Alubarna. Inside the palace.
"Ah, has Maude already left?"
The Straw Hat Pirates, who had slept until the sun was high in the sky, only now learned that Maude had departed.
"How could this happen... I didn't even get to cling to my idol's thigh...!!!"
Hearing the news, Bartolomeo was struck as if by lightning.
He had spent the whole night building up the courage to ask Maude to take him along during breakfast. But Maude hadn't given him that chance.
Disappointed and heartbroken, Bartolomeo couldn't help but burst into tears.
His exaggerated reaction drew comfort from the Straw Hat Pirates.
They all knew that Bartolomeo had set sail solely because of Maude, even abandoning the influence he had built in Loguetown.
Usopp, who had been feeling down because his master had left without saying goodbye, saw Bartolomeo crying like that and immediately felt ashamed.
"Don't cry."
Luffy, fiddling with a Den Den Mushi he had picked up from who-knows-where, patted Bartolomeo's shoulder vigorously.
"Anyway, I'm going to punch Maude flying sooner or later. Then you'll be able to see him again."
To become the Pirate King, Luffy would have to defeat both the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Four Emperors.
"Luffy, don't! Maude is really scary!"
Chopper, still haunted by Maude's strength, clung tightly to Luffy's leg, pleading tearfully.
"Punch him flying? That's my master!!!"
"How could you possibly punch my idol flying?!"
Usopp and Bartolomeo both forgot their sorrow, baring their teeth as they pounced on Luffy, shaking him vigorously.
Luffy let them shake him as he absentmindedly picked his nose, his eyes fixed on Zoro, who was snoring against the wall.
More precisely, his gaze was on Kashu and Chidori, the two swords at Zoro's side.
"Huh?"
As if discovering a new continent, Luffy ignored Usopp and Bartolomeo's harassment, stretched out his arm, and grabbed both Kashu and Chidori.
Zoro's eyes snapped open as he sensed something, seeing Luffy's hand gripping the scabbards of his swords.
"!!!"
Zoro tensed, instinctively reaching to reclaim them.
But Luffy's arm retracted first, pulling Kashu and Chidori away.
"Zoro, where did these swords come from? They look pretty nice!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled as he admired the swords.
Realizing it was Luffy, Zoro relaxed slightly.
"Maude gave them to me before he left."
"What!?"
Everyone turned to Zoro in unison.
"What?"
Zoro looked at them curiously.
"Maude came to see you before he left?"
"Wait, why would Maude give you swords?"
They all spoke in chorus.
"How should I know? Regardless of his reasons, what matters is that I owe him a favor."
Zoro walked toward Luffy to take back the swords.
Mr. 2 Bon Clay leaned in, inspecting Kashu closely with a look of amazement.
"This is Mr. 11's Kashu, one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords. A rare blade indeed. But the other sword seems to be of even higher quality!"
"How much would they sell for?"
Nami reflexively asked.
Bon Clay replied seriously, "At least ten million berries, but they're priceless!"
"Wow!"
Nami's eyes sparkled as if she were gazing at a mountain of berries.
Usopp glanced at the swords, feeling even more dejected. Not only had his master left without a word, but he had also given Zoro two fine blades.
If someone didn't know better, they'd think Zoro was Maude's apprentice.
Zoro retrieved Kashu and Chidori from Luffy, then looked toward Usopp.
"Oh, Usopp. Maude told me to pass on a message before he left, but..."
"But?"
"I forgot."
Zoro said with a straight face.
"..."
Usopp fell silent for a moment before lunging at Zoro.
"How could you forget such an important thing!!!"
He bared his teeth, looking ready to throttle Zoro.
"I told you, didn't I?"
Zoro pushed Usopp's nose away, unfazed.
"You idiot! Do you know how disappointed I was?!"
Usopp fumed.
Zoro, knowing he was at fault, remained silent.
"Buru buru..."
Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Luffy's hand started ringing.
Everyone finally noticed the unfamiliar Den Den Mushi.
"Luffy, where did that come from?"
"Oh, this?"
Luffy held up the Den Den Mushi.
"I went out looking for food and found it."
"That Den Den Mushi..."
Everyone's gaze fell on the blue-and-white striped shell.
That distinctive pattern... it looked like a Marine-issued Den Den Mushi!
They quickly tried to stop him.
"Luffy, don't answer it!"
But Luffy had already picked up the receiver.
"This is the Mar—"
"Hello, hello! I'm Luffy, the man who's going to be Pirate King."
"..."
The voice on the other end was cut off mid-sentence, plunging into dead silence.
Luffy stared at the receiver, puzzled.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"..."
The other end of the line remained silent.
Click.
A few seconds later, the call was disconnected.
"Who was that? So rude."
