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Marineford, Sengoku's Office.
"Were there any Celestial Dragon casualties, Borsalino?"
"Ooh, it was fine. It seems only one Celestial Dragon was injured. I heard the slave who did it was avenging his wife and child. He came this close to finishing him off, you know~"
Kizaru said, making a tiny gesture with his thumb and forefinger.
It was true that Celestial Dragon would likely spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and be left with an indelible psychological scar.
"That's good…" Sengoku rubbed his brow, which was throbbing with a headache.
He didn't care in the slightest about the lives of the Celestial Dragons, but he worried the Five Elders would use this incident to cause trouble.
Buru buru buru… Buru buru buru...
As if on cue, the Den Den Mushi on his desk began to ring. Click!
"This is Sengoku!" Under the strange gazes of the others in the room, Sengoku calmly picked up the receiver.
"What in the world are you Marines doing, Sengoku?!" The voice of a Five Elder emerged from the Den Den Mushi, low and deep.
Everyone present could hear the suppressed rage. They were dissatisfied with the Marines' performance during the riot.
But who cared? Atlas glanced at Kizaru, who was nonchalantly inspecting his fingernails, probably contemplating whether he needed a manicure later.
"Saint Nusjuro, our Marines responded to Mary Geoise with the utmost speed!"
Sengoku, unwilling to let the Five Elders pin the blame on the Marines, retorted without hesitation.
"According to the CP units' investigation, the mastermind of this attack was the fish-man Fisher Tiger."
"The Marines will now be responsible for setting his bounty and dispatching personnel to pursue him. Keep a close watch on Fish-Man Island's movements and remember, you are to succeed at all costs."
"Also, try to avoid conflict with the Whitebeard Pirates. I trust you, Marines, can handle that balance. We do not wish for the equilibrium of the seas to be broken again."
The World Government's intelligence network was indeed efficient; they had identified Tiger in almost no time at all. But their attitude toward Fish-Man Island was ambiguous.
The island's status was unique; it was a member nation of the World Government, yet it was under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates.
This wasn't really Fish-Man Island's fault. Its geographical location was too precarious.
As one of only two passages between Paradise and the New World, it was constantly ravaged by pirates and received no protection from the Marines.
Coupled with the fact that King Neptune was good friends with Whitebeard from his youth, they had no choice but to fly the Whitebeard Pirates' flag.
"Our Marines discovered that Rayleigh was also involved in this incident…" Sengoku revealed the information Atlas had brought back.
Although the Five Elders likely knew already, it was a good way to redirect their anger. The fate of Rayleigh was not his concern.
"As for Rayleigh… reinstate his bounty. Since he doesn't care about the chance Roger gave them, let him return to the life of a pirate!"
This was, of course, an empty threat. Rayleigh was one of the world's top-tier powerhouses, with no fixed territory.
He was a lone wolf who could come and go as he pleased. The Marines had no way of dealing with such an individual unless they dispatched two Admiral-level forces to hunt him down.
But such an action would be pointless. The Admirals were the Marines' ultimate fighting force, meant to deter all evil on the seas.
Such powerhouses were already scarce; dispatching two was out of the question.
The Five Elders laid out all the tasks in one breath over the phone, but they never mentioned Atlas's name. It was likely because of Rayleigh's intervention.
No matter how much that CP0 agent slandered him, he couldn't deny the fact that Atlas had fought Rayleigh!
The World Government was wary of the Whitebeard Pirates, not just because of the terrifying, destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but mainly because they didn't want the Marines' prestige to rise any further.
The Marines were already showing signs of slipping from their control.
"Also…" Just when Atlas thought the nagging was finally over, the voice came through the Den Den Mushi again.
But Sengoku's heart sank; a bad premonition washed over him. "We had originally planned to hold your promotion ceremony in the next year or two."
"However, your Marines' performance in the Mary Geoise incident has left us deeply disappointed."
"Therefore, we five have unanimously decided: when you capture Fisher Tiger, Sengoku, you will be promoted to Fleet Admiral. That's all!"
Clack!
Before Sengoku could say anything, the call was hung up.
"Damn it!" Hearing his promotion had been postponed, Sengoku couldn't help but curse aloud.
Though he knew it was just an excuse from the Five Elders, he was among his people here and didn't need to hide his emotions.
A few days later, news that shook the entire world was published in the World Economic Journal.
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise had been attacked! Although the World Government issued a statement vehemently condemning the criminal acts of the fish-man Fisher Tiger and remained silent on the matter of the freed slaves, Tiger was still hailed as a hero by many, especially the punks in the Fish-Man District!
A rather shabby-looking ship sailed slowly across the sea, its deck packed with a dense crowd of people from almost every race in the world.
It was Fisher Tiger and his group. They had just left the vicinity of the Sabaody Archipelago, and some people had already disembarked along the way.
Most of those who remained were either homeless or too far from their homes to return.
"Big Bro Tiger! The Marines have issued your bounty!" A fish-man named Boll ran toward him with a brand-new bounty poster.
Tiger looked at him with a helpless but amused expression. Boll was one of the few fish-man slaves Tiger had rescued from Mary Geoise, and greatly admired the man who had saved him from hell.
But to Tiger's dismay, although the other slaves weren't hostile, he could keenly sense their distance from the fish-men.
This discrimination, born from racial prejudice, was suffocating.
"Heh~ The Marines are willing to spend, aren't they?" Tiger took the poster from Boll. On it was his image, and below it, the amount was a staggering 230,000,000 Berries!
"Of course! Big Bro Tiger, you're a great hero who freed the slaves!" Boll said with a proud and matter-of-fact expression.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the one with the 230 million bounty.
