MADS

The MADS team had gathered scientists such as Caesar Clown, Vinsmoke Judge, and Queen, in addition to Vegapunk, the "world's greatest brain."

Such a lineup might not have been unique in all of history, but it was at least the most extravagant assembly in scientific history over the past century.

If I could pack up the entire MADS team...

John merely entertained the fantasy for a moment before abandoning the dangerous thought.

Caesar Clown was a beast ruled by his lower half, who embezzled research funds to enjoy himself in the Pleasure District.

Vinsmoke Judge was wildly ambitious, yet lacked emotional intelligence and could not recognize his own position, making him prone to doing stupid things.

Even Stussy, the target of this search, was merely someone who muddied the waters and padded out the numbers.

Stussy's status as a "freeloader" in MADS did not mean a guest who came to eat in the conventional sense. It referred to someone who reaped without sowing, ate and drank for free, contributed nothing, yet occupied resources.

Among the MADS members, Vegapunk researched peaceful technology, Judge studied the Lineage Factor for military use, and Queen and Caesar developed weapons. Stussy had displayed no professional ability whatsoever and existed only as the "prototype" for clones.

Packing up that bunch of rotten fish would only be asking for trouble!

"I only need Vegapunk. As long as he can research S.I.Q.'s path of evolution, that will be enough."

John looked up at the star-filled sky and felt that the future was full of promise.

The reason he had not gone directly to Vegapunk, instead taking a roundabout route through Stussy, was because of the World Government's informants.

A truly talented man like Vegapunk had long been watched by the World Government. If John put out a bounty in the Underworld for Vegapunk's whereabouts, it would inevitably draw the World Government's attention.

But placing a bounty on a worthless hanger-on like Stussy could not only lead him to Vegapunk indirectly, but also avoid making too much of a commotion.

All he had to do next was wait for the fish to bite.

Before the future Pirate King Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era, the Marines stationed across the Four Seas did not actually have boring work.

Criminals, ambitious men, and those unable to bear loneliness would not stop causing trouble just because there was no One Piece.

But if there was any difference, it was that crimes had shifted from mobile operations, where everyone rushed headlong into the Grand Line, to establishing themselves and developing locally.

The former was predatory plunder, like killing the chicken for its eggs; the latter was oppression that forced the chicken to lay eggs like mad...

Half a month later

Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the harbor, the assembly bell rang frantically as the Marines of the 153rd Branch hurried across the gangplanks and boarded the warship.

"Where's John? We're setting sail any minute, where's our navigator?!"

"Hmph! He's probably at some woman's house again, that damned bastard!"

"The guy hated by both the locals and the Feloce people has shown up. One day, someone's going to knock him out in an alley!"

"Who wants to knock me out?"

As the Marines gathered on deck and denounced the unruly, undisciplined fellow, a lazy voice drifted down from the main mast.

The Marines looked up and saw half a figure leaning out from the crow's nest atop the main mast. It was none other than John, the subject of their denunciations.

John leaned against the edge of the crow's nest, resting his chin on one hand as he looked down at the silent crowd below.

Seeing that they only dared gossip behind his back but fell completely silent to his face, he curled his lip in disdain.

"A bunch of gutless bitches. Raise anchor and set the sails, then the warship moves. Do I have to teach you that?"

"Why don't you crawl back into your mothers' wombs and beg me to teach you how to suck milk from the start?"

"John, enough!"

Seeing John once again verbally bullying his colleagues as usual, Reed hurriedly stepped forward and sharply interrupted him.

Then he turned and barked at the Marines, who stood frozen with rage.

"You bitches, get moving already! If the pirates get away, every last one of you will run a hundred laps around the training field!"

Under the orders of Captain Reed, the highest-ranking officer present, the Marines had no choice but to swallow their anger and get to work. Some pulled the anchor chains while others lowered the sails...

Soon, the warship was towed out of the harbor by small boats, then caught the wind and sped toward the open sea.

John jumped down from the crow's nest more than ten meters above. Just as he was about to ask Reed about the target of this operation, he saw the man walking toward him.

"Bro, could you restrain yourself a little? I'm begging you!"

As soon as they met, Reed put on a miserable expression and pleaded with him.

John was so annoyed that he laughed, arguing back,

"Is there something wrong with me pursuing a beautiful single woman who isn't married and hasn't confirmed a relationship with anyone?"

"These guys can't win her over themselves, so they won't let me make a move? What kind of pirate logic is that?"

"You... sigh!"

Reed could only sigh helplessly.

Because John was right.

The cause of it all was still that little business below the belt...

The mayor had a daughter named Sabrina, barely twenty and extraordinarily beautiful. She was the goddess in the hearts of every bachelor in town.

Even many men who already had families harbored improper thoughts about Sabrina.

But because she was the mayor's daughter, many men were intimidated. They either could only admire her secretly or stammered even if they happened to exchange a few words with her.

Yet this lofty flower was won over by John on the second day after he joined the Marines.

That night, countless men beat their chests in despair and hid beneath their blankets to cry.

But that was not even the most infuriating part. What truly enraged everyone was that John dumped Sabrina only a few days later!

In the days that followed, Sabrina came to the 153rd Branch every day to bring him meals made with love, but John always turned her away without even seeing her once.

Sabrina cried all day long. Her pitiful appearance finally made the Marines, who had endured it for so long, explode.

They gathered to denounce John and demanded that he be stripped of his position and expelled. More than ten men even stepped forward to challenge John to a duel between men.

The result was...

John remained perfectly well at the 153rd Branch, while those who had initiated the duels had to lie in bed for several months.

This was also what Reed found strange. Colonel Burns, who could not tolerate the slightest wrongdoing, was inexplicably tolerant of John.

It could be said that he had practically indulged him. No matter how much trouble John caused, he never punished him...

"But it really was a bit too much for you to start a relationship and then abandon her..." Reed returned to his senses and looked at John with disgust.

He considered himself a garbage Marine who only cared about making money, but even he would not go that far with a woman.

"Watch how you talk. Be careful, or I'll sue you for slander!"

John raised a hand and pointed at Reed's nose.

"Before I got intimate with Sabrina, we made things clear. We were not dating, just having some fun, and neither of us was allowed to pester the other afterward without permission."

"I didn't force her, and I certainly didn't deceive her!"

"And she agreed to that arrangement, yet afterward she wanted to marry me and have me run away with her!"

"She broke the promise first. How can you blame me for starting a relationship and then abandoning her?"

"Hey! There are so many people watching. Show me some respect—I'm your superior, after all."

Reed raised both hands and grasped John's outstretched index finger, then looked left and right, warning with his eyes the Marines who were working while secretly eavesdropping.