"The Monster Pirates, Big Mom Pirates, Ward Pirates, Terence Pirates, and Hart Pirates I mentioned earlier are all second tier," Mickey continued to explain. "They're large pirate groups that have grown rapidly in recent years. They're not much weaker than the first tier pirates. They just came along later than Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Roger. Third tier are the pirates with bounties in the 200 million range, and fourth tier are the ones who just entered the New World and their bounties just passed 100 million. Those pirates usually don't look for trouble with us, the Marines. We mostly deal with the ones who just entered the New World and are hungry for glory."
Seeing Leonardo frown, Mickey thought he was worried and added with a smile:
- Don't worry. Well, this "Red Count" - he's a loner, and it's not that easy for us, the Marines, to find him.
Hearing the name "Red Count", Leonardo raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, wasn't that the old man who ate the Vampire Fruit and who would be sent to the afterlife by Garp's grandson in the future? He had seen some of the plots, but they were characters who appeared more than 20 years later. He didn't expect that this "Red Count" was already so famous in the New World, rivaling Whitebeard in fame. And from what Mickey had said, this "Red Count" had some kind of personal grudge against their Marshal Kong.
"It's precisely because he's a loner that he's hard to find," Mickey continued, spreading his arms. "They say that Fleet Admiral Kong has been looking for him for many years. This man is extremely mysterious, and I myself know little about him. Fleet Admiral Kong promised that whoever finds the location of the Red Count will receive two consecutive promotions below the level of general. A Rear Admiral will become a Vice Admiral, and a Vice Admiral will become a candidate for the rank of Admiral. However, in all these years, not a single rumor has appeared about him. That's how mysterious he is."
"Hmm, this old man really is a master of hide and seek," Leonardo was surprised to hear that Kong was offering such a generous reward, but no one could provide information about the "Red Count".
The scale of the Marine base is enormous. Not to mention the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, the New World, while a pirate paradise, is not exactly controlled by the Marines. However, the Marines have their own spies and informants among the pirate groups. Without strong intelligence, Garp would not have been able to chase Roger's crew around the world. After all, if you don't know where the target is, how can you catch them?
Even Roger's team couldn't hide from Marines intelligence. And this "Red Count", who was personally followed by Fleet Admiral Kong, hid for so many years. His mastery of disguise is truly amazing.
.....
- Yo, Leonardo! You're really trying hard, - a voice came from the deck at four in the morning. - Isn't it enough? You said you wanted to guard the Eastern Blue Sea someday, like Vice Admiral Curry. You're strong enough there, no need to strain yourself so much... Come on, relax with a couple of beers!
On the deck of the Marine ship, several marines who had just changed shifts were making fun of Leonardo, who, having just woken up, was already training with huge dumbbells, practicing basic skills.
"Do you know why I've been a swordsman since I was seventeen?" Leonardo replied indifferently, continuing to lift a dumbbell that was bigger than anything he'd seen in the school gym. He was practicing the basic movements of kendo, although training with dumbbells wasn't very useful for that art. But there wasn't the same equipment as at school, so he had to improvise.
The small sapling inside him still showed no signs of activity. This allowed him to conclude that the system, although it looked serious, was not yet showing itself. If the system was really serious, then the reason the sapling was not activating was not due to some strange conditions. Thinking back to his school training, he compared it to the present. The only thing that had changed was that he had been spending more time on strength training, and his physical fitness was growing faster. Could it be that the sapling was activated when his physical strength reached a certain level?
It is quite possible.
The Marines' headquarters is located near the New World. The official entrance to the New World is located at the entrance to the Red Line, near the Sabaody Archipelago. The Celestial Dragons reside at the top of the Red Line.Mariejois, the seat of the World Government, is a key stronghold of defense for both the Government and the Marine Corps. If pirates attempt to enter the New World through the official entrance, they will be unable to do so.
If the pirates still wanted to get to the New World, they would have to coat their ship in a special compound at Sabaody, then dive ten thousand meters underwater and pass through Fishman Island to successfully reach the New World. The Marines do not have such difficulties.
Marineford, the main base of the Marine Corps, is located close to the Sabaody Archipelago, so the official journey from Morford to the New World takes less than a month. As a trainee, Sengoku did not assign Leonardo specific duties, but simply allowed him to spend time with Mickey, Sengoku's adjutant. Mickey was required to remain in his cabin every day, answering calls and sorting through paperwork. In general, the adjutant's work seemed endless, as if there was always more to do.
After two days spent with Mickey, Leonardo got bored and decided to return to his usual activities.
Looking at the Marines who, barely awake, were approaching him sleepily and without interest, Leonardo stopped and spoke to them with a mysterious look. These guys looked even worse than himself.
- What? Are you talking about my talent in kendo?
Those standing around stopped, interested in his words. Although they all had weapons, none of them had practiced fencing, so they really did not understand what kind of "talent" Leonardo had.
"Talent is important, of course, but I'm definitely not the only one in the Marines who has it. Vice Admiral Tsuru's sister, Mrs. Gion... ugh, also has excellent talent in kendo. But why did I reach the level of Sword Master faster than her? Do you know what the secret is?"
"In what?" the Marines surrounding him shook their heads, not understanding.
– Have you seen what Marineford looks like at four in the morning?
Leonardo did not answer directly, but pretended to be mysterious, as if he were revealing great wisdom.
- Wow!
Those standing around looked at him with respect. Talented and hardworking, it was no wonder that Fleet Admiral Kong had taken notice of him at such a young age.
Do you hear that? "Have you seen what Marineford looks like at four in the morning?" How inspiring that sounds!