X Drake, Male.
His name is pronounced the same as “Drake,” but he and Delia from the Beasts Pirates are two completely different people. [TN: Delia and Drake’s pinyin names are the same.]
He is currently a Marine Headquarters’ Rear Admiral and one of the special members of the SWORD. Even when Sengoku contacts him, he uses a special codename.
This is a rule of the unit—when transmitting classified information or assigning missions, members first use code words to confirm their identity. Within the Marines, they function similarly to Cipher Pol agencies, but they operate independently of the World Government and serve only the Marines.
In situations where intelligence leaks exist, this unit is the one Sengoku trusts the most.
Drake’s background is highly dramatic. His father, Diez Barrels, was also a former Marine but chose to defect for personal reasons. Later, for profit, he attempted to trade the Op-Op Fruit with the World Government.
Due to Corazon’s interference, the fruit ultimately ended up in Law’s hands. With Corazon risking his life to protect him, Law was saved from being discovered by Doflamingo.
At that time, fate intertwined—Drake, who survived, was instead taken in by Sengoku and was raised anew as a Marine.
As a child, Drake admired his father. Because of his father’s identity, Drake also wished to become a Marine.
However, for reasons unknown, his father defected and became a pirate. His personality changed drastically, and he frequently beat up Drake.
Given a new opportunity, Drake worked hard as a Marine and successfully became a Rear Admiral. Because he was highly valued by Sengoku, he eventually joined this special unit.
The Beasts Pirates are still obsessed with Zoan-type users, so Zoan-types are more likely to gain Kaido’s favor.
As the user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Allosaurus form, Drake’s ability is the most suitable for undercover operations.
“Drake, this mission is very special. Aside from a very few high-ranking officers in headquarters, not even Vice Admirals will know your identity. Your subordinates and ordinary Marine soldiers even less so. You must orchestrate a defection and successfully escape the pursuit.”
Acting might lead to mistakes, so Sengoku wanted Drake to make it reality and truly defect.
“Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if that’s the case…”
“I know. Minimize casualties as much as possible, and also pay attention to your own safety. The Vice Admirals hunting you down won’t know you’re undercover, so you’ll have to rely on yourself.”
Whether defecting or being pursued, battle was inevitable. To ensure Drake’s “defection” appeared flawless, Sengoku was already prepared to pay a certain price in deaths.
“Yes, I understand.”
After today, the Marines lost a promising Rear Admiral and gained a fallen one. Drake’s defection was even reported by Morgans in the newspapers, and the Marines issued a kill order against him, making his journey extremely dangerous.
At the same time, King followed the clues and arrived at Drum Island.
Acting alone made King incredibly swift. Without relying on a ship and taking advantage of the Lunarian race’s extraordinary endurance, he could fly freely through the sky. Even the harsh weather of the New World could not restrain him.
Enemies couldn’t restrict him either. Unless he encountered a formidable opponent like Kizaru, who possessed both great strength and the ability to fly, no one could stop him. Flying was his natural advantage.
Because of this, King quickly reached the place where Delia had encountered trouble. However, traveling alone had its downsides—without subordinates, he had to handle everything personally.
He was hunting Blackbeard, and to locate him, he needed to gather information. But when a six-meter-tall stranger wearing a mask and black jacket appeared in front of them, most people’s instinctive reaction was to run.
King himself was not ugly—in fact, he was quite handsome. However, his racial identity prevented him from revealing his face in public.
When people ignored him and turned to flee, he had to chase them down for information. This, in turn, ended up scaring many of them into fainting, delaying his progress.
Obtaining the news that Blackbeard had headed for the Drum Kingdom took King considerable effort.
And this was already King showing restraint—he wasn’t called “the torture-loving pervert” by Queen for nothing. Although his current pursuit of Delia’s attacker made him seem like a leader who cared for his subordinates, in reality, very few people ever received such treatment from him.
His usual personality was far more volatile than Shayna’s. If he didn’t hold back, his inqueries would quickly turn into brutal torture for answers.
…
Drum Island—a winter island in the Grand Line. After landing, King immediately began searching for someone who knew anything. But before he encountered any people, he first ran into rabbits.
They were a special species of rabbit living on Drum Island—Lapahn.
Drum Kingdom was also home to many unique creatures.
For example, Hiking Bears, which, like mountain climbers, usually carried specialized ice axe to move across the snow mountains.
Although they were bears, they were very polite. If a passer-by encountered one face-to-face, the bear would bow as a gesture of courtesy, and in return, people were expected to bow back.
Aside from these polite bears, the island was also home to ferocious rabbits—the creatures now standing before King.
As vicious carnivorous rabbits, Lapahns possessed both the agility of rabbits and the physique of bears. They often attacked their prey in groups. However, this time, they had chosen the wrong opponent. With just a few flaps of his wings, King swiftly knocked them all down. At the same time, he noticed villagers hiding in the snow.
Before one of the villagers could even react, King had already grabbed him and, in a relatively gentle tone, asked:
“Where is the person in charge here… Fainted again? The mental fortitude of these people is getting worse and worse…”
Tossing the unconscious villager aside, King turned his gaze toward the distant castle and flapped his wings, soaring upward.
…
Inside the castle, Dr. Kureha was discussing kingdom administration with Dalton, the current king of the Drum Kingdom. Strictly speaking, the Drum Kingdom no longer existed—this is now Sakura Kingdom’s territory.
Ever since Luffy defeated Wapol, the island had finally welcomed long-awaited peace. Even the twenty doctors whom Wapol had kept under control had regained their freedom.
By the time King arrived, the Sakura Kingdom had already enjoyed a long period of peace.
“Who’s there?!”
“Relax, Dalton, he doesn’t seem hostile.”
On a sofa inside the castle, a long curly-haired woman was holding a bottle of plum sake. She was Dr. Kureha—Chopper’s “adoptive mother” and mentor.
Unlike the tense Dalton, Dr. Kureha remained calm. It is said that this woman had lived for 139 years, making her a living fossil of Drum Island and the person who held the most secrets on the island.
“Well now, what brings a young man like you here? Looking for my secret to eternal youth?”
“Woman, you’ve got guts. But I have no interest in such things. You two seem to be the ones in charge here. I just want to know—does anyone here know the whereabouts of a pirate who calls himself Blackbeard?
His full name is Marshall D. Teach, a truly despicable guy.”
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