第37章 世界会议

Van Augur knew the Marines and the kingdom's guard would surely follow the gunshots, so he hurried down from the high-rise, slung his rifle over his back, and sprinted toward the docks at full speed.

When he finally reached the shore, he found that every ship at the dock had been destroyed.

Not good!

Van Augur drew his gun and turned, aiming behind him.

Noki had anticipated that he would be impossible to catch in pursuit. Searching for someone in such a large city would inevitably leave gaps, so Noki had simply waited at the nearest dock to the scene. That gave him a better chance of catching the culprit.

"You're the sniper who just shot the World Noble? Not bad shooting," Noki praised sincerely.

Van Augur held his gun steady, the barrel aimed at Noki's head, and said coldly, "If the World Noble had died, it would be strange for you, the Marine assigned to protect them, to be speaking to me so calmly."

Noki answered in a low voice, "Since you've already figured it out, there's no harm in telling you. The Celestial Dragon you shot was actually the second princess of the Kingdom of Krilar. The one most heartbroken right now should be King Freio V. He probably wishes he could tear you apart alive."

Yesterday, Noki's proposal to the CP Organization had been to release a decoy disguised as a World Noble, standing in the most conspicuous spot to draw the assassins' attention.

The real Celestial Dragon would watch the show from a safer position.

However, the CP Organization agents believed that even a stand-in needed to be someone of high status in order to match the identity of a World Noble.

In the end, they chose the second princess.

Yet only Noki and King Freio V knew the truth: the person pretending to be the World Noble was not actually the second princess.

King Freio V loved his daughter dearly. He had specifically sought out Noki and asked for his help, hoping Noki would conceal it from the CP Organization and secretly replace the princess.

Noki felt that his plan had been a dirty trick of trading one life for another. Though life was priceless and everyone was equal, King Freio V had found a suitable replacement overnight and sworn to treat that person's family well, grant them titles and ranks, and let those privileges be passed down through generations. The substitute had also agreed willingly, so Noki simply fulfilled both their wishes and did them a favor.

The Kingdom of Krilar had masters skilled in disguise. The maid King Freio V had found overnight had a figure similar to the second princess's, and he had a disguise master make her look like the princess.

Having served in the palace for years, the maid was thoroughly familiar with noble etiquette. She had practiced all night, and as long as she did not speak, she could imitate the princess well enough. Thus, she had not exposed herself throughout the entire event today.

Noki believed the CP Organization would not go out of its way to inspect the corpse of the deceased. The matter had been covered up perfectly, and his own conscience could rest a little easier.

"I see."

Van Augur lowered his head in silence for a moment, then suddenly pulled the trigger. His shot was so fast that even Noki had not expected it.

Noki's Observation Haki was not just for show. He predicted where the bullet would strike and coated his face with Haki in advance, taking the shot head-on. "Your marksmanship is good, but that's all you have. In every other respect, you're beneath notice before me."

Van Augur's pupils shrank. In the blink of an eye, Noki had arrived before him, his fist as large as a sandbag smashing heavily into his face.

Van Augur's vision went dark, and he passed out.

Looking at Van Augur on the ground, Noki thought to himself, Did eating the Dark-Dark Fruit steal Blackbeard's luck? Why were the crew members who should have belonged to him being delivered to me one after another?

Wasn't this practically handing him talented recruits?

As for the various crimes Burgess and Van Augur had committed before...

One went around beating people and destroying buildings at will, while the other had accepted countless assassination jobs and had accumulated plenty of blood debts.

They truly seemed beyond redemption.

Noki admitted that he held talented people and ordinary people to different standards. If these crimes had been committed by an ordinary person, he would have long since cut them down and sent them to hell.

But he was human, after all. He could not achieve absolute fairness.

He believed the two still had a chance to make up for their crimes. They both had enormous potential to be developed, and if they did more of the right things under his leadership in the future, perhaps they could offset some of their past sins.

Talent was indeed very important to him now.

Noki casually lifted Van Augur's body, used Geppo, and rose into the air.

He had held back just now. Van Augur had merely fainted, and his body was otherwise unharmed.

