Faced with Sakazuki’s invitation, Raizen pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
“Thank you for the kind offer, Admiral Sakazuki, but please forgive me for declining.
I am still just a cadet, and I haven’t thought about what to do after graduation yet.”
This was a lie; he simply didn’t want to be an adjutant.
Although being Sakazuki’s adjutant would mean frequent fights, it didn’t align with his development philosophy.
Moreover…
his sense of justice was completely different from Sakazuki’s.
Raizen had already figured it out.
After graduation, he would first take a trip to Skypiea to get the gold, then accumulate more merits to get promoted.
He would strive to be dispatched to a base as its commander.
Finally, while honing his own strength, he would focus on economic development, gradually weaning the Marines off their financial dependence on the World Government.
As long as the Marines could break free from the World Government’s financial control, they would become a true naval force, rather than just the World Government’s dogs.
The Marines were mostly good people.
No matter how you looked at it, they were a high-quality force.
In the future, when he took control of the Marines, how could he tolerate a bunch of swine chattering away above his head all day?
Faced with Raizen’s rejection, Sakazuki merely nodded.
“If you change your mind, my adjutant position is always open for you.”
Sakazuki’s current adjutant stood there in silence.
He was a middle-aged man named Karenko who had an honest and simple appearance.
Wearing a helpless smile, his demeanor was very amiable.
It was hard to imagine that he was also a member of the hawkish faction.
“Vice Admiral Garp, and you two, please follow me.”
He gestured invitingly and led the way, speaking as they walked.
“We have currently detected ships belonging to the Beasts Pirates heading toward Totto Land.
They are estimated to arrive tomorrow.”
Garp held a bag of rice crackers in one hand and picked his nose with the other.
“Kaido and Charlotte Linlin haven’t seen each other in so long, so why would they choose to meet now?
If it weren’t for this mess, I could have gone back to the East Blue to see my grandson!”
Karenko shook his head.
“The reason is currently unclear.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered us to monitor them from here and not interfere with their affairs unless absolutely necessary.”
Hearing this, Garp immediately looked disgusted.
He thought he was coming here for a fight.
Wouldn’t a surveillance job be better suited for Kuzan?
Raizen shrugged beside them, his Observation Haki constantly sensing the surroundings without a moment’s pause.
Totto Land’s Tea Party was famous throughout the New World.
Every participant was a celebrity from various circles, and there was even no shortage of World Government officials among them.
At Totto Land’s level, the World Government no longer treated them as ordinary pirates.
This was a country—a powerful, true nation in every sense of the word.
The gathering of ships from all walks of life here really opened Raizen’s eyes.
He stroked his chin with his right hand, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the World Government ships, making no effort to hide the greed in his eyes.
He could feel it.
Inside those ships…
there was a lot of treasure that belonged to him.
As a system-certified “pirate,” it was only reasonable for him to rob World Government ships, right?
No, it was clearly the World Government that had stolen his treasure.
He was the victim here!
“Raizen, kid, what are you looking at?”
Garp walked over and followed Raizen’s gaze, also spotting the ships affiliated with the World Government.
“Oh?
Got an idea?”
The corners of Raizen’s mouth curled up slightly.
“Instructor Garp, tell me…
if these ships were to encounter a storm at sea and have an accident, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”
Garp immediately burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha!
Of course not!
Isn’t it perfectly normal to run into a storm on the open sea?
Even a great pirate like the Golden Lion was defeated by a storm, let alone a few World Government ships.”
Raizen understood, his smile widening.
With Instructor Garp’s words, he could act boldly without worry.
Even if he was investigated, it wouldn’t matter.
He had Garp standing behind him; all he had to do was claim ignorance.
People always said this old geezer was single-minded, but in reality, he was quite shrewd.
He would absolutely love to see anything that caused trouble for the World Government.
Having selected his targets, Raizen turned and walked away.
Making a move now would cause too much of a commotion and attract the attention of Totto Land and all the various factions.
It would be better to wait until this event was over before finding an opportunity to create a storm.
Meanwhile, deep inside Totto Land, on Whole Cake Island.
A severely out-of-shape, obese woman with long pink hair, wearing a pirate hat and rings adorned with jewels, was enjoying her dessert.
Swallowing a mouthful of cake, a satisfied expression appeared on her face, her eyes narrowing in delight.
This was the ruler of Totto Land, the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, and one of the Four Emperors—Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin!
Sitting opposite her was a heavily built man with short spiky hair and sharp eyes, the lower half of his face concealed by a thick scarf.
He was Charlotte Linlin’s second son—Charlotte Katakuri, one of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, boasting a bounty of 1,057,000,000 Berries and possessing immense strength!
“Mama,”
Katakuri set down the paper containing the intelligence reports, his expression slightly serious.
“The Tea Party is about to begin.
Should we do something about the Marine warships snooping outside Totto Land?”
“Mamamamamama!
Sakazuki, is it?
Let him be, there’s no need to bother.
But if the Marines cross the line in any way, annihilate them!”
A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Charlotte Linlin’s eyes.
With cream still lingering on the corners of her mouth, she looked rather terrifying.
Hearing this, Katakuri’s expression became somewhat conflicted, a detail that did not escape Charlotte Linlin’s notice.
“Hm?
What is it, my sweet son?”
Katakuri’s tone dropped slightly.
“Mama, besides Sakazuki, someone else arrived today.
It’s the Marine Hero, Garp.”
Charlotte Linlin fell silent for a moment, her face stiffening as if recalling some unpleasant memories.
“Hmph!
As long as the Marines don’t go too far, we’ll leave them alone!
Also, whatever happens to anyone else outside of Totto Land has absolutely nothing to do with us!”
“Yes, Mama!”
Katakuri breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and walked out.
Fortunately, his mother had listened to reason.
Otherwise, he was genuinely afraid she would end up fighting Garp.
Even though so many years had passed and he considered his mother’s current strength to be practically invincible, facing both Sakazuki and Garp at the same time was a battle where even she wouldn’t gain the upper hand.
Not to mention the impending arrival of Kaido, the captain of the Beasts Pirates, who was a figure on the same level as his mother—one of the Four Emperors!
For the sake of Totto Land’s stability, not provoking the Marines outside was the wisest course of action.