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"Since Ikki has already gone to Marine Headquarters..."
"Then we'll proceed with our original plan and arrest him during the war."
The Five Elder with curly hair and a black hat spoke first.
"I agree."
"If he's unwilling to hand over his power willingly, then we'll simply turn him into something like Kuma."
"I'm sure Vegapunk can accomplish that."
The tallest of the Five Elders stroked his long beard. Despite his benevolent appearance, the words he spoke were chilling.
Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.
"That Ikki fellow really is a genius."
"He actually trained Dressrosa's strongest warrior into someone capable of defeating a Shichibukai like Doflamingo."
Sengoku set down the report in his hand and sighed.
At the same time, his desire to recruit Ikki into the Marines grew even stronger.
He wanted Ikki to help train Marine personnel.
Although Sengoku believed Ikki's unconventional methods of rapidly increasing a person's strength had their limitations, producing even a handful of powerful Marine swordsmen would already be a tremendous gain.
Furthermore, Ikki possessed more conventional training methods as well.
Those methods alone would still significantly improve the overall combat strength of the Marines.
"Tsuru, do you think we can come up with another way to persuade Ikki?"
"Or perhaps we should let Gion try again?"
Sengoku looked hopefully at Tsuru, who was seated across from him.
"Sengoku, I understand what you're thinking."
"But if we push too hard and end up causing Ikki to abandon his plans to participate in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates, we'll be doing more harm than good."
"At the very least, we should wait until after the war is over before pursuing those ideas."
"If we spend more time getting to know him, our chances of recruiting him may improve."
Tsuru shook her head.
"You're right. The war against the Whitebeard Pirates is our top priority."
"And then there's the Beasts Pirates. Tch! Why would Kaido choose to move at a time like this?"
"Could he really be planning to intercept Ikki because of Jack?"
Sengoku frowned as he looked at another report.
The report detailed the unusual movements of the Beasts Pirates.
At this point, they might already have entered the first half of the Grand Line.
"The Beasts Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates are both under constant surveillance."
"Let's contact Gion and inform her about what happened in Dressrosa."
"It will also allow us to express the Marine's concern to Ikki. Perhaps it will improve his impression of us."
Tsuru suggested.
Sengoku naturally had no objections.
He immediately picked up a Den Den Mushi and called Gion.
Meanwhile, the Explorer was already approaching Marine Headquarters.
Inside the ship's gym and training bath.
"It's surprising that you've managed to master the power of your Innate Demon Slayer Mark so quickly."
"It's a shame you never practiced swordsmanship earlier. With talent like yours, your achievements would have been remarkable."
Ikki withdrew his hand from Bello Betty's smooth back and spoke with genuine surprise.
Name: Bello Betty
Age: 32
Weapon: None
Life Force: 5,000~3, S Grade
Swordsmanship Realm: Void-Severing Realm
Breathing Style: Stone Breathing
Special Abilities: Innate Demon Slayer Mark, Pump-Pump Fruit, Intermediate Armament Haki, Intermediate Observation Haki
Ikki opened Bello Betty's status panel and focused on the words "Innate Demon Slayer Mark."
Originally, he had expected Bello Betty to remain in the healing pool until after the Marineford War before successfully awakening her mark.
Instead, she had completed the process much sooner than expected.
Bello Betty could clearly feel the changes in her body.
Even after Ikki removed his hand, the strain caused by activating her mark had vanished.
The mark itself, which had previously spread across a large portion of her body, rapidly contracted until it settled into a stable pattern on her fair skin.
Overjoyed, she immediately turned around and looked at Ikki gratefully.
"This is all thanks to you, Lord Ikki."
"Without your help, it would have taken me a very long time to reach this level."
As she spoke, Bello Betty bowed respectfully.
The towel barely wrapped around her body slipped loose because of the movement.
The sight immediately caused Ikki's heartbeat to quicken.
What a troublesome woman.
Even after growing accustomed to it, he still found the situation difficult to handle.
After all, Bello Betty was someone he could admire but had no intention of becoming involved with.
If it were Gion, however, that would be a different matter entirely.
Bello Betty paid little attention to Ikki's gaze.
Over the past several weeks, she had already posed for numerous paintings while Ikki practiced his artistic skills.
At one point, she had even considered using her charm to lure him into joining the Revolutionary Army.
Unfortunately for her, Ikki saw straight through those intentions.
Naturally, he had no desire to become deeply involved with the Revolutionaries.
"Although I've mastered the Innate Demon Slayer Mark, I still haven't grasped the Transparent World."
"I'll need your continued guidance, Lord Ikki."
Bello Betty smiled and casually wrapped her arms around one of his.
"You only awaken the Innate Demon Slayer Mark after pushing the techniques I've taught to their limits."
"As for the Transparent World, that's something that depends even more on your own training and swordsmanship."
"I think you should return to the Revolutionary Army and continue practicing on your own."
Ikki smacked his lips and waved dismissively.
Truthfully, many members of his own crew still hadn't mastered the Transparent World.
Teaching Bello Betty from the ground up would consume an enormous amount of time.
Moreover, he intended to interact frequently with Marine personnel in the near future.
Having a Revolutionary Army commander constantly staying aboard his ship would be highly inconvenient.
There were already enough people on the Explorer who needed to conceal their identities.
Adding Bello Betty to that list would only create more trouble.
He also suspected that Sengoku might have ulterior motives regarding him.
"Don't say that, Lord Ikki."
"With your personal guidance, my progress will be much faster."
"Bello Betty, are all Revolutionary Army commanders this idle?"
"Don't you have important work to return to?"
She smiled brightly.
"Sharpening an axe doesn't delay the cutting of wood. Once I've learned more from you, my work will become much easier."
"You're really something else."
Ikki shook his head.
"Fine. I'll give you this."
"In exchange, leave my ship as soon as possible."
As he spoke, Ikki used the reward he had obtained when Bello Betty joined the party—a special enhancement designed specifically to improve her swordsmanship.
A warm current immediately flowed through Bello Betty's body.
Her already impressive understanding of swordsmanship rapidly deepened, rising to an entirely new level.