Chapter 22 - Continue!

"The reason they didn't ask about you is that you'll be staying in Sabaody with them."

Gawain replied casually, then waved to the somewhat absent-minded Rear Admiral Doberman beside him. "Rear Admiral Doberman."

"Yes?" Doberman responded, snapping back to attention.

"Unlike Mjosgard, I still need your assistance with something."

"That's right, Rear Admiral Doberman, I'll be waiting in Sabaody for the coating, but Gawain is headed to your Navy Headquarters!" Mjosgard chimed in with a smile, then patted Gawain on the back. "Saint Gawain, I'll take care of the fish people now. I hope you return quickly. If you take too long, don't expect me to share even a single cup of wine with you."

"Don't worry," Gawain nodded, waving goodbye to Mjosgard. Once Mjosgard left with seven of the fifteen guards, Gawain walked slowly over to Doberman.

Seeing Gawain approach, Doberman quickly stepped back to give Gawain space, slightly bending his back in respect.

Noticing Doberman's posture, Gawain teased, "Now that I'm leaving Mary Geoise, I'll be traveling the seas for a while. We'll have many opportunities to interact in the future. So, there's no need to be so formal, Rear Admiral Doberman."

"Understood!" Doberman nodded gravely, then quietly asked Gawain, "So, Saint Gawain, are you really planning to go to Navy Headquarters?"

Gawain raised an eyebrow, "What, do I need to report to the Gorosei before going to Navy Headquarters?"

"No, of course not. Marineford is forever loyal to the World Government. As a world noble, you can visit Marineford at any time."

"Great, since I can go anytime, let's go now." Gawain stated decisively, silently waiting for Doberman's response.

Seeing Gawain ready to set off immediately, Doberman stiffened. "Alright, sir! I'll arrange it for you right away. The ships provided for the world nobles are all docked nearby; you can choose any model you like."

"No need," Gawain waved his hand lazily. "You should have your own ship, right, Rear Admiral? I can simply take your flagship."

"But… I…" Doberman hesitated. After confirming that Gawain was serious, he reluctantly nodded. "As you wish, Saint Gawain. Please follow me to my warship. However, forgive my rudeness, but my ship might be a bit dirty…"

At this point, Doberman's scarred old face flushed suddenly.

Sabaody Island was one of the safest islands on the Grand Line, being less than two hours from Marine Headquarters. There were also admirals on standby nearby. After all, this was the entrance to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, and the stationed admirals needed to be prepared to handle matters related to the Celestial Dragons at all times.

Because of its safety, this island had always been used as a reward to rotate the vice admirals. Whenever a vice admiral completed a particularly grueling and dangerous mission, they would be assigned to guard Sabaody Island for a few months. This arrangement not only eased the tension of the vice admirals but also gave them a chance to meet the world nobles. If they were lucky, they might encounter a generous Celestial Dragon, earning tips far exceeding their annual salaries.

However, not every vice admiral liked this kind of work. Characters like Karp, Doruyuan, and Chatuan never stayed at Sabaody.

Back to Doberman, he was a restless type. After two months of guarding Sabaody, he found it too dull and secretly set sail early. During that time, he not only took down a group of slave traders but also had a minor run-in with Joker's subordinates.

Before greeting Gawain, Doberman had just returned from the sea, and his ship was stained with all kinds of blood and damage; it was indeed very dirty!

Hearing Doberman's words, Gawain couldn't help but chuckle. "Doberman, you're a rear admiral, not a clean cook from Mary Geoise. I understand. As for being dirty, don't worry, I'm not that picky. On the contrary, I'm quite curious about what your ship looks like. Your warships must be much faster than regular ships, right?"

Listening to Gawain's voice and seeing his gentle yet authoritative gaze, Doberman swallowed his worries. "Yes, warships may not be as beautiful or comfortable as leisure boats, but they are indeed faster. Since you're interested, please follow me!"

With that, Doberman bit the bullet and started leading the way for Gawain, silently praying that his soldiers had cleaned the ship properly and hoping his subordinates wouldn't go overboard!

...

About ten minutes later, under Doberman's guidance, Gawain arrived at the dock next to Tree Island No. 61.

However, Doberman suddenly stiffened next to Gawain.

The dock was in chaos; over forty injured individuals were bound on the only docked warship. The ship's hull had multiple damages, and the relatively intact areas of the deck were used to bind and suspend the injured individuals.

Moreover, near the entrance of the ship's cabin, even more captives were being transported out by the Marines from the lower decks.

Even as Gawain and Doberman walked up the steps to the warship's deck, a Marine was furiously beating one of the captives.

"Tiago, stop!"

