The Navy's Internal Power Struggle and the Rocks Pirates' Response

Fleet Admiral Black had already told him his suspicions and asked him to keep his cool while they put the plan for Kent Island in place.

Once another half day passed, Jaeger's Son would be powerless to turn things around, no matter what tricks he had.

In the end, he was still too young and had yet to come into his own.

Vic made no attempt to hide his murderous intent. He had seen Jaeger's terrifying strength for himself, and many of his comrades had died at Jaeger's hands.

That was precisely why he wanted to kill Hades all the more.

Hades wanted revenge, but so did the Marines. They simply stood on opposite sides.

The other two Marine Vice Admirals were Henry and Casillas, both bearing the unmistakable marks of the West Blue Faction and the North Blue Faction.

They answered to West Blue Governor Guardiola and North Blue Governor Muñoz, respectively.

The Four Seas Governors had come to the New World and divided up the territory on either side of the line connecting G-1 Fortress and G-5 Fortress.

Even in the New World, they needed to retain enough authority. Besides, the Four Seas had their own promotion system.

Henry and Casillas had risen to Marine Vice Admiral because they had won Guardiola's and Muñoz's approval.

As long as the Four Seas maintained this relatively independent system, the Four Seas Faction would not weaken. Marines and talented recruits hungry for status would continue to join them.

Plenty of Marines who had lost their competitive edge at Marine Headquarters had been recruited by the Four Seas Faction.

Fleet Admiral Black could only suppress the Four Seas Faction. If the governor system were ever abolished, he would no longer be in office.

Nor did he want to ruin his legacy. More than half of the Navy High Command now belonged to the Four Seas Faction.

Two of the four Admiral Candidates belonged to the Four Seas as well.

Unlike with Headquarters Vice Admirals, he first had to secure the Four Seas Governors' consent before he could command Four Seas Vice Admirals.

That severely curtailed his authority as Fleet Admiral, something Kong would never tolerate.

Black had seen that clearly. He did not want to make the move himself, and the fact that he had become Fleet Admiral showed his political acumen.

To him, Kong was a blade he could wield too. Kong simply wielded it willingly.

In another stretch of sea, Marine Admiral Davis also changed course, his warship turning toward Kent Island.

He had spent some time pursuing a Great Pirate with a bounty of five hundred million beli. They had clashed repeatedly at sea, and the pirate was not much weaker than him.

But a gunner aboard the warship had struck one of the pirate ship's masts with a well-placed shot.

That had given Davis hope of making the capture.

After receiving orders from headquarters, however, Davis had no choice but to change targets. His pursuit had already taken him rather deep into the New World.

He was now near the far side of New World Central.

One careless move could alert the Rocks Pirates. If they surrounded him, he would be in serious trouble.

The Rocks Pirates would never pass up such a prize delivered to their doorstep.

It was a shame, but Jaeger's Son was undoubtedly more important.

Capturing him would be a major achievement.

It would also secure Davis's position once and for all.

Davis, known as "Day Tiger," owed his rise to Marine Admiral to the power of the Ancient Zoan Saber-Toothed Tiger Fruit.

He had seized the opening left by a temporary vacuum in the Navy's leadership. With the backing of powerful supporters, he had obtained that precious Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, and his strength had soared when he combined its power with his existing mastery of Body Techniques.

He had reached the level of a Top Combatant, but he was still not quite qualified to be called one of the Navy's Supreme Combatants.

A Top Combatant was, in other words, Admiral-level.

Admiral-level strength could be divided into five tiers: Ordinary Admiral, Mid-Level Admiral, Peak Admiral, Emperor Tier, and Legend Tier.

The gap between Peak Admiral and Emperor Tier was not especially wide. They were closely matched, though it could still decide the final outcome.

Likewise, the gap between Emperor Tier and Legend Tier was not absolute. Generally, two Emperor Tier fighters could take on one Legend Tier fighter.

Ordinarily, becoming a Marine Admiral required strength at the Peak Admiral level.

Davis and Puyol had effectively been pushed into the role during an unusual period. They had benefited from the circumstances.

Both their strength and their accomplishments fell somewhat short, and they urgently needed to prove themselves.

That was why Davis had wanted to capture the pirate with a bounty of five hundred million beli.

Still, there was little to regret. Even if Black had not recalled him, his chances of success would not have been high.

In the current war between the Marines and the pirates, cannons carried greater weight than ever. A single shot had reversed the balance between two evenly matched sides.

Compared with a Great Pirate worth five hundred million beli, Jaeger's Son was undoubtedly more important.

As soon as Davis received the news, he changed targets without a second thought.

The fact that Hades had no bounty did not matter. One could be issued whenever they wanted.

What mattered was that the Marines were losing ground in their struggle with the Rocks Pirates. They needed a significant victory to raise morale.

So they chose Hades.

Many factors had led to this operation.

As for the Kronos Kingdom behind Hades, the World Government would deal with it.

Last time it had been Jaeger. This time it was his son Hades. Who knew how differently things would turn out?

"Is that so?"

"So it's finally coming."

Most of the Rocks Pirates' key figures had gathered there.

Around them floated dozens upon dozens of pirate ships.

Rocks D. Zebek.

Kosa the "Violence King," Ryan the "Deadshot," Donovan the "Golden King," and Queiro the "Werewolf."

John, Silver Axe, and Ochoku.

The Rocks Pirates' rising stars Edward Newgate, Shiki, and Charlotte Linlin were there too, along with a host of other monsters.

Not long after they had left Hachinosu, the news reached their ship.

"Looks like the kid's run into a little trouble, huh?"

Kosa the "Violence King," whose arms were thicker than most people's thighs, grinned with interest.

"Should we step in?"

"Give him a hand?"

Hades had not yet boarded their ship, but they already considered him a member of the Rocks Pirates.

They were curious about Jaeger's Son, after all.

Ten years ago, Jaeger had been a monster second only to Rocks D. Zebek.

They had also learned the broad outlines of the Marines' operation.

The Rocks Pirates' intelligence network in the New World was no weaker than the Marines', and it had an advantage in sheer numbers.

The vast majority of pirates and members of the Underground Forces served as eyes and ears for the Rocks Pirates.

They spared no effort in supporting the Rocks Pirates.

After all, pirates had never been this powerful before.

For as long as anyone could remember, pirates had usually fled from the Marines. A pirate crew willing to face the Marines head-on and wage war against them, as the Rocks Pirates did, was unheard of.

Davis did not yet know that the Rocks Pirates had tracked his movements long ago.

No one had been interested in him, that was all.

The Rocks Pirates had a special operation planned this time. With glittering treasure at stake, who would bother taking on a Marine Admiral for so little reward?