Watching Kuzan leave without giving him the slightest opening, Smoker felt as if he had been left disheveled in the wind.
That was an extremely crude way of changing the subject!
But… it had been effective.
After going through Garp's tempering, Smoker believed he had grown stronger than before. He had already mastered both forms of Haki.
Precisely because of that, after Kuzan's reminder, he finally realized this fact.
Ren—the man who had once been chased by him in the East Blue until he had no choice but to flee— was no longer an opponent the current Smoker could hope to reach!
"…"
Smoker silently smoked his cigar. Something indescribable surged in his heart.
Was this the speed of progress that, according to Mr. Garp, belonged to a guy destined to become someone important?
"I'm not going to collapse just because of this, Kuzan."
He tossed away his cigar, his face expressionless as he headed toward the training room.
Meanwhile, Ren, who had been sprinting all the way, finally stopped. Tashigi, whom he had been dragging along, was finally able to land on her feet.
"Please let go!"
Tashigi pulled her hand free with a stern, pretty face, then turned to look at the Marines who had followed behind them.
"Thank you, everyone, but this is not an enemy attack. I am fine, and I still have work to do."
With the briefest possible words, she dismissed the group of Marines who had been drawn over by the kite-like scene just now.
Then she took a deep breath and faced her work with proper, upright professionalism.
"Mr. Ren, your accommodations are elsewhere. This direction is wrong."
"Hah. You're unexpectedly interesting."
Ren curiously sized up the young female swordsman, who was also one of the supporting characters in the plot.
Although she was not as important as Koby, who could rise by stepping on Garp's reputation, she was still a Marine-side character who often appeared.
Her swordsmanship was not bad, her personality was earnest, she was good-looking, and her frontal armor was very large.
Fine. It was because it was very large that he remembered her.
"Why would you say that?"
"It was obviously your first time encountering a situation like that, yet you still dared to speak up. Aren't you afraid an Admiral might hold it against you?
And when facing a former pirate like me, you don't seem to have any real disgust either."
"This is my job."
Tashigi's delicate brows furrowed as she said coldly, "Right now, I am to escort you to your accommodations and prevent any unnecessary accidents.
This is an order from Headquarters. If you have any objections, you may raise them.
However, Mr. Sengoku said that if you intend to do anything, Admiral Kizaru would be very happy to take a stroll with you."
"I'll pass on that."
Ren clicked his tongue. He had no desire to interact with Kizaru. Last time, he had even tricked the man.
"Then let's go."
Tashigi began leading the way.
"By the way, are the other Warlords staying with me?"
"No. You are all separated."
"Afraid we'll clash, huh? Tsk, tsk. And here I thought I was such a warm and friendly person."
Tashigi did not answer and simply led the way in silence.
There was nothing particularly special about the accommodations. It was a residence for high-ranking Marine officers.
An extremely spacious and luxurious flat on one floor would be Ren's temporary lodging.
After finishing this, Tashigi immediately left. The main reason was that Ren's gaze had carried a somewhat unrestrained meaning.
That was something this highly self-respecting female swordsman could not tolerate.
'She's finally gone.'
After Tashigi left, Ren casually sat down on the sofa.
Premonition Perception and Observation Haki activated together, allowing him to roughly grasp the situation here.
It was basically the same as his deductions.
'In other words, is it time to begin?'
Ren took out a modified Den Den Mushi. Just as he was about to act, he suddenly withdrew it and turned his head.
A figure had appeared by the window of the flat. Kuzan was holding a bottle of liquor as he leaned against the windowsill and looked over.
"Can I consider this a trap?"
"If the wine is poisoned, then I suppose you could."
Kuzan lazily walked over and pulled the cork out of the bottle of pear wine. "Let's have a chat. How about one question for one question?"
"Sure. What are you here for?"
Ren leaned against the sofa and asked with some curiosity, "No matter how you look at it, an Admiral shouldn't be the one coming here, right?"
"Mr. Sengoku has always been known as the Resourceful General. Anything that leaves traces is very hard to hide from him.
He probably guessed something, but coming here was my own request."
As Kuzan answered, he examined Ren. "I also wanted to see how you, who couldn't yet fight me back in Mock Town, managed to clash with Kaido.
From the look of things, you've become far, far stronger than before, even though I can't understand how."
"Even among geniuses, there are differences."
Ren smiled faintly. "Your turn."
"…What a crafty guy."
Kuzan thought for a moment, then said, "Headquarters has received some information. Supposedly, old members of the Pirate King's crew have made a move.
A Marine branch suffered a devastating blow, and according to the survivors' descriptions, it can be confirmed that it was Dark King Rayleigh.
He seems to be looking for someone. That has made Headquarters very tense. What I want to know is: will Ace die?"
"No, he won't. At least, there's a ninety percent chance he won't."
Ren shrugged. "I can guarantee that the probability of Ace not dying is about the same as the probability of you not becoming Fleet Admiral.
If you want to be a little bolder, you can put an equal sign between those two things and 'absolutely won't happen.'"
