"Shakky," Meiser asked, "did that Akainu die?"
Two years ago, he had struck Akainu with the TimePiercingSpearOfToki and activated 'Yomotsu Hirasaka' on him. Under such circumstances, he really wanted to know whether that guy had died.
Shakky, who was lighting a cigarette for herself, replied, "He's not dead."
"That guy reappeared in the public eye just over a month after the Marineford War ended."
Although she didn't know what he had experienced during that month, he was indeed still alive.
"Is that so..." Meiser frowned and said, "It seems killing him with that move really isn't an easy task."
That made sense. If a Marine Admiral could be killed so easily, he wouldn't be a Marine Admiral.
"Characters of that level aren't so easily killed," Rayleigh said, shaking his head.
"True enough."
Meiser nodded, then said, "Then I'll just have to try again next time we meet, see if I can finish off this guy."
"You might not get that chance," Shakky said.
"What do you mean?"
"Because that guy has become the Marine Fleet Admiral," Shakky tapped her cigarette ash and said. "So under normal circumstances, he won't leave Marine Headquarters."
Under such conditions, Meiser might not necessarily have the opportunity to clash with Akainu.
Meiser: ???
Marine Fleet Admiral?
Akainu stopped being a Marine Admiral and became the Fleet Admiral?
As if realizing something, Meiser showed an expression of sudden understanding and said, "Sengoku voluntarily stepped down for Akainu, right?"
He remembered that when Sengoku announced the ceasefire at Marine Headquarters, he had said he would take responsibility for that incident.
Now it seemed he had indeed stepped down for Akainu.
"He did voluntarily step down, but not for Akainu," Shakky said.
Meiser: ???
Then what did that mean?
Perhaps seeing Meiser's confusion, Shakky explained, "The former Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku recommended Aokiji as the next Marine Fleet Admiral, not Akainu."
"Then why..."
At this point, Meiser suddenly paused, then as if understanding something, said, "The World Government's chosen candidate wasn't Aokiji, right?"
Only this could explain why Sengoku's recommended candidate didn't get the position.
"Smart."
Shakky smiled and nodded, then said, "The World Government's chosen candidate was indeed not Aokiji, but Akainu."
"However, considering this was the recommendation of the former Marine Fleet Admiral, the World Government gave both men a fair chance to compete for the position of Marine Fleet Admiral."
"How did they compete?"
"The World Government selected a location and had the two fight to the death on the island. The winner would become the next Marine Fleet Admiral."
Hearing this, Meiser was completely silenced.
"What a brutally straightforward selection method... but it's indeed the most effective approach, since strength reigns supreme!"
"So Akainu emerged victorious this time."
"That's right."
Shakky explained: "After ten days and nights of intense battle, Akainu defeated Aokiji and became the next Marine Fleet Admiral."
"I see." Meiser nodded.
In that case... he might not get the chance to fight Akainu after all.
Thinking this, Meiser couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"They fought... for ten days and nights?" Nami gulped. "Are they monsters?"
From her perspective, she couldn't even imagine anyone being able to fight for that long. It was absolutely terrifying!!!
"Exactly, they are monsters," Shakky said. "Monsters that defy common sense!"
Anyone who reaches the level of Marine Admiral is an absurdly powerful monster, so fighting for ten days and nights isn't particularly surprising.
Nami fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then felt chills running down her spine.
To think they had managed to escape alive from such terrifying individuals two years ago... they were incredibly lucky!
Meanwhile, Meiser showed a grin and said, "Well, who isn't a monster these days?"
If they were to face off now... it was hard to say who would win!
As if understanding Meiser's meaning, Luffy looked up and met his gaze, then grinned widely, showing his teeth.
They were just as powerful and monstrous now!
"Don't worry, even if we fight Marine Admirals, we're not afraid of them," Luffy said with a toothy grin.
They were many times stronger than they were two years ago!
Seeing both Luffy and Meiser so confident, Nami's anxiety gradually faded.
"You're right."
They were no longer the same people they were two years ago, so they might not need to fear Admirals anymore!
Thinking this, Nami nodded firmly.
Noticing her reaction, Meiser nodded too, then turned to Shakky. "So, Shakky, did Aokiji die?"
"No."
Shakky shook her head. "Although Aokiji lost a leg in that battle, he wasn't killed."
