The Navy's Actions

"Ouch! Let go, let go, you bastard! It's going to break, my head's going to be crushed!" the captured samurai cried out in pain. "I was just saying what was circulating on the black market, how would I know if it's true or not!"

The expressions of the other warriors changed slightly.

One of them seemed to remember something and said in astonishment:

"I think I've heard of them, the Bad Kid Pirates... the super rookies of the year."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of warriors stood up abruptly and drew their swords from their waists.

"Hey, you damn pirate, release him right now!"

The man in the monkey-faced mask glanced sideways at the crowd, and the next moment, a battle broke out.

A minute later, the tavern was in chaos, with samurai lying on the ground groaning.

The little boy sitting in the corner then stood up, walked up to one of the samurai, grabbed his hair, and leaned close to ask:

"So, what exactly is One Piece? Can you tell me?"

"You... you're the 'Evil Child' Knox!"

Chapter 252 Naval Operations

After a period of severe torture, the "Evil Child" Knox couldn't help but become curious.

Leaving aside the question of what One Piece is, the resurrection of Rocks and Harald has been widely discussed and is clearly true.

Who resurrected them?

How was he resurrected?

Knox's doubts were not fully resolved. If the information from these samurai was true, then the truth had been pieced together to be seven or eight parts complete.

"We need to find a reliable intelligence dealer to verify the authenticity of this information..."

Knox thought to himself, then snapped his fingers, and the monkey-masked man beside him gradually turned into a blur and disappeared.

Nineteen years ago, Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era, with countless people setting sail with the ultimate goal of reaching the Laugh Tale and finding the One Piece.

How can we tolerate being told that the One Piece has been found?

We must find out!

With that thought in mind, he pulled a handful of loose bills from his pocket, threw them on the table, and then quickly left the tavern.

Shortly afterward, upon returning to the shore where the ship was anchored, Knox leaped onto the deck and gave orders to his men guarding the ship:

"Contact everyone immediately, prepare to set sail, and head to the nearest underground black market!"

"Yes... yes, Captain!"

Similar scenes are playing out repeatedly around the New World. As the buzz continues to grow, news is gradually leaking from the black market and has even begun to reach the ears of ordinary people.

The navy initially dismissed the matter, but as the news spread, even kings of Affiliated Nation called to inquire, which finally drew their attention.

The message was passed up the chain of command until it finally reached Fleet Admiral Akainu's ears.

New World, G-1 Branch.

No, this is now the New World Marine Headquarters.

Inside the meeting room, Akainu, with bandages wrapped around the left side of his body, stared at the assembled officers with a stern expression.

Where is Borsalino?

Vice Admiral Momonga immediately replied, "Admiral Kizaru is at the Navy Research Laboratory 8... responsible for protecting Saint Saturn's safety. The Eighth Research Institute is now Egghead."

Akainu frowned. What were the Five Elders doing in that place?

As Fleet Admiral, no one told him this.

"Never mind Kizaru for now."

Akainu snorted, suppressing his dissatisfaction with the Five Elders, "How's your investigation going regarding the One Piece's been circulating these past few days?"

There are two Admiral and more than ten Vice Admiral present, all of whom are young faces.

The navy seems to have undergone a generational change, with the older generation retiring to the background.

Fujitora blew on the steaming green tea in his hand and said with a puzzled look:

"Rumors say Roger faked his death and is still alive... Isn't it easy to find out if something like that is true or false? Doesn't the Navy know?"

As Admiral who was promoted exceptionally through World Military Draft, Fujitora knew nothing about the Navy's past.

In his view, the Navy captured Roger and publicly executed him in his hometown, a fact witnessed by the entire world.

How could it be a case of feigned death?

Unless someone within the navy cooperated with the other side, and that person was a high-ranking official—at least Admiral or even Fleet Admiral— it would have been impossible for them to assist in such a charade.

Regarding this...

A young Vice Admiral raised his hand, looking embarrassed. "Actually, I contacted the Loguetown Branch in the East Blue three days ago to confirm whether Roger's body was still there."

"And what happened?" The Momonga had a bad feeling.

"... The body is gone!"

The young Vice Admiral took a deep breath. "I don't know the specifics of what happened 19 years ago, or who was in charge of handling the body, but according to news from Loguetown, Roger's body was buried in a church cemetery."

At this point, he helplessly shrugged.

The meaning is clear: the navy in Loguetown exhumed the body for examination, but found no corpse.

What did they say at the church?

