"Boss, Mr. Talu and Little Jack have already led the men to begin repair work in the town center. The townspeople are fairly calm and have started helping with the rebuilding as well."
On the western side of Algairo Town stood a massive, luxurious mansion. This was the headquarters of the Coral organization.
Inside a lavish room on the third floor, several stacks of account books lay piled on the wool carpet in the center of the room. Beside them were several unusual-looking weapons and antiques. Standing beside an ornate round table, a thin elderly man dressed impeccably in a black formal suit was calmly reporting the progress of reconstruction to Mafia Victor.
At the moment, Mafia Victor no longer wore his usual strict slicked-back hairstyle. His medium-length blond hair hung loosely around his ears, with a single strand falling across his forehead, making his already handsome features appear even more striking.
He sat in a chair flipping through the account books while Perona stood behind him with a cheerful smile, casually patting his shoulders as if giving him a relaxed massage.
"I understand. Mr. Wendru, please keep a close eye on the progress of the reconstruction."
Mafia Victor closed the ledger and nodded gently toward the elderly man.
"Please rest assured, Boss."
The old man placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.
"Also, the mayor has arranged a banquet in your honor at Cocosiro Restaurant at six this evening. Please don't forget to attend."
With that, he quietly withdrew from the room.
The moment the outsider left, Perona immediately dropped her composed demeanor and flopped onto the soft bed, rolling around happily.
"Hehehehe~~ Victor, this bed is so soft and comfortable!"
Victor smiled faintly.
"If you like it, this room can belong to you for now."
"For now?"
Perona stopped rolling and lay on her stomach, resting her chin on her hands. Her round eyes were filled with confusion.
"Is it because of your next plan, Victor? Are we really going to the Grand Line?"
"I think the West Blue is actually pretty nice…"
Her voice grew slightly gloomy.
Victor gently rubbed Perona's pink hair.
"Perona, if we remain hidden in a small corner forever, we'll end up like Mr. Pippin—a frog at the bottom of a well."
"Didn't we promise each other?"
"We would go to the Grand Line and accomplish something great together."
Perona's brief sadness vanished instantly.
She grabbed Victor's hand and said sweetly,
"I don't care! As long as I'm with you, Victor, I'm happy no matter where we go!"
She happily ran to the table, grabbed a slice of matcha cake, and scooped up a large bite.
After tasting it, she excitedly scooped another spoonful and offered it to Victor.
"Oh right, Victor! Why did you tell me earlier not to attack that middle-aged man?"
"Come to think of it, that guy was really brave. Everyone else ran away, but he stayed there watching us fight!"
"That man is Colonel Crone, the newly appointed commander of the Marine branch in Algairo Town."
"Mmm… very sweet."
Victor took a bite of the cake before gesturing for Perona to continue eating it herself.
He stood and looked out the window. From there, he could faintly see the reconstruction efforts happening in the town center where destroyed houses were being rebuilt.
"Our Colonel Crone is no ordinary person."
"He's well-informed and extremely well-connected. He particularly enjoys wandering around his jurisdiction under the excuse of 'inspection.'"
"People even call him 'The Inspector' Crone."
"Years ago, he graduated from the Marine Academy alongside Kuzan. Both of them were students of Zephyr."
"Huh?"
Perona tilted her head.
"But that uncle didn't look very strong."
Victor turned back and noticed the terrible state of Perona's eating habits—cake crumbs all over her face.
With a helpless expression, he handed her a handkerchief.
"Wipe your face."
"I've been paying attention to the new commander of the 91st Branch for quite some time."
Victor crouched down and began inspecting the antiques on the carpet one by one.
"To my surprise, Colonel Crone turned out to be quite interesting."
"He understands that his own strength is mediocre, so he has put considerable effort into maintaining a good relationship with his teacher, Admiral Zephyr."
"Since Admiral Zephyr lost his son in middle age twenty-two years ago, it would be unrealistic to assume he never felt lonely. Through careful flattery, Crone has managed to make Zephyr treat him almost like a nephew."
"Ohhh! So that uncle isn't such a good person after all?"
Perona casually wiped her mouth before continuing her assault on the matcha cake.
Victor chuckled.
"Silly girl, things aren't that simple."
"There's no such clear line between good people and bad people."
