The Coming Turmoil: Heavenly Tribute!

A few minutes earlier, Sengoku had hung up the Den Den Mushi in a foul mood. His thick eyebrows were furrowed together like a sheet of paper folded dozens of times.

"Hey, Garp, do you think I've been a good Fleet Admiral?"

For once, Sengoku was feeling a little lost.

Garp picked his nose unconcernedly. "You old geezer, always thinking about pointless things. It's not up to me to decide whether you're any good. I don't know about the rest, but there's been a lot less trouble on the seas over the years, and the four seas are safer than they used to be."

A smile appeared on Sengoku's face. Garp might seem unreliable, but he really knew how to comfort someone!

He was more sentimental than Sengoku himself!

"Brrr... brrr..."

The Den Den Mushi he had just hung up rang again. Sengoku picked it up, curious. "Captain Ivan, is there something else?"

He had considered that Captain Ivan might have grown angrier the more he thought about it and was calling to curse him out, or that Huazha had attacked them again, or that something else had happened. But the one thing he had not expected was for Ivan to shout in shock:

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is bad! Huazha was killed by someone from the Shadow Garden!"

Sengoku: "!!!"

A long moment later, Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi and ran a large hand through his hair in frustration.

Garp froze. He rarely saw his old friend lose control of his emotions like this, and he could not help asking:

"What happened?"

"Huazha is dead after all..."

"Isn't that a good thing? There aren't many Shichibukai who don't deserve to die. If you ask me, that kid Ivan might be a little impulsive, but he didn't do anything seriously wrong. He shouldn't be punished."

"No, Ivan wasn't the one who killed Huazha."

"Hm?"

"It was a new member of the Shadow Garden, wearing a tanuki mask."

Garp: "!!!"

In the first half of the Grand Line, Ivan returned to the G-2 Branch and soon received an official notice from headquarters:

For his outstanding achievements and diligent fulfillment of his duties, Ivan had undergone a rigorous review and been deemed qualified. He was hereby promoted to Marine rear admiral and placed in charge of patrols in the waters around the G-2 Branch.

At the same time, the World Economy News Paper reported on the recent events.

Ivan read the paper. One photograph showed the wreckage of the Tyrannosaurus pirate ship and him standing with his foot on Huazha's head.

The other showed Tanuki standing in midair, his black cloak whipping in the sea breeze and his eyes glowing red as he fired Heat Vision and killed Huazha.

As soon as the issue came out, it caused a sensation across the world.

Everyone was shocked not only by the terrifying strength of another Shadow Garden member, but even more so that Captain Ivan had managed to defeat a Shichibukai head-on!

With that, Ivan and Tanuki's fame soared across the seas. Quite a few people even wanted to join the Marines because of Ivan, while others wanted to find the Shadow Garden and become members because of Tanuki.

But while Ivan could still be traced, there was no sign of the Shadow Garden anywhere. It was as though the organization were an illusion, visible but impossible to touch.

Naturally so, since everyone in the Shadow Garden was an alter ego of Ivan's. No one else could possibly find any trace of the organization.

At the same time, elsewhere, inside the mansion on Onigashima, Kaido poured bowl after bowl of liquor into his mouth, wailing incessantly:

"Waaah! My poor brother Huazha, how could you die?

I was still waiting for you to make a name for yourself so I could drink with you for days and nights and have you sweep across the seas with me... You brat, how could you lose your life first?"

Finally, he slammed the empty liquor jar onto the stone platform and glanced at Ulti and Page One, who were crying quietly below.

The poor little ones. Their father was dead; they must be heartbroken.

At that thought, Kaido grew even angrier. He shot to his feet and said in a deep voice:

"Brother Huazha is dead, and his killer will follow him to the grave! Jack, go kill that Rear Admiral White Dove or whatever his name is. I want him dead!"

Queen, as fat and round as a ball, could not help reminding him, "Boss Kaido, it wasn't White Dove who killed Brother Huazha. It was Tanuki from the Shadow Garden!"

Kaido smacked Queen on the head with his club and roared:

"You think I don't know that? Even if White Dove wasn't the killer, he was an accomplice, and he has to die too! As for that so-called Tanuki from the Shadow Garden, I'll deal with him myself!"

"A wise decision, Boss!"

In the G-2 Branch cafeteria, the people nearby looked with curiosity and awe toward a table in the corner.

Four people were sitting at the table.

One of them was Rear Admiral Ivan, whose name had become famous recently and who was also one of the G-2 Branch's highest-ranking officers.

The other three were the newly promoted Marine rear admiral Hina, the newly promoted Marine captain Tashigi, and Nami.

As everyone knew, three women together could make quite a scene, and what happened at the table proved it.

"Ivan, this honey-crisp meat roll is delicious. Try it." Smiling broadly, Hina handed Ivan a roll made with crabmeat she had peeled herself.

Ivan did not stand on ceremony. He picked up the honey-crisp meat roll and began to eat.

But while he ate happily, Nami and Tashigi were not pleased.

Hina's promotion had also brought a change in her assignment. She had previously served as a frontline commander, using the power of the Cage-Cage Fruit to capture pirates.

But after her promotion to rear admiral, she had been stationed at the G-2 Branch for the time being to help capture the increasingly rampant pirates nearby.

At first, Hina had shown nothing unusual after staying at the G-2 Branch, but gradually, she had grown closer to Ivan.

Perhaps Hina herself had not noticed, but Tashigi and Nami could see clearly as bystanders. They immediately realized that because Ivan had saved Hina, she was now very fond of him.

The two could not help exchanging glances. Damn it, there were already plenty of rivals, and now there was another one!

More importantly, this rival was stronger than any they had faced before: Black Cage Hina, the unapproachable beauty of the Marines!

So, to face such a formidable enemy, Tashigi and Nami decided to join forces!

Tashigi and Nami exchanged glances, then moved close to Ivan together, crowding Hina aside and putting another dish in his bowl:

"Ivan, try this. This big grilled squid is much better than that bun or whatever!"

"That's right, that's right! The octopus balls are delicious too!"

Sensing their hostility, Hina puffed out her cheeks and forced her way back in with sheer strength.

The three descended into a scrum, while Ivan alone sat in the middle and ate his fill.

Just then, footsteps sounded. Vice Admiral Comil sat down at the table beside them with a smile and watched the scene with a grin. "It's good to be young. Back when I was young, I was just as popular with the girls."

At his words, the little group immediately stopped their commotion and turned to give him doubtful looks.

Vice Admiral Comil showed no embarrassment at all. He said to Ivan and Hina:

"Rear Admiral Ivan, Rear Admiral Hina, come to the conference room later. We have an important mission to carry out!"

"What mission?"

"Soon, the Heavenly Tribute will be transported to Mary Geoise in batches. We need to do everything we can to maintain stability in the nearby waters.

That's also why Rear Admiral Hina is temporarily stationed at the G-2 Branch!"