Shiryu's offense this time was by no means small.
Disobeying direct orders, stealing a ship to set out to sea, knocking out guards to infiltrate Level 3 of Impel Down, and privately executing over a hundred criminals—almost causing a large-scale prison riot…
Any one of those charges was already serious.
After judgment by the military tribunal, all his crimes were combined and punished together.
Shiryu's rank as a Marine Headquarters Captain was stripped from him on the spot. He was kicked out of the Marine system and sentenced to five years of imprisonment in Impel Down's Level 4.
"Five years in prison…"
Reading this, Gion's brows furrowed.
"This man is far too reckless. His commission has been revoked—after he's released, won't his entire future be ruined?"
"Shiryu has always been like this."
Standing by the window, Nao sighed lightly.
"For him to do something like this… I can't say I'm surprised. And honestly, if this was the only way to relieve the hatred in his heart, even if I were there, I wouldn't have stopped him."
"But still…"
He turned around, rubbing his temples helplessly.
"This time, it turned out to be nothing but a misunderstanding. I don't know if Shiryu has realized yet, but if he has… he must be regretting it to his very bones."
A misunderstanding?
What did that mean?
Gion frowned in confusion, but quickly sensed something and immediately read further into the letter.
Sure enough—
Vice Admiral Aisha went on to explain.
According to G-6's follow-up investigation, although Shiryu's fiancée's hometown had indeed been burned to the ground, the truth was that she and her family had already departed before the Black Star Pirates arrived.
The reason she never managed to reach G-6 Branch… was very likely because, on the way, they encountered an underworld mafia group known as the Alima Family—and were captured and sold into slavery.
But G-6 Branch was still just a regional Marine force, with limited intelligence-gathering capacity. That was all they could find out.
As for where Shiryu's fiancée and her family were sold to, whether they were still alive, and where the Alima Family's underground stronghold was hidden—those details remained completely unknown.
In other words—
The Black Star Pirates were indeed scum, and deserved their fate, but in this case they were nothing more than unlucky scapegoats.
The real culprits were still at large.
"If only this truth had come out sooner…"
Gion sighed softly and looked up at Nao.
"What do you plan to do?"
She had only met Shiryu a handful of times, not enough to be considered close, but she knew well that he was one of Nao's two best friends. There was no way Nao would simply stand by and do nothing.
"We'll have to work on two fronts."
By now, Nao had already sorted out his thoughts. He walked over to the desk, pulled out paper, and began to write.
"First of all, I need to send a letter to Impel Down."
"For Shiryu?"
"No. For Magellan."
Without lifting his head, Nao spoke evenly.
"Shiryu caused no small trouble in Impel Down. He even injured a number of guards, which stirred up plenty of resentment. He's probably not having an easy time right now. I need to apologize to Magellan and ask him to look after Shiryu on my behalf."
Gion nodded in understanding.
She knew that after the Golden Lion incident, Nao had earned deep respect from the entire Impel Down staff purely by his strength alone. His name carried real weight there.
As for Vice Warden Magellan—he admired Nao greatly.
With this letter in hand, Shiryu's suffering would likely be reduced considerably, at least for the next five years.
"And what about Emily?"
Gion asked again,
"Just because G-6 branch couldn't find anything, doesn't mean Headquarters can't. If we put the Intelligence Department on it now, we should have news soon."
Emily—that was the name of Shiryu's fiancée.
Though she was only a little over twenty, she had already been serving as a medic in G-6 Branch for five or six years. In a sense, she was even Shiryu's senior.
"I'll contact the Intelligence Department later."
Nao tucked the letter away.
"But Headquarters' efficiency in these matters is still lacking. To avoid wasting time, this kind of thing… it's best left to the real professionals."
"Professionals?"
Gion's eyebrow twitched. She seemed to have understood something.
"Don't tell me you mean…"
———
Enies Lobby.
The world government's secret intelligence agency—CP9 headquarters.
"Oi!! Are you kidding me, bastard? What do you think we are!?"
Behind his desk, Spandine roared into the Den Den Mushi:
"Do you have any idea the weight carried by the name CP9? Only orders from Mary Geoise can move us! And you—just a mere Vice Admiral from headquarters—think you can ask me for help?"
