A dozen minutes passed.
Laboon the whale, who had escorted them for a long distance, finally turned around and left.
Ginny and the others, who had run to the stern to sing, finally walked back reluctantly.
"Captain Carlo! Did you see that big whale? It seems to understand us, and it really liked listening to our pirate songs!"
Ginny ran cheerfully to Carlo, speaking as if showing off.
Carlo nodded: "Yeah, I know. His name is Laboon. He probably hasn't grown up yet."
Upon hearing this, Ginny's eyes widened: "Laboon? That whale has a name? Captain Carlo, how do you know? Is there a story behind it?"
"You want to hear it?" Carlo patted her small head.
"Mm-hmm! I really want to hear it!" Ginny nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
"He's already that big and still hasn't grown up? If he waits until he's fully grown, won't he be like a massive Sea King?" Ivankov clicked his tongue, stroked his chin, and muttered:
"Laboon... Hmm, the name isn't that great. I think Laboon-boon would be better; a double word makes it sound cuter."
"Cute? Makes it sound more expensive!" Carlo's mouth twitched.
He suddenly looked at Kuma beside him and asked, "Kuma, are you sure you really sent Rocks' wife and child flying to the Rulusia Kingdom?"
Kuma thought seriously for a moment and nodded with certainty:
"Yes. Because I had sent too many people flying before, the image of the Sorbet Kingdom in my mind was starting to overlap. I was afraid they would crash into the people sent earlier, so I sent her to Ru... Ru..."
"It's the Rulusia Kingdom," Ginny reminded him in a low voice.
"Right, the Rulusia Kingdom." Kuma scratched his head sheepishly.
Ivankov said in surprise, "Kuma, you've actually been there? The Rulusia Kingdom is on the Grand Line. You've actually been to the Grand Line?"
Kuma lowered his head, his voice dejected: "When my parents and I were captured, we stopped briefly in the Rulusia Kingdom. Those men in black suits also captured many people from there..."
Hearing this, Ginny patted his arm sympathetically. "It's okay, Kuma. It's all in the past. No one will dare capture you again. Captain Carlo will protect you, and so will we!"
"Yeah!" Kuma curved his lips into a smile.
Carlo nodded slightly: "Good. Then before entering the New World, we'll make a trip there! John, do you have a Log Pose for that area?"
John shook his head: "No, but Kuma's ability can help guide us. Just have him send some miscellaneous items flying."
"Ah? Kuma's ability can be used like that?" Ivankov was shocked.
"Uncle John is amazing! He found another way to develop your ability, Kuma!" Ginny clapped her hands with a smile.
"Hehe, yeah. Thanks, Uncle John," Kuma chuckled honestly.
"Hmph! Do you really need to get so excited over something so simple? It's just that you don't use your own brains!" John snorted disdainfully, but the corners of his mouth were practically curling up to the sky.
Carlo glanced at him and clapped his hands: "Alright, now, who wants to hear the story of Laboon the whale?"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me too!"
Three hands shot up.
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
The Room of Authority.
The Gorosei, the highest authority of the World Government, were gathered around a table, some sitting and some standing, looking at several bounty posters on the table.
Saturn, sitting on the sofa, picked up the top one. Looking at Rocks D. Xebec's smiling face on the bounty poster, he snorted coldly and tossed it back.
"Gentlemen, His Majesty's greatest concern, Rocks D. Xebec—isn't he already dead? You should relax a bit; there's no need for such grim faces."
Nasujuroh Saint, who was wiping the Shodai Kitetsu as usual, sneered:
"Rocks is dead, that's true, but it is far from time to relax."
"What we need to understand is that for the entire Rocks Pirates, Rocks was an invisible shackle."
"While those wolves gathered in one place because of him and caused us no small amount of trouble,"
"now that the shackle is gone, it isn't necessarily all good."
"Those wolves, now without their shackles, have been released from their cage, making the current New World increasingly chaotic and dangerous."
He sheathed his long sword and pointed at several bounty posters on the table.
"Now, the Rocks Pirates are leaderless. Several Division Captains have all created their own pirate crews and have begun to vie for supremacy in the New World."
"Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, and Sky King... Sorus Karlo."
When mentioning the last name, Nasujuroh Saint seemed to be gritting his teeth.
But he suppressed his anger and continued.
"The scale of these four's pirate crews is expanding rapidly. Their overall strength will likely explode to an extremely massive level in a short period of time."
