C247

"Straw Hat Luffy again?! Garp, this time your grandson is in Alabasta!"

After receiving the latest report from Hina, Sengoku caught sight of Garp stealing his senbei and exploded in anger.

His son was a revolutionary, and now his grandson was a pirate. If Sengoku didn't have absolute faith in Garp's sense of justice, he might have suspected the old man of feeding intel to the enemy.

"Luffy? That brat again? Sengoku, got any more senbei?"

"You bastard, Garp!"

Sengoku knew full well that Garp had no objectivity when it came to his family. So, frustrated, he gathered with Tsuru and the others to re-evaluate the bounties of the Straw Hat Pirates.

This time, without a Shichibukai like Crocodile to keep things in check, the Straw Hat crew had caused even more chaos. Their latest stunt nearly affected a military factory under the Kain Chamber of Commerce. After deliberation, the bounty for the entire crew was directly doubled.

Luffy, as captain, was now worth 60 million Berries.

"As for the matter of the Ark Maxim and the airship, Hina might be overly cautious—but I'd rather have that than another Smoker," Sengoku muttered. "If only more Marines were as dependable as Hina…"

He glanced at Garp, hoping the look would inspire a shred of shame or responsibility. Instead, he watched Garp stealthily devour the senbei he'd been saving.

That did it.

The two old men launched into another loud argument, their bickering echoing through the office.

Tsuru ignored them completely.

Instead, she picked up Hina's report and began reading. Her sharp instincts told her that the Kain Chamber of Commerce's actions weren't so simple.

As Hina mentioned, during Kain's usual trade operations, the Ark Maxim and the airship had always moved together. The Ark Maxim had functioned more like an armed escort. But now, suddenly, they had split.

On top of that, the Nine Snake Pirates had recently robbed the airship while it was unloading cargo. Marine forces had responded and persuaded Robin, the vice president of the Chamber, to stand down—but not Mage himself.

That worried Tsuru.

Mage, the Shichibukai who had disappeared for two years, was apparently back.

In the first year, Mage's absence hadn't raised alarms. The Marines had barely caught sight of Kain. 

But in the second year, the World Government began pressuring the Chamber of Commerce for the Ark's floating technology—only to be blocked repeatedly by Vice President Robin.

Now, even without hard proof, Tsuru couldn't shake the feeling that all this movement was a subtle announcement:

Shichibukai Mage had returned.

She turned to speak to Sengoku, but the shouting match between him and Garp was only escalating.

Sighing, Tsuru took matters into her own hands. She picked up the Den Den Mushi and sent direct orders to several nearby Marine branches to monitor the situation closely.

Even though the Ark Maxim traveled through the sky, it didn't usually fly high enough to escape the range of a telescope.

—

"Vice President Robin, Hina is here to receive this shipment of arms and equipment."

In the president's office of the Kain Chamber of Commerce headquarters, Hina stood before Robin, calmly stating her purpose.

Though she could've gone directly to the military factory to pick up the shipment, she had received special orders from Tsuru—so she came to Rainbase personally to take a look.

"This batch of munitions has been prepared. Colonel Hina can go directly to the munitions factory to pick them up. Do you have any other business here?"

Robin asked with a chuckle. After dealing with Marines for two years, she was no longer afraid of them. The disguise device on her face and the people behind her gave Robin the courage she needed.

Hina lit a cigarette and replied, "Hina is indeed a little troubled. Some time ago, Straw Hat Luffy was given a new bounty. In light of the serious crimes they committed, the department doubled the bounty for each of them."

Robin smiled and said, "Then I should thank Colonel Hina. By the way, the boss also knows about this and was very angry about it. So, he's added a little reward for the Straw Hat Pirates. If they're captured alive, you can select a batch of goods worth 100 million Baileys from the Kain Chamber of Commerce."

Sure enough, that Shichibukai is back! Hina thought to herself but also remembered the Ark Maxim, which she had seen a few days ago.

"Can Hina meet Mage?"

"I'm afraid not, Colonel Hina. The boss is busy."

As for what he was busy with, Robin rubbed her forehead. It had been a few days. Last time, she wanted to ask something but overheard Baby-5's sluggish voice again, waiting outside the door.

As for whether Kain was available now, Nico Robin didn't care to find out.

"Then, Hina will leave first. Vice President Robin."

Since she couldn't see Kain, Hina decided to head back and report the news to headquarters.

The existence of Mage Kain really made Marine feel more at ease. There were very few pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, and many Marine branches were idle. Even the pirates from East Blue and South Blue were targeted by the Kain Chamber of Commerce, which led to increased tension between the two sea regions. Pirates were being hit hard.

