The waves lapped gently against the hull with a steady rhythm. Seabirds cried from time to time overhead. Leaning against the railing on the warship's deck and enjoying the warm sunlight, Mo Wu let out a yawn.
With weather like this, he should have been sleeping in an office.
And yet Sengoku had smilingly told him he was giving him a one-day break and sent him to Sabaody Archipelago to "relax properly."
"Take the day off and go experience the local customs."
"Oh, and there's no need to come back to Headquarters tomorrow. Someone will take you straight to East Blue."
The corner of Mo Wu's mouth twitched. Every time he recalled the old man's half-smiling look when he said that, he felt his fists itch.
"Vice... Vice Admiral Zhige, we're almost at Sabaody Archipelago."
Mo Wu glanced at the marine beside him, whose voice was trembling slightly, and felt a little confused.
For some reason, despite how approachable he had once been, ever since his promotion to vice admiral the lower-ranking marines had started looking at him with awe.
"Go on. Get back to your work."
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the marine beside him. As he looked toward the enormous Yarukiman Mangroves rising from the sea in the distance, he could not help but sigh inwardly.
At least on the surface, the islands really did look quite beautiful.
No wonder Rayleigh had chosen to retire here.
Brilliant bubbles drifted lightly through the air above the islands, refracting rainbow-like colors under the sunlight.
The islands' unique ecology made the trees and vegetation display strange, unusual shades, perfectly complementing the floating bubbles.
Sabaody Archipelago—known by many pirates as both the "Island of Failure" and the "Island of Departure."
But that brilliant appearance was only skin-deep.
Looking at the fairy-tale-like islands floating on the sea, Mo Wu curled his lips into a cold smile. He was not ignorant of the truth hidden beneath that glittering surface.
The entire archipelago was made up of seventy-nine numbered trees, each corresponding to a different zone.
As the mandatory gateway to the New World, the place naturally drew together pirates, merchants, and bounty hunters in great numbers.
That meant every zone had its own towns and facilities: amusement parks, specialty shops, shipyards, and coating craftsmen.
And yet the places most famous of all were the lawless districts in Zones 1 through 29—slave dealers, slave auctions, and all the filth that came with them.
The greater irony was that Sabaody stood right next to the symbol of justice itself—Marine Headquarters. There was even a marine base on the islands.
And yet the trade of humans, fish-men, and merfolk among pirates and merchants on these islands was quietly permitted.
"Vice Admiral, we've arrived at Garrison Base 66."
Mo Wu nodded, declined the enthusiastic offers of several marines who wanted to act as his guides and show him the local flavor, then leaped from the ship and landed steadily at the harbor of the Marine base in Area 66 of Sabaody Archipelago.
Sweeping his gaze around, he found the base built in extravagant splendor.
A sigh appeared in his eyes.
"It really does reek of decay."
"Th-That must be Vice Admiral Zhige, yes?!"
A fawning voice came from nearby.
"Oh my, it really is the newly appointed Vice Admiral! Ever since your promotion was announced army-wide, your name has been like thunder to our ears. To meet you today is truly the blessing of three lifetimes!"
Those oily words made Mo Wu feel a chill crawl over his skin. Turning his head, he saw a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a Justice cape walking toward him with a smile plastered all over his face. In his hand was a finely crafted gift box. His intentions were obvious.
"I'm the commander of this base. You may call me—"
The man had not even finished speaking before Mo Wu cut him off coldly.
"First, I'm not some lord. Second, I don't need a guide."
The smile on the man's face froze. Clearly he had not expected the new vice admiral to shut him down so bluntly.
He was, after all, the commanding officer of the Sabaody Marine Base...
"Ahem, Vice Admiral Zhige, this is only a small token of my respect."
Awkwardly placing the box in front of Mo Wu, the man gave it a slight shake. Paper rustled inside.
Mo Wu narrowed his eyes. A thought flashed through his mind. He just so happened to have a use for money today.
The corner of his lips lifted. Taking the box with one hand, he spoke in a tone that left no room for debate.
"I'll confiscate this. Don't do it again."
The man completely ignored the last sentence. Seeing that the vice admiral had accepted the gift, the great stone in his heart finally fell away, and his ingratiating smile returned.
He was never afraid of superiors wanting gifts. What he feared was superiors refusing them.
Besides, compared to what he could skim from the back end of the base, the mere few hundred thousand beli inside the box were worth nothing at all. After all, this so-called marine base was really little more than a residence for the Celestial Dragons.
"Ahem, sir, actually I do have a small favor to ask." The man smiled as he rubbed his hands together.
"I don't intend to waste my time here."
Mo Wu cut him off again. He would take the sugar coating, but he had no intention of swallowing the shell.
Ignoring the fawning base commander, Mo Wu swept a glance around and casually pointed at a marine nearby.
"You. Take me to Area 13."
"Yes, sir!"
"Vice Admiral, I'll lead the way." The young marine who had been singled out hurried forward, respectful and polite.
"Go ahead."
Mo Wu yawned and gestured for the marine to lead.
"Lord Haas, this vice admiral..." The bearded middle-aged man lowered his voice beside the base commander. "He seems... a little different."
"Colonel Burke, you're talking too much."
The fawning expression vanished from Base Commander Haas's face, replaced by one of calm steadiness.
"But you're right. He doesn't seem interested in our money."
Burke sighed.
"Lord Haas, do we really have to keep bribing people like this every day?"
Haas looked down at the Justice capes on both himself and Burke, then said softly, "We have our duties in this position."
"Colonel Burke, sometimes we have to do things that aren't so glorious in order to preserve a greater justice."
"A wave of pirates is coming soon..."
He looked out at the seemingly calm sea in the distance, though in his own eyes it was already surging with monstrous tides.
Haas could not help but feel anxious.
The public execution of the Pirate King would take place in Loguetown.
In East Blue, one of the four seas.
He could already foresee it: beginning tomorrow—no, perhaps even beginning today—large numbers of pirates would start pouring from the Grand Line toward East Blue.
At the same time, marine forces were being heavily redeployed to East Blue. Without protection from Headquarters, Sabaody Archipelago, already chaotic as it was, would only grow even more turbulent as the gateway in and out of the Grand Line.
At that thought, Haas's hands trembled slightly, and he murmured in relief, "Good thing we've been secretly using Celestial Dragon money to grease the palms of those vice admirals and rear admirals."
"If we hadn't, Headquarters would never have had the spare troops to care about a place as messy as this under the current situation."
"If we couldn't get those officers to act and clear out part of the pirate population on the islands, the pressure on us would be unbearable."
"And life for the civilians would get even harder."
He sighed, removed the cape from his shoulders, and stared at the word Justice embroidered on it for a long time.
"Burke, who's the next officer coming here?"
"Headquarters Vice Admiral Kuzan."
"Vice Admiral, this is Area 13."
"Good. Go take care of your own business."
Mo Wu nodded lightly, but his gaze remained fixed ahead, as though he were thinking about something.
The young marine answered and quickly slipped away.
"Haa..."
Only after he had put some distance between himself and Mo Wu did the marine finally let out a breath of relief.
He had felt a powerful pressure radiating off Mo Wu the entire time. That instinctive aura of intimidation had made him too nervous to say anything extra.
He truly had no idea how Commander Haas managed to flatter monsters like these so naturally.
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