Chapter 177 — Kizaru: Let me catch Renji? A few hundred berries a month, and you expect me to risk my life?
"Could he still be hiding on Sky Island?"
The World Government had ruled for eight hundred years, and of course they knew of Sky Island's existence.
They had once even stationed people in the New World, yet still could not find Renji's whereabouts. Later, they even sent people to Sky Island to search.
But they still could not find any trace of Renji, which left them baffled. Where had this man hidden?
Considering he was the Goro Goro no Mi user, if he was determined not to be found, he would indeed be nearly impossible to locate.
"No matter where he hid before, he has appeared now, and there is a woman at his side. It seems he has developed attachments?" Saint Jaygarcia Saturn said calmly.
He knew well that the Renji of old had no weaknesses: powerful, elusive in movement, and unencumbered by attachments.
That made it extremely difficult for the World Government to deal with such a man.
But now Renji had one weakness. Unless he truly cared for nothing else, this woman would inevitably become his vulnerability.
Their plan could completely revolve around her.
"Investigate her background first, and see if she has any relatives," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said after a moment of silence, agreeing with Saturn's view.
It would be extremely difficult to directly capture the woman from Renji's side, so they could begin with her social circle.
"In any case, capture him quickly. Now that he has appeared, continuing to wait gives me an uneasy feeling."
Saturn sensed that something had changed since the God Valley incident, though he could not pinpoint it. He had even run self-checks afterward and found nothing abnormal.
As the Gorosei in charge of scientific research, he also wanted Renji captured for study, to understand how he could wield so many abilities.
"By the way, Kaido hasn't been captured yet?"
They had long prepared plans concerning Renji, but since he hadn't appeared, they could not enact them.
No matter how strong he was, he could not evade their net forever.
What concerned them more was Kaido. After dismantling the scientific organization led by Vegapunk, they captured Vegapunk and had him continue his research on lineage factors.
That only made them more determined to capture Kaido and Renji.
They had even organized an operation and almost had Kaido, but to their surprise Kaido was not only the user of the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu; an accompanying captive turned out to be the user of the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Yamata no Orochi.
In the end, not only did Kaido escape, but the Lunarian child they had captured also fled.
They pursued Kaido for a long time but eventually discovered he had disappeared.
This dashed their original research plans.
They envisioned creating robots that could perfectly inherit the power of genetic replicators, perhaps even surpass them.
That was why, upon discovering Vegapunk's research into lineage factors, they had immediately captured him. The technology was too revolutionary.
Whoever mastered it would master the future.
Thus Kaido was their target, followed by Renji. If they could copy the lineage factors of such special races and manufacture super soldiers, the World Government would never be shaken.
"He disappeared."
"What a pity."
The Five Elders all felt regret at Kaido's disappearance.
"The greatest pity is that bastard Renji took Rocks D. Xebec's corpse!" one of the Elders said bitterly.
They even thought that if Rocks' body had been left, they might have replicated him.
"Capture Renji, and everything will be ours."
To the World Government, Renji was as valuable as the One Piece treasure itself.
"Don't get your hopes up too soon."
This would be a long war of attrition; they could not rush.
"By the way, Roger won. I didn't expect Shiki the Golden Lion to lose."
The Five Elders did not care much who won between Roger and Shiki, but they were surprised that Roger emerged victorious.
They had predicted Roger would likely fail and die in that war. Compared to Roger, Shiki was less troublesome.
Roger's ability to hear the Voice of All Things — even the voice of the Poneglyphs — was far more dangerous.
Thus they had hoped Shiki would win, as his victory would draw pirates into larger wars, which suited their plans.
Unfortunately, Shiki was defeated by the weather. Had Renji not appeared, Shiki's fate might have been very different.
"Are they really going to Laugh Tale?"
"Wasn't it us who leaked the news?"
A trace of helplessness flickered in Saturn's eyes. If not for the Rocks Pirates' actions at God Valley, they never would have released that information.
They had originally wanted the Rocks Pirates to dominate the New World.
But the God Valley raid had exposed many of the World Government's secrets. How could they fix that?
Generations would need to pass for it to be forgotten.
There was another solution: let more pirates set sail and show their cruelty to the world. With such a contrast, public opinion could be swayed.
So they released the news of Laugh Tale and the One Piece, and kept guiding public discourse to make everyone believe a Pirate King would arise and claim the treasure.
That made pirates increasingly rampant, to the point that even the Navy struggled to contain them — exactly what the World Government wanted.
They were playing a balancing game. If the Navy could not suppress pirates, that was not a problem for them.
As long as public opinion eventually turned, it was enough.
"Then let Roger go?"
If someone had to be the one to reach Laugh Tale, Roger seemed the best candidate.
Whitebeard had no interest, and with Shiki's defeat he had lost his chance. They would never allow Renji to become Pirate King, so only Roger remained.
"But if he learns the truth—"
Laugh Tale did contain extraordinary secrets.
If Roger discovered them, it could cause major issues.
"He has nowhere to speak. Since the Renji incident, we control all channels of communication. Even if he knows, it won't matter. Besides, if a pirate says something, we can easily make the world disbelieve it."
He was only a pirate.
With slight manipulation, they could render all his words meaningless.
