New World, G-1 Naval Base.
At the moment, Strawberry was handling routine administrative work.
To be fair, he truly lived up to his background from the Sabaody Archipelago base. He had adapted extremely well at G-1, like a fish in water, managing every aspect smoothly and efficiently—aside from one minor flaw.
His combat strength was a bit lacking.
Just as Strawberry was about to sign off on a document, the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang.
He glanced at it, his expression immediately turning serious, and picked it up.
"This is G-1. Strawberry speaking."
"It's me. Tokikake," came the reply from the other end.
"You're calling through the Admiral's official Den Den Mushi," Strawberry said with a faint smile. "Is there something that requires our cooperation?"
The senior officers stationed in the New World all knew this well. Whenever Ortoren was absent, Tokikake fully assumed the responsibilities of the Admiral governing the New World.
Under normal circumstances, Tokikake would contact them through his personal Den Den Mushi. Using the official one meant he was acting under Ortoren's direct authority.
"That's right," Tokikake said in a solemn tone. "I'm relaying the Admiral's latest order. There's a group on Fish-Man Island…"
After listening for a moment, Strawberry raised an eyebrow.
"The retainers of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Captain?" he said. "Understood. G-1 will mobilize immediately."
"Good. I've already contacted Yamakaji and Cancer. They'll organize fleets to assist you in sealing off the gateway sea routes. Momonga is nearby searching for San Juan Wolf. He's currently with Katakuri of the Big Mom Pirates, and both of them will also head over to assist with the operation. Coordinate properly. The Admiral's order is 'must be done'—this is non-negotiable," Tokikake said gravely.
"Understood," Strawberry replied without hesitation.
After ending the call, Strawberry pressed a button on his desk.
Turning to the communicator beside him, he asked, "How many warships are currently docked at G-1?"
"Vice Admiral Strawberry, G-1 currently has twelve warships in port," a Marine replied promptly.
"Form all twelve into a single fleet and prepare for immediate departure. I'll be there shortly. Notify all vessels currently at sea to cooperate in sealing off the New World's gateway sea routes," Strawberry ordered decisively.
"Huh?" The Marine on the other end hesitated. "Vice Admiral Strawberry, this is the eve of the World Summit. Royal families from the New World are currently heading toward Holy Land to attend the conference. If we seal off the gateway sea routes now, it could cause serious—"
Serious political repercussions.
That was unavoidable. The royal families of the allied nations were rushing to Holy Land to attend the summit. If they were suddenly blocked right before arrival, it would be incredibly awkward.
If it affected the World Summit itself, the consequences would be even worse.
But Strawberry had no intention of weighing those implications.
Before the Marine could finish speaking, he cut in coldly.
"Carry out the order."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the communicator before the Marine finally responded.
"Yes. All for justice."
This alone showed that a base like G-1 simply couldn't compare to other New World bases in terms of loyalty to Ortoren. When something happened, even mid- and lower-ranking Marines instinctively prioritized the interests of Holy Land.
That was inevitable. G-1 was simply too close to Mary Geoise, and years of proximity had left a deep mark.
Strawberry, however, didn't care about that at all.
He understood his position perfectly. Mary Geoise might be the higher authority, but local command outweighed distant oversight.
If someone from Mary Geoise wanted to move against him, they'd have to go through the Fleet Admiral first, then an Admiral, before it ever reached him, a Vice Admiral.
And Ortoren was not only an Admiral, but the Admiral governing the New World—his direct superior.
One order was all it would take to remove him.
Who he should listen to wasn't even a question.
Not to mention, he saw himself as one of Ortoren's direct line. After all, they had come out of the same training camp, and it was Ortoren himself who had personally transferred him to the New World.
I work for the Admiral. Mary Geoise can stand aside. If anyone wants to cause trouble for me, the Admiral will naturally shield me.
That was Strawberry's way of thinking.
So when Tokikake delivered Ortoren's order, Strawberry didn't care in the slightest about any World Conference or political nonsense. If the Admiral ordered him to seal off the New World's gateway waters, then he would seal them off. Forget the royal families of allied nations. Even high-ranking officials from Mary Geoise wouldn't be allowed to wander around here.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Strawberry's expression darkened slightly.
