Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, Chief of Staff Tsuru, along with the future Admirals Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji, and some other Vice Admirals from Headquarters – arguably the most luxurious lineup the Navy has ever assembled.
Their sole mission was to capture the Roger Pirates, who had suffered heavy losses in their battle with Shiki at Aethelwald.
While Shiki was arguably the more pressing threat in terms of military strength, it was Roger Pirates' research into the Poneglyphs that was the issue. If they had indeed found what was on the ruins of Concordia, Roger might have already deciphered the secrets of the Poneglyphs.
This caused the Five Elders and others in the World Government to become anxious. They had to stop the Roger Pirates.
Conveniently, the battle at Aethelwald Sea had left them severely weakened, presenting a perfect opportunity to strike while they were down.
Immediately after the battle concluded, the Navy dispatched their strongest lineup, arguably the most powerful in Navy history, even surpassing what would be seen in the future at the Summit War.
Of course, the dispatched forces were not solely from Headquarters. Garp and the others would take considerable time to travel from the first half of the Grand Line to the New World. In the meantime, the G1 and G5 branches in the New World were the first to send troops.
Kalia Ciball, the current base commander of the G1 branch, led two warships to the Aethelwald Sea. The first thing he saw was countless shipwrecks, with many bodies floating amidst the debris.
Ciball frowned and suddenly saw a few remaining ships fleeing in the opposite direction, appearing to be remnants of Shiki's fleet.
According to the plot, Shiki had deployed over fifty warships in this battle, yet now only five remained?
Just as Ciball was about to order an attack, the five ships slowly began to float upwards into the sky.
Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ability.
"Vice Admiral!"
Suddenly, a Marine ran up to Vice Admiral Ciball, saluted, and said, "Pirate ships at three o'clock!"
Ciball's eyes narrowed. "Is it the Roger Pirates? What's the situation?"
"No, no, it's the ship of the Eternal Angel Grimm!" the Marine replied.
"He's here!"
Ciball's expression changed slightly. This mission was to capture the Roger Pirates. The World Government had issued a strict order: all other matters could be disregarded; the priority was to capture the Roger Pirates with all efforts!
But was it solely because they possessed the Ancient Weapon Pluton? Even so, such an order was extreme!
"Vice Admiral, we haven't found any trace of the Roger Pirates. Should we proceed with the search?" Another Marine immediately requested Ciball's instructions.
"Of course!"
Ciball waved his arm. "Immediately conduct a search of the entire sea area. We must capture the Roger Pirates!"
"They went that way!"
The second after Ciball issued the search order, a voice suddenly reached the ears of the Marines.
Instinctively looking in the direction of the voice, everyone was greatly alarmed.
The iron ship, which had been several kilometers away, suddenly appeared before them. Grimm, with a bounty of 1.35 billion Belly, sat in a chair by the ship's side, his head slightly raised, a natural curve on his lips.
"Weren't you looking for the Roger Pirates? That way, go quickly. May the Holy Light bless you! Hahaha!"
"Vice Admiral!"
For a moment, the Marines on the ship looked to Ciball for instructions, unsure of how to proceed.
As Marines, they should have immediately moved to arrest pirates upon sighting them. Ciball, a veteran with more seniority than Sengoku and Garp, understood this perfectly.
If it weren't for the World Government's strict order, he would have already engaged Grimm.
Walking to the ship's railing, Ciball squinted at the iron ship, several meters lower than the warship. "What are you plotting?"
Grimm remained seated and casually accepted a plate of "Delicious Wind Serpent," a new dish just prepared by Jaina.
After finishing it, Grimm let out a "Wow!" and transformed into a bearded middle-aged man wearing a pirate hat.
[Delicious Wind Serpent]: A delicacy with a side effect. After consumption, it transforms the eater into the appearance of a pirate for one hour, a state that cannot be dispelled. Note: Eat me!
The sudden transformation startled the surrounding Marines, who immediately raised their guns, thinking Grimm was about to attack. Unexpectedly, Grimm said, "If you don't hurry and chase them, you won't catch either Roger or Shiki!"
After saying this, Grimm offered no further explanation and controlled his iron ship to leave.
"Vice Admiral Ciball, should we arrest them?" a gunner asked Ciball for instructions.
"Do you think our current forces can capture Kaido?" Ciball retorted.
The meaning was clear: with their current strength, they couldn't even catch Kaido, let alone Grimm.
Ciball was not the type of berserker like Sakazuki who would attack anything in sight. The Headquarters' order was their top priority.
"Change course, head towards ten o'clock!" Ciball commanded.
"Are we really going to listen to that pirate?"
The direction Ciball commanded was precisely where Grimm had pointed. Although many on the ship were unconvinced, they obediently followed orders.
Sailing towards another sea area, Grimm poured the beer he had obtained from the Roger Pirates into a cup, recalling his conversation with Roger two hours earlier.
It all started the moment Roger fell into the sea.
...
"Roger, you truly are the Child of Destiny! Hahaha!" Grimm laughed as he pulled Roger onto the Sea King.
"Grimm, you scoundrel, why did you run away!" Roger felt Grimm was disloyal. One moment they were having a feast, and the next, seeing Shiki, he fled. Roger continued to ask, "Are you afraid of Shiki?"
"No, the Holy Light never fears evil. If I hadn't run, who would have pulled you up? I didn't want the ship to capsize. The Holy Light predicted all of this!" Grimm played the role of a prophet.
"Oh, hahahahaha, so that's how it is. I misjudged you, Grimm. You're truly amazing!" Roger laughed heartily, carefree as always.
Subsequently, with the help of Grimm and his two companions, the Roger Pirates were all rescued in less than ten minutes.
The Roger Pirates suffered zero casualties, not even a single injury. Only the hull of the Jackson was slightly damaged, but it was nothing serious and didn't affect its sailing.
One had to admit, the luck of the Child of Destiny, Lord Buggy, was unparalleled. Of course, if we're talking about the luckiest, it was undoubtedly Buggy. Because in the end, Shanks couldn't hold onto him. Just when they thought he was going to sink into the sea, an updraft carried him away, and he landed directly on Grimm's ship several kilometers away.
With such luck, if Buggy decided to become the Pirate King, Roger would probably have to abdicate…
"Roger, here are the things you wanted!" After resting for a few minutes, Grimm directly threw the Poneglyph onto the Jackson. "Remember our deal!"
...
Watching the Jackson depart, the sea gradually calmed. Grimm glanced at Jaina and Plank beside him. "The new era is coming. The Holy Light… is about to descend upon the world!"
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