"Are the supplies ready?"
Roya boarded the warship and glanced at the junior officers standing in formation.
The Marine junior officers were still stunned at how young their Rear Admiral looked.
Hearing Roya's question, they exchanged glances, their eyes showing surprise. After a brief pause, one of them nodded toward Roya.
"All ready, we can depart at any time."
"Set sail."
Roya gave the order to depart immediately, then turned and walked into his cabin.
After Roya left, the officers on deck still wore expressions of astonishment.
Roya's exploits had spread quickly among the Marine high command, even causing some commotion. But for these officers, at most Commanders, it felt distant—something they had little direct contact with.
"A Rear Admiral this young… I've never heard of such a thing. Feels unreliable."
"The West Blue 1st Branch Base is near the entrance to the Grand Line. Letting such a young Rear Admiral serve as Base Commander… is this really okay?!"
The Commanders and Lieutenant Commanders exchanged uneasy looks. They had no authority to question Headquarters' orders, so in the end, they simply sailed the warship out of Marine Headquarters toward the West Blue.
---
On the warship.
Roya's cabin was on the highest deck. He was no longer a rookie; he was a Rear Admiral, the highest-ranking officer on this ship.
He casually hung his Rear Admiral flag on the coat rack.
"From here to the West Blue 1st Branch near the Grand Line entrance… that's like crossing half the world. Quite a long journey. Can't really train onboard, at most practice Observation Haki."
Roya sat with legs crossed, leaning back in the wooden chair, hands clasped behind his head.
With a thought, a semi-transparent attribute panel appeared before him:
[Third Stage: Agile Soul Sword +9
Attributes: Attack +280, Strength +90, Agility +90
Special Attribute: All Things in the Universe, turn to ashes: Can freely add fire damage to sword attacks
(evolution conditions not yet met)
Special Attribute: Getsuga Tenshō: Can release a half-moon shaped sword-energy strike
Energy: 117/210]
"I used to think progress was fast, but now approaching the fourth stage, it feels slower…"
Roya smiled at the panel and muttered, "But it won't be long."
He was looking forward to the abilities of the fourth stage.
After a while, he set the Soul Sword aside and took out a set of documents.
"Gecko Pirates…"
This was the information on the pirate crew in the West Blue that had defeated the Rear Admiral Base Commander of the West Blue 1st Branch. Roya glanced at it, shook his head, and tossed it casually onto the table.
"If we happen to run into them, we'll deal with them. A 70 million Beli bounty… that's still 7,000 Marine Merit Points."
To replace Akainu as a Marine Admiral, one must not only hold the rank of Headquarters Vice Admiral but also accumulate 200,000 Marine Merit Points to qualify for a challenge.
"Capturing a 10 million Beli bounty pirate gives 1,000 points. My points are currently zero, so I'd need to capture 200 pirates with 10 million bounties. That's… a lot."
"Though if it's a 1 billion Beli bounty… then just two captures would suffice."
Roya pursed his lips.
1-billion-Beli pirates… In this sea, only high-ranking officers under the Four Emperors in the New World—like the Three Disasters of the Beasts Pirates or the Four Sweet Commanders under the B.M. Pirates—could have bounties around 700 Million to 1 Billion Beli.
Capturing a pirate of that level would mean directly confronting a Yonko force—hardly simple, even for Marine Headquarters.
Besides capturing bountied pirates for Merit Points, delivering Devil Fruits or other rare treasures to Headquarters also granted points.
Roya then looked at another document: a list of items that could be exchanged for Merit Points. Every junior officer carried a copy, but the most valuable exchanges required higher-ranking officers.
Roya's document was special—only a flag officer (Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral) could access it. The items listed all required over 10,000 Merit Points to exchange.
Many Devil Fruits were listed, but none caught Roya's interest much.
The one item he found intriguing required 100,000 Merit Points: 12 Supreme Grade Blades.
There were only twelve of these supreme Blades worldwide. Previously, Roya only knew of Yoru in Hawkeye's hand and the first-generation Shodai Kitetsu held by the Five Elders. The other ten he had no clue about. Now he knew of another—this one held by Marine Headquarters.
"100,000 points is no small amount. The value of a Supreme Grade Blade is indeed immense, comparable to some powerful Devil Fruits."
Roya stroked his chin, thought for a while, then stored the document. Once he reached the West Blue base, he planned to use Marine intelligence to track the sword's information.
---
After leaving Headquarters, the warship moved at full speed.
The ship's engines were powerful, equipped with sails and turbines. With favorable wind, it was far faster than normal sailing ships; even against the wind, it could still travel.
Soon, the warship entered the Calm Belt, the unavoidable route to the Four Seas.
During this time, the junior officers onboard, though skeptical of how young their Rear Admiral looked, dared not disobey his orders, only occasionally whispering among themselves.
Once in the Calm Belt, all Marines were alert and tense, avoiding any carelessness.
Such transport missions were generally safe. Even if pirates were encountered, they would usually flee rather than attack.
The only danger was in the Calm Belt—if unlucky, a Sea King might suddenly emerge.
This was Roya's third trip through the Calm Belt. The first time, they barely encountered any Sea Kings. The second time, two massive Sea Kings fought and were swiftly defeated by Zephyr's fists.
Now, on the third trip…
Halfway through the Calm Belt, a medium-sized Sea King suddenly emerged from beneath the surface.
Though only medium-sized, it was comparable to the warship itself.
The ship's hull was reinforced with Seastone, but not entirely. While a Sea King cannot detect a warship underwater, on the surface it can.
"Damn it!!"
A Marine Lieutenant Commander on deck turned pale, eyes wide. The Sea King almost capsized the ship.
This was… sailing without checking the almanac?!
Encountering a Sea King in the Calm Belt is normal. Usually, spotting one from afar allows for a safe detour. At a distance, Sea Kings often ignore ships.
But this time, the Sea King came straight from beneath the surface, too close to avoid, nearly the same size as the warship—impossible to ignore unless it was blind.