"Last bite! Hurry up!"
"Finish quickly so we can be done with this!"
With a comically exaggerated expression, Michael held up a child-sized fork and shoved the last piece of steak into Yamato's mouth.
Sometimes, he just couldn't refuse the peculiar requests of young people.
Yamato patted her stomach contentedly and said to Robin with a smile.
"I have a father too!"
Robin looked at the girl who was about the same age as her and couldn't help but smile helplessly.
She had just been away from her mother for too long, so she was acting a bit willful...
But after eating and drinking her fill, Yamato even took out a handkerchief to meticulously wipe her crimson horns...
Who would have thought that this relaxed demeanor belonged to someone who had followed Michael in leaving the Marine?
"You all really... let yourselves go," Kizaru glanced at Michael, then at Yamato, and said with a wry smile.
"You just blurted out your so-called goals and truths... while we, who have to keep secrets in front of others, have a lot more to consider."
"That may be true... but isn't this the field you're most skilled at, aside from slacking off?" Michael raised an eyebrow and said with a smile.
"From today onward, we're all in the same boat."
"My suggestion is to use that metaphor sparingly... it makes it sound like none of us will live long."
With that, Kizaru turned and pushed open the office door.
In the next moment, he transformed into a fierce laser beam and vanished from the spot.
Presumably, he had returned to Marine Headquarters to report (and act).
Not bringing Tokikake and Gion along actually seemed more normal—what kind of decent place would have all its top combatants leave right after their prison was raided?
Then, as if nothing had ever happened, Michael began assigning tasks in the same tone he had used as Grand Inspector of the Marine.
"Robin, although the New Flying Pirate Crew has disbanded, they were still a pirate force secretly supported by the World Government, so their foundation remains substantial... We must track the whereabouts of their members, especially those released from Impel Down's Level 6."
"After I received news of you killing Shiki at Egghead, I immediately began arranging for intelligence on the remnants of the New Flying Pirate Crew,"
Robin, having finished her moment of childishness with her mother, had mostly regained her usual composed expression, her eyes brimming with wisdom and strategic brilliance.
"I also privately issued bounties on the remnants through the Cross Guild... Accurate information will be rewarded with at least 200,000 Belly."
"Well done... Pay special attention to Doflamingo and Kaido," Michael's lips twitched slightly.
"Especially Doflamingo—though he appears obedient on the surface and even earned the title 'Virtuous King of Dressrosa'... he's been up to no small amount of mischief in the years since I left the Marine."
"Violet, the youngest daughter of the former King Riku, has been keeping Doflamingo under long-term surveillance... He really isn't behaving."
"This matter... I had already anticipated it when I made him a Warlord." Michael stroked his chin, his smile kind and gentle.
"But that's the most amusing part... forcibly twisting a born villain who worships 'evil' as his lifelong creed into the very type he despises most... In a way, it's also a service to the people."
"Ugh, you're being a bit of a psychopath right now," Robin sighed. "You could've just given him a quick end... but no, you had to go for the slow torture."
"What do you know? If I can steer someone like Doflamingo onto the right path, the world will become a more peaceful place... Of course, the final step involves Marianne's brainwashing pigments and Grandma Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit... Hehehe."
Nico Robin watched as Michael spoke, his face twisting into an indescribably lewd expression...
She could only sigh again.
Then, for once, she observed a rare ten-second moment of silence for that scumbag Doflamingo.
Just as Michael was about to discuss the specifics of the Sabaody Archipelago matters with Robin, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket abruptly rang.
Michael raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, then pulled out a Den Den Mushi along with a white anti-eavesdropping one.
"Pururu pururu, pururu pururu, click."
"Hello, this is Michael."
"Michael, it's me."
As the voice on the other end spoke, Michael's brow furrowed slightly.
That voice was unmistakably...
"Whitebeard" Edward Newgate.
Ever since Whitebeard, persuaded by Michael, had established a new kingdom in the New World, he had never contacted Michael privately again.
Which meant...
This time, it was personal.
Whitebeard's voice still carried its usual vigor, showing no signs of aging.
But there was an unmistakable heaviness to his tone.
That was why Michael frowned.
Logically, the Whitebeard Pirates were at their peak in every aspect.
With the kingdom's establishment progressing smoothly over the past few years, there shouldn't be any setbacks.
Could it be that the Shiki's death at his hands had made the old man Whitebeard start brooding over life's fleeting nature?
Impossible!
Whitebeard was absolutely not that kind of person.
When he learned that the Shiki had died in that final battle against Michael, Whitebeard would've roared with excitement—even expressing "envy" for the Shiki's death in such a climactic fight.
"Hey? Old man, did something happen over there?"
"Ah, i really can't hide anything from you..."
"Of course! You're contacting me privately through this Den Den Mushi—something must've happened."
"Fine, I'll cut to the chase."
Though his voice was heavy, Whitebeard's words remained resolute, lacking their usual boldness and carrying a somber weight.
"The Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division has a guy named Blackbeard. You know him, right?"
"Blackbeard Teach? Yeah, what about him?"
"A few days ago... he defected. Over a Devil Fruit called the 'Dark-Dark Fruit,' he killed Fourth Division Commander Thatch... Damn it! Thatch was his closest friend! That bastard son of mine actually dared to do this!"
"Wait... what?" Michael frowned. "You said... the Dark-Dark Fruit?"
"That's right, the Dark-Dark Fruit... While escaping, he was spotted by Weevil..."
"And then that Weevil went after Teach."
"To this day... there's still no news from him."