"Haha! We finally shook off the Marine's pursuit!" Skull laughed happily.
"Are you both alright?" Carina asked with relief, checking on Jerry and Ace.
"It's fine—these minor injuries won't cause any problems," both men replied dismissively.
Though they insisted it was no big deal, they couldn't escape Deuce's insistence, so they sat down and let him tend to their wounds.
"Oh, that's good. I'm going back to my room first," Carina announced.
"Sister Carina, I want to come too!" Carrot exclaimed.
Carina clutched her backpack with sparkling eyes and ran toward the cabin. Carrot, thinking there was something interesting inside, followed eagerly.
"Remember to save some for me!" Jerry called after their retreating figures.
After diving underwater for a while, they had surfaced again and could faintly hear the sound of artillery fire from far behind them. However, that was no longer their concern—after escaping, they were free to do whatever they wanted.
The next day, newspapers were once again scattered across the seas.
"Wow! Jerry and the others made headlines again," Shakky observed at the Rip-Off Bar on Sabaody Archipelago.
"You're quite fortunate," Shakky chuckled while reading the newspaper. "If he hadn't helped you, you'd be making headlines yourself. I wonder if you can continue living your peaceful retirement."
"Hahaha, that's true. I'll have to thank him properly next time," Rayleigh replied. "Though I didn't manage to sell myself yesterday, so I didn't make any money."
"Oh, no wonder we need to prepare for coating work today," Shakky noted with amusement.
After their casual chat, Rayleigh walked out with his coating equipment on his back.
At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Gion, and Aokiji were in Sengoku's office, reviewing various reactions to yesterday's incident.
Tokikake had originally planned to attend but was dealing with other matters, so he hadn't shown up.
Aokiji had returned to headquarters to rest after encountering Jerry's crew in the New World. Upon receiving news that the Black Star Pirates had landed on Sabaody, he'd immediately been ordered by Sengoku to intercept them and prevent any potential danger.
After all, only Rear Admiral Briggs had been stationed on Sabaody Archipelago at the time, and they weren't sure if that crew would cause trouble.
Although Gion had happened to be on a two-day vacation on the island, they knew this pirate group now had two powerful fighters. If a battle erupted, they feared Gion might have difficulty handling them alone.
Fortunately, Tokikake had been nearby, and knowing Gion's location, he'd rushed over immediately.
Aokiji had departed later, so even though he'd received the distress call en route and the fleet's speed wasn't slow, by the time he arrived with several warships, Jerry's crew had already escaped underwater.
"They're really something else. They even filed complaints..." Sengoku muttered, slapping a complaint letter onto his desk.
It was a collective complaint from the owners of shops and auction houses destroyed by Jerry, filed with relevant World Government departments and then forwarded to the Marines.
The government's message was clear: even when pursuing pirates, those commercial establishments must be protected.
"Haha, well, you'll just have to work harder to handle it," Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a smile, sipping her tea. She knew Sengoku wouldn't punish Gion and other Marines over such a ridiculous complaint.
"This old man can only make the arrangements," Sengoku sighed.
Several people looked at the newspaper reports and couldn't help but curse Morgans internally.
The articles claimed that in their attempt to capture pirates, the Marine hadn't hesitated to damage civilian property, yet the criminals had still escaped.
Various half-true, half-false reports made it difficult for the Marines to publicly refute them. While the impact wasn't significant, it did tarnish the Marine's image.
As for Gion, who was directly targeted by both the incident and the complaint letter, as the Marine's most famous beauty, she had many supporters within the organization.
After she returned and clearly explained what had happened, no one could blame her for anything.
Who could have predicted that Leviathan would suddenly decide to destroy those shops and auction houses?
Seeing that Sengoku was still reviewing documents, Vice Admiral Tsuru addressed Gion, who was sitting nearby.
"How was it, Gion? What's your assessment?"
"Sister Tsuru, they definitely possess strength that shouldn't be underestimated, and it's unclear what caused them to return from the New World," Gion replied thoughtfully after a moment's consideration.
She then turned to Aokiji and asked, "Kuzan, you've encountered them before. Did you notice anything?"
"Ah, I didn't find anything particular. They just made a brief appearance and then disappeared very quickly," Aokiji answered casually while lying on the sofa with his hands behind his head.
"Indeed, Leviathan's group's objectives are hard to understand. If we let them run wild, it could become a major problem," Sengoku said solemnly, raising his head from his paperwork.
For over half a year, Sengoku had consistently attached great importance to this pirate crew, especially after investigating Ace's background—he had a nagging feeling that this person harbored a significant secret.
Unfortunately, Jerry's group had already entered the New World, met with Red Hair, and ultimately joined the Whitebeard Pirates. Now Ace was commander of Whitebeard's Second Division.
If his secret suspicions were correct, they would have to wait until Marine Headquarters had made all necessary preparations before taking action against Ace. After all, Whitebeard seemed to have noticed the same thing.
Whitebeard was still highly intimidating and wasn't completely past his prime yet.
Vice Admiral Tsuru roughly understood Sengoku's thoughts. Setting aside the Marines' wishes, even the World Government wouldn't allow them to rashly enter full-scale war with the current Whitebeard Pirates.
However, Vice Admiral Tsuru thought Jerry might provide a good excuse, so she smiled and said, "Gion, what do you think about following up on this matter?"
"Sister Tsuru, would you help me think it through?" Gion replied, trusting greatly in her sister, the Marine's chief staff officer, and throwing the question back to her.
With a slight smile, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke slowly, "Haha, then let me share my thoughts."
"I think you could use this opportunity to lead a team in pursuit of them."
Gion looked somewhat confused. She had considered this as well—after all, one of her subordinates, Isuka, kept suggesting they pursue them on the way back.
"Yes, we set out in the name of hunting down the Black Star Pirates' Leviathan. This has two advantages," Tsuru explained.
"First, it gives an explanation to the outside world, proving that our Marine won't let criminals off easily, and it can help you avoid the spotlight for a while. Second, it prevents them from continuing to cause chaos."
After expressing her thoughts slowly, Vice Admiral Tsuru turned to look at Sengoku.
"How does that sound, Sengoku?"
Sengoku, who had been thinking along similar lines, pondered for a moment, then relaxed his brow and nodded.
"Gion, are you up for it?"
"No problem. It just so happens that one of my subordinates is eager to pursue them," Gion confirmed.
"Excellent. It's settled then."
That evening, in the Black Star Pirates' dining room, everyone was having their daily meal and chatting.
After finishing eating, Skull got up and opened the door to step outside, then suddenly screamed, "Whoa! Why is the fog outside getting so thick?"
Hearing this, Deuce hurried out to take a look, then returned and retrieved the nautical chart they'd compiled from various information sources.
"We seem to have entered the Florian Triangle," he announced.
"Really? Then do I need to wear red underwear on the outside?" Jerry asked seriously, stroking his chin.
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