The night was clear, the moon bright and the stars sparse.
Under the shroud of night, the Marine G-8 Fortress, Navarone, resembled a slumbering giant beast. Though it appeared peaceful, its retracted fangs and claws still kept one's heart strings taut with tension.
In the fortress's inner sea, a strange caravel floated lonelily upon the water's surface, its deck swarming with people.
"Oh? So this is the pirate ship that suddenly appeared in our fortress, Major?"
The speaker was a tall Marine, roughly thirty years old. He had a square face with two patches of deep brown mustache above his upper lip. His half-squinted eyes, paired with a languid expression, made him look quite unmotivated. However, from the sharp glint that occasionally flickered in his eyes, it was clear this Marine officer was no pushover.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Jonathan."
The Major saluted and said respectfully, "According to witnesses, this pirate ship fell from the sky about half an hour ago. By the time our men boarded, the cabins were already empty. Furthermore..."
As he spoke, the Major took out three brand-new bounty posters and handed them to his superior, continuing: "Based on the straw-hatted skull symbol on the Jolly Roger, this pirate ship is none other than the Straw Hat Pirates, who have been making quite a name for themselves lately!"
"The Straw Hat Pirates?"
Jonathan flipped through the bounty posters in his hand. "Oh? Monkey D. Luffy, 124.5 million Berries... this captain's bounty is certainly bold enough. And a 97-million-Berry Wizard, along with a 63-million-Berry Pirate Hunter. Heh."
Returning the posters to his adjutant, Vice Admiral Jonathan scanned the somewhat battered deck of the Going Merry and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect to catch such a 'big fish' today."
"Major, how are the soldiers reacting to this?"
"Well... although everyone was very tense when the alarm sounded, they relaxed quite quickly."
At this point, the Marine Major scratched his temple awkwardly, wearing a strange expression. "It's all thanks to the frequent 'Live Combat Drills' lately. Everyone has become accustomed to hearing the sirens..."
"Ahem... don't say I didn't warn you, but you must absolutely never say that in front of Rear Admiral Alan."
Jonathan coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. He truly hadn't anticipated that the series of chaotic messes stirred up by a certain "little demon king" would actually significantly improve the mental fortitude of the Marine soldiers.
"Oh, right. Thank you for the reminder."
The Major nodded solemnly and continued to ask, "So, what do you plan to do about the Straw Hat Pirates? Our fortress isn't like it used to be. Since we are holding that high-profile prisoner, we must be even more cautious..."
"The Straw Hat Pirates? What are you talking about, Major?"
Vice Admiral Jonathan suddenly looked at his adjutant with a bewildered expression. Then, he reached out and tapped the Merry's mast, which had been repaired multiple times, and said calmly: "This ship is clearly just a 'Ghost Ship' that fell from the sky..."
"???"
The Major was completely dazed. He opened his mouth, about to argue, but met his superior's deeply meaningful gaze.
"Yes, I understand. This is a ghost ship." Nodding as if he partially understood, the Major turned and shouted to the Marines searching the ship:
"Did you all hear that? Remember, the ship that landed here tonight is a crewless ghost ship!"
"This is an order!"
"Yes, Major!" the many Marine soldiers responded in unison.
Just then, a Marine soldier walked over, saluted Jonathan, and said respectfully, "Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral Fred is here."
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Jonathan's eyes, and he turned to look into the distance.
On the calm waters of the fortress's inner sea, a tall, thin, blond youth was slowly "walking" over. The long hem and sleeves of his standard Marine greatcoat fluttered in the wind. The way he stepped across the water as if it were level ground was exceptionally stylish.
Graceful Water-Walking—
Judging by the admiring and envious looks of the Marines on the Merry, Rear Admiral "Black Crow's" attempt at showing off was quite successful—at least an 85 out of 100.
Of course, if one could ignore the long, dark trail left on the water behind him, the score could have been even higher.
"Rear Admiral Fred. If I remember correctly, Marine Headquarters explicitly requested that you do not use your Fruit ability on the sea surface casually."
Watching the young officer step onto the Merry's deck, Jonathan frowned slightly. "You've polluted the water here. How am I supposed to fish in the future?"
"Hee hee hee, don't be so stingy, Vice Admiral Jonathan. Don't worry, my 'Cleanser' squad will clean up the traces I left behind."
Fred looked completely indifferent. He glanced around the Merry, first whispering a complaint about how dilapidated the small ship was, then thought to himself:
(If I remember this flag correctly, it should belong to the Straw Hat Pirates. But what are they doing here? Are they here to rescue Crocodile? What kind of international joke is this!)
Although the official story was that Smoker and the others had defeated Sir Crocodile and quelled the rebellion in Alabasta, as an insider, the "Black Crow" Rear Admiral knew very well who had actually defeated the Sand Crocodile.
(Oh—I get it. These guys must be the 'pirates' sent by Spandam. Hee hee hee, they got here pretty fast. It's just, out of all the pirate groups you could impersonate, you had to pick the one that shouldn't be here. Really...)
Since the real Straw Hat crew had no reason to be here, the intruders before him were naturally imposters. Combined with his secret dealings with Spandam, Rear Admiral Fred took it for granted that the intruders were "his own people."
As for the possibility of "the entire crew accidentally falling from the sky into a Marine fortress because their captain is a total disaster"—an event with a probability comparable to being hit by a meteorite—Fred didn't even consider it.
Thus, a beautiful misunderstanding was born.
