After dawn, a Marine Warship suddenly emerged from the horizon, its high-hanging Marine flag fluttering in the wind.
Beneath the flag, inside the communications room, Nezumi, the then-base commander of Marine Branch 16, held the den den mushi receiver with an incredibly grim expression.
"Me, go and suppress Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto? Vice Admiral Tsuru, are you serious?"
Nezumi almost couldn't help but shout, his face full of disbelief.
He was supposed to suppress Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto, who had a bounty as high as 70 million berries?
For real?
Isn't this just sending him to his death?
Instinctively, Nezumi wanted to refuse outright. Even if the person on the other end was a high-ranking Vice Admiral of Marineford, they wouldn't necessarily kill him just for disobeying orders.
However, in the next second, Nezumi's face became uglier and uglier, eventually turning a deep purple, like he was constipated.
"Yes... I will carry out your orders."
The call ended.
Nezumi slumped in his leather armchair, his expression looking extremely terrible.
How did she know... his crimes...
No, those things absolutely could not be brought to light.
Some matters are light as a feather until they are weighed, but once they are on the scale, they are heavier than a thousand pounds.
It was even possible that once word got out, he'd be 'suicided' before he even reached Marineford.
"No, I can't just sit here and wait for death."
Nezumi's eyes flickered as he began making frantic calls, seeking reinforcements through various means. But the most crucial one was Smoker from Loguetown. He had heard that Smoker had failed due to carelessness. Given another chance, he would definitely come.
Even if this massive suppression failed, as long as he escaped without showing his face, Tsuru couldn't punish him for it. When the time came, he would just impose a few more taxes on the civilians under his rule and give a larger cut to Tsuru.
As for whether he could escape, Nezumi didn't think there would be any problem.
At worst, he'd hide. Surely the opponent wouldn't just wipe out their entire Marine force, right?
The more he thought, the more irritable he became. Nezumi left the communications room, intending to cool off in the sea breeze.
Just as he stepped onto the middle of the Warship's deck, he saw a group of Marines gathered at one side of the ship, shouting and pointing in one direction.
"I saw the records, and Palm Island wasn't like this before. Did we take the wrong route?"
"Idiot, this is Palm Island."
"Then where's the hill?"
"The hill was cut down."
"Bullshit! How could a hill be cut down!?"
"Look at the marks before you talk!"
A group of low-ranking Marines argued with each other.
Nezumi, his attention drawn, instinctively looked over, and his expression instantly froze on his face. Beads of sweat appeared, his face turned pale, and his dilated pupils reflected a small hill that was missing half its mass.
The hill... had indeed been severed.
Nezumi, after all, had extensive connections and knew that there were all sorts of incredible monsters in this world.
Cutting down a hill, even a small one of seventy or eighty meters, seemed impossible to ordinary people. But for those monsters born with power beyond normal human comprehension, it wasn't an issue.
The problem was, such a person shouldn't be in the Grand Line... No, shouldn't they be in the New World?
Yet now they had actually appeared in the East Blue. If it was a pirate...
Nezumi was terrified just thinking about it.
He quickly shouted, "What 'severed' or 'not severed'! Change course, we're on the wrong path!"
The Marines below immediately fell silent, exchanged glances, and then hurriedly got to work.
Don't be fooled by Nezumi's lack of strength. In the Branch 16 base, anyone who dared to disobey had long since had their names carved on tombstones.
The warship quickly turned, but then the Marines discovered another gap that looked very much like a slash. The gap had severed the 'pinky finger' of Palm Island. Although not as large as the mark from before, it was still incredibly shocking.
The Marines buzzed with discussion, but Nezumi only felt more terrified because this, too, was caused by a slash.
When did the tiny East Blue become so dangerous? Was this still the cozy nest he relied on for survival?
'Going back is definitely not an option. I'll contact Smoker first.'
Just as he was thinking this, the den den mushi in Nezumi's pocket rang, and he instinctively answered it.
"This is Smoker. You have been conscripted. Along with Branches 18, 19, 22, 35, and others, you will launch a suppression campaign against Head-Chopping Swordsman Hiroto."
Hearing the cold voice from the receiver, Nezumi suddenly realized that Tsuru had long intended to suppress Hiroto.
Because the base commanders of the branches Smoker mentioned were all 'people on the same boat' whom he was familiar with and held some leverage over.
He was merely the final link that locked the 'Great Suppression' plan into place.