Sengoku Loses His Cool

Miss Bakkin's face darkened. "Weevil, aren't you going to greet him?"

Weevil immediately said meekly, "Mom, don't be angry."

Then he called out to Moke, "Big Brother!"

"Mm."

Only then did Miss Bakkin nod in satisfaction. "Remember this. Starting today, whenever Mom isn't around, you must listen to your big brother. Understand?"

Weevil nodded, but his limited brainpower still managed to turn over the question. "Why won't Mom be around?"

Miss Bakkin said, "I need to go find your dad, Whitebeard. Don't worry. Once I've settled things with your dad, I'll come back for you. Then you'll be able to recognize each other as father and son!"

Moke: "..."

That excuse was fucking brilliant!

Weren't you afraid Whitebeard would come over and punch you?

"Oh!~"

Weevil nodded as if he half understood.

Miss Bakkin immediately added, "Don't worry. Mom will contact you with a Den Den Mushi every day."

"A Den Den Mushi?"

Weevil tilted his head, looking rather confused. But no matter what, the matter of Moke being his big brother was settled.

At Marine Headquarters, Major Brannew hurried into Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we have urgent intelligence."

As he spoke, he respectfully handed a report to Sengoku.

Sengoku raised a brow, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile. "Urgent intelligence arriving at this time should mean Moke has dealt with Weevil."

But after reading only the beginning of the report, Sengoku's smile froze along with the corners of his mouth.

Then rage rose in his heart. He slapped the desk and shot to his feet, cursing, "Bastard..."

He immediately called Moke through a Den Den Mushi. The call connected quickly. "This is Sengoku!"

Moke's voice sounded from the other end. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku? Marine intelligence really is impressive. I just finished handling things, and you already got the news."

Sengoku suppressed his anger. "I told you to deal with Weevil, not take him in as your subordinate."

Moke replied calmly, "What's the problem? From now on, he's no longer a problem for the Marines... isn't that right?"

After saying that, he added, "No, that's not quite right. From this moment onward, he can also be considered part of the Marines' fighting strength. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"You..."

Sengoku was so choked up that he could not say a word.

On the surface, there was nothing wrong with what Moke had said.

Who was Moke?

He was one of the Shichibukai.

And the Shichibukai were allies of the Marines. Now that Weevil had become his subordinate, it was absolutely a good thing for the Marines.

But that was only on the surface.

In reality, the Marines did not want the Shichibukai's forces to grow too powerful. Moke himself already ranked near the top among the Shichibukai in terms of strength.

Now, with the addition of Weevil, who possessed strength on the level of a Shichibukai as well...

Things had become somewhat uncontrollable.

This was the last thing he wanted to see.

But there were some things you could do without saying them openly. For a moment, he did not even know how to refute him.

He couldn't exactly say, "You're my ally, but you're not allowed to increase your forces," could he?

That would be far too shameless.

Besides, saying it would not have changed anything.

"Click..."

Sengoku angrily hung up the call.

"Huff..."

Sengoku took several deep breaths before finally suppressing the rage in his heart. Only then did he pick up the report and continue reading...

Ata! A bounty exceeding 100 million...

Skeleton Swordsman? Where had he come from? Investigate...

Perona? A Paramecia-type Hollow-Hollow Fruit user, bounty over 40 million...

And now there was Weevil as well, with a bounty of 480 million Beli. How long had it even been?

Moke's strength was growing a little too quickly!

Wait, Perona?

Wasn't she Gecko Moria's crew member?

For ordinary pirates, such a bounty... there really were not many worth remembering. But every Shichibukai had been personally selected by him, so he knew their own strength and the members of their crews extremely well.

This Perona was Gecko Moria's crew member.

His expression changed. Although Gecko Moria's strength had declined drastically, he was still not someone to be underestimated. On top of that, he too was a Shichibukai.

The Shichibukai might belong to the same organization, but every one of them was arrogant and unruly. None would submit to another!

If they all joined forces, wouldn't that be disastrous?

He suddenly looked up at Major Brannew. "Immediately send Kuma to Gecko Moria's place and find out exactly what happened there."

He did not believe Gecko Moria would let his own crew member follow Moke for no reason.

Major Brannew's expression turned solemn upon hearing that. "Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

He immediately withdrew and issued Kuma his orders.

After hanging up, Moke curled his lip on the other end. "Some Fleet Admiral. He doesn't have any composure at all."

"Horo horo horo horo..."

"Yohohohoho..."

Upon hearing Moke's words, Perona and Brook both let out their signature laughter.

Moke was drawn by their laughter and looked over at them. The instant he saw the two of them, his expression changed.

"I was careless!"

He immediately gave an order. "Miss Bakkin, come with me."

"Huh?"

Ata, Brook, Perona, and Miss Bakkin [Mr. 2] all showed surprised expressions. Mr. 2 in particular was shocked, because this had not been part of the earlier plan!

He should have taken the opportunity to leave. But he did not question it, because he knew Moke had his reasons.

So he immediately followed Moke onto the ship.

The moment they boarded, Moke said, "Perona showed her face. The Marines must know by now, and they will definitely send someone to Gecko Moria's place. So I have to return there once. Now, transform into me. Remember, you need to cause some commotion on this small island and let everyone see that I'm here. Understand?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. 2 immediately understood the seriousness of the situation. After all, their captain was now a Shichibukai. No matter how one looked at it, a Shichibukai going to take down another Shichibukai would be indefensible.

Unless their captain no longer wanted to be a Shichibukai, this matter could not be exposed.

Mr. 2 immediately nodded. "Understood, Captain."

After giving his instructions, Moke absorbed the air around him and transformed into a being of air, dispersing into the atmosphere. To Mr. 2, it looked as though Moke had simply vanished.

A few seconds later, Moke was already a hundred meters up in the sky. He absorbed sunlight and transformed into a Glint-Glint Ability user.

Finally, he became a beam of light and headed toward the Florian Triangle.

Because only at the speed of light could he possibly return to Thriller Bark before the Marines arrived.