From the moment Crunl received the letter to when he watched Gloriosa board the ship and leave, his whole mind went blank.
Aside from being shaken to the knees by Gloriosa's Conqueror's Haki, what stunned him most was the letter in his hands.
Seriously now...
Who the hell would believe that one of the Cross Guild's Three Giants traveled thousands of miles just to deliver a letter from the Marines to a pirate?
If this got out, the whole damn ocean would be laughing...
One of the most sought-after beauties on the sea bringing you mail!?
The imaginations of lovesick boys are really something else.
Crunl smiled bitterly as he looked at the departing ship.
"Damn, I forgot to ask Gloriosa-sama for her autograph on my forehead..."
...
"Crunl, what on earth happened?"
"Hard to explain..." Crunl shook his head at his approaching companions, then held the letter out in front of Gekko Moria.
"Here. A letter. Sent by the Marines through the Cross Guild for you."
The moment he said this, everyone froze.
They instinctively turned toward Crunl.
Was he really making up such a ridiculous story just to get the boss interested now?
But to their surprise, Crunl's expression stayed serious the entire time.
So serious that even the perpetually drunk Moria blinked in confusion...
"Urgh!"
The giant body slumped to the side, retching loudly.
It took a long while before Moria raised his head again.
"Whether I believe it or not doesn't matter."
"You!"
Crunl couldn't hold back anymore.
He yanked Moria by the waistband.
"You damn onion-head! So you got burned once out here on the sea, big deal! Before I met you, I got burned way worse! And I didn't end up drinking myself half to death like you!"
"This letter is right here! Read it or don't, I don't care!"
"But if you choose not to, then I'll take the brothers and leave without hesitation! Because the Moria-sama we knew is already dead!"
Crunl's voice was loud, but there was a trace of a choke in it.
As one of the first people to set sail with Gekko Moria, no one cared more about this onion-headed man than him.
After finishing, he slapped the letter onto Moria and sat to the side, turning his back.
He couldn't bear... or maybe didn't dare to see what Moria would choose.
In the wake of Crunl's furious roar, pain flickered in Moria's drunken eyes... but clarity slowly began to surface.
He lowered his head and looked at the letter on him.
The Marines... he didn't like them much.
And the faint wing-shaped pattern on the envelope, the aura clinging to it...
He hated that even more.
It felt like they were born to be enemies.
But his angry roar still echoed in his ears.
Moria took a deep breath.
He had been drinking himself numb all this time just to escape the tidal wave of guilt drowning him.
His companions—so many had died on the battlefield in Wano.
Even Crunl carried a dozen bone-deep scars...
All earned while protecting Moria's back.
The real enemy Moria couldn't defeat was himself.
Losing comrades hurt too much.
But when he looked again at the brothers who remained, he saw no resentment in their eyes.
Only worry and anger.
Was this what they called "anger at wasted potential"?
Thinking this, Moria's hand moved almost on its own toward the letter...
He opened it slowly and took out the contents.
"Shichibukai Appointment Letter?"
"Crunl, what the hell is this?"
Crunl's head whipped around toward Moria.
He didn't care about the title. All he knew was...
The Gekko Pirates had just been reborn!
...
One week later.
On the Seraphim, Michael stamped the document.
It officially confirmed the identity of the fourth Shichibukai—Gekko Moria.
"Michael, you're really sure that guy's willing to do this?" Crocodile sat nearby, cigar dangling from her mouth, smoke curling lazily around her.
At least there weren't any bratty kids hanging around this time. Another week without a proper smoke and she would've gone mad.
"Why wouldn't he? The guy's fragile as glass. Right now's the perfect time to strike while the iron's hot—of course he'll accept..." Michael chuckled. "Whether he breaks completely or rises from the ashes after this isn't my problem. Worst case, some stronger pirate kills him and takes the Shichibukai title. No big deal."
It was all just one way to divide the pirates... Apart from the red-haired Shanks whom Michael personally valued, even Doflamingo and Chinjao were nothing but high-end expendables.
Let alone Moria, whose state was still unknown.
"Hey, Michael. According to the charts... we're about to enter Totto Land."
A flash of blue lightning lit the air as Enel's deathly pale face appeared before Michael.
But compared to when he had first come down from Skypiea, his expressions had grown much more varied.
Like now, there was a faint trace of weary corporate-slave despair on his face.
Ever since Michael conned him into joining the Marines, Enel had served as the Seraphim's navigator and...
Power source.
As one of Vegapunk's prototypes, the Seraphim could run on fuel or other energy sources.
And as the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, Enel had become absolutely indispensable...
Michael hadn't bought fuel for half a year thanks to him.
His wallet was feeling very cushy these days.
"Oh? We're almost at Totto Land?"
Michael lifted his head, thoughtful.
"If your charts are right, we can bypass the so-called 'secret route' and head straight to Whole Cake Island."
"Alright, get back to powering the ship and steering while you're at it." Michael grinned. "Didn't you want sweets? When we reach Big Mom's tea party, eat as much as you like! Don't hold back!"
Enel rolled his eyes and vanished in a crackle of lightning...
If there was one thing he'd learned since coming...
It was never to believe a damn word Michael said.
"You're sure about crashing Big Mom's tea party uninvited?" Crocodile frowned. "I know you're not afraid of her, but she's not like old Whitebeard. That woman... she's a total lunatic."
"Lunatics are great." Michael clapped his hands and laughed. "Once you figure out how a lunatic ticks, you can weaken them—or eliminate them entirely."
As he spoke, he waved the Shichibukai appointment letter in his hand.
Nearby, Stella looked up from studying the 'Iron Cloud,' puzzled.
"Wait... you're not seriously planning to make Big Mom a Shichibukai, are you?"
"Of course not. She's crazy, not stupid."
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"But her kids... that's another story."
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