"By then, those Affiliated Nationss in the New World will be in great danger. As far as I know, Dressrosa has already been coerced by the Sky Pirates, forced to pay them tribute every year, or else be threatened with national destruction."
"Besides that, none of the Senior Combatants from the Rocks Pirates are easy to deal with. This Kaido is one of them; he has already destroyed two Marine bases in the New World! He is simply arrogant to the extreme!"
"I have already ordered Sengoku to capture him! It's best to bring him back and hand him over to the Science Division for research as a human combat weapon! Make his life a living hell!"
Saint V. Nusjuro [the one who can transform into a wild boar] shook his head gently: "Compared to that, I am more concerned about Sorus Karlo."
He looked at Carlo's bounty poster, his brow furrowed.
"This man is more dangerous than the others! What he did at God Valley directly led to the deaths of over three hundred World Nobles! This matter must be pursued to the end! Otherwise, we simply cannot give an account to the Holy Land."
"Indeed, this person's crimes are heinous. He deserves ten thousand deaths and is extremely dangerous! Although he hasn't shown ambition as great as his Captain yet, this threat should be eliminated as soon as possible."
The others nodded one after another.
They agreed with Saint V. Nusjuro's view.
Saturn heard this and said: "In that case, should we send someone to assassinate him? Laszki from CP9 just sent intelligence saying that the Sky Pirates' movements were spotted in the waters near Mock Town. Sorus Karlo should be on the ship. It turns out he's still in the Grand Line; I previously thought he had already gone to the New World."
"Assassinate... who should go?"
"Have the Marines take action!"
"Who among the Marines can take down this heinous man? Currently, Garp is heavily injured and hasn't recovered, Sengoku has been assigned to the New World to capture Kaido, and Kong has been promoted to Commander-in-Chief and must guard the Holy Land. Marineford only has Zephyr left. On his own, he can't take down Carlo. Don't forget, he can fly."
The few of them discussed for a while.
Finally, they discovered that they currently couldn't dispatch enough manpower to take down Carlo.
"How about letting God's Knights take action?" Saturn suggested tentatively.
However, as soon as he made the suggestion, it was rejected by the others.
Nasujuroh Saint said: "No! Thatcherz Mafie hasn't been found yet. God's Knights will not be deployed for now. Right now, we must find out where Mafie went and if there is some conspiracy against God's Knights. This point is more important than capturing Carlo!"
The others heard this and nodded.
Indeed.
The importance of God's Knights was absolutely paramount.
They are Lord Imu's personal guards; nothing must happen to them.
The priority was to find Mafie first.
"In that case... there is only one way."
Saturn pondered for a long while, looked at Carlo's bounty poster, and said deeply: "Reset Sorus Karlo's bounty and see if anyone can take him down. What do you think his bounty should be?"
"He caused the deaths of so many World Nobles; even a bounty of ten billion wouldn't be too much!" Nasujuroh Saint said angrily.
Saint V. Nusjuro shook his head again: "No. The matter regarding the World Nobles must be completely covered up and cannot be revealed to the outside world, otherwise the face of our World Government will be lost. Therefore, his bounty cannot be too exaggerated, but it must also indicate the extent of his crimes and danger."
"Neither too much nor too little..." Saturn was a bit troubled. Finally, he tapped the table. "The setting of the bounty should be left to the Marines. Let them gauge Carlo's level of danger."
"As for the matter of capturing him, I have another idea."
Saturn seemed to suddenly remember something and looked at the others.
"Oh? What idea?"
Saturn flipped through the many bounty posters, pulled out a new newspaper, and displayed it before everyone.
"Isn't Golden Lion's Flying Pirate Crew occupying Hachinosu right now? There's a gold mine on that island. If he's allowed to take it so easily, the others from the Rocks Pirates probably won't agree happily. I think Carlo is the same."
"Then, once Carlo returns to the New World, there will inevitably be friction with Golden Lion. A battle between the two sides is certain."
"At that time, when they are both injured, we will have the Marines move in to reap the benefits. With thunderous momentum, we will execute Carlo first!"
"And he..."
"Will become the vanguard of this battle!"
On the newspaper Saturn spread out, a giant was roaring at the sky with a face full of fury, surrounded by a panicked crowd.
"Giant King Harald Goes Berserk and Attacks Human Town; Elbaf's Intention to Join the World Government Remains Far Off"