One Piece : Admiral Falcon is Pissed off again today!

"Isn't your sword Roger's 'Ace'? Why have you switched to another one after just a short time apart?"

Sengoku glanced at the long, slender straight sword resting beside Michael, its blade shimmering with a soft Holy Light.

The crossguard was engraved with the pattern of Wings.

"This is 'Ace', reforged in Holy Flame. But since 'Ace' was Roger's sword, it now bears a new name—'Morning Star.'"

As Michael ran his fingers along Morning Star's blade, Sengoku faintly heard the whispered of heaven in his ears.

Shaking his head, he realized the sound had vanished without a trace.

After exchanging a few casual words, Sengoku shifted to business.

"...So, you happened upon Rayleigh and the others executing Celestial Dragons while you were out searching for them?"

"Do I look like someone who would go out of my way to save a Celestial Dragon?" Facing Sengoku question, Michael spoke nonsense with such natural ease, not a hint of guilt in his tone.

"To be precise, I discovered clues about Rayleigh, Gaban and Gloriosa on Sabaody Archipelago. It was during the pursuit of them that I accidentally rescued the last surviving Celestial Dragon, Charloss."

"It's Saint Charloss" Sengoku emphasized.

"Alright, alright, Saint, Saint, Saint. Doesn't seem like that noble title spared them from Rayleigh and the others' blades."

Michael pursed his lips, sitting on the sofa while listening to Sengoku's muttering.

The old man was barely past fifty, but his excessive worrying made him seem prematurely aged.

"...Forget it, I don't have the energy to dig deeper into your situation anymore." Sengoku shook his head helplessly before continuing.

"But this is a good news. Before this incident, as a Marine whose name had been sent before the Five Elders for punishment at the Celestial Dragons' request, you were in deep trouble."

"Now, not only has everything been wiped clean, but Saint Charloss family has sent you a large amount of supplies as gratitude for saving Charloss."

Michael was taken aback.

Gratitude?

"What kind of stuff? Gold and treasures? If that's the case, don't give it to me—just add it to the Marine's budget... I don't want to use the Celestial Tribute extorted from civilians."

"Funny you mention it—it's not gold or treasures. Instead, it's a batch of Devil Fruits and famous swords."

"Well... that's passable."

Michael relaxed.

The Celestial Dragons had quite a few high-quality Devil Fruits in their possession.

They could probably be used to train a few more strong fighters.

But lost in his future plans, Michael didn't notice the intense gaze Sengoku was fixing on him.

"Michael, the Cross Guild... was it really just Rayleigh, Gaban and Gloriosa behind it?"

"Of course not!" Meeting Sengoku's scrutinizing look, Michael put on a serious face as he analyzed.

"There must be someone incredibly wealthy backing this new organization."

As he spoke, he picked up a few bounty posters from Sengoku's desk.

Except these weren't the World Government's wanted posters—they were the Cross Guild Reverse Bounty Posters.

And, as luck would have it, one of them featured Michael's own face.

The bounty was a staggering one billion berries—the highest on the Cross Guild's list for now.

"Even I've made it onto the Cross Guild's wanted list. Seems Rayleigh really holds a grudge against me for snatching someone right out of their hands."

Though Michael feigned surprise, he knew this was Rayleigh's way of covering for him.

After all, no one would suspect that the mastermind behind the Cross Guild was the one with the highest bounty.

Gotta admit, aside from his mediocre teaching skills, Rayleigh's brain still worked just fine.

"Because of the Cross Guild existence, Holy Land Mary Geoise has been completely sealed off under the Five Elders' orders." Sengoku sighed.

"More importantly, a large number of World Government's lower-level officials have resigned, leaving the government in a semi-paralyzed state..."

Hearing this, Michael was inwardly quite pleased.

The commotion stirred up by the Cross Guild was massive enough and the threat they posed was grave enough.

So grave that the current World Government had absolutely no spare energy to deal with the Revolutionary Army anymore.

What? The Revolutionary Army would overthrow kingdoms ruled by tyranny?

Let them do as they pleased!

After all, when one regime was toppled, another would rise in its place!

The Revolutionary Army wouldn't be able to reach the World Government anytime soon.

But the Cross Guild was different!

They were genuinely placing bounties on and hunting down World Government personnel!

Faced with the choice between sacrificing others or themselves, the World Government unhesitatingly chose the former.

"...Fine, you can go now."

Sengoku watched as Michael continued to space out, suddenly realizing that this kid's way of handling things was becoming more and more like that fool Garp…

Just looking at them was enough to give him a headache!

"About those supplies, old man Sengoku—"

"They've already been sent to Sabaody Archipelago."

"Take care of yourself. I'll be going now."

With that, Michael turned and left Sengoku office.

***

"Aniki, you really saved a Celestial Dragon?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"And then a batch of supplies was sent over?"

"You used to be a Celestial Dragon too—why are you asking me?"

"How was I supposed to know it'd be this insane?! My father wasn't the kind of Celestial Dragon who made people sick just by looking at him! And I moved out of Mariejois when I was six!"

Rosinante stared wide-eyed at the mountain of supplies piled before him.

After all, he'd genuinely never seen anything like this before!

Michael was similarly stunned.

He'd already tried to imagine the most exaggerated scenario possible, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme.

Twenty Devil Fruits in total.

Plus five hundred weapons forged by master swordsmiths from all over, at least fifty of which were of named-blade quality or higher.

But determining their exact grade would require further study.

Still, compared to the weapons, the Devil Fruits were what truly caught Michael's interest.

Just from the packaging alone, it was clear which Devil Fruits were premium and which were relatively ordinary.

Three of the Devil Fruits were individually stored in boxes made of expensive wood, while the rest were piled together in a large crate.

Michael opened the three boxes to see their contents.

His pupils constricted sharply.

Charlos, that mole he'd planted among the Celestial Dragons, had truly given him an enormous surprise.

All three Devil Fruits were familiar to him.

The first was the Love-Love Fruit, adorned with a pattern of hearts in alternating red and purple hues.

The second... was the Gold-Gold Fruit.

As for the third…

Its surface was covered in countless tiny flame-like spiral patterns…

The Flame-Flame Fruit, a Logia-type.

Michael reached out, hefting the Devil Fruit mockingly dubbed "not even fit for dogs" and smiled faintly.

This fruit truly wasn't suited for Ace.

Ace was meant to walk the path—the one Michael had designed for him.

As for the Flame-Flame Fruit… It belonged with the Revolutionary Army.

The Flame-Flame Fruit and the Flame of Revolution…

Aren't they a perfect match?

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