Just as Sengoku clenched his teeth in frustration, Staff Officer Tsuru stepped into the office.
"We've received intelligence on the Dragon Hunter Pirates—three times in a row," she said calmly.
"Sengoku, I believe we need to strangle this threat in the cradle… before another uncontrollable force emerges in the East Blue."
Without wasting time, Tsuru got straight to the point.
She was a woman of action—once she made up her mind, she acted on it swiftly. Unlike that old rascal Garp, who never seemed to care about anything these days.
But to be fair, Garp had endured far too many setbacks. His son became the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and his grandson turned into a pirate. His disillusionment with the World Government had slowly eroded his sense of duty.
Frankly, it was a miracle that Garp still remained at Marineford as a naval hero and the face of the Marines.
So Tsuru didn't hold it against him. After all, Garp had always been unpredictable since his youth.
"Who should we send?" Sengoku asked, voice tinged with hesitation. "His bounty is only 30 million berries. That's not enough merit to warrant the deployment of an admiral-level."
"I'll go," came a soft but determined voice from the entrance.
"Gion?" Sengoku blinked in surprise as he turned to see her walk in.
Then he glanced at Tsuru, who gave him a subtle nod. It became clear: she had already chosen the right person for the job.
With Gion's strength, there was no doubt the mission could be completed.
But even so… she was a Vice Admiral of Marineford. Wasn't sending her after a 30-million bounty pirate a bit excessive?
"It's already decided," Tsuru said firmly. "The seeds of evil must be uprooted before they grow."
"Back then, when Roger and the Golden Lion were just starting out, the Marines hesitated because of this obsession with so-called fairness. And look what happened—they became kings of the sea."
Her tone held a trace of bitterness.
Of course, Sengoku hadn't made those decisions. Back then, he was just a high ranking Officer.
"I understand," Sengoku replied, nodding solemnly. "Here's all the intel we have on the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Gion, proceed with caution."
"I'm issuing a full pursuit order—target: the Dragon Hunter Pirates. Commanding Officer: Vice Admiral Gion of Marineford!"
"Understood!" Gion said crisply. "Vice Admiral Gion will not fail!"
She turned on her heel and headed off to prepare her ship. After all, the East Blue was quite a distance from here.
Once she left, Sengoku's expression turned grave.
"Still no leads?" he asked quietly.
"No," Tsuru replied. "We've locked down the entire port. We even searched the surrounding area, but no suspicious figures were found."
"Sengoku… are you sure that intelligence just appeared on your desk out of nowhere?"
Her voice held a hint of concern.
Tsuru had just returned from investigating the origin of the documents. Despite using observation Haki, intelligence channels, and even checking all surveillance snails multiple times, there was no trace of anyone delivering the message.
This was the Fleet Admiral's office—deep within Marineford.
For someone to bypass all surveillance and drop classified intelligence on Sengoku's desk… without leaving a single clue…
It had to be a special Devil Fruit ability. That was the best-case scenario.
Because if it wasn't—
The implications were terrifying.
Someone who could come and go from Marineford undetected… was a threat unlike any they had ever seen.
---
Meanwhile, the entire Marineford base was thrown into chaos.
Security was ramped up. New surveillance bugs were installed. Every Marine's identity was re-verified.
Surprisingly, several spies from the Four Emperors' crews were uncovered during the sweep—an unexpected bonus.
And then…
Lu Yu's bounty was updated.
From 30 million to 50 million berries!
At that moment, Lu Yu was lounging in Cocoyasi Village, happily eating oranges.
The oranges here really were top-quality.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for increasing your bounty to 50 million berries. You've earned 20,000 reputation points."
"Ding! Total reputation has reached 50,000. You have unlocked Observation Haki!"
"Ding! You now have two crewmates. God-level Pirate Group Halo unlocked!"
The system chimes echoed in Lu Yu's ears.
He had been steadily building up his reputation—killing pirates, evading the Marines, destroying corrupt merchant ships along the way.
Now, his panel appeared before him.
---
Host: Lu Yu [21 years old]
Abilities:
Advanced Swordsmanship
Advanced Assassination
Intermediate Armament Haki
Basic Observation Haki
Items:
Ame-no-Habakiri
Extremely Evil Battleship
God-level Pirate Group Halo: When equipped on the ship, boosts all crew members' strength by 20%
Reputation: 51,500
Crew:
First Squadron: Akame (from the Akame ga Kill world)
[Night Raid Group recruitment available]
Special Crew: Kuina
Title: Captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates
---
Lu Yu exhaled deeply as he read over the stats.
Now that his reputation had reached 50,000, he could summon one member from the Night Raid squad.
He already knew who he wanted.
"System…" he said calmly.
Then, raising a hand, he activated the recruitment.
---
Three Days Later — Yacoslan Kingdom
"What?!"
"Onis was killed!?"
"In the East Blue, someone actually dared to lay a hand on one of our people!?"
Wendis, a high-ranking noble of the Yacoslan Kingdom, was livid.
The Yacoslan Kingdom was one of the three major World Government affiliates in the East Blue.
Onis had been in charge of transporting slaves—an incredibly lucrative venture. That one shipment alone would have netted Wendis at least 500 million berries.
Now, it was all gone.
This wasn't just an insult—it was a massive loss.
"Who did it?" Wendis snarled.
"A new pirate crew, sir," a trembling guard reported. "They call themselves the Dragon Hunter Pirates. They're still in the East Blue."
He handed over Lu Yu's bounty poster and intelligence file with shaking hands. Even as a guard, he knew—if Wendis was in a bad mood, a life could be snuffed out just like that.
There was no concept of justice under these nobles.
"Lu Yu…?"
Wendis' eyes narrowed.
"Good. Very good."
"Contact the World Government immediately. Pressure the Navy. We're paying that damn Heavenly Tribute for a reason!"
"I want him alive."
A cruel grin crept across his face.
If Lu Yu had dared to challenge the Yacoslan Kingdom, then he would suffer a fate worse than death.
As preparations were made, Wendis picked up a Den Den Mushi and dialed a special number.
A pirate's number.
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