Seeing that the Marine was about to kill the captive right in front of him, Doberman quickly shouted, but the Marine named Tiago didn't even look back and continued to raise his whip.

Visibly darkening, the whip in Tiago's hand became pitch black. When it struck the bound man, the whip sliced through him like a sword, tearing the captive in two!

Splash!

Blood exploded like a burst water balloon, splattering all over Tiago's boots and pants. Only then did Tiago retract his whip, glaring fiercely at Doberman.

"Rear Admiral, this bastard killed seven of our brothers! You can't let him walk into Impel Down alive, can you?"

After finishing his sentence, Tiago gritted his teeth and sneered. "What's more, he's a slave trader, not a pirate. He doesn't even have a bounty or a Devil Fruit! If we don't take care of him here, he'll just be rescued at the auction house. I don't think they deserve to live any longer!"

"This isn't about deserving or not; it's…"

Facing Tiago's response, Doberman gritted his teeth and shouted, "Saint Gawain is going to take our warship to Marineford! Put down your whip and come over to greet Saint Gawain!"

After he spoke, Doberman turned to Gawain and bowed slightly, nervously explaining, "Saint Gawain, this is my ship's chief petty officer, Marine Lieutenant Tiago! He… he is currently…"

"Ahem!"

Hearing Doberman's words, Gawain lightly coughed to mask a hint of discomfort he felt. He then waved his hand dismissively, assuming an unconcerned posture. "No need for you to explain; I can see he's killing someone."

With a nonchalant evaluation, Gawain strode confidently onto Doberman's warship's deck.

As Gawain boarded, the Marines on deck quickly knelt on one knee.

As for Tiago, looking at Gawain, the fierce light in his eyes faded rapidly, giving way to calmness. He tucked his bloodied whip behind his waist and expressionlessly saluted. "Greetings, Saint Gawain."

"No need for formalities, get up, everyone."

Gawain waved his hand to signal the Marines to rise. Without any concern, he stepped onto the deck soaked in blood and gunpowder, coming to stand before the dismembered corpse.

Looking at the body still dripping with dark-red liquid and catching a whiff of the foul stench emanating from the torn abdomen, Gawain let out a heavy breath.

This was the reality of the sea, not the fairy tale where hardly anyone died that was depicted in the manga. Previously, in Mary Geoise, Mjosgard and the naive merfolk had nearly made him forget that this was the real sea, a realm where darkness lurked beneath the surface.

As for the scene before him?

It was perhaps not so dark after all!

Pointing at the corpse, Gawain, noticing Tiago's somewhat surprised expression as if he hadn't expected Gawain to remain so composed, asked, "Tell me their identities."

"Yes, Saint Gawain!"

Tiago nodded, speaking loudly. "They are the slave traders we discovered this morning in the near seas and the seabed. We found three pirates on their ship with bounties around fifteen million each. Besides that, they had seventeen human females, two male fishmen, and an elderly Longarm tribe man. After confirming their identities, we engaged in a boarding battle, and Rear Admiral Doberman also repelled Joker's subordinate officers. However, due to a sudden anomaly in the skies above Mary Geoise, we had to abandon the pursuit of the officers to return quickly, capturing only the ordinary slave traders who had lost their combat capability."

At this point, Tiago's expression became serious. "But I don't think they have the right to be captured. All the extrajudicial actions were solely my doing and had nothing to do with Rear Admiral Doberman!"

After saying that, Tiago knelt halfway before Gawain, bowing deeply.

Seeing Tiago like this, Gawain was about to speak when a sharp voice suddenly came from the nearby cage.

"It's the… the Celestial Dragon! We're saved! That's a Celestial Dragon! Celestial Dragon, we're the good workers who captured slaves for Auction House No. 1! The slaves we caught were meant for you, but these lunatics attacked us without a word. They don't want you to have newer and better slaves!"

"Shut up!"

Gawain interrupted the slave trader's words with a sharp rebuke, rubbing his ears in annoyance.

Once the surroundings fell silent and the slave trader dared not speak again, Gawain patted Tiago on the shoulder. "So you're Lieutenant Tiago of the headquarters, right? Well done, continue."

"What?" Tiago was taken aback.

Seeing Tiago dazed, Gawain's mouth curled down slightly as he coldly stated, "I said continue!"

With a sweeping motion of his hand, Gawain pointed at all the bound slave traders. "Anyone who was involved in capturing and selling their own kind should be left with no exception!"

With those words, Gawain ignored Tiago's shock and delight, turning to walk towards the captain's cabin that Doberman used for resting.

Behind him, Lieutenant Tiago's eyes brightened. "Understood, Saint Gawain!"