"Finally caught up... Kuzan."
Kizaru walked to Ao's side, glancing at the notable massive ship in the harbor: "Seems like I won't be able to continue my rest now..."
There's no need for Kuzan to give a lengthy introduction, as Kizaru immediately spotted the Konoha Pirates' massive ship due to the sheer power and terror emanating from its crew, unable to conceal their rampant, arrogant nature.
"No rush to make a move, right?"
Kuzan spoke lazily without turning around to face Kizaru: "Anyway, our mission is only to delay them, just monitoring their movement is enough..."
"That's fine too."
Kizaru had no objections to this.
In some sense, both Admirals have somewhat similar personalities — neither are particularly anxious.
Hopefully...
No battles will break out...
Waiting until Marshal Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp arrive before acting is also fine.
However...
The Konoha Pirates clearly won't remain quiet.
The pirate crew seemed uninterested in replenishing supplies onshore, they merely made an appearance here, and the Nine-headed Wooden Dragon pulled the massive ship into Alabasta's inland river.
"Hmm?"
Kizaru and Kuzan couldn't continue to lie down and rest.
These two Admirals seemed somewhat helpless and had to get off the warship, following along the riverbank to chase the massive ship into Alabasta's core territory.
On a cliff by the river.
The massive ship finally stopped casually.
Five individuals disembarked from the ship simultaneously, leaving only a white-haired woman on the railing, observing their movements intently.
Evidently.
The white-haired woman was responsible for overseeing the pirate ship.
As for the other five, they scattered across the cliffs by the river, seemingly gazing towards the distant desert, preparing to initiate action.
"They are acting separately..."
Kizaru glanced at Kuzan, pursing his lips as he suggested: "Why don't I stay here to monitor their ship while you surveil the others?"
"..."
Kuzan couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at Kizaru.
This guy...
How could he say this with a straight face?
Seeing Kizaru's somewhat sly, aged face, Kuzan's sense of guilt dissipated greatly; letting this guy learn a lesson this time wouldn't be too bad...
"It seems you're not really willing..."
Kizaru, without any hint of guilty conscience, continued sluggishly: "But we only have two people, it's impossible to monitor five people's dispersed actions, better to stay here guarding their pirate ship — it's not the worst choice to wait for a chance..."
"They're moving collectively."
Kuzan shook his head, looking towards the Konoha Pirates' movements.
"Collective action, huh?"
Kizaru didn't care about his dignity at all, smiling as he spoke: "Then your surveillance task will be a bit easier..."
"Speaking of which..."
Kizaru rubbed his chin, even opening his mouth proactively: "Two Admirals of the Navy Headquarters monitoring them separately is something any pirate crew can boast about..."
"..."
Kuzan felt his colleague was really shameless.
"I'm not their match alone."
Kuzan shook his head, not quite agreeing with Kizaru's idea, even indifferent about revealing his defeats: "At least two among them I'm no match for... Additionally, their Observation Haki is extremely proficient, I'm quite likely to be discovered."
"Then it's quite troublesome..."
Kizaru began to feel a headache, seemingly realizing the adversary's difficulty: "So this pirate crew has at least two troublesome characters, no wonder Marshal Sengoku instructed us merely to stall them before setting out..."
Originally...
Kizaru thought Sengoku understood him and Kuzan's nature.
Now it seems this pirate crew is genuinely troublesome; although Kizaru and Kuzan's relationship isn't particularly close, they wouldn't doubt each other's judgment.
"Alright."
"Let's proceed with the task Marshal Sengoku assigned..."
Kizaru looked at the pirate ship hidden under the cliff, continuing to propose: "You go ahead and surveil them, I'll be responsible for destroying their pirate ship, later I'll support you in tracking them — this way they lose any chance to escape..."
"..."
Kuzan fell silent.
Kizaru's proposal is indeed sound.
The only issue is the woman guarding the pirate ship.
Though the woman never made a move, Kuzan clearly sensed her identity wasn't simple.
Because when he was on the pirate ship, he discovered the pirates of the Konoha Pirates seemed to respect her greatly, even Uchiha Madara showed considerable respect, never contradicting her.
Her tone was somewhat arrogant, every request sounded like an order, even Konoha Pirates' Captain Senju Hashirama always obeyed her commands.
Furthermore...
There is the Konoha Pirates' red-haired boy.
The attitude towards the red-haired boy within the Konoha Pirates is peculiar, his status fluctuates — at times casually addressed, at other times all wholeheartedly listen to his decisions.
"If you insist on doing this..."
Kuzan couldn't clearly discern the internal workings of the Konoha Pirates, having to hope his colleague wouldn't suffer miserably: "That woman's strength isn't weak, best to be cautious..."