"That's far enough, pirates! Get ready to—"
CLANG!
The sword swung at the pirate was blocked by his hand, making a loud metal sound.
"What? A Devil Fruit user!? You have this many, besides Nico Robin and Silent Step!?"
"You're a fool."
The pirate, Daz Bones, didn't turn his body into blades. He just made it hard like steel, pushed the Marine hard, and knocked him into the sea.
"Our Captain has never eaten one of those bad-tasting fruits."
"Horohorohoro. Kuro is a picky eater in weird ways, so he would never eat something that he knows tastes awful."
"...That's true."
Most of the soldiers who got on the deck were already thrown off the ship and into the sea. When another ship came close, Perona sent out a lot of ghosts. They stopped all the Marines who were trying to jump over.
"What is everyone doing!? Hurry up and— I'm sorry for yelling like this..."
"I just want to become a smear on the floor..."
"Someone like me pointing a sword at a child... I should just die."
Perona is very good at stopping people. Marines like these were not a big threat to her.
"The new guys are doing better than I thought. They're fighting well against the fast Marines, even though it's two against one."
"Of course they are. The Captain and I trained them for a month."
Fighting with Daz, the man made of blades, and Captain Kuro, who is so fast you can't tell where he'll attack from, gave them a lot more experience than they expected.
"I'm worried about the Captain... Robin, how are things over there?"
Robin, who was like the team's information person during fights, had her eyes closed. This was unusual. It meant she was using her Devil Fruit to see somewhere else. She didn't do it often because she got sick from the speed the last time she put her eyes on Kuro's body.
"Sorry, I'm a little busy. Captain asked me to use my eyes to look for something."
"Looking for something?"
"He can't find that special den den mushi?"
Daz checked how fast the ship was going. The wind was still strong and filling the sails. It would take a while to get to the main ship where the Captain was. They were told that if the Captain wasn't finished, they should just go past him, and he would catch up later.
"Perona, use your special attack to knock over some of the ships around us. You can do it with this wind."
"But that attack doesn't go so far."
"That's okay. I just need them to block the enemy ships from getting near the Captain's ship. ...So don't sink them."
"Horohoro, okay, you can count on me."
Right after she said that, a giant, see-through ghost appeared from her hand, growing like a balloon.
"Here I come, Marines!"
"Sir! It's that ghost again!"
"Shooters, aim for her! Even just making her flinch is good enough!"
Daz and Amisu heard them yelling, but they did nothing. The few bullets that actually hit Perona from far away went right through her body. They only left a few small burn marks on the ship's floor and railing.
"Horohorohoro! With that little thing!"
"You think you can stop us!?"
"Kamikaze Rap!"
The attack would have badly damaged the ship if it hit directly. Instead, it exploded near the bottom of the Marine ship, making it lean over a lot.
–
"First, get Nico Robin. She is a major threat."
"You want us to kill our own men? We need to fix this situation first!"
"If there's any chance that Nico Robin—and the secrets of Ohara—could get away, we must stop it, no matter how many people get hurt."
"But—"
"In fact, the Regional Manager in the West Sea who is trying so hard to stop Nico Robin is acting more like a real Marine, isn't he?"
"Grr..."
The discussion was going nowhere. The Marines wanted the Government to promise something about the Marines being sold. The Government wanted to stop the secrets of 'Ohara' from getting out.
"Also, we have reports that some of the Marines are now working as pirates."
"They were good Marines before that deal happened!"
Zephyr and Garp clenched their fists. Sengoku and Tsuru were about to do something when there was a loud knock on the door.
"What is it!?" one of the Five Elders yelled. A Marine came in.
"I'm sorry! We got through to the Den Den Moshi of the West Blue's Regional Manager!"
The Marines and the Five Elders were all surprised.
"Why is he only calling now!?"
"Uh, no, well... it's not the Regional Manager on the line..."
"He says he is the pirate, Silent Step Kuro!!"
Everyone in the room, including Sakazuki and Kuzan, looked surprised at the Den Den Moshi the Marine was holding.
–
I came here to give Sengoku information, hoping it might calm things down. I wasn't sure what would happen next, but I was starting to lose hope.
"Robin, thanks for your help. I'll tell you what's going on here. For now, just focus on keeping yourself safe."
You were a really big help. I would have missed the safe in that hidden spot if I was alone. This idiot won't wake up... maybe I hit his head too hard. I really thought I was being gentle.
"Yes, I understand. You be careful too, Captain. There are a lot of Marine ships coming."
"Thanks for worrying about me. But I'm fine, it's no problem. You be careful, too."
Well, if the Marines are all this weak, it's not a problem. This isn't like with Bege or Moria where there were special rules. I can choose where I want to fight.
And also—
The Regional Manager is asleep at my feet. I hit him until his face was all swollen, thinking he would wake up, but he never did. He's weak.
Well, I guess he got to his position through bribes or something, but if someone this weak can get to the top... then…
The Marines in the Grand Line are probably not this easy, but I was starting to worry about the skill level of the Marines in the four seas.
