Sengoku looked at Kyle and said calmly, "I want you to lead troops to rescue the members of the Hader royal family."
"Oh? Why me?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
Sengoku glanced at Kyle.
"You think you can fool me, kid? You think I don't know you've been scouting for targets lately?"
"Now that your strength has reached Admiral level, haven't you been wanting to find an opponent to properly test your abilities?"
"Wang Zhi's strength is just right; he's a pretty good opponent for you!"
"Heh~"
Kyle chuckled lightly.
"Old man, since you've put it that way, I won't pretend anymore!"
"Wang Zhi the Godfather of Pirates? A strong man from the old era, indeed a worthy opponent!!"
"But I need to give you a heads-up, old man; I can't guarantee this mission will definitely succeed!"
"According to my intelligence, a kingdom among the World Government's member states has been conducting secret trade with Wang Zhi and his Beehive Island!"
"But I don't know exactly which kingdom it is. If..."
"If this Hader Kingdom itself is the one trading with Wang Zhi, and this is just a play they're putting on themselves, then I'll be bringing them all back in chains!"
"As for whether that's the case or not, I'll investigate it myself once I get to Beehive Island!"
After saying this, Kyle glanced at Sengoku again and asked quietly:
"If I really do bring them all back, can you handle the fallout on your end?"
"A World Government member state trading with Wang Zhi?!"
Hearing this, Sengoku was also stunned; a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Then his gaze darkened slightly, flickering, as if he was contemplating something.
He understood Kyle's implication.
If the royalty of a World Government member state were brought back and their dealings with pirates were exposed, it would be a direct slap in the face to the World Government.
Those five old men would definitely hold the Navy accountable.
Then he, as Fleet Admiral, would absolutely be the first to bear the brunt of the pressure.
Yet, facing this potential scenario, Sengoku hesitated only for a moment before making his decision. He looked at Kyle and spoke calmly:
"A single line down the middle."
Kyle smiled and replied:
"Action!!"
"Old man, put together a file of the relevant information for me. I'll set out as soon as I'm ready!"
"As for leading troops... I don't need other soldiers; having our squad members is enough!!"
With that, Kyle didn't hesitate; he transformed into purple lightning and vanished once more.
He needed to inform those guys; there was a major operation underway!
——
Before long, Kyle found the others. Purple lightning crackled, and his figure materialized before them.
"Kyle, where did you go just now?!"
Ace asked curiously.
"Got called over by the old man; took on a mission."
"A mission? What kind of mission required the old man Sengoku to specifically call you over?"
Sabo was equally curious.
"A major mission, of course!"
"And this mission wasn't assigned to me alone; it's for our entire squad!"
"Our squad?!"
Hearing this, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up, excitement showing on their faces.
"Captain, what's the mission? Who's our target this time?!"
Law immediately asked, his excitement even greater than the others'.
In the two years since he joined the Navy, he had undertaken plenty of missions, but never one where the entire squad operated together.
And as far as he knew, the entire squad had been deployed together only once before.
The target that time was the great pirate on the sea, Gecko Moria.
And naturally, the outcome was without surprise; Gecko Moria had been locked up in Impel Down for two years now.
But he hadn't joined the Navy back then, so of course, he wasn't part of it.
From what he heard from Luffy and the others, they had basically been supporting roles; they never actually faced Gecko Moria directly. Kyle had handled it all by himself, and they just cleaned up some zombie soldiers.
As for Kyle, Law held him in high regard.
If Kyle hadn't appeared two years ago, he didn't know how things would have ended for him and Cora-san.
After joining the Navy, as he spent more time with Kyle and gradually came to realize just how powerful Kyle was, his respect for Kyle only deepened.
What he found regrettable was that he only knew Kyle was incredibly strong, but he had no idea exactly *how* strong.
Because Kyle rarely displayed his full strength. Even his spar with Zephyr had to be taken up into the sky; otherwise, Marineford couldn't withstand their repeated bouts of destruction.
But now...
He felt he had that chance!
A mission requiring their entire squad to deploy could absolutely not be a simple one.
But Kyle's next words sent a simultaneous shock through them.
"Wang Zhi, the Godfather of Pirates."
"Wang Zhi?!"
"Is that the Wang Zhi from Beehive Island?!"
Zoro immediately asked.
Having been in the Navy for so many years, he had learned about various powerful pirates on the sea.
As a sailor, it would be inexcusable not to know some of the more notorious, famous pirates.
Among them, they were certainly well aware of Wang Zhi, the great pirate of the old era who dominated Beehive Island.
Beehive Island—a place known as the pirates' paradise, gathering countless pirates.
"Is our mission this time to attack Beehive Island?!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled; he spoke with immense excitement.
"Officially, we're going to rescue people, but practically, it's not much different from attacking Beehive Island."
Kyle said calmly.
"And it's only our squad going. Luffy, are you scared?!"
"I'm not scared at all!!"
Luffy shouted loudly, his voice filled only with excitement and thrill, not a trace of fear.
Attacking Beehive Island—just the thought of it was exhilarating.
Kyle's gaze swept over the others; he found not a single face showed any fear, not even a hint of worry.
This scene caused Kyle's mouth to twitch slightly.
Seriously?! You guys are this confident?
Even he, facing Wang Zhi, facing Beehive Island, felt a certain degree of apprehension.
Yet here these few were, feeling no pressure at all. Truly, 'not scared is not scared'? Fearless newborn calves?
To them, they only knew Wang Zhi as a great pirate of the old era.
It sounded impressive, but they weren't clear on his actual strength.
In their view, Kyle was so powerful; with him backing them up, there would definitely be no problem.
Based on this mindset, none of them felt any wariness or gravity.
But Kyle was different. Kyle knew well the true caliber of these old-era powerhouses.
Few from the Rocks ship were simple.
Especially Wang Zhi, who was a notable existence even among them.
Moreover, this wasn't the later era depicted in the original story. Although Wang Zhi's strength was no longer at its peak, it hadn't declined much either.
Facing such an opponent, even Kyle could not afford the slightest carelessness.
...
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