"Where… am I?"
Slowly opening her eyes, she realized she was no longer lying in the cold, damp hold of the smuggling ship. Instead, beneath her was a soft bed.
Wait a second—had she been sold off while unconscious?
Was she now lying on a buyer's bed, about to be subjected to something unspeakable!?
She forced her sore and weak body upright, trying to find something to defend herself with.
Unfortunately, there were no weapons in sight. But she did manage to get a clear look at her surroundings…
A silver-haired boy was sitting on the sofa across from the bed, quietly observing her.
Bathed in the soft light, he looked like a lazy god.
With just that glance, her memories before fainting began to return.
"Let me introduce myself," Michael cleared his throat. "I'm Michael, a Commander of the Navy Headquarters. I found you on a smuggling ship."
"Right! I was kidnapped and taken onto that smuggling ship!" Stella nodded and, as if suddenly remembering something, asked urgently,
"What about those little girls? And the other kidnapped girls?"
"I've already confirmed their identities. You don't need to worry. Once we return to the Sabaody Archipelago, I'll have the Navy send each of them back home."
"That's... such a relief."
Stella let out a long breath, her body visibly relaxing.
Michael found himself increasingly intrigued by this background character girl who died early in the movie.
She...
Hadn't mentioned her own situation at all.
"What about you? Where's your home? I can take you back."
"I don't have a home." Stella smiled gently, without the slightest trace of sorrow. "I've been an orphan since I was little. I'm a wandering singer now—every time I reach a new place, I perform at taverns to make money."
Michael fell silent.
An orphan. A wandering singer.
No strength, yet beautiful and talented.
In this vast sea...
She was the perfect prey.
No wonder Jerome—the man Michael burned to ash—had called her "top quality."
If Michael hadn't crossed paths with her, she might've followed the tragic path laid out for her in the original story.
But now that they had met, there was no way he could just ignore her.
Orphaned, wandering...
It was so much like his own past.
So, after a moment of contemplation, Michael curved his lips into a slight smile, trying to make his expression look as sincere as possible.
"In that case… would you like to join the Navy?"
"Join the Navy?" Stella looked confused, as though she hadn't quite understood what he meant.
"Are you joking?"
"No, of course not." Michael shook his head, staring into Stella's emerald eyes. "The world is about to change drastically. The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, has already turned himself in. From now on, the seas… will only get more dangerous."
"That's why I'm offering you this chance. Out here, being alone is far too dangerous."
Stella looked at the earnest expression of the young man before her. Something compelled her to nod.
"Sounds like… joining the Navy might not be so bad."
"I know you might have some doubts—wait, what? You agreed?"
"Of course I did." Stella lightly pressed her slightly blood-colored lips together. "Out at sea, staying safe is the most important thing. I'm not stupid."
Michael smacked his lips twice. All the persuasion he'd prepared got stuck in his throat.
He turned instead to gaze out the porthole at the sea.
Beneath the calm surface, dangerous currents churned.
...
"What about the trafficker?"
"Burned to ash and scattered into the sea."
"And the smuggling ship?"
"Also burned to ash and scattered into the sea."
As a Marine, it was standard procedure to report back to your superior after completing a mission.
Michael was no exception.
As Vice Admiral Gion's adjutant, he naturally had to report the elimination of the human trafficker to his direct superior.
Vice Admiral "Gion"—Momousagi—rubbed her temples as she looked at Michael, who sat there like a stubborn chunk of meat.
"And the kidnapped slaves?"
"Oh, we registered their info, verified that they weren't wanted criminals, and then started sending them back to their hometowns in batches… Oh, and we also found three Devil Fruits."
"Handle the Devil Fruits yourself."
"Got it!"
Michael grinned as he handed over the mission report, every strand of his platinum hair exuding shameless energy.
"This is the detailed report of the entire incident."
Gion took the report and, after reading a few pages, her expression turned grim.
"This case involves the Celestial Dragons?"
Michael had specifically emphasized the Celestial Dragon issue in the detailed report.
Seeing Gion's tightly furrowed brows, Michael curled his lips and said:
"The leader of the traffickers admitted it himself—the goods were pre-ordered by the Celestial Dragons. Judging by how he openly tried to bribe us without a hint of guilt, it's probably true."
"Damn it, those bloated scumbags completely ignore the laws abolishing slavery?" Gion cursed under her breath and continued,
"If they dared to use the word 'pre-order,' then that means…"
"It means those so-called human trafficking shops and slave auctions are already in bed with the Celestial Dragons." Michael picked up the thread, continuing her thought.
"Knowing the habits of the Celestial Dragons, they'd never stoop to talking with slavers directly. Most likely, it's through…"
Michael didn't finish his sentence, but Gion knew exactly who he was implying.
Naturally, it was through CP organizations—and the Navy lapdogs scrambling to lick the Celestial Dragons' boots.
Gion had always looked down on those self-serving opportunists.
"That plan we talked about before… Is it time to put it into motion?" Michael noticed her rising anger and tentatively asked.
"You mean the Sabaody Purge Plan?"
Gion frowned slightly, but the expression somehow enhanced her allure.
"Exactly. The higher-ups want us to turn a blind eye to the pirates at Sabaody, letting them enter the New World and fight amongst themselves."
"But they didn't say we couldn't deal with other factions, right?"
"There are far too many gangs and human smugglers entrenched in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"And far too many parasites within the Navy itself."
Two years ago, when Michael followed Gion in a transfer to the Sabaody Archipelago, he had first proposed this plan.
But those two years happened to be the Navy's critical period for hunting down Gol D. Roger, so the plan was shelved.
Now that Roger had turned himself in, Michael brought it up again.
Gion nodded slightly. After some thought, she gave Michael a definite answer.
"I think the plan is viable too—but it should wait until after Gol D. Roger's execution."
That answer was already more than enough to satisfy Michael.
He had waited two years—what was one more month?
"By the way, about this Celestial Dragon and smuggler incident—you'll need to go to Marineford."
Gion raised her head, eyes blazing.
"This problem within the Navy must be laid bare before Admiral Sengoku."