All illusions were shattered by that nightmarish flash of light.
Even without getting the chance to face Kizaru directly, Belo Betty could deeply feel that terrifying pressure—one that surpassed even top-tier powerhouses.
As a user of the Pump-Pump Fruit, she even had to secretly use her ability on herself just to keep from losing the will to fight.
"Fleet Admiral of the Navy... Mr. Kizaru, is this part of your plan…?"
Ignoring the noisy and bickering officers, Dragon walked over to the window and gazed toward the East Blue.
The face that rarely revealed much emotion now showed a faint expression of anticipation.
To the World Government, Dragon was "the most dangerous criminal in the world."
To the Revolutionary Army, he was the most reliable leader.
To countless others, he was their great savior.
But Dragon had never forgotten the one who first guided him onto the path of revolution.
Yet just as Dragon was feeling expectant about Kizaru becoming the next Fleet Admiral, on another sea, someone was exploding with rage.
West Blue, Navy Branch 44.
As the closest branch to Reverse Mountain in the West Blue, this base annually received Navy graduates for field training.
The best among these recruits were even personally led by the former admiral Zephyr himself.
Even after losing his family and an arm in a tragic incident, Zephyr never lost his love for the Navy.
But it was precisely because of that deep love that Zephyr sincerely worried about the Navy's future.
"That bastard Kizaru…"
Holding a pink ticket for a luxurious seven-day vacation to Pleasure Street, Zephyr's mouth twitched.
He felt an overwhelming urge to rush to Marineford right now and settle the score with that bastard Kizaru!
To think he was even slightly moved when he received the gift from Kizaru—he had opened it right in front of Ain and Binz.
"Master Zephyr, are we still returning to Marineford?"
Watching her teacher fume over the strange gift, Ain asked with feigned seriousness, trying hard not to laugh.
To her, Zephyr was like a father figure.
Seeing his mix of anger and embarrassment—even knowing it was wrong—she couldn't help but find it funny.
"Of course we're going back! I want to see what that bastard Kizaru is up to!"
Zephyr shouted with a stern face.
Technically, all high-ranking naval officers should attend the Fleet Admiral's promotion ceremony.
But since Zephyr was a retired former admiral, attending or not was up to him.
Ain had asked because Zephyr hadn't made a decision until now—and there was no time to spare before the promotion ceremony.
If it weren't for the new warship's high speed and ability to cross the Calm Belt directly, they might not have made it in time for Kizaru's promotion.
"Yes, Master Zephyr!"
Ain and Binz responded immediately.
They were both quite curious about this admiral senior who Zephyr always mentioned.
After all, this was the man who broke multiple promotion records and was once hailed as the strongest Navy officer in history—the "Navy Monster."
As his two students busied themselves with preparing to set sail, Zephyr, expressionless as always, casually slipped the Pleasure Street luxury tour ticket into his pocket.
No deeper meaning—he simply didn't want to waste it.
He'd just give it to someone who might need it later.
North Blue, Kingdom of Edmonton.
Edmonton, a nation once known for its beautiful snowy scenery and thriving tourist industry, is now shrouded in the smoke of war.
Fed up with endless exploitation by the king and nobles, merchants and citizens launched a civil war to overthrow the cruel monarchy and greedy aristocracy.
Backed by most of the common people, the rebel army grew with astonishing speed; in less than a year they had occupied almost all the principality's territory.
The royal army proved no match for them—many soldiers even defected. After only a few campaigns, the king controlled nothing but the capital.
But just as the rebels prepared to storm the royal city and topple the tyrant, the king hired Germa 66.
The "battle for the capital" lasted a single day: the vast rebel force collapsed under the onslaught of the "war-experts" of Germa 66.
"Too easy. All we had to do was swing by and we collected a fat fee!"
Vinsmoke Niji laughed, tossing aside a clone soldier he'd used as a human shield, utterly unconcerned by the corpses strewn across the field.
"Hahaha! If only every job were this simple!"