After all, Marine Admirals are strategic-level assets—they can't be eliminated so easily.
"Lost a leg, huh." Meiser stroked his chin. "That probably isn't too big of a problem for him."
After all... this guy can use his ice powers to create a new leg!!
So even with a broken leg, it wouldn't affect his combat ability much.
"Indeed," Shakky agreed.
The power of the Ice-Ice Fruit allows him to create ice, so making a leg is quite simple.
Just then, Rayleigh looked up and asked, "Which leg did he lose?"
Shakky thought for a moment before replying, "It should be his left leg."
If she remembered correctly, the intelligence report specified that Aokiji's left leg was broken.
"Left leg, huh..."
Recalling what he had seen in the broadcast of the Marineford War, Rayleigh fell into deep thought.
Shakky looked at him curiously. What was up with him now?
"So the Marines will need to appoint a new Marine Admiral," Meiser said. "Who's the new one?"
"No, to be precise, two more have been added."
Meiser: ???
What did that mean? Had Aokiji quit?
As if sensing Meiser's confusion, Shakky said, "Aokiji is no longer with the Marines."
Hearing this, Meiser was momentarily stunned before guessing, "Because he failed in the competition for Fleet Admiral?"
"I wouldn't know about that." Shakky shook her head. "But he did indeed leave the Marines."
After all, she wasn't part of the Marines' upper echelons, so obtaining such information was difficult.
This time, Meiser didn't say anything more, only nodding thoughtfully.
"So who are the other two Admirals?" Nami asked curiously.
"These two Marine Admirals are monster-level figures recruited by the Marines through a worldwide conscription," Shakky explained. "One is named Issho, codename Fujitora."
"The other is named Aramaki, codename Ryokugyu."
"Why are they all named after animals?" Meiser complained.
He'd noticed that all the Marine Admirals seemed to prefer using animal names as codenames.
"Perhaps it's a Marine tradition," Shakky said with a laugh.
Meiser nodded, then asked, "Do you have any information on them?"
"I have some on Fujitora." Shakky recalled the intelligence about Issho and said, "He is an extremely powerful Great Sword Master who has also eaten some kind of Devil Fruit."
"Some kind of Devil Fruit?"
A question mark appeared above Meiser's head. Even Shakky didn't know what ability he possessed?
"Because it's unclear what his specific ability is," Shakky said helplessly.
"Then how do you know he's a Devil Fruit Ability User?"
"Because during a mission, he once summoned a meteor from the sky!!!"
As she said this, Shakky's expression turned serious.
Although she didn't know exactly what his ability was, such a feat definitely marked him as a monster-level figure!
"A meteor?"
Meiser was stunned. Had Uchiha Madara crossed over?!
Thinking this, he quickly asked, "What do his eyes look like?"
"His eyes?"
Shakky was taken aback, then shook her head. "He's blind, so I don't know what his eyes looked like before."
Hearing this, Meiser nodded. It seemed he had overthought things.
"Being able to summon meteors..." Nami gulped and said, "What a terrifying ability."
"Maybe it's the Meteor-Meteor Fruit?" Perona guessed.
Shakky thought for a moment before nodding. "Perhaps."
Although it sounded outrageous, Devil Fruits themselves defied logic, so such an ability was possible.
"Summoning meteors sounds really fun!" Luffy said.
He'd never seen a meteor fall before in his life.
Nami: ???
"Hey!"
Nami shouted with a shark-like expression: "Luffy, what's with that look like you want to see one? That's a meteor!"
"So what."
Luffy picked his nose and said, "We can just smash it."
Nami: —
So, did this idiot even know what a meteor was?
"Luffy's right, we can just smash it," Meiser said with a laugh.
"Why are you like this too..."
Nami was utterly speechless. She could understand Luffy saying such things, but even Meiser was talking like this now!
She really didn't want to provoke any Marine Admirals.
Meiser, who had taken in Nami's expression, rolled his eyes and said, "What are you, a Logia-type ability user, afraid of?"
"If you actually get hit by that stuff, just use Elemental Transformation and it's done. What's there to fear?"
Nami froze for a moment, then muttered, "Well... I suppose you're right."
She wasn't the weakling from two years ago anymore - now she was a powerful Logia Devil Fruit ability user who could perform Elemental Transformation!