He picked up a long sword lying beside the antiques and examined it carefully.
"Two months ago, Colonel Crone mishandled a major incident. It seems he angered some high-ranking officials at Marine Headquarters."
"Although Admiral Zephyr protected him and saved his rank, the Headquarters still dislikes him."
"So Zephyr sent him here to the West Blue 91st Branch to avoid trouble for a while."
"…Victor, how do you know so many things about the Marines?"
Perona stared at him in awe.
It felt like her brother knew everything in the world.
"These kinds of semi-confidential information can be bought with money."
Victor raised an eyebrow slightly while studying the sword.
He placed the blade on the floor and continued chatting.
"Being exiled to the West Blue—a remote backwater—must make Crone extremely unwilling to accept his fate."
"There's only one way for him to return to Marine Headquarters."
"Earn merit."
"And where does merit come from?"
Victor pointed to himself.
"Me."
"I knew that once he arrived in his jurisdiction, he would resume his habit of wandering around for inspections."
"So I used my Observation Haki to monitor his movements."
"Then I deliberately lured Cartman to appear along his route."
Perona's eyes widened in amazement.
"So then… Victor, you pretended it was a coincidence, killed that disgusting thug Cartman in front of him, and showed off your strength to attract his attention?"
"Smart girl."
Victor nodded approvingly.
He stood up and placed the identified sword into a box.
"Next, I used the power of the Chain-Chain Fruit to defeat Talma Pippin with overwhelming force."
"And since the arrival of 'Gun-Tail Snake' Suleiman and 'Bandit' Capone Bege was already within the range of my Observation Haki, everything unfolded exactly as expected."
"After the battle ended, poor Colonel Crone would rush back to his base and immediately call his beloved teacher Zephyr using his private Den Den Mushi."
"As for what they would discuss…"
Victor smiled faintly.
"I can practically guess the conversation word for word."
"He would first bring up the Chain-Chain Fruit to spark Zephyr's interest."
"Then he would praise those three gang leaders to emphasize how strong they were, making my victory look even more impressive."
"Finally, he would mention my age and the fact that I possess Observation Haki."
"And just like that…"
"It's done."
"Done? What's done?"
Perona forgot about her cake entirely as she leaned forward eagerly.
"Crone understands Zephyr very well."
"After years of serving as the Marines' chief instructor, Zephyr has a strong tendency to cherish talented individuals."
"Especially someone like me."
"A young civilian genius who hasn't become a pirate yet, has no major crimes, possesses the potential of a future Vice Admiral—or even Admiral—and is still very young."
"For Zephyr, recruiting such a person into the Marines and personally guiding him would be an irresistible temptation."
"Even if Zephyr himself doesn't realize this peculiar obsession."
"If Zephyr personally drags me back to Marine Headquarters and brainwashes me into becoming a loyal Marine dog…"
"Then Colonel Crone—who first reported me—would receive tremendous credit."
"Returning to Headquarters would naturally follow."
Perona suddenly jumped to her feet in panic.
She didn't even notice the cake falling to the floor.
"T-Then Victor, aren't you in serious danger?!"
"That Zephyr guy is an Admiral, right? Basically someone extremely powerful!"
"If he comes to the West Blue, wouldn't it be impossible for you to defeat him?"
Victor smiled calmly.
"It's not that defeating him would be difficult."
"It's that with my current strength, escaping from him would be impossible."
"That man is 'Black Arm' Zephyr, the former Marine Admiral."
He waved his hand dismissively and motioned for Perona to sit down.
"Relax."
"Everything is already part of my plan."
"Zephyr won't have time to come for me."
"Because if you calculate the timing carefully… he's about to face a great disaster of his own."
"Meanwhile, Colonel Crone still believes Zephyr will soon arrive to capture me."
"In his eyes, I'm already a lamb waiting for slaughter."
"Combined with Coral's current friendly treatment of civilians, the Marines will lower their guard against us to the minimum."
Victor picked up the box containing the sword and walked toward the door.
He beckoned for Perona to follow.
"And during this rare window of opportunity…"
"We will begin the second phase of our strategy."
Victor opened the door.
"Come."
"Let's go pay a visit to our new warehouse manager…"
"Mr. Capone Bege."