"Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot the Marines were still here. My hand slipped just now, really sorry about that," Enel said with a grin after his strike, pulling his hand back.
He said "sorry," but there was not the slightest hint of apology on his face. Instead, it was filled with wild, arrogant amusement.
"Bastard, you almost killed us too!"
"Don't think you can just brush this off so easily!"
The Marines shouted in anger.
"Dragon King Rosinante, you vanished for three whole years. Why did you suddenly appear here?" Vice Admiral Hinaoyama said, stopping the Marines from charging forward.
The Navy had searched for Rosinante for three years without any results. His sudden reappearance forced Hinaoyama to treat the situation with extreme caution.
"Huh, that's strange. Why are you asking me that? I was invited by Marine Headquarters, you know. Since you went out of your way to invite me, of course I came. I even came especially to attend your Marines' ceremony for the promotion and investiture of the three Admirals," Rosinante said with a smile.
"So that's how it is. To have the Dragon King personally attend will surely make the ceremony shine even brighter. If Fleet Admiral Sengoku knows you'll be there, he'll definitely be very happy," Hinaoyama said, forcing a heavy smile.
"He probably won't be happy when the time comes," Rosinante replied with a chuckle.
Hinaoyama's pupils shrank slightly at those words, before he slowly relaxed again.
"Heh, you're joking. I still have duties to carry out today, so I won't keep you company any longer. I assume the Dragon King doesn't need Marine escort either," Hinaoyama said.
"Go on then. Pass my regards to Admiral Sengoku, no, Fleet Admiral Sengoku now. Tell him I'll be there on time," Rosinante said.
"I'll make sure the message is delivered. We'll be waiting for you," Hinaoyama replied.
"Move out," Hinaoyama commanded.
The Marine warship turned and departed.
"Vice Admiral, are we really just letting them go like this? They're pirates," some of the officers said angrily after the ship began sailing away.
"What, do you want to arrest them?" Hinaoyama asked with a faint smile.
"Well… at least we shouldn't lose the Marines' dignity like this. There's no need to be so polite with them. You don't know, Vice Admiral, lately there are rumors all over the seas saying that because the World Government is cooperating with Gray Kingdom and Nightless City, the Marines don't dare arrest Gray Kingdom's pirates anymore. They say we let them run wild and even claim the Marines and pirates are colluding," one officer said indignantly.
"In a sense, that's not entirely wrong," Hinaoyama said calmly. "Gray Kingdom can no longer be treated like an ordinary pirate crew. More accurately, it has already become a real country, even if it's a pirate nation. Gray Kingdom now has more than sixty vassal states, and that's not even counting Skypiea. Do you really think the World Government is tolerating Gray Kingdom's expansion just because of Nightless City's wealth? If Gray Kingdom continues to develop like this, it could very well become a political entity comparable to the World Government."
"Then why?" the officer asked.
"Besides Nightless City tying together the interests of the three great pirate crews and making the World Government wary, the most important reason is that man," Hinaoyama said, glancing back behind him.
Behind him was nothing but the open sea, yet the Marine officers instantly understood who he was referring to.
"Is Dragon King Rosinante really that terrifying?" the officer asked.
'Terrifying' is not enough to describe him," Hinaoyama said. "He is an existence far beyond what you can imagine."
The Marines looked at each other, shock filling their eyes.
"The Marines are about to have three highest combat powers. Are you saying even if all three Admirals take action, they still can't deal with him?" one officer asked unwillingly.
Over the past three years, Sakazuki and the others had grown rapidly in strength, displaying increasingly terrifying power.
There were even rumors that when Sakazuki captured a great pirate, he turned an entire island into a world of magma, an island that to this day still looked like the image of the apocalypse.
Kuzan had once frozen the sea itself, capturing over a dozen pirate crews in a single move.
Because of this, the Marines had absolute confidence and reverence toward the soon to be appointed three Admirals.
"Sakazuki and the others are indeed very strong," Hinaoyama said slowly. "But facing Rosinante alone, none of them would have a real chance of victory. If all three joined forces, then perhaps there might be some possibility."
Those words left every Marine utterly stunned.
"According to information obtained by the World Government, Rosinante already possessed peak Admiral level combat power three years ago. What's truly frightening about him is that he's still very young and has enormous room to grow. Over these three years, he's reportedly been focusing solely on cultivation. No one knows how much stronger he has become."
"Remember this. Do not take action against him. He is absolutely not someone you or I can deal with," Hinaoyama said gravely.
The Marines' expressions all turned grim at his words.
At the same time, back at Marine Headquarters, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the newly appointed Fleet Admiral Sengoku slowly set down the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his expression becoming incomparably heavy.
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