An incident recently occurred on a certain island where 500 soldiers were taken hostage by pirates. The World Government brought the situation to a close by slaughtering every single hostage along with the pirates.
I've heard this story before, I thought, and upon investigating, I found that the person who infiltrated the enemy base alone and killed all the hostages was a 13-year-old boy... Yep, it was Rob Lucci.
In the original story, he appeared during the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs as the strongest man in CP9, the World Government's intelligence agency.
After being defeated by Luffy, he reappeared as a member of the even more elite CP0.
He is a man who could become a massive wall standing in the way of protecting Robin.
Speaking of which, Nico Robin—the "Demon Child" with a 39-million-berry bounty—is now 13 years old.
During the first year, I had her focus strictly on physical conditioning, and now her training centers on strengthening her Devil Fruit abilities.
Her long hair, grown out over the last three years, remains dyed white and tied back. Fortunately, no one has realized she is the girl on the wanted poster.
Like Schneider, who was registered as a civilian collaborator in the past, she stays on my ship as a civilian consultant.
As for my own career, after serving as a Commodore and commander of the G-8 Navarone Base for three years, I was recently promoted to Rear Admiral.
With this promotion, I revived and reinforced the famous "Seagull Marine Corps"—officially the "Navy Independent Company"—which was known for its independent raids across all seas.
It has been renamed the "Navy Independent Vanguard Fleet," and I have been appointed its Commander-in-Chief. Our flag is, of course, the Navy ensign featuring the red seagull.
With a battalion-sized crew, my flagship is the remodeled battleship Beatrice. I've assigned the 2nd ship, Albion, and the 3rd ship, Queens Mayfair, to Captain Jonathan and Captain Ryudo, respectively, as their commanders.
Just like in the old days, we are tasked with independent "vanguard" missions, crossing through the four blues and the Grand Line.
Our first destination: the North Blue.
The reason is that piracy has been on the rise here for several years. Small skirmishes and, in some cases, large-scale conflicts have been breaking out all over.
While other seas have stabilized thanks to the "Seven Warlords" (Seven Shichibukai/Certified Pirates) system, the North Blue remains chaotic. We've been sent in to handle it.
Unfortunately, my three remodeled battleships cannot cross the Red Line, so I had to leave them behind and borrow standard warships for patrol duty.
North Blue... North Blue...
Ah, Mont Blanc Noland. And if we're talking North Blue, that means Sanji's family, "Germa," is around here somewhere... Ugh, I really don't want to get involved with them, but their scientific prowess is tempting. I'll look into it at the nearest base later.
After several months of capturing pirates—sometimes taking down those who thought they could make a name for themselves by defeating the "Seagull Marine Corps," other times seizing ships that tried to flee the moment they saw our red seagull flag—something happened.
"Sir? A transmission from Admiral Sengoku?"
The lookout reported that a lone government vessel had arrived and pulled up alongside us.
"Yes, sir. It seems there's a specific location they want you to head to..."
"What's this about all of a sudden? A new mission?"
"I'm not sure, sir. Please head to the communications room."
Jonathan and Ryudo were currently out on separate patrol routes.
"Fine, I'll take it. 'Olivier,' wait here for me."
"I understand. Be careful, Uncle," replied the girl in the captain's quarters. This was Robin, currently operating under the alias "Civilian Collaborator: Dr. Nicola Olivier." I left her with her book and headed to the comms room.
"This is Rear Admiral Krieg, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Independent Vanguard Fleet."
『Ah, Krieg. Sorry for the sudden call. How is the North Blue?』
"Piracy is rampant here for some reason. Skirmishes are a daily occurrence." It was enough to give me a headache.
『I see... Well, the reason I called is that I need you to secure a certain individual and escort them to Mary Geoise.』
"A certain individual? Protection?" I asked. "Someone important?"
『Well, since you're the one going, I suppose I have to tell you. The target is the King of Flevance, King Akdooi.』
Wait. Flevance? Flevance... Flevance... The "White Town" Flevance! Law's hometown! The country once called the most beautiful in the world!
