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Chapter 53: A Full-Frontal Invasion! The Great Mary Geoise Mind-Blowing Operation!!
My one-year training had finally ended, and it was time to set off for Dressrosa!! …Or so I thought, right until we heard that Gecko Moria, one of the former Warlords of the Sea, had been forced into slavery in Mary Geoise.
To be completely honest, I didn't care at all. My reaction was a solid, "Hmm. Okay."
I wouldn't go so far as to say 'serves him right,' but I certainly didn't feel any sympathy either. That guy was an idiot who had the nerve to call me a "micro-dick." I'll say it again. He was an idiot who called me a "micro-dick." I didn't have even a millimeter of obligation to save him, but…
"Line! What should I do?! Moria-sama is… Moria-sama is…!"
If it meant Perona would be sad, then that changed everything. Perona was a girl who had stayed by my side and helped me train for an entire year. I absolutely refused to see a girl like her cry. If that was the case, then jumping in to help without a second thought was what a real man would do!! Fuhehehe!
And so, here we are. The Holy Land, Mary Geoise. How many times does this make now?
The first time I came here was shortly after I left Dressrosa, I think. Back then, my mind and body were both so weak. The way the Celestial Dragons treated their slaves was so horrific that I'm pretty sure I ended up puking my guts out while running away.
The second time, I broke in to save Esune after she was kidnapped. I managed to rescue her and dozens of other slaves… but ultimately ended up losing to Aokiji. If Ray-san hadn't shown up, I definitely would have been killed.
…And now, this is my third visit.
"Alright! This time for sure, we are going to pull off a perfect and ultimate mission!!"
"Yeah!" x3
Let me introduce the team accompanying me to Mary Geoise this time: Esune, Perona, and Densuke. Because all three of them can fly freely through the sky, crossing the Red Line was an absolute breeze. Seriously, being able to fly in this world is basically a cheat code.
"By the way, Big Brother. How exactly are we going to rescue Moria-san… and Absalom-san? Are we going to sneak in quietly?"
"Nope… Absalom already tried sneaking in and failed, right? We're going to do the exact opposite of that!"
"The exact opposite…?"
"Exactly! The name of this operation is… A full-frontal invasion! The Great Mary Geoise Mind-Blowing Operation!! That's right!!"
"?"
"?"
⌁ "?" ⌁ Clap clap
Everyone tilted their heads at the operation name I presented. Densuke was the only one politely applauding despite not understanding.
"…Ahem. Allow me to explain it simply. First, we cause a massive, city-wide panic across all of Mary Geoise. Then, we use the chaos to rescue Moria. How's that? Easy to understand, right?"
"…Line. I have a question~!"
"Yes, Perona-kun."
"There are only four of us. How exactly do you plan to cause a panic across all of Mary Geoise?"
"Thaaaat is an excellent question. Fuhehe… The answer is right here!"
I pulled a small wooden box out of my hat. When I popped it open…
"Are these… beans?"
"They're plant seeds."
"Seeds?"
The inside of the box was packed tightly with seeds.
"Fuhehe! Don't underestimate them just because they look like normal seeds! These are mysterious seeds that grow instantly—Pop Greens. But I've personally researched and selectively bred them using my own unique techniques! These are completely original, brand-new Special Pop Greens!"
During my one-year training period, I spent every night researching plants, remember? This is one of the fruits of that labor.
"I call them… the Special Pop Greeeeens!" (In my best Doraemon impression).
"...…And how exactly do we use these Special Pop Greens?"
"We scatter them from the sky above Mary Geoise."
"Scatter them? What happens then?"
"That is something you'll have to wait and see! Fuhehehehe~!"
Marine Headquarters — Fleet Admiral's Office
Here, Kuzan—better known as "Aokiji," who had recently taken over as Fleet Admiral in place of Sengoku—was diligently working through a mountain of paperwork.
"Ah~ this is such a pain… I finally became Fleet Admiral, and I don't even have a second to rest."
