News of Sengoku, Conomi Islands

"Brother Jinbe, it's the Navy!"

A fish-man shouted to Jinbe.

"I see them!"

Jinbe watched the approaching warship and leaped onto the bow.

A moment later, both the pirate ship and the warship came to a halt, standing in a standoff.

"Seven Warlords of the Sea, why have you come to the East Blue?"

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

Because of his status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Navy could not attack him at will; this was an order from the higher-ups and the World Government.

Yet, he could not simply watch a Seven Warlord enter the East Blue like this.

"I am here to find someone. 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 Navy commodore think of the group of fish-men who had escaped the naval encirclement earlier.

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

"Clear the way!"

The Navy commodore pondered for a moment before giving the order.

There was no other choice.

The Seven Warlords were all powerful, formidable pirates, and he, a branch commodore, was no match for one.

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

The warship slowly turned to clear a path, and Jinbe turned to issue his own orders.

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

A fish-man approached Jinbe from behind and spoke.

Jinbe's expression tightened; he felt anxious and weary.

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

Thinking of this, Jinbe ordered them to increase speed.

The Navy watched the Seven Warlord's ship depart, and the commodore immediately pulled out a Den Den Mushi to report to headquarters.

This was no small matter.

A Seven Warlord 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 to the Fleet Admiral's office.

"Enter!"

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 Seven Warlord Jinbe has traveled from the Grand Line to the East Blue."

Sengoku, who had been busy, 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 Seven Warlords recruited so far, Jinbe was the one he approved of the most.

Compared to the other vicious and sinister characters, the Knight of the Sea Jinbe had not committed any evil deeds. Or, to put it another way, he was carrying on the aspirations of the former Sun Pirates captain, Fisher Tiger, dedicated to the coexistence of humans and fish-men.

He also spent his time saving his kin across the seas.

A man like that would certainly not suddenly take an interest in touring the East Blue; something must have happened.

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

Sengoku frowned in thought.

"I understand!"

Upon 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 Jinbe would not cause any trouble in the East Blue, just to be safe, Sengoku contacted Garp.

Garp was returning from Windmill Village to the naval base in 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, but he had gone off to see his grandsons again, and now that fellow Sengoku knew about it.

"Garp, how are things going? With your status, you can't just keep staying in the East Blue."

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

"Oh, catching pirates?"

"Yeah, he had already set sail when I arrived. But while I was out looking for him, the young man caught a whole group of pirates to collect the bounty—a pirate with a ninety-million-berry bounty."

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

"There's a pirate with a ninety-million-berry 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 huge group of pirates, practically sweeping up all the pirates active near the Reverse Mountain side in one go."

Garp laughed heartily.

"That really was unexpected."

Sengoku remained silent for a long while before replying.

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

"Fine, do your best! I have another matter to discuss with you. Jinbe of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has gone to the East Blue; he's likely looking for a group of fish-men. Try to ensure they don't cause too much of a commotion."

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

Garp's smile faded, his expression turning serious.

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

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

"Fine, this old man understands."

After Garp finished speaking, he hung up the Den Den Mushi and stood up.

"You lot, take a break."

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

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

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

A powerful gust of wind erupted from his strike, creating a massive sonic boom as it collided with the air.

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

On a pirate ship approaching the Conomi Islands.

"Big Brother Arlong, ahead are the Conomi Islands. There are over twenty villages, but there's a Marine Branch nearby."

A fish-man looked at the nautical chart in his hand and said to Arlong.

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

The other fish-men were filled with excitement.

Hatchan, the octopus fish-man, had worry in his eyes.

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

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

"Big Brother 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 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 faint outline of the islands appeared at the end of the sea ahead.

"Lads, pick up your weapons!"

Arlong drew his serrated greatsword and pointed it toward the distant islands.

"Our goal is treasure!"

"Treasure!"

The cheers of the fish-men 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 change his approach.

Regardless, he needed to accumulate power to dominate the East Blue; as long as the result was achieved, the process didn't matter.