"The priest in charge of managing the cemetery knew nothing, however, they discovered signs that the cemetery had been recently dug up."

Upon hearing this, everyone's heart sank.

Mammon remained a bystander, quietly observing the crowd.

Fujitora's Observation Haki allows him to discern other people's emotions. He "saw" the Vice Admiral admirals wavering and "saw" Akainu's color as red, a sign of anger.

Mammon, however, was purple, and his heart remained completely unmoved.

"Mr. Mammon, what are your thoughts?"

Seeing that Fujitora had asked him, Mammon carefully chose his words and said:

Two possibilities.

"First, someone recently stole the body."

"Secondly, Roger never actually died. The tomb was empty to begin with. It was only because someone learned about the One Piece and had the same idea as us that they excavated the tomb to confirm it."

Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Momonga's expression turned solemn:

"Neither of these scenarios seems like good news for us."

The air fell silent as everyone looked at Fleet Admiral Akainu.

Akainu's face was grim. "Let's ignore the corpse for now. Where did this news start circulating?"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, the Momonga spoke up to explain, "I don't know. We received the relevant information about three nights ago, and by the time we started investigating the next day, the news had already spread all over the world."

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open with a bang.

Akainu's face grew even darker as he glared at the intruding marines.

"What are you doing in such a panic?!"

The marine was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat, and stammered as he held up the newspaper in his hand:

"It's terrible, Fleet Admiral! The World Economy News Paper World Economy News Paper today...!"

He spread out the newspaper and faced the crowd.

The front page of the newspaper featured a huge photograph of a tall, young man walking down the street, holding a naginata.

"Whitebeard!?"

Vice Admiral Momonga jumped to his feet, strode over to the marine, and snatched the newspaper from him.

Upon closer inspection, his face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled.

"No, impossible... Whitebeard... he actually... how is this possible!?"

What happened?

Fujitora is blind, but he can sense that the colors corresponding to everyone's emotions are fluctuating wildly.

Lieutenant Vice Admiral Momonga raised his head, trembling as he unfolded the newspaper and addressed the crowd:

"The news says that Whitebeard obtained the One Piece and has now achieved immortality, regaining his youth!"

Bang!

Akainu slammed his hand on the table and sneered, "What's the panic about news that's not even confirmed? Give me the newspaper."

After receiving the newspaper, Akainu read it intently, his face growing increasingly dark.

Morgans always made things up; he didn't believe anything mentioned above.

But even if I don't believe it, what if it's true?

If Whitebeard truly gained immortality and regained his youth, this would indirectly confirm the rumors about the One Piece.

Immortality is not an unbelievable thing.

At least Akainu knew very well that those five old guys were ancient monsters who had lived for a very long time.

Setting down the newspaper, Akainu took a deep breath and scanned the crowd.

"We must verify the authenticity of the news, you..."

"I'll go."

Mammon volunteered, saying calmly, "I can fly. I'll personally go to the Hachinosu to confirm..."

Before he could finish speaking, Fujitora chimed in, "I will go with you."

Mammon was reluctant to say he didn't need it and why Mammon was getting involved; he simply wanted to temporarily escape headquarters' sight so he could talk to Ain.

However, Fujitora had put it that way, he couldn't very well refuse.

Akainu nodded. With two Admirals deployed simultaneously, even in the event of a direct confrontation, there would be room for retreat.

"Then I'll leave it to you two. As for Roger's body... we must investigate that thoroughly!"

After the meeting.

Mammon left first, followed by Fujitora, who said with a grin:

"Mr. Mammon, I am just a new recruit in the Navy, please take good care of me."

"That annoying guy... "Mammon thought to himself.

Let's set off immediately.

"If you don't mind, you can ride on my warship."

Upon hearing this, Mammon's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Yixiao, I've heard that your abilities are related to gravity?"

"Yes, I am a Gravity Man who ate the Paramecia Gravity- Press-Press Fruit, and can manipulate the direction and strength of gravity."

No wonder... Mammon understood in his heart, recalling the scene on Enies Lobby where the opponent summoned a meteor with a single sword strike.

The ability to instantly raise gravity to outer space and pull down a meteorite is so destructive it's practically catastrophic.

Out of courtesy, Mammon also formally introduced his abilities.

Zoan, Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Vampire.

During their conversation, the two decided to travel together, boarded a warship at the port, and set off for Hachinosu.

Base, Fleet Admiral's Office.

Akainu stood by the window, watching the warship sail out of the harbor.