If Aramaki had said something like that before, Shamrock and the others might have had some thoughts about it.
But right now, none of them had any room to care about anything else.
"The commander is still there!"
In the silence, a middle-aged man with a goatee behind Shamrock suddenly spoke.
Shamrock's heart tightened, and he immediately took out a special Den Den Mushi.
But this time, there was no response at all.
That made Shamrock's expression turn even uglier.
"Perhaps the commander is unable to contact us right now."
Seeing that they could not reach Saint Garling, the others began guessing.
"Maybe he's busy running for his life. That guy is far too strong! I didn't even have room to fight back." Aramaki spoke again, still emphasizing that he was no match for Cyrus.
Naturally, his goal was to avoid facing Cyrus directly again.
Saying that his ability was countered served the same purpose, though it was also the truth.
Shamrock frowned when he heard that, but he had no time to reprimand the man now.
Confirming his father's condition was the most important thing.
But, he no longer needed to confirm it.
A sense of heart-pounding dread rose within him, making Shamrock's face turn pale.
He raised a hand and clutched his chest.
Then the voice that rang inside his mind made Shamrock's heart tighten. After glancing at the people around him, he flew away at high speed.
Lord Imu was summoning him.
It seemed this operation had been exposed.
He did not know what kind of punishment awaited him next.
And at this moment, Imu's mood was clearly very bad.
Figarland Garling's presence could no longer be sensed at all, and the last direction in which he could be sensed was…
Imu turned toward a certain direction, eyes filled with dissatisfaction.
Imu had gone to handle matters personally, yet the people here had caused trouble.
Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong with the Mother Flame.
If even that had developed problems, then all the effort spent during this period would have become meaningless.
After sensing Shamrock rapidly approaching, Imu calmed down and prepared to see what exactly these people had done behind Imu's back.
…
Sabaody Archipelago.
Hunter Guild Headquarters.
As a force that had openly revealed itself as hostile to the World Government and the Marines, the Hunter Guild's headquarters had remained safely in Sabaody Archipelago for so long, which exceeded many people's expectations.
The previous battle between Cyrus and the Marine Admirals had destroyed several islands in Sabaody.
Fortunately, since this archipelago was built upon the roots of giant mangrove trees, the areas that had been completely destroyed before were also recovering quickly.
After all, this place was the only entrance from Paradise to the New World.
"Boss, these are this month's expenses and income. The gap is still enormous. The main issue is that pirate bounty payouts occupy a large portion of the expenses. For pirates who already had bounties issued before, we can recover the cost from the Marines, but there are even more pirates who never had official bounties."
Daz Bonez, once Baroque Works' Mr. 1, had now transformed into something like a secretary.
Although he was not skilled at this kind of work, the busyness of this period had forced him to adapt quickly to this role.
"The Guild only has one boss."
After saying this, Crocodile, who had a cigar in his mouth, took the report from Daz and placed it on the desk in front of him.
"The early stages are always difficult. The Guild is not a pirate crew, after all. We can't plunder like we did in the past. That would not benefit the Guild's development."
After saying this, Crocodile's expression suddenly darkened.
"Just like those bastards who use their status as Hunters to plunder."
Thinking of the pirates who had joined the Guild and then used that identity to loot and slaughter, Crocodile became extremely irritated.
Toward those people, Crocodile showed no mercy at all.
Once they were discovered, they were exterminated directly!
"Boss?"
Seeing Crocodile's gloomy expression, Daz called out to remind him.
"Continue according to the plan. Although doing this will make the Guild harder to manage, this is the critical period in the Guild's confrontation with the Marines and the World Government. As long as nothing happens to the chairman, there won't be any major mistakes."
Crocodile now understood very clearly that the loosely organized Hunter Guild could be mobilized by him only because of Cyrus, who rarely handled matters himself.
As long as Cyrus was there, the Guild as a whole would not suffer any major problems.
"A large sum of bounty money will be delivered soon, so we won't be short on funds for the short term. As for the Sky Island matter, have Mr. 3 keep watch over it. No problems can occur there. That matter is very important. Judging from the current situation, the chairman probably intends to use the exam to select a true group of core members for the Guild."
