After four days…
the warship had set out from Marineford's harbor and encountered no trouble or obstruction along the way. At last, it successfully arrived at its destination.
Demon Town.
Or rather…
according to Marine intelligence, the current temporary base of the Donquixote Family.
Demon Town was located in the first half of the Grand Line. Behind it lay Alabasta, ahead of it was the Florian Triangle, and to its right was Long Ring Long Land.
The reason this place was called Demon Town was because it was a paradise for pirates.
There were very few native residents here. Those who could leave had already fled.
The ones who remained…
were mostly villains who did business with pirates.
Overall, Demon Town's resident population was extremely small, fewer than a thousand people. Most of them had dealings with pirates.
In addition…
as a pirate paradise, Demon Town attracted countless pirates all year round.
In other words…
this place was lawless.
There was almost no law that could restrain Demon Town.
Here, laws did not exist.
Whoever had the bigger fist held the truth.
The sea's law of survival of the fittest was displayed here in its rawest form.
"So this is Demon Town?"
On the warship's deck, Kai stood beside the wooden railing, his eyes filled with curiosity as he observed the gloomy, crude little island in front of him.
Because of the local weather, Demon Town looked extremely dim.
The buildings across the island seemed hidden in darkness, giving off a cold, eerie feeling.
Splash!
The sea breeze blew gently.
The waves rolled and rippled, producing crisp, pleasant sounds.
Gradually, the warship approached Demon Town's harbor.
Anchor dropped.
Sails lowered.
The ship stopped.
The rippling sea slowly calmed as the warship came to a halt.
"Four days…"
"We finally arrived."
Tsuru walked to Kai's side and quietly stared at the dark Demon Town ahead.
The four-day voyage had been dull.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected had happened along the way.
Otherwise, the journey would have taken even longer.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, according to the latest intelligence…"
"The Donquixote Family has remained in Demon Town over the past few days."
"They opened a large casino here, attracting pirates from hundreds of miles around to gather in Demon Town."
"At present, there are a very large number of pirates gathered here."
A Marine intelligence officer came to Tsuru's side and respectfully reported the information.
"The Donquixote Family truly is lawless."
"They openly occupy an entire town."
"They really don't put us Marines in their eyes…"
Tsuru raised an eyebrow, her eyes carrying a trace of coldness.
Then she turned her gaze to Kai and asked with a smile, "Kai, the mission has begun. Want to take the lead?"
"I'd be happy to."
Kai smiled.
"Good."
Tsuru took out an envelope and handed it to Kai, speaking seriously.
"This is the invitation letter for the Seven Warlords of the Sea. You will represent the Marines and hand it to Doflamingo."
"If he refuses…"
"then you may act."
"No one gets to refuse joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Especially since this is your first mission after becoming a Headquarters Rear Admiral."
Kai accepted the invitation letter, his eyes flashing.
"I guarantee the mission will be completed."
A moment later, he slowly turned around and lightly pushed off with both feet.
In no time, he landed steadily from the warship onto Demon Town's harbor.
Once both feet touched the ground, he looked back at Tsuru and the Marines on the warship, then waved.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, wait for my good news."
With that, he turned and strode into the dark streets of Demon Town without looking back.
Watching Kai leave, Tsuru showed a look of approval.
Beside her, a tall female Marine could not help asking worriedly, "Vice Admiral Tsuru, is this really all right? Letting Rear Admiral Kai enter the Donquixote Family's base alone… won't something happen?"
"The Donquixote Family is a group of vicious criminals!"
"Letting Rear Admiral Kai deal with them alone might be very dangerous."
Tsuru smiled faintly.
"Don't underestimate Kai. Even Whitebeard Jr. was defeated and captured by him. I don't believe he'll lose to the Donquixote Family."
"Even Doflamingo…"
"may not be able to take Kai down."
"If you don't believe me, just wait and watch."
"Kai is the strongest genius Marine Headquarters has ever produced."
After a pause, she added, "Still, your worry isn't unreasonable. Don't worry. We'll leave one hundred men to guard the warship. The rest will follow me into Demon Town."
"This time, we're simply letting Kai test the waters first."
"If he can't deal with the Donquixote Family…"
"then there is still me."
