Cover Story Serial・Love-Sickness III・Preparations Before Setting Sail
A new day has begun. After a long absence, the Kuja Pirate Crew is finally setting sail again. This time, Hancock has officially become the true Snake Princess of Kuja Island, the newly appointed Empress of Amazon Lily.
In Kuja City, Marigold was swiftly striding forward with multiple stacks of wooden crates balanced on each shoulder, helping the other members of the pirate crew load supplies onto the red pirate ship. Meanwhile, Sandersonia flew off the island to call back the two food-hunting tugboats…
…
Vacation Island, Marine Branch –
Huff, huff…
A Marine soldier rushed in, came to a sharp stop at the doorway with a loud "click" of his heels, stood at attention, and shouted:
"Reporting, Vice Admiral Onigumo!"
Inside the room were several high-ranking Marine officers.
The soldier quickly scanned the room and immediately recognized their identities, all of them, like Vice Admiral Onigumo, had been specially dispatched from Marine Headquarters to oversee the World's Greatest Swordsman Tournament, being held on this vacation island.
Each one of them was a Great Character, famous even back at Headquarters.
For example, the laid-back older youth lounging on the sofa wearing a fisherman's hat, squinting his eyes lazily, he was believed to be only a few years away from being promoted to Vice Admiral and possibly earning a title like those of the three legendary Vice Admirals: Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino.
He was Rear Admiral Tokikake, a rising elite of the Headquarters.
Sitting across from him was a striking black-haired woman in hot pink shorts under her Marine uniform, showing off her fiery figure. A long sword was strapped to her waist, and a black spider tattoo adorned one thigh.
Her face was filled with impatience, she was Commodore Gion, a popular female officer not only at Headquarters but in many other divisions too.
Having risen through the ranks from a trainee Marine by cutting down enemies through sheer combat merit, Gion had skyrocketed to Rear Admiral status. Her rapid ascent earned her a reputation as the potential first female Admiral in history, a true heroine of the Marines and a renowned Swordsman.
Shuffle shuffle… From behind the wide desk in the back of the room came the sound of shuffling cards.
Vice Admiral Onigumo, a man with a head of long black hair twisted into six thick braids, each moving like the long legs of a giant spider, was skillfully shuffling cards with them atop the desk in front of him.
Without looking up, he asked coldly: "Speak. Which bastards are causing trouble on the island this time?"
"Yes, sir!" The Marine kept his salute and replied loudly: "Members of the Big Mom Pirates had a conflict with Hawk-Eye Mihawk!"
Onigumo's six braided "arms" continued shuffling the cards as he sat still, his face expressionless.
"Where?" he asked.
The Marine swallowed nervously. "At the western coastline..."
"They've gone too far!"
The sexy female swordswoman Commodore Gion shot to her feet.
"They know they're pirates… Fine, if they just stayed obediently inside the tournament arena. But they actually dared to come out and stir up trouble, "
Across from her, Tokikake smiled lazily: "No need to get so worked up, Gion. Let's first find out what caused the conflict."
He tilted his head, still smiling as he asked: "Were any civilians hurt?"
"Well…" the Marine hesitated. "There were many civilians watching, but no reports of injuries so far."
"Then that's just as expected," Tokikake said with a grin, settling deeper into his seat.
"The more people around, the less they'll act recklessly. That daughter of the Sea Emperor should know full well, this… isn't the New World."
Gion, hand resting on her sword hilt, spoke angrily: "So we're just going to pretend we didn't see them? If they do end up hurting civilians, it'll be too late!"
Shuffle shuffle… thump thump.
Vice Admiral Onigumo, having finished shuffling the cards, tapped them twice on the desk, cutting off the rising argument.
He still showed little expression, speaking coldly: "Don't forget, strictly speaking, this island is temporarily under the name of a certain pirate…"
Hearing this, Gion frowned slightly, while Tokikake still wore his usual indifferent, playful smile.
"You may leave for now. Report back if anything happens," Vice Admiral Onigumo said calmly.
The Marine soldier acknowledged and turned to leave.
Only then did Tokikake grin and say: "Gion, you actually want to fight that 'person', and also 'Hawk Eyes Mihawk', don't you?"
Gion's sharp brows twitched. Tokikake continued: "If you want to duel them, why not just enter the Swordsman tournament? It's broadcast live the whole time. If you get a good ranking, you'll even get an exclusive interview in the World Economic News, distributed to every corner of the seas. Not bad, right?"
"Who wants to compete on the same stage as those pirates!" Gion said decisively. "If I see those pirates' faces, my sword in my hand won't be able to hold back."
She turned to look at the senior official whose six hair-formed arms were playing cards.
"I imagine Vice Admiral Onigumo feels the same way!"
Onigumo grabbed a deck of cards himself, silently played a card, then shook his head:
"I'm not participating because someone from the military already is… That person is far stronger than me. Even if I joined, it wouldn't mean much."
Gion and Tokikake were surprised by this: someone in the Marines was participating? And Onigumo admitted he was not as good as that person?
Who could it be?
Vice Admiral Yamakaji? Vice Admiral Strawberry? No, those two don't seem like the type to enter this kind of competition…
Vice Admiral Momonga? Haven't seen Vice Admiral Momonga for a while, could he be preparing secretly for this tournament?
"That person isn't part of the Marines," Onigumo said expressionlessly as he played cards with his three pairs of hair-hands. "They're from another military."
"Another military…" Gion nodded thoughtfully. Could it be the Self-Defense Forces from the Holy Land, or people from the prison side?
Tokikake, hands in his pockets and legs crossed, shook his head and looked out the window toward the sky. Faintly, the lively noise from the vacation island's outside branch could be heard. He changed the subject:
"That 'Hawk Eyes' guy made quite a scene last time at the Sabaody Archipelago…"
"Don't know exactly what kind of conflict he had with Big Mom's daughter…"
"…Hey hey hey, looks serious… What exactly happened?"
At this moment, on the western shore, a crowd had already gathered, mostly tourists there to watch the commotion.
Reporters with cameras around their necks squeezed into the crowd, thinking:
"Hawk Eyes Mihawk and the Sea Emperor's daughter, that 'person', both are top contenders to win this Swordsman tournament! Many believe the title of the world's greatest Swordsman will almost certainly go to one of them… A clash between these two outside the arena is definitely Big News!"
"Come on, tell us!" A reporter quickly snapped photos of the two sides facing off in a clearing in the crowd, speaking rapidly to other onlookers: "Why did they get into a conflict?"
A passerby shrugged: "Who knows? I just came here with that person in front of me."
"I don't know either…"
"I heard it was that little mustache guy who liked the big-hat female Swordsman…"
"Eh? I heard it was the female Swordsman who liked the little mustache handsome guy?"
"What nonsense is this!" Someone nearby complained, sharing their opinion:
"One's a pirate woman with a bounty of 500 million Belly, the other's a lone great Swordsman… They probably fought to settle who's stronger, right? Strong people have to show who's stronger to be called strong!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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