"Boss, Mr. Taru and Little Jack have already led the gang members to begin the repair work in the town center. The townspeople's morale is relatively stable, and they've started helping with the construction."
To the west of Algaro Town lies a large, luxurious mansion, which serves as the headquarters of the 'Coral' organization.
In a luxurious room on the third floor, several stacks of account books were piled on the wool carpet in the center of the room, alongside several impressive weapons and antiques. At the opulent round table, a meticulously dressed, slender old man in a black tuxedo briefly described the progress of the town center's repairs to Victor.
Victor, at this moment, was not in his usual mature and serious slicked-back hairstyle. His medium-length golden hair fell casually to the sides of his ears, with only a single strand hanging over his forehead, making him appear even more handsome.
He sat in a chair, flipping through the account books, while Perona stood behind him with a cheerful smile, her small hands playfully patting Victor's shoulders, treating it as a relaxing massage.
"I understand. Mr. Windrew, please continue to diligently oversee the work progress."
Victor closed the ledger and nodded gently to the old man.
"Please rest assured, Boss. Also, there's a reception the mayor is hosting specifically for you at the Cocosiro Restaurant at 6 PM tonight. Please don't forget to attend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall take my leave." The old man placed a hand on his chest, bowed slightly, and quietly exited the room.
Seeing no outsiders, Perona stopped pretending to be a composed girl and immediately flopped onto the soft large bed, rolling around. "Horohorohoro~~ Victor-onii-chan, this bed is so soft and comfortable!"
Victor smiled: "If you like it, this room is yours for now."
"For now?" Perona stopped rolling, propped herself up on the bed with her hands under her chin, her round eyes showing a hint of confusion: "Is it because of your future plans, onii-chan? Are we really going to the Grand Line? I think... I think West Blue is pretty good." As she spoke, her mood became a little low.
Victor ruffled Perona's small pink head: "Perona, if we stay cooped up in one corner, we'll end up like Mr. Pippin, a frog in a well. We agreed, didn't we? To go to the Grand Line together and achieve great things!"
Perona's little moodiness instantly
vanished. She grabbed Victor's hand and said in a sweet voice: "I don't care, as long as I'm with you, onii-chan, I'm willing to go anywhere!"
She happily ran to the table, picked up a matcha cake, and took a blissful spoonful. Finding it delicious, she scooped another spoonful and offered it to Victor: "Oh, by the way, onii-chan, why did you tell me to be careful not to attack that middle-aged uncle earlier? Speaking of which, that uncle was really brave; everyone else ran, but he just stayed there watching us fight, not caring at all."
"That's Krone, the newly appointed Marine Captain of Algaro Town's Marine Branch. Mm... it's so sweet."
Victor opened his mouth and tasted the cake, then waved to Perona, signaling her to enjoy it herself. He stood up and looked out the window; he could vaguely see the busy reconstruction of the destroyed civilian houses in the town center.
"Our Captain Krone is no simple man. He's well-informed and well-connected, and he particularly enjoys wandering around his jurisdiction, calling it 'inspections,' earning him the nickname 'Inspector' Krone. This man graduated from the Marine Academy early on, with Vice Admiral Kuzan; both were students of Admiral Zephyr."
"Huh? But that uncle doesn't look very strong." Perona was eating enthusiastically, her small face covered in cake crumbs.
Victor turned his head, saw Perona's terrible eating habits, and helplessly handed her a handkerchief: "Wipe yourself."
"I've been paying attention to the new officer about to take charge of Branch 91 for a long time, and Mr. Krone really gave me a surprise." Victor crouched down, picked up an antique from the carpet, and began examining them one by one, while chatting with Perona:
"Mr. Krone knows his own strength is mediocre, so he went to great lengths to build a good relationship with his teacher, Admiral Zephyr. Zephyr, that old man, lost his son in middle age 22 years ago, so it's unrealistic to say he's not lonely. Under Krone's deliberate flattery and catering, Zephyr has come to regard Krone as a half-nephew."
