Intelligence on the Big Daddy Pirates

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

A sturdy, elderly Marine with short white hair and a white beard still could not hide the formidable aura radiating from his body!

"Sengoku, look! It's because you won't grant me leave, leaving me no time to go back and clean up the trash in the East Blue, that a lawless little pirate crew like the Big Daddy Pirates could emerge!"

Marine Hero Iron Fist Garp complained grumpily to Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha, his face twisted in annoyance and even a hint of anger.

He had just learned that the Big Daddy Pirates had wiped out the 16th Branch and the 8th Branch of the East Blue, and that the officers in charge of these two Marine branches, Captain Nezumi and Brigadier General Nelson Royale, had both sacrificed their lives honorably.

This made Iron Fist Garp extremely angry!

The kind of angry that was truly furious!

The kind of real anger that couldn't be soothed without three months of vacation and a thousand bags of senbei!

He would not allow such lawless, brutal pirates to appear in the peaceful East Blue!

"Weakest Sea" was merely a derogatory term used by pirates; the common people and the Marines preferred to call the East Blue the most peaceful sea!

All the credit for this, of course, went to Iron Fist Garp, who frequently returned to the East Blue to visit his grandson.

"How long has it been since your last leave? The Big Daddy Pirates were formed shortly after you returned from your vacation. It's just that they rose too quickly; in just a short month or two, they've already entered the Grand Line.

The pirates on their ship are all well-known bounty heads from the East Blue. This Daddy Babaya truly has some skill to be able to subdue so many pirates!"

Sengoku the Buddha glanced over the intelligence report on Daide. He had originally been a mute in Loguetown, then a strategist for the Barto Family, and finally the captain of the Big Daddy Pirates.

He had successively subdued Kuro, captain of the Black Cat Pirates; El Drago, captain of the El Drago Pirates; and Bear King, captain of the Poker Pirates.

He had also recruited the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

After finishing off the East Blue Overlord, the Krieg Pirates, he had subdued the second-in-command, Gin the Man-Demon, and the third-in-command, Iron Wall Pearl, before going on to annihilate the strongest pirate crew in the East Blue, the Arlong Pirates.

This record was indeed enough to dominate the East Blue, the most peaceful of seas.

In truth, if not for the connection to the Shichibukai Jinbe, Iron Fist Garp would have wiped out the Arlong Pirates long ago.

However, the World Government assumed the Arlong Pirates were an affiliate of the Knight of the Sea Jinbe.

Thus, the Arlong Pirates' exploitation of the Cocoyasi Sea was considered a form of legal plunder by the Shichibukai Jinbe.

"This guy's bloodlust is too strong; he must be eliminated as soon as possible!"

Iron Fist Garp said sternly. According to the intelligence, Daddy Babaya had already killed many pirates while destroying the Krieg Pirates and the Arlong Pirates, his hands stained with blood.

Coupled with the destruction of the Loguetown underworld's Barto Family and the two Marine branches in the East Blue, Daide's crimes were too numerous to record!

"The duty Vice Admiral of the Staff Headquarters has already dispatched Colonel Hina of the Marine Headquarters to intercept the Big Daddy Pirates!"

Sengoku the Buddha suddenly frowned, feeling that the Staff Headquarters' arrangement might have been a mistake; he wasn't sure if Colonel Hina could handle Daddy Babaya.

As Fleet Admiral, he didn't have the time to deal with these small pirate crews in the East Blue, nor did such trivial matters require his personal attention.

"And you call yourself a strategist? Did you even read the report? Smoker's intel says this little thief Daide knows Two-Color Haki, possesses Seastone weapons, and his Devil Fruit ability can transform into a barrier giant dozens of meters tall!

Call Hina back right now! Let me go back and deal with him, and while you're at it, approve my vacation!"

Iron Fist Garp shouted. It wasn't that he looked down on Colonel Hina, but this Daide was truly a bit of a freak—he had actually come into contact with Haki while still in the East Blue.

One had to realize that many pirate crews from the four seas didn't even know what Haki was by the time they reached the end of the Grand Line at the Sabaody Archipelago.

Moreover, his grandson, Monkey D. Luffy, had been showing more and more signs of "pirate brain" over the last two years; he had to go back more often to teach that little brat a lesson, lest Luffy actually set sail to become a pirate.

"It's too late! The Big Daddy Pirates have likely already entered the Grand Line. If you rush back now, you won't even know which route or island he's on!"

Sengoku the Buddha said irritably, ignoring Garp's request. He would have his subordinates in the Staff Headquarters send a warning to Colonel Hina later, telling them to be careful if they encountered the Big Daddy Pirates.

However, there were seven routes in the Grand Line; surely it wouldn't be such a coincidence that the Big Daddy Pirates would run into the route where Hina was stationed?

"So that means you aren't approving my leave?"

Iron Fist Garp glared at Sengoku the Buddha with a dark expression, then furiously snatched all the senbei off the desk and stormed out of the Fleet Admiral's office in a rage.

Sengoku the Buddha stared at Garp's retreating back with wide eyes; the old bastard had only come to demand vacation time and mooch snacks!

He shook his head helplessly and decided to raise Daddy Babaya's bounty once more.

A pirate who already possessed Two-Color Haki and a powerful Devil Fruit ability while still in the Grand Line was not only brutal and murderous but also cold-blooded—a truly dangerous individual.

Therefore, the bounty had to be increased to alert the Marines to the danger, and hopefully, it would attract bounty hunters to surround and kill the Big Daddy Pirates.

With a wave of his hand, he sent Daide's bounty soaring to 100 million Beli, making him one of this year's Supernova candidates.

Destroying two Marine branches, countless kills, and the possession of Two-Color Haki and a Devil Fruit ability—this Daide was truly worth the price!

If he could successfully reach the Sabaody Archipelago without being defeated in the Grand Line, then he would be a Supernova of this year!

Meanwhile, in Rainbase, Alabasta.

As Nico Robin deepened her investigation into Daddy Babaya, her expression grew increasingly grave. The fact that he could defeat Colonel Smoker, who possessed the Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit, meant his strength truly exceeded her expectations!

"He entered the Grand Line as the strongest pirate crew in the East Blue, did he?"

Nico Robin murmured. Originally, she had wanted to see Daide for herself, but now that she knew the full strength of the Big Daddy Pirates, she didn't dare face this brutal captain, who had slaughtered countless people, on her own.

She couldn't understand why someone like Daide would have any connection to Ohara, or how he knew her identity and that of the Sand Crocodile.

"Since Mr. 1 cannot be spared from Sand Crocodile's side, have Mr. 2, Mr. 3, and their squads protect me while I go to investigate this Daddy. Mobilize the other squads to the nearby waters to carry out missions as well."

In order to uncover the secrets behind Daddy, Nico Robin emptied out the majority of the combat strength of Baroque Works in one fell swoop.

Excluding the boss, Sand Crocodile, and Mr. 1, she mobilized the entire force of the Shichibukai; she refused to believe they couldn't handle the Big Daddy Pirates, a rookie pirate crew that had just entered the Grand Line.

To provide an explanation to Crocodile, she left Rainbase in Alabasta under the pretext of recruiting the strongest pirate crew from the East Blue.