"Hunting?"
Yas tilted his head, seemingly weighing the meaning of the word.
"Fleet Admiral, you mean..." Sengoku's expression was filled with shock and disbelief. "You want him to go to the New World right now and face the Rocks Pirates' forces directly?"
This ran completely counter to his original plan.
He had intended to let Yas practice on some insignificant pirate crews on the fringes of the New World first, to familiarize himself with the rules of that hellish sea. It would also give the newly formed fleet time to settle in together.
But now, Fleet Admiral Kong's orders were tantamount to throwing a tiger cub freshly released from its cage straight into the largest, most vicious wolf pack.
"Exactly!" Fleet Admiral Kong's voice was decisive and brooked no argument. "Rocks' ritual has already begun. We have no time to take things step by step!"
His penetrating gaze locked firmly onto Yas. His voice carried an unprecedented gravity.
"Colonel Yas, I will not order you to die on Hachinosu. Your mission is to head to the edge of the Calm Belt at the entrance to the New World, to an archipelago called Barterila."
Fleet Admiral Kong pointed at the enormous world map on the wall.
"Based on our analysis of the last fragments of intelligence Bluebird sent back, Rocks has dispatched all his subordinate pirate crews to capture people along the various routes of the New World, frantically gathering the hundred-plus ability users he needs as sacrifices. The Barterila archipelago is a mandatory passage on several key routes connecting the first half of the Grand Line to the New World."
"Your mission is to lead your fleet there and hold that position like a firmly driven nail!"
"Cut off their retreat! Hunt down every subordinate crew of Rocks that attempts to return to Hachinosu. Take back every last person they intend to sacrifice!"
"You and your five-hundred-man fleet will be the blade our Navy drives into the heart of the New World!"
Fleet Admiral Kong's voice echoed through the conference room. Every word carried the grim killing intent of war.
It was an utterly insane yet utterly precise plan.
Rather than defend passively, they would take the offensive.
Rather than challenge Rocks' unshakable main force, they would first clip his wings and sabotage his plans.
And the best candidate to carry out this plan-perhaps the only candidate-was the lawless, ruthless monster before them, who possessed the privilege of acting first and reporting afterward.
"Barterila." Yas looked at the tiny island marker on the map, his eyes utterly unruffled.
To him, where he went and whom he killed made no difference.
As long as there were opponents strong enough to let him enjoy fighting to his heart's content, that was enough.
"I need the fastest ship and soldiers who aren't afraid to die," Yas said evenly. That counted as his acceptance of the mission.
"Hahahaha! Everything's already prepared!" Garp slapped the table with a booming laugh, making the teacups jump. "Kid, come with me!"
Half an hour later, at Pier Seven in Marineford.
When Yas first laid eyes on his future vessel, even his eyes flickered with barely perceptible surprise.
The ship moored at the berth was no longer the Vanguard-class high-speed gunboat from before.
Instead, it was a terrifying war machine fully three sizes larger, covered entirely in black armor, its bow fashioned into the head of a savage beast.
The lines of its hull embodied a brutal beauty. Over a hundred cannons of terrifying caliber crowded its sides. The three enormous thrusters at its stern promised frightening speed beyond imagination.
This was no ship. It was a mobile sea fortress.
"Well? What do you think, kid?" Garp proudly slapped the hull's armor, producing dull thuds. "This is the Navy Science Academy's greatest masterpiece, the second Poseidon-class experimental warship, the Leviathan! Its armor can withstand Admiral-level attacks head-on. Its top speed can even catch that bastard Kizaru's light. To wrest this precious baby of yours away from those old academics, I tore their laboratory apart!"
Yas said nothing and simply walked straight onto the Leviathan's deck.
Five hundred Marines in brand-new uniforms already stood in neat ranks on deck, utterly silent.
Their eyes were sharp and their postures erect. They exuded the hardened, iron-blooded air of survivors of countless battles.
These were the absolute elite whom Sengoku had forcibly transferred from Marine Headquarters' various elite units, and even from Cipher Pol, in the space of just half an hour.
Two figures stood at the head of the formation.
One of them was Bullet.
He was watching Yas step onto the deck with a fervent expression, the worship in his eyes almost tangible. Following this godlike commander again was the highest honor to him. The dozens of veterans behind him had also served aboard the Vanguard and personally witnessed Yas slay a god. They were the most loyal and fanatical of Yas' followers in this new fleet.
The other was a middle-aged man who looked about forty. His face was stern, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and his shoulders likewise bore a colonel's insignia.
"Colonel Yas."
Seeing Yas approach, the middle-aged colonel stepped forward and delivered a regulation salute, neither servile nor overbearing.
