Major Keith completed the recall order and gathered the Marines of Branch 18.
However, he also slipped away in secret to meet someone he absolutely should not have been dealing with.
The Black Cat Pirates.
Their captain was a man known across the East Blue:
Kuro.
He carried a chilling epithet whispered in fear by both merchants and Marines alike
"Kuro of a Hundred Plans."
A pirate defined not merely by strength, but by ruthless calculation and intellect.
Upon receiving Keith's covert invitation, Kuro instantly understood.
Another opportunity.
Another harvest.
"Captain Kuro, Branch 18's Marines are being recalled. The island will be practically defenseless."
"Oh? Since when did the illustrious Major Keith become so generous?"
Kuro's sharp eyes narrowed behind his round glasses.
"Cut the sarcasm, Kuro. We're old associates."
"There's a nail hammered into our operations by Headquarters. If we don't pull it out now, everything collapses."
Kuro remained silent for a moment.
He had indeed heard rumors.
Branch 18's former Commander had died during a pirate suppression campaign.
A replacement had been dispatched.
"The new Commander…"
Keith sneered.
"…is just a naïve little girl."
"Surely the great Kuro of a Hundred Plans isn't frightened by that?"
Sensing hesitation, Keith pressed harder.
But Kuro was not a man who gambled recklessly.
He survived precisely because he calculated.
"Thirty percent for you."
"Seventy for me."
"You provide intelligence. Nothing more."
Keith's eyes gleamed greedily.
"Deal!"
Though the profit margin was reduced, his true objective was never money.
It was Saint Roselith Seraphina.
Once she was removed, the Commander's seat would be his.
And then
Wealth.
Influence.
Control.
One had to think long-term.
"I look forward to our continued cooperation, Captain Kuro."
Kuro's thin smile returned.
"Business is always a pleasure."
Unbeknownst to them, Bruce observed the entire exchange from a concealed vantage point.
His expression did not change.
"As expected…"
"…the weak cling to petty conspiracies."
Without wasting a second, Bruce returned to report everything to Saint Roselith Seraphina.
She listened in silence.
Then stood.
"Prepare the ship."
Bruce blinked once.
"…We're moving immediately?"
Seraphina reached for the Marine greatcoat draped across her chair.
As she swung it over her shoulders, the word emblazoned across its back unfurled dramatically
JUSTICE.
"They believe Branch 18 is vulnerable."
A cold gleam entered her eyes.
"Let's show them their mistake."
Her presence alone shifted the air inside the office.
"Bruce. When Major Keith returns…"
She paused.
"…detain him."
"Yes, Commander."
Seraphina selected only a small detachment of Marines. those whose records still reflected discipline and integrity.
Enough to crew a patrol vessel.
Enough to fight.
Yet the first pirates to attack were not the Black Cat Pirates.
Instead
The Tuna Pirates.
Kuro, ever cautious, had chosen not to move personally.
He preferred testing the waters first.
"Wahaha! Boys, take whatever you want!"
A massive, bearded pirate captain bellowed from his deck as his crew stormed the town.
Chaos spread rapidly.
But it did not last.
Far out at sea, Saint Roselith Seraphina's Observation Haki expanded to its fullest range.
Every hostile presence.
Every violent intent.
Every movement
laid bare before her perception.
"Captain! A small Marine vessel approaching!"
The burly pirate squinted toward Seraphina's ship.
"…Then sink it too."
"Even scraps are worth taking."
Seraphina stepped forward.
Her hand rested lightly on the hilt at her side.
"Awakening of Insects"
Her voice was calm.
"First Form: Light Rain."
In an instant
countless razor-fine slashes carved through the air.
The pirate ship shuddered violently as precision strikes ripped across its deck, rigging, and weapons.
The Tuna Pirates froze in horror.
Before their captain could even process what was happening
Seraphina vanished.
She reappeared midair.
And landed directly on their deck.
A single kick.
Devastating.
The captain's enormous body was launched like a cannonball back toward the shore.