"Silent Step! Is that you!?"
Just as I thought, it was Sengoku on the Den Den Moshi. I knew he'd be there.
"Mr. Sengoku, it has been a while. I know you must be busy, but I need to tell you what's happening here."
It's very noisy in the background. They must be in Mariejois, probably in a break room for Marines. Maybe Kuzan and the others are there too.
"I know you may have already heard, but the Regional Manager of the West Blue declared war on us over the Nico Robin matter, and we have started fighting."
"Then what about the captured Marines!?"
...Huh? He accepted the part about Robin so easily. I thought he would yell at me a little.
"Before we started fighting, Captain Momonga from headquarters helped protect them as regular citizens. He can tell you more... his communications should be working by now."
I heard Sengoku sigh in relief. The people behind him did too. But—
"But..."
How do I explain what happened to Amisu and the others? I still don't fully understand it myself... 'The Marines said they would die for me and are now fighting their old friends'?
Is fate telling me to die of embarrassment?
Help... I really need help...
"I'm sorry, but about twenty of the Marines are with me now."
"I know. I heard about that. That some of them became pirates..."
...What?
It seems like he knew that some Marines became pirates, but he didn't know that I had already returned the others. From the sounds in the background, they didn't know either.
So how did he know that Marines had become pirates?
...
"Mr. Sengoku. I know it's bold of me to ask, since I'm a pirate who has taken in Nico Robin and is fighting you, but I have a question."
Ah, another ship is getting closer. I wonder how much time I have to talk...
–
"—That's everything. To be honest, I've learned more from you than from anyone else."
Everyone in the room, including the Five Elders, was listening to the conversation on the Den Den Moshi. They hadn't said a word.
Maybe they were trying to figure out what kind of man Kuro was from the conversation.
"...The Regional Manager here hid his Den Den Moshi in a safe. He even put a Horned Den Den Moshi next to it."
"...Do you think the Regional Manager was working with someone who wanted to hide all of this?"
Sengoku chose his words carefully. He could hear someone like Garp grinding his teeth. To fix this, he needed to say something powerful. This pirate was different; he had saved and continued to protect Marines. Even with the Nico Robin issue, the Marines who knew what happened trusted him.
And most importantly, if it's you—
"No, I think it's the other way around."
Yes, you would figure it out.
"I think this whole thing, starting with the slave incident, is an attack on the World Government."
The words of the pirate, Kuro, were the best way to get everyone's attention in this situation.
"Mr. Sengoku, maybe the Government doesn't know what's really happening, just like the Marines didn't. The Marines' actions are one thing, but the Government seems to be moving very slowly too."
The Five Elders shifted slightly.
"...I have spoken with the Government officials, but they did not seem that way."
"They are probably trying not to look weak. The World Government—the world has left too many problems unsolved for too long."
For a second, Sengoku thought about telling the pirate on the phone who was in the room.
But the Five Elders just sat there, as if they wanted him to continue.
"The Government is used to people fighting against them. And their enemy knows this very well."
"Slavery, poverty, hunger, war, disasters, pirates, and history itself. There are many reasons for people to rebel, and they are deep problems. I have to admit, the World Government is skilled at keeping things stable, even with all these problems."
"But when you control so many people, many of them become your enemies. And into this situation, the problem of Marine slaves was added."
"Both the Government and the Marines are probably being fed only small pieces of information on purpose."
"The slave issue made the Marines angry and distrustful of the Government. And that must have made the Government worried."
"Worry leads to distrust, and when both sides distrust each other, it turns into suspicion."
"In a situation like that, they only get bits of information that just makes them more worried."
"When they put the pieces together themselves, everything seems suspicious."
"...The enemy doesn't need to trick everyone. They just need a few powerful people in the Marines and the Government to suspect each other. That's all they need to win."
"The enemy's goal is to create problems inside the government that will never go away."
–
I don't really think the Marines and the Government will start fighting over this.
There would be a lot of suspicion, but there were traitors among the Marines too, not just the World Nobles.
In the end, they would probably use that fact to make a deal, then focus on finding and saving the Marines who were sold as slaves.
The real person behind this probably just used small tricks to drag things out and make everyone distrust each other more.
"...Silent Step."
"Yes?"
"Someone else wants to talk to you. Is that okay?"
...Someone else?
"Yes, that's fine."
When I answered, I heard the sound of someone else grabbing the phone.
Who could it be? The Fleet Admiral... Kong was his name later. Was Kong the Fleet Admiral at this time?
"I heard your story. Silent Step Kuro... you are an interesting man."
"Thank you... I apologize for being rude, but may I ask who this is?"
"...I see. You can't tell from just a voice."
"The Five Elders. You understand who we are, right?"
...
"I... I apologize. I was being rude, but I didn't know who you were."
That place where Sengoku was wasn't a Marine meeting!?
"It's fine. We only want to ask one thing."
"Are you interested in becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
--
The next chapter is available for free users on patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO right now. Head to the collection section then click on Reborn as Kuro in One Piece and then find Chapter 29 to read it for free right now.