What was it like to have a pirate ship appear in Marineford's harbor?
Well, if this were seven or eight years ago, it would probably send every Marine's blood pressure skyrocketing.
But now...
Whatever.
It was probably just some colleague who'ad retired from the frontlines to desk duty, reminiscing about their youthful days.
After all, within the Angel Alliance, there were quite a few who had pirate origins.
Take one of the Angel Alliance's founders, the king of the Whitebeard Kingdom, "the World's Strongest Man" Edward Newgate—even after all these years, he still sailed aboard his Moby Dick.
And the Moby Dick still proudly flew both the pirate flag and the Angel Alliance's banner.
So it wasn't exactly news.
Except this pirate ship seemed to be of an unfamiliar design, leaving people wondering whose vessel it was.
Was it the Dark King Rayleigh's? Or the Mountain Eater Gaban's?
Many were curious, but no one went over to take a closer look.
Everyone was quite busy, after all—even the desk staff stationed at Marineford had their hands full with work.
And so, amid this atmosphere of curiosity and busyness, everyone gradually stopped paying attention to the new pirate ship.
...
Then, one week later...
"Thank you all for your help. The Angel is now complete."
Standing on the deck, Michael smiled as he addressed the second generation.
"Uncle Michael, while I'm not particularly curious... converting the Seraphim Ship into a pirate vessel... you're not planning to set sail as a pirate, are you?" Sanji's cigarette trembled slightly between his fingers.
"This isn't a joke..."
"Wait, I meant to ask earlier—when the hell did you start smoking?" Michael's eye twitched. "You little brat! I swear I'll get your mother to spank you!"
"While I don't doubt you could... I'm twenty-one years old, for god's sake!" Sanji said exasperatedly.
"Have you forgotten how old Smoker and Hina from the SWORD Special Forces were when they became chain smokers? Compared to them, I'm just a rookie."
Michael clicked his tongue... but didn't respond.
The brat had a point.
Given the physical resilience of this world's strong fighters, smoking a few cigarettes occasionally—hell, even chain-smoking 24/7—probably wouldn't do much harm.
And Sanji was even less of a concern...
As a modified human originally created by the Vinsmoke Family, if smoking could actually affect his health, Judge who Michael had killed might just rise from the grave out of sheer frustration.
"Ahahaha, Sanji's so unlucky, still getting scolded by his elders even in his twenties!" Luffy laughed uproariously, his mouth stretching wide.
"You have no right to laugh at me when you're constantly being lectured by your two older brothers!" Sanji suddenly reached out and pinched Luffy's cheeks, stretching them outward.
Under the influence of the Nika fruit, Luffy's cheeks stretched over half a meter, yet he still wore his innocent grin.
"Both of you, behave!" Nami swung the hilt of her sword, knocking both of them on the head.
"Can't you see Michael clearly has something to say!?"
"Nami! You damn woman, that's my sword!" Zoro froze, then glared at the missing Sandai Kitetsu at his waist, angrily protesting.
"How is it that someone who grew up in the Marine has mastered every skill of a street thug!?"
"What would a directionally-challenged idiot like you know!?" Nami tossed the Sandai Kitetsu back at Zoro after using it.
"This is called personality!"
"Ahh, everyone's as lively as ever today."
The petite Trafalgar Lami smiled warmly from the sidelines.
Watching the rowdy second generation before him, Michael sighed.
Though their talents were undoubtedly top-tier, their ability to stir up trouble was equally unmatched.
In just the time it took to speak, they'd already started bickering among themselves.
But Michael had to admit—being around these youngsters had rejuvenated his prematurely aged heart.
Still… there was business to attend to.
"Ahem, everyone, quiet down."
The moment Michael spoke, the firefighting squad stationed across the four seas and the Paradise immediately fell silent.
Though they each had their own extreme personalities and rebellious streaks, they shared one unifying trait—
Their admiration and reverence for Michael.
Every second-gen here had, at some point in their youth, been guided by him.
Especially Law and Lami, who owed him their lives.
No matter how chaotic things got between them, they held absolute respect for Michael.
Seeing everyone quiet down, Michael smiled faintly.
"Sanji was actually… right earlier. I am indeed setting sail to become a pirate."
The moment those words landed, the silence turned deathly still.
Luffy even forgot to breathe, his head swelling up like a balloon until Ace and Sabo snapped him out of it, forcing his mouth open to let him gasp for air.
"Uncle Michael… you're not joking with us, are you?" Reiju asked, disbelief in her voice.
"The former Marine Inspector General, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army… is now becoming a pirate?"
"Who said that!?"
"Phew… I knew you were just teasing us."
"I mean, who said it's just me becoming a pirate?" Michael grinned, pointing at the group before him.
"Did you really think you'd get away?"
Marine second-gens turning into pirates—sounds perfectly reasonable, right?
If they were shocked before, now they were completely blown away.
"We… are becoming pirates!?"
Luffy tilted his head, straining his imagination, but couldn't picture himself as a pirate at all.
"This is really... a bit too overwhelming," Kuina said hesitantly. "But if we become pirates, wouldn't that give us a legitimate reason to skip work?"
"Kuina, wake up, stop dreaming," Tashigi sighed. "Being pirates is our job now."
"I don't really have a problem with it..." Reiju mused, rubbing her chin. "But I wonder what our goal will be once Uncle becomes a pirate..."
Among everyone, only Nami's eyes sparkled with unrestrained excitement from head to toe upon hearing Michael's plan to turn them into pirates.
"If we set sail as pirates, does that mean we can openly search for treasures out at sea!?"
"Is treasure the only thing on your mind?" Nojiko couldn't help but tease her sister. "Couldn't you at least aim for something more respectable?"
"Treasure isn't respectable!?" Nami retorted with a serious expression. "That's money we're talking about!"
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