“Unlucky…”
Queen finally gave up struggling, lying on the shore and staring at the sky, as if he had lost a bit of hope for the future.
“After all these years, you’re still not used to it?”
“How could anyone get used to this kind of thing?!”
Queen didn’t mind the question thrown at him. This place was also part of the first island chain; it had simply been repurposed for other uses.
A defensive line is built for battle; its purpose is to secure a geographical advantage once the enemy enters, not to drive them away through some mystical means. If the enemy never comes, the defense line just becomes a pile of scrap metal. After a few decades, it might even turn into a tourist attraction.
The sea is not like the land, where one can simply build a wall. Considering the boundless deep sea, the ocean is essentially a three-dimensional world, so gaps are inevitable.
As long as you can respond in time when an attack happens, that’s already enough.
“Whether you’re used to it or not, you should understand. If Mr. Kaido or our young miss wants to do something, they can come up with any excuse.
For example, you stepped into the Reverse World with your left foot first, or opened the door with your right hand first.”
“That’s not the point! The point is Lord Arceus. I’ve already gotten used to Governor-General Kaido, and the young miss actually hits a bit lighter than him. It’s just that over the past two years she’s always tried to outsmart people, but when her schemes fail, she gets furious.”
“Then you have even less to worry about. Worrying won’t help anyway. If Lord Arceus really wants to do something… even if it’s completely unreasonable, others will come up with a reasonable explanation for it.”
“…You came here just to shatter the last bit of my illusions, didn’t you?”
As he spoke, Queen took out a strange device and began scanning Zeraora.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking whether you have any communication devices on you right now. I think you’re trying to make me say something under someone’s orders, but I lack evidence.”
“I’m just stating an objective fact.”
As time passed, Arceus’s status continued to rise, and many of the things circulating outside were divine titles, since he was being spread in a religion-like manner.
During this process, some fanatics became extreme. They would question others, question themselves, but never question their faith.
Arceus, as the object of their faith, could not be wrong. If something was wrong, it had to be someone else’s fault.
“Stop overthinking it. Unless you’re hiding one of Lord Arceus’s plates, or you publicly announce your defection right now, Lord Arceus won’t get angry.
He’s already treated you quite well. Think about your situation, at least among that research group back then, you ended up the best.”
The MADS group had long since disbanded, and the fates of its former members were all different.
Vegapunk had long since died. Caesar had his lifespan drained after offending Big Mom. Miss Buckin was imprisoned by Whitebeard’s remnants. Judge was slightly better off, but still drifting across the seas with Germa.
Only Queen held a high position and could still live a somewhat comfortable life.
“Stop praising this guy. He should be thankful his abilities were lacking back then, so the Marines didn’t value him. If he had stayed in that Science Unit and taken part in more of the follow-up research, he’d probably be ashes by now. With that body of his, he could probably fill two extra boxes compared to others.”
At that moment, Queen felt a massive shadow appear above him. Zunesha’s trunk had extended over at some point, and Setsuna stepped on its trunk and slid over it.
“Things here are pretty much wrapped up, right? Or are you all feeling sentimental about this pile of ruins?”
“No. I just sent a message to Lord Arceus and Mr. Kaido. After all, we caught a big fish, we can’t just keep it quiet, right? Queen, I’ll be going now. Take your time figuring things out.”
Zeraora glanced at his Rotom. Shayna had already replied, but there was no response from Kaido; who knew what he was doing at the moment.
After confirming there were no remaining risks here, they left Queen alone and returned to Zunesha’s back, leaving only Queen behind, still pondering the meaning of life.
Some time later, Marine G14 Base.
“What happened? Why is it suddenly under lockdown?”
A Marine soldier asked his companion beside him. His name was Wally. He had joined the Marines during the World Military Draft two years ago. Because he had come from a New World kingdom’s royal guard, after some basic training he was assigned directly to a Marine base in the New World.
In the past two years, he had never seen the G14 base this alert.
“No idea. It’s Vice Admiral Doll’s orders. Maybe some pirates are making moves again.”
Earlier, Garp had only picked up a few people before leaving G14, and Kizaru had merely met with Doll briefly. Ordinary soldiers had no idea how tense the Marine higher-ups had been during this period.
“But… who?!”
Wally was about to say more when Kizaru’s figure appeared.
“Admiral Borsalino? What happened to you?”
Seeing Kizaru appear, Wally put away his weapon, but the torn state of Kizaru’s clothes made him feel something was off.
“It’s nothing. Captain, where is your Vice Admiral?”
“She’s still in the command room.”
“Continue your duties.”
“Yes, sir!”
The two soldiers stood at attention and saluted, watching Kizaru leave with a hint of excitement on their faces. Being able to speak with an Admiral was a great honor to them.
However, those who knew the truth were not nearly as relaxed. In the base’s command room, seeing Kizaru return alone, Doll already understood everything.
But after signaling the other soldiers to leave, she still asked with a trace of hope:
“Vice Admiral Garp, he…”
Garp was a pillar of the Marines. Many had even joined the Marines out of their admiration for him. If news of Garp’s downfall spread, Marine morale would likely plummet to the bottom.
“Mission failed. Vice Admiral Garp has been captured, and SWORD members didn’t manage to escape either. This is a big problem now.
Doll, how many soldiers know that Vice Admiral Garp went to do this?”
Kizaru was in no mood for jokes and instead asked a very critical question.
“Very few. Only a few of my adjutants and some orderlies. The regular soldiers only know that Vice Admiral Garp resupplied here. They don’t know what he went to do.
Weren’t Kaido and the others not around? Have pirates really become this strong?”
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