But Mage's ruthlessness extended even to Shichibukai. Before becoming a Shichibukai, he killed Crocodile, nearly killed Doflamingo, and now it seemed he was going after Boa Hancock, the Empress of Amazon Lily.

Naval Headquarters soon heard from Hina and became aware of other activities involving the Kain Chamber of Commerce.

The Kain Chamber of Commerce had been capturing pirate slaves using two main methods: One was a team of Devil Fruit users, and the other was a team skilled in using Sky Island shells. These individuals were grandmasters in their field, making them difficult to deal with.

Both teams had been recalled to Alabasta by the Kain Chamber of Commerce, and Alabasta's standing army was also gathering strength. Given the pirate slave riots, Naval Headquarters could only prepare for the possibility of war.

Naval Headquarters immediately dispatched a Vice Admiral to Amazon Lily, ready to intercept any conflict between the two sides. The era of the Great Pirates was intensifying, and Naval Headquarters was focusing on advancing to the New World.

At this point, Shichibukai was an important military asset, and they couldn't afford another civil war.

"Where's Hancock?"

Gloriosa entered the palace and asked the other two sisters if they knew where Hancock was. She had something to discuss with her.

"Big sister is taking a lunch break," said Santan Sonia. " what is it that you need?"

"Last time, the ammunition for the weapon that Hancock confiscated was almost out," Gloriosa replied. "I asked someone to try it elsewhere."

"It was difficult for them to make it, so the firearms in Amazon Warrior's hands are almost out of stock. We should negotiate with the Kain Chamber of Commerce and buy ammunition from them."

"Although you said that, big sister doesn't allow anyone to disturb her while she's sleeping. We'll report it once she wakes up."

Knowing Hancock's habits, Gloriosa complained angrily, "Really, I would have persuaded that girl if I knew, but she even attacked the Shichibukai Chamber of Commerce. Fortunately, the other party didn't pursue it..."

"Even if they pursue it, so what? I have a reason to be forgiven by them."

The palace gate suddenly opened, and Boa Hancock came out from inside, speaking extremely arrogantly, "Because this queen is so beautiful, they will definitely forgive me!"

"That's right, Hancock."

The old woman's eyes were red, but she quickly recovered and said angrily, "Idiot, that's Mage, who is also one of the Shichibukai. He defeated two Shichibukai!"

"Shut up, I am the empress of Amazon Lily, and you are just a relic from previous eras!"

Boa Hancock tilted her head back, speaking to Gloriosa with her nostrils raised, "I don't need you, an old woman, to teach me."

"But..."

Boom!

Rumble!

Before Gloriosa could finish speaking, a series of explosions suddenly sounded outside.

"Explosion? What happened outside?"

After hearing the explosions, Santan Sonia and Marigold immediately walked out of the palace to check the situation. But at that moment, the old woman had a bad feeling. The explosion didn't occur near the Amazon gunpowder depot.

The two sisters returned quickly and reported to Boa Hancock: "Sister, it was the enemy's attack. Someone bombed Daughter Island from the air. The explosion was very powerful, and it started from the edge of the island. It's estimated that it will reach the royal city soon."

"See? My concern wasn't unfounded. It must be the ship of Shichibukai Mage. Only his ship can fly."

Before Granny could finish speaking, Hancock interrupted forcefully, "It's too noisy, throw her out!"

After getting rid of her nagging and annoying mother-in-law, Hancock heard the continuous bombing outside and then said to the two sisters: "Assemble the Nine Snake Pirates and come with me to repel the enemy."

Meanwhile, after the mole Vice Admiral arrived near Daughter Island, the bombing had already started. He ordered someone to take out a telescope to look at the sky. After confirming that it was the Ark Proverbs, he took out the phone bug and reported to headquarters.

"Marshal, I'm a step late. Mage's Ark Proverbs have already started bombing Daughter Island. I don't have the other party's phone bug contact, so I can't stop the war between them."

"Use Moonwalk to climb up? Marshal Sengoku, don't be kidding, it's a few thousand meters high. You'd better let the Admirals handle this."

"Yes, I will continue to monitor and try to stabilize the situation."

After finishing the phone bug communication, the mole Vice Admiral returned to his indifferent expression.

He was the one who had the most contact with the Empress Snake among the Vice Admirals. Although he had to admit that she was beautiful, the mole Vice Admiral actually looked down on Boa Hancock, who had been born a pirate.

Now that someone was attacking the Nine Snake Pirates, the mole Vice Admiral looked forward to it. Even if he had the ability to stop it, he would delay it for a while.

…

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