"Hiss... Did you just say you're royalty from the Germa Kingdom?"
Garp crossed his arms and stared at Michael as if he were some kind of exotic creature, unable to look away.
"To be precise, I only became royalty after the new queen took the throne."
Michael shrugged, then recounted the story of the coup in the Germa Kingdom.
Of course, he used some creative wording to gloss over both himself and Crocodile's involvement in the coup.
He only mentioned that the royal couple had a complete falling-out over the issue of modifying their children, and in the end, the queen brought an end to the Vinsmoke family's rule.
As for him, he was merely passing through Germa while sourcing some rare specialties found only in the North Blue when he stumbled upon the battle and got involved.
It was also through that twist of fate that he found his long-lost older sister.
"Your life so far has been quite the rollercoaster, Michael." Borsalino nodded repeatedly with a smile. "Scary stuff."
"Scary, my ass! Even I didn't expect to run into my own sister like that." Michael rolled his eyes. That part was spoken from the heart—if he hadn't seen Sora's face, he might've forgotten all about her.
"The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want to send my five nephews to Marine Headquarters for their education."
"To Marine Headquarters? Are you sure about that?" Sengoku frowned. "Our education system is indeed complete, but at its core, it's still a naval academy... Can your sister—the Queen of Germa—accept that?"
"Of course she can. Her own brother is in the Navy, so what's wrong with her children becoming Navy too?" Michael shrugged. "And the Navy wants to have good relations with a country that bases its national strength on advanced tech, right?"
Michael's words made Sengoku's eyes light up.
That's right!
The old Germa Kingdom had been powerful too, but even with the World Government, they kept a loose connection, focusing mainly on expanding their influence in the North Blue.
But now, things were different. With Michael as a connecting point, the Navy could cooperate directly with Germa, just like with Alabasta.
"If no one has objections to this, I'll go ahead and inform my sister."
"Of course there's no problem." Tsuru smiled and nodded. "After all, we're all one family here."
After saying that, Tsuru took a sip of the tea in her hand.
To Michael, her words seemed to carry another layer of meaning.
But he could only sigh, then took the tea cup from her and smiled.
"Tsuru-san, it's already late in the evening, maybe ease up on the tea? You're not exactly young anymore—don't blame me if you can't sleep tonight."
This little old lady had practically watched him grow up. She knew him inside and out. With both intellect and emotional intelligence, she was hands down the Navy's top strategist.
Could it be... Tsuru had already picked up on something?
Michael's lips curved slightly.
If Tsuru really had sensed something, then her current attitude was... quite telling.
Compared to Sengoku—who leaned toward blind loyalty—Tsuru clearly had no particular devotion to the World Government.
...
After Michael's confession, everyone left Garp's house.
Michael walked side-by-side with Sengoku on the way home.
"Michael, been busy lately?"
"Not really." Michael shrugged. "Alabasta's usually peaceful, but it's still on the Grand Line, so naturally a few problems crop up now and then."
"Mm. In any case, I'll leave all matters concerning Alabasta to you." Sengoku nodded, a more relaxed look in his eyes as he glanced at Michael. "As for what you're actually trying to do... I'm not interested. And I don't want to be interested."
Michael was briefly stunned, then gave a helpless smile.
Sengoku, after all, had the persona of a "strategist general." Like Tsuru, it wasn't surprising if he picked up on a few clues.
"Old man... you really don't want to know what I'm planning?"
"Not curious." Sengoku shook his head. "You wouldn't do anything that's truly evil or unforgivable, so what's there to worry about?"
"Yeah, I suppose what I'm doing isn't unforgivable... but it might count as going against heaven's will."
"As long as you don't betray the Navy and what we stand to protect... then going against heaven's will is fine by me."
Michael abruptly raised his head and stared at Sengoku in disbelief.
Those words...
Did Sengoku really just say that?
Holy crap!
Has the old man mellowed out?
"You're not testing me, are you?"
"This isn't a test. I just... trust you."
To be someone Sengoku trusted so completely—other than Garp—Michael might be the only one.
Even Tsuru wouldn't receive such unreserved faith.
"Then I... thank you, old man. I won't betray that trust."
"Ahem. Well, trust aside, there's something I need you to take care of."
After a few awkward coughs, Sengoku spoke up.
Michael gave a wordless look...
So the real reason finally comes out!
No wonder the setup had dragged on for so long—it was all a prelude to roping him in.
"...What kind of matter is serious enough to make the great Admiral Sengoku this hesitant?"
"It's about the Ryugu Kingdom..." Sengoku sighed. "Even though they've been a member of the World Government, they've always been heavily discriminated against because their people are fish-men and merfolk."
Hearing this, Michael fell silent.
This was one of the truly frustrating aspects of the One Piece world.
With so many diverse races, you'd think the discrimination would vary—but only a few get singled out.
And fish-men and merfolk were the most obvious targets.
But from Michael's perspective, this discrimination wasn't accidental—it was by design, courtesy of the World Government.
Because they were incredibly valuable resources.
Male fish-men and mermen were typically strong and physically durable—perfect for combat or underwater construction.
Female merfolk were extraordinarily beautiful.
They were always high-demand commodities in the slave markets.
Even the Celestial Dragons would proudly show off their beautiful mermaid slaves.
However, ever since Michael basically wiped out the networks behind slave trafficking and smuggling, that narrative no longer held up.
And that was something the World Government clearly didn't want to see.
"The Ryugu Kingdom... Something must've happened on Fish-Man Island, right?"
"Exactly." Sengoku nodded. "Just a few days ago, the World Government issued an order removing the Ryugu Kingdom's status as a member nation."
"In just a few short days, Fish-Man Island has already started to fall into chaos."
But Michael was focused on a different point.
"Old man..."
"You just said the Ryugu Kingdom is no longer a member of the World Government, right?"
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