New Marineford was filled with people celebrating victory.
At this moment, whether they were Marines or ordinary civilians, everyone felt excitement from the bottom of their hearts.
A great victory had been won in the New World!
Charlotte Linlin, known as Big Mom, had been killed by the Marines on Whole Cake Island.
Although the details of the battle had not been disclosed to the public, just the powerful figures announced were already three Admiral-level combatants.
Marine Chief Instructor Black Arm Zephyr, Marine Admiral Fujitora Issho, and Monkey D. Garp.
Although Raleigh had stripped Garp of his title as Marine Hero, he had not stripped him of his identity as a Marine.
The civilians, unaware of the truth, still called Garp the Marine Hero.
After wiping out the main forces of the Charlotte Family, the three great fighters brought their corpses back to New Marineford, waiting for the grand ceremony Raleigh had prepared for them.
At the same time, good news also came from the Four Blues.
With the cooperation of Aramaki and Enel, a large number of Revolutionary Army factories had been captured intact.
At the same time, several extremely hidden production centers and resource centers had also fallen into the Marines' hands.
Marine Admiral Sakazuki had already led the Marine soldiers under him to seize cities and territory throughout the Four Blues.
Taking the entire Four Blues was only a matter of time.
In this atmosphere, the Marine soldiers and their families in New Marineford voluntarily began preparing a grand gathering to welcome the soldiers who had fought so bravely.
For once, Raleigh gave all soldiers in New Marineford three days of rotating leave and dispatched large numbers of warships to escort supplies to the front lines where fighting was still ongoing.
Even the New World front line guarded by Borsalino and Barrett received the same arrangement.
Raleigh deeply understood that long periods of combat would place soldiers' nerves under extreme tension. He did not want them all to become overly radical people.
Moreover, after achieving such a brilliant victory, holding a live broadcast would also better announce to the world that the Marines were the righteous choice.
"We won!"
"Long live the Marines! Long live justice!"
New Marineford was filled with young people shouting slogans.
Some were flushed with excitement, while others drank rum in large mouthfuls to liven up the celebration.
Children were running everywhere through the streets.
Now, their dreams had changed.
The people they most wanted to become were no longer pirates, but brave Marine soldiers.
Many even took Raleigh or the other Admirals as their life goals, swearing that after growing up and joining the Marines, they would definitely become Admiral-level powerhouses.
Raleigh did not stay in the Fleet Admiral's office.
He took off the uniform belonging to the Marine Fleet Admiral and changed into a well-fitted suit, walking through the streets of New Marineford with Gion.
Pedestrians who saw Raleigh and Gion politely saluted them.
Raleigh and Gion responded warmly to the passersby.
Of course, the people also knew that it was rare for Raleigh and Gion to have a holiday like this, so they tacitly refrained from approaching the two of them.
Gion held Raleigh's arm, greatly enjoying the time the two of them spent together.
Ever since they got married, Raleigh had rarely gone home to rest. Most of his time was spent in the Fleet Admiral's office.
Gion also had many matters to handle. Sometimes, even she stayed in the dormitory inside the office building.
As Marines in this special era, the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders left them no time to care about romantic tenderness.
That was why they cherished this kind of life more than ordinary civilians, where they could simply stay together without thinking about anything or doing anything.
Raleigh affectionately rubbed his forehead against Gion's, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile.
"Gion, it feels like we have not gone out for a seafood feast in a long time. Why not take this chance and have one?"
Feeling the warm breath from Raleigh, Gion's face turned red.
"All right."
Only, as the two of them continued walking…
They somehow ran into many familiar faces.
Seeing this, Raleigh spoke directly.
"Hey, you single dogs, do you want to come eat with me and your sister-in-law Gion? My treat."
Momonga and Cleveland, feeling insulted, turned and left.
But after taking only two steps, they remembered that Raleigh was an extremely rich man.
Following him was better than randomly eating something on their own.
After thinking it through, the two turned back and said with unwilling expressions, "Raleigh, since you already said that, we are going to make you bleed properly today."
The two of them made up their minds.
They would go to a luxury restaurant later. They would not eat what was good, only what was expensive.
No matter what kind of food it was, they would eat a huge meal and make that bastard Raleigh spit blood.
In front of outsiders, Gion was no longer the small woman leaning against Raleigh. Instead, she became an independent and capable woman.