"Marine Headquarters Colonel Brannew. By order of the Fleet Admiral, I will serve as the Leviathan's executive officer and your adjutant starting today, responsible for all the fleet's daily affairs and operational planning."
His voice was steady and powerful, carrying the authority of someone long accustomed to command.
Yas merely gave him an indifferent glance.
He could sense a fairly formidable presence from this man named Brannew. He had even reached the threshold of Haki. His strength far surpassed Bullet's back then.
Clearly, the Navy's higher-ups had sent him to assist Yas-or rather, to monitor him.
But Yas did not care.
As long as it did not interfere with his fighting, he had no objection to an adjutant being assigned to him. Even if they sent the Fleet Admiral to be his cook, he would not mind.
"Understood," Yas said, then headed straight for the bridge.
Left standing there, Colonel Brannew knitted his brows almost imperceptibly.
He looked at Yas' far-too-youthful back, then at the senior Navy officers around them who treated him with such deference. Deep doubt and confusion flashed in his eyes.
He admitted that this boy might truly possess some exceptional quality. He might even be some Celestial Dragon's illegitimate son.
But war was never a one-man game.
Leading an elite fleet of five hundred deep into the New World, the most dangerous place on earth, required extensive experience, meticulous planning, and an ability to manage people.
Could this brat, who looked as though he had barely reached puberty, possess any of those things?
Staking the Navy's future and the lives of five hundred elite troops on a monster like this...
Had the Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral Garp, and the others all lost their minds?
Brannew took a deep breath, suppressed his doubts, and followed.
Regardless, as an adjutant, he had a duty to stop this hotheaded young colonel when necessary-to prevent him from making insane decisions that would drag everyone into the abyss.
The Leviathan's horn sounded a long blast.
Under the complex gazes of countless Marines throughout Marineford-some awed, some envious, some doubtful-the enormous black warship carrying the Navy's future slowly left port. Turning its bow toward the New World, that hellish sea known as the graveyard of pirates, it steamed ahead at full speed.
The atmosphere inside the enormous bridge was somewhat oppressive.
Colonel Brannew stood before the huge nautical chart, meticulously issuing precise instructions to the navigator and helmsman.
"Correct course by three degrees. Steer clear of the cyclone zone ahead!"
"Engine room, increase power output. We must pass Reverse Mountain within twelve hours, or we'll miss the optimal tidal window!"
"Disengage the safeties on all guns and enter battle readiness level one! This is the second half of the Grand Line. Any carelessness could be fatal!"
His command was steady and seasoned. Every order was impeccable, fully displaying the professionalism of a veteran Navy commander.
Yet Yas simply sat quietly in the captain's highest command seat, eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to it all.
The feeling of being completely ignored deepened Brannew's dissatisfaction.
Forcing down his anger, he approached Yas and said gravely, "Colonel Yas! Although you are the supreme commander, I believe you should at least participate in discussions when we draw up navigation and battle plans. Or listen to the advice of your adjutant!"
"We're about to enter the New World. Its enemies and rules are completely different from those of the first half! We cannot keep charging recklessly ahead on individual courage alone, as you did before!"
"Oh?"
Yas finally opened his eyes. Those ice-blue eyes held no emotion.
"Are you telling me how to do my job?"
Brannew's expression stiffened. He had not expected such a blunt response.
He took a deep breath, striving to sound as though he was merely stating facts. "I am simply fulfilling my duties as an adjutant. There are five hundred elite Marines aboard this ship. I must be responsible for their lives!"
"Responsible?" Yas slowly rose.
He walked to the center of the bridge, his gaze sweeping over the crew members whom their exchange had left somewhat at a loss.
"Bullet."
"Here, Colonel Yas!" Bullet immediately stepped forward.
"Tell him," Yas said, pointing at the livid Brannew, "what the only rule aboard my ship is."
Bullet took a deep breath and, with every ounce of strength he had, roared the words that still made his blood surge whenever he remembered them.
"Colonel Yas' will is our course! Colonel Yas' orders are our justice!"
"Absurd!" Brannew finally could not hold back his furious rebuke. "This is a personality cult! A dictatorship! A Navy fleet is not your private army!"
The atmosphere on the bridge instantly turned ice-cold.
All the newly transferred elite soldiers watched the two confronting men nervously, unsure whom to obey.
Yas smiled.
He said nothing more, merely raising his right hand slowly toward Brannew.
"Well then, Colonel Brannew."
The corners of Yas' mouth curved into a cold smile that made Brannew's scalp prickle.
"Would you like to find out what happens when you defy this dictator?"
Before you continue