Seeing that Dragon wasn't insisting, Finn's expression relaxed. The seriousness faded from his face as he smiled. "Good. The chaos in the New World is crucial for the Marines. It's better if you don't interfere."
After a brief pause, Finn added, "If you do interfere, I'll beat you too."
"So ruthless?" Dragon complained first, then asked, "So you're taking charge of this situation?"
"It's not my turn to take charge yet." Finn waved his hand dismissively. "You probably don't know, but after I accompany you to the Red Line to retrieve what we hid there, I'm returning to Marineford to see Fleet Admiral Kong off to his new position as Commander-in-Chief. At the same time, Admiral Sengoku will officially take office as the new Fleet Admiral. As the saying goes, a new official lights three fires when taking office. The New World operation must be executed beautifully under the new Fleet Admiral's leadership. So what responsibility do I have? I'm just heading to the front lines."
"The Fleet Admiral's getting promoted?" Dragon sounded genuinely surprised.
He truly hadn't known about this. After all, as leader of the Revolutionary Army, he had no access to such high-level Marine intelligence.
However, Finn no longer felt the need to keep it secret from Dragon. There was no point. Dragon certainly wouldn't dare act on the information, and the whole world would know soon enough anyway. No harm in telling him early.
"What do you mean 'getting promoted'? You make it sound like he's pregnant or something. He's ascending to higher office, getting promoted and getting rich." Finn corrected with a grin.
This event would mark the end of Fleet Admiral Kong's era and the arrival of a new Marine age belonging to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Dragon naturally understood the implications. He ignored Finn's complaint and said with some emotion, "Your Marines are about to transform..."
Finn dismissed the comment and changed subjects, his tone becoming meaningful. "We at Marine Headquarters have received reports that your Revolutionary Army is causing trouble in Alabasta."
Dragon quickly regained his composure, smiling. "Really? I haven't noticed anything like that."
"Ah, so hypocritical! Don't pretend you don't know it's Crocodile framing you." Finn's voice turned sharp.
Dragon paused, then whispered, "What? Are you Marines planning to move against Crocodile?"
"Who has time to worry about a small-time punk like him? I just said we're making major moves in the New World." Finn waved dismissively.
"He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Is it really appropriate to call him a small-time punk?" Dragon smiled despite himself.
"He's nothing." Finn's tone was casual. After a brief pause, he added, "I'm giving you advance warning so you can't accuse me of being disloyal later."
"Go ahead." Dragon nodded attentively.
"You'd better not get too deeply involved in Alabasta's affairs. It's a very complicated place." Finn's warning was genuine.
"Hahaha, what are you saying? I wasn't involved in anything to begin with. You just said it was Crocodile framing me." Dragon laughed.
Finn studied Dragon's expression but ultimately said nothing more.
He'd given fair warning. If Dragon really wanted to cause trouble in Alabasta, Finn wouldn't consider it dishonorable to take action against him himself.
"Hey, you two." Queen Stussy spoke from her sun lounger without opening her eyes, voice carrying mild irritation. "The weather's so beautiful. Can you please stop discussing these boring matters and just quietly enjoy the sun together?"
The three of them formed an initial alliance of sorts, but among them, it was obvious Stussy sided firmly with Finn. Dragon couldn't do much about that dynamic.
However, over the years, he and Stussy had helped each other considerably. Stussy sold information to Dragon, and Dragon helped Stussy eliminate her competitors.
It had to be said that the CP agencies' inability to defeat the Revolutionary Army for so many years owed much to the crucial role Stussy played.
Three days later, at Mary Geoise's port military management zone in the New World. This was the exclusive harbor for Marine Headquarters warships entering and exiting, under complete Marine Headquarters control.
Finn's warship was anchored in this port.
Former G-7 Base Commander, current Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Doberman now wore the standard Marine uniform with a Justice cloak draped over his shoulders. He stood at the harbor with a squad of Marines, waiting for Finn.
Not long after, Finn descended from the ship, followed by Queen Stussy and Dragon, who was completely concealed beneath his hooded windbreaker.
"Admiral!" Doberman looked at Finn with visible excitement and saluted crisply.
"Hey, long time no see, Doberman." Finn smiled, clapping Doberman's shoulder. "Did Gion transfer you back to Headquarters?"
"Yes, Admiral. According to Vice Admiral Gion's arrangements, I'm now your adjutant." Doberman's response was immediate.
When Finn had been a Vice Admiral, Doberman served as his adjutant until Finn left G-7. Now, after so many years, Doberman had become Finn's adjutant again. But this time, he was adjutant to an Admiral.
"Hahaha, excellent." Finn nodded with satisfaction, then asked quietly, "How's the situation?"
Doberman leaned closer, voice dropping. "They're all our people. I brought them back from G-7 specifically."
"Good." Finn nodded again. He had no doubts about Doberman's loyalty. G-7 was filled with his direct subordinates. There was nothing more to discuss. If he couldn't even trust the people from G-7, he had no business being an Admiral.
Doberman turned to look at the mysterious hooded figure beside Finn, curiosity flickering in his eyes. He knew this person was probably the legendary "world's most dangerous criminal," but he hadn't expected the man to be bold enough to follow the Admiral directly to Mary Geoise.
"Where are your people, Dragon?" Finn asked.
All of Finn's personnel were present, but where were Dragon's?
"Inside." Dragon pointed toward the tall, imposing Red Line.
"Hehehe..." Finn laughed briefly but didn't comment further. He looked at Doberman. "Take our people with you. Coordinate with Ms. Stussy and this gentleman to secretly retrieve their personnel and cargo."