And for what? To track down some lowly medic girl?
Since the day CP9 was founded, they had never stooped to such a meaningless errand!
"…Well, I thought we could at least be considered old friends. We got along pretty well back then, didn't we?"
The voice from the other side was calm and lazy, the eyes of the Den Den Mushi half-lidded.
"Speaking of which, there's a saying in my hometown in the East Blue: 'Ten years of good karma brings you together on the same boat'..."
The same boat, my ass!
Spandine was completely shocked. How could anyone be so shameless?!
Old friends? Back when he'd shared that ship with Nao, he had nearly strangled the man on deck a dozen times.
A prisoner under escort, yet strutting around like he owned the place. Spandine, the mighty commander, had been forced to personally handle the man's lodging, meals, and safety—day after day watching him fish, eat fried chicken, and hog the best lounge chair…
That stretch of time had been the most torturous days of his entire career as CP9 commander.
"In any case, I'm counting on you."
As if deaf to his shouting, the voice yawned and went on casually,
"The sea where Emily disappeared falls squarely within CP9's sphere of activity. It shouldn't be difficult for you to track her down…"
Who cares!
Spandine angrily hung up the phone and slumped onto the sofa behind him.
He was sulking when he suddenly noticed that all the agents in the office had already started to divide the work and act quickly. Some were making phone calls, and others were looking for information…
They were much more proactive than when he had given them orders before.
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He slammed the desk, baring his sharp teeth in rage.
"You lot of presumptuous fools! I never agreed to that man's request!"
The words froze everyone in their tracks. Dozens of stunned faces turned toward him.
"Eh??"
"You really mean we're not helping? Commander, that was a direct call from Nao-sama himself…"
"To be able to do something for Vice Admiral Nao—that's an honor!" A broad-shouldered agent in shades glared at him furiously.
"How could you refuse!?"
"Exactly! How could you! This is a rare chance to be of service to Nao-sama…" A tall woman in black stockings had her face full of grievance and indignation.
Male or female, young or old—even those who hadn't been among the agents who once shared a ship with Nao—
At this moment, without exception, every single one of them stood firmly on Nao's side.
"…A bunch of bastards…"
Even though he knew he had little authority in the eyes of his own subordinates, Spandine was grinding his teeth in fury. Just as he was about to erupt, the elderly secretary who had been quietly organizing his documents at the side suddenly cleared his throat and leaned closer.
"Um, Commander…"
The old secretary lowered his voice in warning:
"Mr. Nao is the youngest Vice Admiral in the history of the Marine. Even the Five Elders hold him in high regard. At the very least, he's destined to be an Admiral—perhaps even a Fleet Admiral."
The implication was clear.
This was the one man in the Marine they absolutely could not afford to offend. Even if Spandine had no respect for who Nao was now, he needed to show respect for what Nao would inevitably become.
"..."
Spandine's expression instantly froze. He was conflicted for a long time, and finally, with an expression uglier than someone who just ate crap, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Fine—keep investigating!"
———
Two days later.
A confidential document was delivered to Nao's desk.
"As expected of CP-9, they tracked it down so quickly."
Nao raised his brows slightly in surprise as he unfolded the document and skimmed through it.
Their efficiency was astonishing, even to him. The Marine's intelligence department had actually been mobilized earlier, yet they had produced nothing of real value so far.
Before long, he had finished reading.
Nao's eyes flickered with sharp thought.
The CP9 report was precise and detailed.
It confirmed that Emily and her family had indeed been abducted by the Alima Family, along with several dozen civilians who had been traveling on the same ship.
Among these civilians, the elderly and frail who had no use had already been tortured to death during the journey and their bodies were thrown into the sea.
As for the able-bodied men and the women who were somewhat attractive, they had been sent to the Sabaody Archipelago through the underground family's transport channels and were preparing to be auctioned off at an illegal auction house there.
So.
This meant there was one good piece of news and one bad piece of news.
The bad news was that Shiryu's in-laws had already died on the way. The good news was that Emily was still alive and had not yet been auctioned off.
