"Heh, this should at least put a dent in Michael's reputation, right?"
"Saint Saturn, with all due respect, this method won't have any real impact on Michael or the Marine." Figarland Garling, Supreme Commander of the God's Knights, sat calmly on the sofa as he spoke.
"I never intended to affect them… I just wanted to mess with them a little." Jaygarcia Saturn chuckled, his narrow eyes gleaming with vindictiveness.
"Tch." Figarland Garling stood up and left without another word.
'Have the Five Elders grown so senile that they've lost their minds? You're actually proud of such a petty, laughable stunt?'
With that, he vanished on the spot.
The Five Elders all watched his retreating figure with wary eyes.
As the one responsible for the protection and Judgement of the Celestial Dragons, even the Five Elders didn't want to cross him.
After all, he was arguably the strongest among the Celestial Dragons today.
"Hmph, never mind him for now." Jaygarcia Saturn shook his head and strode out as well.
"This time, we must ensure that Tom dies without a grave… Possessing the blueprints for Pluton yet refusing to hand them over to the World Government—that alone is a death sentence."
...
Iceburg could only stand helplessly as he watched CP spies spreading rumors throughout the streets.
He was worried about his teacher, Tom, but as the mayor, he absolutely couldn't openly defy the World Government…
Though the World Government's authority had waned compared to before, it was still far beyond his ability to challenge.
Just as his anxiety reached its peak, a voice called out from behind him.
"Hey, isn't this Mayor Iceburg? Standing out here in the street—conducting some fieldwork?"
Iceburg spun around and, sure enough, there stood Rear Admiral "Ship Cutter" T-Bone and Commodore "Rust Tide" Shu.
Today happened to be their routine inspection day in Water 7.
"Gentlemen! Perfect timing—you couldn't have come at a better moment!"
Iceburg finally let out a sigh of relief and quickly explained everything that had happened.
"So… Vice Admiral Michael came to Water 7? And he boarded the Sea Train to Enies Lobby with Tom-san?" Shu scratched his head in frustration.
"Man, talk about bad timing!"
"It's alright. If Vice Admiral Michael is here to resolve the charges against Tom-san, then he'll definitely need to stay at Enies Lobby for a while." T-Bone nodded.
"Iceburg, I can assure you, these CP spies are absolutely twisting the facts... Vice Admiral Michael holds Water 7 and the sea train built by Tom-san in the highest regard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have instructed us to look after Water 7 so carefully."
"In that case... let's suppress this matter for now." Shu stretched his neck and then issued orders to the Marines behind him.
"All units, round up all CP spies! Non-lethal force is authorized if they resist!"
If these were ordinary Marines, they might have hesitated at the thought of dealing with CP spies.
But the Marines under T-Bone and Shu were different—they were the unit permanently stationed at Enies Lobby.
Due to the island's unique status, their operational authority even superseded that of the CP organization.
So, every Marine wore an eager expression.
They'd dealt with the CP plenty of times before… but arresting them? This was a first!
How thrilling!
And so, the streets of Water 7 became the stage for a grand chase between the Marines and the CP.
Facing armed Marines, along with a Rear Admiral and a Commodore, even the spies who had mastered some Rokushiki techniques could only swallow their frustration and obediently allow their hands to be bound, kneeling in Water 7's central square.
"I wonder who gave the CP the authority to spread baseless rumors in Water 7?"
"Waaah! Help! Zombie!"
"You Marines have no decency! Arresting us is one thing, but unleashing zombies? Are you trying to silence us?!"
T-Bone had barely opened his mouth before the CP spies who caught sight of him sent his face darkening with frustration.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! I'd say you should just accept your fate, T-Bone!" Shu roared with laughter, slapping T-Bone's shoulder as he took in the zombie-like face twisted in dismay, laughing even harder.
"The sheer impact of that face of yours is a problem you'll never solve in this lifetime!"
But Shu was, at heart, a reliable young man.
After gradually calming his laughter, he stepped forward to address the CP agent.
"Don't blame us for acting against you. You're the ones who didn't follow protocol." Shu pressed a hand down, and the sword at the waist of one CP—clearly a minor leader—rusted away into nothing.
"If I recall correctly, Enies Lobby's authority has always superseded the CP organization's, hasn't it?"
The leader, also the one responsible for spreading the rumors, gritted his teeth and nodded, not daring to act out.
First, because what Shu said was undeniably true...
Second... everyone knew by now that the Rear Admiral and Commodore stationed at Enies Lobby weren't just exceptionally powerful—they were also the trusted confidants of the current Grand Inspector of the Marines.
Originally, Enies Lobby was supposed to be guarded in rotation by available Vice Admirals from Headquarters.
Now, it had become a permanent posting for these two.
And as if that wasn't enough, they'd even been given oversight responsibilities for Water 7!
This... is an enormous amount of authority!
These two Marine rising stars were absolutely not people ordinary CP agent like them dared to provoke.
Even the Five Elders backing them wouldn't stand up for them.
So they wisely kept their mouths shut, ready to take whatever came their way...
After all, what they'd done wasn't a capital offense.
Seeing everyone fall completely silent, even Shu had no choice but to drop the matter.
Spreading a rumor that wasn't even really a rumor wasn't a serious crime, after all.
"Take these CP agents with us back to Enies Lobby!" T-Bone decisively ordered, then turned to Iceburg beside him.
"Hurry and get someone to stop those shipwrights. Tell them the two of us will handle this... Under no circumstances should they try to storm Enies Lobby! Otherwise, even a justified cause will turn unreasonable!"
"Right, right!" Iceburg snapped to awareness and immediately sprinted toward the shore.
Then, with a flying kick, he sent the blue-haired hot-blooded pervert flying.
"You bastard! Are you trying to get Tom killed!?"
He glanced around, noticing everyone frozen in shock, then quickly strode forward, angrily grabbing Franky by the collar while whispering under his breath.
"Hurry! Go hide the Pluton blueprints now!"
"This isn't something we can handle!"
Then he suddenly punched Franky in the face.
Franky, dazed for a moment, immediately jumped up.
"Hey! You could've just talked! Why hit me!?"
"Are you just taking this chance to vent on me!?"
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