"Well, you are the Fleet Admiral, after all. Oh, more paperwork for you, Fleet Admiral Kuzan."
"…You show absolutely zero mercy, don't you…"
Aokiji groaned, looking up at his secretary, who was carrying a stack of documents too large to hold in both arms.
"Come on, help me out a little, will ya?"
"…I am currently handling eighty percent of your paperwork as we speak, sir."
"Arara… is that so?"
Even after becoming Fleet Admiral, Aokiji's "Lazy Justice" remained completely unchanged.
"Haaa… You've become the Fleet Admiral, so please try to act a bit more sharp."
"I'm actually trying incredibly hard right now, you know? My nap time has been drastically reduced. What do you think about that?"
"When Sengoku-san was Fleet Admiral, the workload was three times what it is now."
"Sengoku-san was a monster, then."
Mountains upon mountains of paperwork… If it had been three times this amount, he probably would have died from overwork before ever getting the chance to fight a pirate again.
"The only reason your workload has decreased this much is all thanks to the bounty hunter, Esune-san, the 'Billion-Hunter Rabbit'! Thanks to her efforts, the public order in the Sabaody Archipelago has improved astonishingly, and the number of pirates successfully reaching Fish-Man Island has dropped by 43% compared to two years ago!"
"…Hmm~, that rabbit girl, huh…"
Listening to his secretary, Aokiji lazily scratched his head.
"Eh…? Fleet Admiral Kuzan, are you familiar with the Billion-Hunter Rabbit?"
"…No, just from a little run-in a long time ago…"
"?"
Looking back, it was about two and a half years ago… wasn't it? In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Aokiji had fought the Invisible Phantom Thief, Line… and the rabbit girl riding on his back. Nine times out of ten, the true identity of the "Billion-Hunter Rabbit" was her. Thinking back on it, she had definitely shown glimpses of her strength even then. Even though he had been off guard, Aokiji had taken two kicks from her that actually knocked him flat on his ass.
As expected of the Dark King Rayleigh's adopted daughter, and the Invisible Phantom Thief Line's little sister. That was classified information that only Aokiji knew within the Marines. To think that girl would become a bounty hunter… hailed as the Hero of Sabaody… You really never know how the world is going to turn out…
Aokiji skimmed through the compiled reports regarding the Billion-Hunter Rabbit. According to the files, over the course of the past year, the number of bounties she had claimed were:
10 Million Berry Class: Approx. 50 people.50 Million Berry Class: Approx. 50 people.100 Million Berry Class: Approx. 10 people.200 Million Berry Class: Approx. 5 people.300 Million Berry Class: Approx. 2 people.
"No, seriously, this is insane…!?"
The sheer numbers were staggering, but simply calculating the math, she was pulling in over 5 billion Berries a year. If this was just last year's total, adding this year's earnings would easily push her over the 10 billion mark. The exchange offices on the Sabaody Archipelago had constantly been sending requests for additional funds… and now it made perfect sense. Not if they had to pay out this much.
"Haaa… I'm incredibly grateful she's hunting pirates for us, but the financial cost is ridiculous…"
Normally, when a bounty hunter cashes in a major haul, they take a long break. Just one successful hunt usually provided enough money to live luxuriously for quite some time. But the Billion-Hunter Rabbit was different. She hunted pirates 24/7/365. No matter how many millions or billions she earned, she never stopped hunting…
"Hmm… if her goal is simply to hunt pirates, the best solution would be to just have her join the Marines… but she completely rejected our offer…"
Exactly how much money are we going to keep paying to a single individual!? Just scout the 'Billion-Hunter Rabbit' into the Marines already! The Five Elders had been heavily pressuring him from the top. However, when they actually reached out to recruit her, she had flatly replied: "If you give me permission to murder Akainu, I'll consider joining. Marines…"
Ouch. She was clearly holding a massive, burning grudge over the fact that her brother, Line, was killed during the Summit War. Personally, Aokiji had actually quite liked Line, so he also felt it was a real shame that the kid had died.
