Buru buru… Buru buru…
The sound of a Den Den Mushi made Momonga, who was exercising, stop his movements.
"Moshi moshi, this is Momonga."
"What's the matter Raleigh? You rarely call me at this hour."
He glanced up at the sky - it was just past seven in the morning, barely breakfast time.
"Is Bell-mère still with you?"
Raleigh's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, carrying a faint hint of excitement.
"She's here. What's going on? You sound rather excited to me."
Momonga was completely baffled, wondering what madness had possessed Raleigh to call so early and what scheme he was cooking up now.
Of course Bell-mère was at Branch 133.
However, due to her special circumstances, she hadn't been staying at the main base.
Instead, she was at a remote training camp operated by Branch 133 out in the wilderness.
Admiral Zephyr was also there, primarily studying Bell-mère's Six Styles.
He wanted to decipher the techniques through direct observation, bypassing Raleigh to teach a simplified version of the Six Styles to the Marines himself.
"Here's the situation - I have a plan that I'll send you via encrypted telegram shortly. This operation requires coordination between Bell-mère, you, and Zephyr-sensei."
"What matter requires such grand movements? Even Zephyr-sensei needs to be involved?"
"You'll understand in time. For now, keep this quiet. Take the telegram to Zephyr-sensei and Bell-mère."
"The operation begins in approximately three hours. I'll have someone issue you an arrest warrant - use it to apprehend Bell-mère."
"Understood."
After hanging up, Momonga remained perplexed.
He could only return to base first and wait for Raleigh's telegram to arrive.
"Branch Chief, an encrypted telegram from the North Blue just came!"
The intelligence officer hurriedly placed a telegram on Momonga's desk.
Momonga opened the safe, retrieved a codebook written by Raleigh, and began decoding it.
....
So that's how it is!
An expression of sudden understanding dawned on Momonga's face.
After committing the decoded message firmly to memory, he activated his Mist-Mist Fruit ability, crushing the original document into pulp.
Just as Momonga finished tidying everything up and prepared to leave, an orderly knocked on his door.
"Branch Chief, there's an order from the East Blue Commander."
"Enter."
Curious about what command the commander would send at this time, Momonga eagerly took the document in hand.
It was actually...
A troop deployment order for Bell-mère's arrest!
Momonga knew Raleigh would arrange for someone to issue the arrest warrant, but he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
Most likely, it had been prepared and sent even before Raleigh called him.
Momonga tucked the order into his coat, draped the Marines's Justice cloak over his shoulders, solemnly fastened his sword to his waist, and prepared to depart.
The origin of this order was quite straightforward - it was indeed a secret directive issued by the East Blue Commander.
Because the previous night, Raleigh had made an urgent call to the Commander.
––––––––––––-
"Hello, little Raleigh! What brings you to call me so late at night?"
The Commander of East Blue Marine force maintained excellent relations with Raleigh.
During Raleigh's service in the East Blue, he would frequently send him captured spoils of war.
(Who said the Marines doesn't accept gifts?)
They were always thoughtful local specialties.
(Pearls in Clear Water Soup, Golden Platter Braised Red Prawns, etc.)
Truth be told, after Raleigh's departure, the commander had missed him greatly, hoping another promising young officer like Raleigh - one who understood how things worked - would emerge.
"Commander, it's just that I only arrived in the North Blue recently and have been too busy with matters to call you. But tonight I missed you so much that I had to call."
"Hmph, stop your nonsense, you little rascal. I know you too well. Spit it out quickly so I can get some sleep."
"I heard you were quite angry recently because the Vice Commander bypassed you to issue a Marines bounty poster?"
Crack...
The sound of something being crushed came through the Den Den Mushi.
After a long pause, a deep bass voice drifted eerily from the Den Den Mushi.
"Little Raleigh, I know you don't usually joke about such matters. Just tell me your plan directly."
Raleigh lit a cigar, his eyes flickering uncertainly in the dancing flame.
"Since they've made a fool out of us, they can't blame us for fighting back."
"Commander, I'm requesting a Bell-mère arrest warrant from you for Branch Commander Momonga of Branch 133. Leave the rest to us."
"I can issue you the arrest warrant, but how far can you take this?"
"I won't claim we can completely destroy the World Government's control over the East Blue in one move, but after this incident, the World Government won't even retain half of their influence in the East Blue."
Raleigh spoke with confidence, unafraid that the Commander wouldn't issue the warrant because the Commander was a smart man.
Smart people hate things slipping out of their control most of all, especially when the World Government controls the Marines over their heads.
This was what he couldn't tolerate the most.
For centuries, the relationship between the Marines and the World Government had developed amidst contradictions.
The Marines followed the World Government's orders while firmly maintaining their own command authority.
When Raleigh devised this plan, he had already involved many Marines officers.
Because he knew the World Government would inevitably target the Marines, and he would certainly be implicated.
But being able to make the World Government lose elite forces made this deal quite worthwhile anyway.
After all, he didn't care about his position in the Marines - his own strength was his true foundation.
"Fine, I'll send someone to deliver it to Momonga first thing tomorrow morning. Remember your words, little Raleigh."
The East Blue Commander hastily ended the call.
Although he had agreed, he still needed to carefully consider the gains and losses to minimize his own involvement.
––––––––––––-
In the North Blue mining field, the sky remained dark, with dim yellow streetlights illuminating the roads.
Piercing noises woke Dragon and Swore.
The overseers who had distributed food yesterday had returned, but this time their attitude was extremely hostile.
"Get up quickly, you filthy swine!"
"Anyone who fails to meet their quota today means no food for anyone!"
They wore black uniforms and masks, clutching steel whips, mercilessly lashing anyone still sleeping on the ground.
The workers' agonized cries mixed with the overseers' vulgar curses - this was Dragon's first day working in the mines.
Large groups of workers numbly rose from the ground, moving in crowds toward the outside.
Dragon and Swore merged into the flow of people, preparing to enter the mine shafts to dig coal.
"Swore, these people aren't workers at all - they're basically slaves."
Dragon's low voice carried a hint of killing intent as he clenched his fists, discreetly scanning the overseers.
Lowering his voice, he said to Swore.
"Do not let anger cloud your eyes. Observe the details carefully. The first step to changing the world begins here!"
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