Cross pulled a wanted poster from the stack in his hand and compared it. The picture on it was almost identical to the monster in front of him.
"Roar—!"
At this moment, the monster, who called himself Gemodo the Mountain Demon, roared at Kadar, then hunched over and charged forward on all fours.
"Don't get ahead of yourself! I, Kadar, stake my name on justice! I'll definitely apprehend you!"
Kadar's expression was tense, sweat beading on his forehead. He gripped his katana tightly and roared, as if gathering his courage, then slashed at the oncoming monster.
However, the next second, Gemodo suddenly leaped, directly soaring over Kadar's head.
Kadar's slash met only air. He quickly spun around, only to see Gemodo, in his Oni-Baboon form, right in front of him. Gemodo raised his massive, black, cauldron-sized fist and swung it.
With a muffled "thud," Gemodo's punch was swift and brutal. Kadar had no time to react and was hit squarely in the face. He reeled backward, his body sent flying by the powerful force.
Rumble—!
Immediately, Kadar became a black blur, crashing into the ruins of a house beside the street, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"What the hell—!"
Witnessing this, Cross couldn't help but cover his face, an expression of unbearable sight. Honestly, this Rear Admiral's strength was a bit concerning. He wondered how he'd even climbed to that position.
"Quooooo—!"
Gemodo let out excited, monstrous cries, leaping up and down, repeatedly pounding his chest.
"Long live Captain Gemodo!"
"How could mere Marines be a match for Captain Gemodo!"
"Captain Gemodo is the man who will become the Pirate King!"
"…"
Suddenly, a group of a dozen or so pirates ran out from nearby houses, cheering and gathering around Gemodo, showering him with various flattering compliments.
"Pirate King?!"
Gemodo grinned, then suddenly reached out and grabbed a pirate, pulling the man's head closer with his massive hand. He chuckled darkly, "You don't even need to tell me that! Quooooo~"
Amidst his sinister laughter, Gemodo crushed the man's head as if popping a balloon. Red blood and white brain matter mixed, coating his hand.
Instantly, everyone trembled, staring in horror at the brutal Gemodo, too terrified to even speak.
"Quooooo—!"
Gemodo licked the blood and brain matter from his palm, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes, and couldn't help but let out a monstrous laugh, trembling with excitement.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Aren't you ugly brutes celebrating a bit too early?"
At this moment, Cross put away the wanted poster and, with a disgusted look, yelled at Gemodo.
"Hm?!"
His excitement suddenly interrupted, Gemodo turned his head, glaring fiercely at Cross, a tidal wave of bloodlust surging from his body.
The dozen or so pirates nearby were utterly terrified, not daring to breathe.
"Just a kid?" Gemodo sized up Cross, then wondered, "Is this some kid pretending to be a Marine?"
"Honestly, I really don't like it when people call me a kid!" Cross said coldly, then defiantly swung Kagehide outwards.
"One-Sword Style: Shockwave!"
Rumble—!
In an instant, a visible, violent sword wind erupted, tearing the ground apart with incredible force.
"Nani?!"
Gemodo and the others' eyes widened. Before they could react, they were engulfed by the sudden, fierce sword wind, sent flying like straw in a hurricane.
"Aaaaaaaah—!"
"Help me—!"
"Gemodo-sama!"
"…"
A chorus of screams filled the air as the group was sent flailing through the air for dozens of meters, then crashed onto the roofs of various houses with a resounding "boom," kicking up large clouds of dust.
Cross covered his face with his hand to prevent dust from getting into his eyes.
Suddenly, a relatively intact newspaper drifted over from somewhere, floating down in front of him.
"Oh~"
Cross let out a soft sound of surprise, reached out, grabbed the newspaper, and unfolded it.
He saw a picture of Kuzan on the main page of the newspaper, dated just a few days prior. Kuzan in the photo had a cold expression, holding an ice sword, seemingly in a vast ice field, with a pirate ship frozen in the background.
"Interesting…"
Cross quickly scanned the newspaper's contents and learned that Marine Headquarters had also orchestrated a military operation a few days ago, targeting the Roberts Legion, which had not yet returned to the second half of the Grand Line.
It turned out that after the Reverie, the Roberts Legion, unwilling to accept their failure, had been circling the first half of the Grand Line, looking for an opportunity to attack the Germa Kingdom.
However, the Roberts Legion's grand fleet was too large, and with so many people, they constantly needed to dock for supplies. This allowed Marine Intelligence and CP organizations to track them.
Not long ago, Marine Headquarters dispatched a fleet led by Kuzan, allied with Germa 66, and attacked the Roberts Legion in the waters near Jaya Island.
After a fierce battle, the combined forces of the Marines and Germa 66 achieved a great victory, successfully annihilating nearly half of the Roberts Legion's ships and forces, allowing the remaining enemy to barely escape.
Although not a complete success, Kuzan heavily damaged the Roberts Legion, a considerable achievement.
"No wonder Vice Admiral Borsalino suddenly found his motivation; he's probably eyeing the Admiral position too!" Cross mused to himself with a chuckle.
There were rumors within the Marines that Fleet Admiral Kong intended to resign, making the sole active Admiral, Sengoku, the new Fleet Admiral.
If Admiral Sengoku became Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the Admiral position would become vacant.
Among the new generation of officers in the Marines, only the three Logia monsters were most qualified for promotion to Admiral.
If Cross wasn't mistaken, Kuzan's operation was orchestrated by the Dove Faction, aiming to promote Kuzan to Admiral.
This meant that even if Borsalino was somewhat lazy, as the leader of the Neutral Faction, he couldn't stand idly by. He would need to help his faction secure an Admiral position.
Besides, Vice Admiral Kuzan was Vice Admiral Borsalino's junior and protégé. If Kuzan got ahead of him, even Vice Admiral Borsalino, who didn't care much about reputation, would probably feel a bit annoyed.
This operation was likely the Neutral Faction's first step in securing an Admiral position for Borsalino. Otherwise, G-2 Branch wouldn't have gone to such lengths, assembling a dozen warships and nearly ten thousand Marine soldiers, ready to eradicate all pirates on the island with overwhelming force.
For example, Cross's current location was just one direction of G-2 Branch's attack on Gurri Island, and Rear Admiral Kadar was merely the vanguard; more forces would land later.
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