Hearing the dial tone, Luffy set the receiver down with a look of disdain.
The moment he put the receiver down, he instantly sensed several familiar killing intents from all around.
"LUFFY!!!"
The room suddenly erupted into chaos.
With Maude's departure, their journey—despite a few twists—would still march straight ahead.
...
On the navy ship.
Inside the cabin, the Den Den Mushi's ringing echoed.
Everyone on deck instinctively glanced towards the cabin.
As if realizing something, Maude's interest was piqued. "This might be a rather important call."
Guessing who the caller might be, Maude was curious how the World Government would handle the fallout from the Alabasta coup incident.
The Marines were visibly confused, not understanding Maude's words.
Seeing their inaction, Maude sighed helplessly. "Didn't you hear the ringing? Go fetch the Den Den Mushi already."
"O-Oh!"
Pressed by Maude's imposing presence, a young Marine responsible for communications rushed into the cabin and brought out the continuously ringing Den Den Mushi.
However, still dazed, the Marine walked straight up to Maude and tried to hand him the Den Den Mushi.
"..."
Maude was speechless.
The other Marines were equally dumbfounded.
Smoker's face, already grim, turned even darker.
Maude sighed and pointed at Smoker, who was still kneeling on the ground, immobilized.
"Your superior is over there."
"Ah!"
The young Marine finally came to his senses, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself.
Before acting on that impulse, he quickly brought the Den Den Mushi to Smoker.
Maude considerately lifted the immobilization on one of Smoker's arms.
Smoker glanced at Maude, suppressing his humiliation as he answered the call.
"Hello."
"..."
Hearing Smoker's voice, the other side of the call fell into a strange silence.
From their perspective, the one answering the call should have been Captain Hina. Instead, it was a man.
Recalling how another call had been answered by the Straw Hat boy earlier...
The operator seemed to realize something, his face turning grim—a reaction mirrored by the Den Den Mushi's expression.
"Is this the Straw Hat Pirates again? You despicable villains—what have you done to Captain Hina?!"
"???"
Smoker's head filled with question marks.
Already simmering with anger, he nearly crushed the receiver in his hand.
"It's Smoker, dammit!"
"..."
The operator fell silent again.
Still, as a seasoned officer, he swiftly composed himself and got straight to the point.
"Regarding the mission to take down Crocodile, your performance was outstanding. You've perfectly fulfilled the command to assist the Warlord of the Sea, Bacardi Maude, in resolving the Alabasta crisis."
"What... are you talking about? The one who defeated Crocodile wasn't us, and it wasn't Ma—"
Smoker stared in disbelief at the calm expression on the Den Den Mushi.
Before he could finish, the operator cut him off.
"Additionally, please inform Captain Hina that the reinforcements dispatched by Headquarters will arrive in Alabasta within the hour. At that time, please ensure the Devil Child Nico Robin and the notorious Straw Hat Pirates are fully apprehended. That is all—awaiting your good news."
"Hahahaha."
Maude's laughter echoed.
"Who's laughing?"
The Den Den Mushi's face contorted with anger.
Veins bulged on Smoker's forehead. He glanced at Maude before gritting his teeth and speaking slowly into the receiver.
"Who else could it be? Of course, it's the Warlord of the Sea, Bacardi Maude—the one who helped resolve the Alabasta crisis at Headquarters' command."
His voice dripped with sarcasm.
The Den Den Mushi glared at Smoker coldly. "Watch your tone, Captain Smoker."
"Go to hell!"
Smoker slammed the receiver down, cutting off the call.
He knew full well that this was nothing more than a mere notification from the World Government.
By afternoon—or perhaps by tomorrow morning—the fabricated reports of the Alabasta incident would spread across the world.
Maude's laughter gradually subsided. He raised his index finger, pointing upwards.
"The ones above... are quite amusing, aren't they?"
His words seemed to carry a double meaning.
Smoker's face twisted in anger.
Ever since encountering Maude, everything had spiraled into chaos.
"You seem pretty content with yourself."
Smoker sneered.
Maude easily caught the underlying accusation in his words, a smile playing on his lips.
"Indeed. Whether you acknowledge it or not, you must uphold the 'truth' dictated by those above."
"But I don't have to endure that kind of humiliation—nor do I need to listen to so-called truths."
"For example, I refuse to accept the merit for something I didn't do... though I wonder how the World Government will react."
Maude chuckled at the thought.
"Perhaps that's what you'd call freedom."
"..."
Smoker and the other Marines stared at Maude in shock, a deep discomfort settling in their hearts—born from the shackles of their own positions.
Little did they know, the man before them was indeed the one who had stripped Crocodile of his final breath.
-------
Want to read waaaay ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are more than 400 advance chapters available for you!