As soon as the door opened, the twenty-plus women couldn't hold back their tears and started sobbing.
"Get out!"
Suddenly, Nami's voice rang out sternly.
Ryuen and Hogg immediately obeyed, stepping out of the room and even shutting the door behind them.
Both of them now had anger written all over their faces.
Hogg pulled out a cigarette, lighting it slowly before taking a deep drag. He was doing his best to keep his rage in check.
"I'll go call the others," Hogg said before heading toward the deck.
The situation inside that room was something they really shouldn't see.
Ryuen frowned slightly, then turned toward another part of the cabin. He had sensed a faint movement coming from one of the rooms.
Stopping in front of a door, he hesitated for a few seconds before finally pushing it open.
Boom!!!
The moment Ryuen saw what was inside, it felt like his mind exploded. His anger shot to the highest level in an instant!
"Help… help… me…"
"My… my child… she's still young… she still needs… me…" The woman's weak voice reached Ryuen's ears.
Suppressing his rage, Ryuen found a blanket in the room and covered the woman with it.
"Don't worry, you won't die." His voice was firm and unwavering.
Hearing this, the woman's dry lips trembled slightly. Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes, soaking the bed.
Dark clouds rolled across the sky, blocking out even the usual blinding sunlight.
Ryuen turned and walked to the door. Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Daisy!"
"I'm here!" Daisy's response came immediately.
Inside the ship, hurried footsteps sounded. Within seconds, Daisy appeared in front of Ryuen.
"Save her!" Ryuen ordered in a deep voice.
"Leave it to me!" Daisy replied seriously, then quickly moved to the bed and began using her ability to heal the woman.
Holding back his anger, Ryuen slowly walked toward the deck. At the same time, Nojiko, Kuina, and the others arrived. Seeing Ryuen's expression, they instantly understood the gravity of the situation.
The women rushed past Ryuen and ran into the ship's cabin.
Ryuen stepped onto the pirate ship's deck. The burning heat of his body had now turned into an icy, chilling presence.
His eyes swept over the dozens of pirates lying on the deck before finally stopping on their captain.
The captain of the Wild Boar Pirates, Bari, was from the North Blue. He had burned, killed, and looted there many times. After accidentally obtaining the Wart Hog Devil Fruit, his actions became even more ruthless.
With the power of the Devil Fruit, he grew even more brutal. Even in Paradise, many civilians had fallen victim to the Wild Boar Pirates.
Because of this, the Marines placed a 173 million Berry bounty on Bari!
Ryuen took out his transponder snail, paused for a moment, then called Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
~~~~~~
At Marineford, Sengoku was currently holding a high-level Marine meeting.
In the room were the three Marine Admirals, Marine Hero Garp, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, and former Admiral Zephyr—all legendary figures.
The seas were growing more chaotic by the day.
Ever since the Red-Haired Pirates became one of the Four Emperors, Marine forces in the New World had become even more stretched. Sengoku was eager to take down one of the Four Emperors to ease the burden on Marine Headquarters.
Purururu~~~
The sound of the transponder snail interrupted the meeting. Everyone's attention shifted toward it.
Brannew stepped forward to answer, "Moshi moshi, this is the Fleet Admiral's office."
"Yes, Rear Admiral. Ryuen"
Hearing Ryuen's name, the expressions in the room changed slightly. They had heard about him many times lately.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Rear Admiral Ryuen wants to speak with you," Brannew said, handing the transponder snail to Sengoku.
"This is Sengoku."
"Give me all the intel on the Wild Boar Pirates!"
"So, you've run into them."
"Sengoku, are you saying you knew about them all along?"
"That's right."
"Then why didn't you take them out? Why did you let them run wild?!" Ryuen's furious voice burst from the transponder snail.
...
"Rear Admiral Ryuen, I am the Fleet Admiral of the Marines."
"So what? Does being Fleet Admiral mean you can't act? Does it mean you can just let pirates do as they please? Then why are you even Fleet Admiral?!"
...
"Rear Admiral Ryuen, I am only the Fleet Admiral."
"Who is behind these people?"
"I can only tell you this—the Figarland family is backing them!"
...
"Got it. Send me all this intel."
*Click—*
...
"That's terrifying, Rear Admiral Ryuen. But Fleet Admiral Sengoku, is it really okay for you to put Rear Admiral Ryuen in such a tough spot?" Kizaru was clearly shaken by the conversation.
"Young people… Their passion is their strength, but also their weakness," Sengoku said calmly.
"But that's the Holy Knights we're talking about, Fleet Admiral Sengoku..." Akainu said in a deep voice.
"The resources given to each Celestial Dragon have been increasing every year for the past 800 years. The same goes for the Holy Knights. They are powerful, yes, but their existence is also a major obstacle to civilization's progress," Vice Admiral Tsuru commented.
"The Holy Knights… They're even more terrifying than CP0..." Zephyr's voice sounded weak.
"Wa-hahaha!"
"The reason they're so strong is that they've been sucking the life out of the sea for too long. Because of them, ordinary people are suffering."
"This is the true nature of the Celestial Dragons—enslaving the entire ocean to provide them with the best resources!" Garp laughed, but his laughter carried decades of rage.
Aokiji remained silent, lost in thought. Did the current government even deserve to exist anymore?
Ever since Ohara...
He had been struggling with doubt.
"Brannew, send all the information to Rear Admiral Ryuen. Let him decide for himself." Sengoku spoke calmly.
"Yes, sir!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Brannew saluted and immediately headed to the communication room.
....
Paradise, aboard the Dream.
A fax slowly rolled out of the machine.
Ryuen was still aboard the Wild Boar Pirates' ship, his mind racing as he replayed Sengoku's words over and over.
Figarland. A legendary name.
For generations, the Holy Knights had been under this family's control, proving their immense power.
To some, the Five Elders were already the highest authority they could imagine.
But what they didn't know was...
Even the Five Elders sometimes had to show respect to the Figarland family. It was the only family in Mary Geoise that didn't care about the Elders' authority.
"Does Shanks really have ties to them?" Ryuen wondered, feeling doubtful.
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman