A full day passed, and Jovian and Aramaki's ships had already reached the waters near Wano Country.
At the same time, inside the half-expanded G-1 Branch, the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sakazuki, sat in an office with half its ceiling still open to the sky. He stared at the intelligence report in his hand and silently smoked his cigar.
"Sakazuki, you look awful. What's wrong?"
Kizaru, Borsalino, sat on the sofa beside Sakazuki, filing his nails as he asked about Sakazuki's gloomy expression.
"Huff…"
Sakazuki did not answer Borsalino's question. He just kept smoking his cigar, breathing in and exhaling clouds of smoke, constantly taking in the white haze. It made his mood feel a little better… better, my ass!
"What the hell is that bastard Aramaki doing?"
"It's one thing for Jovian to mess around on his own, but why the hell are you joining him? Bastard!"
"If every Marine Admiral acted purely on their own whims like you people, would Marine Headquarters still have any order left? If this keeps up, won't the whole world fall into chaos?"
Veins bulged on Sakazuki's forehead. He clenched his hands hard and burned the intelligence report in them to ash.
"Oh?"
"So Green Bull Aramaki went to Wano Country with Jovian?"
"How should I put it? This is completely unexpected, yet also completely within reason."
"From the moment Aramaki said he was going to persuade Jovian to come back, we should have expected something like this to happen…"
Borsalino was still filing his nails, as though he did not care at all.
"What a pain. If those two go after Kaido, then who's going to keep watch on the Revolutionary Army? Fujitora alone can't stop the Revolutionary Army's advance. The Seven Warlords of the Sea have also been reduced to an empty shell by Jovian, and right now we don't have any extra fighting power to deal with all those pirates rioting across the seas. When it rains, it pours!"
Sakazuki looked up at the half-built ceiling above him. The situation across the sea right now was just like that damned ceiling, torn open with a huge hole, and it just so happened to be raining.
"Huff…"
Sakazuki continued smoking his cigar while his mind kept working, thinking about how to resolve the terrifying situation on the sea.
"Why not establish a new group of Warlords?"
"Keep using pirates to deal with pirates…"
Borsalino offered Sakazuki his suggestion.
"That would be very difficult. The reputation of the Seven Warlords and the credibility of the World Government have already been reduced to nothing thanks to Jovian's efforts. Under these circumstances, no one in this world would be willing to become a Warlord anymore. They're all afraid they'll become the next Gecko Moria, the next Crocodile, the next Doflamingo, the next Jimbei, or the next Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach."
With a cigar in his mouth and smoke swirling all around him, Sakazuki recited the names of those removed from the Seven Warlords. At present, only three people still remained officially within the system, Empress Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma the Tyrant, and Dracule Mihawk, the World's Greatest Swordsman. Among them, Kuma had lost consciousness and been completely modified by Vegapunk into a human weapon. As for the World's Greatest Swordsman, he had been badly wounded during the Paramount War and was later secretly taken into custody by the World Government and imprisoned in Impel Down. He had only not been removed from the roster to prevent panic outside. Even so, the only person who could truly still be called a Warlord right now was Empress Boa Hancock.
So now that things had developed to this point, even if Sakazuki did not want to abolish the Warlords, there was no longer any meaning in keeping them. The Warlord system already existed in name only.
The Marines had also encountered a series of problems, large and small, while recruiting new Warlords. First, the Marines had sent Warlord invitations to Douglas Bullet, a great pirate who had escaped from Level 6 of Impel Down, and to the legendary Red Count, Patrick Redfield, who had shaken the seas during Roger's era. Unfortunately, the Marines sent to invite Douglas Bullet were directly killed, while the Marines sent to invite the Red Count were flatly refused.
In other words, the Marines had not resolved those two major hidden dangers. Meanwhile, Weevil had suddenly appeared and was stirring up trouble all over the world. In terms of raw power alone, according to Borsalino's observations, Weevil possessed a glimpse of Whitebeard, Edward Newgate's strength from back in the day. That man, who claimed to be Whitebeard's true son, was also a hidden danger.
Then there was the mess the Marines had failed to clean up during the Paramount War. In Sakazuki and the other Marines' eyes, among the trash Jovian had ignored, the people with bounties so low that Jovian could not even be bothered to deal with them, there were actually many troublesome figures.
First was Buggy the Star Clown. This man, who had once rivaled the former Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks, and had been an apprentice on the Roger Pirates just like him, had actually started moving again after lying low for so many years. Meanwhile, the Supernovas whom Jovian had previously thrown into Impel Down had escaped during Straw Hat Luffy's prison riot. With the Marines' intentional help, quite a few of them had gotten away. Although most of that was done to cover for Drake, their undercover agent, there really were troublesome people among those who escaped.
Finally, there were the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. Fire Fist Ace, the man the Marines had failed to execute during the Paramount War and Roger's descendant, had had his true identity announced to the world by Sengoku during the war. After that, the Roger Pirates, who had originally vanished without a trace, began showing signs of revival.
Most damning of all, Fire Fist Ace was sworn brothers with Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, and Straw Hat Luffy.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, was also Straw Hat Luffy's father. And the grandfather of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy was none other than the Marine hero, Garp the Fist.
Sometimes Sakazuki could not help wondering whether that bastard Garp had deliberately planted land mines to disgust him because he had known Sakazuki would become Fleet Admiral.
Right, and Kuzan, who was colluding with the Revolutionary Army, had also been brought up by Garp. Garp's entire damn family was involved in revolution.
Regardless of the reason, the Marines' current combat power was seriously insufficient, especially under the premise that two Marine Admirals had run off to Wano Country as if they were playing around. With only one Admiral and one Chief of Staff, it would be very difficult to stabilize the current situation.
As for the former Fleet Admiral Sengoku, former Admiral Zephyr, the current chief instructor of the Six Powers, Garp, and former Chief of Staff Tsuru, Sakazuki could not command any of those four bastards at all.
"Trouble. It's all trouble!"
Sakazuki felt as though he was going bald from stress. If he could, he would have rolled up his sleeves and charged straight to the front, but he could not. He was no longer the Marine Admiral he used to be, when he did not need to think about anything. Now he was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines and had to consider the bigger picture. He had to guard Marineford.
And so…
While Sengoku and Garp ate rice crackers and wandered around town…
While Fujitora, Issho, remained in a nearby town eating soba noodles under the excuse of monitoring the Revolutionary Army…
While Jovian and Aramaki went to Wano Country to pick up girls under the excuse of subjugating Kaido of the Beasts…
While Borsalino stayed at Marine Headquarters to drink tea and nap under the excuse of being considerate toward Sakazuki…
A world where only Sakazuki was busy was born.
Among the top combatants in the entire Marines, Sakazuki was the only one constantly working.
What? You ask what Chaton, the Marine candidate for Admiral who was infinitely close to top-tier combat power, was doing? He was busy chasing Gion, while Gion was thinking about how to gracefully and politely reject Chaton's ninety-ninth confession.
Therefore, in conclusion, among the Marines' top combatants, the only one truly doing any work was Sakazuki.
"Forward! Charge up that dam in front of us!"
Elsewhere, Jovian looked at the massive waterfall before him and issued orders to his subordinates.
"Admiral Jovian, even if you say that, it will be very hard for us to get up there. This waterfall is far too dangerous…"
Jovian's adjutant, a Marine Vice Admiral, spoke powerlessly.
"You're really useless…"
Jovian looked at the Vice Admiral under his command and spoke without the slightest mercy.
"Hahahahaha…"
"Jovian, from the look of things, something may have happened up there. Instead of having all the men go up together, why don't you and I go up first and take a look?"
Aramaki offered Jovian a suggestion. He believed that since Sakazuki had specifically emphasized how dangerous Wano Country was, it was best to be a little cautious. He and Jovian, two Admirals, should go up first and open the way, while the Marine warships stayed below to respond. That way, if any special situation arose, they could deal with it more easily.
"Ah…"
"That does make some sense. Then let's do that."
After thinking about it briefly, Jovian felt Aramaki did indeed have a point. The two of them could go up first and scout the situation.
"Then all of you remain here on standby and wait for our orders at any time!"
Jovian spoke to the Marines behind him.
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines answered in unison.
Boom!
After the Marines gave their unified response, Jovian's body slowly lifted off the ground. He transformed into a shooting star and shot into the sky.
"Ahahahaha…"
"As expected of Jovian. You really are fast."
Aramaki looked at Jovian soaring into the air and laughed loudly. Then a flower grew out of his head. The flower bloomed and spun, carrying Aramaki into the air as he flew toward the sky.
Before long, Jovian and Aramaki had both flown up onto Wano Country's dam.
"Jovian, where should we start investigating next?"
Aramaki looked at Jovian and asked respectfully.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course we start investigating from the Flower Capital. As far as I know, that oiran is very suspicious. She must be brought out for careful questioning!"
Jovian looked at Aramaki with an extremely sharp gaze and spoke in a deep voice.
"What a coincidence, Jovian. I was thinking the exact same thing. I also believe those so-called oiran are very suspicious…"
Aramaki nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Jovian's words.
"Ahahahahaha…"
In the next second, the two of them suddenly looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Half an hour later…
In the Flower Capital's pleasure district, a place similar to a red-light district…
Inside the largest establishment there, a brothel said to be frequently visited even by the oiran Komurasaki and Shogun Kurozumi Orochi, Jovian and Aramaki sat facing each other. The two had casually thrown their coats aside and were drinking continuously.
"Puru puru puru…"
Suddenly, the Transponder Snail at Aramaki's waist began making a restless sound.
"Ah, Jovian! Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is calling. We're in trouble. Ahahaha…"
Aramaki looked at the Transponder Snail's stern and intimidating expression and furrowed his brow. Of course he knew who would be calling him at this time. His mouth kept saying they were in trouble, but he laughed easily, clearly not taking the matter seriously.
"Answer it and hear him out."
Jovian nodded, signaling Aramaki to answer the call.
Click.
After receiving Jovian's permission, Aramaki pressed the answer button.
"Hello…"
"Sakazuki, this is Aramaki…"
Aramaki held the Transponder Snail in his hand, his tone incredibly hearty.
"Aramaki, where are you right now?"
Sakazuki's extremely stern voice came through the Transponder Snail.
"Me? I'm… investigating Kaido of the Beasts. I've discovered that Kaido's problems are very serious. There seem to be some unspeakable secrets here."
After thinking for a moment, Aramaki answered.
"Stop investigating Kaido and bring that irresponsible bastard Jovian back immediately!"
Sakazuki felt a headache coming on the moment he heard Aramaki speak.
"That won't do, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. We're currently carrying out a mission!"
Aramaki thought for a moment. He looked at Jovian, then at the Transponder Snail in his hand. After several brief seconds of thought, he directly gave up on Sakazuki. In any case, he could not see Sakazuki right now. Besides, if something really happened, Jovian would be there to take the blame for him. So why wouldn't he follow Jovian?
"Carrying out a mission? Why don't I remember giving you any orders or assigning you any mission?"
Sakazuki's face turned completely dark. These two had assigned themselves a mission, then run off to execute it on their own, completely ignoring him, the Fleet Admiral.
"Gentlemen, which ladies would you like us to send up to serve you?"
Just as Sakazuki and Aramaki were talking, a madam walked into Jovian and Aramaki's room and asked with a light smile.
"Hey!"
"I heard something incredible from over there…"
"Tell me the truth. What exactly are you two doing?"
Sakazuki sat in the Fleet Admiral's office, listening to the words coming through the Transponder Snail. The corners of his eyes kept twitching. He was certain he had not misheard. Those two bastards had taken public funds and gone whoring.
"Oh no! Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, this is bad. The signal here is poor, and we're about to start our mission. I'll hang up first!"
Aramaki spoke into the Transponder Snail in an incredibly exaggerated voice.
"Huh?"
"Bastard! Just try hanging up on me!"
Sakazuki's expression changed as he heard Aramaki's exaggerated tone, and he roared in anger.
"Wait…"
Click. Beep, beep, beep.
However, no matter how Sakazuki roared, the Transponder Snail was still hung up.
"Aramaki!"
Sakazuki looked at the disconnected Transponder Snail before him and roared.
"Now we're really finished. If we don't wipe out the Beasts Pirates in one sweep, Sakazuki is definitely going to kill me. Ahahahahaha…"
Aramaki looked at the disconnected Transponder Snail in his hand and laughed loudly.
"We'll talk about that when he's actually about to kill you."
Jovian answered indifferently.
"Which ladies should we call over?" After speaking to Aramaki, Jovian turned to look at the madam beside him. After thinking briefly, he answered, "Isn't that obvious? The reason we came to the Flower Capital is, of course, for the most beautiful woman here. Have the Flower Capital's oiran, Komurasaki, known as Wano Country's greatest beauty, come drink with us. Oh, right, call over Wano Country's second, third… all the way to tenth-ranked beauties too. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only two of us. Our skills run very deep."
"Uh…"
"Well…"
After hearing Jovian's words, the madam looked somewhat hesitant. She seemed to have something difficult to say, but because of Jovian and Aramaki's muscular builds, as well as the katana at Aramaki's waist, she did not dare speak carelessly. Simply put, in her eyes, Jovian and Aramaki were not people she could afford to offend. On the other hand, the person causing her hesitation was also not someone she could afford to offend.
"What's wrong?"
Jovian looked at the silent madam and frowned.
"Hey! Jovian has spoken, so why are you still standing there? Are you looking down on us? Or are you planning to experience our anger?"
Aramaki saw Jovian frown slightly and tactfully glared at the madam, threatening her angrily.
"My lord samurai, that is not what I mean. It is just that Komurasaki is currently occupied, and there is nothing I can do. I beg you great lords to show mercy to this old woman…"
The madam, who mistook Aramaki for a samurai, knelt on the ground and begged.
"Sigh…"
"Where is Komurasaki right now?"
Jovian looked at the madam and asked unhappily.