Noki directly threw Van Augur into the brig aboard his warship. Once the matter involving the World Noble was settled, he would deal with him together with Burgess.

By the time Noki returned to the raised platform in the square, King Freio V was clutching the "World Noble's" corpse and weeping bitterly.

With CP Organization agents nearby, acting too indifferent would easily arouse suspicion.

Noki found the leader among the agents and said, "I've dealt with that sniper."

"Mm. Did he say who was behind him?"

Noki shook his head. "No. I questioned them, but they all pointed the finger at their companions."

The agent leader lowered his head in thought. "If that is the case, it is far too dangerous for the World Noble to remain in this country. We must return to the Holy Land as soon as possible."

Noki agreed readily. "I am willing to join you in suggesting an early return to the World Noble."

"Much appreciated."

The agent leader was also afraid that if the World Noble died and his superiors blamed him, even if he was not shot on the spot, he would still end up in prison.

The two immediately went to find Anasiah.

Once Anasiah heard her son say so, she immediately nodded in agreement.

Thus, that very afternoon, the group packed their belongings and hurriedly left the Kingdom of Krilar, returning to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

During the voyage.

Noki went alone to the warship's brig.

Burgess had only recuperated in the hospital for one day before being hurriedly transferred. His injuries were still serious, but he was conscious.

Van Augur only had bruises on his face and was in much better condition than Burgess.

Covered in casts and bandages, Burgess leaned against the corner and shouted, "Hey, why the hell have you locked me up in here!?"

Noki pulled over a chair and sat before the two of them, answering with a smile, "Do you remember what condition I gave you before we fought yesterday?"

Burgess thought carefully, then snorted. "I remember. A real man honors his bets."

"Good. Then my condition is this: join the Marines and become my subordinate."

"No!"

Burgess refused outright. "The Marines have too many rules. I can't stand that kind of restraint."

"The Marines may have many rules, but rules are dead while people are alive. Under my command, as long as you do not violate the rules I set, I can turn a blind eye to everything else."

Burgess glared at him. "What rules do you have?"

"You are not allowed to destroy buildings and facilities as casually as you did before. As Marines, you may fight and spar, but you must never drag civilians into it."

Burgess shook his head hard. "Being restricted even when fighting is what I can't accept most."

Noki smiled faintly. "Don't you want to become stronger?"

"You mean..." Burgess's curiosity was piqued.

"As long as you join the Marines, I can guarantee that you will become several times, even dozens of times, stronger than you are now."

Burgess was deeply tempted, but the notion seemed too unbelievable. He asked, "You're not lying to me, are you?"

"We can make an agreement beforehand. If you join the Marines and your strength has not improved much within three years, you may leave whenever you want."

"Fine, it's a deal!"

Burgess finally agreed.

Noki then looked at the taciturn Van Augur. "Do you know why I let you live?"

Van Augur said flatly, "You want me to join the Marines too."

"That's right. You only have two paths left. Either I execute you for attempting to murder a World Noble, or you join me."

Van Augur said meaningfully, "Aren't you afraid I'll pretend to agree, then look for a chance to escape or kill you?"

Noki's pretty face darkened. The killing intent within him seemed to solidify, pressing down on the two until they could barely breathe. "You're welcome to try."

Van Augur let out a long sigh. "Everything is arranged by fate."

Noki withdrew his killing intent and smiled brightly. "By the way, who sent you to assassinate the Celestial Dragon?"

Van Augur answered, "All I know is that their terms were this: if the World Noble died by my gun, I would receive a large bounty and the chance to join the Donquixote Family."

"So it was him..."

In truth, after hearing Anasiah's account of what had happened twenty years ago, Noki had already pieced together the entire matter.

Most likely, some Celestial Dragon in the Holy Land bore a grudge against Anasiah, pulled some strings to find Donquixote Doflamingo, and asked him to act. They had wanted to kill Anasiah during this trip.

Noki was not worried about Anasiah's safety. Once she returned to the Holy Land, the World Government would naturally ensure her protection.

Anasiah understood that herself, which was why she had only risked leaving the Holy Land once in more than twenty years.

