Jinbe and the others stared blankly at Cage as he approached.
"Wake up, now."
Cage walked up to Jinbe and waved his hand before the Warlord finally snapped out of it.
"You killed Aladine?" Jinbe's eyes flashed with coldness.
"Yeah... didn't I say it was a death match? Are you trying to back out now?" Cage winked at Jinbe, deliberately provoking him. "Now you have nothing to say, do you? That guy was weak and got wiped out. A piece of shit died, so he died. Don't be too sad."
"...."
Jinbe was speechless, unable to find an excuse to retaliate against Cage.
At this moment, his expression was particularly unsettling, veins throbbing on his forehead. In his extreme fury, even his hair stood on end.
It was clear Jinbe was on the verge of exploding, but he dared not act out at this moment.
Because behind him, one person was smiling at Jinbe—Kizaru!
"I'll settle this score... later."
Jinbe ultimately departed, his heart burning with rage. Not only had his objective not been achieved, but his side had also lost an important executive. Aladine was supposed to become the new captain of the Sun Pirates, but he died within an estimated 20 minutes before even getting a chance to issue commands as the captain.
He was arguably the shortest-lived captain in history.
With Jinbe's departure, the incident came to an end.
Around evening, the Marines were also preparing to leave. Taking advantage of this time, Cage found Zephyr, and the teacher and student had a brief chat.
"You've truly made an enemy of Jinbe. Try to be careful when you encounter Fish-Men in the future. It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow," Zephyr repeatedly warned. "Because he's a Warlord of the Sea, the Marines won't act against him without a proper reason. You must be careful."
"Understood..."
Cage's heart warmed slightly. His sensei had truly gone above and beyond for him.
Fifteen minutes later, Cage watched Kizaru and Zephyr's group depart, then leisurely returned to the Marine base for a nap.
Seven days later.
Ever since Captain Nezumi and the Arlong Pirates were dealt with, all the pirates in the East Blue were terrified. They went into hiding, and no one dared to cause trouble under Cage's rule.
With nothing to do, Cage spent his days practicing his marksmanship, when not eating, drinking, or sleeping.
Sometimes... he would even disappear alone for days, living the life of a hunter, venturing into primeval forests with his rifle.
Of course, the main purpose was to train his Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
Especially Observation Haki; to improve it, one needed a quiet and undisturbed environment. Only by truly calming one's mind could one use the power of hearing to perceive all phenomena in nature.
Cage spent a long time like this. The East Blue had become peaceful, and he had little else to do. Most pirates had been scared into reforming.
The East Blue suddenly became the safest sea in all four seas. There were even instances of Marines being collectively unemployed and going on vacation!
It must be said, in this pirate-infested world, this was quite an odd phenomenon.
In fact, Cage's methods were simple: fight violence with violence, stop killing with killing!
When pirates were caught... their fate was usually the same: first a brutal beating, then a cruel execution.
Although this behavior led to some Marines quietly criticizing Cage, he had powerful backing. Akainu strongly approved of such methods.
Zephyr was the same. His family had been killed in the past, and his students were brutally murdered recently, making him hold a strong prejudice against pirates.
Days passed quickly, and half a year flew by.
On this day, Cage was exercising in nature as usual. There was simply no other way... the pirates were all gone.
He had just found a suitable primeval jungle when he received a call from Marine Headquarters.
"Cage, I've heard about what you've done in the East Blue. You did an excellent job. Now, you can barely find any pirates left in the vast East Blue; it's all thanks to you." Sengoku's satisfied laughter came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Calling it an achievement is too much. Clearing out pirates is just part of my duty," Cage said, careful not to become arrogant.
"The more capable, the more work. You might be busy for a while."
"First, congratulations. Marine Headquarters has decided to promote you to Rear Admiral, and your stationed area will now be Loguetown. Report there as soon as possible," Sengoku slowly stated. "Your resume has officially broken Marine records. You graduated from the academy as a Commodore, and after half a year in that position, you're now a Rear Admiral."
"This is all thanks to your high regard, otherwise, I might still be in the recruit camp. You are the most brilliant Fleet Admiral I've ever seen," Cage shamelessly buttered him up.
"Stop with the flattery."
Sengoku wasn't buying it. He said seriously, "Don't get happy too quickly. I told you before, you're going to be very busy from now on."
"The pirates in the East Blue are almost completely eliminated, but other places are still chaotic. Your future jurisdiction won't just be the East Blue; the West Blue has also been assigned to you. I hope you'll continue your excellent work."
"The West Blue?!"
Cage's eyes flashed with disappointment upon hearing this. The place he yearned for was the latter half of the New World, where the strong gathered. Constantly fighting skirmishes in places like the Four Seas, to be honest, he was already tired of it.
"Is there something you're dissatisfied with?"
Seemingly sensing Cage's disappointment, Sengoku then said, "Gold will shine eventually. Why rush? This world... will eventually be your stage."
After a few more minutes of pleasantries, Cage finally hung up the Den Den Mushi.
"Fine... I'll just roam around the West Blue. There should still be quite a few pirates there."
Cage exhaled slowly, looking at the azure sky, his mind settling slightly.
Just as Sengoku said, the New World would eventually be his stage.