"Hmm… what if I just ask her again and say, 'You can punch that magma-idiot Sakazuki as much as you want, so please just join the Marines'? Everyone would much prefer having a knockout busty bunny girl join us over that magma-idiot anyway, right?"
"…What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Please just get back to work."
"Yessir…"
As Aokiji folded a report about the Billion-Hunter Rabbit into a paper airplane and lazily tossed it into the air…
⌁ "Ji-ji-ji-ji-ji! Ji-ji-ji-ji-ji!" ⌁
The emergency Transponder Snail on his desk began to ring violently. Wondering what it was about, he picked up the receiver…
⌁ "Clack… H-Hey! Aokiji!! Send the Admirals to Mary Geoise immediately, -e!! H-Hurry up!! We're in a hurry, -e!!" ⌁
It was a request for Admiral deployment directly from a Celestial Dragon.
"Ah~, yeah, yeah. Umm… The Admirals? What's the occasion this time?" Kuzan replied in a distinctly cold, apathetic tone.
The Marines' highest military force, the "Admirals," were direct subordinates to the Celestial Dragons. Therefore, if they said 'Come!', the Admirals had to deploy immediately. However, there were plenty of them who would call for an Admiral over the most trivial, utterly stupid reasons.
I want to see what a human looks like frozen in ice, so use your powers to freeze these slaves! Then I'm going to smash them to pieces and play with them, -e! …Back when he was an Admiral, Aokiji had actually been given that exact order by a Celestial Dragon.
Haaa… What the hell is it this time… Remembering that unpleasant memory made him sick. Assuming this was just another trivial, ridiculous request, Aokiji waited for the response. The very next moment—
⌁ "U-Uwaaaaaah!! T-The flower monsters are right outside!! A-Aokiji! What are you doing!! Hurry! Send the Admirals now!! If you don't hurry… Gyaaaaaaah!!! ...Beeeeeep, Beeeeep…" ⌁
Leaving behind a visceral, violent death scream, the transmission from the Celestial Dragon abruptly cut off.
"...Eh?"
What was that just now? No matter how he listened to it, that hadn't sounded like acting. …For one, he severely doubted a Celestial Dragon had the brain capacity to pull off acting in the first place. What the hell was happening up there?
"F-Fleet Admiral Aokiji! We're receiving a massive influx of calls from Mary Geoise! T-They're all demanding we send the Admirals! They're saying flower monsters have appeared…!"
"Flower monsters…?"
He didn't fully grasp the situation, but one thing was certain: he had to deploy the Admirals immediately. It was incredibly rare to receive this many simultaneous deployment requests from Mary Geoise. Aokiji quickly dialed his own Transponder Snail.
"Hello! Sakazuki! Borsalino! Issho! Aramaki! Head to Mary Geoise immediately!! The Celestial Dragons are in trouble!! I'm coming too!"
⌁ "!!?" ⌁
—————
"Fuhe~. I know I'm the one who did it, but man, this is quite the disaster…"
We were currently hovering slightly above the streets of the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. From our vantage point, we were blankly watching the literal hellscape unfolding below us as if it were someone else's problem.
"Wow♪ Look, Big Brother! The Celestial Dragons look like garbage!"
Esune commented, sounding an awful lot like a certain Colonel Muska. Her hatred for the Celestial Dragons was as strong as ever… Well, considering they murdered her parents, almost forced her into marriage, shot her, and nearly killed her, it was completely justified.
"Gyaaaa!!"
"Uwaaaaaaaah~!!"
"Someone save me!!"
"What the hell is this, -e~!!?"
"Hiiiiii! Aaaaagh!!"
To explain exactly what was happening right before our eyes… Countless massive plants, possessing round heads with red-and-white polka dots, were baring vicious fangs and rampaging through the streets of Mary Geoise. They were destroying buildings and relentlessly attacking the Celestial Dragons. To put it even more simply: It was an all-out rampage of Piranha Plants from Super Mario in Mary Geoise!!
