Chapter 51: How to Be a Pirate? Just Tone It Down!

"Military… warships?"

The moment Aokiji heard Storm's voice, his heart nearly skipped a beat.

"Vongola Storm! What outrageous thing have you done this time?"

Huh? As soon as he said that, Aokiji was momentarily taken aback.

Why did he say "this time"? "Outrageous? Admiral Aokiji, isn't that a bit hurtful?"

Storm sat cross-legged atop the head of the Blue-Eyed White Dragon.

High up in the sky, he didn't have to worry about "walls having ears," responding without restraint.

"As a member of the SWORD Unit, I have always been quite dedicated to my duties and law-abiding!"

Dedicated to his duties?

Aokiji could agree.

But law-abiding? How could that phrase come out of your mouth? In Aokiji's view, if it weren't for Vongola Storm joining the SWORD Unit ahead of time, just based on what he had done in Impel Down, he could have been sent there himself!

"Alright, let's not talk about that."

Aokiji rubbed his temples, choosing to skip over this incredibly frustrating issue.

"What's going on with the warships?"

"It's like this…"

Storm briefly explained.

"A couple of days ago, I arrived in the South Blue—"

"South Blue? Wait!"

Aokiji couldn't help but interrupt Storm.

"How did you end up in the South Blue?"

"I was flying and just came out of the Calm Belt…"

Storm shrugged, and the Den Den Mushi made a "pouty" expression.

"What could I do? I was just as desperate."

Aokiji felt a throbbing in his temples.

It felt like on a scorching summer afternoon, the hottest part of the day, he had just poured a belly full of ice cubes.

A bone-chilling cold surged from his stomach straight to the top of his head, freezing his nerves.

He had forgotten that the intelligence reported from Impel Down had clearly mentioned "Vongola Storm transforming into a dragon and flying."

This guy can fly! Flying is truly impressive!

"Ah, dear…"

Aokiji sighed.

"Go on, I won't interrupt you…"

Then, Storm recounted the events that had transpired in the Sorbet Kingdom.

"…In short, that's how those three warships came to be."

At this point, Storm added another note.

"If I hadn't arrived in time, those three warships, along with the thousands of Navy personnel aboard, would likely have become stepping stones for the 'Tyrant' to make a name for himself.

"If that happened, the losses for Headquarters would have been significant!"

A large warship costs tens of billions of Belly.

Even the well-off Marine Headquarters couldn't easily bear such a level of property loss.

So—

Storm was indeed a good sailor, dedicated to protecting Navy property from external threats! "The Sorbet Kingdom…"

Aokiji furrowed his brow, recalling the name for a moment.

"I think I've heard of that country. It's said that a revolutionary event occurred recently, and even the king was replaced.

"That 'Tyrant' you mentioned seems to be the new king of the Sorbet Kingdom, right?"

Storm confirmed with a nod.

"From what I've gathered, that's correct."

"Ah, dear…"

Upon hearing this, Aokiji couldn't help but rub his temples again.

"Storm, do you know?

"Unless in very rare circumstances, we in the Navy generally do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries."

The Navy's duty is to maintain the ruling order of the World Government.

Fighting against the pirates roaming the seas is the primary method for the Navy to uphold order.

As for the internal issues of member countries of the World Government…

The Navy basically does not get involved.

Just look at Alabasta.

Under the covert manipulation of Sand Crocodile, Alabasta experienced a massive civil war involving millions of people.

Three hundred thousand royal army soldiers clashed with seven hundred thousand rebels.

Even so, the Navy surrounding Alabasta did not intervene in the internal conflict of that country.

And this was Alabasta under the rule of the Nefertari family!

Eight hundred years ago, the Nefertari family was one of the twenty royal families that participated in the founding of the World Government!

With Alabasta erupting into a super civil war, the Navy's stance was still like this.

If other member countries of the World Government, or even non-member countries, encountered internal turmoil…

The Navy's attitude could be easily imagined.

"I have no intention of interfering in their internal affairs."

Storm said earnestly.

"But when faced with such a situation, I can't just stand by, can I?

"Am I supposed to watch three warships and over two thousand Navy personnel die at the hands of the Tyrant?"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't care about your comrades…"

Aokiji scratched his head.

"Forget it, is that Tyrant really that powerful? Can he handle three warships? Although I'm also from the South Blue, that's still the open sea…"

"Bartholomew Kuma, that's the real name of the 'Tyrant.'"

Storm reminded him.

"If that name sounds unfamiliar to you.

"He's the commander of the Revolutionary Army and a user of the Paw-Paw Fruit; you must be familiar with that, right?"