"She is next door, in Shogun Orochi's room. My two lord samurai, you truly came at the wrong time…"
"Today is the day Shogun Orochi is visiting this place…"
While kneeling on the ground, the madam brought up Orochi's name. In this country, there was no samurai who did not fear Orochi's name, because Orochi was the shogun.
"What a pain…"
Jovian stood up unhappily, then asked the madam beneath him, "Where is that Orochi now?"
"Uh…" The madam first froze when she heard Jovian speak about Orochi with no respect whatsoever, then answered, "Shogun Orochi is in the room upstairs."
"…"
After getting the answer they wanted, Jovian and Aramaki left the room without another word.
Upstairs…
"Shogun Orochi, you truly are Wano Country's greatest hero."
Kozuki Hiyori endured both physical and psychological torment as she continuously urged Orochi to drink.
Meanwhile, Denjiro, disguised as Kyoshiro, had a nauseating smile on his face as he sat across from Orochi. His eyes remained fixed on Kozuki Hiyori as she poured wine for Orochi.
"Hmph…"
"Komurasaki is mine. She will always be mine…"
Orochi seemed to sense Denjiro's gaze. He deliberately pulled Komurasaki into his arms, as though declaring his ownership over her.
"Hehehe…"
Denjiro looked at the scene before him and laughed loudly, then picked up the wine on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
Click.
"Pardon the interruption."
Just as Orochi was declaring his claim over Komurasaki, Orochi's door was suddenly pushed open.
"Hm?"
Orochi, the Oniwabanshu, Denjiro, and Komurasaki all froze. None of them believed anyone would dare interrupt their entertainment at a time like this.
And yet, someone had indeed interrupted them today.
Jovian and Aramaki swaggered into the room and looked at Orochi and the others, with Orochi still holding Komurasaki in his arms.
"Who are you?"
"How dare you come here and disturb my entertainment? Do you know who I am?"
Orochi glared at Jovian and Aramaki, who had barged into the room, and roared furiously.
"Mm…"
Jovian looked at the ugly Orochi in front of him. Then he casually took a pistol from the Oniwabanshu's table and fired several shots straight into Orochi's head.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jovian did not stop firing until he had blasted Orochi into a mangled mess.
"Ah, sorry. You were just too ugly. I pulled the trigger by instinct before you even had time to tell me who you were. I really am sorry for killing you outright. I should have tormented you a little longer…"
Looking at Orochi, whom he had shot dead, Jovian suddenly seemed to remember something. He threw away the pistol in his hand and "apologized" to Orochi's corpse.
"…"
The instant Jovian killed Orochi, the entire room was stunned. Countless experts could not say a single word.
Everything had happened far too suddenly. They truly had not had the slightest time to prepare.
"You're Komurasaki, right?"
Jovian ignored everyone else and pulled Komurasaki out of the dead Orochi's arms.
"I just arrived in Wano Country, and I happen to be missing a stripper. I heard there was a beauty like you here, so you're just right."
As Jovian spoke, he pulled Komurasaki to his side.
"Well then, everyone, please continue drinking. We'll be taking this girl with us…"
Before leaving, Jovian did not forget to say goodbye to the people behind him. He truly was very polite.
"Hey! You bastard…"
"Who the hell are you? How dare you assassinate Shogun Orochi? Do you think you can still walk out of Wano Country after doing this?"
Fukurokuju, the leader of the Oniwabanshu, looked at the dead Orochi, then at Jovian and Aramaki, who were already preparing to leave openly, and roared.
"Huh? What do you mean, whether I can leave or not? Don't I just leave whenever I want? You damn bald bastard, I suggest you mind your own business…"
Jovian raised an eyebrow and spoke disdainfully to the bald bastard in front of him.
"Heh. I truly have been underestimated. Do you know? There are more than three hundred samurai hidden around this area…"
"Now that you have angered me, what you will face is the pursuit of the samurai. Samurai, hear my order! All of you, come out and kill them!"
Veins bulged on Fukurokuju's forehead. He had sensed Jovian's contempt. Ever since he had followed Kurozumi Orochi, no one had dared look at him like this.
"…"
As Fukurokuju's voice fell, the entire room became completely silent.
Not a single one of the samurai Fukurokuju imagined appeared.
"Samurai!"
Fukurokuju thought of something bad. His face turned pale, and he continued shouting.
"Stop looking, bald bastard. While you were wasting time talking, every samurai within a one-kilometer radius of this brothel was taken out, all eight thousand three hundred and twenty-seven of them…"
Just as Fukurokuju frantically looked around, countless vines appeared inside the room and pushed open one window after another. Outside the brothel, thick green vines crisscrossed in every direction. Impaled on them were the so-called samurai, each one sucked dry until they looked like a desiccated corpse.
"Honestly, they taste awful…"
Aramaki held a cigarette in his mouth, seeming dissatisfied with the "flavor" of these samurai.
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