I quickly scribbled "Investigate Flevance immediately" on a piece of paper and showed it to the soldier standing next to me. Wait, the "contagious disease"—which isn't actually contagious—hasn't hit my radar yet.
"Why are we protecting the King of Flevance, the famous producer of 'Amber Lead'?"
『An illness—or something like it—has broken out in Flevance. Originally, a government ship was going to head there, but when they heard the famous 'Seagull Marine Corps' was in the North Blue, they insisted you go pick them up instead.』
Ugh, a complete collateral hit. In other words, I'm being asked to help the King abandon his country and flee.
"An illness? Are we sending medical units?"
『...Unfortunately, that was denied. They likely intend to erase the 'inconvenient truth' along with the country.』
"Inconvenient truth... You mean the toxicity of 'Amber Lead'? Or the fact that both the Royal Family and the World Government knew about the toxicity during the geological survey a century ago?" I asked, recalling the original story.
『You knew about that?! ...Krieg, you're right. Generations of handling it have caused the poisoning to manifest all at once across the population.
The neighboring nations believe it's a contagious plague and are moving to seal the borders. You must rendezvous with the royals and get them to Mary Geoise before the blockade is complete. As for the rest of Flevance... I'll leave that to your discretion.
You have a free hand, but I can't send reinforcements. You'll have to manage with your Vanguard Fleet. That is all. Any questions?』
I gave my acknowledgement and immediately began preparations.
The "White Town" Flevance
Located on a massive island in the North Blue, Flevance was part of the Federation of Five Nations, surrounded by the kingdoms of Torna, Lino, Kuuni, and Marmassy.
It was the birthplace of Trafalgar Law. The town was a fantasy landscape where the ground, trees, and grass were pure white, looking like a snow country from a fairy tale. The people were wealthy, and the world envied them.
This beauty came from "Amber Lead" found in the strata. It was a massive industry; the high-quality lead was used for everything from tableware and cosmetics to sweets and weapons.
It generated bottomless wealth, which both the neighboring countries and the World Government profited from.
But the people of Flevance didn't know the truth. The World Government and the Royal Family did—they had known for 100 years.
Amber Lead was a poison. As long as it stayed in the ground, it was harmless, but once processed, it accumulated in the human body.
As the generations passed, the accumulated toxin finally bared its fangs, and the "Amber Lead Syndrome" broke out. The royals, seeing the end coming, prepared to flee.
In the original timeline, the neighboring countries mistook the non-contagious syndrome for a plague and blockaded the borders.
Those who tried to flee for treatment were persecuted and shot. The citizens took up Amber Lead weapons to resist, leading to a total war that ended with the neighboring countries burning Flevance to the ground.
Law was the only survivor, escaping under a pile of corpses.
My mission: Protect the Royal Family.
To be honest, I hated everything about this. But they said I had "discretion" as long as I didn't overdo it. I planned to take full advantage of that.
"Attention all crew! Set a course southwest!" I barked into the voice tubes connected throughout the ship.
"Destination: Flevance! Purpose: Humanitarian aid for the citizens and... the incidental protection of the royals! The border blockade is imminent. Time is of the essence. Move!!"
"YES, SIR!!" came the unified roar from every deck.
"Connect me to Captain Jonathan and Captain Ryudo. ...Jonathan, Ryudo, do you hear me? This is Krieg. Report in."
『This is Jonathan. Communication clear.』 『This is Ryudo. No problems here.』
"The Vanguard Fleet will rendezvous in the waters off Flevance. Check the pirates you've captured—are there any ship doctors among them?"
『Hmm... looking at the list, there are a few.』 『I have several here as well. Is something wrong?』
"Good. Tell them if they follow our orders, they'll get a sentence reduction. Keep those who agree under guard. Doctors are about to be in high demand in Flevance."
『Flevance... the White Town, eh? It'll take us two or three days from here.』 『Same for us. I'll have everything ready as ordered.』
"I'm counting on you both. The goal is humanitarian aid. The border blockade could turn into a war. I won't tell you to rush to the point of recklessness, but keep in mind that this is a race against time."
『Understood.』 『Understood, sir!』
I cut the transmission. "Check our own prisoners for doctors immediately! It's a race against the clock! Hurry, hurry!!"
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