Time always slips away unnoticed. Although it wasn't even six in the afternoon, the final remnant of twilight had already blanketed the entirety of G-8 Fortress in a golden hue.
Despite the minor incident that had occurred in the Navarone cafeteria at noon, today remained a very peaceful day for the vast majority of the Marine soldiers.
Well, at least until now...
Inside the kitchen of Navarone Fortress, it was a scene of bustling activity. The chefs were in the middle of intense preparations for the Marines' dinner, but judging by their gloomy expressions, they seemed to have run into a particularly vexing problem.
"Damn it! Why can't we make dishes as delicious as that man's?!"
Throwing the ladle in his hand back into the pot, a young chef slammed his fist onto the cutting board and said hoarsely, "And why does such an excellent chef have to be a pirate?"
Although they had only spent less than half a day together, Sanji's superb culinary skills and rigorous professional attitude had completely won over this proud group of Navarone chefs. Thus, after learning the curly-browed cook's true identity, none of them could bring themselves to accept it.
Clang, clang, clang...
Head Chef Jessica silently prepped the ingredients on her cutting board, her expression unreadable, though the force she used to chop the vegetables was considerably greater than usual.
"Head Chef Jessica..."
A bearded chef walked up behind the beautiful woman and carefully handed over a piece of paper covered in writing. "These are the cooking notes that guy left behind. Do you think we should...?"
The surrounding chefs all stopped what they were doing, turning their complex gazes toward their female superior.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Putting down her kitchen knife, Jessica took the paper and scanned it. Then, she raised her head, her beautiful phoenix eyes sweeping over the chefs. Seeing the mixture of conflict and eagerness in their eyes, Head Chef Jessica gave a soft sigh and said:
"We are Marines, but we are also chefs. And a chef's mission is to create even better cuisine."
"While it does feel a bit awkward to learn from a pirate's cooking, as long as the people eating it are Marines, it should be fine, right?"
The chefs instantly looked overjoyed. "Then, you mean...?"
"Yes."
Jessica nodded with a smile. She walked quickly to the bulletin board, pinned the note up, and said loudly to everyone, "For tonight's dinner, let's make it exactly as written here."
"Yes, Head Chef Jessica!" x N
The chefs responded in unison, but before they could say anything more—
Woooooo—— An ear-piercing alarm suddenly blared outside, causing everyone's nerves to instinctively tense up.
(Is this another one of Rear Admiral Alan's pranks?) x N
Having been baptized by such events recently, the people in Navarone Fortress had long grown accustomed to alarms. Just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, upon hearing the siren, a certain gothic lolita with black-and-white mismatched twin-tails subconsciously popped into everyone's minds...
Meanwhile, inside the command room of Navarone Fortress.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan!"
Giving a proper military salute, a lieutenant commander anxiously addressed the bearded Marine who was currently lost in thought over a black chess piece. "Just as you predicted, the prisoners held in the jail have staged a mass breakout! They are currently engaging our forces on the iron bridge!"
Upon hearing his adjutant's report, Jonathan didn't show much of a reaction. He sat upright at his desk, where a few scattered chess pieces were arranged. In place of an actual chessboard, a map of Navarone Fortress had been laid out.
"Oh? They haven't even crossed the iron bridge leading to the outer island? How unfortunate." With that, he placed the black chess piece onto the [Iron Bridge] location on the map.
The geography of Navarone Fortress was exceptionally blessed. The inner island and the surrounding outer ring of islands were separated by seawater, with only a massive iron bridge connecting the two. For those escaping pirates, this iron bridge was a bottleneck they absolutely had to pass through.
"However, we haven't spotted any sign of 'Sir' Crocodile. Could he have already...?"
"We don't need to worry about Crocodile, Lieutenant Commander." Vice Admiral Jonathan stroked his mustache. "Rear Admiral Alan told me before that she guarantees Crocodile won't leave this fortress."
