"Alright, then Admiral Sengoku write me a note. I'll go back today, prepare the supplies, and set sail tomorrow."
Vic thought a lot but didn't say much. Although he felt something was wrong, he wanted to leave Marine Headquarters now.
Not only to stay away from the ever-present threat of slave revolts in the Holy Land, but also to give Rebecca and the others more experience, since there's still the hurdle of Big Mom waiting for them.
Vic was worried that the Holy Land incident would break out before he even left Marine Headquarters. In that case, he would most likely be sent there to suppress the slave rebellion. He was fast, powerful, and nearby. Who else would they send but him?
Vic would love for all these slaves to escape, let alone send him to suppress them? What a joke, he wouldn't do such a thing. But it wouldn't be good to send you there and then not accomplish anything, so it's better to stay away. Vic has no plans to go to Mary Geoise to contact Imu right now.
Afterwards, Sengoku said some encouraging words to Vic, telling him that he could call the intelligence department anytime he needed information.
Sengoku has already given the instructions; finding the whereabouts of those pirates won't be easy for Vic on his own, it will require the Navy's massive intelligence network.
Furthermore, given the time span involved, they couldn't possibly wait for you in one place indefinitely, making intelligence especially crucial. After saying goodbye to the two men, Vic left the headquarters building.
After leaving the high-rise building, Vic did not go straight back to the beach. Instead, he went directly to the warship assigned to him and had the marines on standby on board sail the Sengoku to the port. Then, he took the list written by Sengoku to the logistics personnel to arrange supplies for the warship.
No one made things difficult for Vic. The logistics supervisor was quite polite to Vic and was a perceptive person. After arranging these matters, Vic used his Observation Haki Secret Sound Transmission call Barnett over and had him oversee the supply operations.
From now on, Vic plans to hand over these matters to his personal butler. He's too lazy to worry about these trivial things anymore; saving his time for cultivation is the best course of action. It's not time for him to treat sailing as a leisurely trip yet.
Afterwards, Vic returned to the seaside cabin and told Rebecca and the others about setting sail the next day. They were all very excited and couldn't wait. Vic told them to pack everything they needed to take on the ship, as they would be leaving early the next morning.
Only Tashigi looked reluctant to leave. She knew that Vic and the others wouldn't take her with them, and she would be alone again after Vic left. This period had been the happiest time of her life, with people playing with her every day. But she was still just a child, and many things were beyond her control.
Vic said goodbye to the others and left the beach with a few bottles of wine. He didn't have much to pack; most of his important and frequently used items were stored in his Dimensional Space. Rebecca and the others didn't care where Vic was going and happily started packing their things.
Vic doesn't know many people at headquarters; most of them are outside. The only person he can drink with at headquarters is the swordsmith master, Allen.
Although Vic and Allen hadn't known each other for long, they had a good impression of this master swordsmith who was dedicated to the craft. The two of them forged two Great Grade Sword together, which could be considered as establishing a friendship.
During this time, Allen had come to see him several times, either to discuss sword-forging techniques or to have a drink with him. It was only then that Vic learned that Allen was also an old drunkard. Now that he was leaving headquarters, he still had to go and say goodbye.
Busy?
Vic arrived at the forging workshop where Allen was working and, seeing Allen busy at work, asked a question he already knew the answer to.
After Allen put down what he was doing, Vic tossed him a bottle of wine. Actually, at Allen's age, he didn't really need to do things himself anymore; he usually did the guiding work. However, after talking with Vic recently, he had some new insights and was itching to put them into practice.
"Let's go! Let's talk over there."
Allen took the bottle, glanced at it, and immediately smiled. He said something to Vic, then took off his gloves and walked in one direction. The forging workshop was too noisy, too hot, and smelled of sweat; it was definitely not a place for drinking and chatting.
The other blacksmiths watched the two figures leave with envy, mainly for Allen, while Vic was their idol, thanks to Allen.
Whenever Vic had any news in the newspaper, Allen would spread it around the workshop, especially the two stabs Vic had inflicted on Golden Lion and Bullet, which drove Allen crazy.
The strange thing is that the newspaper photos of Vic's knife were so clear that Allen would grab everyone he met and talk about it for ages. This led to everyone in the workshop knowing everything about Vic's deeds. The more they knew, the more they admired him. With his strong fighting skills and superb knife-forging techniques, who wouldn't love him?
"Old man! I'm leading a team out to sea tomorrow, so I came to let you know."
Vic chuckled and sat down on the ground opposite Allen. He clinked his bottle against Allen's and then took a big gulp.
Allen, sitting in the chair, was not even as tall as Vic sitting on the ground. He was just a skinny little old man. After Vic nudged his bottle, Allen took a small sip, then smacked his lips contentedly, looking completely satisfied.
"Didn't you long to go out? Well, your wish has been granted!"
Allen said nonchalantly, "As Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Vic is most valuable when he goes out on missions. It would be a waste to leave him at headquarters. Headquarters has many veteran Marines who are still very old and strong. Vic is at the age where he should be fighting on the front lines. He shouldn't be left at headquarters."
"Okay! I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so I won't come to say goodbye. You don't need to see me off either; don't tire yourself out on the way with your old bones. I don't care about those formalities; the longer you live, the more you can contribute to the navy."
Vic took another sip of his drink, wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, and teased Allen. He was indeed indifferent to formalities and quite easygoing, but he still understood basic social etiquette.
"You brat! Are you cursing me? I'm in such good shape I could kill a cow, a few steps is nothing to me. But even if you asked me to take you home, I wouldn't go. Isn't sleeping in better? You don't even provide breakfast."
Allen scoffed, then took a swig of his drink. Allen's physical condition wasn't particularly good in this world, but it wasn't to the point where he'd be exhausted just walking. After all, blacksmithing required a good physique. This was just Vic's teasing, not wanting to be too formal.
"Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you. Before my master passed away, he told me that there's an island in the New World that might contain all the rare metals that have ever existed in this world!"
After finishing his drink, Allen seemed to remember something, and after hesitating for a moment, he spoke to Vic.