Aboard the Moby Dick

Knowing the negotiations would not go so smoothly, Koby was not surprised by Ace's arrangements.

The group obediently stayed in a room aboard the Moby Dick, tacitly accepting this form of "house arrest."

"Lieutenant Colonel Koby, why does it feel like these negotiations with Whitebeard went so smoothly?

Honestly, I was ready for a fight."

Because there were quite a few Marines, Ace had arranged a large storage room for them. The conditions were nothing special, about the same as an ordinary guest room.

Once they had settled in, a Marine who could no longer suppress his doubts spoke to Koby, their leader, with a grin.

"Keep it down. Walls have ears!"

Seeing that his men did not seem to take being trapped in enemy territory seriously, Koby's face darkened as he warned them in a low voice.

Just because Whitebeard's people had not caused them trouble yet did not mean they could let down their guard.

Marines and pirates had never been friends!

"Yes, sir!"

Like Vice Admiral Yamakaji, Koby rarely lost his temper.

Once this young field officer did get angry, it meant he was truly enraged. Unwilling to provoke their superior at such a time, the laughing Marines immediately turned serious.

"I think you've forgotten where we are."

Half stern and half helpless, Koby slowly spoke beneath Momonosuke's slightly astonished gaze.

"The massive battleship Moby Dick. This is Whitebeard's Moby Dick.

Whitebeard. Do you understand?"

The recruits who had enlisted barely more than a year ago might not have experienced the terror of the Summit War, nor witnessed that world-shaking devastation.

But Koby had experienced it. He had even faced it head-on.

Without those experiences, one could never understand just how much weight the name Whitebeard carried.

That man might be gone now, but who would dare