Baratie.
Looking at the dishes that gradually filled the entire table, Kouta and the others, who were already starving, quickly started eating.
Not to mention, Sanji's cooking was really delicious.
At least, this table was the most delicious food they had ever eaten.
...
Time rewound a few hours ago.
Not long after Kouta and the others had dealt with the Krieg Pirates, something happened concerning them within the Marines.
Marine Headquarters, "Marineford."
In the world of the Pirate King, it was the central hub of the entire Marine organization and the location of the Marines' strongest forces.
The entire architecture here was built for war.
Seen from afar, it was a colossal military fortress.
As one got closer, the entire fortress appeared even more magnificent.
In the vast circular port at the front of the fortress, countless warships of various sizes were coming and going.
Marines were stationed on these warships, and on some of them, pirates could be seen shackled in chains.
Pirates with bounties in the tens of millions were merely the lowest tier.
One could even spot pirates with bounties of seventy to eighty million, or even over a hundred million, who were usually only seen in newspapers.
This was the daily work of the Marines who maintained order on the world's oceans in the name of absolute justice.
Capturing pirates.
Due to the large numbers and the fact that even shackled pirates were restless, the port was exceptionally noisy.
In stark contrast to the clamor of the port, the Fleet Admiral's office in the largest building at the center of the fortress was excessively quiet.
Three people were seated in the Fleet Admiral's office.
They were Fleet Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters, known as "Buddha Sengoku" and "Genius Sengoku," seated in the center.
To his left was Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters, known as the "Chief of Staff."
To his right was Rear Admiral Brannew of Marine Headquarters, responsible for intelligence dissemination.
Sengoku, wearing frog-like glasses, with his chin adorned by a braided beard and a hat featuring a seagull model symbolizing the "Marines," was looking down at two photographs and documents on his desk, lost in thought.
The photographs clearly showed Kouta and his companions.
The first was a scene of the five of them standing on the railing of the Dreadnought Sabre, confronting the Krieg Pirates.
The second showed the Going Merry sailing through the severed hull of the Dreadnought Sabre.
"Brannew, tell us about the intelligence you've analyzed!"
Sengoku suddenly looked up at Brannew on his right and spoke.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Brannew, with green curly hair, sunglasses, thick lips, wearing a white and blue striped shirt, and a Marine cloak, quickly stood up.
He walked over to a blackboard, picked up a pointer, and pointed at the photos on the board, stating grimly, "The Krieg Pirates, captain's bounty 17 million, known as the strongest pirate crew in the East Blue."
"Alright, Brannew, get to the point."
Sengoku rested his hands on the table, a glint in his eyes, and calmly interrupted Brannew.
He didn't care about some Krieg Pirates from the East Blue. He was merely interested because he heard that a newly set-out ship seemed to have a great swordsman on board. Otherwise, why would he, the Fleet Admiral, have to personally deal with a bunch of rookies who had just set sail?
Did he think the job of Fleet Admiral was that idle?
"Understood, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Brannew directly skipped over Krieg's bounty poster and pointed to four photographs beside it. Besides the two on the table, there were close-up shots of Kouta and Kuina.
However, these photos were not very clear, appearing to have been taken from a great height.
It had to be said that the intelligence of the Marines, or rather, the World Government, was truly terrifying.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, near the sea where Kouta and the Krieg Pirates were fighting, there happened to be a World Government intelligence seagull.
After receiving the photos from the World Government, the Marines took less than two hours to quickly gather information on Kouta and his companions.
Brannew first pointed to Kouta's photo and said, "Kouta, from Shimotsuki Village, near the Kingdom of Gaya in the East Blue, a student of the Isshin Dojo. He set sail a few days ago, current objective unknown."
Then he pointed to Kuina, "Kuina, also from Shimotsuki Village and the Isshin Dojo, but she is not a student, but the daughter of the dojo master."
He paused and looked at Sengoku and Tsuru with a grave expression. "Based on the known intelligence, Kuina should be a swordsman, and Kouta... is very likely a great swordsman."
He couldn't help but take this seriously. There were many swordsmen in this world, but very few great swordsmen in the entire world.
"Do we know their destination?"
At this moment, Chief of Staff Tsuru, with her white hair, emerald earrings, and two gold bracelets on her right hand, leaned her hands on the table and calmly asked, looking at the blackboard.
Hearing Tsuru's question, Brannew pointed to a map of the East Blue.
"Based on their sailing route, they haven't stopped at any island, but are heading straight for Loguetown. If our prediction is correct, their destination should be the 'Grand Line'."