"What are your plans for the future, Boll?" Tiger asked, not sharing his excitement.
"I don't know. But I want to follow you, Boss Tiger!" Boll said excitedly.
To him, Tiger was the man who had pulled him out of hell. The moment he escaped Mary Geoise, he decided to follow him.
"I'm going to form a pirate crew," Tiger said with a resolute expression, before Boll could even ask.
"First, we'll help these escaped people get home. Then, we'll fight the slave trade on the seas!"
That painful period as a slave had instilled in Tiger a deep hatred for human trafficking. The raid on Mary Geoise seemed to have shown him his purpose in life.
--Marineford, Recruit Training Camp, Zephyr's Office--
"Master Zephyr, how have things been? Any promising prospects lately?"
The office currently held only Zephyr, Shuzo, and Atlas. It was a private meeting, so Atlas asked in a half-joking manner.
"Things are fine. It's just that no matter how good the prospects are, they all pale in comparison to you…"
Zephyr said with a look of satisfaction, his gaze resting proudly on the rank insignia on Atlas's "Justice" coat.
"I never thought you'd be promoted to the Vice Admiral ranks so quickly…"
After the Mary Geoise incident, Atlas had been smoothly promoted to Vice Admiral of Headquarters.
There were no hitches. Although the Five Elders had paid him some attention because of the Rayleigh incident, Atlas hadn't done anything too out of line.
They had already made their point by frustrating the Marines with Sengoku's promotion and didn't need to add fuel to the fire over a mere vice-admiral promotion.
Doing so might even backfire and make the Marines rebellious. Shuzo, at his side, chimed in.
"Master Zephyr is always using you as an example for the recruits. In their eyes, you're on your way to surpassing monsters like Akainu."
"They must be sick of hearing my name by now," Atlas joked, surprised by Zephyr's high praise.
"Hahaha! Don't listen to this brat. What are your arrangements now that you're back at Headquarters?"
"Admiral Sengoku has assigned me to guard the Sabaody Archipelago." Atlas didn't hide anything from Zephyr.
It wasn't a major secret, and although Zephyr had retired from the front lines, as a former Admiral, he still had clearance.
He could easily find out such minor details if he wanted to.
"Guard Sabaody? Normally, the base commander there is a Rear Admiral. Why would Sengoku send a Vice Admiral like you?" Zephyr was puzzled by the arrangement.
Having been out of Marine affairs for a while, he wasn't closely following the world situation.
"Ah, Admiral Sengoku wants to stop as many pirates as possible from pouring into the New World, to prevent them from strengthening the three Emperor crews."
Atlas stretched his slightly stiff muscles, letting out a comfortable groan as he casually explained.
Neither Zephyr nor Shuzo said anything to stop him. Their relationship wasn't one of strict hierarchy, so the atmosphere was quite relaxed.
"By the way, when are you going to take that recruit you asked me to train? Now that you're a Vice Admiral, it's time to form your fleet."
"Kyros?" Atlas scratched his head, embarrassed. He had almost forgotten about him.
A year ago, after inviting Kyros to join the Marines, Atlas had sent him back to Headquarters with the fleet and had personally called Zephyr to arrange for him to undergo special training at the recruit camp.
Atlas still had high hopes for Kyros; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to recruit him.
"What does Master Zephyr think of Kyros? His progress shouldn't be slow, right? I have high hopes for him."
Strictly speaking, Kyros wasn't a product of the official recruit camp. The camp was not to be underestimated; everyone there had to undergo rigorous background and qualification checks.
One couldn't just walk in. Kyros was, at best, an auditor, so he didn't need to pass the final exams like regular recruits.
With a single transfer order from Atlas, he could be assigned to a ship and would be considered part of Atlas's direct command structure.
"Compared to the other soldiers in his class, he is exceptionally outstanding."
"His swordsmanship is excellent, he has a good grasp of the Six Powers, but it will still take some time for his physical conditioning to reach the point of awakening Haki." Zephyr gave a concise evaluation of Kyros.
The most significant difference between Kyros and the other recruits was his combat experience.
He was a man from the gladiator arena and had long been responsible for Dressrosa's defense. His combat sense and intuition were unmatched by the new recruits.
"The recruits should be training on the grounds at this time. Would you like to give them a lesson? It's a good chance for them to meet their legendary senior."
"Sure." Seeing the look of expectation in Zephyr's eyes, Atlas readily agreed. His schedule wasn't particularly busy at the moment anyway.
Recruit Training Grounds.
Two figures were locked in combat, their use of Rokushiki techniques like Finger Pistol and Iron Body dazzling to watch. Shockwaves rolled between them.
"Finger Pistol!"
"Iron Body!"
"Ugh… pfft!" Finally, Iron Body failed once again.
The instructor at the side saw the outcome and immediately announced, "Winner! Kyros."
In the ring, Kyros's face lit up with a look of genuine excitement. It was as if he were born to fight; every victory brought him sincere joy.
However, it had been a year since he had joined the Marines, and he still hadn't seen a shadow of that man.
Kyros sometimes wondered if the man had forgotten him in Marineford.
"Well? Are you satisfied with his progress?" Zephyr, Shuzo, and Atlas, who had arrived at the training grounds earlier, had watched the entire fight.
Kyros's performance had also pleased Zephyr.
"Aside from not having mastered Tempest Kick and Moon Walk, his use of the other four techniques is very proficient. And this class isn't recruits, are they?"
Atlas's eye was sharp; he had seen the extent of Kyros's mastery of the Six Powers at a glance. "But he has already reached the qualifications to join my fleet," Atlas added.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach top 100)
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