"Oh my! So that uncle isn't a good person either?" Perona casually wiped her mouth and continued to attack the matcha cake.
"Heh heh, silly girl, how can you distinguish good people from bad so clearly?" Victor chuckled and shook his head, then casually picked up a long sword next to the antique and examined it:
"Mr. Krone messed up a big affair two months ago, seemingly angering the Marine Headquarters' higher-ups. Under Admiral Zephyr's strong protection, he managed to keep his military rank. But Headquarters still disliked him, so Zephyr sent him to Branch 91 in West Blue to avoid the limelight."
"...Onii-chan, how do you know so much about the Marines?" Perona felt her Onii-chan was incredibly mysterious, as if there was nothing in the world he didn't know.
"This semi-circulating information can be obtained with money." Victor looked at the long sword in his hand, raised his eyebrows in surprise, and placed the long sword on the empty space next to him before continuing to chat with Perona:
"This old fellow must be unwilling to be demoted to the rural West Blue. There's only one way back to Headquarters—to achieve merits."
"Where do the merits come from? Me. I am his merit. Knowing that he would definitely go around inspecting after arriving in his jurisdiction, I used Observation Haki to monitor his route and specifically led Carterman to his inevitable path."
Perona's eyes widened, full of admiration: "And then, then you pretended it was a coincidence in front of him, killing that scoundrel Carterman to show off your strength and attract his attention?"
"Smart girl." Victor nodded in approval, stood up, placed the identified long sword in its scabbard, and said in a leisurely tone: "Next, I will use the power of the Zip-Zip Fruit to crush Talma Pippin with overwhelming force. Plus, the arrival of 'Gun-Tailed Snake' and 'Vicious Bandit' were also under my Observation Haki's surveillance. After the battle, poor Captain Krone will definitely rush back to the branch base to make a private call to his dear teacher Zephyr immediately."
"As for the content of the call, I can guess it. It's nothing more than bringing up the Zip-Zip Fruit to pique Zephyr's interest, then praising those three gang leaders to contrast how strong I am, reporting my age, and mentioning that I possess Observation Haki, and then it's done."
"Done? What's done?" Perona stopped eating cake and cooperatively pressed for an answer.
"Krone understands Zephyr well. Having been a chief instructor for so many years, Zephyr always cherishes special talents, especially bringing a civilian genius who hasn't embarked on the path of piracy, has no major notorious deeds, and has the potential to be a candidate for Vice Admiral or even Admiral, into the Marines for training at a young age.
This is a special temptation for Zephyr, even if Zephyr himself might not be aware of this bad habit. As long as Zephyr forcibly takes me back to Headquarters and brainwashes me into a loyal Marine dog, then Krone, who immediately reported and cooperated, will have performed a great service, and returning to Headquarters will naturally be a matter of course."
Perona stood up in fright, not even caring that the cake had dropped to the floor: "Then, then aren't you very dangerous, onii-chan? Is that Zephyr an Admiral? In short, he's super strong, right? If he comes to West Blue, won't you have a hard time beating him?"
"It's not just 'hard to beat him,' it's that with my current strength, I have no hope of escaping from him. That's 'Black Arm' Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral." Victor smiled indifferently, waving Perona back to her seat: "Don't worry, everything is within my plan. Zephyr won't be able to spare the time to find me, because judging by the time, he'll soon be in big trouble himself.
And Krone is still fantasizing that Zephyr will come to capture me soon; in his eyes, I'm already a lamb to the slaughter. Plus, 'Coral's' current friendly attitude towards civilians will lower the Marines' guard against us to a minimum."
He picked up the scabbard containing the long sword and stood at the door, gesturing for Perona to follow: "And our opportunity to begin the second phase of our strategy is during this once-in-a-lifetime period."
"Let's go, we're going to visit our new warehouse manager, Mr. Capone Bege."
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