Coating a ship takes time, especially for a giant vessel of this size. With Rayleigh not on the island, they had to find someone reliable themselves. For now, the Sabaody Archipelago was relatively peaceful.
Although Whitebeard's final words had reignited the dreams of many pirates who had given up, causing more and more people to become pirates, the World Government's conscription and the new Shichibukai system were gradually being implemented.
The World Government's policy was to strengthen the two major powers, the Marine Headquarters and the Shichibukai, to maintain a relative balance. This was a familiar tactic. Back when Roger died, they used the balance of three powers to control the situation on the seas.
There shouldn't be any problems now. However, there was one thing Rosen couldn't figure out. Both Roger and Whitebeard, compared to real pirates, were more like adventurers. Yet, despite that, they didn't hesitate to plunge the world into further chaos, all to proclaim that the ultimate island held the One Piece.
Was it because they were pirates, acting without restraint, never considering ordinary people? No, that probably wasn't it. Whitebeard had been a pirate for so long and had always sent money back to his hometown. This showed that although they were powerful, they were not indifferent to the common people.
Then only one possibility remained: exposing the true face the World Government had been hiding was more important than maintaining stability on the seas. In other words, if the World Government continued to hide things, the harm to the entire world would be greater than what the Great Pirate Era had brought.
Roger must have thought so, and Whitebeard must have thought so too. So, what exactly was the World Government hiding? Rosen couldn't help but wonder, and he couldn't help but be curious.
Coming to the Sabaody Archipelago again, although it lacked the novelty of the first time, it was still quite interesting. Rosen didn't impose any controls; those who wanted to go ashore could do so, but they had to stay in groups of at least three. This was so someone could notify everyone in case of an emergency.
Rosen went ashore with Natalie and Robin. Hathaway didn't want to leave the ship; her strength had improved by leaps and bounds during the Summit War, and she wanted to use this opportunity to strengthen herself further.
Lucci and his two companions stood by the ship's railing. This was such a great opportunity for free movement. With this chance, the three of them wanted to team up and explore the Sabaody Archipelago. That way, they could also report the current situation.
If they were on the ship, they would choose not to make contact, but the current situation was too good to pass up. Just then, Bonez walked over and said expressionlessly, "You three new guys stay on the ship and look after things. Do everyone's work while you're at it. After a month, if your performance is poor, you're off the ship. If you excel, there's hope of becoming a squad leader or even an officer in the future."
"Yes." Lucci and Kaku nodded in acknowledgment. They couldn't object to Bonez' arrangement, nor could they express any opinions. That was fundamental, as they were newcomers.
"Lord Bonez, are you going out for a walk? May I accompany you?" Kalifa said with a hint of restraint and shyness. She knew Bonez was one of the people closest to Crocodile.
If she wanted to get to Crocodile, she probably had to get past Bonez first. Bonez, upon hearing this, remained expressionless. He looked Kalifa up and down. "Sorry, I don't like women."
"(⊙ o ⊙) Ah!" Kalifa was dumbfounded. Really? Did this mean she had to target that impatient explosive man? No way. This approach wouldn't work; she needed to find another way.
Bonez turned and left after speaking. He wouldn't go ashore; he would stay on the ship to watch them. Of course, what he meant by not liking women was simply that he didn't like Kalifa.
"Isn't this a bit too cruel to them?" Urouge was in the training area, exercising by the window. His gaze occasionally drifted toward Lucci and the others. He said this to Law, who was also training. He was monitoring them too.
"They're just Marines. Since they're useful, we keep them around. Consider them a bit of spice on the ship. I'm curious to see how long they can last." Law said calmly. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The closer they got to Doflamingo, the greater the pressure he felt, and the more he pushed himself to his limits. With Hathaway's guidance, their strength was improving quickly.
Now, Law kept his ROOM activated constantly, maintaining it until he reached his limit, then pushed beyond it.
Hathaway focused her energy, her sword moving gently with such speed it was invisible, without the slightest whisper of wind. Seeing the two talking, she frowned. "Don't talk while training. Stay focused so your mind can think. I'd say you two are worse than the sea cow."
"Hey-hey…" The little sea cow, hearing Hathaway call it, turned its head to look at her, bowed, then covered its small hand with Armament Haki and punched a steel plate, collapsing it completely.
"Damn…" Law and Urouge were momentarily stunned. The attack itself wasn't beyond their understanding, but wasn't this thing supposed to be a mascot?
Kalifa, who had just picked up a mop and was about to start cleaning near the entrance, saw the sea cow's strike and nearly fainted from shock. This sea cow was definitely stronger than her. Was this the 100 Berri bounty Kung Fu Dugong? It was way too strong.
