"Do you think our relationship with the Clifford Kingdom and the Chris Pirates is just one of mutual hostility?" Sengoku asked, glancing at Borsalino. He sounded a bit self-deprecating. "In fact, our relationship has gotten much closer in the past year. It's funny, isn't it? Even though he's a Warlord, he's still a pirate. It's ironic that the Marines, who specialize in capturing pirates, have a relationship with one that could be called intimate."
"Is it because… of the SS drugs?" Borsalino's eyes gleamed.
As a Marine Admiral and the commander of the Marine Special Science Group, Borsalino was naturally aware of the deal with Aeridar for the SS drugs. He had personally transported a batch of the serum to a secret Marine research base for Dr. Vegapunk to figure out how to produce it.
Unfortunately, the SS drugs contained gene-lock technology, and they couldn't even figure out the materials needed to create it without unlocking it.
"The SS drugs is just an excuse. That man has the Clifford Kingdom in the New World as a base, and he's providing us with support. This makes us, who lack a base in the New World, feel his importance more and more. The longer this goes on, the more we rely on him, and the closer our relationship becomes," Sengoku said, a complex expression on his face.
The Marines only had two branch bases in the New World: G-1 and G-5. Strictly speaking, only G-5 was truly a branch in the New World. The G-1 base was in front of the Red Line, and the only port for Mariejois in the New World was next to it.
Therefore, the G-1 base was responsible for guarding the entrance to the New World and the only port for Mariejois. The G-5 base was the only base of operations for the Marines in the New World, and it had the highest casualty rate of all the Marine branches. The pressure was already incredibly high.
However, with the support of the Clifford Kingdom, which Aeridar represented, the pressure on the Marines in the New World was greatly reduced. Even the World Government's CP agencies now had a transit point in the New World, and their operations were much more convenient.
"I see." Borsalino nodded in understanding.
If the other party were just a simple World Government member nation, Sengoku wouldn't be so troubled. However, the king of this nation just happened to be a great pirate. Although he had the status of a Warlord, he was still a pirate at heart, which made things awkward.
"What's more, that man's Chris Investigation Bureau has the authority to share some confidential information with the CP agencies. He even knows about the Pacifista project and has offered to collaborate on technology many times, but the World Government and I haven't agreed yet," Sengoku said, his face dark.
"What?!" Borsalino's eyes widened, and he could no longer maintain his leisurely demeanor. He was shocked. "They know about the Pacifista project? How is that possible?!"
He was, after all, the commander of the Marine Special Science Group, and if this information were to be leaked, he would be largely responsible.
"I don't know," Sengoku said, shaking his head. "But don't worry, the information didn't leak from you."
"That's good!"
Hearing this, Borsalino sat back down in his chair, a look of relief on his face.
"You… you…" Sengoku's forehead throbbed with a twitching vein, and his mouth twitched.
"But Fleet Admiral Sengoku, even if our relationship is close, that man is not someone who is easy to talk to," Borsalino said, quickly changing the subject.
"I have a plan for that," Sengoku said confidently. He immediately pulled a Den Den Mushi out of a drawer.
....
The Calm Belt.
"A floating island! No, a cluster of floating islands!"
Aeridar's eyes widened. In the distance, at an altitude of three thousand meters, a dozen islands of various sizes floated in the air. Some of the islands were surrounded by floating seawater, and a rainbow stretched across the entire cluster, making it look beautiful and dreamlike.
"I passed by here last time, and it wasn't here. That means it can move!"
Suddenly, Aeridar seemed to recognize the island cluster and blurted out, "No, that must be… Merveille! Yes, that's right, it's Merveille!"
"To think it ended up here," Aeridar said, putting away his shocked expression. He rubbed his chin and chuckled. "How marvelous, or rather, what a powerful ability!"
"Such a beautiful place. I should go check it out and meet the legend as well."
Boom!
A black shadow shot through the air. With a loud bang, the water vapor in the air condensed into clouds, forming a cone-shaped shock wave in front of Aeridar. In just ten seconds, he had already reached the floating archipelago.
Aeridar's Observation Haki swept over the floating islands, and he found many creatures that were very loud, almost comparable to those on the terrifying Kukos Island in the East Blue.
"IQ, huh… that seems like a good thing. I can take it back for Dalt to study." As he flew through the islands, Aeridar rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
At that moment, Aeridar flew over the largest island in the middle of the cluster. A large group of palaces sat on the flat ground in the center of the island, like a royal palace.
"Alright, found it."
Whoosh!
Looking at the palace-like buildings, Aeridar's body descended rapidly.
"Huh? What's that?"
A guard in the plaza seemed to sense something and looked up at the sky.
"Is that… a bird?" another guard asked in confusion.
More and more guards looked up.
"What kind of bird has no wings and is shaped like a human? Idiot!" a guard next to him laughed.
"Wait… a human!"
Suddenly, a man in a suit leading the guards screamed in terror. "It's a person! An intruder!"
Suddenly, all the guards were in an uproar. They all took out their weapons and pointed them at the sky. However, Aeridar's descent was too fast. Just as the guards took out their weapons and aimed, Aeridar landed on the ground with a bang, like a meteor.
Boom!
The ground trembled. The terrifying impact nearly flipped the ground, causing the surrounding area to shake violently. The powerful air blast was like a furious gust of wind, kicking up a cloud of dust that swept over a hundred feet, knocking the guards in the area off their feet.
"Damn it, what's going on?!" a group of guards yelled in fear, climbing back to their feet.
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