After King Riku agreed to join Caelan's Illuminati, the organization was officially established.
At the very least, it now had a president—Caelan—and its first member nation.
Next came the formation of the Neo Navy.
The Neo Navy was commanded by Caelan as Supreme Commander, with Gion appointed as the first admiral, and Hina and Tashigi promoted to vice admirals.
Nami, Robin, and the others were granted the rank of rear admiral within the Neo Navy.
Hancock and Gecko Moria returned to familiar roles, reestablishing themselves as the new Seven Warlords of the Sea under the Neo Navy banner.
There was no other choice. The Neo Navy was newly formed and short on personnel, so their presence helped hold the front line.
"Gion, congratulations! Starting today, you're the admiral of the Neo Navy!"
"Hina, Tashigi, congratulations to both of you as well. From today, you're vice admirals!"
Caelan delivered the good news with a bright smile.
Gion and Hina both rolled their eyes, speechless.
The upper ranks now included Gion, Hina, and Tashigi. The mid and lower ranks were filled by elites from the G-5 Marine Branch. In essence, the so-called Neo Navy was just a repurposed core force drawn from the Marines.
If they were seen out on a mission, those unaware might assume it was just another Navy training exercise.
"Wow, I'm a vice admiral now! Dad, Mom, are you seeing this?"
Tashigi was overjoyed.
Before being "kidnapped" by Caelan, she was just a Master Chief Petty Officer in the Marines.
Now, she was a vice admiral. Her career had taken off dramatically.
Seeing Tashigi's innocent happiness, Caelan couldn't help but feel touched.
This silly girl was so easily content—it was genuinely heartwarming.
Facing her with a serious expression, Caelan declared, "Vice Admiral Tashigi, listen to my command. You are to carry out the orders of Supreme Commander Caelan without hesitation. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Tashigi stood tall, saluted crisply, and responded with enthusiasm.
"…"
Standing beside her, Gion and Hina both sighed and rubbed their foreheads.
Then, Caelan turned to them and added, "Admiral Gion, Vice Admiral Hina, you two should learn from Vice Admiral Tashigi. Understood?"
The two women exchanged helpless glances.
But Caelan was their boss, after all. What could they do?
They saluted him together and replied, "Yes. We will follow Supreme Commander Caelan's orders."
"Hahaha!"
Caelan laughed heartily, visibly pleased.
"I have a confidential mission tonight. Please come to my room so we can discuss it in detail."
This was Caelan's first official order after assuming his new title.
"Who wants to go to your room to 'discuss' something in detail!?"
Hina's face flushed bright red.
What kind of secret mission needed to be discussed in the Marshal's quarters at night?
It sounded like anything but official business!
You better behave yourself. Gion and Tashigi might be your women, but I'm not!
She shot Caelan a sharp glare.
"Enough joking. Let's get to the real business."
Gion gave Caelan a side glance, a bit exasperated.
"Ahem, back to business." Caelan coughed and straightened up. "Dressrosa is the first nation to join the Illuminati. So, we need to show some results."
"Take your teams and wipe out the surrounding pirates. Show the strength of our protection."
Since Dressrosa had joined, Caelan needed to offer some reassurance.
At the same time, it would set an example for future member nations.
All the pirates around Dressrosa had to vanish.
"Cleaning up pirates is no problem for me. But I'd like to take Nami and the others with me."
Gion stroked her chin, a sly smile on her lips.
She still remembered how Nami and the others had teased her earlier. Now that the Neo Navy was active, it was time to drag them out for some grunt work.
"Sure. Let them get some exercise."
Caelan thought about it and nodded.
The Neo Navy was still short-staffed.
With Nami and the others pitching in, they'd be more efficient.
And with their current strength, any pirate below the Four Emperors was no threat.
Wiping out pirates in Dressrosa's waters would be a breeze.
"Then I'll be off."
Gion smiled, then left with Hina and Tashigi.
Soon after, they rallied Nami and the other women, along with the G-5 Marines, and began sweeping out from the center of Dressrosa to eliminate all pirate threats.
…
The waters around Dressrosa.
"Report to Admiral Gion! A pirate ship has been spotted 500 meters ahead. Combined bounty: approximately 300 million!"
An observer ran over and saluted while reporting.
"Understood. Move in."
Gion gave her order calmly.
"Yes, Admiral!"
The Marines responded with sharp salutes.
The atmosphere in the Neo Navy felt familiar.
They were still fighting pirates. The commander was still the same. It felt like coming home.
In fact, without the burden of the World Government over their heads, they were more motivated than ever to complete their missions.
Soon, the warship approached the pirate vessel. Gion turned to Nami and said, "Your turn."
"Got it."
Nami replied wearily.
Robin, Kalifa, and Vivi giggled softly beside her, but the moment Gion shot them a half-smile, they immediately quieted down.
Over the past few days, Gion had made them deal with every pirate they encountered.
It was fun at first... but the novelty wore off fast.
All they'd done was make a few jokes about her being "taken down" by Caelan. Did she really have to hold a grudge this long?
The girls sighed in defeat, silently promising never to tease her again.
By now, the warship had drawn up to the pirate vessel.
Nami took a deep breath and activated the power of her Cloud-Cloud Fruit.
"Thundercloud—Thirty Million Volts!"
A dark, menacing cloud formed above the pirate ship in an instant.
Thunder roared as brilliant bolts of lightning crackled down like a spider's web.
Before the pirates even had time to react, most were charred on the spot. The stronger ones were barely clinging to life, left with just a single breath.
"Done."
Nami clapped her hands, clearly unfazed.
"Well done." Gion nodded. She turned to the photographer beside her and asked, "Did you capture everything?"
The photographer had been specially sponsored by Morgans of the World Economy News to document and promote the Neo Navy.
"Yes, Admiral Gion! Got it all."
He showed the film, which captured the moment the pirate ship was struck by lightning.
"Good. Keep patrolling and wipe out every pirate in these waters!"
Gion declared with confidence.
"Yes, Admiral!"
The Marines responded with solemn determination.
After gathering the spoils and detaining the survivors, the warship set sail once more.
In the following days, the pirates around Dressrosa bore witness to the terrifying strength of the new Neo Navy.
Thunderclouds that blanketed the skies (Nami), golden wings flying overhead (Vivi), a dragon's breath that scorched the seas (Kalifa), and sword strikes that split the ocean (Gion)...
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
Faced with overwhelming force, the pirates screamed in despair.
They had never seen anything like it. It was pure horror.
Each officer was as strong as a vice admiral or even stronger. Together, they formed a squad with seven or eight monsters backed by over a thousand elite troops.
Even in the New World, this formation was overkill—worse than a Buster Call.
Why were they being wiped out by a force like this?!
The pirates died in disbelief, unable to comprehend what cosmic law they had violated to deserve this fate.
In just a few days, nearly all pirates in the surrounding seas were eliminated. The remaining survivors fled far from Dressrosa in panic.
From that point on, every pirate knew:
Dressrosa had become a restricted zone.
(To be continued.)
***
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