Sabaody Archipelago.
Taro had traveled back and forth several times in a single day, and this unusual behavior finally piqued the curiosity of George and Mike.
Upon hearing that Taro had returned again, the two rushed over immediately.
"Vice Admiral, today you are...?" Mike asked tentatively.
Taro's lips twitched as he waved his hand dismissively.
"It's nothing. I came back earlier to get some tea leaves; I forgot to bring a gift when I went to see Vice Admiral Tsuru."
"Enough about that. Is Admiral Fujitora still on the island?"
George gave a salute. "Yes, Vice Admiral!"
Taro nodded and instructed,
"I'll be returning to the G4 Base shortly. If there's any trouble on the island that's hard to handle, you can ask Admiral Fujitora to step in!"
"By the way, has that woman had any contact with strangers lately?"
George and Mike knew who Taro was referring to. After exchanging a look, Mike replied,
"She's been familiarizing herself with the travel agency's workflow recently. She only interacts with people on the island and hasn't met any strangers!"
He paused and then added,
"Her mood is fairly stable. We guarantee that we won't let any strange men get near her."
"Vice Admiral, please rest assured!"
Taro nodded. "Mhm, then..."
Just as he spoke, he realized what was said and his eyebrows twitched.
"Huh? What do you mean by 'won't let any strange men get near her' and 'rest assured'?"
Mike gave an "I understand" look and winked at Taro.
Holy crap! You two old geezers, are you trying to prevent me from being cuckolded?
Pah! Cuckolded? What cuckolded? I don't even have that kind of relationship with Monet!
"Mike, come here, get closer!"
Taro's cheeks twitched as he forced a "kind" smile and beckoned Mike over.
Mike didn't sense the approaching danger at all. A smile even appeared on his face as he leaned in closer.
"Whoosh~"
Taro pulled Mike to his side with one hand and grabbed Mike's shoulder with the other, squeezing hard.
He "encouraged" him through gritted teeth,
"I'm very reassured! You truly are my most 'relied upon' deputy, Mike!"
Mike's smiling face was squeezed out of shape, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead.
"V-Vice Admiral, it is my duty to share your burdens!"
Taro let go of Mike and rubbed his forehead speechlessly.
"Don't pay too much attention to her, and don't get close. As long as she's still on the island, let her go wherever she wants. You don't need to care!"
"Understood!"
Mike gave a military salute in response. Taking the opportunity, he imperceptibly moved his aching shoulder.
Our Vice Admiral's strength has increased greatly lately. Hiss, that really hurts!
Taro doubted if this guy really understood. After thinking for a moment, he said to George,
"I'll leave this matter to you instead!"
Then, he looked back at Mike.
"You've worked hard lately. You're on vacation starting now. You don't need to come back until the next script is finished!"
Mike was stunned for a moment. "Huh?"
Taro raised an eyebrow. "Any objections?"
Mike fumbled in his coat for a while and pulled out a small notebook, handing it to Taro.
"Vice Admiral, take a look at this story. What do you think?"
Taro took the notebook blankly and saw written on the title page,
"I Have a Dream!"
Holy crap! This old guy actually did it?
Is it Martin Luther King this time?
Taro's eyes nearly popped out in shock. He quickly flipped through and read it.
This time, the story was in the nature of an interview, similar to a press release.
The protagonist was a girl who had no dreams and didn't know what a dream was. She was very envious of others who had dreams.
So, she traveled the world, asking interesting people about their dreams while searching for her own.
The story was still very simple. While introducing local customs, it mixed in a bit of "personal agenda"—about freedom and racial reconciliation!
Taro really couldn't find any faults and could only sigh in heartfelt admiration,
"I have to reiterate once more..."
"Mike, you're a goddamn genius!"
Mike chuckled, scratched the back of his head, and said modestly,
"Vice Admiral, you flatter me. This was inspired by you."
"Didn't you often say, 'If a person has no dreams, what's the difference between them and a salted fish'?"
Taro's lips twitched. I goddamn have another half-sentence, "I just want to be a salted fish." Did you eat that part?
Hmm... the salted fish was eaten?
Something seems wrong!
Taro shook his head and stuffed the notebook back to Mike.
"Very good, I'm satisfied! Proceed with the preparations based on this story as soon as possible!"
Mike was very excited to receive Taro's approval and nodded heavily.
"Vice Admiral, are we still filming a silent movie this time?"
Taro pondered for a long time and felt he could give it a try.
"Add a few lines of narration for scene transitions."
"Also, I see that many characters in the story are very uniquely designed. Find a factory and make a batch of character figures... well, equivalent to toys. Anyway, produce a batch!"
"We'll also sell some merchandise this time!"
A business genius!
Mike's eyes widened, filled with utter admiration!
Taro's idea was inspired by Luffy's number one fanboy, that Cockscomb Head.
In his memory, that guy later went around the New World frantically promoting Luffy's merchandise.
After arranging the work on the island, Taro prepared to dismiss the two and head to G4, but he noticed that Mike and George seemed to have more to say.
"What's wrong? Is there something else?"
George hesitated for a moment and took a step forward.
"Vice Admiral, we've gathered some intelligence, but I don't know if..."
Taro frowned. "What intelligence?"
George gave a salute.
"It's from the branch in the North Blue. It is said that Head... Head Instructor Zefa has run into some trouble in the North Blue!"
Taro was shocked and grabbed George's arm.
"What did you say? What happened to Teacher Zephyr?"
George's arm hurt from Taro's grip, but he didn't dare pull away and could only answer quickly.
"There's a scientific kingdom in the North Blue called Germa. Recently, they seem to have been in contact with a group of pirates. Upon hearing this, Head Instructor Zefa is on his way to gather intelligence!"
"This is real-time information sent back by the North Blue Branch's Surveillance Ship today!"
George had paused earlier because he didn't know how to address Zephyr.
After all, Zephyr had already withdrawn from the Marine ranks, both nominally and practically.
However, considering that Zephyr was his Vice Admiral's teacher, George continued to use 'Head Instructor' to refer to him.
Taro was in no mood to care about titles; what shocked him was that Zephyr had gone to the West Blue.
The North Blue is the sea with the strongest pirates among the four seas, second only to the West Blue.
If it were just pirates, going there would be fine.
But to happen upon a'scientific research' kingdom like Germa 66, Taro couldn't help but overthink.
"George, Mike, I have to leave immediately. I'm leaving everything here to you!"
Taro said rapidly.
"Vice Admiral, the Germa Kingdom is a member of the World Government..." George reminded him.
"A World Government member state? What the hell does that have to do with me!"
Taro roared loudly!
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