He paused, then pointed to a photo of the Going Merry.
"Also, since their ship is not flying a pirate flag, they might simply be traveling for leisure."
"Hmm!"
Sengoku nodded and looked at Tsuru, asking, "Tsuru, what do you think?"
Tsuru lowered her head in thought for a moment, then looked up at Sengoku and replied, "From the current intelligence, we haven't found any threats from them. My suggestion is to observe. Since their destination is the Grand Line, we will naturally know their purpose once they reach it."
"And with the strength of their group, even if they reach the Grand Line, they won't remain unknown."
"Hmm! Let's leave it at that for now!"
Sengoku turned to Brannew and ordered, "Brannew, first send their photos to all East Blue branches. Inform them not to provoke this group unless they commit any harmful acts."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Brannew saluted and turned to leave the office.
Only Sengoku and Tsuru remained in the office. Sengoku's somewhat stern expression relaxed.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed to Tsuru, "Tsuru, in the past two years, I've noticed a significant increase in the number of pirates setting sail."
"Indeed. Not only in the four seas, but even on the Grand Line, there's been a surge of pirates, including many strong ones, which has increased the pressure on the Marines in recent years."
"Alright, let's not talk about that."
Sengoku frowned, rubbing his temples with his fingers, and said with a headache, "The current headache is Ace, Garp's grandson. I heard he's going to challenge Whitebeard."
"Yes, that old fellow is also in the New World right now. Let's hope nothing happens to him!"
Tsuru also looked troubled.
They were worried about Garp.
In the East Blue, on a Marine warship outside the Baratie, Colonel Ruster, the base commander of Base 123, was also troubled by a situation.
"What, what did you say?"
Ruster asked loudly at the few Marines in front of him.
"Mr. Zeff has invited you to dine at the restaurant."
"The previous sentence, not this one."
One of the Marines asked confusedly, "The previous sentence, hmm...! The previous sentence was."
Another Marine interrupted his thought.
"There are a few suspicious individuals in the restaurant, four men and one woman."
"Right, right, that's it. Those four men are covered in gold jewelry, and it's obvious they're robbers."
The first Marine quickly chimed in, elaborating with embellishment.
He simply couldn't stand the ostentatious aura they exuded.
"Are these them?"
Ruster handed them the photos he was holding.
This was why he hadn't gone to the restaurant. He was supposed to be dining, but suddenly received a message and a fax from the base.
The message had been transmitted from Marine Headquarters to the Marine branch base.
The Marines left at the base, seeing that their base commander was patrolling in the direction Kouta and his group were heading, quickly transmitted the message and photos to the warship.
After looking at the photos and the message, he was lamenting that he was about to return to base and end this patrol mission, so he wouldn't have a chance to encounter Kouta's group.
Unexpectedly, the surprise came so suddenly; he had encountered them.
"Yes, it's them,"
Those Marines took the photos, took a look, and repeatedly nodded.
Although the photos were not very clear, they immediately recognized the five people in the restaurant.
Kouta's silver hair and Kuina's dark blue hair were too easily identifiable.
Hearing their answers, Ruster's expression turned serious. He pondered for a moment before looking up and giving orders to those Marines.
"Set sail, return to Base 123. Our mission is over."
"Huh! Colonel Ruster, aren't we going to dine?" the Marines asked in confusion.
"No, we're not. Take a look at this."
He then handed another piece of paper to them.
The Marines took the paper, formed a circle, and looked at its contents. As they read, their expressions changed dramatically.
They could never have imagined that the silver-haired kid in that group might be a great swordsman.
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but shudder, cold sweat breaking out.
A great swordsman was someone who could be called a strong presence even on the Grand Line.
To think that they had just been considering dragging Colonel Ruster to go and cause trouble for that person.
Then, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately, they hadn't actually gotten into a conflict with that group.
"Then Colonel Ruster, we'll go out and prepare to set sail."
Those Marines said quickly, they didn't want to stay there any longer.
"Mmm, go ahead!"
Watching those Marines scamper out of the captain's cabin as if their pants were on fire.
Ruster also breathed a sigh of relief. Since Headquarters had said not to provoke them, he would stay far away.
Hmm...! It wasn't that he was afraid.
He just didn't want to get into conflict with the other party. After all, there were still so many pirates in the surrounding seas waiting for him, the commander of Base 123, to deal with.
He had no time to deal with these brats who weren't even pirates.
Hmm! That's it.
Ruster lay back in his chair, nodding repeatedly.
...