"You're as irritating as ever."
The corner of Kuzan's mouth twitched. He had lost count of how many times he had been stabbed like this.
But immediately afterward, his expression darkened. "You did something, didn't you?"
Ren smiled without answering.
"…Blackbeard will arrive before the meeting begins. However, the price is that he will be allowed to go to the great prison Impel Down and choose some prisoners.
If I remember correctly, you mentioned that man before."
"Yes. A very interesting fellow."
Ren nodded, then slumped back on the sofa and stopped speaking. Their one-for-one exchange had ended perfectly.
"…"
Kuzan shook his head helplessly. Seeing that there was no way to draw out anything useful,
he simply gave up on that idea and changed the subject. "Weevil's death made Teacher very happy. If he didn't lack that sort of hobby, the head you sent over might have been made into an ornament.
In any case, thank you."
"A mighty Marine Admiral saying thank you to a former pirate. That's awkward no matter how you look at it."
Ren complained, and afterward, their topic shifted into ordinary conversation.
Something similar had happened before.
Kuzan always wanted to learn a little "future" intelligence from Ren, while Ren took the opportunity to output his own views and obtain intelligence from the Marine side.
Both sides were generally aware of each other's intentions, but maintained a balanced state.
Kuzan did not stay for long. With his meager harvest, he returned to report.
Marine Headquarters had also asked about Ren coming alone, but he brushed them off with, "I alone am enough."
The current stage was not suitable for the Judgment to appear.
At the end of the day, Ren was not on the Marines' side.
A Marine force that had been beaten crippled and would be unable to make any major moves for several years was what best suited his interests.
During this period, Blackbeard Teach also arrived at Marine Headquarters.
"Zehahahaha! This weather… is that guy here?"
Teach, who had just disembarked, had noticed the abnormal sky early on. Even for the Grand Line's abnormal weather, there was far, far too much lightning in the clouds.
The only one that matched his memories was that ferocious god who appeared alongside thunderstorms—Demon Ren.
The man who followed him off the ship spoke accordingly. "That guy's ability seems quite interesting. Do you have any thoughts, Captain?"
The man speaking wore a black flat-brimmed hat on his head.
"Van Augur, you're interested in his teleportation ability, aren't you?
And he seems to be able to fly too. Still, making him our target right now is getting too far ahead of ourselves.
Let's wait until we finish that matter first. Hunting can't be rushed. For the first time, I'd like to use it on him."
Teach split his mouth into a savage grin and looked at his subordinates. "Next, keep quiet. If any of you get in my way, I won't forgive you even if you're my crewmate."
"Got it, Captain."
The brawny man wearing a wrestler's mask—Burgess—nodded.
Van Augur, who had spoken earlier, said nothing more. He merely adjusted the monocle he wore while holding his beloved rifle, Senriku.
"Captain really is strict when he needs to be."
At that moment, Laffitte, who had finished mooring the ship, also disembarked.
Along with him came a sickly old horse, and Doc Q, who was slumped over the horse's back.
"This is not the time to relax."
A flame burned in Teach's eyes. He was warning his companions, and also warning himself.
At that moment, the Marine announcement rang out.
"Warlord of the Sea—Mr. Blackbeard Teach has arrived!"
Following the announcement, Marines had already begun coming over to receive Teach and his group.
"Zehahahaha! This feeling isn't bad at all."
Teach followed the arrangements with a broad, careless stride. When he passed by a certain area, he quietly glanced over.
Within the perception of Observation Haki, there was a certain "thing" watching him.
"This way."
The Marine officer was still leading the way, and the group quickly left the area.
"I've been targeted, huh."
Ren withdrew his gaze and rubbed his chin. "But setting your sights on me really isn't a very good idea."
In any case, with Teach's arrival, the Warlords of the Sea had finally assembled.
Marine Headquarters began a meeting.
To be honest, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about it. The purpose was probably to let the Warlords meet and familiarize themselves with one another.
They even said it outright.
"If you have any thoughts, resolve them now. Whatever you do, don't let conflicts arise on the battlefield."
Fleet Admiral of the Marines—Sengoku the Buddha—appeared at the meeting and coldly looked at the Warlords seated in a circle. "I believe you all understand the importance of this matter. If anything goes wrong, hehe…"
Sometimes, a cold laugh carried even more deterrence. However, it did not have much effect on the Warlords.
"Zehahahaha! What an interesting way to put it. In other words, everyone has arrived, right?"
Teach laughed loudly and pointed out the issue. "But that Jinbe fellow doesn't seem to be here. At the last meeting, he opposed Ace's execution. Don't tell me your Marines killed him?"
"Those who violate the rules are criminals. The World Government has laws to punish criminals."
Sengoku's voice grew several degrees colder. "Do you want to become the next one? Blackbeard Teach!"
"I'll pass. I don't want to go up against the Buddha."
Teach hit a wall, but he had obtained his answer. He paid no mind to Sengoku's attitude and simply stopped speaking.
(End of Chapter)