After being rescued by Jinbe, Arlong did not linger and immediately left the Grand Line, forming the Arlong Pirates in the East Blue and seizing control of over twenty villages, including Cocoyasi Village, Nami's hometown, establishing the "Arlong Empire."
During this time, countless civilians lost their lives at Arlong's hands, and those who survived could only live under his rule.
Most crucially, Arlong, as a fish-man, harbored an extremely deep-seated hatred for humans, and would take lives at the slightest displeasure.
Almost instantly, Kyle made his decision.
His form flickered, and in an instant, he transformed into purple lightning and vanished from the spot, appearing at the door of Sengoku's office in the blink of an eye.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and walked straight in.
When he entered, Sengoku was processing documents. Hearing the commotion, he looked up and broke into a smile the moment he saw Kyle.
"That commotion, I knew it was you, brat, back!"
Looking at Kyle, who carried himself with even more composure, Sengoku suddenly felt a bit dazed.
Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Kyle for quite some time.
The last time Kyle returned from his voyage with Sabo, he hadn't come to see him; he had gone straight to meet Luffy and the others. Then, sensing Zephyr's critical situation, he had rushed off without rest to save him.
And now, another month had nearly passed since his return.
Thinking of this, Sengoku felt a twinge of sadness; he hadn't really gotten to enjoy much quality family time with his grandson.
But as the Fleet Admiral, he wasn't one to be sentimental. This feeling vanished from his heart in an instant, replaced instead by immense pride and satisfaction in his grandson.
From Moria to Wang Zhi, Shiki, and most recently the Red Hair Pirates—whose grandson at his age could have defeated and captured so many pirates?
Now, whenever he argued with Garp, he never lost. Whenever the debate turned against him, he only needed to say, "Your grandson isn't as good as mine!"
Checkmate!!
And on top of that, he'd recently secured 100 billion Berries in military funding for the Marines. He just wanted to ask, who else had a grandson more outstanding than his?!
No, he had to go boast about his grandson to those old colleagues again today!
Kyle walked over to Sengoku's desk, plopped down, picked up the tea Sengoku had already poured for him, downed it in one gulp, and asked:
"Grandpa, is 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe here to assume the position of Warlord?"
"How did you know he's here to become a Warlord?"
Sengoku's face showed a hint of confusion.
"Guessed it!"
Kyle said calmly.
Seeing this, Sengoku didn't press further. He nodded and spoke:
"Not long ago, 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe accepted the World Government's invitation and became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Currently, the members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea are Sir Crocodile, Dracule Mihawk, Hanafusa, Boa Hancock, and 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe, who has just joined."
"With five of the seven seats now filled, only the last two spots remain."
Kyle said nothing.
If he hadn't captured Moria and killed Doflamingo, the Warlord positions would be full by now.
Among the current Seven Warlords of the Sea, the one Kyle was least familiar with was Hanafusa.
Hanafusa, real name Hanafuza, also known as the "Lizard King," was the father of Ulti and Page One, and the original Drought of the Beasts Pirates.
In the original story, he collected many Devil Fruits for Kaido, was eventually defeated by Ace, lost his Warlord title, and was killed by a pirate he had a grudge against on his way to see his children, after which Bartholomew Kuma filled his vacancy.
The Warlord system was a tool the World Government created to "use pirates to control pirates," balancing the power of the Marines and pirates to maintain the three great powers.
This system should never have existed in the first place; the powers of extra-legal immunity, privateering licenses, and territorial autonomy were far too great.
It was precisely for this reason that the system was able to exist for over twenty years in the original story before being abolished.
But for now, the Warlord system hadn't shown too many problems, or rather, there were problems, but they hadn't been brought to light, so for the time being, the Warlord system couldn't be abolished.
Shaking his head, Kyle withdrew his thoughts and refocused on the matter at hand.
"So, why has Jinbe come now?"
"To pick up his crew members, led by Arlong, who were once imprisoned in Impel Down."
"A few years ago, Arlong, seeking revenge on humans, massacred Flevance Island. He was defeated and arrested by Kizaru, interrogated at G-2 base, and then sent to Impel Down."
"Jinbe's condition for accepting the invitation to become a Warlord was the release of these members of his crew."
"We've already sent someone to Impel Down to bring them over. Jinbe will leave with them shortly."
"I see!"
Kyle nodded, finished the tea in his cup again, and slowly stood up.
"Alright, Grandpa, I'll head back now. I've been wandering around outside all this time and haven't slept in a soft, comfortable bed at home for ages!"
"Go on!"
Sengoku nodded.
Kyle walked out of the office and stood at the door. His gaze glanced briefly at the Sun Pirates' ship anchored in the distance, a faint smile touching his lips. The next moment, his form once again turned into purple lightning and vanished from the spot.
──
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the sea not far from Marine Headquarters.
A warship was sailing there. On board, a group of fish-men dressed in prison uniforms were gathered together, but their chains and handcuffs had already been removed.
Among them, a tall, blue-skinned fish-man with a serrated nose was particularly conspicuous.
The look in his eyes as he stared at the Marines was one of deep hatred, mixed with a trace of hidden fear.
He was Arlong, the main target Jinbe had come to rescue!
At this moment, they were essentially semi-free, only needing to reach Marine Headquarters and leave with Jinbe to gain complete freedom.
None of the fish-men spoke now. Years of imprisonment had taught them how to hide their emotions. Even though they harbored intense hatred for humans deep down, they dared not discuss anything at the moment.
The shadow Kizaru had cast over them back then was simply too immense, and the highest-ranking officer on this warship now was also a Vice Admiral.
Faced with humans whose strength far exceeded their own, they were still very "well-behaved."
In truth, if Arlong were to leverage Jinbe's authority, given Jinbe's current status as a Warlord of the Sea, no matter what they did, as long as it wasn't too excessive, these Marines wouldn't lay a hand on them.
But Arlong would never do that. Jinbe's power ultimately came from the World Government, from humans.
If he did that, wouldn't that be equivalent to him becoming a lackey of humans as well?
He would never allow himself to become that kind of fish-man!!
He clearly failed to realize that the very reason he could be freed now was, ultimately, because humans were willing to release them.
Time slowly passed. After a while, the warship finally arrived at the port of Marineford...
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