In a room inside the Royal Castle, two men were talking rudely about how much money they would make from this deal and how they should have had some fun with that girl before selling her. The youngest man, wearing glasses, looked around, checking the situation.
Based on their actions and the information I received, I thought they were a pirate crew that got by well despite having strange issues, but the captain must be the real deal. ...I should assume they know.
The man with glasses, who looked to be somewhere between a boy and a young man, quickly thought about the two crude fools he had used as a perfect cover. They were useless compared to him.
Now, what should I do? It was a good-paying job to come all the way to the West Blue, but the island that was supposed to be the recovery point for the work team is now held by the Navy.
The man was a Devil Fruit user. He was put in charge of operating the special work vessel, which was also the ship's power source, because his devil fruit could be used in many ways. But that plan was ruined by an unexpected attack.
I don't need to go back to the South Blue, but I was working to create proof that I am a valuable worker by doing the initial job... Still, there's no sign of retrieving the forces or even continuing the plan.
The underworld runs on trust. If you are thought to be a betrayer, you won't be able to work anywhere.
I have done enough to show my loyalty. ...It's time to give up.
If that's the case, leaking information recklessly would be fatal. If escaping is impossible, I must at least negotiate a surrender without giving away anything crucial.
A simple negotiation is impossible with the Navy. They would torture me to get information.
But there's a chance with this strange pirate crew.
The ship I saw when I arrived, flying a flag with a three-clawed cat. That must be the pirate's ship.
A pirate crew that naturally performs fleet movements with great control, maintaining a battle line of three ships—something pirates rarely do.
It's probably already impossible to create the picture of the Navy buying slave children for money. They might even capture the ship controlling the big Den Den Mushi for information warfare soon. I'm hiding my ship, but... the whole plan was flawed from the start.
Soldiers who make no sound, unlike the Marines, have started moving. The two crude men looked at a few of them and started talking about wanting to sleep with them or how much they could sell them for.
Naturally, the man with glasses was not in a situation to worry about such foolish talk. He had to decide what to do right away.
I don't know about the lower ranks, but the higher ranks seem very polite. Judging by their soldiers, they aren't the type who enjoy blood or violence. If I offer them enough benefit, they won't take my life.
"Huh? Hey, Galdino, what's wrong?" one of the crude men asked.
Once he made up his mind, things moved fast.
He slowly walked toward the female soldier in the black suit guarding the door with the Marines, who wore the same mark as the disciplined fleet on their chest and back.
"What are you doing? Are you trying to chat up that pretty lady?! No way, if you can win her over, I'll pay you 2,000 Berry!" the first crude man laughed.
"Then I'll pay 5,000! If you can talk her into working at our brothel, I'll give you 10,000 Berry! Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha!!" the second crude man roared.
Candle Lock.
The crude mouths, hands, and feet of the two fools who were drinking alcohol even though they were about to have a business talk were sealed by white, solid wax that appeared from the fingers of the man with glasses.
"I sincerely apologize for the extremely vulgar words that reached your ears, even if I was just a small player. I am sorry," the man with glasses said, bowing deeply to the female soldier in the black suit, who was guarding the entrance with the Marines.
The Marines were stunned, not knowing what had happened. But the soldiers in suits all put their hands on their swords, though they didn't draw the blades since they knew they weren't the targets, but they didn't miss a single move the man made.
"With that said, I wish to surrender to your pirate crew." He paused, then asked, "Can I speak directly to someone in charge?"
--
"What do you think?"
Sengoku-san, it's fine if we go to a separate room with Tsuru-san, but can you at least use a subject when you speak?
"It's unlikely that the Government acted on its own," I said.
Well, I can guess what he means.
"It's true that, combined with what Vice Admiral Tsuru said, it suits the Government's needs. The simplest way to end this situation peacefully would be for the 'Black Cat' to loudly show the public that we are very close to the government, and then we protect the girls."
Tsuru-san sighed audibly. Why are you sighing?
Is it because you wish it could be that way?
I can tell you right now, if those guys want us, we absolutely should not become that!
If we somehow became Warlords, the Government would definitely get overconfident! Specifically the people in the Holy Land!
"But the Government must understand that the word 'slave' is extremely difficult for the Marines to handle right now."
"'Must'... that's sad, isn't it?" Tsuru commented.
Tsuru-san, please don't say that now! It seriously crushes my motivation!
"The Government probably won't do anything to directly provoke the Navy again... but if they aren't the criminals, yet the problem is there, they might try to use it," I reasoned.
"Then do you think this slave trade problem was an accident?" Sengoku questioned.
"...No, that is..." I trailed off.
If the First Fleet finds and secures the ship meant to spread the information, it will be a sure thing... but we probably won't find enough evidence to reach the main criminal. If we capture the agents in the field and hand them over to the Navy, we might learn something... but the fact that we haven't caught any of them yet means they are a very smart enemy.
If the merchants are the actual criminals, they might surrender depending on the situation—or rather, their environment.
We took the island that was probably the main part of their plan.
Since there's no movement to take it back, and no sign of other pirates gathering anywhere, it means the pirates have been abandoned. The criminals in the field must be starting to realize this.
They continued the information war anyway to try and fix the situation, to create an opportunity for that Golden Lion guy to step in again, or perhaps—
Maybe they are surprisingly loyal, or the type to follow the underworld's rules... Anyway,
"Just like the first incident, I think it's very likely this is an attack against the Navy and the World Government."
They both must have expected it. They nodded with faces that said, "Well, of course."
