Mary Geoise.
The center of the world. Other than the Celestial Dragons, almost no one could enter this Holy Land, except for the Levely every four years. Today, dozens of Marines were waiting for a single ship.
Or rather, for the person on that ship.
The Marines stood in formation, lining the great road from the dock, saluting as a figure appeared.
It was Admiral Kizaru.
He was one of the leaders of the next generation of Marines, already earning great achievements despite his sudden promotion to Admiral.
While most Marines saluted Kizaru, a large number of them were staring at the man following him.
He was a pirate... welcomed to the Holy Land, a place even Marines couldn't easily enter. This was likely a first in history.
The Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, 'Silent Step' Kuro.
Most who watched him did so out of curiosity. But among them, there were certainly some who held respect... for a "pirate."
"The Admiral passed, you can stop saluting... This is unsettling," Kuro muttered, glancing at the rows of saluting men.
"Just keep walking, Kuro," Kizaru said lazily, not looking back.
"Hey, didn't your own soldiers salute you back on your ship?" Spandine, asked from Kuro's other side.
"Yes, Mr. Spandine... but getting it from my own men and getting it from Marines are two different kinds of pressure. Especially this many at once..."
"You're the brat who talked back to the Five Elders. What are you complaining about?" Spandine scoffed.
"That was way worse for my heart. ...What's with that unsatisfied look?"
"The Marines around us are watching, so stand straight," Spandine ordered. "Now, Kuro. You're sure?"
"Ah, yes," Kuro confirmed. "The actual meeting starts the day after tomorrow, but... Before that, I would be grateful for a chance to greet the Five Elders."
--
"So, Kuro went to see the Five Elders first," Hina reported.
"Yes. His room has been prepared and checked. We've sent an escort, so there shouldn't be any problems."
The young Marine, Hina, had seen Kuro off as he headed to the Room of Authority in Pangaea Castle with that unpleasant man, Spandine. She was pouting a little because Kuro had gently told her not to follow. Now, she was reporting back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku in the room assigned to the Marines.
"The Marines came to meet him, but he goes to see the Five Elders first..." she muttered.
"No, that's fine," Sengoku said, looking up from his papers.
Sengoku, who was successfully leading the Marines despite the risk of them running wild, smiled at Hina's report.
"We are here with soldiers, even if it's a small number. We are putting pressure on them. If Kuro came to us first and showed he was on the Marines' side, the government would think this was a political fight between them and a Black Cat-Marine alliance, not a meeting with the Marines."
Most of the high-ranking admirals were not here. Sengoku had decided that bringing too many to Mary Geoise would only cause more friction.
"It's easier for us if Kuro is aware of the political balance. ...After all, we're already dealing with an unexpected—"
"Bwahahaha! So he's as sharp as they said! I'm even more excited to meet him!" a loud voice boomed, cutting Sengoku off.
"Gah! That's why! Garp, why are you here!?" Sengoku shouted.
But that didn't mean there was no one here the government saw as a threat.
Though it wasn't what the Marines wanted.
"Don't be so angry, Sengoku. Want a rice cracker?" Garp offered, holding out a box.
"Shut up!"
"Sorry, Sengoku. He was on the ship before I knew it," Tsuru, the Great Staff Officer, sighed.
"Anyway, why did you really come, Garp?" Sengoku demanded, rubbing his temples. "Your position is pretty bad these days, hero or not. Your son is about to be charged with trying to overthrow the government."
"Ah, it'll work out somehow. Right now, I'm more interested in this."
"...Kuro?" Sengoku asked.
"Well, that's part of it."
Garp, the Marine hero, smiled with satisfaction as Sengoku angrily snatched a cracker from the box. Garp took one for himself and crunched down.
"I've never spoken to him, but from what Kuzan says, 'Silent Step' is quite a pirate. He's checking the Shichibukai system the government is pushing, and sliding in as the new balancing force."
"The situation helped him... but, yes," Sengoku admitted. "He's produced better results than what the government wanted from the Shichibukai. And without involving the government... I worried when Kuzan rushed in, but it was a good way to clean up that mess. He's become a 'Shichibukai for the Marines,' even if his influence is only in the West Blue..."
"We can't admit it publicly. We can't... but... yes."
For Fleet Admiral Sengoku, 'Black Cat's' movements were a huge headache. If they were just looters, he could just eliminate them. But now, the damage would be worse without them. They couldn't even support rebuilding.
'Black Cat' was keeping the peace in the West Blue. They used their fleet to secure bases and managed the non-member nations that would have just produced more pirates.
Hina had seen it herself, and the reports from the field confirmed it.
It was also why the revolutionary movements popping up everywhere else were relatively quiet in the West Blue.
"We still get petitions from Marines who don't know what happened at the regional base, asking us to make him a Shichibukai," Hina piped up. "...Kuro's actions must have looked very heroic to the soldiers in the West Blue. We get them from officers, too."
"I'm not surprised... Not when we get orders like this," Tsuru said, looking at a World Government order with disgust. "I know it's a tradition, but ordering us to gather food and bring it to the Holy Land at a time like this..."
Food was tight everywhere. The West Blue was hit hard by pirates, but other seas also had limited supplies. And those supplies were mostly in the member nations.
The amount they were asking for was impossible.
With pirate attacks and revolutions, harvests were down. Every region wanted to save what little they had.
