I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

The face of the Den Den Mushi appeared as if it had been split in half, with a vertical line resembling a stitched seam.

As it opened its mouth, sharp teeth were visible, and it faithfully mimicked the tone of the person on the other end of the communication, speaking in a very rude manner: "Hehehe, is this Sengoku? What can I do for you?"

Sengoku said in a deep voice, "Gecko Moria, I need you to deal with a group of pirates."

"Oh?" The Den Den Mushi expertly mimicked Moria's mannerisms and laughed loudly. "Sengoku San, what kind of pirates would require you to call on me, a Warlord of the Sea? Hehehehe..."

"To be precise, it's two pirates."

Sengoku took a sip of tea and picked up two freshly issued Bounty Orders from the desk. After everything that had happened, new photos of Liam and Robin had already been obtained. "Captain Jolyne Kujo, bounty 120 Million Belly..." 

The Den Den Mushi on the desk let out two "oho" sounds, "Quite a hefty bounty! But this name doesn't ring a bell..."

Sengoku continued, "Crew member Chopper Giorno, bounty 150 Million Belly."

Upon hearing this, Moria immediately shouted, "You've got to be kidding, Sengoku! How is it that the crew member has a higher bounty than the captain...? Wait! Chopper Giorno, I think I've heard that name somewhere before!"

The Den Den Mushi fell silent for a moment. One could imagine that someone on Moria's end was reminding him of something. Soon, the Den Den Mushi came back to life, mimicking Moria's screaming expression, and yelled, "It's that guy! Sengoku, the one who stole Caesar's Devil Fruit! That wicked little brat, is he... back in this sea again?!"

"What's wrong, Moria? Are you afraid of him?" Sengoku asked in a low voice.

"Who would be afraid?!" Moria sharply retorted, "It's just that why should I risk my Shadow-Shadow Fruit being stolen to help you Marines? Don't you know..." He lowered his voice, and the Den Den Mushi mimicked his unhappy expression, "When I first encountered that brat in West Blue, he tried to steal my Devil Fruit! Thinking back, it really gives me the chills! That little asshole... he's practically the nemesis of all Devil Fruit users!"

"You've encountered Chopper Giorno? In West Blue?" Sengoku was somewhat surprised, particularly by another fact. "As far as I know, Giorno wasn't as impressive when he was still in West Blue..."

Moria shouted, "Impressive? That little punk didn't have any power at all!"

Sengoku asked, "So what are you afraid of?"

Moria laughed, "Do you think I'm stupid, Sengoku?! You've already gotten to the point where you have to call on me, a pirate, to deal with this... that Giorno brat, after all these years, I'm sure his strength has grown to the point where even you can't ignore him! Let me guess... is it that your Marines at the branch can't handle him anymore? And the Marine Headquarters can't just casually send out Admiral-level forces against him..."

"...," Sengoku listened in silence.

"You're probably not even confident a Vice Admiral can take him down, right?" The Den Den Mushi imitated Moria's arrogant expression. "Sending multiple Vice Admirals from Headquarters would be an overreaction, and if it fails, it would seriously damage the Marines' reputation! Hehehe... That's why you had to call on me, a Shichibukai, isn't it? Anyway, I'm just a pirate. Even if I can't deal with that guy and end up having my Devil Fruit taken, it won't be the Marines' problem! Hehehe..."

"Enough!" Sengoku said with a hint of anger in his voice, "Don't forget, as a Warlord of the Sea, you're obligated to follow the Marines' orders."

"If it were a simple task, then sure, it's an obligation. But if it's something this troublesome..." Moria lazily replied, "Sorry, I didn't hear that!" Before Sengoku could explode in rage, Moria seemed to recall something, his tone turning a bit more somber. "Besides! Do you know why that little brat was able to survive when he tried to steal my Devil Fruit back in West Blue? It was because of that Akagami... that Akagami Shanks! At the time, Giorno was with... now, the Captain of the Akagami Pirates, who's said to be unstoppable in 'Paradise'!"

"What!?" Sengoku was truly shocked, "Giorno and Akagami... are they on good terms?"

He truly didn't know.

Indeed, Liam had been taken by Shanks from Kuzan. However, back then, Liam was just an unknown, and Kuzan wouldn't report this less-than-glorious event back to Sengoku... 

Now, hearing from Moria that Giorno had such a close relationship with Akagami Shanks, enough for Shanks to intervene and protect Giorno from Moria, Sengoku's expression grew even more cautious.

Originally, Giorno and Jolyne had already somehow managed to form a deep bond with the Kuja, a nation that was notoriously exclusive, especially against men—this alone made them a major concern. Now, adding the Akagami Pirates into the mix...

Although, given the nature of those pirates, even if the Marines took action against Giorno, the Akagami Pirates might not react, Sengoku always had to take this into consideration.

If they were to capture Giorno and Jolyne and directly drag the entire Akagami Pirates and the entire Kuja nation of pirates into a confrontation with the Marines... just thinking about it gave Sengoku a headache! He wasn't a Fleet Admiral and didn't have the authority to make decisions that could potentially involve such a vast scope.

This sense of helplessness wasn't new to Sengoku. The sea was too vast, and powerful pirates came in waves, seeming as if they could never be fully eradicated. 

The Marines simply didn't have the resources to handle every threat, and he had to admit a harsh truth: there were many pirates that the Marines knew were out there, but they just couldn't deal with them.

"What's that kid's bizarre ability to steal Devil Fruit powers? Do you Marines have any leads? Is it some kind of special Devil Fruit ability he has, or can he possess two or even three Devil Fruits? Or is there another reason?" Moria mocked, "With no information at all, you're asking us to take such a huge risk for the Marines, Sengoku... Do you really think I'm one of your so-called soldiers of justice? Hehehe…"

Moria then hung up the phone.

Sengoku, with a grim expression, leaned back in his chair and slowly took a sip of tea.

Garp, munching on senbei, laughed loudly, "It's really embarrassing to be talked to like that by a pirate, Sengoku!"

Another person with a commanding aura sat on the sofa, puffing on a large cigar, and said indifferently, "Well, I told you, didn't I? If you ask anyone else, you'll get the same answer... easily sinking a Battleship, Giorno's strength is already impressive! And with his bizarre ability... any Devil Fruit user will tell you, if you don't have enough of a trump card, no one wants to deal with such a troublesome guy!"

(End Of Chapter)

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