Vic had a lot on his mind, but not much time had actually passed.
"Alright, how much did it cost to gather intelligence? I'll give you the money."
" Mr. Vic, it's too formal of you to bring up money again. Look at the way everyone around me is looking at me, isn't everyone envious!"
Vic turned his head and looked; it was indeed so.
A person with gleaming eyes was watching them, especially Vic, whose gaze was intensely fixed on him, making Vic feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Because of your reputation, many people on the island now give me face, and I have more access to information. This is something money can't buy; having your name is far more useful than money!"
Ban now has even greater respect and admiration for Vic. Before, they had an employer-employee relationship, but now he'd rather be Vic's underling.
"Alright then, if you encounter any problems, just give me a message at the Marine Base."
"We're heading back now, you go and take care of your own business!"
"Okay, Mr. Vic, take care!"
"First mate, Boss Pizarro has been captured! What should we do?"
"That navy is too strong. We can't possibly be a match for them with our current strength. The ship's coating is already done. Let's go to the New World, work hard to become stronger, and find a chance to take revenge later!"
Pizarro's crew watched Vic and his group's retreating figures, whispering amongst themselves. Sending them to rescue people? Absolutely not. Knowing it was suicide, rushing in would be reckless, it would be stupid!
Why didn't you go up and help? Wouldn't a group attack have had a better chance of winning?
Get lost! We don't have the abilities of Mythical Zoan. With that kind of attack, one hit would kill you several times over. Going there would be a free kill!
They pirates are willing to stand up for their brothers out of loyalty, but they're not really stupid. Look at that marine; he beat up Pizarro without even breaking a sweat. He could take on a few more without a problem. Who would dare to go up there and get themselves killed?
Vic and his group said goodbye to the class and headed towards the Marine Base, with the blue-haired beauty Smoker had rescued Vic behind them.
Her face showed a conflicted expression, as if she was hesitating about something. Vic was watching her closely with his Observation Haki.
The blue-haired beauty seemed to have made up her mind; she ran in front of the group and blocked their path.
"Um, can I ask you guys a favor?" she finally mustered up her courage and said to them.
"Um?"
Vic looked at the woman with some surprise. Vic felt that her face looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.
The beautiful woman didn't look at the strongest Vic, but walked towards Hina. However, her gaze was fixed on Smoker on Hina's back, who was looking at her Smoker half-open eyes and some confusion.
"Commander Smoker, is it? I have a five-year-old daughter. Would it be alright if she joined the Navy? It's too dangerous for her to come with me. I'm completely incapable of protecting her. I've already lost her older sister, and we don't know if she'll be in danger too!"
The woman stared intently at Smoker, her eyes filled with pleading and helplessness. Smoker thought of what had happened before, and he was deeply moved.
"Five years old is too young. The Navy doesn't want five-year-old children!" Smoker sighed.
"Are you stupid? The Navy has a foster care center for military dependents and orphans. You can entrust her to their care there and visit her whenever you have time. She can receive an education there from a young age and learn a lot!"
Vic thought more broadly: children have their own places to go, and adults need no further explanation.
The woman's eyes lit up immediately; this was the best idea! She looked at Smoker with hopeful eyes.
Smoker thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense. There were many children of the same age at the orphanage, and the child could make many friends and receive an education there. In any case, her mother lived in Sabaody and she could bring her to visit often.
Smoker nodded in agreement, and the matter was considered settled.
" Hina, give Smoker to me. I'll take him back for treatment first. The three of you and this lady can go pick up the child together."
"Um!"
Vic took Smoker's hand and continued towards the Marine Base.
" Smoker, you didn't just come to the rescue because she's pretty, did you?" Vic teased.
"Bullshit! Do you think I'm that kind of person? I was doing it for justice!" Smoker blushed slightly at her words!
"Yes! I hope you can continue to uphold this sense of justice!" Vic said earnestly.
Vic quickly returned to the base. He first took Smoker to the infirmary, then asked the base commander for Seastone Handcuffs to cuff Pizarro.
The base commander is also a veteran Vice Admiral, with a head shaped like a spotted dog, and is a user of the Dog-Dog Fruit.
Vic didn't know how he maintained this posture, but he always felt like laughing every time he saw it. Fortunately, Vic had received formal training and wouldn't laugh no matter how funny it was!
Vice Admiral Dalmatian was surprised that Vic had actually captured Pizarro, a notorious pirate with a bounty of several hundred million. However, he didn't say anything, as he knew some of Vic's exploits.
The lieutenant Vice Admiral quickly completed all the formalities. This was considered a meritorious service for Vic, even though he was still a trainee marine and couldn't be promoted, it still needed to be recorded.
The lieutenant Vice Admiral said he would send a warship to take Vic to headquarters, Pizarro would be escorted there by Vic. After that, the people at headquarters would take over.
" Kuzan, should we go back to headquarters with them?" Dalmatian asked a tall, thin man with an eye patch lying on the sofa after returning to his office.
