"Mr. Tesoro…"
"I'm fine."
Sitting in the wrecked hall after Roman had left, Tesoro waved his hand, signaling the three officers about to enter to leave. But a second later, he changed his mind.
"Wait."
Looking at his three loyal subordinates—people who had followed him for years—even the so-called Golden Emperor, who viewed everything as a tool, couldn't help but feel something stir inside him.
"If… If I were to take on a mission where I'm guaranteed to die, would you still follow me?"
The old Tesoro would never have given others the choice. Whether by deception or control, he would never let his subordinates slip from his grasp. But now…
"If you still remember the words of the one you loved, don't let her be sad for you in the next world."
Stella, if you were still here, the 'Golden Emperor' wouldn't exist, would he? If you saw me now, would you be disappointed…?
"Haha, Boss! Are we going into a big fight?"
Dais, dressed in an open-chested jacket and dark military pants, with a floral bandana on his head and chewing gum like a tough guy, casually cracked his knuckles—producing a metallic clanging sound.
"I've been waiting for some real action!"
This big guy wasn't just a master of Armament Haki—he also had a special condition: instead of feeling pain when hit, he felt 'pleasure.'
Scientifically speaking, when he took damage, his body released dopamine, making him more excited and happy. Unless he was taken out in one move, he only got stronger the more he was hit—basically an unstoppable battle maniac.
"I don't think I'll lose. After all, I'm incredibly lucky."
The red-haired beauty Baccarat placed one hand on her hip. As long as she stored up enough 'luck,' she could stand in the middle of a battlefield with thousands of soldiers and still walk away spotless.
"Hehehe, if the boss loses, I'll be the first one to get you out of there."
With a scheming look, the big-headed Mr. Tanaka made his stance clear.
"Hahahaha! You guys are something else!"
Hearing their responses, Tesoro burst into laughter.
That's right—after everything he'd been through over the past decade, what situation hadn't he faced? Even brushes with death had become routine.
Before, there was no hope at all. But now… even if it was a slim chance, it was still better than nothing.
If there was anything more important to Tesoro than gold and fame, it was undoubtedly—getting revenge on the Celestial Dragons!
"Alright, men—"
"Yes, sir!" ×3
His three loyal subordinates kneeled before him. Tesoro sat back on the sofa, resting his hands in front of him, leaning forward slightly, and grinning—revealing his sharp white teeth.
"The real show is about to begin."
—————
"Huh? A partnership? No way!"
"Luffy, don't turn it down so fast…"
When Roman finally caught up with Luffy and the others, he saw Coby looking frustrated as he tried to explain something.
Meanwhile, Helmeppo, now wearing increasingly closed-off Marine gear, leaned against a streetlamp, looking bored.
For once, his Marine captain's coat was properly worn instead of just draped over his shoulders. He also had on a round soft cap and sunglasses covering his eyes.
"Helmeppo, anyone who knows you would say you're a Marine. But anyone who doesn't would think you're some shady undercover agent."
Hearing Roman's complaint, Helmeppo—once a spoiled rich kid, now a rising star in the Marines—let out a helpless sigh.
"Come on, this is a perfectly normal Marine uniform! If anything, you guys are the weird ones… Ahem, I mean, even other Marine officers barely wear their coats properly."
"Ro… Ahem, I mean, Mr. Neo, strategist of the Straw Hat Crew—"
"Alright, alright, enough of that!"
They were all old acquaintances from East Blue. Unlike these two, who had gone through such drastic changes after moving from East Blue to Marine Headquarters that even their own mothers might not recognize them, Roman still looked the same as ever, both in body and appearance.
"Just call me Roman. Seriously… if you guys keep this up, I'm gonna be the one feeling embarrassed for you."
"So, what exactly are you two doing here?"
Zoro looked at these two familiar faces from East Blue with a sour expression. Aside from Luffy and Roman, he was the only one in the Straw Hat Crew who had interacted with them before.
Even though they had briefly crossed paths in Water 7, Coby and Helmeppo hadn't even introduced themselves to the rest of the Straw Hat Crew, let alone talked to them.
"Aren't you both Marines? Talking about 'cooperating' with pirates… aren't you afraid of getting dragged to a military trial?"
Despite his gruff demeanor, Zoro was actually looking out for them. Coby scratched his pink hair and gave a wry smile.
"We don't really want to either, but this time…"
"This time, we're just following orders."
Helmeppo, wrapped up tightly in a hat, sunglasses, and a scarf, shrugged helplessly.
"The higher-ups want us to work with you guys to wipe out the Blackbeard Pirates. As for how such a ridiculous idea even got approved… I honestly can't imagine Akainu, of all people, agreeing to it."
"Akainu…"
Because of Ace's return, the Straw Hat Crew no longer held as much hatred for the Marine who claimed to stand for "absolute justice."
But they still knew one thing for sure—if Akainu was willing to go head-to-head with Whitebeard in the Summit War and 'kill' Ace, it was hard to believe he would ever approve something like this…
"It wasn't Fleet Admiral Akainu. This order actually came from the Supreme Commander of the World Government's military—Commander-in-Chief Kong."
A cool voice cut in as Gion walked over, followed by a frustrated Nami, a puzzled Robin, and an uneasy Pudding.
"The reports will say that the Marines, with the help of certain 'enthusiastic allies,' crushed the arrogant and reckless Blackbeard Pirates, restoring peace to the seas."
"I don't care about some stupid report!"
Luffy glared at Gion, who was draped in a Marine officer's coat.