Kuma was indeed a core member of the Revolutionary Army.

When Ginny became the commander of the Revolutionary Army in the East Blue, Kuma also became a commander.

"So it's… Dragon's subordinate."

Aokiji's tone grew considerably somber.

"Alright, I understand.

"Making contact with the Revolutionary Army is a very dangerous thing…

"Forget it, I won't mention this anymore. I trust your judgment.

"Storm, I want those three Navy warships."

Upon hearing Aokiji's words, Storm nodded in satisfaction.

Even though there were other forces in the sea that could consume Navy warships, Storm had yet to come into contact with those forces. The Navy being able to "recover" the warships was undoubtedly the best scenario.

"Admiral Aokiji."

Storm reminded him.

"Not just the warships; I also captured the Navy personnel aboard."

"Of course! Of course!"

Aokiji quickly replied.

"Those Navy personnel too!"

"Great!"

Storm clapped his hands and laughed.

"Then let's discuss the price!"

"…Price?"

Aokiji was taken aback, incredulously asking.

"You mean… money?"

"Exactly!"

Storm retorted.

"You're not thinking of getting it for free, are you, Admiral Aokiji?

"This large warship, sixty meters long, costs tens of billions of Belly each.

"As for the Navy personnel, I haven't counted yet, but each one earns at least two million Belly a year.

"Three warships—not two warships, and over two thousand Navy personnel; you don't expect to take them for free, do you?

"Are you a Navy officer or a pirate?"

Things were getting serious.

Aokiji's fists clenched.

It was the first time he had been questioned about his stance by a subordinate.

Vongola Storm, you're simply turning the world upside down!

"Storm! You are a member of the Navy! A member of the SWORD Unit!"

Aokiji said with deep concern.

"How can you… how can you talk about money with Headquarters in this matter?"

"If we're not talking about money, are we discussing justice or ideals?"

Storm replied, speechless.

"Admiral, I need to eat too!

"Considering we're colleagues, I can give you a super low discount."

Two large warships and over two thousand Navy personnel.

Calculating based on the "market price"—the price of warships and "human slaves"—

Together, they would be worth at least one hundred billion Belly.

But Storm didn't have such a big appetite.

He could offer Headquarters a super discounted price—

Ten billion Belly; that should be acceptable, right?

Aokiji fell silent.

The ideal of justice was being torn apart by the gravity of reality.

"I need to report this matter to Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

"Not a problem!"

Storm readily agreed.

"By the way, Admiral Aokiji, I'm only selling two warships; I need to keep one."

Aokiji asked in confusion, "Why?"

"To keep for personal use!"

Storm answered as if it were obvious.

"Additionally, the Navy can use this incident to issue a bounty on me.

"Something like 'stealing warships and defecting overseas,' 'the Navy's greatest disgrace'…

"In short, it would solidify my 'pirate' identity!"

Aokiji fell silent for a long time again.

He finally spoke softly.

"Storm, you must have had similar thoughts for a while now, right?"

"Huh?"

"Actually, when I first met you, I was curious; you seemed quite familiar with 'defection,' as if you had made a specific plan for it."

"Huh??"

"If you want to be a pirate, remember to tone it down a bit! You little brat!"

With a snap, Aokiji hung up the phone.

Storm was left bewildered, having been scolded unexpectedly by his superior.

He looked at the Den Den Mushi that had lost signal, feeling utterly confused.

"What's up with this Aokiji? What triggered him?"

After all, he had reached an agreement with Aokiji.

Storm let go of some of his thoughts.

He maneuvered the Blue-Eyed White Dragon back to the island.

At the moment Storm landed, he saw a massive paw print on the ground at the feet of Kuma and Burdog.

That was a special mark only capable of being made by the Paw-Paw Fruit's "Pressure Cannon."

In the center of the mark, there were remnants of some human tissue.

This mass of "tissue" must have once belonged to King Bekley.

It seemed that this tyrannical king, who had reigned over the Sorbet Kingdom for many years, had already been "executed" by the "Tyrant" himself!

At that moment, Kid and Killer led a group of Clay Golems, unloading supplies from the three warships onto the island.

These supplies mainly consisted of the "food" and "freshwater" that Storm had mentioned earlier.

"Boss! Everything has been unloaded!"

"The food reserves are surprisingly abundant, but these things can't be stored for long…"

"It's alr

ight."

Storm looked at the food being transported by the Clay Golems.

"Let's hold a feast right here! Invite the nearby people to come and eat!"

In a place where no one was watching.

Storm used the recently acquired Diamond Trophy to enhance his own Stamina attribute to—

[Stamina: ★★★★★★★★]