One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Maude was the closest to Marine Headquarters and the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Therefore, the emergency summons issued from Marine Headquarters reached Maude's hands in less than half a day.

The timing coincided with the Straw Hat Pirates' arrival at the Sabaody Archipelago.

Before departing, Maude made a point to greet the Straw Hat Pirates.

Afterward, he headed directly to Marine Headquarters.

Originally, the summons required him to report to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, but Maude knew that it would take at least a week for the other Warlords to arrive at Marine Headquarters after receiving the summons.

If he went directly to Mary Geoise, he would likely have to linger in that uncomfortable place for some time.

Rather than endure that, he chose to stay at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, located directly below Mary Geoise.

This decision allowed him to leverage the Warlords' privileges to access Marine intelligence that could prove useful in the upcoming events.

Marineford was very close to the Sabaody Archipelago.

A battleship could reach it in about an hour, while Maude's Moonwalk technique would only take ten minutes.

Thus, on the day he received the summons, Maude arrived at Marineford early.

The meeting was scheduled for ten days later, so the Marines hadn't expected Maude to arrive so quickly.

They had no way of knowing that Maude's haste was driven by a desire to maximize the use of Marine intelligence resources.

Ordinarily, summoned Warlords would first travel to the Sabaody Archipelago and then be escorted to Marine Headquarters by battleship.

But Maude preferred to take the unconventional route — a fact the Marines could not ignore.

In their haste, they arranged for Maude to stay in a vacant luxury residence within Marineford's town, offering him due respect.

Maude had no objections to the arrangement.

He rested in the town's mansion at night but spent his days at Marine Headquarters, focused on gathering intelligence.

His request for information on Whitebeard's massive fleet surprised the Marines, but they complied without overthinking.

Given Maude's actions at the Sabaody Archipelago, the Marines had reason to believe he might prove valuable in the coming war against the Whitebeard Pirates.

Among the Seven Warlords, only Maude inspired such confidence.

On his second day at Marineford, Maude arrived punctually at Marine Headquarters.

Thanks to his deeds since becoming a Warlord, the Marines he passed treated him with courtesy.

To an uninformed observer, it might seem as if Maude were a highly respected officer of Marine Headquarters.

With practiced ease, Maude navigated the corridors toward the intelligence department.

As he rounded a corner, the sound of heavy footsteps caught his attention.

"Hm?"

Maude stopped.

The footsteps were familiar—similar to Kuma's, but with subtle differences.

More notably, there were three individuals producing the same sound.

"Pacifistas…"

Maude quickly deduced the source.

Sure enough, three Pacifistas—identical in appearance to Bartholomew Kuma—marched around the corner.

Leading them was Sentomaru, carrying his massive double-bladed axe on his shoulder.

Maude's gaze flicked from Sentomaru to the Pacifistas, a glimmer in his eyes.

The mass production of Pacifistas meant that Kuma had undergone his final modifications, becoming a cold, unfeeling weapon of war.

"You… what are you doing here?"

Sentomaru scowled at Maude, his tone hostile.

Maude withdrew his gaze from the Pacifistas and turned to Sentomaru.

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

"Hmph."

Sentomaru snorted. "You Warlords may have privileges, but I have no obligation to answer your questions. Don't expect to get anything out of me!"

"The world's tightest-lipped man… fitting title."

Maude's remark was casual, almost playful.

Sentomaru nodded proudly. "And the strongest defense in the world."

"Impressive, impressive."

Maude clapped his hands lightly.

"Now, where are you headed?"

"Sabaody Archipelago."

Sentomaru answered without thinking.

"Eh!?"

Realizing his slip, Sentomaru's eyes widened.

"You tricked me!"

Ignoring his outburst, Maude mused, "What's the mission?"

"Damn it! I won't fall for that again!"

Sentomaru glared at Maude, then glanced at the Pacifistas.

"PX-1, PX-2, PX-3—let's go. Time to test your combat power against those Supernovas at the Sabaody Archipelago."

"So, a field test…"

Maude's gaze lingered on the Pacifistas.

He had already guessed the reason for their deployment—testing the Pacifistas' combat capabilities while eliminating the recently arrived Supernovas.

A two-birds-with-one-stone approach.

Feigning composure, Sentomaru added, "That wasn't an answer to your question."

"Of course not. You're the world's tightest-lipped man, after all."

Maude patted Sentomaru on the shoulder and walked past the Pacifistas toward the intelligence department.

Sentomaru remained rooted to the spot.

After Maude had taken several steps, Sentomaru suddenly turned and shouted, "You're not going to tip them off, are you?"

Maude glanced back with a smile.

"Who knows?"

"You bastard!"

Sentomaru's anger flared, but Maude disappeared in a few flickers, leaving him behind.

Soon after, Maude arrived at the intelligence department.

A bespectacled woman with braided hair emerged from one of the rooms, arms full of documents.

Upon seeing Maude, she frowned.

"You again? I told you—your request is too large. We can't compile that much information in such a short time."

"Just give me whatever's ready."

The woman glared at him.

"Impel Down's high-profile prisoners' information."

"Impossible. Even for a Warlord, we can only fulfill requests within reasonable limits."

Her voice was firm.

"Besides, Impel Down's information has no bearing on the upcoming public execution."

"On the contrary," Maude said, his tone serious. "It's highly relevant."

"Oh?"

A calm, aged voice echoed from the doorway.

Both Maude and the woman turned.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Marine Headquarters Chief of Staff, stood at the entrance.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru."

The woman straightened, showing deference.

Tsuru nodded at her before fixing her sharp gaze on Maude.

"I'm listening."

"Manpower," Maude said, raising one finger.

"I can turn prisoners into considerable combat power."

"..."

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