"Whether we fight Blackbeard or when we fight him—that's up to me. But teaming up with the Marines? Not a chance!"
"Don't you want to know who's leading this operation?"
Hearing Gion's calm question, Luffy frowned.
"I don't care who it is—"
"It's 'White Dove' Roman, a candidate for Admiral."
?!
"Huh?! It's Roman?"
Luffy immediately snapped his head around to stare at Roman. Under his intense gaze, Roman felt like the mask on his face was about to melt from the heat.
Don't get the wrong idea—it wasn't embarrassment. It was pure rage!
"Why are you looking at me?! I'm Neo! Is your brain made of tofu or something? How can you not even remember your own crew member's name?!"
"Oh, oh, oh… right, right! Neo, that's it…"
Luffy quickly turned his head back, clenched his fist, and gave a fake cough.
"That's right! There's no Roman on our ship—only Neo… So, whoever is leading this operation… ahem… has nothing to do with us."
???
Could he be any more obvious?!
Watching Luffy's ridiculous attempt at covering up the truth, everyone around them broke into a cold sweat.
Roman, in particular, was so embarrassed that he felt like he could dig a hole deep enough to reach Marine Headquarters just by curling his toes.
Sigh… Expecting Luffy to act was a mistake. I should have just never told him in the first place.
What a regret…
"You guys… what are you doing here—Marines?!"
Just as the awkward silence dragged on, Sanji—who had been gone for a while—walked over. Even from a distance, the scent of his cigarette smoke drifted through the air.
"Hey, I know I shouldn't judge your habits, but Sanji, aren't you smoking way too much?"
The smell coming off him was like he had just crawled out of a pile of cigarette butts. Even Chopper, who had the sharpest sense of smell, was spinning in circles from it.
"...Sorry, but... is this person here doing some kind of 'cosplay'?"
Sanji's eyes couldn't help but land on Gion. Partly because she was a stunning woman, and partly because—
Even though she had a friendly smile and didn't seem intimidating, Sanji had a strange feeling that she was incredibly dangerous!
"I'm not. I'm a real Marine."
?
"I know it's a bit late, but let me introduce myself—Marine Candidate Admiral 'Momousagi' Gion."
?!
"Wait, am I hallucinating from smoking too much?"
While Sanji stood there at a loss for words, Roman waved his hand, creating a gust of wind that blew away the heavy scent of tobacco from Sanji. Then—
"She really is a Marine Candidate Admiral. But there's nothing to be so shocked about. This place is recognized as a 'neutral zone' by the World Government. Even if you saw the Marine Fleet Admiral surrounded by women here, it wouldn't be..."
The image of Akainu's stern, serious face while being surrounded by women suddenly popped into Roman's mind, sending a shiver down his spine. He quickly changed the topic.
"Anyway, Sanji, where have you been? You look deep in thought."
"Yeah, were you off somewhere trying to smoke five cigarettes at once? Maybe even holding them upside down?"
"Could you drink juice at the same time? That would be amazing~~"
"Hey, don't just make stuff up! No human can do something like that!"
Sanji didn't even know how to respond to Luffy and Chopper, who were staring at him with wide, excited eyes. But thanks to their antics—
"Sorry, I was really thinking about something just now. But..."
"Hahaha, this is a pretty nice place."
A sleazy laugh rang out as a middle-aged man in a dull yellow suit, with a Marine coat draped over his shoulders and a matching yellow hat, walked toward them—one woman in each arm.
Roman raised an eyebrow.
That was 'Chaton' Tokikake, another Marine Candidate Admiral. Despite looking like a sketchy old man, he was actually quite popular among ordinary people. Like Fujitora, he was one of the Marine higher-ups who genuinely cared about civilians.
By the way, he and Fujitora were close friends. Of course—
"Gion, you're already here."
He let go of the two women who had been keeping him company, casually waved them off—getting rid of two of Tesoro's spies in the process—then straightened up, his expression turning serious.
As the Straw Hat crew tensed up—What a powerful presence!
"Such a beautiful night, Gion... Will you marry me?"
Ignoring the Straw Hat crew, who were ready to jump into action at any moment, Tokikake smoothly dropped to one knee in front of Gion in a perfect slide. The timing, the control—it was flawless.
A true Marine Candidate Admiral!
"I refuse."
"Hahaha, what a shame. That makes rejection number 101~~"
With a hearty laugh, Tokikake stood up. His wooden sandals clacked against the floor as he stood with his legs spread wide in an awkward stance, leaning forward. A proper Marine admiral candidate, yet he made himself look like a total creep.
?!
Are there any normal people in the Marines?!
As the Straw Hat crew stared at him, Roman simply ripped off his mask and threw it to the ground with a loud slap.
What's the point of keeping up this disguise anymore?!
"I was an idiot to think you guys could keep a secret… Whatever, let's move somewhere else to talk—Sanji, you've been worrying about how to help Pudding, right?"
"Wait... How did you...?"
What else could possibly make you sit there smoking like that?
And no matter how good Pudding was at acting, there was no way she could completely hide her anxiety from a bunch of people with advanced Observation Haki.
"Luffy, Sanji wants to help Pudding rescue her captured family members. The easiest way to do that is by working with the Marines. So—"
"I'm in."
Just moments ago, Luffy had been completely against it, saying he'd rather die than work with the Marines. But now, he just adjusted his straw hat and grinned.
"If it's for a friend, then I've got no choice."
(End of chapter)
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