Donquixote Doflamingo was involved in too many matters. It would be impossible to bring him down in a short time.

Noki decided to set the matter aside for now. There would be time for revenge when the opportunity came.

Noki released Burgess and Van Augur from the brig, brought them onto the deck, and led them before Ain.

"These two are Marines from now on. Ain, arrange positions for them."

"Oh, okay!"

Ain knew who they were. One of them had even just attempted to assassinate a World Noble, yet Noki dared to take them under his command. He truly had guts.

"Rear Admiral."

Nami approached Noki with a smile, blinking her bright watery eyes. She held out her still-fair hands and rubbed her fingers together. "The Marine salaries have been paid out. Shouldn't your reward be handed over too?"

Noki pulled out a stack of Berries from Little Black's Marine coat pocket and casually tossed it to Nami. "It's all yours. There will be plenty of special rewards. Keep working hard from now on."

"Thank you, Rear Admiral! I love you to death!" Nami cheered as she hugged the money, then happily left.

Tashigi also approached Noki shyly. "Rear Admiral, my swordsmanship has hit a bottleneck these past few days. Sister Ain couldn't do anything about it either, so she told me to come ask you."

"Use Shigure and give me a few full-force attacks. Let me see where you stand now."

"Okay!"

Tashigi decisively drew her sword and instantly entered a combat stance. Her first slash was delivered with all her strength.

Noki drew Sandai Kitetsu and blocked it easily, commenting, "You've improved quickly. You already have the makings of a swordsman."

"Thank you for the praise, Rear Admiral."

Tashigi followed with several more slashes.

Noki keenly identified the flaws and problems within them.

After hearing him out, Tashigi suddenly understood. She thanked him and hurried back to put his advice into practice.

On the way back, no pirates or other criminal forces blocked their path. The group returned smoothly to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

CP0, the highest-ranking members of the CP Organization, personally came to greet them at the dock.

Only after watching Anasiah enter the Holy Land under the agents' escort did Noki finally feel completely at ease.

The escort mission had been completed perfectly.

Noki returned to Marineford with the other two rear admirals to report to Admiral Aokiji.

After Kuzan read the reports submitted by the three, he said, "A la la, you all worked hard on this trip."

The two rear admirals lavishly praised Noki before Kuzan. "We truly had Rear Admiral Noki to thank this time. He turned the situation around repeatedly. Frankly, we were supposed to be his right-hand men, yet we ended up being no help at all."

Noki said, "That's not true. How could I possibly handle so many things alone? The World Noble's safety this time was thanks to every Marine performing their duties and remaining on high alert."

"Noki is right."

Kuzan scratched his hair and said, "I will award appropriate military merits to every Marine who participated in this escort mission, but Noki's outstanding performance cannot be overlooked.

Although you have only been a rear admiral for a little over a year, judging from your performance, the rank of headquarters rear admiral clearly does not match your strength.

In a few days, I will submit an application to Fleet Admiral Sengoku to promote you to vice admiral. Prepare yourself in advance."

"Congratulations, Rear Admiral Noki!"

The two rear admirals were sincerely happy for Noki when they heard this.

Noki did not refuse and accepted calmly. If he could become a vice admiral, he would face fewer restrictions and have more freedom to do the things he wanted.

Kuzan had the two rear admirals leave first, keeping Noki behind alone.

"Noki, when did you meet Princess Vivi of Alabasta?"

"On the way back to Headquarters from East Blue, I happened to meet her. I saved her from pirates."

"I see."

Kuzan continued, "The World Conference, held once every four years, is about to begin. A few days ago, the king of Alabasta specifically submitted a request to Headquarters, hoping you would serve as their escort to Mary Geoise."

"Another escort mission?"

Noki felt a little helpless.

"They probably want to take the opportunity to thank you for saving the princess. Besides, even if you do not escort them, you will still have to escort another royal family. It is an unavoidable assignment."

Kuzan paused, hesitated several times, then finally said, "I hope you can go to Alabasta in advance and help me investigate someone."

"Who?"

"Nico Robin."