"No need, I'll ride my bike back after I've had a good sleep!" Kuzan said casually, lifting a corner of his eye mask to reveal his right eye as he looked at Dalmatian, then lowered the mask again and continued sleeping.
Dalmatian somewhat helpless; Kuzan had changed ever since the Ohara Incident!
Vic went to the infirmary to see Smoker, only to find that the three girls had returned and were gathered around Smoker's bedside, with an additional little girl in the room.
Vic entered Smoker's hospital room with a smile, and the others saw Vic after hearing the noise.
" Tashigi, call him brother!" Hina said to the little girl with a smile.
Vic froze upon hearing the name. He instantly realized who the woman resembled—wasn't she Tashigi as an adult? He just hadn't thought of bringing her along because Tashigi had always worn glasses as an adult.
"Hello, brother!" The little girl bowed respectfully to Vic; she wasn't wearing her glasses now.
"Hello, little Tashigi!" Vic greeted her with a smile.
"That's enough! Making Tashigi call me uncle and Vic, aren't you going too far?!... Ouch..." Smoker was very angry, and the violent movements aggravated his wounds.
"Hahaha, who told you to look so scary? You almost made Tashigi cry!" Hina continued to rub salt in the wound.
Tashigi now looks like a little boy, standing there quietly, slightly uneasy. She doesn't need glasses yet, and looks almost exactly like Kuina, but her personality is very different from Kuina's.
In that instant, Vic thought of many things. Tashigi really looked like Kuina, and the fact that they were both five years old was already a coincidence.
Even more coincidentally, the woman mentioned that Tashigi had an older sister! Although she didn't say the two children were twins, it still made Vic's imagination run wild!
Tashigi and Koshiro have black hair, while Kuina and Tashigi's mother have dark blue hair. Could Kuina and Tashigi be twins?
"It's fine as long as you guys are here with Smoker. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
Vic called out and quickly went to the window of the ward, then used Geppo to fly directly to the center of the island.
"Where is Vic rushing off to? Why isn't he even using the main entrance?" Hina, puzzled.
"He probably remembered something he hadn't done yet, after all, he's leaving here today!"
Once Vic reached the center of the island, he unleashed his full range of Observation Haki, encompassing the entire island.
This is the result of several years of training by Vic, and the range is already quite large. However, the closer the distance, the clearer the perception becomes. It is still far from the Observation Haki that Yi Xiao can perceive when sensing a meteorite.
"Gone? Vanished? How could she disappear so quickly? Did she deliberately send Tashigi to the Navy? What was she thinking?"
Vic originally wanted to find Tashigi's mother to get some answers, as she could very well be his teacher's wife, but now there was no one left on the island!
"Fine, since you're deliberately avoiding me, I guess we'll just have to wait until fate allows us to meet again!"
Vic returned to base and told the others to prepare so they could return to headquarters once arrangements were made on the warship.
Vice Admiral Dalmatian was quite reliable; he quickly arranged for the warships, and the warships sailed on the sea without any trouble from the shipping magnate along the way!
When Vic and his group disembarked, there were already people waiting for them at the port, which they had communicated by phone.
"Rookie Vic, well done! Instructor Zephyr told me about you; you're a rising star in the Navy. Leave the 'Corrupt King' to me; he'll be temporarily detained at headquarters. Your contributions will be recorded, and your starting point after graduation will be much higher!"
The handover was handled by a lieutenant Vice Admiral remained at headquarters. After handing over Pizarro, Vic left the port with a few men. Smoker was still seriously wounded and needed to be sent to the hospital in the recruit area.
This time, Hina stayed behind to take care of Smoker, Vic didn't disturb the two of them being alone, since they could come and visit anytime anyway.
Vic told the two women to go back to the beach first, while he took Tashigi to the residential area, where the military orphanage was located. He took on the task of arranging things for Tashigi.
When they passed by a candy store, Vic bought some candy for Tashigi. Vic opened one candy, squatted down, and handed it to Tashigi.
"Here, Tashigi, have some candy, it's very sweet!" Vic said with a smile.
"Yes, Vic!"
"I'll give you all of these later, but you can only eat one a day, or you'll lose all your teeth!"
"Okay, I got it. I'll only eat one a day, hehe!"
With a bag of candy in his left hand and Tashigi's little hand in his right, Vic strolled slowly down the street in the residential area.
" Tashigi, how did you and Mom get to that little island with lots of big trees?"
"I don't remember either. My mom carried me to a small room and told me not to run around. Then I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was on that little island!" Tashigi recalled, holding a piece of candy in her hand.
"Really? You've always lived with your mother? Have you ever met your father?"
"Dad? What's a dad? I've always been traveling around with Mom!" Tashigi asked, puzzled.
"Haven't you seen her before? Running around everywhere? Is she looking for something? Or hiding from something? This woman is getting more and more mysterious!" Vic pondered.