He crashed deep into the earth and lost consciousness instantly.
The remaining pirates panicked.
Those who attempted resistance were subdued with brutal efficiency.
Those who fled
were intercepted.
Moments later, the battlefield fell silent.
"Commander!"
A Marine Lieutenant rushed forward.
"There are too many prisoners!"
"Our ship cannot accommodate them all!"
Seraphina paused.
Indeed, she had not accounted for transport capacity.
One of the Sergeants stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"We could…"
He gestured subtly.
"…record combat fatalities."
Seraphina's eyes hardened.
"…Execute prisoners?"
The Sergeant said nothing.
But his meaning was unmistakable.
Seraphina turned toward the bound pirates.
Then back to her men.
"If we abandon our principles…"
Her voice carried an edge of steel.
"…we are no better than criminals."
A brief silence followed.
"We'll seize their ship."
Thus, the Tuna Pirates' black flag was torn down.
In its place
the seagull ensign of the Marines rose high.
With two vessels now under Marine control, every pirate captured during the operation was secured without needless slaughter.
Even Seraphina's own cabin became overcrowded with detainees.
Yet throughout the entire conflict
The Black Cat Pirates never appeared.
Elsewhere, Kuro listened to reports of the disaster.
A cold sweat traced down his spine.
"…So it's true."
"That Commander…"
"…is a monster."
Any lingering ambition evaporated instantly.
The Grand Line.
Pirate King.
Dreams.
Illusions.
Reality had answered with overwhelming force.
Kuro made his decision.
He would abandon piracy.
Disappear.
Live quietly as a wealthy civilian.
Because one truth now burned into his mind
He would never again challenge that silver-haired Marine.
Back at Branch 18, Bruce confronted Major Keith upon his return.
Keith barely had time to react.
Bruce's movements were swift, refined
a testament to rigorous Rokushiki training.
Shigan.
A blur.
Keith collapsed.
The surrounding Marines stared in shock.
Bruce calmly produced a Transponder Snail recording.
Voices echoed unmistakably.
Keith.
Kuro.
Conspiracy.
The evidence was irrefutable.
A Marine colluding with pirates to assassinate a superior officer
an unforgivable crime.
Bruce immediately transmitted the report to Marine Headquarters.
Until further judgment arrived, Keith was confined within Branch 18.
Soon after
Saint Roselith Seraphina returned.
With two entire ships filled with captured pirates.
Her name spread across the East Blue like wildfire.
Fear.
Awe.
Disbelief.
Headquarters responded swiftly.
Commendations were issued.
Promotions authorized.
Saint Roselith Seraphina formally retained her rank of Commander, her authority now reinforced by undeniable merit.
Bruce was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.
The Marines who had accompanied the operation advanced accordingly.
Celebration rippled through Branch 18.
Yet Seraphina herself remained indifferent to rank.
Titles were meaningless.
Results were not.
With internal corruption eliminated and pirate activity crushed, Seraphina and Bruce began sweeping reforms.
Training schedules were restored.
Performance evaluations implemented.
Pensions improved.
Pay adjusted.
Reconnaissance stations reactivated.
Though Headquarters' funding proved insufficient, corrective accounting following Keith's embezzlement created a manageable surplus.
Seraphina discreetly supplemented the remainder from her personal resources.
Deadweight personnel were dismissed.
Branch 18's forces stabilized at fewer than two hundred disciplined Marines.
Within months, Branch 18 transformed.
Criminal activity plummeted.
Pirate incursions ceased.
The region earned a new reputation
A forbidden zone for lawbreakers.
Still, Seraphina's ambitions extended beyond jurisdictional boundaries.
Justice, after all, was not confined by paperwork.
If patrol routes crossed into neighboring waters
so be it.
She committed no atrocities.
Only enforcement.
Saint Roselith Seraphina gazed toward the open sea.
"The East Blue…"
Her silver hair swayed gently in the coastal wind.
"…is merely the beginning."