"Take them all down in one sweep?"
York blinked in surprise and looked at Michael.
"You don't mean… you plan to deal with everyone heading to Egghead all by yourself, do you?"
"Surprised?"
Michael tilted his head slightly, looking at the Vegapunk clone who appeared no older than sixteen.
"Didn't you just acknowledge who I am? You're Vegapunk — you should know part of my past. So, using that brain you share with the original and the other clones, tell me… do you think I can't do it?"
"Can you really pull it off?"
York suddenly lay down lazily on the huge bed.
"I don't know who exactly the World Government will send for this task, but let's make a guess."
"First of all, they won't send the Elders. Right now, they need to stay in the Holy Land and pass on the discovery about the Mother Flame to those above them..."
"Second, they won't send CP0 or CP9. The reason's simple — they're not strong enough."
"And finally, it's even more impossible for them to send the Marines. Not to mention that the Navy and the World Government are only cooperating on the surface now — even the two Vice Admirals stationed at Egghead are your people. Even without that, the Government can't guarantee the Marines would hand Egghead over completely. There's no reason for them to do someone else's dirty work."
York truly lived up to being one of Vegapunk's clones. Though she spent most of her days eating, sleeping, and relieving herself, she was still frighteningly intelligent.
In just a few sentences, she had clearly analyzed the World Government's motives and possibilities.
"Since the Government won't send those people," York smiled slyly, turning her eyes toward Michael, "then who else do they have left? As the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, I'm sure you can answer that question easily. You must've already received the relevant intel through your information network."
Michael looked at York for a long moment before finally nodding.
Yes — he had already guessed what kind of scheme the World Government was brewing.
With all other factions either unsuitable or unavailable to move, there was only one possibility left…
The new Flying Pirates, led by the Golden Lion.
A faint smile curled at Michael's lips.
Since the World Government had secretly supported the rise of this new pirate faction, this was precisely the best time for them to act on its behalf.
After all, aside from the Revolutionary Army, who else would ever suspect that the newly emerged strongest pirate crew would be colluding with the World Government behind the scenes?
"If it's them, then it makes sense..."
"But tell me," Michael said with a faint sneer, "do you really think I'm afraid of a league of losers?"
As he spoke, the angelic wings that had been hidden all this time spread open once again, revealing themselves before York.
At a glance, it was clear — aside from the two massive pairs of wings already unfurled...
A third pair had begun to sprout from the base of his back.
...
"Report to the Fleet Admiral! Urgent intelligence incoming!"
Outside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, a messenger rushed forward, shouting in panic.
"Come in!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
The soldier rushed into the office after receiving permission, only to find three people already gathered inside — the Marine Hero Garp, the instructor of the Junior Cadet Corps Zephyr, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Grand Strategist.
"Don't just stand there, what happened?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" The soldier swallowed hard and reported quickly, "The newly risen Flying Pirates, who've been making major moves in the New World recently, have suddenly appeared in the skies above a certain sea region! Based on the direction they're heading... their target seems to be Egghead Island!"
"What… Egghead?!" Sengoku's head snapped up. "Alright, you're dismissed for now."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
As the messenger left, Sengoku's expression instantly darkened.
"That damned Golden Lion… first his mysterious resurgence, then the Impel Down breakout — and now he's setting his sights on Egghead?" Sengoku growled. "Egghead is a place we absolutely cannot lose! The importance of Vegapunk's research goes without saying!"
"Naturally," Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded. "Vegapunk's technology is decades, maybe centuries ahead of its time. If any of it falls into pirate hands, it would be disastrous. At the same time, we need to be cautious of the World Government too... We have to admit it — the current Government is no longer the entity we once swore allegiance to. And the timing of the Flying Pirates' rise… it's too convenient, almost as if someone orchestrated it behind the scenes."
Tsuru's words, uttered right in the Fleet Admiral's office, bordered on outright treason.
But surprisingly, neither Garp nor Zephyr voiced any objection — not even Sengoku. He simply remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
The highest echelon of the Marines had long since changed their attitude toward the World Government — and that shift could be traced back entirely to Michael.
If it hadn't been for Michael's continuous efforts to instill ideas like "the Marines should be independent," they never would have realized, especially in the face of the Government's growing corruption and weakness, that their loyalty might be misplaced.
That ideological change wasn't something that could be undone just because Michael was gone.
In the past five years, the rift between the Navy and the Government had only widened. Behind the scenes, the two sides had already begun clashing indirectly.
For instance, three years ago, the Government quietly cut off military funding for the Navy...
Then, a year ago, under the Government's secret orders, certain "Regional Justice" factions within the Navy committed atrocities in a non-member nation — their actions were even more barbaric than those of real pirates.
That single event nearly destroyed all the goodwill Michael had spent years building for the Marines.
Sengoku took the matter extremely seriously — for the first time in Marine history, he ordered the mass execution of Marine officers for severe crimes.
From that moment on, Sengoku had essentially torn off all pretense of cooperation with the World Government.
And in that larger context, Vegapunk's importance had grown more critical than ever.
Sengoku wasn't a fool — from Vegapunk, he could clearly see the future.
Just like he once saw it in Michael.
"Whether or not the Flying Pirates are the Government's secret pawns, Egghead must remain under Marine control..."
Sengoku opened his eyes sharply, turning toward Garp and Zephyr.
"Garp, Zephyr — I need you two to head there personally."
Zephyr silently nodded. Though he'd long since stepped down from the frontlines, this was no time to refuse an order from Sengoku.
Garp, after a brief moment of thought, said,
"The two of us won't be enough..."
"To be safe, I'll need to deploy SWORD, the Secret Special Force."
"Hmm. Then contact Rosinante," Sengoku said firmly, his gaze hardening with resolve.
"If the Flying Pirates dare to push forward..."
"Then we'll make sure they never come back!"
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