Youngest brother Yonji lounged beside the rebel leader's body, hands behind his head, casually admiring the carnage.
Just hours earlier, the three brothers and their clone troops had overrun the rebel camp—routing the army and capturing its officers and their families in one stroke.
"Idiot. Jobs aren't always this sweet. And if the enemy's too weak, there's no thrill in crushing them."
Eldest brother Ichiji, phone-snail in hand, was reporting their victory to Judge in the palace. Though Germa had lost plenty of clone soldiers, exchanging endlessly replaceable clones for a chest full of war pay was a bargain.
"Well, that's true," Yonji laughed, patting the rebel leader's skull. "These trash were no challenge—killing them was like squashing bugs!"
To his surprise, the "corpse" beneath his hand stirred—the rebel chief still clung to life despite his wounds.
"Germa 66… you devils… why… why did you join this fight…?"
The leader opened blood-filmed eyes, face twisted with despair. They had been so close to toppling the tyrant; now, all was lost.
"Why? For the money, of course. Your king offered his whole treasury to pay us to wipe you out."
Yonji grinned, unfazed by the man's hateful stare. As emotionless modified humans, the brothers were used to such looks—sometimes they even found them amusing.
Unfortunately, he couldn't toy with this one: someone had already reserved the rebel's head. Germa 66 kept its contracts—even the wild Niji wouldn't ignore a client's wishes.
"Especially your head," Yonji added cheerfully. "The king has put a two-hundred-million-berry price on it…"
Niji stepped on the rebel leader's neck, a cruel smile on his face. With a slight exertion of force, he crushed it completely.
At the same time, back at the royal palace of the Edmonton Principality, Vinsmoke Judge was overseeing clone soldiers as they emptied the national treasury.
The king watched helplessly as his treasury was looted piece by piece. His heart ached so much he nearly fainted, yet he didn't even have the courage to open his mouth and stop it.
His cruelty was reserved only for his own people. When faced with monsters like Germa 66, he didn't even dare to bargain. He let them walk away with a fortune in treasure without protest.
"Is something wrong, Father?"
Reiju, tall and slender with mid-length pink hair, asked with mild confusion.
Though Edmonton was a small nation in many ways, its treasury, built up over centuries, held a staggering amount of wealth.
Normally, seeing this much money—which could significantly speed up Germa's revival—Judge would at least show some satisfaction, if not joy.
But ever since hearing Niji's report, Judge hadn't said a single word.
In fact, he'd been in a heavy mood for several days—ever since he received the news about the Marines appointing a new Fleet Admiral.
What puzzled Reiju was this: Germa had no direct dealings with Marine Headquarters. Why would a new admiral matter to them?
It couldn't possibly be because of who the new Fleet Admiral was… The moment Reiju thought of that shameless man who had toyed with her feelings, her fists clenched.
A dignified Marine Admiral, playing innocent to flirt with women—and even worse, the man already had a fiancée!
Naturally, what annoyed her the most was that she couldn't beat Borsalino's fiancée. If she could, with her personality, Reiju would never let it slide.
"If we could gain the support of the Fleet Admiral… reviving the Germa Kingdom might be much easier."
Judge suddenly muttered. Reiju's face instantly darkened.
Judge had become obsessed with restoring Germa to its former glory. And if trading one daughter could make that happen, there was no doubt in Reiju's mind he would do it without hesitation.
Oddly enough, being used as a bargaining chip was something Reiju despised the most. Yet, thinking about what might come next… she couldn't bring herself to be as angry as usual. In fact, there was a faint sense of anticipation deep in her heart.
But just thinking about that violent woman who would draw her blade at the slightest provocation made her question whether Judge's plan could actually succeed.
"Reiju. Submit the application to the World Government—Germa Kingdom will attend the Fleet Admiral's promotion ceremony!"
Judge didn't care about Reiju's opinion, nor the fact that the Marines hadn't invited any outside factions to the ceremony.
Cruel, arrogant, and self-important—in many ways, he was no different from the king of Edmonton.
°°°
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