"Little guy, your Robin and master went out to play." Mr. 5 suddenly said with a grin.
"Huh?" The little sea cow immediately dashed to the window, gazing at the figures disembarking, then shot out of the training area like lightning. So mean, going out to play without taking me.
"Uncle, uncle, why are you taking me out to play today? Did you find some treasure again recently? Or did you and Sister Robin kiss again, so you're in a good mood?"
"By the way, why have you been sneaking off to see Sister Hathaway at night lately? I saw she seemed pretty happy too. Before, her face never moved, but lately, I've noticed she makes other expressions."
"Hey, Uncle, you really are, tsk tsk tsk…"
"Let me say this first, I'm not going to kiss you. You can't have any weird thoughts about me, that's dangerous. Also…" Natalie looked around, popping bubbles here and there, or running off to scare the lurking bounty hunters nearby.
Her mouth never stopped, one sentence after another.
"Shut up." Rosen's forehead was covered in black lines. This little brat dared to say anything. Even though he knew she talked a lot, she had to be mindful of the situation.
"No, I won't. You haven't taken me out to play for ages. If you yell at me again, we'll duel. Whoever wins becomes captain."
"On my ship, we don't have such rules."
"No way. I asked lots of people, and they all said that's the pirate code."
"Are you a pirate? Do you have a bounty? You have nothing."
"I have a sword and a shield."
"You have nothing. Be quiet and follow me obediently, or I'll send you back to the ship."
…
"Hee hee~" Robin covered her mouth with a light laugh, though some of the comments did make her wonder. Watching the bickering between the older and younger was quite amusing. It seemed only when dealing with Natalie did the BOSS show this flustered side.
"I was thinking, if we found a coater who didn't want to help us, I'd just drop Natalie off at their place. But now, I'm about to get annoyed to death by Natalie before we even find one." Rosen was exasperated. He knew that once Natalie got serious, she was a mental bombardment for anyone.
"Who? Come out." Walking down the street, even if ordinary pirates and bounty hunters saw them and recognized them, they immediately ran far away.
Are you kidding? Who on the entire Sabaody Archipelago would dare provoke the Dawn Pirates? Getting too close, if they happened to be in a bad mood, you'd lose your life.
But just then, Rosen sensed a figure following them for about a minute. It was subtle, but with his current Haki, it wasn't difficult to detect.
"As expected of the captain of the Dawn Pirates. You could sense me even like this." Ain stepped out from a corner, looking at Crocodile with a serious expression.
She had no killing intent, kept all her bodily functions very stable, and had restrained her presence as much as possible, yet her presence was still perceived by his Observation Haki.
"It's you?" Rosen was a bit surprised. It was Miggs's long-lost daughter? He wasn't completely sure, but it was highly likely.
"Marine Ain…" Robin immediately became alert.
"You know me?" Ain asked.
"Since you're here, there are probably only two possibilities. One is that you know I investigated you before. Two is that the Marines sent you to follow us. The second possibility is unlikely; otherwise, it'd be an insult to us…" Rosen analyzed.
"Are pirates these days all so arrogant?" Not far away, a figure with a mechanical arm walked over slowly. He wore triangular-lensed sunglasses, his features sharp and aggressive.
"Former Marine Admiral, Zephyr!" Robin was startled. To run into a former Marine Admiral so casually here?
"Just stating facts. Looks like you're not a Marine anymore…" Rosen observed Zephyr's attire. He wasn't wearing a Marine uniform, but a black military coat with a single armband, suggesting he had formed the Neo Marines?
The timeline seemed a bit off. Logically, Zephyr should have left the Marines a year after the Summit War, and only met Luffy two years later. Now it seemed to be happening earlier.
It was likely due to the immense pressure from the World Government. They had probably appointed the pirate who cut off Zephyr's arm as a Shichibukai earlier than scheduled, causing Zephyr to harbor doubts.
Zephyr didn't answer Rosen but looked at Ain. "If you're hesitant, you don't need to follow me. I alone am enough for the Neo Marines."
"No, Teacher. No matter what you do, I will follow you. That is my conviction too. I just needed to say goodbye…" Ain was decisive on this point. The Neo Marines' current goal was simply to eradicate pirates, which didn't conflict with her convictions, and they would all follow Zephyr.
The current Marine Headquarters and the World Government could no longer be trusted.
Zephyr had dedicated his life to Marine Headquarters, yet his enemy had now become a Shichibukai. How could they accept that?
"You want to see Miggs?" Rosen wasn't surprised. It seemed Ain was also certain or had her suspicions about this.
"Yes, is that possible?" Ain looked up at Rosen. Zephyr leaned against the wall nearby. He was a bit uneasy letting Ain face the currently infamous pirates alone.
(End of Chapter)