Chapter 308: Cooperation
Rhodes disliked the World Government, but he never looked down on the Marines—in fact, he respected them.
Perhaps there were many corrupt Marines within the organization, like the rat colonel of East Blue.
But the majority of Marines still considered upholding justice and order their duty.
Being a Marine is a high-risk profession, especially for those on the Grand Line, who are almost constantly in danger.
Adventurers like Luffy are extremely rare among pirates—most pirates take pride in burning, killing, and plundering, and some extremists even take pride in killing Marines of varying ranks.
Even worse, some will target the comrades and families of Marine commanders!
The most famous example is the previous Marine Admiral, Black Arm Zephyr. After his family was killed by pirates, Zephyr's personality changed drastically—the Marine Admiral, known for his "not killing" policy, became extremely hostile toward pirates.
Kuzan, having risen to the position of Marine Admiral, had naturally captured many powerful pirates and offended many underworld families.
The others were manageable, but the Kurman family was the most outrageous and ruthless.
Because of a conflict, Kuzan disrupted a large-scale transaction orchestrated by the Kurman family, and they directly hired people to destroy Kuzan's hometown, massacring all the civilians.
It was roughly equivalent to Garp's enemies wiping out Foosha Village...
"That's about it..."
Kuzan said expressionlessly, but Rhodes could sense murderous intent in him and couldn't help but say, "Hey, tone it down. I came here to soak in hot springs, not to freeze."
Kuzan paused for a moment, then resumed his lazy demeanor, saying languidly, "And you? What are you here for?"
"Soaking in hot springs, naturally. I've been pressured too much by your Marines, so I came to relax," Rhodes said casually.
"Ara ara, the Thunder God Swordsman isn't the type who's so leisurely. You're probably after the Kurman family's seniority and connections, aren't you?"
Kuzan's eyes gleamed as he said, "Perhaps we could cooperate—after all, we have a common enemy."
His original aim was only to disrupt the Kurman family's operations.
After all, his individual strength couldn't contend with Kurman Luke and his band of powerful pirates.
But this chance encounter with Rhodes gave him courage, and a bold idea sprouted in his mind.
Rhodes looked at him with interest, "Aren't you afraid I'll unite the underworld and defeat the Marines?"
Regardless of why Kuzan left the Marines, Rhodes didn't believe that someone who had upheld justice for half his life would completely abandon his feelings for the organization.
"Tch, those small fry in the underworld. Although I'm not a big fan of Sakazuki, the Marines' power is still enough to crush you."
Kuzan bluntly stated, "Marine Headquarters is stronger than you imagine, not to mention, you've offended the World Government to the death."
He laughed with some schadenfreude.
A single Marine force might not be overwhelmingly powerful, but if the World Government were to intervene... even slight interference would be enough to give any of the Yonko crews a major headache.
The Yonko crews have only risen to prominence in the last decade or two, while before that, the entire world was under the World Government's rule!
From east to west, from south to north, from the Red Line to Fish-Man Island, everything was within their sphere of influence.
The two simply aren't in the same league!
"That's certainly daunting,"
Rhodes chuckled nonchalantly.
Since he'd decided to overthrow the World Government, a clash was inevitable.
Rhodes wasn't afraid of failure. With the Book of Knowledge, his limits far exceeded others' imaginations—the power ceiling of the pirate world didn't exist for him.
Losing wouldn't be catastrophic.
Besides, Rhodes might not even lose.
"You seem quite confident?"
Kuzan tilted his head, somewhat curious, but didn't delve into it, simply saying,
"I think you need my help."
"You know, the Kurman family isn't just Luke. There are many powerful pirates who follow and submit to him, and among them, there are three or four who could pose a threat to us."
Kuzan had clearly done thorough intelligence gathering, including information that even Rhodes didn't know.
"Three or four?"
Hearing this, Rhodes was somewhat surprised. It seemed he'd underestimated these long-established, top-tier families.
Those who could pose a threat at peak level, even if not at Doflamingo's caliber, were at most slightly inferior.
With everyone working together under Luke's command, Rhodes alone might not be able to handle it. If someone possessed a rule-based ability like the Hobi Hobi no Mi, he could easily be caught off guard.
Rhodes's current strength was far from being able to ignore everything.
"It seems I shouldn't refuse this invitation."
"If Kurman Luke knew, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep."
The two reached a consensus, and Kuzan couldn't help but smile, though his eyes flashed with cold killing intent and a hint of excitement.
Revenge, of course, must be thorough!
Two more days passed.
Marcus Island was becoming increasingly lively. Rhodes's Kenbunshoku Haki clearly detected many powerful figures, not as strong as him, but still considered mid-level powerhouses in the New World.
There was an island lord, a pirate captain with a bounty of hundreds of millions, a renowned assassin in the underworld, and super mercenaries like Germa 66...
Kurman's consolidation of the underworld certainly wasn't cheap—the venue was incredibly luxurious, with beautiful women dressed as bunny girls interspersed throughout, yet maintaining a strict and professional atmosphere, with men in black suits everywhere.
"They're all big shots from the underworld!"
Two figures slowly approached from outside the arena, but it wasn't Rhodes and his companion.
They stood outside the main venue, watching the figures enter, their cold gazes scrutinizing each one, recognizing them immediately.
The two were a man and a woman.
Their clothes were ordinary, but their hair colors were striking:
one was a vibrant green, the other a beautiful pink.
These two are none other than Germa 66's two main combatants:
the eldest daughter, Vinsmoke Reiju, and the fourth son, Vinsmoke Yonji.
The Kurman family's actions are significant, and these two were sent to investigate the reasons and assess whether there's anything beneficial to the Germa family.
The Germa family aspires to reclaim dominance of North Blue, but their own strength alone is far from sufficient.
Therefore, the leader of the Germa family—and Reiju and Yonji's father—Vinsmoke Judge, has been searching for reliable external allies.
In the original timeline, two years later, they chose the Big Mom Pirates, and they are still in the process of making their selection.
If the Kurman family can integrate the underworld, they will also be one of their options.
"With so many powerful figures, the Kurman family might not be able to maintain control,"
Reiju calmly analyzed. "Let's go in first."
With that, she was about to step toward the venue.
But just then, a faint, slightly teasing voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Young lady, how about you take me in?"
(End of Chapter)
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