One hour earlier.
A large merchant ship was sailing leisurely across the sea. To be fair, in this era of sailing vessels, even at full speed, the pace always felt leisurely.
The winds were calm and the waves were still, leaving the crew in a state of total relaxation.
Suddenly...
"Captain! Look! Look at the sky!"
"The sky? What's in the sky—"
As the crew member spoke, he looked up, and his expression immediately froze in shock.
Over a dozen figures were leaping through the air, bounding toward them. Most seemed to be jumping from one invisible point to another, but one person was different; he walked through the sky as if it were solid ground, stepping forward with effortless grace.
Well, that wasn't the important part.
The important part was that the captain was terrified. This was the Grand Line, after all, and pirates were as common as dirt. What if this was a Marine raid?
However, after taking a closer look, he breathed a sigh of relief.
They were indeed Marines... and not just any Marines, but high-ranking officers. Every single one of them was at least a field-grade officer.
The Marine was very strict about their uniforms. Those below field-grade rank were required to wear the standard Marine uniform. Starting from the rank of Lieutenant Commander, officers were granted a certain degree of autonomy in their attire.
To maintain the Marine's image, the "Justice" coats were issued to everyone from Lieutenant Commander upward. While wearing them wasn't strictly mandatory at all times, they were expected to at least drape them over their shoulders. Consequently, most mid-to-high-level officers wore their own personal style underneath, with the iconic Justice coat draped over the top.
Seeing that every one of the dozen figures in the sky was wearing a Justice coat, the captain immediately realized that this group was far from ordinary.
"Captain! They're landing! They're landing right now!"
"Stop panicking! We're a legitimate merchant ship; we aren't carrying any contraband!"
"That... that's true. But then why are these Marines coming here?"
"How should I know? Just go over and ask them!"
After giving his crewman an annoyed glare, the captain hurried toward the landing party. As he drew closer, his eyes widened in disbelief.
What on earth was he seeing?
One Vice Admiral, one Rear Admiral, one Commodore, three Captains, three Commander, and four Lieutenant Commanders.
Good heavens, what kind of god-tier lineup was this? If they were planning to cause him trouble, this felt like an absurd overestimation of his importance.
"Officers! We are a legitimate business! We aren't carrying any contraband—we're law-abiding citizens!"
"Don't be nervous. We aren't here to cause you trouble," Sean replied. "We simply need to temporarily requisition your ship."
"Oh! I see. But I don't know how long you'll need it... we're transporting a large amount of merchandise..."
Sean paused for a moment before answering, "If all goes well, maybe an hour or two. If things take longer, it could be a few days."
"Sir... if this cargo doesn't arrive within the designated timeframe, the losses will be enormous," the captain said, looking distressed. "Half a day or a day would be fine, but several days..."
It wasn't that he was unwilling to cooperate, but the reality was daunting.
"How large are the losses?"
"If we fail to arrive on time, we have to pay compensation to the client. The amount is 30 million Belly."
"Simple. The Marine will cover the loss!" Sean said without a hint of hesitation.
This amount of money was peanuts. It was barely enough to buy a Doriki tester from that stingy old man, Sengoku.
Furthermore, if he could successfully take down this Sea King and use his system to process the meat into some kind of "super jerky," 30 million Belly would be nothing. Even if he threw away 30 billion Belly, he would still be making a massive profit.
"Alright, alright! In that case, we'll fully cooperate. What do we need to do?"
"Nothing special. Just reduce your speed to two knots and continue sailing in this area."
"Huh? That's it?"
"Yes, that's it."
"Understood!" The captain nodded and immediately ran off to give the orders.
At that moment, Gion pulled Sean aside.
"I'm telling you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku will never agree to pay 30 million Belly!"
"I know that."
"Then why did you promise it?"
"The old man might not agree, but I have my own money. 30 million Belly isn't that much."
"Uh..."
Gion suddenly remembered that Morgans had mentioned it in a recent news report: Sean was currently one of the wealthiest men in the East Blue.
"My dear little brother," Gion said, her tone shifting. "You've noticed that I've wanted a new ship for a long time, right? But that old man Sengoku refuses to grant me enough Belly to even refurbish my current one. Don't you think that's unfair?"
Sean froze.
'Wow. He went from 'stinky little brother' to 'dear little brother' in a heartbeat, and she's even calling Sengoku 'the old man' now.'
She had definitely set her sights on his private treasury. To drive the point home, Gion casually swayed her sword in her hand.
Sean gritted his teeth.
"Fine. Forget refurbishing—I'll just buy you a brand new ship, Sister Gion!"
"I knew I liked you! It's a deal then!" Gion was in high spirits. If there hadn't been so many people around, she might have actually kissed Sean on the cheek in excitement.
After calming herself down, Gion asked, "But are you sure the Sea King will take the bait?"
The operational plan was sound, but the crux of the mission was luring the creature out. If this step failed, no matter how perfect the rest of the plan was, it would all be for nothing.
"The chances are high," Sean explained. "While it won't attack my warship again in the short term, it will definitely look for other prey. This large merchant ship has over a hundred crew members and a cargo hold full of meat and fruit. To a Sea King, that's an irresistible attraction."
This ship hadn't been chosen at random. Sean had used the Marine's intelligence department to screen all vessels currently sailing in this region. Most legitimate shipping companies and merchant fleets reported their routes to the Marine.
Upon checking, aside from the ships that had already been hunted by the Sea King, there was only one large, two medium, and a dozen small merchant ships left in the area.
Based on the wreckage Sean had found and the reports of missing vessels, the vast majority of the victims were large ships; not a single small ship had disappeared. This indicated that the Sea King specifically targeted larger vessels.
Naturally, Sean had selected this specific ship because it was large and filled with meat and fruit. It was the perfect bait.
Because of this, Sean believed the probability of success was very high.
"Gion, how many of your subordinates can use Observation Haki?"
"All four of them can!"
"That's perfect. So far, Lucci is the only one under my command who has awakened Haki."
Sean's eyes brightened. As expected of an Admiral candidate; there were plenty of powerhouses aboard the warship.
"Here is the plan: have them work with Lucci. Each person will take a thirty-minute shift. With five people rotating their Observation Haki, we can maintain seamless surveillance."
"Alright, let's do it," Gion nodded.
While using Observation Haki didn't drain much physical strength, maintaining a maximum-range sensory field without a single second of interruption was a different story. Unless one was a top-tier powerhouse, it was impossible to sustain for long. The mental strain was simply too great, and excessive exertion would lead to severe exhaustion. Setting up a rotation was undoubtedly the best choice.
'''
One hour later.
One of Gion's Commodores had just taken over from Lucci for the third round of monitoring. Within a few minutes, he felt it... beneath the surface, a massive creature was surging rapidly toward the ocean's surface.
"Target sighted!!"