One Piece : Glory To The Fleet Admiral

At this moment, the massive sand pit where Kurozumi Orochi was buried erupted with billowing black smoke once again.

Immediately after, one of the heads of Kurozumi Orochi, burst out of the ground, charging straight toward Crocodile with a terrifying aura.

"Whoosh—"

Before Crocodile could react, a dazzling and domineering blade light flashed past him, effortlessly severing the head that had just emerged.

As the head rolled to Crocodile's feet, a shrill scream erupted from the sand pit.

In the next instant, seven more heads burst out of the ground simultaneously, swirling with black smoke as they charged in different directions—some toward Crocodile, others toward Mihawk, who had decisively cut down the first head.

Mihawk wasn't about to tolerate these heads.

With a swift movement, his supreme-grade sword unleashed a flurry of blade lights, swiftly and decisively cutting down all seven remaining heads.

"????"

Crocodile, who had just been about to act, tilted his head to look at Mihawk, who had already sheathed his sword and stood beside him.

His cigar-clenching mouth twitched slightly before he spoke in a deep voice.

"Do you think I can't handle these snake heads? If you want to fight, go find someone on the other side. Can't you see there are two katana-wielding powerhouses standing over there?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Denjiro and Ashura Doji, standing on either side of Kozuki Hiyori, felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

Although cowardice was a disgrace for samurai, they weren't fools.

If they rashly engaged in battle with Mihawk, Crocodile, and Jinbei, they would undoubtedly gain no advantage.

Most importantly, they had to ensure Kozuki Hiyori's safety!

"Crocodile, you're quite fiery today!"

Unexpectedly, Crocodile targeted him again.

Mihawk casually brushed off the sand on his clothes and said nonchalantly.

"So eager to prove yourself—are you worried you'll end up starting as a grunt like Moria? Speaking of which, Moria Marine uniform looks quite sharp. When you put on a Marine uniform, you'll probably look quite dashing on it!"

"It's you who's eager to prove yourself!"

Crocodile retorted sharply "I don't need your help. A mere ant like Orochi doesn't require two Warlords to deal with him. Don't worry, even if I wear a marine uniform, I'll be the one with the officer's cape!"

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it!"

Mihawk tilted his head and glanced at Crocodile.

"How about we compete for the position of Admiral? Let's see who becomes Admiral first!"

Watching the two of them bicker, Jinbei standing nearby, hesitated several times before finally interrupting.

"You two, if you're going to argue, at least pick the right time. What are we going to do about those people over there?"

As soon as Jinbei finished speaking, the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly echoed from the corner of the street outside the now completely sandified Castle.

Moments later, a group of Marine soldiers led by Morgan charged onto the sandy terrain with fierce momentum.

"Admiral Sakazuki of the Marine Headquarters has arrived!"

As soon as he reached the sand-covered entrance of the Shogun residence, Morgan shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone, listen up! Drop your weapons, get down on the ground, and cover your heads. Otherwise, no one will be spared!"

Clatter—

As Morgan voice rang out, the Marine soldiers standing in orderly formation on either side of him quickly raised their guns, aiming at Denjiro and the others in the sand.

"Damn it!"

A samurai standing beside Denjiro gritted his teeth in frustration, cursing under his breath.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it and fight to the death.

"Don't act recklessly!"

Denjiro quickly intervened, lowering his voice as he spoke.

"Stay calm and observe the situation. We've endured for so many years, there's no need to clash with the Marine now!"

As he spoke, Denjiro took the lead by removing his katana from his waist and placing it in front of him.

He then glanced at Kozuki Hiyori beside him.

Seeing this, Kozuki Hiyori and Ashura Doji, though reluctant, followed suit, lowering their katanas and crouching down with their hands on their heads, joining Denjiro.

The other samurai and ronin not daring to hesitate, also crouched down, facing the direction of Captain Morgan.

At the same time, Sakazuki, clad in admiral cape and accompanied by two officers, strode into the sandy area.

He walked past the crouching samurai and ronin, stopping in front of Denjiro, Ashura Doji and Kozuki Hiyori.

"Retainers of the Kozuki family?"

After staring down at the three for a moment, the overwhelming pressure unique to a Marine Admiral enveloped them.

"After being suppressed by Kaido and Orochi for over a decade, where did you find the courage to attack the Shogun's palace? With this ragtag group of yours? What a joke!"

Pausing briefly, Sakazuki reached out and took a file from one of the officers beside him, tossing it in front of the three.

"These records document the desolation and ruin we've witnessed since entering Wano Country!"

"In my opinion, even without Kaido or Orochi, the Kozuki family could never lead Wano to a brighter future!"

"The core issue isn't the dual oppression you faced from Kaido and Orochi, but the Kozuki family itself—especially Kozuki Oden, who abandoned his people's lives to pursue personal freedom at sea, even going so far as to join a pirate crew and trample on justice!"

"Of course, these are all matters of the past, so let's not dwell on them."

"Even if you managed to defeat Orochi before the Marine entered the Flower Capital and installed a Kozuki descendant as the new Shogun, you'd still face only two choices: either submit to the Marine or be eradicated."

"The reasoning is simple. Without the Marine's soldiers shedding blood and lives to defeat the Beasts Pirates and without Fleet Admiral Orion executing Kaido, would you dare to storm the Shogun's palace?"

"In short, Wano doesn't need an incompetent Shogun."

"From this moment on, Wano Country will be fully under Marine control!"

***

The next morning.

Holy Land Mary Geoise, Flower Room.

Imu sat quietly in the pavilion, intently gazing at the box wrapped in red cloth placed before her.

Gunko stood silently to Imu right, her large eyes fixed on the box with curiosity.

"From last night until now, at least three new energies have been added to the box!"

After a brief silence, Imu suddenly spoke, a glimmer of curiosity flashing in her crimson eyes.

"Though it's uncertain, we can infer that this box can gather the energy of Devil Fruits regardless of distance!"

Gunko remained silent, as she hadn't sensed any increase in energy within the box.

Of course, though she couldn't perceive the energy fluctuations from the box, she couldn't help but feel the urge to open it.

The invisible temptation was hard to resist.

"Let's conduct an experiment!"

Imu seemed accustomed to talking to herself.

Staring at the box, she continued.

"Go to any Celestial Dragon's residence and randomly kill one or two slaves who have been forcibly fed Devil Fruits!"

"Yes!"

Gunko nodded in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Imu suddenly remembered something and added.

"Go to the Roswald family. Roswald son, Charlos, likes to collect pirate captain slaves. Kill a few pirate slaves. Orion probably won't intervene."

Huh?

Gunko's eyes narrowed slightly.

Was Imu actually concerned about whether Orion would intervene?

Though surprised, Gunko didn't dare to voice her thoughts.

After nodding again, her figure flashed and disappeared.

When she reappeared, it was five minutes later.

"How many did you kill?" Imu gaze remained fixed on the box.

"Two!"

Imu nodded. "Just now, two new energy sources were added to the box! This means that as soon as a Devil Fruit user dies, the box will immediately collect the energy of their Devil Fruit, regardless of distance!"

At that moment, a figure suddenly entered the Flower Room.

It was Gion.

Upon entering, Gion didn't approach the pavilion to pay her respects to Imu.

Instead, she walked straight towards Orion villa as if Imu wasn't there.

Seeing this, a faint glint of coldness flashed in Imu eyes and her tone instantly turned icy, causing Gunko, who stood beside her, to shiver involuntarily.

"I don't like this Marine Admiral."

"Go, tell her that from now on, she is not allowed to enter the Flower Room without my permission."

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