She spoke boldly.
"It's fine. Raleigh is paying today. Everyone can eat whatever they want!"
Sensing the provocation from the couple, Raleigh and Gion, Momonga and Cleveland immediately took out their Den Den Mushi and began calling friends.
Of course, they also understood Raleigh's temper. It could be good, and it could also be bad, so they did not call too many people.
After thinking for a moment, Raleigh spoke again.
"Call a few more people. We might as well drink together."
"Everyone has worked hard for so long. Why not take this rare chance to drink and relax a little? After this, we still have other difficult problems to face."
Momonga and Cleveland readily agreed, while Tokikake beside them also nodded.
After Raleigh and Gion got married, Tokikake had already given up on Gion.
However, Gion was still his moonlight, and the two of them had been friends for many years, so naturally he would attend the gathering.
Besides, Tokikake had thought it through.
A high-end restaurant would have many young and beautiful ladies.
This was creating an opportunity for him!
...
Bazel Seafood Restaurant.
This was a restaurant that had specifically relocated from Marineford. I
t had always been famous for its skill in cooking high-grade seafood.
Old Man Bazel, the head chef, had been preparing seafood for more than fifty years. His handling of seafood had reached the peak.
Sometimes Raleigh thought that if this were an age of peace, someone like Old Man Bazel could probably win a championship in a cooking competition and be respectfully called a God of Food.
Cleveland walked at the very front.
Raleigh and Gion were in the middle, while Momonga and Tokikake walked on both sides.
Behind them followed a large crowd of young Marine officers.
Some had come out from the office building, while others had been resting at home and were called awake, hurriedly washed up, and rushed over.
Naturally, such a large group of people drew the attention of the waiters at Bazel Seafood Restaurant.
When one waiter noticed the person in the middle, his eyes lit up.
He hurriedly stepped forward to open the door and told his companion, "Fleet Admiral Raleigh is here. Hurry up and inform Old Man Bazel."
This was the restaurant's rule.
Whenever Raleigh came, Old Man Bazel had to personally cook.
The reason was simple.
When Old Man Bazel was young, he had also been a Marine.
After fighting bravely for ten years, he had retired due to injury and opened this restaurant.
His son had also joined the Marines like him, only to die at the hands of Byrnndi World during a mission.
At the time, Old Man Bazel had wanted nothing more than to go out to sea and kill that demon himself, but his family had stopped him.
Even so, his desire for revenge had never faded from his heart.
Later, Raleigh personally killed that monstrous pirate.
Because of that, Old Man Bazel regarded Raleigh as his benefactor.
Moreover, Raleigh's personality was very friendly toward others, and through repeated visits, he and Old Man Bazel became friends despite the difference in age.
Old Man Bazel had set this rule.
No matter when Raleigh came, he would be the one to cook.
"Raleigh, I have not seen you come by in a long time. You must have been busy lately."
Old Man Bazel came out from the kitchen and asked warmly.
He was a retired Marine, and most of the people he interacted with on normal days were old Marines and the like, so he often knew about the Marines' recent operations.
"It has been all right, old man. I am young, after all. I can hold up."
Raleigh held Gion with one arm and used the other to show off his muscles.
Old Man Bazel revealed a satisfied smile. What he liked most was Raleigh's energetic appearance. Interacting with Raleigh seemed to let him forget the fact that he was already old.
"All right. Since so many of you came, go to the dining room on the second floor."
"Today, I will personally take my apprentices into the kitchen and make all of you a proper seafood feast."
Old Man Bazel spoke boldly, making the young officers behind Raleigh cheer loudly.
They were not exactly wealthy people. One by one, they saved their money to buy famous blades or equipment.
For a seafood restaurant like this, trying it once or twice was fine. But if they wanted to eat to their hearts' content, their wallets probably would not survive.
"Long live Raleigh-sama!"
"I am going to eat lots and lots of seafood fried rice today!"
"Look at how pathetic you are. You can get full eating crab too. Change that habit of stuffing yourself with staple food!"
Hearing the noisy discussion behind him, black lines seemed to appear across Raleigh's forehead.
"You bastards, our Marine meals are not bad either! Besides, when have I ever swallowed your allowances? Why are all of you so embarrassing?"
After being scolded by Raleigh, the young officers did not feel embarrassed. Instead, they straightened their backs confidently.