Only then did the female Marine beside her let out a breath of relief, looking at Tsuru with absolute trust.
If the male Marines of Headquarters took Hero Garp as their role model…
then every woman who joined the Marines took Vice Admiral Tsuru as their goal and belief.
That alone showed just how powerful Tsuru's influence was.
"Let's go as well."
Tsuru slowly led two hundred Marines down from the warship and onto Demon Town's harbor, following the direction Kai had just taken.
…
"So this is the Donquixote Family's base?"
Kai walked along Demon Town's street, his eyes filled with curiosity as he observed the surrounding environment.
The place was extremely dim.
It was as though smoke covered the entire sky, preventing even the golden sunlight from shining down properly. The whole town felt gloomy and oppressive.
For people who could not live in the light, this kind of environment was naturally their favorite.
For example…
those vicious pirates loved this dark and sinister atmosphere.
Walking through Demon Town's streets…
Kai rarely saw many pedestrians.
Only a dozen or so people moved along the broad road.
Occasionally, he could feel greedy, covetous gazes from the shadows.
However, perhaps because they feared the Headquarters Rear Admiral uniform he was wearing, none of them dared openly provoke him.
"If I search like this, how long will it take?"
Kai narrowed his eyes and slowly stopped.
He was now standing in the middle of the street.
Demon Town was not especially large, but if he wanted to find a specific location alone, it would still take quite a bit of time and energy.
And that was clearly not the result Kai wanted.
So he swept his gaze around and then walked toward a large man nearby.
The man was built like a brown bear. He stood nearly three meters tall. Compared to him, Kai looked like a fragile little ant.
"Kid…"
"What do you want from me?"
The large man looked down at Kai from above and grinned ferociously. The scar on his face made him look especially savage, giving off a cold, sinister pressure.
"I'm asking you. Where are the Donquixote Family's people?" Kai asked.
"The Donquixote Family?!"
"You're looking for them?!"
"Are you insane?"
"Kid, those people are a group of murderers who don't blink when they kill!"
"You're a Marine, yet you dare go alone to find the Donquixote Family? Do you want to die?"
The large man's expression changed drastically. He looked at Kai in shock.
From this alone, one could tell how terrifying the Donquixote Family's deterrence was in Demon Town.
Just mentioning their name…
was enough to make these vicious pirates tremble in fear.
"You only need to answer me."
"The rest isn't something you need to interfere with."
Kai glanced at him indifferently. A flash of crimson killing intent flickered through his eyes.
A terrifying aura, like that of a prehistoric beast, slowly spread from his body.
In an instant…
the large man felt the surrounding temperature turn ice-cold.
A chill rose from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, making his hair stand on end.
"This… this kid…"
"He's not simple!"
The large man's throat went dry. He swallowed subconsciously.
He instinctively took half a step back.
Under Kai's deep, emotionless gaze, he spoke with fear and caution.
"All the members of the Donquixote Family are in the casino they opened."
"It's located…"
"to the north side of Demon Town. About three hundred meters from where you are now."
Under Kai's terrifying pressure, the large man did not dare hide the truth.
"North. Three hundred meters…"
Kai's eyes flashed.
After getting the information he wanted, he began walking north step by step.
He left only one sentence behind.
"Thanks."
The large man remained where he was, watching Kai approach the Donquixote Family's location with a suspicious expression.
A moment later, three or five pirates walked over to him and asked one after another, "Big Bear, what did that kid ask you? You answered him that easily? Since when are you so afraid of Marines?"
The large man named Big Bear opened his mouth. The lingering sense of dread still had not faded.
"I don't know why…"
"But I feel like that kid is terrifying."
"He's not someone we can afford to provoke."
"I'm warning you, don't try to mess with him."
"What he asked me just now was…"
"the location of the Donquixote Family's base. And I told him."
The moment those words fell, the pirates around him were shocked.
"Is he insane?"
"He dares go to the Donquixote Family's base alone?"
"And he's a Marine!"
"A five-year-old Marine brat!"
"He's courting death!"
The pirates spoke one after another.
The Donquixote Family…
was a terrifying force that frightened them just by name.
"I keep feeling…"
"this won't be that simple."
Big Bear trusted his instincts.
He was certain.
That kid…
was absolutely not simple.
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