Chapter 283: Marine Headquarters
The Pluton slowly sailed in, flanked on both sides by rows upon rows of warships—an awe-inspiring sight.
Before long, the Pluton reached the dock at Marine Headquarters.
Bang!
The massive Pluton came to a stop.
The current Pluton had already been disguised; there was no trace of its appearance as an Ancient Weapon. That was precisely why Crocodile dared to sail it straight into Marine Headquarters.
Tap.
Crocodile jumped down and landed on the shore. The black coat draped over his shoulders fluttered in the wind. His slicked-back hair gleamed, and as he exhaled a puff of cigar smoke, he radiated an air of refined arrogance.
Tap.
A Marine officer approached him.
"I am Rear Admiral Timothy of Marine Headquarters. Follow me."
Timothy spoke coldly.
Although Fleet Admiral Sengoku had already issued orders declaring the Seven Warlords of the Sea to be partners of the Marines, he still showed no pleasant expression.
After all, they were pirates—legal pirates, but pirates nonetheless.
Crocodile cast him a glance, his face filled with disdain and icy arrogance.
As for the other members of the Baroque Works Pirates, none of them disembarked. They remained aboard the Pluton.
Over the next period of time, famous pirates arrived at Marine Headquarters one after another.
Two days later.
Inside a conference room at Marine Headquarters.
"Fufufufu~ Isn't this Crocodile…"
The door opened, and Donquixote Doflamingo walked in wearing a pink feathered coat. The crimson lenses of his sunglasses gleamed.
"Dofla, I hear you've been making quite a stir in the first half of the Grand Line lately?"
Crocodile looked at Doflamingo and spoke indifferently.
"Fufufufu~ Not nearly as impressive as you. Your Baroque Works must be spread all across the seas by now, right?"
Doflamingo sat down beside him and started chatting as if they were old friends.
Click…
The door opened again, and a massive black silhouette walked in—over seven meters tall.
With hair shaped like flames, a demonic face, horns protruding from both sides of his forehead, and sharp ears and teeth, his head and neck bore crisscrossed stitches like surgical seams. He wore a bat-collared shirt and Gothic-style attire.
He was Gecko Moria.
"Fufufufufu~" Doflamingo sized him up, the corners of his mouth stretching wide.
Immediately afterward, another enormous figure stepped in from outside.
Dressed in black and white, built like a bear, wearing a hat and holding a Bible in his hand—
He was Bartholomew Kuma, also known as "Bawang" Kuma.
After entering, he sat directly across from Crocodile and began reading.
"Fufufufu~ Even the Bawang is here. Seems the Marines are pretty dissatisfied with those old fellows in the New World this time."
Doflamingo let out a strange laugh as he observed Kuma.
Kuma, the Paw-Paw Fruit user, was once a domineering and brutal pirate who roamed the seas freely, with a bounty exceeding 200 million.
But for some reason recently, he had developed a fondness for reading the Bible.
Thud~ Thud~
At that moment, the ground outside began to tremble slightly.
Everyone looked toward the door.
A giant mass of flesh appeared in the doorway.
Yes—a five-meter-tall, nearly three-meter-wide ball of flesh. He held two enormous pieces of roasted meat in his hands.
"Hey! The Marines' door is way too small!"
His voice boomed like thunder.
Boom!
The ball of flesh forced his way in instantly, shattering the door as he squeezed through.
He walked inside, glanced at the chair—so small that even his arm couldn't fit—and simply sat down on the floor, continuing to devour his meat.
He… a character who had never appeared in the anime—the Conversion Fruit user, the Human Meatball, Vanni.