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New World, Unknown Seas.
"Vice Admiral Dante, what did the Fleet Admiral say?" Aboard a battleship disguised as a merchant vessel, Koby eagerly pushed open the door and entered Dante's office, full of anticipation.
In response, Dante smiled and looked up.
"Don't worry. The Admiral has already confirmed his escape. He's currently undertaking another classified mission."
Phew...!
Koby let out a long sigh of relief and flopped onto the sofa. "That's great, as long as he's safe! I was really worried the enemy might've done something to him."
Hearing this, Dante didn't respond immediately. Instead, he raised his cup, took a sip of water, and looked silently at Koby, part exasperated, part impressed.
As expected of the Marine's Thunder God, Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon)! Even in a situation that seemed like certain death, a complete wipeout in Dante's eyes, he still found a sliver of hope and turned the tide.
Looking back at it now, analyzing the result to infer the cause, Dante couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
"But we're not heading back just yet. A new mission has come in." At that moment, Dante suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?" Koby looked at him in confusion. "We're not going to regroup with Master? His weapon's still on our ship."
Rowen's Thunder Dragon Crescent-Sided Halberd had been knocked out of his hands during his battle with Red the Aloof, and Ryokugyu, who had also dropped the key during the fight, didn't dare bring Rowen's weapon aboard. Later, the Marines recovered it and handed the task over to Koby.
It wasn't exactly a major issue, but it wasn't insignificant either. However, Dante suddenly gave Koby a very strange look and asked, "Are you sure... You want to go meet him now?"
Koby: "…"
Thinking back to what he had blurted out in the Fleet Admiral's office, Koby shivered.
"N-No, I'm good! This is fine!"
If Rowen found out that he was the one who spilled everything about Dyna Stones, it was all too easy to imagine what a brutal end awaited him.
"What's the new mission?" He quickly changed the subject.
In response, Dante rolled his eyes and pulled out a stack of documents.
"This is a list of key members of the Hundred Beasts Pirates still in the New World. Most of them are bounty criminals, a few were promoted later as officers…"
As he said this, Dante's lips curled into a grin: "So? Interested in coming with me to take them down?"
A disorganized army is just a mob, like those pirate crews surrounded during the Pure Gold incident. It was true that Kaido was the core of the Hundred Beasts Pirates, but the issuing and execution of orders couldn't happen without the coordination of mid- and lower-level officers.
Eliminating them meant removing critical screws from the war machine that was the Beasts Pirates.
Grains of dirt make a mountain; dripping water pierces stone. Once these people were wiped out, it would seriously hinder their operational capability, at least until they could appoint new officers.
At the same time, it would give the Marines an excellent window of opportunity to go on the offensive.
Koby wasn't an idiot. His expression turned serious as he listened.
"We're starting to fight back?!"
This war had begun with the Marines being declared upon. The capture of Soryu (Azure Dragon) had thrown the Marines into chaos. Unable to mount a proper counterattack, they had been forced into defensive positions across all regions.
But now, with Rowen having escaped, and with the enemy's rhythm more familiar, a counterattack would be scheduled even without his presence.
Wait…
Something wasn't right!
Koby's eyes suddenly widened in shock as he stared at Dante in disbelief.
"This mission… shouldn't this be one for the Assassination Force?!"
"Vice Admiral Dante, you're a base commander! The only reason you're even being allowed to leave your base is because you're one of Master's old subordinates. But now you're going to carry out a mission in the New World?"
Hiss…!
Koby sucked in a cold breath.
"D-Don't tell me---?!"
"That's right. It's exactly what you think."
With that, Dante calmly took off his Justice coat and pulled out a mask, fastening it to his face. Seeing the horrified look on Koby's face, a voice came from behind the mask.
"By the authority of Shadow Dragon, Commander of the Assassination Force, I hereby conscript you, Rear Admiral Koby! You are now under my command. From this point onward, you will comply with my operations, or face military punishment!"
