Voluntary

When he turned his head, Miming had already reached Zephyr's side and was tugging at Zephyr's little hand—well, his big, furry hand—while making casual conversation: "Admiral Zephyr, why are you known as the 'Admiral Who Doesn't Kill'? Could it be that if an enemy claims to hold the rank of 'admiral,' you won't kill them?"

Zephyr was covered in gooseflesh and felt like dying. All around him came the sounds of people choking on their food.

"Have Hina and Domino arrived? I'd really like to meet them and thank them in person."

"No." Zephyr no longer knew what he was saying. "They've already gone into hiding. No, to avoid being found by you... Ah, no, what am I saying? They're not qualified to attend today's meeting! They each have their own assignments!"

Zephyr felt sweat breaking out as he finally managed to explain himself clearly. He had revealed a lot, but perhaps being straightforward was better!

"Huh? Why would they hide from me?" Miming asked in confusion. "Where did they hide? There must be some misunderstanding."

"They aren't hiding. They volunteered..." Zephyr apologized a hundred times in his heart. Sorry, but I'll have to sacrifice you two to end this conversation. I really can't take it anymore.

"Second Lieutenant Hina's ideal is to become a central pillar of the Marines, so she joined the special training camp at Marine Headquarters. She's currently deployed for actual combat, so I don't know which sea she's in."

"Have her located."

"We can't!" Zephyr was on the verge of collapse.

"Second Lieutenant Domino is currently carrying out guard duty at Impel Down."

Zephyr was very confident in his careful arrangements. Heh heh, even if he said it plainly, it didn't matter. No matter how troublesome the Celestial Dragons were, they couldn't continue harassing the two women.

Spandine suddenly stood up. "Saint Sanming, if you need CP9, I'll immediately order them to investigate!"

A murderous aura erupted from Zephyr, pointing straight at Spandine.

Ignoring Zephyr's glare and risking his life to curry favor, Spandine persisted, "With CP9's abilities, the Marine inspector can immediately find whatever information Saint Sanming wants."

Wasn't this just a matter of using a Den Den Mushi? Could the Marine inspector really not know where the Marines had gone for combat training? Zephyr was unwilling to say, so Spandine had to thank him for being so tactless and giving him this chance to curry favor with a Celestial Dragon.

"Oh, right. There's something important I need to discuss with you." Miming pulled Spandine along. "Let's find somewhere private to talk."

Kong wanted to stop them, but Spandine said, "You discuss things first. CP9's position is that the safety of all the distinguished adults comes first. There's nothing else to worry about."

Amid the twitching expressions of Kong and the assembled Marine officers, Miming simply walked away with Spandine.

At that moment, the chef entered again with a line of food carts, and the formal feast was served once more.

Garp beamed. "You discuss things first!" He grabbed a huge pork knuckle and began devouring it.

Under Kong's helpless gaze, the Army commander-in-chief exchanged a look with his generals and said, "We believe Commander Spandine of CP9 is actually right."

Saint Sanming had repeatedly emphasized that he cared about nothing but his own safety. Wasn't that true of all the Celestial Dragons? By now, his meaning had been conveyed clearly enough.

Spandine had no real combat power, but he was skilled at reading the intentions of his superiors and flattering them. This matter was a massive land mine to begin with: no one knew where or when the enemy would attack. Therefore, the most important thing was to protect all the Celestial Dragons as quickly as possible if anything happened. But the Celestial Dragons were hardly animals that would obey orders and avoid causing trouble, so minimizing the number of foolish Celestial Dragons who died was the key.

After all, this was only something Saint Jalmack's Son had dreamed. It might be a false alarm and never happen at all, so taking it too seriously and causing everyone to panic at the cry of Tsuru would be counterproductive.

Thus, while everyone discussed the matter, Garp happily ate. Then, still clutching meat in his hand, he began snoring and blowing snot bubbles.

Once the discussion was more or less finished, Saint Sanming and Spandine returned as well.

Spandine wore the expression of a man who had won his master's favor. No one knew why he looked so pleased with himself.

"I will find Nico Robin as soon as possible and hand her over to Saint Sanming to deal with!"

Spandine's steps had practically turned into little hops. Saint Sanming was simply wonderful! With such a powerful backer, Spandine's career was secure!

Just look at the chair of the commander-in-chief of the Three Armies. In a few years, perhaps he would be able to sit in it himself.

After that, the gathering turned into a tea party once again.

Saint Sanming had no objections whatsoever to their plan.

First, they would increase the checkpoints leading to Mary Geoise and have every side gather information. The moment they discovered any movement from the Revolutionary Army, they would immediately heighten their alert.

Second, Pangaea Castle was impregnable and absolutely safe. They would establish an emergency plan: if a fire broke out, all the Celestial Dragons would immediately be transferred to Pangaea Castle for temporary refuge.

Everything would prioritize the safety of the Celestial Dragons.

"Excellent!" Miming declared with satisfaction.

Everything was proceeding according to his plan, heading in that direction. If something happened, the Celestial Dragons would immediately be transferred under layers of protection. All the forces in Mary Geoise would be used to protect the Celestial Dragons during their transfer to Pangaea Castle. That would give the slaves a chance to escape en masse.

"Once you have a more detailed plan, show it to me immediately." Miming appeared very concerned about his family's safety.

Everyone cursed inwardly. It went without saying that if the deployment of forces did not protect the Bird Family perfectly, it would never be approved.

Thus, after the afternoon military parade, a tour of the base, and a whole series of other chaotic activities that satisfied Saint Jalmack's Son's curiosity, the day's meeting finally ended amid the putt-putt of Miming driving away in an air car.

"Hahaha, I really like this Saint Sanming! Compared to those beasts, this Saint Sanming is much more like a person." Garp patted his round, food-filled belly and happily shook his iron fist. This was the fist that had struck a Celestial Dragon!

The three great combat powers of the Marines' new generation—Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru—all twitched slightly.

He really had hit him!

They had all experienced Vice Admiral Garp's so-called Fist of Love. Just now, that fist had struck a Celestial Dragon in the face!

Saint Sanming had been sent flying by the blow, but then he had come running back with a delighted look on his face, one side of it swollen high, a black eye already forming as he asked about the trick behind the punch.

If they were honest with themselves, they would never be so happy after being hit. Did that Saint Sanming perhaps have a tendency to enjoy being beaten? A black eye caused by the Fist of Love took several days to fade. Even Life Return could not make it disappear, and the pain would continue until the black eye was gone.

Kong gazed heartbrokenly toward his new car, which had vanished over the horizon. For some reason, that boy was so fascinated by taking a Fist of Love from the Marine hero Garp. Still, successfully giving him the gift would surely prove useful in the future.

In reality, Kong had only determined that this air car, the Army Department's latest invention, would interest Miming after conducting a careful investigation. The reason was simple: Saint Jalmack's Son did not particularly like riding slaves, so getting around Holy Land Mary Geoise would inevitably become a problem.