The sea is vast enough for fish to leap freely;
The sky is high enough for birds to soar without restraint.
For some reason, as Longinus gazed out at the majestic, endless ocean,
a line of poetry from the memories of that "otherworld soul" suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"If the starting point of pirates is the New World…
then the starting point of the Marines is Marineford.
Only by stepping into that place can one truly touch this world—
only then does my journey really begin."
"Apophis… Vice Admiral Garp…"
Hearing the chatter behind him, Longinus frowned slightly.
What connection could those two possibly have?
"What are you all talking about?" Longinus stepped toward his subordinates.
Gregory laughed loudly.
"Oh right! Boss, you went straight onto this warship to HQ the moment you returned from deep-sea body training.
It's normal you don't know about the big incident that happened recently."
"Right! Boss, have you heard of Apophis?"
"Apophis? I know of him.
A moderately well-known swordsman on the Grand Line."
Longinus replied calmly.
"Boss, he's definitely not just moderately well-known!"
Gregory exaggerated dramatically.
"Ten years ago, the great pirate Skullcrusher Buffet, who retreated from the Grand Line,
was killed in his own West Blue territory—by Apophis alone!"
"That guy once had a bounty of 120 million berries,
and he commanded a mafia force of several thousand.
Yet Apophis wiped them out single-handedly!"
"I heard the aftermath was so gruesome that even many Marine higher-ups think he's extremely dangerous.
They're still debating whether to issue a bounty on him.
But if you ask me, everything he did was damn satisfying!"
"It's ironic, really.
The Government knows very well that pirates who crawl back from the Grand Line aren't good people,
but to maintain 'order' they pretend not to see anything.
Then it takes a bounty hunter to clean those pests up.
Honestly? It's a disgrace to the Marines!"
"Gregory, that's enough.
Complaining to us is fine, but keep talking like this at Marine HQ, and you'll get heard by the CP in no time."
Abraham warned coldly.
"Yeah yeah, I know!" Gregory waved dismissively.
"So… what does any of this have to do with Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Oh, right!
Since Buffet was cooperating with Chinjao's son—
and Chinjao was once defeated by Vice Admiral Garp—
there's this rumor that…"
Longinus's mouth twitched.
You guys are really trying to force a connection here…
"'Drill-Head' Chinjao once had a bounty over 500 million.
Compared to him, Buffet is just a rookie among pirates!
But Apophis dared to kill his son's partner—
you can't even call that reckless anymore!"
Abraham took over.
"Because of this, the retired Chief Chinjao has re-entered the seas,
publicly declaring he'll kill Apophis in the most brutal way possible."
"And based on his recent abilities, Apophis seems to have acquired a Devil Fruit.
Internal sources say his file will be updated as a 'Devil Fruit User + Swordsman' hybrid."
"So he really did stir up quite the storm."
Longinus nodded slightly.
He had deliberately left a witness alive to spread the narrative of "Apophis = Devil Fruit user."
Even though Longinus's two identities had completely different soul signatures under Observation Haki,
different fighting styles,
and even the face behind the mask was reshaped through Life Return to mimic his otherworldly memory,
he still wanted to give Apophis a fourth, unmistakable trait.
"Actually, that ruthless, decisive killing style of his has earned him quite a fanbase.
Especially that creepy demon-face mask—
makes a lot of young girls imagine what he looks like underneath."
Gregory grinned wickedly.
"But personally, I bet Apophis under that mask is an absolute ugly monster.
Maybe he has two mouths and four nostrils!
Otherwise he—
Huh? Why is it suddenly so cold? Is the weather changing?"
Puh-oh-oh—Pohhhh…
Hearing the strange sound, Longinus took out the Den-Den Mushi in his arms.
"Huh? Boss, why does your Den-Den Mushi make noises like that?
Is it seasick? Or stomach cramps?" Gregory asked innocently.
"Idiot.
That's an emergency signal—someone is calling for help!"
Abraham snapped.
"Oh! I remember!
Some Marines like to use that kind of signal to lure enemies into traps.
When you pick up the call, if someone's tapping in, they'll know we entered the signal range!"
Gregory suddenly understood, then looked curiously at the weeping Den-Den Mushi.
"So this is pirates copying our tactics?"
"This type of Den-Den Mushi is specially made by Marine HQ.
Emergency signals only connect with the same model."
Longinus explained quickly before lifting the receiver.
"So… this is actually a Marine distress call?"
Gregory asked, tone heavy.
The moment Longinus picked up, a rapid, desperate voice came through:
"Any Marine out there, please—help us!
If help doesn't come soon, Rear Admiral Morgan won't last any longer!"
Gregory and the others exchanged grim looks.
Even a Rear Admiral was being overwhelmed—
rare in the first half of the Grand Line.
Longinus answered steadily:
"Don't panic.
Tell me your position and enemy numbers.
We'll come immediately."
"We're in the Coast Sea, between Duoya Island and Chain Island!
The enemies are the Scorpion-Poison Forman, bounty 72 million—
and Blade Joseph, bounty 81 million!"
Longinus nodded slightly.
Anyone who could stall both alone was far stronger than Rear Admiral Adergin.
"The enemy is powerful.
If you don't have at least five Marine warships,
please call a nearby fleet immediately.
We'll hold on as long as we can—!"
Click!
After the call ended, Gregory and the others all looked to Longinus.
"Boss, just say the word.
We'll follow you."
"If it were only two pirates with around 80 million bounties,
it wouldn't be too difficult.
But the details are unclear.
We must approach cautiously."
"Here's the plan:
Gregory, take me and fly over first.
If the situation matches the distress call, I can save them in time.
If things are already beyond recovery,
I can withdraw safely."
"Boss, what about us?"
"You follow behind—quickly, but keep contact.
Only move in when I give the attack order.
Understood?"
"Understood, Major Longinus!"
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