"It seems the last purge wasn't thorough enough… G-1 is the New World's G-1. It is the Marines' G-1. Under my watch, it will never become Mary Geoise's G-1."
Since arriving at G-1, Strawberry had already carried out a major purge. Of the two original Rear Admirals stationed there, one had been sent back to Marine Headquarters, the other reassigned to the Sabaody Archipelago. He promoted his own people and planned to transfer a large number of mid- and high-ranking officers to other Marine bases.
Before this, Strawberry believed the cleanup had been fairly effective. But the reaction from that Marine officer just now made it clear to him that it still wasn't enough.
He needed to push harder.
But not right now.
What mattered at the moment was accompanying the fleet and carrying out the Admiral's orders.
As G-1 sprang into action, G-3 Naval Base—also located within the New World's gateway waters—responded immediately. Fifteen warships set sail, coordinating with G-1 to blockade the surrounding seas.
Soon after, G-14 under Yamakaji and G-7 under Cancer also began mobilizing.
There were even fleets that had originally been assigned to escort royal families, only to turn around midway and head off to carry out the new orders.
Not far beyond the edge of G-1's jurisdiction, Momonga was anchored with four warships, alongside Katakuri.
They had originally been hunting San Juan Wolf, who had fled from Elbaph after severely injuring Daifuku. Now, their plans changed as well. Their new priority was to track down Momonosuke and his group.
...
At the same time, somewhere within the gateway waters of the New World, a coated three-masted sailing ship broke through the surface, finally returning from the depths to the New World above.
The ship flew no flags and bore no insignia of any faction. Aboard it were Momonosuke and his companions.
Among them were retainers such as Kinemon of the Foxfire, Kanjuro, Raizo, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and Shinobu.
However, Kozuki Toki and Kozuki Hiyori were not with them.
When they first traveled through time, they had randomly appeared on Spring Queen Island. After confirming the era, they decided to return to the New World to seek out their father and the Whitebeard Pirates.
After hesitating for a long time, Momonosuke finally allowed Shinobu to use her ability on him, aging his body to sixteen. He left his mother and his young sister behind on Spring Queen Island, entrusting their protection to the retainer Kikunojo.
The reason was simple. Bringing them along would be too dangerous. It was safer and more reliable to concentrate their strength on escorting Momonosuke alone back to the New World to reunite with Kozuki Oden. After that, they could find a proper opportunity to bring Kozuki Toki and Kozuki Hiyori back.
In truth, the journey went smoothly. They traveled from Spring Queen Island to the Sabaody Archipelago without incident, acquired a coated ship there, and successfully reached Fish-Man Island. On Fish-Man Island, they made contact with the Whitebeard Pirates. With the island's help, they safely departed and entered the New World.
On the deck of the three-masted ship, Inuarashi stood beneath the mast and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"So this is the New World… It's been a long time."
Kinemon nodded, his face full of emotion.
"We've finally returned. Next, we'll reunite with Oden-sama. If we can borrow Whitebeard-sama's strength, we might even be able to strike back at Wano and take down that bastard Kaidou."
"First, we have to reunite with Oden-sama safely," Raizo said in a low voice. "This is the New World. It's not like the Paradise we passed through before. We should be cautious."
"Ahahaha! What's there to be afraid of?" Nekomamushi laughed arrogantly. "This is the New World! Whitebeard's territory is the closest to us. We just need to pass through the gateway waters and cross a few Marine-controlled seas. Everyone knows how weak the Marines are in the New World."
"You idiot," Inuarashi frowned. "Back on Fish-Man Island, they warned us again and again not to make enemies of the Marines in the New World. This isn't like the old days. Besides, the Marines have filled all three Admiral positions now. One of them is stationed right here in the New World."
"I know," Nekomamushi scoffed. "Benn Ortoren, right? Just some no-name brat."
"He defeated the Red Count back then," Inuarashi pressed.
"The one who defeated the Red Count was Fleet Admiral Kong," Nekomamushi sneered. "You can fear him if you want. I don't. If he dares show up, I'll take care of him myself."
...
While they were arguing over this, Ortoren was already seated in Ryugu Castle, drinking with Neptune, leisurely watching a large group of beautiful mermaid ladies sing and dance before him.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.