Chapter 393 - Workers Can Accept Demotions, But Not Pay Cuts!

There was a reason Wood managed to injure Kizaru without relying on Armament Haki.

It wasn't because the Wood Weapons Company had invented some new technology, but rather due to a new power Wood had acquired during his recent simulation training—The Blessing of the Sword Saint.

This ability allowed Wood to fully unleash the strength of his sword and gave him the capability to cut through things that were considered uncuttable. If Wood could slash Perona's intangible "Negative Ghosts," then naturally, Logia Devil Fruit users in their elemental form were not an exception.

Just moments earlier, Kizaru had barely dodged Wood's flaming strike, but his negligence led to his right hand being injured, the wound still bleeding profusely.

"Just like Instructor Zephyr always said, Admiral Kizaru relies too much on his Devil Fruit abilities, and one day, it will backfire. I never expected that the one to make that happen would be someone like me, just a junior. What an honor," Wood said, smirking.

Seeing Wood's casual, almost mocking demeanor, Kizaru considered going all-out, truly unleashing his full strength. But given the current situation, he had to exercise caution.

His main objective this time was to protect the Celestial Dragons on the island and, secondly, capture the pirates. Fighting Wood was more of a personal whim.

Sure, he could go head-to-head with Wood, but that would mean the entire Sabaody Archipelago would be destroyed in the crossfire, including the Celestial Dragons present on the island. Wood was a pirate, a big one at that, someone the World Government couldn't effectively control. If the situation escalated, Wood could just escape and go back to roaming the seas, free as ever.

But Kizaru was different. He was under the World Government and the Marines. If the Celestial Dragons died under his watch, then he would be entirely blamed. In that case, he'd be demoted all the way back to tending pigs in his hometown.

He might enjoy being laid-back, but Kizaru certainly wasn't willing to lose his cushy job. Why give up a high salary and easy work for a mere personal dispute?

"As one of the big names of the New World, why aren't you staying in your own territory? What brings you here? Is it for these pirates? Among these so-called Supernovas, is there someone you know or favor?" Kizaru asked.

Having lost all interest in fighting, Kizaru instead embraced his philosophy of "slacking justice," opting to chat with Wood. After all, they wouldn't be able to determine a winner quickly even if they continued to fight. Instead of wasting energy, Kizaru figured they might as well talk—perhaps he could extract some useful information from Wood.

"Why are you all so curious about why I came to Sabaody Archipelago? I already said I came here just to watch the show, but none of you seem to believe it.

"Among the Supernovas on the island, there are indeed a few youngsters who caught my attention, but even if I didn't intervene, they'd still be able to leave safely this time.

"Maybe you don't know, Admiral Kizaru, but despite how chaotic this island appears, there are quite a few powerful figures hiding here—for instance, a certain former first mate of the Pirate King," Wood said, grinning.

Hearing this, the person in question, who was hiding in a corner enjoying the drama, suddenly lost his good mood. The former first mate of the Pirate King, Silvers Rayleigh, had been observing the chaos while munching on snacks. When he saw Luffy—wearing his iconic straw hat—punch a Celestial Dragon, Rayleigh had immediately taken a liking to him.

The reason Rayleigh was in the vicinity in the first place was to help stop Kizaru, giving the young pirates a chance to set sail. But before he could take action, Wood had unexpectedly intervened, and Kizaru had focused on Wood instead.

Rayleigh was naturally happy to avoid a fight. After all, he was getting old, and battling an Admiral wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his time. And even though Rayleigh had been living in Sabaody for some time, managing Shakky's information network meant he was well aware of who Wood was—even if they'd never met in person.

However, any favorable impression Rayleigh had of Wood disappeared the moment Wood mentioned him to Kizaru.

"You guys can fight each other all you want. Why drag me into this? Do you think it's easy finding a quiet place to retire?" Rayleigh grumbled internally.

Sabaody Archipelago was full of rich marks, with its booming slave market. Rayleigh could easily sell himself every now and then just to afford some more booze. But if the Marines found out that the former right-hand man of the Pirate King was living right under their noses, how could he ever live in peace again?

Wood wasn't exaggerating. The situation on Sabaody might seem chaotic—with Admiral Kizaru on the island, Sentomaru bringing several Pacifistas, easily overwhelming pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions, and with the navy's massive fleet blockading the island—but the truth was, the Supernovas would still make it out.

The pirates had no way of heading towards the Red Line—passing near the Marine Headquarters would be suicidal. Their only path forward was to dive below the waves to Fishman Island, 10,000 meters beneath the sea.

And if their ship wasn't properly coated? Well, then, they were out of luck.

The situation looked great for the Marines—they had the Admiral, the Pacifistas, and they had the numbers. But despite their strength, not a single one of the eleven Supernovas on the island was captured. Who would believe that if you told them?