⌁ "Jiii~ The 'Special Pop Greens' Master made? They're amazing! Chomp, chomp!" ⌁
"Fuhehehe! Right? I have to say, it's a genuine masterpiece! They look exactly like Piranha Plants! They wouldn't look out of place joining the roster in Super Smash Bros!"
⌁ "Sumabura?" ⌁
That's right. The Special Pop Greens I had prepared for this exact occasion were seeds that spawned literal Piranha Plants. I simply sprinkled them from the sky above Mary Geoise! Fuhehehe~!
These instantly-grown Piranha Plants roamed around on two legs—just like in the recent Mario games—and possessed a unique trait where they would exclusively attack anyone I designated as an enemy (like the Celestial Dragons). They could spit fire, exhale toxic gas, and even regurgitate spiked iron balls… I made sure to faithfully recreate the source material down to the finest details. It was actually incredibly hard to make them, you know?
"T-They represent an infinite, easily replaceable military force even greater than zombies… Moria-sama would definitely want them…"
"Fuhehehe! I feel like I'm playing a tower defense game! Go, go, go~!"
Watching thousands of Piranha Plants systematically destroy Mary Geoise was surprisingly exhilarating. The combat power of a single Piranha Plant was roughly equivalent to a 30 million Berry bounty head. Someday, I'd like to try creating a Petey Piranha too.
"Ah! Big Brother! Look over there! The slaves are…"
"Hmm?"
I followed Esune's pointing finger. Below, I saw the slaves panicking and fleeing in terror right alongside the Celestial Dragons. Actually, looking closer, the Celestial Dragons were using the slaves as human meat shields… I had specifically programmed the Piranha Plants I brought today to strictly ignore anyone who wasn't a Celestial Dragon, but yeah, of course they'd still be terrified…
There were even some slaves who were intentionally throwing themselves in front of the Piranha Plants, screaming, "I'll finally be free from the agony of being a slave! Come on! Eat me! I can't take this slave life anymore~!"
"Hmm~, that's really sad to watch...…"
If we just left things as they were, what would happen to those slaves? They'd probably just get recaptured by the surviving Celestial Dragons and subjected to punishments worse than death… Why didn't you protect me!? Whip! Crack! Whip! Something like that…
"Mmm, mmmmm. ...Alright! I've decided!! Since we're already here, let's just save all the other slaves along with Moria!!"
"Eh!?" x3
It was a bad habit of mine. Whenever I saw something like this, I just couldn't turn a blind eye… But I mean, I couldn't just leave them, right? The difficulty of our rescue mission was going to spike slightly… no, drastically, but I couldn't just leave them here to die.
"A-As expected of you, Big Brother♡ …That kindness of yours is what I truly love most about you♡ I wish you'd plant your seeds in me too, not just Mary Geoise♡ Your seeds, Big Brother~♡♡♡ Nn♡ (whispering)"
⌁ "Jiii! Densuke will do her best too!" ⌁
"…A-Alright! Understood! I'll help too, Line!"
I had half-expected someone to voice an objection… but it seemed Esune, Densuke, and Perona were all fully on board to follow my lead. What the heck? Were they the best women in the world or what?! I swore right then and there that no matter what happened, I would absolutely protect these three.
"…But now the real issue is figuring out how to gather all the slaves scattered across Mary Geoise so we can actually save them…"
I crossed my arms, racking my brain. In a situation like this, the ability that would shine the most was…!
"Densuke!"
⌁ "Ji?" ⌁
"The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Angel! The time has finally come to use your power!"
⌁ "!! Jiii! Leave it to me, Master! I'm going to use 'that', right?" ⌁
Densuke spread her wings wide, closed her eyes, and as the halo above her head began to sparkle brilliantly, she focused intensely. Jiiii~~!
⌁ "Here I go! A-n-g-e-l C-o-m-b-a-t! Oracle Time!!" ⌁
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