If they couldn't get it from member nations, they would have to collect it from non-member nations.
"Have you given the order, Sengoku?" Tsuru asked.
"...I've put Rear Admiral Momonga on it. He won't make a mistake."
"If you're going to give him such a hard job, make sure you reward him."
"Yes. I plan to ask him what he wants. And a promotion... So, Garp." Sengoku turned back to the hero. "Hm?"
"I'll ask again. Why are you here? It's not just to see Kuro, is it?"
Sengoku's tone implied he'd send him back to headquarters. Garp just picked his ear with his pinky.
"Hmm, let's see... Let's see..."
"There is a reason, isn't there? Right?!"
"I dunno."
"What!?"
A vein pulsed on Sengoku's temple as he clenched his fist. Garp just looked thoughtful.
"It's just..."
"Just!?" Sengoku pressed.
"...I've just got... a bad feeling about this."
--
"I never thought I would be seeing you face-to-face so soon after our talk at the regional base," one of the Five Elders said.
"...With all due respect, I feel the same way."
Man, standing in front of these five big shots, who just radiate "I'm important," is intense.
"Thank you again for accepting my selfish proposal. As promised, the pirate 'Silent Step' has come, unarmed."
"We thought you were joking at first, but it wasn't a bad idea," another Elder remarked.
"We will guarantee your safety while you are here," a third one stated.
"But do not forget you are a pirate. Understand?" a fourth one warned.
"Sir."
You should really tell that to the Marines who wouldn't stop saluting me. Seriously.
I swear, half of them were looking at me the same way my own soldiers do.
Is that okay?
I have a manual for fighting the Marines without me. Ten different versions of it, with priority targets and defense plans, shared with all my leaders... This guilt is going to kill my stomach...
...How did my life end up like this?
Please, just give me an easier setting.
"I will keep that in mind. Please go easy on me during the meeting."
Okay, that should be enough to show I'm not planning to disrespect the government. I should have brought a gift, but all I have are food and lumber.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go greet the Marines—"
"Wait, Kuro," the first Elder interrupted.
...
I just want to get out of here and go see Sengoku's goat. What is it now!?
"I want to ask you one thing. What did you 'want'?"
"......"
Past tense? Before I became a pirate?
"We investigated you," a different Elder said, leaning forward. "We checked all the books and notes in the room you used."
Ah...
My old notes and books from when I was a merchant apprentice.
"...Before I answer, what about the trading company?"
I was too scared to check on them when I was on the run. I ran to the West Blue because it was the farthest sea from the East Blue.
"They are all safe," an Elder replied. "You have Garp to thank for that."
"...The Vice Admiral?"
"Saint Jalmack was about to execute them. Garp was nearby, heard the noise, and intervened."
Seriously? I thought they were all dead because of me...
If Garp is here, I need to thank him.
...Though he's probably at headquarters. I'll write him a letter.
"Back to the topic," the first Elder pressed. "We know you were an excellent merchant. Even as an apprentice."
"You were on good terms with royalty and built good routes for both countries," another added.
"You were serious about developing products and had strong connections with craftsmen."
Ugh...
Are you guys trying to mentally break me before the meeting by digging up my past?
Give me a break.
I had a good-paying job as a merchant back then, so I had a lot of dreams...
"From your notes, it's clear you had a plan. What was it?"
You want me to explain my embarrassing life plan—how to live a good life while avoiding the plot—in front of the most powerful people in the world!? What kind of public execution is this!?
"It was just a stupid fantasy I had since I was a kid—"
"Speak," the blond Elder commanded, his voice sharp.
Damn you!
You guys are the worst!
If we ever go to war, I'll remember this!
"Fine. If you insist..."
Ugh... This is it.
"By the time I went from a homeless orphan to a merchant's apprentice, the Great Pirate Era had already begun. To be protected by the Marines, you had to be a citizen of a member nation, and live on an island important to the Marines. But... an island like that might be visited by a Celestial Dragon. With all due respect, I decided back then that Celestial Dragons were something to be avoided at all costs. So, my idea was to have my own base. Not a flashy island that would attract them, but a place that was extremely important to the Marines. My dream was to develop and run a military trade port in the East Blue. A place that could guarantee supplies and some entertainment for the Marines."
Guaaaaaah.
This is so embarrassing. I want to die.
Is there any worse humiliation than having your secret notebook read aloud!?
......
Stop saying "Hmm" and "I see"!
Damn you, World Government!
--
"Oh, is the meeting over?" Spandine asked as I exited the room. "You took long enough, Kuro."
As I left the room with a new hatred for the World Government. Spandine and a Marine I'd never seen were waiting.
He was a very built man with short purple hair. He looked muscular, but his glasses made him seem smart.
"I wanted to meet and talk with you at least once," the man said, holding out his hand. "I'm Zephyr. My rank is Special Admiral."
Zephyr...
The teacher Kuzan talked about!
The one who sent me that super-long letter!
"Yes, I remember. We spoke through a letter."
"Yes..." he said, his expression serious. "My students have been in your debt."
Special Admiral Zephyr bowed deeply.
Stop! A Marine bowing to a pirate in the Holy Land is bad—
"From now on, I'll be in charge of you, along with Private Hina. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I'll help as much as I can."
Stop assigning high-ranking officers to babysit a pirate!
Who is making these decisions!?