals, the Knight of the Sea Jinbe had not committed any evil deeds; or rather, he was someone who had inherited the aspirations of the former Sun Pirates captain, Fisher Tiger, and was dedicated to the coexistence of humans and Fishmen.

He was also committed to saving his kin across the seas.

A guy like that certainly wouldn't suddenly take an interest in touring the East Blue; something must have happened.

"Regarding that, Commodore Tibus says he is looking for someone. Previously, Commodore Tibus discovered a group of Fishmen entering the East Blue, but they escaped when he tried to intercept and capture them."

Sengoku frowned in thought.

"I understand!"

Hearing this, the intelligence officer saluted and turned to leave.

Sengoku thought for a moment and picked up a Den Den Mushi.

Although he felt that Jinbe would not cause any trouble in the East Blue, just to be safe, Sengoku contacted Garp.

Garp was currently returning from Foosha Village to the Marine Base on the Conomi Islands and received the call from Sengoku while on his ship.

Seeing the Den Den Mushi take on the appearance of Sengoku, Garp felt a bit guilty.

He had come here to find someone, and having gone off to look for his grandsons again, Sengoku had found out about it once more.

"Garp, how are things going? With your status, you really shouldn't be staying in the East Blue all the time."

"Hahaha, I found the person, but I have to wait a bit; that brat has gone out to sea to catch Pirates again."

"Oh, he's catching Pirates?"

"Yeah, he had already set sail by the time I arrived, but while I was out looking for him, the young man had already rounded up a huge group of Pirates to collect the bounty—a Pirate with a ninety-million bounty."

"Ninety million?" There was clear astonishment in Sengoku's voice.

"There's a Pirate with a ninety-million bounty in the East Blue?"

Sengoku was stunned.

How could he not know about this news?

"Hahaha, you didn't expect that either, did you? That young man caught a whole bunch of Pirates, practically wiping out all the ones active near Reverse Mountain in one fell swoop."

Garp laughed heartily.

"That really is unexpected."

Sengoku replied only after a long silence.

"Rest assured, I'll try my best to bring him back this time, though I can't guarantee I'll succeed."

"Fine, do your best! I have another matter to discuss with you: Jinbe of the Shichibukai has gone to the East Blue. He's likely looking for a group of Fishmen. Try to make sure they don't cause too much trouble."

"Jinbe? That guy actually came to the East Blue."

Garp's smile faded, and his expression turned serious.

Garp did not approve of the Shichibukai system, though he couldn't stop it either.

"Yes, he just arrived in the East Blue. Investigate his location yourself; it would be best to keep an eye on him."

"Fine, I understand."

After saying this, Garp hung up the Den Den Mushi and stood up.

"You lot, take a break for a moment."

Garp instructed the few Marines operating the ship, "Right, hold on tight."

The Marines were stunned, and as if realizing something, their expressions changed drastically as they scrambled to find something to secure themselves.

Garp walked to the stern of the ship, clenched his fists, and threw a punch with all his might.

A powerful gust of wind was unleashed by his strike, colliding with the air and producing a massive sonic boom.

The reactive force sent the ship beneath his feet flying, skimming across the surface of the ocean at high speed.

On a Pirate ship approaching the Conomi Islands.

"Arlong, up ahead is the Conomi Islands. There are over twenty villages, but there's a Marine Base nearby."

A Fishman looked at the nautical chart in his hands and spoke to Arlong.

"Sha-hahahaha! Boys, our conquest of the sea begins here. Take this place!"

The other Fishmen looked excited.

Hatchan, the octopus Fishman, had a look of worry in his eyes.

He knew the consequences of doing this; it might put Jinbe in a difficult position.

Now that Jinbe had already arrived in the East Blue, he hoped they would be in time.

"Arlong, shouldn't we plan this out a bit more? We were already spotted by the Marines before, and now there's a Marine branch here; we might get surrounded and wiped out by the Marines."

Hatchan thought for a moment, trying to persuade him indirectly.

"I'm not afraid of any damn Marines, and besides, the East Blue is the Weakest Sea, so the Marines here are the weakest too."

Arlong turned his head to look at Hatchan, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

This guy always liked to dampen their morale; he should have known better than to bring him along.

As they spoke, the silhouette of the islands appeared at the end of the sea ahead.

"Boys, grab your weapons!"

Arlong drew his Kiribachi and pointed it toward the distant islands.

"Our goal is treasure!"

"Treasure!"

The cheers of the Fishmen rang out across the ship, and the Pirate ship picked up speed.

However, a cunning glint flashed in Arlong's eyes.

If there was a Marine Base nearby, perhaps he could try a different approach.

In any case, the goal was to accumulate power to dominate the East Blue; as long as the result was achieved, the process didn't matter.