Crocodile spoke again.
In truth, from his point of view, this selection method was rather crude.
However, when considering the enormous number of Guild members right now, carefully selecting people one by one was clearly unrealistic.
This method was more suitable instead.
"Understood. But this large sum of bounty money?"
Daz was somewhat curious.
"The chairman sent Whitebeard, Big Mom, Golden Lion, and the others to the Marines. They should be inside Impel Down by now."
Crocodile did not hide this.
Daz's eyes suddenly widened, almost popping out of their sockets.
"Enough! Go be shocked outside. Don't disturb my work."
Crocodile waved his hand.
Daz turned around stiffly and prepared to leave. Clearly, he still had not recovered from the shock.
"Chair… Chairman!"
Daz's voice suddenly rang out, even stammering slightly.
"I already said not to call me chairman. At most, I'm the vice-chairman. The Guild only has one chairman."
Hearing Daz's words, Crocodile raised his head again from where he had just lowered it and spoke in a serious tone.
Then he saw Cyrus sitting on a chair at the side of the room.
Whoosh!
Crocodile abruptly stood up.
"Chairman!" He spoke.
"I thought you might have some thoughts about taking the Guild for yourself."
Cyrus looked at Crocodile with a smile and spoke.
After all, Crocodile could be considered an ambitious schemer, and the Hunter Guild was now a major force.
If one could control it, that was equivalent to holding enormous power.
"I understand one thing now."
Hearing Cyrus's words, Crocodile shook his head with a helpless bitter smile.
"Ambition truly has to match strength. Having great ambition without the corresponding strength is dangerous. Besides, am I not already controlling the entire Guild now?"
That was true.
After all, Cyrus had put forward the idea, then provided the initial funds—and not even that much of them.
Then Crocodile had built it into what it was now.
"Being able to see yourself clearly is a good thing. But you also can't neglect your own strength."
Cyrus could sense that, compared with his time in Alabasta, Crocodile's strength had not improved much.
Although Crocodile had already passed the stage where his strength could grow rapidly, he still could not ignore this matter.
"Understood."
Crocodile nodded when he heard that.
Daz stood silently at the side, as if he did not exist.
"Something unexpected happened this time. Next, I'll go to the Holy Land and demand an explanation from the Celestial Dragons. But I'll do that after the Marines deliver the bounty money. Depending on the situation, Headquarters may need to leave this place."
The moment Cyrus said this, the other two people present abruptly raised their heads, their eyes wide.
He was going to Mary Geoise?
Was he going to slash it again?
Wouldn't the Holy Land be completely finished?
After all, half of Mary Geoise had already disappeared after Cyrus's last slash.
"Some things have to be done. After all, it still isn't time for a decisive battle with the Marines and the World Government, but certain people have stretched their hands too far. They need a warning."
"Did something happen at Impel Down?"
Crocodile had already calmed down a little. After thinking briefly, he understood what might have happened.
"Yes. Someone among the Celestial Dragons wanted to use this opportunity to attack Robin and the others."
Cyrus nodded.
"I see. Then some action truly is necessary."
In truth, Crocodile also felt that now was not a good time to make a move.
But if things were as Cyrus said, then this seemed like a test.
If there was no response, it would be hard to guarantee that the other side would not push even further.
"I'll stay here for now. If there are any matters you couldn't handle or decide before, you can report them to me."
Cyrus waved his hand and stood, saying this as he left.
Then he regretted it.
Cyrus had not expected that not long after he said that, Crocodile would send a huge pile of documents in front of him.
Of course, there was also a familiar face.
"You're here?"
Sanji's older sister, Vinsmoke Reiju.
"Chairman, I am now a clerk at Guild Headquarters. As chairman, shouldn't you know your own subordinates like the back of your hand?"
Hearing this, Reiju smiled as she spoke.
"Does Germa have some kind of plan?"
Cyrus raised an eyebrow, then asked directly.