That night, the G-1 Marine base in the New World was still brightly lit. Large numbers of Marines were out on night patrol, while the harbor stood completely empty, not a single warship in sight.
It was obvious that most of G-1's forces had been deployed to blockade the gateway waters of the New World.
And it was under these circumstances that a three-masted sailing ship flying the World Government flag slowly entered G-1's military port.
Soon, a gangway was lowered. A group of agents dressed in the CP organization's trademark black suits disembarked and came ashore.
A squad of Marines stepped forward and said, "This way. The base commander has been waiting for you."
...
Meanwhile, inside the base commander's office, Strawberry was speaking through a Den Den Mushi.
"It's still not over? When he fought Whitebeard back then, didn't he just crush everything once he entered that Sulong state?" Strawberry asked, sounding a little helpless.
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Momonga stood in the night, watching a distant island wreathed in lightning, flames, and raging winds. From time to time, Kaidou was blasted into the air, and Charlotte Linlin could be seen swinging her burning Emperor's sword, slashing straight into Ortoren. The fighting was still ferocious.
"After all, this isn't a true fight to the death," Momonga said calmly. "They're still fighting in a conventional state. Ortoren hasn't entered that Sulong form."
"Why isn't he going all out?" Strawberry asked, clearly puzzled.
"I think… he wants to directly and thoroughly gauge Kaidou and Charlotte Linlin's true strength," Momonga replied after a moment's thought. "That way, whatever he does later, he'll have a clear idea of what he's dealing with."
Not dwelling further on that, Strawberry continued, "As for Headquarters, some of my subordinates contacted me. They said Sakazuki has already consolidated control of the forces there, using the worsening front-line situation as a reason to raise the alert level at Headquarters."
"That's normal," Momonga said with a faint smile. "Although Ortoren mentioned before that Sakazuki might stand on our side, the Countermeasures Division still prepared two sets of plans in advance. So whether Sakazuki turns out to be an enemy or not, we're ready to deal with it."
After a brief pause, Momonga spoke again, his tone tinged with melancholy. "To be honest, we'd already anticipated what might happen at Headquarters even before Fleet Admiral Sengoku was taken away. I'd already reported the current situation to Ortoren through a broadcast Den Den Mushi. His reply was just one word."
"Wait."
"Wait?" Strawberry asked curiously. "Wait for what?"
"I don't know what we're waiting for either," Momonga said with a wry smile. "That guy was deliberately mysterious. He said someone would deliver something, and only once we had it in hand would the New World Marines be able to raise the banner of justice or something like that."
Just as Momonga was saying this, a knock came through on Strawberry's end of the Den Den Mushi, as if a Marine officer were making a report.
"Base Commander, personnel from CP have arrived."
Taking the hint, Strawberry said, "Someone's come to see me. I'll leave it here."
Momonga sounded surprised. "What are CP people doing looking for you? You're not planning to collaborate with the enemy, are you?"
Hadn't arrangements already been made? Whether it was ships from Headquarters or ships from the World Government, anything that wasn't their own was strictly forbidden from entering the gateway waters of the New World.
So why was Strawberry meeting CP agents in private?
"Damn it," Strawberry laughed as he cursed. "It's Spandine. He's holding an Admiral's golden Den Den Mushi token and says there's something urgent. He insists on seeing me in person."
"Spandine, huh…" Momonga immediately stopped doubting, chuckling as he replied. "Even without the golden Den Den Mushi as proof, we've long treated him as one of our own."
"Seems like he's brought someone else with him," Strawberry added, then said, "Alright, I'll check what he's after."
"Mm. Stay in touch," Momonga said before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
The moment the call ended, something suddenly clicked in Momonga's mind.
The person Ortoren was waiting for… could it be Spandine?
For an instant, he nearly called back, but after taking a deep breath, he forced himself to hold back. Still, a trace of anticipation flashed through his eyes.
...
At the same time, inside the G-1 base commander's office.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Strawberry said, "Let them in."
As his words fell, the door opened and two CP agents walked in. One of them was familiar. It was Spandine, without a doubt. The other, however, Strawberry had never seen before.
As for the rest of the CP personnel accompanying them, they had already been taken elsewhere by the Marines to wait. There was no way every underling was going to be allowed into the base commander's office.
With outsiders present, Strawberry showed no particular warmth. His expression remained calm and detached as he spoke.
"Spandine, I allowed you into G-1 solely because you're carrying an Admiral's token. So tell me, what exactly did you need to see me for in person?"
Spandine wore a sycophantic smile as he put on an act. "Vice Admiral Strawberry, didn't we contact each other before about that matter? About Mary Geoise recognizing your abilities? Well, today I brought a superior along to discuss the follow-up. This here is a senior operations commander from CP Headquarters, codename Crescent."
At that moment, the CP agent smiled, stepped forward, and extended his hand toward Strawberry.
"Very pleased to meet you, Vice Admiral Strawberry. I am—"
Before he could finish, Strawberry frowned and shot Spandine a strange look.
"You came all the way to G-1 just to talk to me about this?"
The man codenamed Crescent, seeing that Strawberry ignored him entirely, felt a flicker of irritation. Still, he forced it down and inserted himself with a smile.
"Vice Admiral Strawberry, Benn Ortoren is hopelessly stubborn. He intends to oppose the World Government and split the Navy. He will inevitably be eliminated. You have a bright future ahead of you. There's absolutely no need for you to—"
"Of course not."
Spandine's voice came from behind Crescent at just the right moment.
That only made Crescent even more annoyed. He turned around, ready to argue with Spandine, only to see a blade aimed squarely at his back.
"You—"
Crescent's heart lurched, but it was already too late.
"Take him out, Funkfreed!" Spandine shouted.
The instant his words fell, the long blade in his hand suddenly extended, transforming into an elephant. It crashed straight into Crescent. Tusks and blade split into three, piercing through Crescent's body from behind. Blood sprayed across the floor.
After killing Crescent with a single surprise strike, Spandine finally let out a breath.
"I really am not cut out for this kind of thing…"
He didn't bother with the elephant-sword after that, tossing it aside before hurriedly explaining to the bewildered Strawberry.
"I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't dragged him along, claiming we were here to persuade you, I wouldn't have been able to leave Mary Geoise at all. I needed a proper excuse."
Strawberry looked at Spandine with a strange expression. "So what exactly are you here for? Or did you just come here to seek shelter?"
"How could it be shelter?" Spandine replied reflexively. "In a situation like this, of course I have to firmly stand by the Admiral's side. I risked my life to come support him at this critical moment, understand?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized this wasn't CP headquarters anymore. There was no need for such high-sounding justifications.
He gave an awkward smile, then placed the briefcase he was carrying onto Strawberry's desk.
"This contains intelligence from the past fifty years regarding the Celestial Dragons' so-called 'study tours,' along with some… less-than-clean material on the World Government. And this—"
Spandine reached into his coat and pulled out a letter.
"This is a letter Fleet Admiral Sengoku entrusted to me after I risked my life to get in contact with him."
In that instant, Strawberry understood.
The person Ortoren had been waiting for… was Spandine.
He shot to his feet, unable to contain his excitement.
"Good! Well done, Spandine!!!"
"Loyalty!" Spandine immediately snapped into a Marine salute.
Strawberry reflexively returned the salute, then stared at Spandine in a daze.
…Wait a second. You're the head of CP. Why are you so damn good at that?