"If that's the case, then about those seeking the truth of the past eight hundred years… Ohara seems—"
"Send CP to investigate. If it's true, then eliminate them all. We won't need another Pirate King!"
Those who attempt to study history will ultimately face judgment.
And because Renji once exposed the crimes of the Celestial Dragons at God Valley, Ohara's research into history seemed to accelerate.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, Shiki has now disappeared! He can't be found!"
Marine Headquarters.
According to intelligence, ever since Shiki's defeat he had vanished completely from public view.
Soon after, news of the war was spread across the world by Morgans. Roger's victory over Shiki was astonishing, but what shocked people even more was that Renji, who had long been absent, had once again appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Leave Roger to me!"
Garp was already eager to pursue Roger.
"Sengoku, you need to keep watch on Renji. Take Borsalino with you as well."
Kong did not object. The two greatest threats now were Roger and Renji.
Since Garp insisted on going after Roger, Kong would not stop him.
Shiki was out of the picture and could be ignored for now.
Renji, however, was the top priority. The Gorosei had even called today to stress that capturing Renji was essential — all other pirates could wait.
Borsalino was assigned because his Pika Pika no Mi powers might counter Renji's speed.
"So scary~! Just starting out and I already have to face a legendary pirate like that?"
Kizaru grinned and raised his hands dramatically, his tone full of exaggeration.
It didn't feel like a cushy assignment at all.
He just wanted to clock in and out peacefully — why risk his life for a few hundred berries a month?
"Borsalino!!"
Steel Bone Kong clenched his teeth, seething with anger. What kind of attitude was that?
He sends him to catch a pirate, and all he gets are excuses about rain and wind. Months have passed without progress — does he think he's flying to the moon?
Kong forced himself to calm down, but just looking at Kizaru's face made his temper flare again.
Still, thinking about the men he could rely on, he felt weary.
In truth, only Sengoku, Tsuru, and Sakazuki were dependable.
Garp was Garp. Kuzan was Garp's admirer, imitating his every move.
Borsalino embodied laziness to the extreme. Zephyr had left after his family was killed and now trained recruits.
How much more frustrating could being Fleet Admiral get?
Forget it. Once things quieted down with the pirates, he would retire.
"Alright, alright, I understand, Fleet Admiral Kong. I was only joking — of course I'll go!"
Borsalino quickly backpedaled. He wasn't eager to risk his life, but if he refused, he'd likely lose his easy, steady job.
"Sengoku, I'll leave this matter to you!"
"But what about Marine Headquarters?"
If Sengoku left, there would be no admiral present.
"Sakazuki and Gion are here, and besides, I'm still around. What are you afraid of?"
The main task now was capturing Renji.
"I understand."
Sengoku didn't press further and agreed.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, let me join the operation to capture Renji as well!"
Sakazuki volunteered eagerly. With him, the chances of success would be higher.
Hearing this, several others were tempted too. Compared to staying behind at Headquarters, they preferred field missions.
They were not like Borsalino, who only wanted to clock in and out.
Borsalino pursed his lips at Sakazuki's words but stayed silent in the end. He might want to give up the task, but he knew Kong would never allow it.
"No. Capturing him can't be achieved by numbers alone!"
Kong remembered how Renji had rampaged at God Valley.
Even with the Holy Knights participating in that operation, they had still been routed. That incident had truly disgraced the World Government.
"Honestly, I think it will be very difficult. For now, we should focus on gathering intelligence. We only know he appeared with a girl — beyond that, nothing. Striking blindly would be disastrous."
Tsuru raised her head and spoke. Although Kong's plan seemed fine, she still believed intelligence came first.
"But CP agents can't even get near him."
"Could we plant a spy?"
Tsuru looked at Kong.
That might be the best approach.
"Who?"
Kong considered it. A weak infiltrator would never be accepted. But they couldn't sacrifice a candidate for the next admiral either.
A spy had to have talent, but not so much that the Marines would mourn their loss.
Tsuru glanced at Gion, then sighed. She didn't want Gion sent as an undercover agent.
If Gion were to go, she would first need to become a Marine traitor — and anyone could discover her identity with a little checking.
"Forget it, we'll discuss this later."
Seeing Tsuru's look, Kong decided not to push the issue.
Gion had the potential to become an admiral. Sending her as a spy would be painful.
And Renji might not even accept her.
"Agreed. There's no need to act immediately. Let's wait and see how the New World's balance develops first."
Tsuru was not insisting on an immediate decision.
The New World's power balance was unsettled. If Renji simply appeared and disappeared again, it wouldn't be worth rushing arrangements.
The Marines — and even the World Government — often planted spies among pirates.
After all, having early intelligence allowed for precise countermeasures.
Especially against someone like Renji, a Goro Goro no Mi user. Without inside access, there was no way to track his movements.
"I can do it."
Gion looked at them firmly. To catch Renji, she was willing to go undercover.
"No! If something happened to Gion, what then? Let me take the role instead!"
A stern-looking man stepped forward.
Garp's comrade, Garp's adjutant Bogard, could not bear to see Gion risk herself.
If she met with disaster, how could he live with it?
"Nothing is decided yet. Stop talking about spies for now!"
Kong cut them off.
The matter could be revisited later.
"At last I've found you… God's natural enemy — Renji!"
"Fight me!"
Barrett stared at the man before him, excitement plain on his face.
(End of Chapter)
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