Malicious Incident, Killed on the Spot

In his youth, Aokiji was also a genius. Even Akainu, who was two batches ahead of him, had Kizaru as a rival, whereas he had none; he remained the undisputed first in his class.

Although he never encountered any obstacles while learning the Six Powers at the Zephyr Training Camp, mastering them as easily as a boat drifting with the current, it still took him a few months—certainly more than a week, in any case.

This kid's talent is likely on par with his own.

Seeing his own shadow in Conrad, Aokiji felt a sense of resonance. He took another sip of sherry, recalling the burning, arduous years of training when he had voluntarily sought Garp as his mentor.

The sails bearing the Blue Gull and Scales Emblem of the Marine warship billowed in the wind.

By dusk, they had finally crossed the West Blue and arrived at the remote Marine 80th Branch.

The walls of the branch base were dull and gray, the striped paint peeling away. It was far less bright or magnificent than Marineford, and the mottled cracks were riddled with bullet holes of varying depths, clearly the result of numerous attacks.

Most glaring were the charred gunpowder marks on the dock gates; they were still fresh, likely from cannon fire.

As the headquarters warship docked, the branch Marines stood waiting in salute, but the leader's rank was merely a Commander, whereas a branch captain should at least be a Captain.

Seeing the anchor drop, the Commander hurriedly sent men to handle the mooring lines, but with no bollards available, they simply looped them around a naturally arched rock peak.

The gangway was lowered, and Aokiji, clutching his greatcoat, led his crew off the ship and onto the shore.

"Lieutenant Commander Marado of the 80th Branch! Leading all 190 members of the branch! Welcome, Vice Admiral Aokiji of the headquarters, to inspect us!"

He had a standard, square-jawed, forgettable face with a beard, wore a Marine cap, and was dressed in a blue-and-white sailor uniform without a cloak; at headquarters, he would look like a mere third-class private.

Most of the headquarters Marines remained stationed on the ship, with only a few, including Conrad and Prince, following Aokiji as they were led by Lieutenant Commander Marado toward the briefing room.

The interior corridors of the base were also in a state of disrepair; rusted steel pipes on the ceiling dripped water onto many patches covered with sheet metal.

Aokiji entered the conference room, took the main seat, propped his long, bamboo-like legs up on the table, and rested his head on one hand. "What is the situation?"

Marado saluted, picked up the prepared report, and stood at attention. "As our unit previously reported, over the past three years, we have suffered nineteen attacks of varying sizes, but most were merely intimidation, and they never actually landed on the island."

"However, last month, the former branch Captain, Jess, had just steered the patrol ship out of the dock when he was suddenly shelled by an unidentified force and died in the line of duty."

As Lieutenant Commander Marado spoke, his voice trembled. He looked at Aokiji with eyes full of desperate hope. "Captain Jess was supposed to get married next month."

Aokiji rubbed his temples; he dreaded hearing about tragedies during missions. In his youth, every time he heard such things, he would be filled with righteous indignation and seek to get to the bottom of it.

But he had heard it too many times—so often that it seemed every island had a tragic past. He found that listening to it only put him in a bad mood, so he became less inclined to listen.

"Get to the point. Are there any concrete leads?"

Marado gripped the report tightly. "Reporting, sir, this is likely the lead: Captain Jess's fiancée was named Victoria Cindry, a very famous stage actress here in the West Blue."

Aokiji raised an eyebrow. He had been sent here precisely because of the heinous incident where a Captain was killed at the gates of a Marine base. He nodded slightly. "Continue."

Conrad blinked, feeling the actress's name sounded familiar, and closed his eyes to search his memory.

Marado continued, "Although Cindry was a star, she never put on airs. She was a very kind woman who often brought food to visit the Captain, sang and danced for us, and sometimes even helped mend our clothes when they were torn."

"Captain Jess was an even more outstanding man. He often said: 'Even though the West Blue is chaotic, someone must uphold justice on the seas; otherwise, the dark forces will only become more lawless. The world cannot be dictated by that scum.'"

"It was because of his words that I stayed at the 80th Branch. They were a perfect couple, and we were all looking forward to their wedding day."

"But the Captain died at..." Marado's eyes filled with tears as his warm memories were instantly shattered by the tragic news.

Conrad opened his eyes. He remembered this actress. On the Thriller Bark of the Shichibukai Gecko Moria, there was a freakish doctor named Hogback.

The zombie maid created by that freakish doctor bore this actress's name.

"Is Cindry dead?" he asked suddenly.

"No," Marado said, startled, and shook his head.

In Conrad's memory, although the freakish doctor admired Cindry, he had nothing to do with her death. He had only given up his pursuit after learning she had a fiancé, and it was only after hearing of her death that he had stolen her corpse.

In other words, following the Captain, Cindry would soon die as well.

Aokiji continued where he had been interrupted. "At whose hands did he die?"

A spider in the corner of the conference room ceiling was weaving a web, which made his skin crawl. He raised his hand and froze the spider and its web into ice shards.

"It is only a guess." Marado gritted his teeth and remained silent for a few seconds. "The Marlon Family, once the leader among the five major Mafia families."

"A guess?" Aokiji pressed his large hand against the table.

Marado set down the report. "Before meeting the Captain, Cindry had been the girlfriend of the Marlon Family boss for a time. Shortly before the Captain's incident, they had a conflict at the site of one of her stage performances."

The narrative ended there.

"How could they do such a thing! How detestable!" Kujaku's eyes were red, and her mischievous smile was replaced by anger. "Uncle Kuzan! Order us to go arrest them!"

"Kujaku, use your rank when on duty," Aokiji said, scratching his fluffy, curly hair.

Kujaku saluted with her whip. "Yes! Vice Admiral!"

Back when her grandmother used to chat with Grandpa Garp, Aokiji would be training on the shore, punching warships, and she, as a little girl, had once cheered him on.

Aokiji did not give the order. Although the mission objective was basically clear, the target involved too much; one had to follow the rules when doing things, and even when cracking down on organized crime, one had to find a justification first.

After all, the gambling and vice industries of the five major families were spread throughout the West Blue, contributing high tax revenues every year. Otherwise, the Four Blues, which served as the foundation for the World Government's conscription, would not have been left to their own devices.

Since they had been left alone all this time, it meant the revenue contributed by the Mafia was certainly higher than the normal taxes collected by the World Government.

If not for the heinous incident of a targeted killing at the dock, which had such a terrible impact, he would not have been sent here.

But the instructions from above were to catch the culprit and punish them with appropriate severity. As for what "appropriately severe" meant, Aokiji hadn't decided yet.

The simplest approach would be to do what those useless prosecutors always did: pay a visit, blend in with the crowd, negotiate a price, and hand over a few scapegoats to call it a day.

Aokiji had no desire to engage in such dealings. "Rest for now. Tomorrow, we'll split into teams to seal off the casinos. Stay safe when you're controlling the crowds and making arrests."

"Yes, sir!" Prince, Drake, and the others saluted and headed out.

"Vice Admiral, I have a question." Conrad stepped forward and raised a hand to report.

"Hm?" Aokiji glanced sideways.

"If the criminals resist," Conrad made a chopping motion with his hand, "are we authorized to execute them on the spot?"