Looking at the Black Crow Rear Admiral, who was grinning wickedly for no apparent reason, Jonathan raised an eyebrow, about to ask something.
Swoosh— A piercing sound of breaking air suddenly came from the sky. Everyone looked up to see a cluster of red "shooting stars" rapidly approaching amidst a brilliant firelight!
Whoosh— The fireball suddenly decelerated a few meters above the Merry's deck, revealing a Flame Fairy with long twin-tails. Sparks flew everywhere, and the oppressive heat wave forced the nearby Marine soldiers to scramble away.
It is worth mentioning that Fred's reaction to this fire was particularly intense. His face turned pale, and he stumbled back several steps. It was unclear whether he feared the flames or the person before him.
"Yahoo, you're all here."
Dispersing the flames, Rear Admiral Alan lit a cigar and asked Jonathan in confusion: "By the way, where's Smoker? I haven't seen him all day. I asked Tashigi, and she didn't know either."
"Because of a 'Special Summon Order' from Marine Headquarters, he secretly left here yesterday."
Jonathan gave a sheepish smile. He knew very well that the reason the "White Hunter," usually such a troublemaker, was so obedient this time was specifically to avoid this little "calamity" in front of them.
"Ha? He actually ran off alone behind my back?!"
Rear Admiral Alan's right eye, which wasn't covered by an eyepatch, widened significantly. She took a deep drag of her cigar and muttered to herself, "Actually abandoning his cute superior like that... Hmph! That unscrupulous old smoke-stack. From now on, every time I see your cigars, I'm snatching them!"
(Old smoke-stack? You don't exactly have the right to call others that...)
The Marines watched the twin-tailed loli Rear Admiral puffing away on her cigar with disgruntled expressions, their own faces looking quite nuanced.
"Ahem, Vice Admiral Jonathan, regarding this pirate ship, what intel have you gathered?"
Fred coughed a few times to force the topic back on track. Harboring his own ulterior motives, he was quite concerned about the fortress commander's decision.
"Ah, this is just a crewless ghost ship. No need to worry about it at all," Jonathan said with a slight smile.
(Hee hee hee, well played!)
Hearing this, Fred breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart and gave Vice Admiral Jonathan thirty-two metaphorical "likes." The latter's casual reaction would undoubtedly be a huge help for the "Black Crow's" upcoming plans.
"Eh? This is a ghost ship?"
Gently exhaling a smoke ring, the twin-tailed "expired" loli looked at the Straw Hat Pirates' familiar Jolly Roger and said pointedly:
"But what if those 'ghosts' have already sneaked into the fortress? Why don't I..."
Fred's expression shifted slightly, a bad premonition creeping into his heart.
"...Why don't I help you catch these 'ghosts'? I'm most interested in this sort of thing."
Alan gave a light leap, standing gracefully atop the Merry's cute sheep-head figurehead. As the night wind blew, her black-and-white mismatched twin-tails swayed in the breeze.
Fortunately, a certain Straw Hat idiot wasn't present; otherwise, seeing someone occupying his "special captain's seat" would have driven him frantic.
"Oh, then I'll leave it to you, Rear Admiral Alan," Jonathan agreed readily, without a second thought.
(I'll be d—... If you catch them all, what happens to my plan?!)
Hearing this, Rear Admiral Fred nearly face-planted onto the Merry's deck. Having the most troublesome person meddle in the one thing he wanted no one to touch—this was a tragedy written in capital letters!
"Um, Rear Admiral Alan," Fred said, trying to steady his emotions and save the situation.
"There's no need to trouble yourself with something like this, is there? Why not let me handle it? My Cleanser squad isn't just good at sanitation, they also..."
"Are you giving me orders, kid?" The loli's voice was sweet, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.
Alan tilted her head up in a classic "Shinbo 45-degree angle," her amber right eye gazing indifferently at the tall, thin Marine whose eyes were obscured by blonde hair. An invisible aura radiated from her petite body, and in an instant, every Marine soldier on the Merry shuddered in unison.
Fred, being at the forefront, fared even worse. Beads of sweat poured down his forehead. He finally realized that when communicating with this little calamity—who had the audacity to let the air out of Admiral Aokiji's bicycle tires—one had to treat her with the same level of caution as Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"No, no, no, I meant... cooperation. Yes, cooperation!"
Fred groaned inwardly. As the eldest young master of the Falcone family, when had he ever suffered like this? He wiped the sweat from his cheeks and said flatteringly, "If you need anything then, please just say the word. My subordinates will do their best to cooperate."
"Hmph, much obliged then." The loli Rear Admiral nodded in satisfaction.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan! Vice Admiral Jonathan!" Just then, a Marine soldier came running out of the cabin in a flurry.
"We found a massive amount of gold in the room!"
Swoosh— A petite figure vanished, reappearing instantly in front of the Marine.
"Gold? What gold? Come, come, show me quickly!" As she spoke, Rear Admiral Alan grabbed the Marine and went skipping into the cabin.
"Hehehe, truly an interesting little one. Oh, wait, I remember Lord Akainu once saying that Rear Admiral Alan is actually a genuine 'senior'..."
Vice Admiral Jonathan gently stroked his mustache. He looked at the visibly uncomfortable Fred, then looked up at the Jolly Roger hanging at the top of the mast. In the cool night breeze, the Straw Hat Pirates' skull flag fluttered and snapped loudly.
(And why do I get the feeling that this 'fish' we accidentally caught is much bigger than I imagined?)
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