Sengoku answered the Den Den Mushi.
As expected—it was the Five Elders.
The moment the call connected, they launched into a furious tirade. A full ten minutes of scolding passed before they finally got to the point.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, while we currently lack direct evidence tying this to the Jun Lin organization—"
"Even if it's not them, the naval power they possess has already surpassed what we can tolerate."
"But all they've done so far is hunt pirates. They haven't acted out otherwise."
Sengoku felt he could still argue the point.
But—
"Sengoku, this is an order. Not a request for your opinion!"
"Just carry it out. If you can't handle it, say so—we'll replace you with someone who can."
There it was. That line—again.
How many times had he heard that over the years as Fleet Admiral?
And yet, what could he do?
It's not like he could flat-out refuse and be stripped of his title, right?
Not that he was particularly attached to the power of the position, but...
If he were removed and replaced by someone who obeyed the World Government without question, then the Navy's last shred of justice—
Would vanish completely.
So he had no choice but to agree.
Once the call ended, Sengoku scanned the three people in the room and gave them a look.
A glance that clearly meant:
"You heard it. If you have any ideas, now's the time."
"Why don't you just go toe-to-toe with the Five Elders?" Garp grumbled. "Back in my day, I—"
"GARP, SHUT UP!"
Sengoku clutched his head in frustration. He asked for solutions, and this old guy was rambling about the past?
And besides, did you go fight the Five Elders back then? How many years ago was that?
Still bragging?
Tsuru, who had been silent up to this point, finally spoke up.
"Sengoku, what are your plans moving forward?"
At her words, Garp also fell silent, paying attention for once.
Sengoku thought for a moment before making his decision.
"We'll issue a bounty first. For now, no further action."
"Bounties are fine—but for whom?"
"We barely saw anyone from Jun Lin. They all wore masks. And we don't even know if those three are the true leaders. What exactly are we putting on the bounty posters?"
"Doesn't matter. Have someone recreate their appearances from Momousagi's memory. The one in the center is the leader. The other two are high-ranking officers."
"Alright. What about the bounty amounts?"
Tsuru nodded, then asked the crucial question.
Sengoku grimaced. That was the tricky part.
Set them too low, and the Five Elders would throw a fit.
But if the numbers were too high...
"Alright. The leader gets 800 million berries. The barehanded one—300 million. The one with the three swords—280 million."
"That'll do for now."
---
Once everything was settled, Tsuru and Momousagi (Gion) left together.
On the way—
"Gion, you seem distracted today."
"Sister Tsuru, I…"
"Wait. Save it for my office."
Tsuru raised her hand to cut her off and led Gion to her office.
"Now, speak. Is this about Jun Lin?"
"You really do see right through me…"
Gion smiled bitterly.
"I have a feeling that Jun Lin's leader... is Luo Lan."
"Luo Lan? Are you sure?"
Tsuru was visibly shocked.
The same Luo Lan who was exiled by Sengoku to the 157th Branch a year ago for being weak and useless?
And now you're telling me—
He's not only grown strong enough to rival a Vice Admiral, but is also Jun Lin's leader?
How absurd is that?
"I'm not sure. But my instincts tell me it's him."
Tsuru fell silent for a long time, then finally spoke.
"Gion, don't tell Sengoku just yet. Go to the 157th Branch and confirm this yourself."
"Understood, Sister Tsuru."
She had her reasons.
The relationship between Luo Lan and Sengoku was... complicated.
And Sengoku was a stubborn old man—if he learned about this prematurely, he might make things worse.
So for now, it was better to let Gion check things out first.
As for what to do after that—
That would come later.
For now?
Just another headache.
---
Three Days Later
The Jun Lin fleet arrived at Rhodes Island.
Luo Lan wasted no time. He immediately summoned all senior members for a meeting.
....
"That's the situation," he explained from the head of the table. "I don't know what Gion told them when she returned, but if we stay here any longer…"
"We'll likely be fully exposed."
He gave a detailed report of what happened on Volcano Island, including how Gion had likely begun to suspect his identity.
This worried everyone.
Was the 157th Branch strong?
Absolutely.
But they were still far from being able to confront the World Government—let alone handle an all-out assault from Marine HQ.
The branch needed time. More time.
Luo Lan scanned the room, then said:
"I've decided. We're relocating the 157th Branch."
Wait, what?
Relocate?
It's a whole branch! How do you move something like that?
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Luo Lan, are you going to flatten the entire branch and rebuild it somewhere?" Hina asked directly.
"Hina, you mean bulldozing the whole thing and rebuilding elsewhere, right?" Luo Lan asked.
Hina nodded. "Isn't that what you meant? What else could relocation mean? It's not like we can move the entire island—"
"Actually, that's exactly what I mean."
"Over two months ago, we began a secret project under the code name: Island-Grade Propulsion System."
"Deep beneath us—hundreds of meters below the underground labs—we've installed massive propulsion units. Once activated, they can move Rhodes Island itself."
"Our destination: The Calm Belt."
Hsssss—
Silence.
Install propulsion units at the bottom of an island?
To move the entire island?
Was this a joke?
Even if it wasn't—
Hina suddenly thought of another issue.
"Wait, what about the underwater prison? What'll happen to that?"
Now the others caught on too.
Right—what would they do with the sea prison? Just leave it behind?
"We'll abandon it."
"After relocation, I'll build a new prison."
"But the old one won't go to waste. We'll keep it as an underwater base in this region."
"Anyway, have all departments ready. We move out in three days!"
Luo Lan ended the meeting with a wave of his hand.
After the meeting, he went to the vault.
This time, the haul had been massive—not just from the Donquixote Family and the forces on Volcano Island, but also from the Baroque Works' stash.
Luo Lan had really cleaned up this time.
Just in cash alone, he had over 7 billion berries.
And counting the black-market goods and valuables, the total easily exceeded 10 billion berries.
Enough to upgrade his B-rank Fortress Constructor skill—which required 3 billion berries.
As for the rest?
He could go wild with it.
But first, there was one small problem.
Currently standing in front of the vault with her arms spread wide, glaring fiercely at him— was Nami.
---
A/N: Currently at chapter 385 on Ko-Fi
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27