Thinking this, Nami gradually calmed down.
After giving Nami another glare, Meiser turned to Shakky and asked, "Can't you get information about the other Marine Admiral?"
"This guy is very mysterious. He hasn't really fought since becoming an Admiral, so I can't get any information on him either." Shakky spread her hands helplessly.
Hearing this, Meiser fell silent for a moment before saying resignedly, "Then we'll just have to deal with it when we encounter him."
"Why would the Marines select Admirals through worldwide conscription?" Perona asked curiously. "Don't they have enough people in their own ranks?"
"Who knows." Shakky shook her head. "Maybe it's because the Admiral candidates aren't strong enough yet."
To become a Marine Admiral, one first needs to possess overwhelming power.
So Shakky thought it was probably because those people weren't strong enough yet.
"The Marines have Admiral candidates?" Meiser asked in surprise.
This was the first time he'd heard the term "Admiral candidate."
"Of course."
Meiser was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you have any information about them?"
"Some."
Shakky thought for a moment, then said, "The Marines currently have three Admiral candidates: Momonga, Chaton, and White Snake."
"There isn't much detailed information about Momonga and Chaton, only that they're a Sword Master and a physical combat expert respectively."
"As for this White Snake..."
At this point, Shakky paused and looked at Meiser. "I think you should be quite familiar with him."
Meiser: ???
"What do you mean?"
What did she mean by "he should be familiar"?
This time Shakky didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her head and pulled out a newspaper, then opened it and placed it in front of Meiser. "Here, this is him." Shakky pointed at Smoker's picture. "He's White Snake."
Meiser: ???
Wasn't this the old smoker he had sent flying with one punch? In just two years he'd become an Admiral candidate?
What exactly had this guy been through these past two years?
"Isn't that guy called Smoker?" Nami said, dumbfounded. "He's an Admiral candidate?"
An Admiral candidate who couldn't even defeat Crocodile?
Was that reasonable?
When Luffy heard Nami's words, he came over and laughed heartily. "It's definitely him."
He never expected this man to become so powerful now.
Shakky, who had taken in everyone's reactions, calmly tapped her cigarette ash and said, "This person really wasn't very strong in the past, but something happened during these two years that suddenly made him incredibly powerful."
Hearing this, Meiser thought for a moment before saying, "Maybe he trained with some powerful master for two years?"
Just like how Luffy trained with Rayleigh, maybe Smoker had also trained with some powerful figure.
Shakky thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yes, that's possible."
Thinking about it carefully, Smoker had only reappeared on the seas in the last month or two.
So it was indeed possible he had been training before.
"Who is this Byrnndi World?" Nami pointed at the name in the newspaper. "Is he strong?"
"He's a powerhouse on par with Whitebeard and Roger. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Nami froze in shock.
Then, with an incredulous expression, she said, "And this old smoker defeated such a powerhouse?"
"Correct."
Nami: —
Just how strong must that guy be now?
"What a terrifying man..."
Being able to defeat someone on Roger's level... This Marine could easily crush her!
At this thought, a trace of gravity appeared in Perona's eyes.
Reading the newspaper, Meiser stroked his chin and remarked, "So this is why Smoker became a candidate for Admiral."
"That should be the case," Shakky nodded in agreement.
The fact that Smoker could single-handedly defeat Byrnndi World in a direct confrontation was enough to demonstrate his immense strength, making his promotion to Admiral candidate perfectly reasonable.
"The Marines truly have no shortage of talent," Rayleigh remarked with some emotion.
Hearing Rayleigh's sentiments, Meiser grinned and said, "I'd actually like to meet this guy now."
He was curious to see just how powerful the man he'd sent flying with one punch two years ago had become!
"Come to think of it, this Smoker swore to capture the Straw Hat Pirates back in Loguetown," Meiser mused internally.
Then he chased them all the way to Crocodile's territory...
Given this pattern, it seemed entirely possible Smoker would pursue them into the New World to hunt down the Straw Hat Pirates!
At this realization, Meiser's eyes began to gleam with intensity.
"Let's not, then," Nami shook her head. "I don't want to be hunted by the Marines."
Meiser merely smiled at this and said nothing more.
Some things happen whether you want them to or not, Nami dear.
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