"And the enemy likely knows the Celestial Dragons and the World Government very well," I concluded.
I honestly don't have solid proof it's Doflamingo. He's just the most likely suspect among the characters I know from the comic. What's more, since the Pirate Alliance incident began, he's clearly different from the Doflamingo I knew from the manga.
—But,
"From the Marine slaves to this, he perfectly stirs up the greed of the Celestial Dragons, roughly knows the Government's movements, and tries to create a gap between them and the Navy. ...It's a brilliant execution."
"And this time, he's trying to make the Navy look bad?" Sengoku summarized.
"Most likely. The goal is probably to cause trouble between the member countries by making the Navy lose trust. If the Navy's influence drops, it becomes even harder for them to intervene in conflicts between nations separated by sea."
There are already movements aiming to plunder neighboring countries with flimsy excuses, unlike the original Mogwa Kingdom situation where pirates were used. We are barely stopping outright fights by having the Navy patrol those routes and having us step in, but some non-member countries have already been attacked.
Since we are currently working with the Navy, even we can't get involved directly.
"By the way, Fleet Admiral, how is the investigation in the North Blue?" I asked.
"...Sadly, it hasn't progressed," Sengoku answered.
"You probably heard a little from Kuzan, but the war is heating up in the North Blue now," Tsuru added.
I remember Kuzan and the Headquarters Marines talking about that. That the war is so intense that the Navy has trouble moving.
"So, that means—"
"Yes. As I said before, we also verified Nico Robin's analysis. Most of the weapons traded at the same time as the first Marine slave incident were definitely made in the North... But," Sengoku explained.
"Arms dealing is common in the warring North Blue. Even if the weapons aren't new, people scavenge old weapons and armor from battlefields and sell them to buy food for the day," Tsuru pointed out.
"...So it's not the final proof we need, is it?" I finished.
Damn it, I thought I could get the Navy to cut down on the enemy forces since it would be troublesome if the person who can make an island fly shows up later, but I guess that's not possible. I hoped it would at least be a warning...
For political and military reasons, we should settle this quickly and free up the Navy's main forces...
But I have things I want to do, and the Black Cat needs to gain some benefit.
"Kuro," Sengoku said.
"Yes," I replied.
"Did you predict this would happen?" Sengoku asked me directly.
"...What are you referring to?" I responded, stalling slightly.
"That someone would bring more trouble to the West Blue chaos."
"Yes."
Well, of course...
Didn't you predict it too, Sengoku-san?
"...Why did you come to Mary Geoise? If you had stayed in the West Blue, you could have kept the member countries in check, let alone the pirates who only know how to fight," Sengoku questioned.
"But if I had done that, the rift between the Government and the Navy would have widened further. Wouldn't the forces and supplies you could move have shrunk even more, in case of a rash move by the Government?"
"Couldn't you have managed things while staying in the West Blue?" Sengoku pressed.
Ah~
Well, that itself...
"I think it would have been possible," I admitted.
I probably could have.
In fact, even with the Navy's help, we were able to hold a meeting using a modified Den Den Mushi, like just now. Eavesdropping is possible, but it's not a big problem. The Five Elders would have planned their strategy knowing they might be listened to, and we did the same.
"But in that case, it would be extremely difficult to figure out the Government's movements. To fix the situation faster, I still had to come here. Besides..."
"Besides what?" Sengoku prompted.
"It might sound terrible, but it was helpful for the 'Black Cat' too."
"...How so?" Sengoku asked.
"For me to step away from the center of the organization for a while."
We absolutely needed to prepare for a worst-case scenario when dealing with the World Government.
"Everyone who is now a core member of the organization, starting with the Vice-Captain, Daz Bones, has been put through all the skills I thought they would need," I explained.
Basic sailing and fighting skills, anti-Devil Fruit user combat training, teamwork, unit command, managing the mental and physical health of soldiers, dealing with emergencies and survival, scouting techniques, and developing tactics based on strategy.
Foundations of civil engineering through reconstruction work, experiencing unexpected public movements and city structures, cultural differences from working in other countries, and prioritizing lives in emergencies using triage during rescues.
"On top of that, and this includes the recent Alliance incident... we need to face human weakness. That's why I decided that the current leaders, who are the foundation of the organization, need their own strong pride in addition to the organization's."
Especially the guard, given their background, I want them to think about various things at this time.
"It's just my experience, but when you face a truly difficult situation that is hard to solve, the strongest force is a powerful personal motive, more than skill or training."
"Do you mean their own goals?" Sengoku clarified.
"Yes. ...Or their own rules to live by... their pride, too."
It's also a rehearsal for when I die or go missing. While a situation involving the Navy like this can't be helped, it's better to get the soldiers used to the command system centered around Daz and Hancock first.
As our area of influence grows, we might have fleets operating separately. Especially in the Grand Line.
"The Celestial Dragons, who are the reason we became pirates, are in a way the most human beings. A good, proper person can easily become like that if one thing goes wrong, and we will see those kinds of things."
"To build an organization that can overcome such things, I thought we need to find our own pride right now."
Well, if something happens, Mihawk would probably just leave, but it would be awful if the entire Black Cat group ended up becoming a pirate crew that looks like an enemy of Luffy in the "What If" future.
"...Kuro," Sengoku said softly.
"Yes," I replied.
"Are you planning to create a Second Navy?" Sengoku asked.
"That's not what I'm aiming for..." I said.
The thing I actually want is a Second World Government.
I'm so worried about the future that I could cry.
Please, someone give me a stomach medicine that works for me.
--
Powerstone Goal is 100..