Luffy's face was indignant. "Impossible," he said. "Shanks said pirates are the most free people in the world. How could they disappear?"
Zoro's lips twitched. They were not on the same wavelength at all.
"Well... forget it," Zoro said. "It's no use talking about it. Let's not dwell on it. We need to hurry. If we don't reach the New World soon, you might not even see Shanks one last time..."
As he spoke, his right hand rested on the hilt of Wado Ichimon, tightening his grip unconsciously. Kuina... wait for me...
Luffy suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with shock. "What! What happened to Shanks?!" He appeared in front of Zoro as if by teleportation, shaking Zoro's collar.
Veins bulged on Zoro's head, and he kicked Luffy away. "Get lost!"
Bang bang bang — They were fighting again.
----------
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.
A large grove of orange trees on a golden mountain.
An orange-haired young girl sneaked into Belle-mère's room and skillfully placed a stack of Beli in a drawer. As she was about to leave, she suddenly saw the freshly harvested oranges by the door. With a sly smile, she grabbed two bags and ran off.
Around noon.
Belle-mère and Nojiko returned, pushing two carts full of oranges. As soon as they placed them down by the entrance, they noticed two bags of oranges missing.
Nojiko smiled faintly. "Oh, it looks like Nami is back." Everyone in the village knew that only Nami would do such a thing.
Belle-mère snorted. "So she knows how to come back." She then walked into the house, opened the drawer, and sure enough, found the Beli.
Snap — She closed the drawer, walked out of the house, and put on an indifferent expression. "She couldn't even spare a greeting. Really... I raised her for nothing."
Nojiko said with a smile, "Isn't it because you wouldn't let her go out to draw maps? Otherwise, she wouldn't be so embarrassed."
Belle-mère rolled her eyes. "Go out where? How chaotic is the world now? Her little tricks can only fool the villagers. Out at sea, she might get sold out at any moment."
Nojiko looked surprised. "Eh— Is it that bad?"
Belle-mère snorted. "Why wouldn't it be? The guy she brought back last time, Kalifa, had far more skills and cunning than her. And she was foolish enough to make friends with her."
Nojiko said helplessly, "Don't be so biased. I think that girl treated Nami very well."
Belle-mère said, with frustration at her lack of progress, "Are you bought too?"
Nojiko helplessly spread her hands.
Two people too proud to admit their feelings...
----------
Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.
Compared to its former prosperity and liveliness, it was much quieter now, but one could still see many people on the streets. The Marine branch soldiers here had all been dispatched, moving in groups of a few, using loudspeakers to urge people to leave the streets one by one.
Inside the Marine base office.
Sengoku, now retired, no longer bothered with his appearance. His hair had turned white naturally, giving him an aged look. He also understood the joy of eating snacks anytime, anywhere that Garp experienced. Casually popping a senbei into his mouth, he looked at Rosinante. "What brings you here today? Is everything settled at Headquarters?" Even though his position had changed, Sengoku habitually referred to the current G-1 branch as Headquarters.
Rosinante gave a wry smile. "Ah— It's nothing, just came out for a stroll." Rosinante was quite awkward now. Limited by his talent, his strength was mediocre. Thrown into the grinder of the New World, he might be gone any day. Yet, he was the adopted son of Sengoku, the former Fleet Admiral. Would they have to arrange a bodyguard just for him? Sakazuki wouldn't have the inclination for that. Sengoku knew this, so he had specifically spoken to Sakazuki, arranging for him to stay in the Grand Line, assisting Zephyr and Morris with some tasks. However, recently, Morris and Zephyr had been like they were on stimulants, taking on all the work. And they were completing it so quickly that Rosinante now had nothing to do, so he could only come out for a stroll.
Rosinante walked to the window, looking at the soldiers coming and going below with some confusion. "What are they doing? I see many soldiers on the island urging people to leave. Are they clearing out the island?"
Sengoku popped another senbei into his mouth and shook his head. "I don't know. Sakazuki gave the order a few days ago. He's probably planning something." Sengoku didn't think much about Sakazuki's orders and was too lazy to think about them. After decades of hard work, it was time to rest.
Rosinante, however, twitched his lips, having a bad feeling. "They're not going to blow up the island, are they...?" The way young people viewed things differed from the elderly. Rosinante felt more admiration and awe towards Sakazuki. Judging by Sakazuki's personality and style among the younger generation, Rosinante's question hit the core of the matter.
*Crack—*
The senbei Sengoku had just picked up broke involuntarily, and he froze. His expression turned serious, his eyes narrowing. "No... it's not 'wouldn't'... With that guy's personality, he probably intends to blow this place up." He hadn't considered it before, but after Rosinante's pointed remark, Sengoku instantly understood Sakazuki's objective. Sakazuki was now pushing things to the extreme. The Poneglyphs were openly displayed in the plaza of Neo Marineford, directly crushing the dreams of most pirates. If he then blew up Sabaody Archipelago, no one would be able to go to the New World anymore. Dreaming? Could you dive alone into the depths of ten thousand meters, or could you cross the ten-thousand-meter-high Red Line Continent? Not to mention that the World Government Headquarters was located on the Red Line Continent. Finding death wouldn't be so straightforward.
But the problem was that blowing up Sabaody Archipelago would have too great an impact. It would completely cut off the New World from the rest of the world, leaving no escape route. Sengoku's expression was solemn as he reached for the Den Den Mushi and dialed.
----------
New World, Neo Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Ring ring~ Ring ring~
Seeing it was Sengoku's call, Sakazuki answered the Den Den Mushi. However, after listening for a few sentences, he frowned and interrupted Sengoku. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I know what I'm doing better than you. I am the Fleet Admiral. All you need to do is... Execute orders..."