Their meaning was clear. Since they had already been scolded, they might as well eat properly.
Amid the crowd's laughter and teasing, everyone went up to the second floor, sat down, and began waiting for Old Man Bazel to feed them.
While they were waiting, Raleigh suddenly heard a commotion downstairs.
An extremely arrogant voice sounded from below.
"For a lowly commoner like you, cooking for me is your honor. Yet now you actually dare refuse me? Looks like you want to die."
Raleigh frowned.
Momonga and Cleveland exchanged a glance, then quietly pushed open the door and went downstairs under the excuse of using the bathroom.
Bang!
Not long after Momonga and Cleveland went downstairs, a sudden gunshot rang out, and a layer of gloom covered Raleigh's face.
The Marine officers who had been laughing and fooling around moments ago instantly reacted.
One after another, they drew their weapons and rushed downstairs as fast as they could.
Raleigh's face was dark.
Without going downstairs, he already knew that there must be some idiot Celestial Dragon below.
It could be guessed from the casual gunshot and that arrogant tone.
"None of you move!"
"You lowly people, what are you trying to do to me? Let go of me! I am a Celestial Dragon!"
Only after things downstairs gradually quieted did Raleigh rise from his seat. Gion followed him as they went downstairs.
At this moment, the lower floor was already a mess.
The Marine officers had almost all restrained the Celestial Dragons' guards, those members of Cipher Pol.
In the center were three Celestial Dragons.
Raleigh recognized them with just one glance.
They were the Rosward Family.
In the original timeline, the Rosward Family had been representatives of people who committed every evil imaginable, and they had gone to Sabaody Archipelago because their slave had escaped.
But unlike in the original timeline, under Marine control, Sabaody Archipelago no longer had those so-called auction houses.
Even the slave traders and mafia families who captured slaves for the Celestial Dragons had vanished under the Marines' crackdown.
Perhaps they felt that staying in the Holy Land was too boring.
By coincidence, they had heard that New Marineford had a restaurant famous for seafood, so they came here.
The Rosward Family had not obeyed the Five Elders' orders.
They believed that the Marines were still the same Marines who acted as dogs for the Celestial Dragons, so they had not taken it seriously.
Only now, they had run into a hard wall.
Raleigh casually looked around at everything, then spoke.
"Momonga, go and evacuate the civilians outside. What happens next is not suitable for them to know."
Momonga nodded, then flashed outside.
Meanwhile, Saint Charlos, the one who had just fired the gun, stared lustfully at Gion beside Raleigh, looking like a lecherous pig.
"You are so beautiful. I want you to become my fourteenth wife."
All the Marines present collectively drew in a cold breath.
They truly could not understand what this fat pig was thinking.
Was he trying to die?
The Marine officers raised under the ideology of the new Marines had no fear or reverence toward anything in the world except Raleigh.
Because Raleigh was not only stronger than them, he was also more scheming than them, and his methods were more ruthless than theirs.
In their eyes, even if someone was a so-called Celestial Dragon, once they touched Raleigh's reverse scale, all they could do was wait for death.
Saint Charlos' father, Saint Rosward, was not that stupid.
He merely glanced at Charlos before speaking.
"Fleet Admiral Raleigh, Charlos only said that because he is young and ignorant. He has no improper thoughts toward your wife."
"We came here only to eat some good food. There was just a small dispute. It is all a misunderstanding."
Saint Charlos wanted to continue speaking, but his sister, Saint Shalria, pulled him back, forcing him to shut his mouth.
The corner of Raleigh's mouth carried a smile that was not quite a smile.
He glanced at Saint Rosward, then turned to Old Man Bazel behind him and asked, "Old man, are you all right?"
During the conflict just now, Bazel had been pressed to the ground by the Rosward Family's guards and suffered some minor injuries.
At the moment, the restaurant staff were helping him apply medicine.
"I am fine, Raleigh, you brat. My body is still strong."
Hearing Old Man Bazel's powerful voice, Raleigh finally felt relieved. He turned around and spoke.
"Beat all the guards to death directly and hang their bodies on the city wall."
"As for you important people, who fired the gun just now? Which hand was used?"
Raleigh's words were like the whisper of a demon, making the Rosward Family's expressions change drastically.
Shocked and furious, they shouted, "We are Celestial Dragons!"