"Sister Olga also came back. Strange, are you all so free lately? Sister Shayna also just got back not long ago, Ulti and Page One returned the day before yesterday, and almost half of the high-ranking officers don't have any missions."
"Oh, that. Miss, you haven't been reading the intel lately, have you? We have to thank the Marines for this. They've been full of energy lately, so our territory has been a lot quieter."
"Marines? What did they do?"
Yamato really hadn't looked at any relevant intel lately, or rather, she only crammed mission-related intel right before going out on a mission.
Lately was her slacking-off period, so she hadn't paid any attention at all to matters outside of Wano Country.
"A while back, the Marines swapped the locations of Marine Headquarter and the G1 Base. A large portion of the pirates who just arrived in the New World didn't even set sail again before being sent straight to Impel Down."
After surviving in the New World for a while, aside from a few troublemakers, most people wouldn't choose to challenge an Emperor of the Sea.
Even if they weren't brought under someone's banner, they'd have experienced firsthand the power of the monsters of the sea. Unwilling to become someone else's underling, they had no choice but to eke out a living in the cracks.
The New World's ever-changing climate gave them opportunities as dangerous seas and weather prevented Emperors of the Sea from incorporating some islands into their territories, giving them room to survive.
The ones bold enough to cause trouble were most likely newcomers to the New World.
There's a chasm between the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.
In the Four Seas, as long as you're ruthless enough, have enough weapons and manpower, you can dominate a region.
After all, weapons in the Four Seas are relatively backward, and Devil Fruit users are very rare.
Once you reach the Grand Line, these kinds of people are the first to be weeded out. You need either strength or luck, otherwise you won't even make it to Sabaody Archipelago.
When you get to the New World, the disparity grows even larger.
There are countless Devil Fruit users here, and besides bizarre abilities, Haki is a far more widely used technique. In the first half of the Grand Line, Logia-type abilities are nearly invincible, but in the New World they're just considered a fairly good ability.
The difference in perception means newcomers don't realize how far they are from true powerhouses. With all kinds of ambitions and dreams, they often charge into the territory of the Emperors of the Sea.
On normal days, what the officers do most is take out these troublemakers. Sometimes a few stronger ones appear, then a higher-ranking officer has to deal with them.
Pirates will only choose to protect their own territory, but the Marines are different. They have the ability to strike at pirates across an entire sea region.
When a new official takes office, they usually start with a blaze, but Akainu, the new Fleet Admiral, kept his temper under control. After the headquarters moved to the New World, Akainu didn't recklessly declare war on the Emperors of the Sea.
He hates pirates, but he's not a brainless brute. It wouldn't be appropriate, so recently, the Marines have increased their crackdowns on rookie pirates just arriving at Sabaody Archipelago.
Since the number of troublemakers at the source reduced, the Beasts Pirates officers' workload naturally went down.
"It'd be best if they stepped things up even more. If they could draw that b*stard father over, that'd be perfect. I can't believe my Ice Substitute plan actually failed… I'll have to come up with a new strategy."
"Ice Substitute?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about details like that. Just take your time eating lunch, I'm leaving first."
Saying that, she nimbly flipped over the railing and headed toward Onigashima under the unbothered gazes of passersby. Not long after Yamato left, a Blissey carrying a lunch box arrived at the top level.
Finding Yamato gone, it shook its body helplessly. It had meant to shake its head, but its body structure was so peculiar that even if it ran into a vampire, the vampire would have to think twice about where exactly Blissey's neck was.
"Blisseeeey~~"
Blissey called out to a Corvisquire flying nearby, then handed the lunch box over to it and went off toward other hospital rooms.
Meanwhile, Nightin, who had just returned to Onigashima with Olga, arrived at Arceus's office, where Acier had already been waiting for some time.
"Lord Arceus… uh… I'm back again."
The day she submitted her resignation was still fresh in her memory, yet here she was, back on Onigashima. Under Olga's persuasion, she had decided to join the Beasts Pirates. With Arceus or Kaido's approval, she would officially become a member.
Ordinary newcomers had to go through an assessment period, but Nightin had worked for them for decades. She had long ago passed her assessment. What was missing before was only her own willingness.
Now that World is dead, his final insanity had changed Nightin's thinking, leading her to re-plan her future.
"Olga has already reported to me, and this isn't your first time coming to Onigashima. This matter is approved. Next, there's another issue."
"Acier, you've done well, the material you developed proved useful."
"Now I need to confirm something: are you sure you want to give this opportunity to someone else?"
"I'm sure, Lord Arceus. I'm not good at fighting to begin with, so it would be a waste for you to bestow me an ability. Better to give it to Nightin, she's more suitable."
"Wait, it's the reward for your hard work! This kind of gift is far too valuable, I can't accept it!"
Hearing Arceus and Acier's exchange, Nightin already understood what Acier wanted to do. But this was something he had earned through his research. She didn't want to just take it.
"It's fine. You know me, at most I'm just a slightly stronger ordinary person, and I might not even go out more than a few times a year. Giving me an ability would truly be a waste.
You often go to Prehistoric Island to collect medicinal herbs, and having this ability would be good for self-defense. Besides, I've always wanted to give you something, but never had anything good. Now's the perfect chance."
"Enough, I don't want to get involved in your personal matters, but there's no need to decline.
"As long as there are results, you will all be duly rewarded. The reward is Acier's, so he has the authority to decide."
Arceus's words ended their back-and-forth and confirmed Nightin as the recipient of this ability.
"Just so happens I have an ability that's very suitable for you. Paired with your Kanpo Kenpo, it should yield excellent results."
The scene of Arceus bestowing abilities is one that never fails to inspire awe, no matter how many times one sees it. As the bestowment concluded, Nightin tried out her new ability as her body began to transform into that of a kangaroo.
Breloom, a Grass and Fighting-type Mushroom Pokémon. Its overall appearance resembled a kangaroo, but it was more like a creature evolved from a mushroom, with the mushroom-like growth on its head forming a bamboo hat-like decoration.
Nightin herself was someone who studied herbalism and incorporated them into her fighting style, making her strangely well-matched to Breloom in terms of type. And the ability most suited to her was none other than Breloom's Ability — Poison Heal.
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