"It is expected to be auctioned tomorrow night at an auction house on Grove 23 in the Sabaody Archipelago…"
There's still time.
Nao put down the intelligence document and felt a little relieved.
Thank goodness I asked the CP to help. Otherwise, it would have been too late if I had just relied on the Headquarters' intelligence system for a few more days.
He turned his head and looked at the harbor outside the window. Nao's gaze gradually became cold and menacing.
Daring to lay a hand on his brother's family and causing Shiryu to be imprisoned for five years and have his future ruined, the Alima Family's actions had undoubtedly crossed his bottom line.
There was still some time before his wedding.
Since the auction hadn't started yet, he might as well take the time to go there himself and let this audacious underground family experience what true despair was…
———
The Sabaody Archipelago was very close to Marine Headquarters.
Even with unfavorable ocean currents, it would only take about a day to get there and back.
Nao took a leave of absence and set off from Headquarters the next morning. He took a speedboat by himself and arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago just after noon.
Sabaody was a must-pass route from Paradise to the New World and was also a world-renowned tourist destination.
It was home to the world's largest mangrove, the Yarukiman Mangrove. Since the roots were always exposed on the water, multiple large trees combined to form this uniquely scenic island.
The reason it was described as unique was because the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove secreted a special natural resin due to respiration. The resin expanded with air to form bubbles.
Under the sunlight, these bubbles scattered in the air, with a faint mist for decoration.
From a distance, it looked dreamy and breathtakingly beautiful.
Nao, wearing a hooded Altaïr sweatshirt, walked alone and discreetly on this dreamy street. He quickly entered the central area of the island.
Like a fish returning to the sea, he blended in perfectly, stirring no waves, attracting no attention.
The Sabaody Archipelago was very large, divided into 79 Groves. The Marine Branch was located in Grove 66, and the security in that area was relatively stable and orderly.
The more remote Groves from 1 to 29 were basically lawless zones. Underneath the glamorous streets, all kinds of dirty and shady deals took place.
There were quite a few auction houses in the lawless zone. There were even five of them holding auctions today.
Until Emily's exact location was confirmed, Nao had no intention of making contact with the branch base on the island—he had no desire to alarm the enemy before striking.
So he simply checked them one by one. With the help of his Observation Haki, he finally eliminated all the unrelated auction houses before dark and locked on to the last one, a place called the "Babu Auction House."
At this time.
A large number of guests had already arrived from the surrounding streets and were entering the auction house.
And in one hour, the auction would officially begin.
———
This was a quite large open-air auction house.
As soon as he stepped through the door, a loud, bustling noise rushed towards him. At least seven to eight hundred seats were densely arranged in a circle, and at this time, most of them were already occupied.
On the second floor, there were more than a dozen private boxes with windows facing the center. Clearly, those who had this privilege were not of ordinary status.
"Hello, and welcome to the Babu Auction House!"
"Gentlemen and ladies who are interested in participating in this auction, please go to the entrance of the right corridor to receive your number plates."
The two greeters at the door were slender girls. They wore sweet smiles, and their movements and demeanor were flawless, clearly having undergone strict training.
Nao nodded slightly at their reminder and didn't linger inside the door.
He turned right down the corridor, casually took a number plate, and then went straight to an empty seat to sit down.
Everyone hadn't arrived yet, and the host hadn't come out. He slightly closed his eyes and began to rest and conserve his energy.
Nao, of course, didn't know.
Just five minutes after he sat down, several figures, mixed in with the other guests, entered the auction house from the northeast entrance, laughing and talking.
Leading them was an old, silver-haired man wearing glasses. He was carrying a sake flask and was drunk. When the greeter at the door stopped him and apologetically told him that he couldn't bring alcohol inside, he grumbled and complained a few times.
Behind him.
A fat man who was gnawing on a drumstick tried to comfort him, but when he was told that he couldn't bring food in either, he angrily swallowed all five drumsticks at once, making the sniper next to him laugh gleefully.
And a red-haired boy with a straw hat didn't care at all. He just smiled and looked around the huge auction house with curiosity…