The pirate ship swiftly cut through the waves, advancing toward its destination.
Brian sat on a deck chair, gazing at the Log Pose in his hand as he murmured softly.
"At our current speed, we should reach the waters of the Fiore Kingdom by tomorrow."
It had been five days since Brian departed from Hachinosu.
He had spent two days returning to his base from Hachinosu, then stayed at the base for another two days to produce Beast Girls.
After setting sail again, one more day had passed, leaving less than two days until the agreed time with Shiki.
Fortunately, the waters of the Fiore Kingdom weren't too far from his previous base, so he would make it in time.
The Fiore Kingdom was a renowned large kingdom in the New World and also one of the member nations of the World Government.
As one of the few member nations in the New World, the Fiore Kingdom was required to prepare a large Celestial Tribute each year to offer to the Celestial Dragons.
The latest Celestial Tribute offering happened to be scheduled for the near future.
This information had been "accidentally" leaked from within the Fiore Kingdom itself.
This time, Shiki had set his sights precisely on the Fiore Kingdom's Celestial Tribute.
"According to what Shiki mentioned earlier, the Fiore Kingdom was also plundered last year. That time, it was Linlin who led Kaido to do it, and they reaped substantial gains."
"This time, the Fiore Kingdom specifically sought support from the Marines and the World Government. The Marines escorting the tribute shouldn't be too shabby."
"Given that, it would have to be at least a Marine Admiral, wouldn't it? This is getting more and more interesting."
Compared to the mission specifically targeting the Marine branch, the Celestial Tribute mission wasn't rated very highly within the Rocks Pirates.
Why, you might ask?
Well, it was because these troublemaking monsters were more interested in slaughtering Marines than in simple plundering.
As top-tier pirates, there was no treasure they hadn't seen before, and over the years, they had plundered Celestial Tributes more than once or twice.
However, opportunities to strike at Marine branches were rare, especially when it involved completely devastating an entire branch—that was even more uncommon.
This was also why Shiki was somewhat resentful that the mission had been taken ahead of time; he was itching for action too.
Before setting out, Shiki had told Brian several times that this time, he was determined to thoroughly torment the Marines escorting the Celestial Tribute.
If necessary, he might even include the Fiore Kingdom within his scope of attack.
It could only be said that by provoking this somewhat deranged Golden Lion, both the Marines and the Fiore Kingdom had kicked an iron plate.
At this moment, neither Brian nor Shiki knew that an even bigger surprise awaited them during this Celestial Tribute heist.
...
The next day, the pirate ship smoothly entered the waters of the Fiore Kingdom.
On the familiar deck, Brian spoke into the Den Den Mushi on the table.
"Shiki, I've entered the waters of the Fiore Kingdom. Where are you?"
"Gyahahaha, Brian, you've finally arrived."
"I've been here for two days already, seriously, you're really slow."
A somewhat complaining voice came through the Den Den Mushi, followed by Shiki saying:
"Wait right there for me, I'll be there soon."
Click
After speaking, the Den Den Mushi was directly hung up.
"Such an impatient fellow."
"Griffin Girl, during this operation, we'll be confronting the Marines and even World Government forces."
"When the time comes, make sure to protect everyone and prevent any casualties."
Brian spoke to the Griffin Girl beside him.
"Understood, Master. Leave it to me."
The Griffin Girl nearby nodded. After a few days, her strength had completely stabilized.
She had even casually mastered the Six Styles and begun learning Haki. Now, she was looking forward to a battle.
This anticipation for combat was the same reaction shared by the other six Beast Girls.
As Beast Girls, no matter how gentle they might seem, they were still fierce combat enthusiasts at heart.
For some reason, Brian felt an inexplicable eagerness and impulse about this operation.
It was as if something good was waiting for him ahead.
This strange premonition added a glint of anticipation to Brian's eyes, and he was willing to trust this feeling.
After all, he had already experienced something as improbably rare as transmigration—nothing was impossible.
Less than ten minutes after the Den Den Mushi call ended, laughter sounded from above Brian.
"Gyahahaha, Brian, I'm here."
Thud
Shiki's figure appeared beside Brian. Without any formality, he directly sat down on the lounge chair before looking around.
"Yo, you've got three more underlings? Quite impressive."
"Why didn't I see these new little sisters on Hachinosu a few days ago? You hid them away, huh."
Shiki was inwardly startled, though he didn't show it.
In less than a week, Brian had gained three more formidable combatants under his command.
Especially the woman with lion legs standing nearby—she gave him a subtle sense of threat.
Looking at the Griffin Girl, Shiki felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were looking at his own First Division Commander, Rockwell.
Clearly, the two were on the same level—worthy opponents.
How could this not unsettle Shiki?
Although Shiki had valued Brian before, he hadn't considered him a true threat.
That was because, despite the novelty of Brian's Beast Girls, they were nothing more than a small, insignificant group—hardly a force to be reckoned with.
Just Rear Admirals? He could crush them with a flick of his hand—no big deal.
But now it was different. Brian had inexplicably gained a Vice Admiral-level powerhouse and even a Rear Admiral under his command.
Coupled with the other five powerful Rear Admirals, together they were enough to form a large pirate crew.
With such a top-tier lineup, Shiki compared it to his own forces and realized he only had a few more Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals than Brian.
Their top-tier combat power was now completely balanced. Shiki felt he wouldn't sleep peacefully at night.
So far, everyone in the Rocks Pirates believed the Beast Girls were just Zoan-type Devil Fruit users with slightly unusual appearances.
"Can't help it. Seeing you and the other officers with so many powerful subordinates, I couldn't sleep at night without strong fighters of my own."
Brian said this casually. He didn't delve deeper with Shiki and instead asked about the mission.
"You said you arrived two days early. Have you confirmed the target for the Celestial Tribute this time?"
"Ah, of course."
"Jiehahaha, according to the intelligence I've gathered, this time the Celestial Tribute is actually being escorted personally by that guy Sengoku. It's absolutely ridiculous."
"Besides Sengoku, there are several Vice Admirals accompanying him as well, along with quite a few Rear Admirals and several thousand elite soldiers."
"On top of that, the Fiore Kingdom's reaction has been rather strange too. It feels like they're hosting some distinguished guest, but my intelligence network couldn't uncover what's going on."
"All we can determine for now is that we're probably going to encounter a big fish this time. It definitely won't be that simple."
"To be honest, if I weren't teaming up with you this time, I might have had to go back and ask Captain Rocks for reinforcements. Otherwise, we might not be able to pull this off successfully."
Normally, the Celestial Tribute is offered annually, with most escorts being handled by Navy Vice Admirals.
The New World is a special case, but at most they'd just assign more Vice Admirals - nothing as extreme as this.
Especially considering Sengoku - though nominally still holding the rank of Vice Admiral at this time, he already possessed the strength of an Admiral.
If the three old Admiral-generation guys above him hadn't retired yet, Sengoku would have been promoted already.
On the seas, people never judge Sengoku and Garp, the Navy's two supernovas, by their current official ranks.
This is precisely why Shiki concluded directly that they were going to encounter a big fish this time~