84.There are no trouble-free guys in the navy 3.0

Dorry tidied up his long beard, which had become particularly messy from the intense battle, then turned around and walked toward the mountain pass where he had previously tossed his weapon.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at Sakazuki, who was standing on his shoulder. "Marine, your name is… hmm? Saka… Saka what again?"

"It's Sakazuki." The vice admiral's eye twitched slightly. They had been fighting to the death for so long, and yet this giant still didn't know his opponent's name.

Fine. That's very much like a giant.

Then, Dorry's next words almost made Sakazuki want to smash a Hellhound right into his head.

The giant pointed to an area beneath his feet and said, "How can we go to a banquet and drink without bringing anything? Wait for me here—I'll go hunt two dinosaurs to go with the drinks."

Although the vice admiral was accustomed to maintaining a stoic expression, the slight twitch at the corner of his lips betrayed his emotions.

"No need. After you finish hunting, just meet us at the inland river. I still have to check on the drink preparations," Sakazuki said without further explanation, then used Moonwalk to swiftly leave.

Dorry squinted as he watched the marine disappear into the distance. Hmm, he can fight, and after fighting, he can also handle reception duties.

Most importantly, he's ruthless and doesn't talk much.

The giant found this opponent increasingly pleasing to the eye. After all, in Elbaf, real men fought first and avoided unnecessary chatter.

Lindemann was the first to arrive at the navy ship's location. Without fully grasping the terrain of this island's jungle, they wouldn't rashly set up camp.

However, what he saw wasn't the large navy fleet he had anticipated. Instead, behind a small navy escort ship, there were only two massive sailing merchant ships, following alone.

These two merchant ships had only a few cannons. Judging by their number and caliber, they were all 24-pound light cannons.

This kind of firepower was far inferior to even the most basic naval warships. And considering their slow, cumbersome size, these giant merchant vessels were nothing less than ideal prey for pirates.

Yet, the flags flying on these two merchant ships made any pirate with half a brain stop in their tracks.

Against a dark red background, the flag bore a black cross star, with five black orbs of equal size at its ends.

World Government.

With more than 170 allied nations, it was the largest international organization in this world.

Originally founded 800 years ago by twenty kings, its current highest authority was the Five Elders.

Under its command were numerous secret intelligence agencies, the underwater prison Impel Down, and the vast, powerful navy forces.

"Why is the World Government here?" Lindemann muttered to himself as he observed the black-clad World Government personnel on the ship's deck.

"No, it's the CP division," Sakazuki, who had landed firmly on a treetop behind him, corrected his subordinate's mistake.

He had already spotted some "old acquaintances" standing on the upper deck of the first merchant ship—agents from the government's CP division whom he had met once in Ohara.

A short-bearded agent was currently organizing personnel at the shore, overseeing the unloading of barrels of alcohol, vegetables, and meat.

What surprised Sakazuki even more was that, aside from his accompanying naval subordinates assisting in the labor, there were also a dozen children working together to carry a massive wooden goblet down from a skiff.

"Vice Admiral, what do you think the World Government is up to?" Lindemann asked as he followed Sakazuki down from the treetop and approached the ships.

Sakazuki didn't have an immediate answer either. Who knew what the Five Elders were thinking?

This group of children was clearly trained. Even when carrying supplies, their movements were well-coordinated and disciplined.

Before the two men even got close, a massive five-meter-high wooden barrel had already been unloaded from the supply ship and placed on the ground.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, sir!"

The agent overseeing operations on the ship had clearly noticed the highest-ranking officer present returning.

Although the CP division and the navy were not part of the same hierarchical system, the Five Elders had specifically ordered that this group of trainees be placed under Sakazuki's command and follow his arrangements.

"It's been a long time since the Ohara Buster Call. I didn't expect to be working with you again in this place," the short-bearded agent greeted him with a salute as he hurried down from the bridge.

"You've worked hard. Since you're here, where is Spandine?" Sakazuki returned the salute, acknowledging that the agent had indeed been managing operations for quite some time.

The short-bearded agent made a face as if he had expected this question. He smiled bitterly and replied, "Vice Admiral Sakazuki, you might not be aware—this is just an emergency squad assembled in haste. The actual supply fleet is still on its way."

The nearest naval base to this island had received an urgent order from headquarters, and even though the supply fleet had been pushing their ships to the limit, they were still three days away from reaching the Primeval Island.

"The Five Elders urgently searched for the nearest World Government-affiliated bases and islands. Besides Alabasta, the only personnel available were a handful of staff from our secret training base for intelligence operatives," the short-bearded agent explained, pointing at the dozen children behind him.

Lindemann followed his gesture and examined the trainees, who were about the same age as Robin. Among them, two stood out—a chubby kid with his mouth sewn shut by a zipper and another boy with an absurd cow-horn hairstyle.

One kid with a square face and a long nose was currently arguing with another fierce-looking brat who had a scar at the corner of his eye.

And then, there was a child wearing face paint—was he a geisha?

That boy in a wide black hat with a pigeon perched on his shoulder—was he here to perform magic tricks?

"Aren't these brats just going to be a burden?" Lindemann scoffed as he glanced at the group, his dissatisfaction evident.

"What did you say?"

The kid feeding the pigeon seemed to have heard Lindemann's low mutter. He frowned and looked in their direction.

The officer smirked, narrowing his eyes, and repeated his earlier statement word for word:

"I said, aren't these brats just going to be a burden?"

"Shave!"

"Hmm? Six Powers?"

Lindemann's eyes, usually half-closed in a lazy squint, widened in surprise. He swiftly drew his sword and, without looking back, blocked a kick flying toward him.

"Lucci! Stand down! Do not be disrespectful in front of Vice Admiral Sakazuki!" the short-bearded agent sternly reprimanded the aggressive trainee.

"Yes!"

The boy, addressed as Lucci, cast a deep look at Lindemann before pressing down the brim of his hat and retreating back into formation.

"Well, well, I must say, I'm quite surprised~" Lindemann reverted to his usual playful tone. "A kid your age already mastering Shave, one of the Six Powers? And you're about the same age as Robin~"

"Eight years old," Lucci stated expressionlessly, locking eyes with the naval officer who grinned like a fox. He didn't know who this "Robin" was, but he could tell the remark was a compliment.

(Considering that in 1505, Lucci earned the title of "killing machine" at thirteen, estimating back from the end of 1500, he should indeed be around eight years old.)

Sakazuki felt a headache coming on.

Now he understood why Lindemann never appeared in the original story—he had skills, intelligence, but was seriously lacking in adaptability.

If he didn't trigger some kind of fatal flag, this guy would definitely rise to the rank of vice admiral in the navy headquarters.

But… in just a few words, he had managed to offend the entire CP9 squad. And then he had to go and provoke that fierce little leopard cub.

Sakazuki clapped his hands to regain the attention of the gathered agents and marines.

"I failed to manage my subordinates properly. Please excuse the spectacle."

For the sake of keeping his capable but tactless officer alive, the usually rigid vice admiral made an effort to smooth things over.

"Vice Admiral… I sincerely apologize!" Lindemann realized he had been out of line and bowed his head to apologize to Sakazuki.