Doberman had no intention of questioning Finn's orders. He responded immediately in a firm voice. "Yes, Admiral. Leave it to me!"
Finn nodded, then looked at Queen Stussy. "Be careful. We take sixty percent, they take forty. Don't let that bastard Dragon embezzle anything."
"Would I really offend you over such a small amount of money?" Dragon complained.
Queen Stussy smiled. "Understood."
"Good." Finn responded, then fixed his gaze on Dragon. "I'm leaving matters here to you. I need to return to Marineford."
After a brief pause, Finn added sternly, "Don't forget what you promised me. Don't cause trouble in the New World."
"Stop nagging." Dragon waved dismissively.
Finn didn't linger. After giving his instructions, he quickly passed through Mary Geoise on the Red Line, boarded a warship on the opposite side, left the Holy Land behind, and headed for Marineford.
By the time he reached Marineford, darkness had fallen.
As soon as he walked down the gangplank, he spotted two figures standing in the dimly lit harbor.
One was his adjutant, Hina. Finn hadn't taken Hina with him to the New World this time. She hadn't been separated from Finn for an extended period in quite some time.
She hadn't felt it during other assignments, but the moment Finn left, the young woman had felt profoundly lonely.
She'd missed Finn terribly.
The other figure was tall and broad, wearing a mysterious windbreaker similar to Dragon's that completely obscured his face.
He stood beside Hina, and Finn could sense his excitement even from a distance.
Though Finn couldn't see his face clearly, he recognized who it was immediately.
Isn't that the blue whale shark guy, Jinbe?
After walking a few more steps, Finn ignored Hina, his devoted subordinate, and instead looked at Jinbe directly. "Why are you here?"
"Admiral!" Jinbe called out with visible excitement, then explained quickly, "I have something important to report to you, Admiral."
After a brief pause, Jinbe continued with a smile. "I contacted Hina from Fish-Man Island and asked about your whereabouts. She said you'd return to Headquarters tonight, so I rushed here immediately. I'm no longer a Marine officer, so I can't enter the base. I could only wait for you at this port. Fortunately, Hina helped me..."
Finn nodded, then shot Hina a sharp look.
Hina smiled sheepishly, grabbing Finn's shoulders and shaking them while speaking coquettishly. "After all these years, this is the only time I've done this. Boss Jinbe said he had something extremely important to report, and I wanted to see you early anyway."
Obviously, Hina had overstepped slightly by revealing his whereabouts.
But seeing the young woman admit her mistake so quickly and even act cute about it, plus the fact she'd never made any errors over the years, not to mention that Jinbe was indeed trustworthy...
Therefore, Finn merely glared at Hina and didn't pursue the matter further.
Seeing that Jinbe seemed to have something urgent to discuss, Finn asked directly from the harbor. "What's wrong? Is Tiger causing problems again?"
"No, Brother Tiger has been imprisoned by His Majesty Neptune. He said he'll release him once Tiger becomes more rational. And I promise I'll never let Brother Tiger cause any future trouble." Jinbe's voice was serious.
Finn didn't intend to make things difficult for Jinbe, so he nodded. "Then what is it?"
"Regarding Fish-Man Island." Jinbe spoke quickly, urgency coloring his tone. "After I left the Marines and Fish-Man Island to enter the New World, the relationship between the Marines and Fish-Man Island apparently deteriorated again. Some discordant voices emerged on the island. However, these were suppressed by Queen Otohime. But not long ago, after news of Boss Tiger's death reached Fish-Man Island, radical elements..." He rapidly explained the current situation on Fish-Man Island.
Finn listened carefully.
If not for Jinbe and Fish-Man Island, Finn would have eliminated Tiger long ago, and Fleet Admiral Kong would probably already hold the Commander-in-Chief position.
Now that trouble was brewing on Fish-Man Island again, how could Finn not take it seriously?
"In other words, someone's organizing a rebellion? Trying to manipulate public opinion?" Finn asked, surprise evident in his voice.
"We discovered it's a group of Fish-Man District thugs led by Hody Jones causing the disturbance..." Jinbe explained.
Finn nodded. He wasn't surprised. However, this matter wasn't particularly serious. After all, Hody Jones was a minor figure. Nothing to worry about.
But the guy was cruel and ruthless. If he actually assassinated Queen Otohime, that wouldn't serve the Marines' or Finn's interests at all.
After thinking for a moment, Finn spoke decisively. "Jinbe, don't hesitate. Queen Otohime is critically important. Hody Jones and his followers are just scoundrels to you, right? When you return, protect Queen Otohime with everything you have. Then find Hody Jones and his followers and eliminate them."
"This..." Jinbe hesitated momentarily. After all, they were his people.
"If you compromise with them, it'll only encourage their arrogance. Trust me on this. Go back and handle it quickly. There's also a lot happening at Marineford. The Fleet Admiral's being promoted to Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sengoku's becoming Fleet Admiral, that guy Borsalino's becoming Admiral too, and you—you're going to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Tsk tsk, so busy. Go deal with this first. Wait for my news at Fish-Man Island. We'll arrange your Seven Warlords appointment as soon as possible." Finn clapped Jinbe's shoulder, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Seeing this, Jinbe didn't know what else to say. He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and declared, "Yes, Admiral! I'll go back and eliminate them immediately!"
"Hahahaha, that's right! Show your pirate spirit. Without it, how can you become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" Finn laughed heartily.
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