"Well, even though her usual behavior leaves one speechless, in a situation like this, that lady is quite reliable. After all, she is the [Enemy of Nature]."
"..." The adjutant didn't say anything in response to his superior's remarks, but his face was written all over with skepticism.
Who could blame him, given how deeply ingrained a certain expired lolita's reputation for being an absolute troll was in everyone's minds?
"Vice Admiral, in that case, should we deploy the [First Unit] to round up these escaped prisoners in one fell swoop?" The First Unit the lieutenant commander spoke of was the most elite force within G-8 Fortress.
"No, that would be a waste of resources." Jonathan shook his head. "Sending the [Seventh Unit] will suffice."
"The Seventh? But Vice Admiral, isn't the Seventh Unit entirely made up of Marine recruits?" The lieutenant commander looked completely bewildered.
"Precisely because they are recruits is why I'm sending them." Saying this, Vice Admiral Jonathan picked up a white chess piece. Twirling it in his fingers, he explained:
"No matter how much they train, how physically strong they are, or how superb their marksmanship is, these recruits are still just recruits. Only by personally undergoing a baptism of iron and blood can they be called true Marines."
"And right now, these pirates who have been locked up for days—whose combat effectiveness isn't even half of what it usually is—aren't they the perfect targets to train our troops?"
Speaking up to this point, a cold glint flashed across Jonathan's narrowed eyes as he murmured softly, "Besides, there's no regulation stating that escaped pirates must be captured alive. We might as well put this trash to good use."
(Uh, no wonder the Vice Admiral used to be close friends with Lord Akainu. Although they eventually parted ways due to differing philosophies, their views on pirates still share a few similarities...) the adjutant silently complained in his mind.
Unaware of his adjutant's inner thoughts, Vice Admiral Jonathan asked another question, "By the way, what about Rear Admiral Fred? Have he and his Scavenger Squad made any unusual moves?"
The lieutenant commander recalled for a moment. "Rear Admiral Black Crow and his troops seem to have been guarding the docks the entire time. There hasn't been any unusual activity."
"The docks... Well, if Straw Hat wants to escape later, he'll definitely have to go to the docks to fetch their pirate ship. Let them hold their position there."
After placing the white chess piece onto the docks' location on the map, Vice Admiral Jonathan picked up another white piece, hesitated for a moment, and set it down on the map.
"Furthermore, order the First Unit to guard the control room. Absolutely no one is to be allowed near the main gate."
Thanks to G-8 Fortress's superb geographical landscape, anyone wanting to leave this fortress by ship must pass through a giant iron gate. Although it is a far cry from the World Government's three Gates of Justice, Navarone's gate is by no means something that can be blasted open by ordinary means.
"If we engage the Straw Hat Pirates in a head-on battle, even a victory would result in heavy casualties." Jonathan pointed to the few bounty posters on his desk. Beneath the goofy captain's carefree smile, an incredibly audacious string of numbers practically stabbed at the eyes.
"Therefore, to minimize our losses, we only need to focus our defense on a few critical locations."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Jonathan!" Giving a military salute, the lieutenant commander took his orders and quickly departed.
Once his adjutant left, Jonathan rested his elbows on the desk, staring at the map in front of him with a furrowed brow as he muttered to himself:
"The time has finally come to reel in the net. Straw Hat Pirates... what kind of tricks does a big fish like you have up your sleeve?"
Everything was developing more or less as he had envisioned. Whether it was Black Crow or Straw Hat, Vice Admiral Jonathan didn't think either of them would introduce any major variables.
And yet, what was this unsettling feeling that kept making him so anxious?
(To be safe, I'll go guard the control room myself in a bit. Heh, it's not like you can tear through my fishing net, can you?)
Unfortunately, as Vice Admiral Jonathan was busy setting flags, he had no idea that the big fish he was trying to catch had absolutely no intention of tearing through the net.
Instead, it was preparing to bite the fisherman to death!
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