Aside from routine surveillance and intel gathering, any mission that landed in the hands of the Assassination Force was either incredibly difficult or extremely dangerous. Because of this, they wielded immense authority, a covert group that stood on equal footing with even the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs, CP0.
If necessary, as Commander, Dante could even request cooperation from Aokiji or Kizaru. His power was vast.
But Koby didn't care about any of that. Right now, his scalp felt like it was about to peel off, and goosebumps prickled all over his skin.
The senior officer he worked beside every day was actually the Commander of the Assassination Force?! The elusive operative known only by the codename "Shadow Dragon"?!
This revelation shook him to his core.
No wonder the entire world, including the Marines themselves, feared the Assassination Force like the plague.
Now Koby fully understood. Just this one shocking twist was almost too much for him to process.
After all, no one could ever know for sure, that the wife or husband lying beside them, or the comrade they fought alongside in life-and-death battles, might actually be one of them.
Ka Cha…
At that moment, the office door opened. One of Dante's most trusted agents stepped inside and saluted.
"Vice Admiral Dante, hm…"
Seeing Dante already in disguise, he paused for a moment, then lowered his hand and replaced the gesture with a clenched right fist over his heart, the formal Assassination Force salute.
Koby's eyes bulged in terror as he heard the man report:
"Commander, we've arrived at the first target location. Awaiting orders!"
"Standard protocol," Dante said calmly. "Gather intel, develop a strategy, execute the assassination."
"Remember! We have multiple targets this time. To avoid alarming the enemy, keep all actions as quiet as possible."
"Understood!"
After saluting again, the agent turned and left.
Koby's mouth twitched wildly. He turned, staring in disbelief, and asked, "Don't tell me… everyone on this ship…?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, aside from you, everyone is one of us."
Koby: "..."
So this whole damn ship… is a den of assassins!?
Lirisk's suspicions weren't wrong, the Marine counterattack was coming soon. But until the Assassination Force's movements were exposed, no one would know when or where it would strike.
Akainu had deliberately sent Dante and Koby out under the pretext of retrieving Rowen, knowing full well what Rowen was really about to do. That's why he dispatched only the most trusted operatives from the Assassination Force.
To prepare for this mission, without arousing any suspicion, every single person on the ship, including the cooks, had been quietly swapped out with Assassination Force personnel. It had been a meticulous and carefully calculated operation.
Wano Country, outer seas.
"Seeing really is believing! What damn weather!"
Standing atop a jagged outcrop of rock, Rowen gazed out over the raging ocean, full of mixed feelings.
The only real downside to Supercharged Travel was that it made too much noise. Kizaru's light-speed travel, when reflected across the sky, was barely noticeable in daylight, but not Rowen. Wherever he went, dark clouds followed, and the crackling spectacle of Zipper Thunder would draw every eye.
Who knew how much trouble he had to go through just to arrive undetected in Wano Country!
The sea ahead roared with waves like mountains, the sound of crashing surf thunderous and deafening, every impact creating peals of what sounded like rolling thunder.
The world often said that the sea around the Maelstrom Triangle was a deathtrap, once caught, escape was impossible. But that was a manmade trap. Open the Gates of Justice, and you could leave safely.
In comparison, Rowen believed that the outer sea around Wano Country was the true deathtrap!
Because no one could control its weather, it was always this dangerous.
That was why Kaido had left his most elite Cyborg Force stationed in Wano Country. Only they had the ability to leave easily. For ordinary pirates, even just setting sail could cost them half their crew.
"If you don't want me causing chaos in Wano… well then, I absolutely will! Hah!"
With a cold smirk, Rowen leapt down, sprinting at high speed across the ocean's surface, heading straight for Wano Country.
In order to avoid unnecessary mishaps, Orrick had ordered Ryokugyu to take him to End Point.
Since that's how they wanted to play it...
Rowen wasn't about to make it easy for them.
(End of Chapter)