"Krieg, I see the pirate sweep in the North Blue is progressing well."
In the captain's quarters of the Charlotte Angé, I was receiving a Den Den Mushi transmission from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Yes, sir. However, we have yet to capture the Donquixote Family, the root cause of the recent surge in activity..." I trailed off. Despite Sengoku's praise, I felt the weight of failing our primary objective.
"Don't worry about it. You've apprehended a staggering number of other pirates. More importantly, regarding your request to go to Fish-Man Island—we've finally made the necessary arrangements. Return here once to report and prepare."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
"I plan to leave the Donquixote Family to the Northern Regional Commander, Rear Admiral Stainless, for the time being. Ensure the handover is thorough."
The connection cut out.
Finally, Fish-Man Island. I likely had a specific mission, but I had my own agenda:
The Sun Pirates: I needed to track the movements of Fisher Tiger's crew, though information would be scarce since they were already at sea.
Hordy Jones: I needed to check on the New Fish-Man Pirates. I wasn't sure of Hordy's current age, but I recalled he was once a soldier of the Ryugu Kingdom.
Bonbori-sama: If Robin's and my predictions were correct, Fish-Man Island was the most likely place to intercept the giant anglerfish.
I headed to the command center and ordered the ship to turn toward Mary Geoise. After several days of handing over intel on Doflamingo and other high-priority targets to Rear Admiral Stainless, I arrived at the Holy Land.
"While you're at Fish-Man Island, I want you to gather intel on the Sun Pirates," Sengoku commanded. "Furthermore, regarding the plan you proposed... I've judged it feasible now that the authority of the Celestial Dragons has weakened. As a preliminary step, go clean up the Lawless Area of Sabaody and gather information while you're at it."
So I'm getting a mission after all, I thought, giving a crisp "Yes, sir!" in response.
Still, I was surprised he actually approved that plan. Even with the Nobles losing their grip, I had thought it was a long shot.
As I walked back from the office, I thought about the rumors. The plague ravaging the Celestial Dragons—my "Gift Green"—had reportedly claimed over a hundred lives in the last six months.
No cure had been found. The number of infected was more than double the death toll. To prevent further casualties, the World Government was essentially keeping the remaining Nobles under house arrest in Mary Geoise, "for their own protection."
I felt a twinge of ironic sympathy. I hope they find a cure soon. (They won't.) With only about 10% of the Celestial Dragons remaining healthy, it made sense for the Government to act now while the Nobles couldn't interfere.
I arrived at Sabaody half a day after leaving Marineford. I went straight to the hotel district to meet with the staff of Stella Production: Tesoro (CEO/Producer), Stella (Assistant), and Victoria Cindry—a stage actress I had been courting via letters, who had just arrived on the island.
Our broad strategy followed Tesoro's dream: "Entertainment for the World." We would start by showcasing song and dance in the nearby seas before expanding globally.
I had approached Cindry-san to be the "star" and a mentor for future talent. Despite her noble background, she had agreed to Tesoro's vision and left her country for Sabaody.
Tesoro was already busy marketing the brand in the hotel district; we certainly had the capital for it.
Amidst these duties, I received data from Tesoro regarding the Lawless Area and headed to the Sabaody Marine Outpost.
I ordered one warship to undergo the essential coating process for the trip to Fish-Man Island. Since that would take time, I decided to "clean the house" first, leading a unit to Grove 1.
The annual Sabaody patrol usually aimed to let new recruits practice catching bounties and learn the darker side of the world, like the "Employment Offices" and the reality of the Celestial Dragons. But this time, it was different.
The first person to notice was an old veteran of the Lawless Area, a man known as "The Boss" who managed the local thugs.
"...That bastard is back."
The Boss looked ghastly. One of his subordinates noticed his distress.
"Boss? Something wrong?"
"Tell everyone! The 'Dull Bear' has arrived! This isn't a normal patrol!! Everyone—and I mean EVERYONE—stay quiet if you want to live!!"
The subordinate scrambled out to spread the word to their affiliated groups.
"Pops, you're awfully on edge. This 'Dull Bear' guy... he's the one who used to go wild around here, right?"
"Kid... do you know why the annual patrols started in the first place?"
"I don't know... to catch hidden bounties?"
"Yeah. A few years ago, this place was ruled by truly dangerous men. The Navy didn't even dare touch them. But then he showed up.
He took them down one by one: 'Peerless Style' Lugat Wong, the 'Merchant of Death' Corneo Rudman, the 'Master of Disguise' Wraith Donovan... monsters with bounties over a hundred million, mass murderers, mafia dons, assassins! He broke them all!"
The Boss took a shaky breath.
"He reset the power balance single-handedly. That's the only reason the Marines can walk these streets now.
And if he's back personally, it means he's coming for the big fish we've been hiding. Tell the other gangs: 'The Bear has come down from the mountain!'"
One by one, bounty hunters and pirates who didn't know the terror of the "Dull Bear" were rounded up. Some tried to fight back, but it was a slaughter.
Most were crushed by a single swing of my mace; even the strongest didn't last five exchanges before being beaten into the dirt.
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