Kizaru worked hard at slacking off. Though he could easily have taken down the Supernovas one by one, he somehow made it seem like the fight was evenly matched.

Sentomaru and the Pacifistas seemed on the verge of wiping out the Straw Hat crew, but then Bartholomew Kuma appeared and "stole the kill." One by one, he slapped the Straw Hats away, giving them a way to escape and a chance for future growth.

Sentomaru, wearing his gut-guard and wielding his massive axe, was left dumbfounded, wondering why Kuma had interfered. He had almost finished off the Straw Hats, and Kuma's actions seemed entirely unnecessary. It wasn't until two years later, when the Straw Hats regrouped and Sentomaru encountered them again, that he realized he had been betrayed by his own teammate.

Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late to settle things with Kuma—who had become nothing more than a mindless weapon in the hands of the World Government. All Sentomaru could do was hold his axe and cry like the giant-sized man he was.

In short, if the Marines had not sent Kizaru and Kuma to Sabaody, but only Sentomaru with ten Pacifistas, then, regardless of what happened to the Straw Hat crew, at least one of the eleven Supernovas would have been caught.

But with the Slacking Admiral and a secret turncoat both present, the outcome was set before the battle even began.

All eleven Supernovas either fled or were slapped away, but none were captured. The Marines caught plenty of nameless pirates, but they failed to capture the main culprit, Monkey D. Luffy, or even Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law, who had been collateral damage. This infuriated the Celestial Dragons.

The main forces responsible for supporting the operation were led by Kizaru, who was later scolded harshly by Fleet Admiral Sengoku. An Admiral, the Marine's highest combat force, supported by ten of the latest Pacifistas, had failed to capture even a single rookie pirate.

The Celestial Dragons were furious, doubting the competency of the Marine Admirals, and decided to halve their funding for the next year.

Faced with budget cuts, Sengoku was also infuriated, and decided to dock Kizaru's pay for an entire year.

When Kizaru heard that his salary was being cut, he made a pained expression, insisting that the entire mission had been sabotaged by Wood's interference. However, his attempt to deflect blame failed, as when more Marine reinforcements arrived on the island, Wood was safely escorted away by an official ship.

The reason for this was simple: Wood had protected Saint Rosward's family from the vicious pirates. This was confirmed by Rosward's daughter, Saint Lulietta.

Besides, Wood was untouchable at that point—his position in the world, his connections, the interests he represented—nobody could afford to lay a hand on him. Now, with the Celestial Dragons providing testimony in his favor, Wood and his crew left Sabaody without any further trouble.

Kizaru ended up shouldering all the blame, not only for failing to capture the Straw Hats but also for attacking "Mr. Wood," causing significant "emotional distress" to him. Wood complained that the incident had affected his mental health, which would in turn slow down weapon production, leading to reduced allowances for the Celestial Dragons.

The Celestial Dragons were not happy. With their funding cut, they couldn't take out their anger on their benefactor, Wood, so they took it out on the Marines.

Poor Kizaru never imagined that what started as an easy assignment would almost cost him his position as Admiral.

If it hadn't been for Fleet Admiral Sengoku stepping in to defend him, arguing that the removal of an Admiral would destabilize the seas, Kizaru would have likely been demoted. After receiving a stern lecture from the Five Elders, Sengoku gave Kizaru a similar earful when they returned to Marineford.

But Kizaru had one distinct quality—a thick skin. He understood that if Sengoku was berating him, it meant his job was safe. As long as he kept his well-paid, easy-going position, he didn't mind getting scolded.

Seeing Kizaru's shameless attitude, Sengoku pulled out his last trump card—he docked Kizaru's salary for the year.

At that moment, Kizaru's carefree facade cracked. Despite his protests that he'd rather accept a demotion than a pay cut, Sengoku stood firm. He knew that nothing frightened Kizaru more than losing his salary.

After dealing with Kizaru, Sengoku remembered another officer he'd frequently docked pay from. He quickly locked his office door and pulled out a Den Den Mushi (a Transponder Snail).

It wasn't that Sengoku wanted to secretly watch something inappropriate—he just wanted to contact someone. The secrecy was necessary because the individual he intended to call now held a vastly different status than before.

To be frank, in terms of influence and connections across the seas, Sengoku felt that even his position as Fleet Admiral couldn't match this person. At the very least, Sengoku couldn't get the normally arrogant Celestial Dragons to obediently listen to him.

Years had passed, and Sengoku had never imagined that the young man from back then would rise to such a level. What was initially just a whim had now become one of the Marine's biggest secrets.

"Buru buru buru..."

The Den Den Mushi rang rhythmically, and soon the other end was picked up, and a man's voice came through…